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Our unique blue and white logo combined with the clean modern look of our offices has helped Martin & Co to become one of the most distinctive lettings brands in the UK. We are also the largest lettings network across the UK, in terms of geographical spread, and we were recently recognised as the Best Large Lettings Chain in the UK (Estate Agent & Letting Agent Awards).

subset: commoncrawl


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Argument recap: Will Grutter be reshaped? (FINAL UPDATE)
on Oct 10, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Analysis (updated 2:15 pm; final update 3:15 pm)
Affirmative action is alive but ailing, the idea of "critical mass" to measure racial diversity is in very critical condition, and a nine-year-old precedent may have to be reshaped in order to survive. Those were the dominant impressions at the close of a one-hour, nineteen-minute argument in the Supreme Court Wednesday. There is almost no doubt that the University of Texas's affirmative action plan for admitting its freshman classes is in trouble with four Justices, but has at least qualified support from three others. The one most in doubt among the eight taking part: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. He wanted to be convinced that the program does not use race at all costs, and it appeared that he was not.
At the center of the discussion was the Court's last major ruling on affirmative action in college admissions — Grutter v. Bollinger, in 2003. There was almost no one at the hearing thinking that Grutter would be flatly overruled, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor wondered what was on almost everybody's mind: would it be "gutted"? At a minimum, it seemed, it would have to be rewritten, and its central point — that a university can make some limited use of race until it achieves a "critical mass" in a diverse student body — may well be cast aside. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., led a determined assault on the concept, finding it far too indefinite, and the idea had no fervent champions.
As the arguments turned out, the Court seemed unwilling to accept as conclusive the academic judgment that university officials make when they fashion admission plans that take some account, however limited, of the race of the applicants. The Grutter decision was famous for its deference to universities' calculation of the educational benefits of racial diversity, but that now appears to be a dated and perhaps even discredited approach. Judges, it appeared, will assume a more dominant role in weighing the constitutionality of any use of race.
Across the country, foes of affirmative action — especially as it is practiced in public colleges and universities — had pinned their hopes on the challenge of the young white woman, Abigail Noel Fisher, who did not get into the flagship Texas university and insisted that it was because of her race. But Fisher's lawyer at the lectern, Washington attorney Bert R. Rein, was notably cautious in his verbal challenge to the Grutter precedent, and said explicitly that it was not his aim to have it overruled in toto. He was almost finished when Sotomayor told him that, while he did not want it overruled, "you just want to gut it." He said he did not want that, but his argument was a plea to sharply pare it down.
There was enough talk about whether Ms. Fisher should have been allowed to file her lawsuit to leave the impression that the Justices may want to hold that issue in reserve, in case they cannot reach a majority on a definitive outcome in the case. Should the Court be on the verge of a four-to-four split, as seemed on Wednesday to be an even more realistic result, it may well choose instead to find that Ms. Fisher lacked "standing" to sue, and end the case, looking to some future case to take up again the fate of Grutter and affirmative action.
Justice Antonin Scalia was the one most determined to keep Ms. Fisher's case intact, saying that the Court had never required an affirmative action challenger to show that it would have succeeded in getting into a program or getting a contract in order to be allowed to sue to complain about unconstitutionality. In any event, attorney Rein argued that Ms. Fisher had suffered a distinct injury — a "constitutional injury" in not being treated equally — and that should be enough to give her "standing."
For all of the hype that preceded this argument, with fear and loathing among supporters of affirmative action, the entire seventy-nine minutes of exchanges were subdued, sometimes highly technical, and had more of the flavor of a seminar than a grand constitutional confrontation. U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., in his brief stint at the lectern, essayed some soaring rhetoric about the virtues of a multicultural society, but it seemed a bit too calculated. There was no bombast, even from Justice Scalia, and the only sign of testy impatience came from the Chief Justice as he bore down on the university's attorney, Gregory G. Garre, to give some substance to the "critical mass" idea that would tell a court when the university had made enough use of race, and could then stop.
Garre and Verrilli both refused to be pinned down on what "critical mass" really means in an academic setting, and fell back on arguments that amounted to a plea that university officials know it when they see it, and can be trusted not to overdo it.
What was almost immediately evident in the argument was that the outcome almost certainly will lie in Justice Kennedy's choice of how to vote. The Chief Justice, Scalia, and Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., were decidedly hostile to the Texas program. Justice Clarence Thomas, who said nothing, as usual, was a dissenter in Grutter, and thus probably can be counted on to disapprove of the Texas approach. Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both in the majority in Grutter, seemed unimpressed with the challenge to it, although Ginsburg seemed somewhat less enthusiastic about Texas than Breyer although she said its plan would fit into Grutter. Breyer was somewhat dogged in pressing attorney Rein on whether he wanted Grutter overruled. "Why overrule a case into which so much thought and effort went and so many people across the country have depended on?" Breyer asked. Justice Sotomayor, early and often, left no doubt that she would have joined Grutter had she been on the Court then.
With Justice Elena Kagan on the sidelines (because of a prior involvement with this case when she was in the Justice Department), those leanings would add up to four to three against the Texas plan. Justice Kennedy could put the case away if he joined the defenders of Grutter, because a four-to-four split would mean that the Texas plan had been upheld — in a summary order without an opinion affirming the Fifth Circuit Court's embrace of the plan. He could scuttle, or at least undermine, the Texas plan by voting to make a majority with the more conservative members of the Court, who seemed ready (or were assumed to be) to reverse the Fifth Circuit.
Kennedy was somewhat slow to get involved in the argument. After Justice Sotomayor had spent some time trying to find out what Fisher's lawyer would say was a sufficient number of minorities at the university to make up a "critical mass," and after Justice Alito said he did not understand how the university defined that phrase, Kennedy said he, too, wanted that question answered, although he digressed at that point. Later, after the Justices more favorable to the Texas plan had sought to draw out Rein on when the university had gone far enough with a racial factor, he got involved again, seeking to know specifically what defects Rein found in that plan. He seemed neutral at that point, and Rein had finished his opening before Kennedy could get many answers.
With university lawyer Garre taking his turn, Kennedy also held back. After Garre had barely held his own during a barrage of questions from Justices Scalia and Alito about the application of the Texas plan down to the classroom diversity level and from the Chief Justice and Alito about what "critical mass" might mean, Kennedy bristled. Garre had just told Alito that the university went "out of our way to recruit minorities from disadvantaged backgrounds," Kennedy retorted: "So what you're saying is that what counts is race above all." It did not seem to follow Garre's point at all, but it probably revealed Kennedy's basic sensitivity to race when it becomes what he considers a dominant factor in making public policy.
No matter how Garre tried to deflect Kennedy's suggestion, the Justice repeated that Garre was just talking about race, period.
Chief Justice Roberts took another turn at pressing Garre about what "critical mass" means, and added questions about what would be the "end point" of Texas's use of race. Justice Sotomayor was prompted by that probing to ask at what point the courts should stop deferring to the educational judgment of universities on when using race was still necessary. Since quotas would be unlawful, she said, what standard should be used to decide that an end-point had been reached? Garre fell back on Grutter's discussion on that point.
Kennedy's only other notable participation came during the argument by Solicitor General Verrilli, when the Justice wanted to know when, if ever, it was permissible for race to be a "tie-breaker" in choosing entering collegians. In Verrilli's closing peroration about the value of diversity in society, he quoted from a Kennedy opinion in an earlier race-in-education case. Kennedy, the government lawyer said, had extolled the reality that "our strength comes from people of different races, different creeds, different cultures, uniting in a commitment to freedom, and to a more perfect union." That, the Solicitor General said in closing, "is what the University of Texas is trying to do with its admissions policies, and it should be upheld."
Verrilli's most difficult moments in his brief stint came when he was grilled by the Chief Justice about the meaning of "critical mass." The Solicitor General said it was "not a number," and that it "would be very ill-advised to suggest that it is numerical." He, in fact, mildly criticized the concept, saying that it "has taken on a life of its own in a way that's not helpful because it doesn't focus the inquiry where it should be" — that is, on diversity in culture and in human experience.


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Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun's ears should be burning -- baseball investigators are about to sit down with the whistleblower who claims he can prove they purchased performance enhancing drugs from a Miami clinic ... TMZ has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge of Major League Baseball's investigation tell us MLB officials will be meeting with Porter Fischer in Florida this week ... and he's expected to reveal his detailed records from the Biogenesis clinic. Fischer is an ex-employee at Biogenesis and claims to have the goods on more than 100 baseball players -- among them Braun and A-Rod -- who allegedly obtained banned PEDs from the clinic's owner Tony Bosch.
The Yankees just cleared Rodriguez for his first on-field action this season -- a minor league game -- as he continues to rehab from hip surgery. We're told the MLB meeting was brokered by Fischer's attorney, Ray Rafool -- and that MLB will pay Fischer a "consultant" fee in exchange for his cooperation.
Bottom line -- if Fischer has the mother lode he claims ... MLB could soon be handing down major suspensions.


