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AVB – Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker
AWWA – American Water Works Association
DCVA – Double Check Valve Assembly
PVB – Pressure Vacuum Breaker
RPP – Reduced Pressure Principle Device
VDH – Virginia Department of Health
Show All Answers
The purpose of the Backflow prevention program is to protect the health and well-being of the people of the City of Petersburg by securing its water supply from harmful substances and contaminants. It is also required by the Virginia Department of Health's (VDH) Waterworks Regulations. As the water system operator for the City of Petersburg, the City is required to have this program as a condition for the issuance of its water system operator's license.
A cross-connection is any temporary or permanent connection between a public water system or consumer's potable (i.e., drinking) water system and any source or system containing nonpotable water or other substances. The piping between the City's water system or consumer's potable water system and an auxiliary water system (such as those associated with wells, cooling systems, or irrigation systems) is an example of a potential cross-connection. See Figure 1 for an illustration of a cross-connection.
Figure 1 – An example of a potentially harmful cross-connection (Image Credit: American Water Works Association)
Backflow is the unfavorable reversal of flow of nonpotable water or other substances into the piping of a public water system or consumer's potable water system, through a cross-connection from one to the other. The two types of backflow are backpressure and backsiphonage.
Backpressure is backflow caused by a downstream pressure that is greater than the upstream or supply pressure in a public water system or consumer's potable water system. Backpressure can result from an increase in downstream pressure, a reduction in the potable water supply pressure, or a combination of both. Increases in downstream pressure can be created by pumps, temperature increases in boilers, etc. Reductions in potable water supply pressure occur whenever the amount of water being used exceeds the amount of water being supplied, such as during water line flushing, fire fighting, or breaks in water mains. Figure 2 shows how a backpressure scenario can occur.
Figure 2 – A superior pressure in a nonpotable system (the chemical storage tank) pushes harmful pollutants into the potable water supply when the valve is left open with the compressor on (Image Credit: AWWA)
Backsiphonage is backflow caused by a negative pressure in a public water system or consumer's potable water system. Negative pressure is also known as a vacuum or partial vacuum: in similar fashion to drinking water through a straw, backsiphonage can draw harmful contaminants and pollutants in one water system to flow out to another's, to great negative result. Backsiphonage can occur when there is a stoppage of water supply due to nearby firefighting, a break in a water main, routine maintenance flushing, or any other situation that causes a significant loss in water system pressure. Figure 3 shows how a backsiphonage scenario can occur.
Figure 3 – As firefighters combat the fire across the street, this depletes the water supply below. This reduces the pressure in the supply line below atmospheric pressure, creating a siphon that can draw pollutants and contaminants from the local water system to the greater water supply (Image Credit: AWWA)
Backflow into a public water system can unleash pollutants or contaminants into the system's water, rendering the water unpleasant and potentially unhealthy for the City's residents. The City has a responsibility to provide water that is safe to drink in all foreseeable circumstances. For these reasons, the City must take reasonable precautions to protect its public water system against backflow.
Only residential homes that have irrigation, sprinkler systems, boilers, geothermal heating systems or medical equipment connected to the City's water system are required to have backflow prevention assemblies on those systems. Residential homes that do not have these systems on their property are not required to have backflow prevention assemblies installed.
Irrigation systems include but are not limited to agricultural, residential, and commercial applications. The VDH classifies lawn sprinkler systems and irrigation systems as a high hazard; sprinklers, bubbler outlets, emitters, and other equipment are exposed to substances such as fertilizers, fecal material from pets or other animals, pesticides, or other chemical and biological contaminants and pollutants. Sprinklers may remain submerged underwater after use or storms. Should the water system pressure suddenly decrease, such as in the case of a water main break, line flushing, or during a major fire involving multiple fire hydrants, these harmful substances can be back-siphoned into the water distribution system. They may be subject to various onsite conditions such as additional water supplies, chemical injection, booster pumps, and elevation changes. All of these conditions must be considered when determining backflow protection. Some hazards relating to irrigation systems are:
Fertilizers: Ammonia salts, ammonia gas, phosphates, potassium salts.
Herbicides: 2,4-D, dinitrophenol, 2,4,5-T, T-pentachlorophenol, sodium chlorate, borax, sodium arsenate, methyl bromide
Pesticides: TDE, BHC, lindane, TEPP, parathion, malathion, nicotine, MH and others
Fecal matter: Animal (domestic and non-domestic)
For those irrigation systems connected to the City's potable water system, the appropriate protection is a Reduced Pressure Principle (RPP) backflow prevention assembly, as it protects against both high and low hazards, as well as against both backpressure and backsiphonage. While Double Check Valve Assemblies (DCVA) are common devices, they do not protect against high health hazards and are therefore not suitable for use in irrigation systems. A Pressure Vacuum Breaker (PVB) may be used for service protection if the Public Utilities Division potable water service is the sole source of supply to the premises or property, if it is used strictly for irrigation, and there is no means or potential for backpressure, as PVBs protect against backsiphonage but not against backpressure. Approved backflow prevention devices and assemblies are those which meet AWWA standards and are approved by ASSE and the University of Southern California Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research.
Generally, the backflow prevention assembly is located as close as possible to the water service connection, though it must be on private property. For irrigation systems, it is usually installed outdoors and in a "loop" of the irrigation system that extends above the ground and sometimes near the sprinkler system timer.
Facilities that require backflow prevention assemblies include, but are not limited to: amusement parks, auxiliary water systems, almost any kind of heavy industry, car wash facilities, cold storage plants, film laboratories, fire systems, hospitals and other medical facilities, building with irrigation (sprinkler) systems, laundromats and dye works, motion picture studios, schools, large multistory buildings, sewage and storm drain facilities, water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, waterfront facilities, and water-using recreational facilities such as pools or water parks. Any building where there is a risk of cross-connection to pollutants or contaminants needs a backflow prevention assembly.
Yes, backflow prevention assemblies should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions, the Uniform Statewide Building Code and any additional instructions offered by the Public Utility Division. RPP devices are installed in a horizontal position with the relief port down. They should not be installed in a pit or in any location that could experience flooding, as their functionality is impacted by submersion in fluids. To allow for easy access and maintenance, RPP devices should be installed at least 12 inches above the floor with 24-inch clearance on all sides, and should be in a location safe from freezing temperatures and vandalism. The leaking action of the relief valve should also be considered (installation above a floor drain is ideal).