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The young women's team representing Israel at the recent WFDF World Juniors Ultimate Championship in Dublin, Ireland achieved a landmark for the sport of Ultimate and their country by fielding a team composed of both Arab and Jewish athletes. Prior teams at the World Junior Ultimate Championships had been comprised entirely of Jewish athletes. While other Israeli sports teams have occasionally had one or two Arab players on them, few Israeli teams have had this measure of balance. The Women's Juniors (under-20) team was composed of 10 Jewish and 6 Arab players.
According to the Israeli team's head coach, Miranda Roth Knowles, former Team USA World Champion player and Gold Medalist at the 2005 IWGA World Games, and current Director of Coaching for Ultimate Peace, "the team practices regularly, boasts numerous cross-cultural friendships, and prides itself on team unity, cohesion, and as being a sign of hope for co-existence. Interaction between these Arab and Jewish Israeli youth would be highly unlikely without involvement in this sport, since day to day Israeli life is mostly segregated."
The main catalyst behind this special team is the previous involvement of nearly all of the girls on the Israeli national team in Ultimate Peace (www.ultimatepeace.org), a non-political peace-through-sports non-profit group that has been promoting Ultimate Frisbee (aka Ultimate) in Israel and the Middle East for the last three years. Ultimate was chosen as the tool for bridging the Middle East cultural divide because it is a non-contact team sport that requires intensive communication and team coordination to succeed. Moreover, it is self-officiated and there are no referees, so all disputes must be resolved by the athletes involved whenever there is a foul or other infraction (ie a conflict) before play can proceed. Ultimate Peace believes that the skills acquired in the game transfer into life beyond the sport.
Robert "Nob" Rauch, WFDF President, stated that "we view the participation of this fully integrated Israeli/Arab young women's team as a doubly impressive achievement in this 2012 Olympics "Year of the Woman." We fully subscribe to the ideal of "peace through sport" and are pleased that a dedicated group such as Ultimate Peace, headed by CEO Dr. David Barkan, has been able to achieve notable success in a troubled region of the world in such a short period of time."
The World Flying Disc Federation, host of the World Junior Ultimate Championships, has partnered with Ultimate Peace for several years, including fiscal sponsorship of the organization and a significant grant award in support of a 2011 program expanding their efforts into Colombia, another troubled region. In that program, which received major support from Medellin's local development agency INDER, approximately 40 coaches from Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina, and around 200 Colombian youth players, participated in clinics focused on promoting the five values of Ultimate Peace: mutual respect, integrity, non-violence, friendship, and fun. This was the first step in a three-year program to culminate with a program in Cali which will be held in conjunction with the 2013 World Games.
Ultimate is one of the fastest growing youth team sports in the world. Twenty countries were represented at this recent WFDF world championship tournament. For more information, go to www.wjuc2012.com .
About WFDF:
The World Flying Disc Federation ("WFDF") serves as the international governing body of all flying disc sports. WFDF is made up of the National Associations ("Members") that govern their respective disc sports activities. There are currently Members representing athletes in 54 countries. WFDF is a member of SportAccord and the International World Games Association, is recognized as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) registered corporation in the State of Colorado, USA, and is a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
About Ultimate Peace
Ultimate Peace is a not-for-profit organization which builds bridges of understanding and friendship between youth who live in communities divided by conflict, using the character building sport of Ultimate Frisbee as its tool. The flagship program in the Middle East has been providing over 300 Arab, Jewish, and Palestinian teens with diverse programs since 2009 – offerings include local team development, league competition, cross-cultural social interaction, and leadership development. Expansion to Columbia began in 2011, and new programs are being seeded in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
For more information, please contact:
Volker Bernardi, Executive Director
World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF)
Neckarstraße 11, D – 55296 Harxheim
Mobile: +49 176 64 19 77 02
eMail: [email protected]
Dr. David Barkan
Ultimate Peace
eMail: [email protected]


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Indian Maidens Bust Loose by Vidya Samson
East and West may meet, but sometimes they shouldn't. That's whatVidya's site: http://vidyasamson.wordpress.com/about/
Nisha Desai's conservative Hindu family thinks when a black-sheep
American aunt and her trouble-magnet teenage daughters come to visit
them in India. The guests are seen as an invading force, equipped
with weapons of mass corruption.
But to Nisha, the rich aunt looks like a one-woman foreign aid program
and a way to escape the horrible suitors her father keeps foisting on
her. She makes every effort to charm the visitors. This is not an
easy task, for the aunt is a New Age space case, and the cousins'
appetite for disasters threatens to level the city of Ahmedabad. In
short order, the demented cousins instigate an elopement, a public
protest, and a riot that gets Nisha thrown in jail.
It's only when Nisha's father adopts a pet cow and convinces half the
city it's the reincarnation of a Hindu deity that the two families are
united in a common goal: to bilk thousands. The result is Madison
Avenue's idea of a religious experience, which is not a controllable
Indian Maidens Bust Loose is a hilarious romp in the land of cows,
curry, and the Kama Sutra.
- copy, open internationally
-Fill out Rafflecopter to enter
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
buy Indian Maidens Bust Loose here:
and can check out my blog here:
--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.
Chaos ensues when an American family visits their staid Indian relatives. A demolished wedding, a riot, and a magic cow scam are the result.
--How did you get the idea for the story?
I grew up in Bahrain, a developed country in the Middle East. When I returned to India, I experienced some culture shock. Years later I got the idea of writing about an American family who visits their relatives in India and the culture shock and culture clash that result.
--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?
Hard to say, since there are several funny characters in my novel that I would enjoy spending some time with. If I had to choose one, well, many people have told me that my heroine Nisha is one of the wittiest and most charming characters they've ever met
--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?
I love reading and manage to still make time to read. I love novels that have humor in them, such as Jane Austen's novels, or Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Detective Agency series.
--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?
I already have another book out there on the Kindle, one I co-authored with James A. Thomas. It's a political thriller titled The Baby Game. And look out for Bras, Boys, and Blunders coming out soon on the Kindle. It's a Young Adult romantic comedy set in the Middle East.
--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?
I'd pick Pride and Prejudice, since it's my all-time favorite novel. It would be interesting to experience a day in Regency England. And to meet Mr. Darcy--yum!
--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on your playlist- songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?
No, I don't drink tea or coffee; just never acquired the taste for them. And I find music distracts me when I'm writing.
--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
No question about that. I'd choose to have the power to heal all illness and disease. What a cool power that would be.
--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?
I love to read, of course, and I enjoy going to the gym to try to put some muscles and weight on my skinny frame.
--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?
Keep reading; there is no other pastime which enables you to learn so much, vicariously experience so much, and travel to some many different places and cultures for so little money.
Lightning round: this or that?
Vanilla or chocolate?
Edward or Jacob?
Hockey or soccer?
I play neither and know little about either. Being Indian, I should by rights be cricket mad, but somehow that insanity never descended upon me.
Ebook or paper?
Salty or sweet?
I dislike very salty food and don't have much of a sweet tooth either.
Beach or mountains?
Phone call or email?
Phone call.
Early bird or night owl?
Night owl.
Dog or cat?
Messy or neat?
Ninjas or pirates?
Other featured giveaways on my blog (for the full list, check right upper sidebar)
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Police in Dayton say officers fatally shot a man who leveled a semi-automatic rifle at them in a city park.
Police Chief Richard Biehl said officers killed the 34-year-old man Sunday night in Island MetroPark. Biehl said it started when police got reports of a man carrying a gun near the park. When two officers arrived, the man leveled the rifle at them and both fired their handguns. It's not clear how many shots were fired. The man - who never fired his rifle - died later at a hospital. His name hasn't been released yet. Biehl said authorities have had contact with the man in the past, and he may have been mentally ill.