Unlike RPPs, DCVAs can be installed in a pit and can be submerged but must still be protected against freezing and vandalism. Like the RPP, it should be installed horizontally and in an area that is easily accessible and with plenty of clearance for the maintenance professional to inspect and test the device.
A PVB should be installed in an easily accessible area that is at least twelve inches above the highest downstream outlet (this is necessary thanks to the PVB's vulnerability to backpressure), and like the other devices must be protected from freezing and vandalism. The air-inlet port must never be blocked or sealed as this defeats the usefulness of the device.
Finally, Atmospheric Vacuum Breakers (AVBs) must be installed 6 inches above the highest point of downstream outlet, the highest point of downstream usage, the highest downstream piping, and the highest flood elevation. AVBs must be installed downstream of all valves and pumps (aspirators can be used downstream of AVBs). Like all other devices, the AVB must be kept safe from freezing temperatures and vandals, and like the PVB the assembly's air inlet port should never be blocked or sealed. Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 display the optimal placement of the various backflow prevention assemblies.
Figure 4 – RPP placement guide (all images from AWWA) Figure 5 – DCVA placement guide
Figure 6 – AVB placement guide Figure 7 – PVB Placement guide
A Plumbing permit is not required to install a backflow device, unless its installation requires disturbing city property in a manner that would require a plumbing permit. In the majority of cases it is not necessary, however.
An approved Plumbing Permit is required to remove a backflow prevention device that is currently in operation. The Director of Public Works & Utilities is authorized to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the City's water supply in the event of an unauthorized removal of a backflow prevention device.
Backflow prevention devices must be tested at least annually. Backflow assemblies are mechanical assemblies and as such they are subject to fail, which is why the VDH requires that they be tested at least once a year. Newly installed backflow assemblies and backflow assemblies that are repaired or relocated must also be tested. This requirement is echoed by the Virginia Maintenance Code, International Plumbing Code, and the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross Connection Control Manual. Only certified individuals may perform inspections and tests of backflow prevention assemblies – see here.
Though the Division of Public Utilities monitors the installation and maintenance of these assemblies as required by the VDH, the City of Petersburg does not have any influence or control over the contractor's pricing, and it can vary from one testing contractor to another. Currently the prices range from $85 to $200. Group pricing, whether through a neighborhood or homeowner's association is an option that may lower your annual testing cost. Combining the test with other irrigation system maintenance may also net a savings for the homeowner.
The City of Petersburg Division of Public Utilities does not endorse, guarantee, or warrant any work performed by the testing contractors. All interactions between customers and contractors are private transaction between these two entities.
Per the Virginia Administrative Code 12VAC5-590-630, in order to be certified to inspect and test a backflow prevention assembly, an individual must apply here to take the examination to be a backflow prevention device worker. They must also have documentation showing that their test kit has been calibrated within the last year.
Yes, the City tracks the backflow assembly information in our data base which will generate a reminder letter to our customers reminding them when their annual test is due. You should receive a reminder letter 30 to 45 days before your test is due. If you do not receive a letter, please contact the Program Coordinator at 804-835-0928 or email@example.com.
The absence of a reminder letter does not void the requirement of the annual inspection required by the Division of Public Utilities. There is general information (including this F.A.Q.) and a copy of a blank test form on the City's website. If you have not received a letter, please contact the Program Coordinator at 804-835-0928 or firstname.lastname@example.com and provide him with the information necessary so we can send you the annual testing notifications.
The completed test form must be submitted to the City's Division of Public Utilities either via email to email@example.com or hand-delivered or mailed to:
City of Petersburg Division of Public UtilitesC/O Hall Wingfield1340 E Washington StreetPetersburg, VA 23803
Please retain a copy of the test form for your records as required by the City Code of Petersburg and state law.


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Home > Research > Journals > Moebius > Campus Controversy
Campus Controversy
Editorial Notes
From the Editor
Jnan A. Blau
The Effect of the Predator on His Prey
Alicia E. Freeman
Thoughts on Every College Party
Douglas Long
Hungry for Change on the Cal Poly Campus
Rebecca Peters
To Declare or Not to Declare, That is the Question: An Exploration of the Cal Poly's Admissions Policy
Michael Antoine, Leanne Brady, Matthew Kinni, Gabrielle Koizumi, and Jordan Lambert
Four Haikus of the Technological Apocalypse
Patrick Lin
Why Call it Climax?
David Kann
The Problem with Microscopes
Beth Shirley
A 1,000 Year Old Buddha
Barbara L.R. Mori
Different — Just Like You
Christine Parker
The Perfect Shattering
Anne Regan
Interview with Carlos Cordova
Adrienne Miller
Interview with George Cotkin
Amy Hewes
Interview with Leigh Fondakowski
Virginia Anderson
Interview with Kazuo "Kaz" Ikeda
Ken Kenyon
Interview with Deborah Linden
Adrienne Miller
Interview with Ron Merritt
Anne Regan
Interview with Rob Rutherford
Sadie Johann
Interview with Gerald T. Shea
Adrienne Miller
Interview with Sandi Sigurdson
David Hennessee
The Gamut
Photo Essay
Luke Arehart
Photo Essay
Steph Monette
Painting Series
Scott Ender
A Slice of Ignorance
Anthony Pannone
Back and There
Brett Bodemer
Inherent Vice is Vintage Pynchon
Andrew Bloom

subset: commoncrawl


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Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
AP Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - A union representing hundreds of Broadway theater cleaners, porters, elevator operators and bathroom attendants reached a tentative agreement with theater producers to avert a strike, both sides said Monday.
The potential deal must still be ratified by the 250 theater workers represented by the 32BJ union, a process expected to be completed by next week. Details of the deal were not immediately revealed.
"This is a fair agreement that addresses the concerns of our members, the men and women who work hard every day to keep theaters safe, clean and running for the millions of theatergoers who come to Broadway from around the world," said Shirley Aldebol, vice president of 32BJ.
Members of the union last week authorized a strike if an acceptable new deal wasn't reached by the end of the year. The current contact ends Dec. 30. Workers are seeking pay increases and better health care benefits.
The Broadway League, which represents producers and theater owners, said the tentative agreement came after productive negotiations.
Any strike would have affected workers at 32 of Broadway's 40 theaters where the 32BJ has a contract, including all the Shubert, Nederlander and Jujamcyn-owned theaters, as well as the Circle in the Square Theatre.
The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a 19-day walkout dimmed the lights on more than two dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.
The 32BJ, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, has more than 120,000 total members, with most concentrated in the Northeast. It represents janitors, property maintenance workers, doormen, security officers, window cleaners and food service workers. The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds had backed 32BJ in its strike authorization.