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Smoke Damage Cleanup Fire Restoration Concord NC
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"Exit Strategy" by Steve Hamilton: Synopsis:
In the stunning follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Second Life of Nick Mason, the remarkable hero fights to take back control from the crime lord who owns his life, as he races to complete a daring and dangerous new mission…
Nick Mason has been given a true mission impossible: Infiltrate WITSEC, the top-secret federal witness-protection program that has never been compromised, locate the three men who put his boss Darius Cole behind bars for life, and kill them.
But first he has to find them—they're ghost prisoners locked down around the clock in classified "deep black" locations by an battalion of heavily armed U.S. marshals charged with protecting them—and the clock is ticking. Cole is appealing his conviction, and these witnesses are either his ticket to freedom or the final nail in his coffin. If they testify, Darius Cole will never step foot in the outside world again. If they are killed, he will walk out a free man.
As he risks everything to complete his mission, Mason finds himself being hunted by the very man he replaced, the ruthless assassin who once served, then betrayed, Darius Cole. Rather than waiting to be Mason's next victim, he has escaped witness protection to hunt down and kill Mason himself.
In an action-packed journey that leads from a high-security military installation in the Appalachian Mountains to a secret underground bunker hidden far below the streets of New York City, Nick Mason will have to become, more than ever before, the lethal weapon that Darius Cole created.


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Taking the mystery out of thermowell selection
It stands between your process and the sensor element, so understanding thermowell characteristics is key to reliable measurements. Second in the temperature series.
Since it stands between the process and your temperature sensor, a thermowell is critical to accurate, reliable, and safe temperature measurement in most industrial processes. However, selecting the right thermowell can be both a mystery and a challenge. Once you understand the selection criteria, the mystery can be solved, resulting in the best performance of your temperature measurement system. It also ensures a long service life, ease of maintenance, and process integrity.
Why you need a thermowell
Temperature sensors are rarely inserted directly into an industrial process. They are installed in a thermowell to isolate them from the potentially damaging process conditions of flow-induced stresses, high pressures, and corrosive chemical effects. Thermowells are closed-end metal tubes that are installed into the process vessel or piping and become a pressure-tight integral part of the structure. They permit the sensor to be removed from the process quickly and easily for calibration or replacement without requiring a process shutdown and possible drainage of the pipe or vessel.
However, the benefits can only be experienced if the right thermowell is selected and installed. Thermowells are often not specified correctly, leading to gross mechanical failures. They can fail due to weld cracking from fatigue, excessive bending stress, excessive pressure, corrosion, or erosion. Poor thermowell selection and placement can also result in less accurate temperature measurements.
Steps for selection
Proper thermowell selection includes several variables that must be specified appropriately depending on the application for an optimal temperature measurement. A variety of performance criteria and process conditions must be considered when selecting the best design for an application.
1. Connection type—Thermowells are classified according to their connection to the process. The most common types are threaded, socket weld, and flanged. Each of these has a stem or shank that extends into the process that may be straight with constant diameter, tapered all the way from entry point to the tip, partially tapered, or stepped (see Figure 1).
- Threaded thermowells are threaded into process piping or tank, which allows for easy installation and removal when necessary. While this is the most common method, it has the lowest pressure rating of the three options. Threaded connections are also prone to leakage and therefore are not recommended for applications with toxic, explosive, or corrosive materials.
- Welded thermowells are permanently welded to process pipes or tanks. Consequently, removal is difficult and requires cutting the thermowell out of the system. Welding has the highest pressure rating and is generally used in applications with high velocity flow, high temperature, or extreme high pressure. They are necessary where a leak-proof seal is required.
- Flanged thermowells are bolted to a mating flange that is welded onto process pipe or tank. They provide high pressure ratings, easy installation, and simple replacement. Flanged thermowells are used in applications with corrosive environments, high-velocity, high temperature, or high pressure.
- Vanstone / lap joint thermowells are mounted between the mating flange and the lap joint flange. These thermowells allow for use of different materials for the thermowell coming in contact with the process and the overlaying flange, which can save material and manufacturing costs. They are a good choice for corrosive applications, and since there are no welds in this design, weld-joint corrosion is eliminated.
2. Style choices—A second consideration is the thermowell style. Key factors to look at are your pressure and flow rate requirements. Thermowells are most often machined from barstock in a variety of materials and may be coated with other materials for erosion or corrosion protection. Another style is a tubular design also known as a protection tube.
Each style has pros and cons. Barstock thermowells can withstand higher pressures and faster flow rates than protection tubes can. They have more material options and can be mounted in various ways to meet different process pressure requirements. In contrast, tubular thermowells have a much lower pressure rating and a limited choice of materials. For temperatures up to about 1,200 °C, they are often made from exotic alloys like Inconel. For higher temperatures up to 1,800 °C, the protection tubes are ceramic.
3. Material of construction—The material of construction is an important consideration in choosing a thermowell for any given application. Use of the wrong material often leads to premature failure.
Although there are many choices of thermowell materials, the most commonly used are 316 stainless steel, 304 stainless steel, Monel, Inconel, and Hastelloy. There are also some exotic alloys for very demanding applications.
Three primary factors affect material choice:
- Chemical compatibility with the process media to which the thermowell will be exposed
- Temperature limits, and
- Compatibility with the process piping material to ensure solid, noncorroding welds and junctions.
A word of caution is appropriate here to remind users that it is important that the thermowell conform to the design specs of the pipe or vessel into which it will be inserted to ensure structural and material compatibility.
Choosing a thermowell stem profile
The stem or shank is the part of a thermowell that is inserted into the process piping. Common stem profiles are straight, stepped, and tapered (see Figure 2).
Factors to consider when selecting a stem style include:
- Process pressure
- Required speed of response of the measurement
- Drag force of the fluid flow on the well, and
- Vortex shedding induced vibration effects.
Straight profile thermowells have the same diameter along the entire immersion length. They present the largest profile to the process medium and therefore have the highest drag force as compared to other well styles with the same root diameter. The large tip diameter also adds more mass to heat, which slows the thermal response of the measurement assembly. However, this profile has the best mechanical strength properties.
Stepped profile thermowells have two straight sections with the smaller diameter straight section at the tip. For the same root diameter as a straight profile thermowell, this design has less profile exposure to the flowing process and therefore exhibits less drag force and quicker response time due to lower mass at the tip.
Tapered profile thermowells have an outside diameter that decreases uniformly from root to tip. For the same root diameter, this profile represents a good compromise between straight and stepped configurations. Its drag will be less than a straight type well but typically greater than a stepped type. Also, the response time will be faster than a straight type and slower than a stepped type. The two general forms of a tapered stem are uniform (tapered from root to tip) and non-uniform (straight portion followed by tapered portion). Because of its profile shape, it is a good compromise for strength between the two other styles. It is the common choice for high-velocity flow applications where the flow forces typically are too great to use a stepped well and the tapered design has faster response than the straight type, thus offering an optimal balance of strength and response factors.
Failure considerations
Thermowell failures are often associated with one or more of the following: high drag forces, excessive static pressure, high temperature, corrosion, and fluid induced vibration.
Most thermowell failures are caused by fluid induced vibration. When fluid flows past a thermowell inserted into a pipe or duct, high and low pressure vortices form at both sides of the well. These vortices detach, first from one side and then from the other in an alternating pattern (see Figure 3).
This phenomenon is commonly known as vortex shedding. The differential pressure due to the alternating vortices produces alternating forces on the thermowell resulting in stresses that cause transverse and axial deflection, which can ultimately lead to fracture. The frequency of the oscillations is referred to as the wake frequency. Thermowell manufacturers should provide thermowell calculations to predict the probability of a thermowell failing. The best standard for thermowell calculations is ASME PTC 19.3TW-2010.
Response time considerations
The speed of response of the sensor itself is virtually immediate when compared to the much slower response of the measurement system when using a thermowell. The mass of the thermowell far exceeds that of the sensor and will always be the dominant factor of measurement response.
There are many factors associated with choosing the proper sensor and thermowell components and their proper installation in an effort to optimize the overall response time and accuracy of temperature measurements. Many suggestions are provided in the handbook mentioned in the online references. Emerson also offers a free online tool for conducting preliminary thermowell calculations.
Choosing well yields the best results
There are many considerations involved in selecting a proper thermowell for your temperature measurement system. Like any effective instrumentation deployment, the system design engineer must gather all available process information and performance expectations at the outset of the project. For a system with optimal performance and the lowest cost of ownership, the design engineer must use this information for selecting not only the proper thermowell but also the proper sensor and transmitter. The selection of each component follows a similar path of making educated choices.
Danjin Zulic is a temperature marketing engineer for Emerson Process Management.
Key concepts:
- Once the specific sensor technology is selected, the second key choice is thermowell configuration.
- The thermowell becomes a permanent part of your process equipment, providing a mount and protection for the sensor.
- An effective thermowell provides quick response, has a long life, and minimizes process disruptions.
Rosemount offers a free online tool for preliminary thermowell calculations at www.rosemount.com/ThermowellCalc
Order a free copy of the Engineer's Guide to Industrial Temperature Measurement at www.rosemount.com/TempGuide
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So we're in Kosovo.
A lot has happened in the six month (!) since I last posted here. The biggest change is, I got a job -- a full-time job on a USAID project -- and it's here in Pristina, Kosovo. We got the news in early May (just after I got back from a month in Kyrgyzstan; yes, I spent four weeks in Kyrgyzstan and never blogged about it, my bad), I moved down here at the beginning of June, and the family followed in August. We're currently living in a house on the edge of Pristina, near Germia Park.
There's a lot I could write about Kosovo. But it kinda feels like I should slowly ease myself back into this blogging thing. I'm not entirely sure why I stopped. Facebook, that's certainly part of it -- a lot of the stuff that might have gone into blog posts goes into FB statuses now. On the other hand, surely there's still room for the occasional long form article about my life and whatever interests me? Still contemplating this.
So let me just talk briefly about the job thing. I'm actually pretty pleased to be in regular employment again. I've spent four of the last five years as a freelancer, and while that's been very interesting in all sorts of ways, it's also been kind of a pain in the ass. Number one, first and foremost, it had me away from my family a lot. Number two, no benefits -- and when you have four kids, health insurance is a think that you think about a lot. Number three, it was unpredictable; the Kyrgystan trip, for instance, had me going off to spend most of April in Central Asia at about two weeks' notice. And number four, while the money was sometimes quite good, at the end of the day working half or even two-thirds time is just not going to lead to putting large sums of money in the bank. On the plus side, I did get large chunks of downtime at home to hang out with the kids, go on long bicycle rides and work in the yard... nonetheless, it wasn't really how we wanted to be living.
So this job. Like all USAID project jobs, it's for a fixed period: in this case three years, from May 2013 to April 2016. It's possible I may get another job before then. It's also possible that come the spring of 2016, I may be back to freelancing again. TBD. Meanwhile, I'm working on a lot of contract stuff (very familiar), commercial law stuff (also very familiar) and enforcement of judgments (new).
The biggest difference between this job and the last two is that I'm not the Chief of Party, the guy in charge of the project. Someone else is COP; I'm a component manager, one step down. That has taken some getting used to. Because of USAID's rather baroque compensation system, I actually get paid exactly the same. And I'm working less; there's all sorts of COP administrative stuff that I don't have to worry about. So there's that. On the other hand, I'm not the boss, and that has taken some getting used to. But four months in, it seems to be going okay.
So. I'll try to start blogging at least sort-of regularly for a while; let's see how that goes. If any of my old readers are still around, welcome back; if you have any questions about Kosovo, or anything else, ask and I'll try to answer.


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Get Physical Music Berlin, Germany
A lot has happened in the last 20 years of dance music, but one constant has been Get Physical right at the sharp end of the scene. The label has become a globally recognised symbol of quality, renowned for its always varied and vital house output.
Streaming and Download help
If you like Existe, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp


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"For his pioneering contributions to atomic and chemical physics, in particular for his development of optical pumping and laser-polarized noble gases whose uses include nuclear targets and magnetic resonance imaging."
Background:Dr. Happer received his BS degree from the University of North Carolina in 1960 and his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1964. From 1964 to 1979 he was at Columbia University where he became a full Professor and director of the Columbia Radiation Laboratory. In 1980 he joined the faculty at Princeton University. In 1991 he was appointed by President George Bush to be Director of Energy Research in the Department of Energy. While serving in this capacity, he oversaw a basic research budget of $3 billion, including much of the federal funding for high energy and nuclear physics, materials science, magnetic confinement fusion, environmental science, the human genome project, and other areas. In 1993 he returned to Princeton University and was named Eugene Higgens Professor of Physics and Chairman of the University Research Board in 1995.
Dr. Happer has always had an interest in applied physics as well as basic physics, serving as a scientific consultant to numerous firms and government agencies. From 1987 to 1990 he served as Chair of the Steering Committee of JASON, a group of mostly academic scientists and engineers who advise agencies of the Federal Government on matters of defense, intelligence, energy policy and other technical problems. He is a trustee of the MITRE Corporation, and a founder and co-owner of the Magnetic Imaging Technologies Incorporated (MITI) which specializes in the use of laser polarized noble gases for magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance microscopy. He is a specialist in modern optics, optical and radiofrequency spectroscopy of atoms and molecules, and spin-polarized atoms and nuclei.
He has published over 100 scientific papers, is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. He held an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship and spent six months at the Max-Planck-Institute for Laser Research with the aid of an Alexander von Humboldt Award.
Alexander Pines (Chair), Louis W Anderson, Ahmed H Zewail (95 Recipient), John B Delos (Vice Chair), Robert W Field


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With EEA-Lex you can find information about proposed EU legal acts with possible EEA relevance, adopted EU acts under consideration for incorporation into the EEA Agreement, and acts that have already been incorporated into the Agreement.
Searching in English gives the widest results. You can refine your research results by using the categories in the right-hand column.
Council Directive 83/477/EEC of 19 September 1983 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work (second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 8 of Directive 80/1107/EEC)
Richtlinie 83/477/EWG des Rates vom 19. September 1983 über den Schutz der Arbeitnehmer gegen Gefährdung durch Asbest am Arbeitsplatz (Zweite Einzelrichtlinie im Sinne des Artikels 8 der Richtlinie 80/1107/EWG)
Disclaimer: EEA-Lex is provided for information purposes only. The information is not guaranteed or promised to be current or complete and is not intended to replace any applicable legal sources.


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• snirtle •
Pronunciation: snêr-dl • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun, Verb
Meaning: A soft, suppressed laugh, a soft snortle (itself a reduced snort) or shortened snigger.
Notes: I am continually amazed at the subtle gradations of meaning offered by the English language to those who appreciate semantic subtlety. A snort is greater than a snortle, which is greater than a snirtle. A snirtle is not a snicker or a snigger, both of which are suppressed laughter and last a bit longer than a snirtle. A snirtle is a single, much shorter sound. Feel free to use this word as a verb or a noun.
In Play: Snirtles are very, very subtle snorts, usually a suppressed laugh: "Geraldine could not help but snirtle when she first heard her roommate's date lisp." You might think of a snirtle as a short, repressed snigger: "The girls just snirtled, then went back to the kitchen for a good laugh when the guys noticed that their pizza had chocolate chips in it."
Word History: Why so many words with similar meanings begin the same way is a mystery: snigger, snicker, snirtle, snortle, and snort all begin on SN. It could be the result of the nose being involved, since that organ is associated with this sound combination, as we hear in such words as snore, snozzola, and sniffle. It could be onomatopoeia, sound imitation, since the word underlying today's word is snort, which itself sounds a bit like one. Snort has a known associate, snore, which shares its origin with Greek pneuma "breath, wind, spirit", which turns up in English pneumatic and pneumonia.
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Welcome to National Holistic Institute Massage Schools! As one of the most established and respected massage therapy schools in the nation, we live and breathe our mission of helping people have work they love.
It's an exciting time to enter the field of massage therapy! Did you know massage therapists are in demand now more than ever before? Selecting the right massage school is an important decision. We are here to help.