Union: http://www.seiu32bj.org
Broadway League: http://www.broadwayleague.com
Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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This article is more than 1 year old
Intel touts low-power, high-quality Sandy Bridge video
Enhance your skin tone
IDF Intel's Sandy Bridge microarchitecture includes circuitry dedicated to making you look your best.
"Another new feature we're adding to Sandy Bridge processor graphics is a color-processing capability we're calling 'consumer electronics–quality color processing'," Intel's chief media architect Hong Jiang told attendees at the Intel Developer Forum on Monday in San Francisco.
As we reported last week, Sandy Bridge has a dedicated video transcoder in its graphics subsystem. Helping out that transcoder is the video pre-processor that Jiang was referring to.
Being an Intel engineer — a Senior Principal Engineer, no less — Jiang was ready with a brace of TLAs (three-letter acronyms) to describe the capabilities of the color-enhancement circuitry: STE, skin-tone enhancement; ACE, adaptive contrast enhancement; and TCC, total color control.
These "consumer electronics–quality" image enhancers work in concert with other video pre-processing elements in the Sandy Bridge graphics core — such elements include what Jiang called a "de-noise filter," plus a detail-enhancement filter and a deinterlacing element for what Jiang identified as "film-mode detection."
Jiang also emphasized that the transcoder included a "fully accelerated AVC encoder," and that all the video pre-processing capabilities — including STE, ACE, and TCC — will be available to both the encoding and decoding circuitry.
And should you worry that all this video niceness will eat up laptop battery power, Jiang claimed that the power required to play HD video in a Sandy Bridge system will be half required by Intel's current generation of integrated graphics.
And should you be tempted by the latest video gimmickry, Jiang assures you that Sandy Bridge's video subsystem will also be able to play full-resolution Blu-ray 3D video. ®


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Early Sunday morning Saanich Police were called to investigate a reported sexual assault in Gordon Head.
According to police, an unknown man carrying a knife entered a townhouse in the 3900-block of Wolf Street around 2 a.m. and sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman who was visiting friends from the University of Victoria.
RELATED: B.C. taxi driver charged for allegedly sexually assaulting cab passenger
The attacker is described as tall with short blonde hair, athletic and could have possibly been wearing glasses. The house was dark at the time of the attack.
The woman is from the Lower Mainland and did not know her attacker.
Major crimes and forensic investigators were on scene throughout the early morning hours and most of Sunday at Wolf Street.
The investigation is ongoing and police are reminding people living in the area to remain vigilant and to lock their doors at night. Investigators say some residents in the area have been known to leave doors unlocked due to multiple students living together.
RELATED: Requests for sexual assault response increasing on the West Shore
The police say they don't feel the public at large are in danger but want to encourage people to lock their doors as it is possible the suspect had prior knowledge of the home being unlocked.
The female is recovering and being supported by friends and other services.
Police are asking any witnesses who may have observed suspicious activity at around 2 a.m. on March 17 in the area surrounding the Gordon Head Townhouse complex to come forward.
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Question from Jun:
This may be similar to a question already asked about dealing with adversity, but I feel it is sufficiently different to stand on its own: How does an atheist overcome thoughts of despair, of giving up, even suicide, when things look hopeless? Christians turn to passages in Scripture or to prayer. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you very much.
Answer by SmartLX:
That's okay, I think Jake answered the last one about this so I haven't had a go in a while.
Look at it this way: what does God provide that gives you hope and a reason to go on? Whatever the answer, atheists get it from somewhere else because since they don't believe in God they don't believe God is the only source of these things. That can be hard to comprehend for people who think God IS the only source, which is why this question crops up regularly, but without a central theist belief a lot of secondary theist assumptions which you might not even realise you make suddenly go out the window.
Purpose, for example, can come from almost anywhere because people choose their own purpose. Even those who believe in God admit they don't know what God's larger plan is or how they personally figure into it, so they make their own choices about how best to serve Him. Not thinking that one has a divine purpose isn't much worse than not knowing what one's supposed divine purpose is, and allows more freedom in the choice because it can go entirely outside the realm of religion. Many social and political activists choose what cause to support in direct opposition to the mainstream religious dictates of the day, some because they don't think the deity is real and some because they think the deity actually disagrees with the religion. Whatever is most important to you in life can become your purpose if you throw yourself into it. And if it ceases to be fulfilling or worthwhile, you can spin on a dime and pursue something else.
To tackle the other major point, people looking for a reason not to commit suicide need not only a purpose but a reason to think there is good to be found in the world. The point is worth hammering that if God doesn't exist, God isn't the only source of good in the world because there IS good in the world regardless. However you define "good" it's happening out there somewhere, you just need to look for it. There's no denying that terrible things happen all the time, but even in the middle of tragedy some of the greatest deeds are found. The Reverend Fred (aka Mr) Rogers often said as his mother said to him that whenever something awful was happening one should look for the people helping.
Another thing atheists see differently is that they think this life is the only one we have. Therefore leaving it prematurely gives no chance of a better subsequent life. Happiness can only be found in this life, so the only way to achieve it is to stick it out.


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HARARE, Zimbabwe – Poor and desperate Zimbabweans hang out in Harare's crowded low-end betting halls, placing stakes as little as U.S. 20 cents on world soccer matches and international horse and dog races with fervent hopes of getting quick returns on their bit of cash.
The gambling intensified in January, when many families were cash-strapped after year-end spending and children's school fees were due. Many short of cash responded by flocking to Harare's downtown licensed betting shops in search of a windfall.
At one, unemployed 28-year-old Tinashe Marira said he spends his days gambling on soccer matches and depends on sporadic winnings to feed his family and elderly parents.
He won $140 from a $5 wager on a soccer match and rushed out to buy long-overdue groceries.
Although he doesn't win all the time, Marira declared gambling is now his full-time job and won't be looking for formal employment again anytime soon.
"This pays better than any job I could ever find," Marira told The Associated Press after his shopping spree.
Zimbabwe's already high unemployment rate, estimated at more than 80 percent, increased in the past year when hundreds of companies shut down. The country's economic crisis has deepened since long-time President Robert Mugabe, who will turn 90 in February, won re-election in July.
Factories in the once bustling industrial zones in the main cities are eerily silent. Job seekers on foot in the scorching heat are turned away. Railroad tracks once used by trains to ferry in raw materials and supplies are now overgrown with weeds.
The jobless drift into to Harare, the capital, to look for opportunities to make money and many end up selling vegetables, trinkets and mobile phone airtime on the street. Forty-six percent of Zimbabwe's 13 million people now survive by running such informal businesses, according to the World Bank.
Both young and elderly unemployed say gambling is a way of making money.
"It is a relief to many unemployed people roaming the streets," said Roger Tekwa, 46, another regular at the betting shop.
"Gambling here is done with seriousness coupled with a sad desperation," said Harry Ndlovu, bookmaker and manager at Zimbets, a downtown betting shop that provides, along with slot machines, an array of sporting events to bet on including televised horse and dog races, European soccer matches and virtual video roulette.
A subdued atmosphere engulfs the shop; there is no animated chatter. At one end elderly patrons sit at tables in pairs whispering betting tips to each other and occasionally breaking off to watch horse races on giant TV screens. At the other end, a huddle of younger men is deeply engrossed in an English league soccer match. The somber mood is suddenly broken by boisterous cheers of youths celebrating a goal.
"These people don't bet for fun, for them it's a desperate search for money to pay for household expenses," Ndlovu said.
He said many gamblers try to play it safe, placing $1 bets on several games to maximize their chances of winning. Their fear of losing is palpable and some walk away sad and dejected after a bad day, he said.
"After losing a couple of times, they don't come back for a while," Ndlovu said.
Others are rash and gamble away all their cash away and resort to begging for money to get home. One daring gambler, feeling lucky after a previous win on a virtual roulette game, wagered $3,000 meant for wages at his company and lost it all. He was later arrested and is now serving a prison term, Ndlovu said.
"The thrill of just thinking of the possibility to become what they always dreamed of makes them take reckless chances," he said.
Ndlovu told the Associated Press that he can take up to $50,000 in cash on bets in a single month and pays out about 40 percent of that in winnings to gamblers.
The young men, like Marira, say they feel confident to bet on top flight English soccer matches that are popular in Zimbabwe because they are familiar the team stars and their form.
"You nearly always get something from soccer. We know the game," Marira said.
Older betters stick to what feel they know best — horse racing, which has a long tradition in southern Africa.
Jonathan Muchenje, 44, said he has always dreamed of owning a big house and a top-of-range car for him and his family.
A security guard for a local company, Muchenje placed $15 in bets on several international and regional horse races being screened live.
So far, five of his predictions have come through, he waits for the sixth one to hit the big jackpot and win what he describes as "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to enable him to "give his family a better life."
It's his birthday and he is optimistic. But after the race is run, he is crestfallen that once again his hopes have been dashed.
"I will come back again next week and keep trying; I was so close," Muchenje said. "Who knows? Maybe next time."


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BOSTON (Reuters) – Oil prices slumped up to nearly 8 percent to the lowest in more than a year on Friday, posting the seventh consecutive weekly loss, amid intensifying fears of a supply glut even as major producers consider cutting output.
Oil supply, led by U.S. producers, is growing faster than demand and to prevent a build-up of unused fuel such as the one that emerged in 2015, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to start trimming output after a meeting on Dec. 6.
But this has done little so far to prop up prices, which have dropped more than 20 percent so far in November, in a seven-week streak of losses. Prices were on course for their biggest one-month decline since late 2014.
A trade war between the world's two biggest economies and oil consumers, the United States and China, has weighed upon the market.
"The market is pricing in an economic slowdown – they are anticipating that the Chinese trade talks are not going to go well," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, referring to expected talks next week between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.
"The market doesn't believe that OPEC is going to be able to act swiftly enough to offset the coming slowdown in demand," Flynn said.
Brent crude futures <LCOc1> settled down $3.80 a barrel, or 6.1 percent at $58.80. During the session, the benchmark dropped to $58.41, the lowest since October 2017.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) <CLc1> lost $4.21, or 7.7 percent, to trade at $50.42, also the weakest since October 2017. In post-settlement trade, the contract continued to fall.
For the week, Brent fell 11.3 percent and WTI posted a 10.8 percent decline, the largest one-week drop since January 2016.
Market fears over weak demand intensified after China reported its lowest gasoline exports in more than a year amid a glut of the fuel in Asia and globally.
Stockpiles of gasoline have surged across Asia, with inventories in Singapore, the regional refining hub, rising to a three-month high while Japanese stockpiles also climbed last week. Inventories in the United States are about 7 percent higher than a year ago.
Crude production has soared as well this year. The International Energy Agency expects non-OPEC output alone to rise by 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) this year while demand next year was expected to grow 1.3 million bpd. [IEA/M] [OPEC/M] [EIA/M]
Adjusting to lower demand, top crude exporter Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that it may reduce supply as it pushes OPEC to agree to a joint output cut of 1.4 million bpd.
However, Trump has made it clear that he does not want oil prices to rise and many analysts think Saudi Arabia is coming under U.S. pressure to resist calls from other OPEC members for lower crude output.
If OPEC decides to cut production at its meeting next month, oil prices could recover, analysts say.
"We expect that OPEC will manage the market in 2019 and assess the probability of an agreement to reduce production at around 2-in-3. In that scenario, Brent prices likely recover back into the $70s," Morgan Stanley commodities strategists Martijn Rats and Amy Sergeant wrote in a note to clients.
If OPEC does not trim production, prices could head much lower, potentially depreciating toward $50 a barrel, argues Lukman Otunuga, Research Analyst at FXTM.
By the middle of November, commodity trading advisory funds tracked by Credit Suisse prime services had dropped 1.5 percent on the month, owing to the losses in energy futures and the increased volatility.
Mark Connors, global head of portfolio and risk advisory at Credit Suisse, told Reuters this week that the action among macro and CTA funds reflects a risk-aversion trade, as net long positions have dropped from near five-year highs to roughly even exposure between longs and shorts.
Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long positions in Brent by 32,263 contracts to 182,569 in the week ended Nov. 20, according to data provided by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Friday. That's the lowest net long position since December 2015.
Volatility, a measure of investor demand for options, has spiked to its highest since late 2016, above 60 percent, as investors have rushed to buy protection against further steep price declines. <LCO10P1W=R>
The decline in oil prices pulled U.S. energy shares lower. Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> and Chevron Corp <CVX.N> fell more than 3 percent and were the leading decliners on the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI.> Oilfield service providers Schlumberger NV <SLB.N> and Halliburton Co <HAL.N> also fell nearly 3 percent.