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The Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating the latest scandal involving Tom Perez, who is reported to be President Obama's choice for Secretary of Labor. Committee Chairaman Darrel Issa has confronted the Department of Justice (where Perez now serves as Assistant Attorney General) with charges that Perez arranged a quid pro quo for the City of St. Paul, Minnesota to drop the Supreme Court case of Magner v. Gallagher.
In exchange for dropping its case, the U.S. agreed not to intervene in an unrelated False Claims Act case that had the potential to return over $180 million in damages to the U.S. treasury. Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and House Oversight Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Patrick McHenry join with Issa in pressing the charge of quid pro quo.
Why did Perez and others in the Justice Department want the City of St. Paul to drop its appeal in Magner v. Gallagher? Because, as explained below, it was afraid the Supreme Court would invalidate one of the pet methods of proving racial discrimination in housing cases.
In the Magner case, slumlords sued the city to prevent the enforcement of its housing code on the grounds that the code disproportionately decreased the amount of housing available to minorities. The City argued that the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (FHA) prohibits only intentional discrimination, not neutral practices like code enforcement that happen to impact particular groups disproportionately.
The slumlord's theory is called "disparate impact." It originates in employment discrimination cases. There, plaintiffs are allowed to prove a prima facie case of discrimination by showing that a neutral practice, such as a test or running criminal background checks on applicants, excludes African-Americans (for example) at a significantly higher rate than it excludes others.
The employer must then justify the use of the practice. Plaintiffs seek to impose, and from liberal judges sometimes obtain, a very high burden on the employer to prove the "business necessity" of the disputed practice.
Given a high enough burden of proof, the ban on employment discrimination becomes a vehicle for virtually eliminating merit selection and, in effect, imposing quotas on employers. For if reasonable selection devices that disfavor minorities cannot clear an unreasonably high bar, employers will abandon them one by one until merit can only be taken into account to the extent it produces no differences in racial outcomes.
Disparte impact theory is firmly established, by virtue of Supreme Court jurisprudence, in employment cases (though most judges still resist the high burden of proof plaintiffs seek in evaluating the job relatedness of a challenged practice). In housing cases, such as Magner, the doctrine has enjoyed considerable success in lower courts, but the Supreme Court hasn't decided its applicability under the FHA.
Magner was the case in which the Supreme Court was expected to do so. And many observers thought the Court was poised to hold that the FHA does not permit claims based on disparate impact.
Perez probably thought so too, or maybe he just didn't want to take the risk. In any event, documents reviewed by the Committee on Oversight and Reform indicate that Perez, in effect, bought St. Paul's agreement to drop its appeal of Magner in exchange for DOJ's agreement, over the objections of career attorneys, not to join a fraud lawsuit against the City.
Score one for the slumlords and one for the "civil rights" bar.
The fraud suit that DOJ stayed out of is unrelated to Magner, although it too involves claims of race discrimination. In that case, a private whistleblower charged that St. Paul falsely certified that it was using federal funds to create jobs for low income workers of all races, when in fact (surprise, surprise) it was only focused on employing minorities.
Career DOJ attorneys characterized the City's behavior as a "particularly egregious example" of false certifications. The Department of Housing and Urban Development concurred in the recommendation to sue, as did the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota.
But Perez caused DOJ not to intervene as part of the deal to prevent the Supreme Court from deciding Magner. The fraud case against St. Paul was then dismissed on grounds that would not have applied had the U.S. been a party.
Score one for discrimination against low-income whites and one against the U.S. Treasury.
For Perez, these consequences (though probably not displeasing) were beside the point. Through his horse trading, he had protected a dubious legal theory that probably could not have withstood the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
The deal Perez brokered raises significant legal and ethical questions, as well as serious questions about his fitness to serve in Obama's cabinet. We expect to have more to say about the matter.
A letter from Reps. Smith, Issa, and McHenry and Sen. Grassley to Eric Holder about the quid pro quo can be found here.


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A's prevail in another close game
Manager Bob Geren couldn't pick a particular hit that carried the Oakland Athletics in their latest nailbiter. There were several of them — and the A's needed every one.
This team is accustomed to close games given that it has played four one-run contests in a row now.
"It's just the games we play," designated hitter Jack Cust said.
Gio Gonzalez struck out four in seven innings to win his third straight decision, and Oakland scored all of its runs with two outs in a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
Cust and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit back-to-back RBI singles in the first to stake Gonzalez (6-3) to an early 2-0 lead. Ryan Sweeney hit an RBI double in the second and Mark Ellis and Cliff Pennington then hit consecutive run-scoring singles in the third to chase Twins starter Nick Blackburn (6-3).
"Those are big two-out runs to keep the rally going,'' catcher Kurt Suzuki said. "As a catcher, you hate when you give up two-out runs.''
Delmon Young hit a two-run homer off Tyson Ross in the eighth for the Twins.
The A's avoided being swept by Minnesota in Oakland for the first time since July 18-20, 1997, bouncing back from one-run losses in the first two games of the series in a fittingly close finale.
"A lot of singles but we're getting hits, getting guys on base and giving ourselves opportunities to score,'' Ellis said. "We felt we could have won all three of these games.''
The Twins got one run back in the second on an error and Matt Tolbert added a third-inning sacrifice fly.
It didn't help having their hottest hitter out.
Justin Morneau had the flu and didn't start for the Twins a day after the A's intentionally walked him as a pinch-hitter to start Minnesota's ninth-inning rally in a 4-3 win. On Sunday, Morneau struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.
Gonzalez allowed two runs on six hits and walked one in a 117-pitch performance. He threw the most pitches by an A's starter since Joe Blanton's 119 against the White Sox on July 4, 2008, at Chicago. Michael Wuertz earned his first save of the season in his first try, getting two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Gonzalez, coming off two straight no-decisions, won for the first time since beating the San Francisco Giants on May 22 and beat the Twins for the first time in three tries. He also finally figured out the Twins.
The lefty was tagged for a combined 18 hits and 18 runs in 5 2-3 innings of two starts last year against Minnesota.
"It's a fresh start,'' he said. "I did my homework this time.''
After the one-run losses in the first two games, including Friday night's 5-4 loss in 11 innings, Oakland dropped out of first or second place in the AL West for the first time since losing its season opener to Seattle back on April 5. Sunday's win helped get the team going again heading into a key four-game series against the rival Angels starting Monday night in the Coliseum.
Suzuki took a foul tip from Young off the neck and chin in the sixth, giving the A's a scare. He stayed in the game after being examined by an athletic trainer. Suzuki thought he might have chipped a tooth but his mouth was intact.
Blackburn was done after Ellis and Pennington hit consecutive RBI singles with two outs in the third. His 2 2-3 innings marked his shortest outing of the season, topping the 3 2-3 innings he tossed in his previous start. He gave up 10 hits for the second straight start, one off his season high.
Blackburn is winless against the A's in four career outings.
"They were spitting on my good pitches and hitting the mistakes,'' he said. "They even hit some good pitches. There has to be some sort of reason for what happened and whatever it is I'm just going to keep working on the same things.''
Rajai Davis was caught stealing in the first for just the fourth time in 24 attempts. Blackburn has gone 94 2-3 innings without allowing a steal dating to Davis' stolen bag last September.
After being swept in Seattle to start this road trip, the Twins rebounded to win this series for a 3-4 showing. They now head home for the next nine games.
Brendan Harris singled in the second to snap an 0-for-20 stretch, then Minnesota leadoff man Denard Span ended an 0-for-22 funk with a triple to start the third.
Notes: Ellis celebrated his 33rd birthday. ... A's CF Coco Crisp, on the disabled list for the second time this season, has begun hitting off a tee in his recovery from a strained chest muscle and will taking batting practice in the coming days. ... Oakland DH Eric Chavez (neck injury) could begin a rehab assignment in about a week. ... A's LHP Dallas Braden, who pitched a perfect game May 9, hosted his former Little League team - Hoover Tyler - for Sunday's "Little League Day.'' Some 275 Little Leaguers from Braden's hometown of Stockton attended.