GRAPHIC – Oil price volatility spikes: https://tmsnrt.rs/2DBYUpH
(additional reporting by Christopher Johnson and Amanda Cooper in London, and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Marguerita Choy and Susan Thomas)


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Home > Categories > Category > Waymark
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PLEASE NOTE: This category is for American Revolutionary War Veterans only. Veterans of other revolutions are not part of this category.
I have allowed one entry for a grave of British solders, but it was an exception. Please only list graves for Colonial soldiers.
Simply visit the locations. Please provide as much information as possible. Pictures would be a great addition.


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The weekly earnings of employees in their main job (rather than in all their jobs) is also of interest. The mean weekly earnings of employees in their main job was $798. Mean weekly earnings of employees in their main job were higher in the public sector than in the private sector ($919 compared with $770). For full-time employees, the mean weekly earnings in main job was $979, while for part-time employees it was $366 in their main job. Mean weekly earnings in main job were $1047 for full-time male employees and $854 for full-time female employees.
LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS In August 2005, 73% (or 6,244,400) of the 8,526,600 employees were entitled to either paid holiday leave or paid sick leave, or both, in their main job (referred to as Employees with leave entitlements). This represents an increase of one percentage point from August 2004.
Of the 2,282,200 (27%) employees without leave entitlements in August 2005:
LEAVE BENEFITS In August 2005, 76% of employees were provided with one or more types of paid leave (i.e. holiday, sick, long service or maternity/paternity leave). This represents an increase of one percentage point from August 2004. Employees in the public sector were more likely to have one or more of these leave benefits than those in the private sector (92% compared with 72%), as were full-time employees than part-time employees (88% compared with 46%).
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"Censoring violent comic books did not reduce juvenile delinquency or increase literacy," reasons the International Game Developers Association. "It decimated the production of one of the few kinds of literature that at-risk youths read for pleasure."
The IGDA, the foremost group representing video games developers, wrote that to Vice President Joe Biden in a letter dated Tuesday. A lot of constituencies are weighing in on the gun violence debate as Biden's task force examines the issue, which will mean looking at cultural influences, violent media and mental health concerns in addition to gun control proposals.
The IGDA asked Biden to carefully consider how he led the discussion, sounding the usual cautions about the rush to scapegoat popular entertainment, video games' upheld status as works of free expression protected by the Constitution, and studies disclaiming links between violent media and violent crime.
But it's interesting that the IGDA would bring up the censorship of comic books. It was legitimately devastating not just to specific titles and publishers, but to an entire genre and the industry as a whole. And it was self inflicted. In fact, the development of the Comics Code Authority is almost a template for the creation, 40 years later, of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.
Comics aficionados are well familiar with Seduction of the Innocent, the book by psychiatrist Frederic Wertham, which in 1954 incited one hell of a moral panic against horror comics and, among other things, insinuated Batman and Robin were gay lovers. The Comics Magazine Association of America formed that year, introducing along with it the Comics Code Authority. The CCA wiped out EC Comics' popular horror and crime titles, and it took 15 years before a major publisher challenged its authority.
The ESRB arose from similar circumstances in 1994. Senate hearings on video game violence echoed the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency investigating comic books 50 years earlier. Rather than fight the threat of federal regulation, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board was born. Nowhere near as petty or as draconian as the CCA-which banned undead creatures (no, really) and prohibited depicting law enforcement in ways that encouraged disrespect for authority-the ESRB is likewise criticised for a fixation on sex as more objectionable than violence. And more than just the broad ratings of E, T, M and the like, they come with content descriptors that themselves can result in damaging self-censorship. I've written about the absurdity of "drug reference" and "alcohol reference" before.
Today, Biden will meet with the president of the Entertainment Software Association, among other chiefs of major entertainment publishers or their lobbying associations. Some are sceptical that this meeting will do anything for video game publishing, if not suspicious that the industry will give in to government requests for more self-regulation, such as in when and where advertisements are run.
So the IGDA calling on Biden to lead this discussion in proactive and rational way is entirely appropriate. Yet as this was an open letter, to me, bringing up the self-censorship of comic books, and the damage that creative industry did to itself, is a useful between-the-lines message from developers to their publishers too.


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Components Redirect Manager
From Joomla! Documentation
Components Help Screens
- Components Banners Banners
- Components Banners Banners Edit
- Components Banners Categories
- Components Banners Categories Edit
- Components Banners Clients
- Components Banners Clients Edit
- Components Banners Tracks
- Components Contacts Categories
- Components Contacts Categories Edit
- Components Contacts Contacts
- Components Contacts Contacts Edit
- Components Finder Manage Content Maps
- Components Finder Manage Indexed Content
- Components Finder Manage Search Filters
- Components Finder Manage Search Filters Edit
- Components Joomla Update
- Components Messaging Inbox
- Components Messaging Read
- Components Messaging Write
- Components Newsfeeds Categories
- Components Newsfeeds Categories Edit
- Components Newsfeeds Feeds
- Components Newsfeeds Feeds Edit
- Components Redirect Manager Edit
- Components Search
- Components Weblinks Categories
- Components Weblinks Categories Edit
- Components Weblinks Links
- Components Weblinks Links Edit
The Redirect Manager is a component that is accessed from the back-end of a Joomla! website. Its main function is to provide a mechanism to give an Administrator the ability to redirect the URL of a web page which no longer exists to a working web page. You must have the Use Apache mod_rewrite option enabled in your Joomla! installation Global Configuration options in order for the redirects you create to function.
How to access[edit]
- Select Components → Redirect from the drop-down menu of the Joomla! Administrator Panel.
This component is primarily used for redirecting URLs for web pages that no longer exist on your website to web pages that are working. The URL you want to redirect from must not be a working one on your website which actually loads a web page. It can be the URL to a web page which you have disabled in the Joomla! back-end administrator interface. The Source URL you specify when you create the redirect should be the full URL as you would type it in your web browser. The component will only display the last portion of the source URL in the redirect listing. The Destination URL you specify when you create a redirect must be the full URL as well. To work the component requires the redirect plugin to be active.
Column Headers[edit]
Click on the column heading to sort the list by that column's value.
- Checkbox. Check this box to select one or more items. To select all items, check the box in the column heading. After one or more boxes are checked, click a toolbar button to take an action on the selected item or items. Many toolbar actions, such as Publish and Unpublish, can work with multiple items. Others, such as Edit, only work on one item at a time. If multiple items are checked and you press Edit, the first item will be opened for editing.
- Expired URL. The URL which is being redirected on your website. Only the web page portion of the URL is displayed in this listing.
- New URL. The destination URL for the redirect.
- Referring Page. The referring web page for the redirect.
- Created Date. The date the Redirect was created on.
- Enabled. Whether or not the item is enabled. A green circle with a white check mark in it means it is enabled. A red circle with a white dot in it means it is disabled.
- 404 Hits. The number of times this page was requested and not being forwarded. Sorting on this column helps to find old links from external websites (or even internal old links).
- ID. This is a unique identification number for this item assigned automatically by Joomla!. It is used to identify the item internally, and you cannot change this number. When creating a new item, this field displays 0 until you save the new entry, at which point a new ID is assigned to it.
List Filters[edit]
Filter by Partial Title[edit]
You can filter the list of items by typing part of the redirect's name or the ID number of the redirect.
Filter by State[edit]
In the upper right area, above the column headings, there is one drop-down list box as shown below:
Only items matching the selection will be displayed in the list.
- State: State of the item. Possible values are:
- Published: The item is published. This is the only state that will allow regular website users to view this item.
- Unpublished: The item is unpublished.
- Archived: The item has been archived.
- Trashed: The item has been sent to the Trash.
Number of Items to Display[edit]
Below the list you'll find:
- Page Controls. When the number of items is more than one page, you will see a page control bar as shown below.
- Display #: Select the number of items to show on one page.
- Start: Click to go to the first page.
- Prev: Click to go to the previous page.
- Page numbers: Click to go to the desired page.
- Next: Click to go to the next page.
- End: Click to go to the last page.
Batch Processing[edit]
Below the listing of redirects, is a section named 'Update selected links to the following new URL'. This function allows you to change the 'Destination URL' for the selected redirects.
- Destination URL. The destination URL to set for the selected redirects.
- Comment. The comment to set for the selected redirects.
- Update Links. Updates all selected redirects with the specified Destination URL and Comment.
At the top right you will see the toolbar:
The functions are:
- New. Opens the editing screen to create a new redirect.
- Edit. Opens the editing screen for the selected redirect. If more than one redirect is selected (where applicable), only the first redirect will be opened. The editing screen can also be opened by clicking on the Title or Name of the redirect.
- Enable. Makes the selected redirects available for use on your website.
- Disable. Makes the selected redirects unavailable for use on your website.
- Archive. Changes the status of the selected redirects to indicate that they are archived. Archived redirects can be moved back to the published or unpublished state by selecting "Archived" in the Select Status filter and changing the status of the redirects to Published or Unpublished as preferred.
- Trash. Changes the status of the selected redirects to indicate that they are trashed. Trashed redirects can still be recovered by selecting "Trashed" in the Select Status filter and changing the status of the redirects to Published or Unpublished as preferred. To permanently delete trashed redirects, select "Trashed" in the Select Status filter, select the redirects to be permanently deleted, then click the Empty Trash toolbar icon.
- Options. Opens the Options window where settings such as default parameters or permissions can be edited.
- Help. Opens this help screen.
Click the Options button to open the Redirect Manager Options window which lets you configure this component.
Buttons Common to All Tabs[edit]
- Save. Saves the redirect manager options and stays in the current screen.
- Save & Close. Saves the redirect manager options and closes the current screen.
- Cancel/Close. Closes the current screen and returns to the previous screen without saving any modifications you may have made.
Permissions Tab[edit]
This screen allows you to set the component permissions in Joomla. This is important to consider if you have sites with many different user categories all of whom need to have different accessibilities to the component. The screenshot below describes what you should see and the text below that describes what each permission level gives the user access to:
You work on one Group at a time by opening the slider for that group. You change the permissions in the Select New Settings drop-down list boxes. The options for each value are Inherited, Allowed, or Denied. The Calculated Setting column shows you the setting in effect. It is either Not Allowed (the default), Allowed, or Denied. Note that the Calculated Setting column is not updated until you press the Save button in the toolbar. To check that the settings are what you want, press the Save button and check the Calculated Settings column.
The default values used here are the ones set in the Global Configuration Permissions Tab
- Configure
- Open the redirect manager component option screens (the modal window these options are in)
- Access Administration Interface
- Open the redirect manager component manger screens
- Create
- Create new redirects in the component
- Delete
- Delete existing redirects in the component
- Edit
- Edit existing redirects in the component
- Edit State
- Change an redirects state (Publish, Unpublish, Archive, and Trash) in the component.
There are two very important points to understand from this screen. The first is to see how the permissions can be inherited from the parent Group. The second is to see how you can control the default permissions by Group and by Action. This provides a lot of flexibility. For example, if you wanted Shop Suppliers to be able to have the ability to create an article about their product, you could just change their Create value to "Allowed". If you wanted to not allow members of Administrator group to delete objects or change their state, you would change their permissions in these columns to Inherited (or Denied). It is also important to understand that the ability to have child groups is completely optional. It allows you to save some time when setting up new groups. However, if you like, you can set up all groups to have Public as the parent and not inherit any permissions from a parent group.
Quick Tips[edit]
- In order for your redirects to work, you must enable the option Use Apache mod_rewrite in the Global Configuration options of your Joomla! installation. Note also that just enabling the 'Use Apache mod_rewrite' option is not enough. You must take the additional step of renaming the htaccess.txt file in the web site directory where you installed Joomla! to .htaccess or to whatever file name your Apache web server requires for additional configuration directives. In the Apache configuration file this setting is named 'AccessFileName' and by default this is set to '.htaccess'
Related information[edit]
- To create/edit a redirect: Redirect Manager: Link - Create/Edit


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Homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure could be eligible for a small award of up to $2,000 as part of the settlement deal.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The nation's five largest banks have finally struck a deal with 49 states to settle charges of abusive and negligent foreclosure practices dating back to 2008.
Under a deal announced Thursday, the banks will commit $26 billion to help underwater homeowners and compensate those who lost their homes due to improper foreclosure practices.
The banks also agreed to change the way they handle and approve foreclosures.
A group of state attorneys general claimed that banks lost important paperwork, cut corners and enlisted robo-signers to attest to facts they had no knowledge of on hundreds of documents a day.
The settlement has been in the works for more than a year.
What did the mortgage lenders and loan servicers agree to do? The banks and servicers have committed at least $17 billion to reduce principal for borrowers who 1) owe far more than their homes are worth 2) are behind on payments.
The amount of principal reduction will average about $20,000 per borrower.
Another $3 billion will go toward refinancing mortgages for borrowers who are current on their payments. This will enable them to take advantage of the historic low interest rates currently available.