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Like it or Not, BYOD is Here to Stay
Bring your own device to work (BYOD) shows no signs of going away in the corporate world, despite security concerns, a new survey shows. But heavy-handed efforts by corporations to shore up security by using mobile device management software are encountering pushback from IT professionals — the very ones tasked with securing corporate data.
Like it or not, BYOD is here to stay, according to a survey of more than 300 IT professionals sponsored by MokaFive, a security software company. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said their companies had some form of BYOD, whether sanctioned or not. But about one-third said their companies had no BYOD policy in place.
The downside of BYOD is that it brings the rampant use of insecure cloud services such as Dropbox, the survey found. Sixty-six percent of respondents said they or their companies used some service like Dropbox to store their data. These commercial cloud storage and backup providers can present security risks to corporate data, since data is in the hands of a third party.
[5 Ways to Protect Your Company From Employee Devices]
But current BYOD security initiatives provide security at the expense of privacy, the survey found. Current security approaches such as mobile dev ice management (MDM) software are too intrusive, the respondents said. These IT professionals faulted MDM because of its exclusive focus on devices rather than the data at risk. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of professionals used strong negative words to describe their feelings about the use of the software, including "I don't care for it," "Violated!" and "Not acceptable."
"BYOD is one of the most important directions in enterprise IT, with enormous potential benefits in productivity and cost savings," said Craig Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. "But, as this survey reveals, BYOD isn't just about securing or even managing mobile devices. There are major requirements in consciousness-raising, policy definition and enforcement, and end-to-end solutions that include not just devices, but the enterprise data they increasingly contain."
Reach BusinessNewsDaily senior writer Ned Smith at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @nedbsmith.We're also on Facebook & Google+.
- Worker BYOD: A Double-Edged Sword for Employers
- 10 Apps for Achieving Work-Life Balance
- 3 Technologies Employees Will Soon Demand
Copyright 2012 BusinessNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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St. Martin-St. Maarten- Although the island is often referred to by one name, it is actually divided between France (St. Martin) and the Netherlands (St. Maarten). Often referred to as the crossroads of the Caribbean.
Anguilla- the most northerly of the British Leeward Islands, retains the laid-back character of a sleepy backwater. Goats still wander the streets and reggae music blares from passing cars. Anguilla also lays claim to some of the finest beaches in the region, as well as some of the most luxurious hotels.
Antigua- Home to 365 plush beaches, a true island paradise with its warm white sugar sand beaches, crystal clear blue waters, this luscious Island is almost completely surround by coral reefs, walls, and shipwrecks.
Aruba- Known as "one happy island" its white sand beaches are considered some of the best in the world, along with their tropical dry warm climate, cooling trade winds and warm friendly locals waiting to welcome you home away from home.
Bahamas- An island hoppers paradise with more than 700 islands just 50 miles off the coast of Florida. With water so blue it seems to merge with the sky above, white and pink sand so soft it's like every step is a walk among the clouds.
Bali- A truly ideal tropical destination has beautiful beaches, an exotic interior complete with a live volcano and rice paddies plus extremely friendly people make this an unforgettable place.
Barbados- Sophisticated and casual, warm and friendly, and always distinctively charming. The Caribbean's easternmost island boasts beautiful powder white sand beaches, shady palms, and clear blue waters all surrounded by lush tropics of this friendly little British island.
Belize- Located in Central America north of Mexico and west of Guatemala with the Caribbean Sea to the east. Belize's mainland is 180 miles long and 68 miles wide, boasting the longest Barrier Reef in the Western Hemisphere, a divers dream paradise!
Bermuda- Picturesque coves ring the coast, with calm waters and pink-sand beaches, with over 180 islets, Bermuda looks like your archetypal Caribbean retreat, its Bermudaful!
British Virgin Islands with her sloping hills of green, lush mountainous terrain, extensive coral reefs and famous shipwrecks sum up the thrills and spills of these beautiful islands.
Cayman Islands- Caribbean archipelago renowned for its beautiful beaches, world-class diving and incredible food. Discover your Caymankind!
Costa Rica- One of the most bio-diverse spots on the planet, with stunning variety of landscapes, micro-climates, flora & fauna. If Mother Nature can ever be accused of showing off, it is in Costa Rica!
Croatia is an Eastern European country with a long coastline on the Adriatic Sea. Encompassing more than a thousand islands, it's also crossed by the Dinaric Alps.
Curacao is rich in multicultural heritage, with its distinct blend of Spanish, Dutch, and Caribbean architecture, is the seat of the Dutch Antilles, offers over 38 breath-taking beaches with perfect weather outside the hurricane belt!
Dominican Republic- This beautiful country is so geographically diverse, showcasing everything from tropical rainforests and alpine ranges to mangrove swamps and desert expanses. These natural gifts offer superb adventure travel and eco-tourism options.
Fiji is the magical isles with the friendliest people on earth! From glistening white sand beaches and crystal clear lagoons and unique atmosphere to world class diving, The Soft Coral Capital of the World has epic surfing and untouched rain-forests to explore!
The Greek Isles are lined with golden stretches of sand with dunes, sheltered bays and coves to coastal caves with steep rocks and black sand.
Hawaiian Islands- With their balmy climate, enchanting scenery, lingering scent of tropical lei, romance is always present in each Hawaiian island .
Italy- Considered one of the world's most iconic travel destinations, Italy manages to be many things, a vision of golden countryside, a mass of seething cityscapes, a repository for ancient culture, a mecca for fashion, made for romance!
Jamaica is a luscious tropical island, nestled in the majestic blue mountains and known for its breathtaking beaches and secluded private coves, quaint villages, picturesque jungly landscape. Jamaica will amaze you.
Lake Tahoe, the clear, cobalt blue lake tucked into the snowy Sierra Nevada mountain range, welcomes athletes, romantics, adventurers and casual travelers to its easygoing and pine-scented atmosphere.
Cabo San Lucas- known simply as Cabo, where the desert meets the Sea! One of the top tourist destinations in Mexico, known for its famous Arch and breathtaking beaches, fishing, whale watching, golfing, food, nightlife and of course the world class resorts.
The Maldives is a by-word for luxury, romance and tropical bliss; a beautiful string of low-lying coral islands in the Indian Ocean, and a paradise for diving enthusiasts and sun seekers alike.
Mauritius, a sparkling crystal in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, will fascinate you. A hypnotic blend of Indian, African and European influences, Mauritius might be synonymous with luxury beach breaks, but this destination will dazzle even the most discerning traveller.
Niagara Falls-on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. Home to one of the world's most stunning Natural wonders, Niagara Falls!
Puerto Rico- With tropical rainforest, warm turquoise waters and soft yellow sand, Puerto Rico (Rich Port) is certainly abundant in natural riches. Most visitors are attracted to the island's beaches; there's one for every type of beach bum!
Riviera Maya- Spicy as salsa roja, intoxicating as a shot of tequila, volatile as the volcanoes of the central sierra, surreal as a Frida Kahlo canvas, monumental as the pyramids of Teotihuacán and warm as its inhabitants, Mexico fills the senses, tweaks the intellect and nourishes the soul.
The Seychelles are located in the Indian Ocean, are thought to have been the original Garden of Eden, the stunning beauty of these islands will leave the most discerning traveler speechless.
St. Lucia stands apart from the rest of the Caribbean islands thanks to its varied landscape and diverse culture and cuisine. Friendly locals and authentic culture impress the most travelled individuals for a holiday with lasting memories.
St. Martin-St. Maarten- Although the island is often referred to by one name, it is actually divided between France (St. Martin) and the Netherlands (St. Maarten). Often referred to as the crossroads of the Caribbean.
Tahiti and her Islands is the most romantic place on Earth! With its turquoise blue-lagoons and palm-fringed beaches. The small peaceful villages, known for their over-water bungalows are this is a honeymooners dream paradise, rated #1 most romantic place in the world!
Thailand is simpy amazing! From the bustling streets of Bangkok to island beaches lined in limestone cliffs; golden temples to lush, green forests; ancient ruins to exotic nightlife.
Turks and Caicos- With a warm dry climate, friendly people and natural beauty, the islands boast an unrivaled reef system and 193 square miles of pristine white sand beaches. A ideal location for romance, relaxation, diving, snorkeling.
Explore all the sites and wonders of sprawling Yellowstone National Park, continue on to Yosemite where your tour takes in all the stony peaks, beautiful open meadows, and piney forests that make up this national treasure. The Grand Canyon will leave you speechless!
United States Virgin Islands- Each of the three major islands, St. Croix, St.John and St. Thomas has a unique character all its own. The U.S. Virgin Islands is a paradise with so much more to offer than the traditional beach vacation. Experience a cosmopolitan culture with a tropical twist.
Vancouver Island- Beautiful and romantic island, located in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Canada. It has one of the worlds most diverse ecosystems; with rainforests, marshes, meadows, beaches, mountains, oceans, rivers and lakes attracting abundent of wildlife.
Wine Country- Sonoma County is a traveler's paradise in California, the perfect Honeymoon spot for Wine Lovers & Foodies! Experience farm-to-table dining, with breathtaking vineyards & ancient redwood forests, more than 50 miles of stunning Pacific Coast, Redwoods, mountains, and quiet rivers.


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Apple drops 'phone' from its mobile OS for new name: iOS 4
iOS 4
Calling iOS 4 "the most advanced mobile operating system in the world," Apple co-founder Steve Jobs announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote that Apple was renaming the software. He also reintroduced some of the features unveiled earlier this year, including multitasking.
In a change from the past, it will be a free update for eligible iPod touch users (iOS 4 is not available for the first-generation device) when the operating system arrives on June 21 — three days before the launch of iPhone 4.
After asking attendees to turn off their laptops and portable Wi-Fi hotspots in order to get a working connection, Jobs demonstrated the ability of the iOS to run Pandora in the background to stream Internet radio.
Jobs also showed off the unified inbox in the phone's Mail application, as well as threaded messages.
The chief executive also put applications into automatically created folders, as had been revealed in the initial unveiling of the new operating system. Folders can be renamed, and they can also be placed in the dock.
iOS 4 also adds support for Microsoft Bing for search, although Google will remain the default option. Jobs touted that Bing uses HTML5 for its mobile search results.
This month, Apple expects to sell its 100 millionth iOS-based device. Jobs said that shows that there is a large market for developers to make a profit.
The golden master candidate of iOS 4 is available for developers beginning immediately.
Also a part of iOS 4 is iAds, Apple's mobile advertising network. Developers are paid through iTunes Connect, just like with applications, and can add the ads in an afternoon, Jobs said.
"iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favorite apps," Jobs said. "iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch usersâa highly desirable demographic for advertisersâand provide developers a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low cost applications."
Apple has been selling 8 weeks of ads and has major clients including Nissan, Citibank, Sears, AT&T, GE, Best Buy, Target, Disney and more. The demonstration also included a Nissan advertisement for an electric car.
"iAd will allow Citi to reach millions of people on their iPhone and iPod touch," said Lisa Caputo, executive vice president and CMO, Citigroup. "iAd gives us a remarkable level of creativity for creating ads to connect with our current and future customers in a more interactive style than ever before."
The iAd network will be turned on July 1, and advertisers have already committed $60 million for the second half of 2010, which give make Apple 48 percent of the mobile advertising market. It will require users to upgrade to iOS 4.
"iAd is going to revolutionize mobile advertising," said Rob Master, North American media director, Unilever. "With iAd, weâve been able to create some of our most powerful and compelling ads ever. iAd is the perfect mobile format to reach and engage with our customers."


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To report maintenance issues associated with graffiti, medians, landscape, streets, lights, parks, trees, and weed abatement, contact Public Works at (949) 362-4337. Visit the Public Works webpage for more information.
Show All Answers
The City Council meets for their regular meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Laguna Niguel City Hall Council Chambers, 30111 Crown Valley Parkway. Special meetings are scheduled on an as-needed basis.
If you are unable to attend, City Council meetings are broadcast live the evening of the meeting on Cox Cable Channel 853 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. The meetings are rebroadcast at 12 noon the day following the meeting and are also available on the City's YouTube Channel. www.Youtube.com/cityoflagunaniguel.
The City of Laguna Niguel offers a number of ways for the public to keep up-to-date with City projects and activities. You can sign up for Notify Me and select from any one of our categories to receive timely emails or text messages. We're also on various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Nextdoor.
Elections for Council Members are held on even-numbered years on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. The next City election will be held on November 6, 2018. If you are interested in becoming a candidate, you must first be a registered voter and reside in the City of Laguna Niguel at the time nomination forms are issued to you. There is no filing fee.
The question of when a building permit is required can sometimes be confusing. This is because the codes approach the question from a different perspective. The codes list those items that are not required to have a permit (a much smaller list) rather than those items which are required to have a permit. Please contact Community Development, Business Division, at (949) 362-4360 and ask to speak to a permit technician who will be able to assist you.
If you need to obtain a building permit, visit theCommunity Development Department Building Counter at City Hall, 30111 Crown Valley Pkwy. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.


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Alarm Unit
The City of Garland requires alarm system users to obtain an alarm permit from the Garland Police Department.
Online Alarm Registration Now Available
The Garland Police Department will begin using a third-party partner, along with an online website, for the management of its alarm permitting and billing. The program used on the website is called CryWolf.
ALL alarm related services including: alarm permit registrations, renewals, and payments can be accomplished online or by mail. The Garland Police Alarm Unit will continue to assist residents as needed, in person, by phone, or by email. Central Square Corporation will provide false alarms notifications, billing, and collections services. Central Square Corporation provides customer service support at 1-855-664-4346 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Individuals needing to register their alarm system or renew their permit can log into the website here at Alarm Permits - CryWolf.
The City of Garland requires alarm system users to obtain an alarm permit from the Garland Police Department.
What an Alarm System Does
An alarm system is a piece of equipment which emits, transmits or relays a signal intended to summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon, Police Department services, Fire Department services or Fire Department emergency medical services including, but not limited to, local alarms. A person commits an offense if he operates or causes to be operated by an alarm system without an alarm permit issued by the Garland Police Department. It is your responsibility to obtain a permit for your alarm system, not your alarm company.
Operating an alarm system without a valid permit can result in fines up to $500. The Alarm Unit is charged with the responsibility to:
- Failure to Obtain a Valid Permit
- Identify Abusers
- Issue Fines and Citations for Excessive Alarms
- Non-Payment of False Alarm Fees in Accordance with the City of Garland Alarm Ordinance
- Process Alarm Permits
- Track Frequent False Alarms and Any Other Problems Associated with Alarm Responses
To obtain a copy of the Alarm Ordinance contact the Alarm Unit at 972-205-1658.
Alarm Unit-Business & Residential
Phone: 972-205-1658
Police Department
Physical Address
1891 Forest Lane
Garland, TX 75042
Phone: 972-485-4840Emergency Phone: 911
Lobby Hours
Weekdays 6 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Weekends 7 a.m. - 7 p.m
Police Service Desk: 972-205-2018
Directions to Police and Courts Buildings: 972-205-3915


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'Angry' Obama announces IRS leader's ouster after targeting
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The nation's top tax collector resigned Wednesday amid controversy over Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups that applied for federal tax-exempt status.
The official, acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, was aware employees were targeting conservative groups in May 2012, according to the agency.
But Miller, then the agency's deputy commissioner, didn't tell Congress about it when he testified before an oversight committee in July -- despite being questioned on the issue. He was named acting commissioner in November.
Announcing the resignation to reporters Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the agency's misconduct was "inexcusable."
"Americans have a right to be angry about it, and I'm angry about it," Obama said.
"It should not matter what political stripe you're from. The fact of the matter is, the IRS has to operate with absolute integrity," the president said.
Obama pledged to work "hand in hand" with Congress as it investigates the matter, and vowed new safeguards will be put in place at the IRS so that "this doesn't happen again."
Despite his resignation, Miller is expected to testify Friday at a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
In an internal message to IRS employees obtained by CNN, Miller said he would be stepping down as commissioner in early June.
"This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation's tax agency," Miller wrote.
'Rogue' employees
News of Miller's resignation followed revelations that the IRS has identified two "rogue" employees in the agency's Cincinnati office as being principally responsible for the "overly aggressive" handling of requests by conservative groups for tax-exempt status, a congressional source told CNN.
Miller said the staffers have already been disciplined, according to another source familiar with Miller's discussions with congressional investigators. The second source said Miller emphasized that the problem with IRS handling of tax-exempt status for tea party groups was not limited to these two employees.
Miller met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana on Tuesday to discuss an appearance before Congress.
Asked Wednesday in a Senate hallway about his meeting with Miller, Baucus told CNN, "I did not learn as much from the meeting as I would have liked."
"I told him that it was in his best interest to be totally cooperative -- that it's often the cover-up that causes more problems than the original malfeasance," the senator said. "And just to be totally straight with me and everybody, and he said he would."
Meanwhile, Republican congressional leaders on Wednesday accused Obama's administration of potentially criminal behavior in the handling of requests for tax-exempt status from conservative groups.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell suggested criminal behavior had occurred, saying that the "very serious" allegations involve "an effort to bring the power of the federal government to bear on those the administration disagreed with in the middle of a heated national election."
"It actually could be, could be criminal and we are determined to get the answers," McConnell said.
House Speaker John Boehner was more definitive.
"My question is, who's going to jail over this scandal?" he asked.
Boehner told reporters that "clearly someone violated the law" in what an IRS inspector general's report described as delayed processing of applications by groups associated with the political right wing.
Multiple investigations
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who ordered a criminal investigation into the situation, said Wednesday at a congressional hearing that investigators will look at the conduct of IRS offices nationwide.
"The facts will take us where ever they take us," he said.
Holder said the investigation will also examine whether IRS officials lied to Congress about the singling out of conservative groups.
While the allegations originated in the Cincinnati office, the Justice Department inquiry is based out of Washington, Holder said.
The comments came as all 45 Senate Republicans sent the White House a letter that called for the administration to "comply with all requests related to congressional inquiries without any delay" involving the controversy.
The letter called the scandal "yet another completely inexcusable attempt to chill the speech of political opponents and those who would question their government, consistent with a broader pattern of intimidation by arms of your administration to silence political dissent."
The clearly coordinated attacks were part of a GOP effort to increase pressure on the Obama administration over the controversy, one of three potential scandals that has the White House on the defensive less than four months into the president's second term.
According to the report by the agency's inspector general released Tuesday, the IRS developed and followed a faulty policy to determine whether the applicants were engaged in political activities, which would disqualify the groups from receiving tax-exempt status.
The controversial move began in early 2010 and continued for more than 18 months, the report said, declaring that "the IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based upon their names or policy positions instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention."
IRS officials, according to the report, did not consult anyone beyond the agency about the development of the additional screening criteria. They believed that the criteria they came up with were a screening shortcut meant to help with the influx of applications, the report said.
The controversial actions began after the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case that greatly expanded the ability of corporations, unions and other organizations to participate in election spending, though not through direct contributions to candidates or parties.
After the ruling, the number of politically oriented groups seeking tax exempt status as social welfare organizations under section 501 (c) (4) of the federal tax code increased greatly at a time when the federal government, including the IRS, was dealing with austerity measures that reduced or stagnated personnel and resources.
The IRS' top watchdog found that the criteria used to flag potential political applications resulted in substantial delays and the request of unnecessary information from the groups.
'Be On the Look Out'
Among the criteria used by IRS officials to flag applications was a "Be On the Look Out" list, which was discontinued in 2012, according to the report.
The criteria included:
-- Whether "Tea Party," "Patriots" or "9/12 Project" was referenced in the case file.
-- Whether the issues outlined in the application included government spending, government debt or taxes.
-- Whether there was advocating or lobbying to "make America a better place to live."
-- Whether a statement in the case file criticized how the country is being run.
-- Whether it advocated education about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The investigation by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration was initiated after congressional complaints began to surface in the media in 2012 that the IRS was targeting conservative groups and holding up applications.
"Whether the inappropriate criterion was shorthand for all potential political cases or not, developing and using criteria that focuses on organization names and policy positions instead of the activities permitted under the Treasury regulations does not promote public confidence that tax-exempt laws are being adhered to impartially," the report said.
The IRS welcomed the report, saying that it agreed that aspects of its original approach in handling the influx of tax-exempt applications was inappropriate.
"The IRS is required by law to determine if organizations are engaging in a legally permissible level of political activity. Centralizing these cases was necessary to achieve consistent treatment," it said in a statement.
Inefficient management
In a written response included in the report, the IRS commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division said there was no criminal behavior behind the actions of the agents, but rather inefficient management.
"We believe the front-line career employees that made the decisions acted out of a desire for efficiency and not out of any political and partisan viewpoint," the commissioner wrote.
The report's findings indicate that of the 298 cases reviewed by the IRS inspector general as potential political cases not eligible for tax exempt status: 72 contained the name "tea party," 11 contained "9/12" and 13 contained the word "patriots," according to the report. There were 202 cases that did not contain any such reference.
Of those applications still open for review, 160 cases were open from 206 days to more than three years -- through two election cycles.
Among the recommendations made by the Treasury inspector general: The IRS must better document reasons why applications are chosen for review, develop a process to track requests for assistance, develop and provide training to employees before each election cycle and immediately resolve outstanding cases.
The report also called on Treasury to develop guidelines to explain social welfare activity -- the primary factor in obtaining tax-exempt status.
CNN's Dana Bash, Greg Botelho, Tom Cohen, Kevin Liptak, Kevin Bohn, Jake Tapper and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.