The banks will pay $5 billion to the states and the federal government, the only hard money involved in the deal. Out of that fund will come payments of $1,500 to $2,000 to homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure. Other funds will be paid to legal aid and homeowner advocacy organizations to help individuals facing foreclosure or experiencing servicer abuses.
Another $1 billion will be paid directly by Bank of America to the Federal Housing Administration to settle charges that its subsidiary, Countrywide Financial, defrauded the housing agency.
In addition, the banks agreed to eliminate robo-signing altogether and to use proper and legal procedures when putting homeowners through the foreclosure process. They also agreed to end servicer abuses, like harassing delinquent borrowers for payments, and to include principal reductions more often in their mortgage modifications programs. (Mortgage deal could bring billions in relief)
Is my mortgage lender taking part in this settlement? Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Ally Financial (GJM)
are taking part in the settlement.
In addition, nine other unnamed loan servicers may join the settlement later, and that would bring its value to $30 billion.
Loans owned or backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, however, are not part of the deal. (Obama proposes new home loan refinancing program)
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the two government-sponsored mortgage giants, will not allow any balance reductions for loans insured by the companies under the settlement.
I lost my home to foreclosure; how do I know if I qualify for payment? If you were foreclosed on in the calendar years 2008 through 2011, you may be be eligible for a payment of up to $2,000. People who think they may qualify should notify their bank.
The exact amount of the payments will depend on how many people participate in this part of the settlement. They will share equally in a pool of $1.5 billion. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development expects about 750,000 former homeowners to take part.
What should I do if I think I may qualify for a principal reduction or refinanced mortgage? Contact your lender/servicer and ask them to review your case.
If I take the money, what rights do I give up? Individual borrowers do not give up any right to sue.
As part of this deal, state attorneys general gave up the right to sue the mortgage servicers for foreclosure abuses arising out of the robo-signing scandal. However, they reserve the right to sue if they uncover improper acts when the loans were originated or when they were securitized.
When will the new rules and bank policies be put into place? Most of them have already become part of bank policies.
When will homeowners get paid? HUD said the settlement will be put before a court for approval within two weeks. It is unknown how long it will then take for a court to rule.
The relief for homeowners has to be completed within three years, but the state attorneys general and HUD want it to be front-loaded and completed within 12 months.
Would I have to pay taxes on the principal reductions or the pay-outs? If the principal is reduced in 2012, it will not be subject to income tax.
That's because the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. The act is scheduled to expire at the end of this year, however.
So if the act is not extended and the principal reduction occurs in 2013, borrowers may be on the hook to pay taxes on the settlement amount.
It's not clear whether you would have to pay taxes on the $1,500 to $2,000 payout. The IRS declined to comment on the question.
Which state didn't participate and what does it mean if you live in that state? Oklahoma was the only holdout of the 50 states. Instead, it announced its own settlement with the five banks Thursday.
Under its settlement, the banks agreed to pay $18.6 million in damages, part of which would compensate homeowners who were victims of unlawful and unfair mortgage practices, according to the Oklahoma attorney general's office.
Homeowners who believe they may have been wrongly foreclosed upon should visit the Oklahoma attorney general's website and fill out the paperwork for processing a claim.
Will the settlement make it harder to get a mortgage? The new rules and regulations the banks have agreed to under the settlement should have little impact on future mortgage borrowing since most of practices are already in place, said Keith Gumbinger of HSH Associates, a mortgage information provider.
The actual cost to the banks of the settlement should not discourage lending either. (Housing: The one bailout America really needs)
Only $5 billion of the $26 billion settlement will be a direct cost to the banks. The remainder will be the cost of modifying mortgages. Many of those modifications may be in the best interests of the banks to make, however, since the alternative may be foreclosure, which can cost banks more than modifications.
Were you foreclosed on? Do you think the banks owe you money? Send your story and contact information to email@example.com and you could be featured in an upcoming article on CNNMoney.
Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:


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I want to try out low temperature cooking of some meat, e.g. beef
I don't have a reliable oven and am looking for advice before starting. Or alternatives to ovens.
I heard some people use meat in vacuum sealed plastic bags that they cook in a pot of water, (easier to measure temperature?)
What are the timings for weight/temperature combinations?
What dis/advantages does low temperature cooking have compared to grilled?
Anything else I should now before trying out?


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Dan Reeves is probably best known for a long coaching career highlighted by four Super bowl appearances with the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons, and a win in the title game as a Dallas cowboy. A statement released by his family through a former Falcons media relations director, Reeves died of complications from dementia, he was 77. As reported by the AP:
Reeves family wanted people to know that his legacy will continue through his many friends, players and fans as well as the rest of the NFL community
ATLANTA (AP) — Dan Reeves, who won a Super Bowl as a player with the Dallas Cowboys but was best known for a long coaching career highlighted by four more appearances in the title game with the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons, all losses, died Saturday. He was 77.
A statement released by his family through former Falcons media relations director Aaron Salkin said Reeves died of complications from dementia. The statement said he died "peacefully and surrounded by his loving family at his home in Atlanta."
"His legacy will continue through his many friends, players and fans as well as the rest of the NFL community," the family said.
Reeves was a versatile player who played a key role in the Cowboys becoming an NFL powerhouse in the 1960s under Tom Landry, but his own coaching career — stretching over three teams and 23 seasons — is where he truly left his mark on the league.
Including a stint with the New York Giants, Reeves totaled 190 coaching victories — the ninth-most in NFL history. But he was never able to win the biggest game of all, going 0-4 in the Super Bowl, each of them blowout losses.
Reeves, Marv Levy and Bud Grant are the only coaches to lose four times in the Super Bowl.
"Dan Reeves leaves a lasting legacy in our game as a player and coach," said Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who fired Reeves from his final job in 2003. "His track record of success in Dallas, Denver, New York and Atlanta over several decades speaks for itself, marking a long and successful life and career in football."
Just 37 when he took over as coach of the Broncos in 1981, Reeves built a team around quarterback John Elway that made three Super Bowl appearances, earned six trips to the playoffs and won five AFC West titles over his 12-year tenure.
But Denver never won an NFL title under Reeves, losing 39-20 to the Giants in the 1987 Super Bowl, 42-10 to Washington in 1988 and 55-10 to the San Francisco 49ers in 1990 — still the most lopsided loss in the game's history.
After a bitter parting from the Broncos, which led to allegations that Elway colluded with offensive coordinator and Reeves successor Mike Shanahan to force a change, Reeves moved to New York to coach the Giants in 1993.