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LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — The Hope Creek nuclear plant in southern New Jersey is offline after high moisture was found in the steam that spins the plant's turbine.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says all safety systems responded as designed on Sunday. The NRC says no radiation was released and no one was injured.
PSEG Nuclear spokesman Joe Delmar tells the South Jersey Times (http://bit.ly/1jb4RrB ) high moisture can damage the turbine.
Delmar says the two reactors at the neighboring Salem Generating Station in Lower Alloways Creek Township remain operational.


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Read the full articleI've seen a few discussions online recently on the topic of how long you should accept waiting for a commitment in a relationship. So I thought I'd ask what you all think.
I'll start. I think that, once you are an adult, a year is the magic timeline. As a young person in school, you may be subject to the whims of those you depend on. Once your life is your own, however, I think that anyone you are still unsure of after a year, is the wrong match. You might still enjoy him or her, but, if you are letting him or her wait for a commitment at that point, you are both fooling yourselves. Occasionally, a person can have some background trauma which slows the process or some personal breakthrough which changes it. Mostly, if, after a year, you can't convince your partner to respect your career, have threesomes, develop an interest in crafting, start enjoying travel, stop kowtowing to relatives, or whatever you are waiting on, chances are that person is not the one.
That is my thought on it anyway. When I was living up at Wesleyan, my housemate Mary Gelezunas, who was deeply not overly girlie, used to joke: "Ring by spring or your money back." (Mary and I each got a BA and not an MRS.) This question just made me think of that.
What do you think? How long would you wait for someone you love to commit to you? How long would you let someone fun wait on you, if you were not going to commit?


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Almost three years ago we posted "10 Blogs Entrepreneurs Need to Be Reading" and to this day it has remained the most popular post on the Grasshopper blog. While it's an excellent list, we feel it's time for an update. We bring you the 2012 version, 10 Must Read Blogs for Entrepreneurs.
1. For Entrepreneurs
Link: http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/
About: Run by serial entrepreneur turned VC David Skok, For Entrepreneurs is exactly what the name implies; a place where entrepreneurs can get solid advice from someone who knows what they are talking about.
Awesome Factor: Looking for an in-depth post that will make you really think? Well, you've come to the right place then. Find solid advice on customer acquisition, pricing, marketing and more. Posts are pretty comprehensive so it's easy to see why they are only added every couple weeks.
2. Forbes Entrepreneurs
Link: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/
About: Just about everyone is familiar with Forbes Magazine. It's been around for almost 100 years and is famous for lists like Forbes 100, Top 30 Under 30, America's Top Colleges and the list goes on and on.
While the blog is not quite as old as the mag (by about 80 years), it's done a great job of staying relevant, up to date and staying true to it's audience.
Awesome Factor: The entrepreneur section of Forbes covers everything from hiring best practices to tax reform to PR and everything in between. Posts are written by people you've heard of and people you've never heard of. Plus, it updates ALL the time! I know sifting through tons of articles can be daunting but if you subscribe to it through a RSS reader, it's a bit easier to handle.
3. Startup Lessons Learned
Link: http://www.startuplessonslearned.com
About: Run by Eric Ries, the creator of Lean Startup methodology, Startup Lessons Learned offers some invaluable startup advice from a true entrepreneur.
Awesome Factor: Posts are not updated as frequently as they are on some of these other blogs (to be expected when the author is on a book tour, doing speaking engagements, etc) but when they are, they are must-reads. Case studies, life lessons and practical advice is what you'll find on here. The nice part; almost all posts provide you with real life examples.
4. Jason Shen: The Art of Ass-Kicking
Link: http://www.jasonshen.com/
About: Jason Shen is the founder of Ridejoy, a Y-Combinator backed startup and a national champion gymnast. The Art of Ass-Kicking is just that – a blog that talks about how you can conquer your fears and start a business.
Awesome Factor: Jason's writing style is fun, personable and more importantly, useful. He uses a ton of visual examples and gives practical advice. One of his latest posts, How to Be Relentlessly Resourceful, offers some great insight on what it really takes to achieve something…actually doing it.
5. Entrepreneur.com
Link: http://www.entrepreneur.com
About: It's Entrepreneur Magazine, what more do you need to know?!
Awesome Factor: While it might seem like an obvious choice, Entrepreneur.com does actually earn its spot on this list. They cover all aspects of entrepreneurship, they stay timely, they offer both fact-based and opinion-based posts and they show real life examples of people who have started businesses on their own.
6. Small Biz Trends
Link: http://smallbiztrends.com/
About: In 2009, here's what we had to say about Small Business Trends:
"Written by a panel of small business owners, the site offers tips and advice on everything business related. Need a recommendation on finance software? They probably have it. Want to know how small businesses can use social media and search? They have that too."
Turns out, all of that still applies and that's why they made our list almost three years later.
Awesome Factor: Interested in the latest news? Want business tips, weekly podcasts and in-depth guides? Well you are in luck! Run by entrepreneur Anita Campbell, the site is written by professors, small business owners and authors. Great advice from people who are actually doing it.
7. Mixergy
Link: http://mixergy.com/
About: Run by one of our favorite people, Andrew Warner, Mixergy has made startup advice fun – Warner interviews smart people with smart advice and posts the videos to his blog.
Awesome Factor: A variety of people, having real conversations and offering a variety of advice that can actually help you. Sounds pretty great to me! [I should note we are a Mixergy sponsor but only because we believe the site and the people involved are amazing]
8. On Startups
Link: http://onstartups.com/
About: Run by Dharmesh Shah, founder of Hubspot, OnStartups gives you a nice introspective into the entrepreneurial community through the eyes of one of our own.
Awesome Factor: If you've ever read OnStartups or seen Shah speak, you know he is open and honest and says what he thinks. The same goes for the other authors who guest post on the blog. Check out the list of Best and Worst Startup Stuff in 2011.
9. Steve Blank
Link: http://steveblank.com/
About: A legend in the tech industry, professor and founder of multiple companies, Steve Blank provides startup advice, personal opinions and more on his blog.
Awesome Factor: He's a REALLY smart guy! Seriously. Reading a post from someone who has such a vast understanding of what is happening in the world is refreshing. Not all posts are startup related but more often than not, that's what you'll find.
10. This Week in Startups
Link: http://thisweekin.com/thisweekin-startups/
About: Run by Mahalo CEO, and oft-newsmaker Jason Calcanis, This Week in Startups is actually a web series versus a blog but we thought that was close enough and it deserved to make the list.
Awesome Factor: CEOs, VPs, investors, authors and more join Calcanis to talk startups on this twice-weekly series. It's entertaining and more importantly, offers some killer advice.
What are some of your favorite blogs?