He led New York to the playoffs in his first season, but that would be his only postseason appearance with the Giants. He was fired after four seasons but quickly caught on in 1997 with the Falcons, a homecoming of sorts for the Georgia native.
In just his second season with a franchise that had experienced little success, Reeves guided a team known as the "Dirty Birds" to a 14-2 record in the regular season and their first trip to the Super Bowl.
Reeves again came up short of a championship, losing to Shanahan, Elway and the Broncos 34-19.
Reeves engineered a trade that brought Michael Vick to the Falcons and made his final playoff appearance in 2002, when Atlanta became the first road team to win a playoff game in Green Bay.
But Vick was injured during the 2003 preseason, and Reeves was fired after the team won just three of its first 13 games.
He ended his coaching career with a record of 190-165-2.
Reeves remained in Atlanta after his retirement, most notably serving as an adviser to Georgia State when it launched a football program that now plays in the Sun Belt Conference.
Daniel Edward Reeves was born in Rome, Georgia, but grew up in the Americus, in the southwestern part of the state, where he played football, basketball and baseball in high school.
Reeves played collegiately at South Carolina, where he was a three-year starter at quarterback from 1962-64 and also played baseball for the Gamecocks.
Better known as a runner than a passer, Reeves was not drafted after college. He signed a free-agent deal with the Cowboys, who initially wanted him to play safety but wound up moving him to running back.
Reeves emerged as one of the team's key players just as the Cowboys were establishing themselves as the successful franchise that would become known as America's team.
He started all 14 games at halfback in 1966, leading the Cowboys in rushing with 757 yards and eight touchdowns. Dallas made its first playoff appearance but lost to the Green Bay Packers in a 34-27 shootout for the NFL championship, missing a chance to play in the first Super Bowl.
The following season, Reeves rushed for 603 yards and five TDs, again starting every game, as the Cowboys made another run to the playoffs. Again, they were thwarted by Green Bay one win shy of the Super Bowl, losing to the Packers on a touchdown in the closing seconds of the famed "Ice Bowl" game at frigid Lambeau Field.
A knee injury in 1968 limited his effectiveness, and Reeves played only a limited role over the rest of his career. But Landry recognized his abilities, asking Reeves to serve as a player-coach while running backs such as Duane Thomas and Calvin Hill took on more prominent backfield roles.
The Cowboys made their first Super Bowl during the 1970 season, losing to the Baltimore Colts on a last-second field goal, but finally won the championship the following year with a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Reeves retired as a player after the 1972 season, becoming a full-time assistant on Landry's staff.
By PAUL NEWBERRY
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963


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Litigation Release No. 21081 / June 12, 2009
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Aura Financial Services, Inc., Ronald E. Hardy, Jr., Peter C. Dunne, Qais R. Bhavnagari, Dipin Malla, Sandeep Singh, and Raymond Rapaglia, Civil Action No. 09-21592-CV-Moreno (S.D.Fl. June 11, 2009)
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") announced today that on June 11, 2009, it filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Aura Financial Services, Inc. (Aura), an Alabama corporation headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and six of its current and former registered representatives, Ronald E. Hardy, Jr. (Hardy), Peter C. Dunne (Dunne), Qais R. Bhavnagari (Bhavnagari), Dipin Malla (Malla), Sandeep Singh (Singh), and Raymond Rapaglia (Rapaglia).
The Complaint alleges that, from approximately October 2005 through at least April 2009, the Defendants used fraudulent sales practices to induce customers to open and fund Aura brokerage accounts. The Complaint also alleges that the Defendants rampantly "churned" these accounts of at least fifteen customers by causing numerous trades to be executed which enriched Defendants through brokerage commissions and, in some cases, mark-ups, while depleting the customers' balances through trading losses and excessive transaction costs. In addition, the Complaint alleges that many of the trades effected by Defendants were unauthorized by the customers. The Complaint alleges that during 2008, Defendants' churning generated total gross commissions of over $1 million, while the accounts of the fifteen customers suffered a combined loss of over $3.5 million.
The Complaint alleges that the Defendants have violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The Complaint seeks (1) preliminary injunctions against Aura and the four individual defendants still affiliated with it as registered representatives, Hardy, Bhavnagari, Malla, and Singh; (2) permanent injunctions against future violations; (3) disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest; and (4) imposition of civil penalties.
The Commission worked closely in this matter with the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC), which simultaneously issued an Amended Order to Show Cause against Aura and three of its senior officers. The ASC Order alleges that the firm and named officers violated their supervision and compliance responsibilities under the Alabama securities laws.
The Commission additionally thanks the State of Florida Office of the Attorney General (Division of Economic Crimes) and the State of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions for their assistance in this matter.


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Of all the equipment that has changed concrete construction over the past 40 years, the concrete boom pump is number one for increasing productivity and reducing labor. While buckets and buggies are still used in some situations, they have become rare on modern concrete projects. Concrete pumps have actually expanded the applications for concrete —think how difficult filling insulating concrete forms would be without a pump; some recent high-rise concrete buildings would not have been feasible without the ability to pump the concrete hundreds of feet up to placing booms. Producers need to be involved in positioning decisions for pumps in order to maintain safety and productivity.
A concrete pump is a very large and powerful piece of equipment with its boom fully extended like a giant extraterrestrial insect. It has the ability to provide great benefits on a concrete project, but it can also be dangerous without proper set-up and safety procedures. The American Concrete Pumping Association (ACPA) has done many things to further the pumping industry, but the single most important is advancing pump safety. One big part of that is positioning the pump to assure safe operation.
In general, ACPA's position is that the concrete contractor is responsible for providing a safe set-up area for the pump. The area must be large enough for the pump with outriggers, free of building materials, level enough that the pump can be leveled to within 3 degrees, far enough away from excavations and power lines, and with stable soil on which the outriggers can bear. Pumping contractors, however, will usually make sure that's the case to protect themselves and their equipment and to do the best and safest job possible for their customers. "Every job is different," says Joe Delehay, president of Dynamic Concrete Pumping, Calgary, Alberta, and also a concrete floor contractor. "So during the prepour meeting we make sure the site is safe by doing a hazard assessment to check for wires, trees, excavations, obstacles, and especially things like overpasses."
Electrical lines are the most obvious hazard. "Like cranes," writes ACPA, "the number one cause of fatal accidents with pumps is electrocution." When the U.S. Department of Labor recently changed the rule for minimum clearance for cranes from power lines to 20 feet (no piece of the crane, load, or rigging can be within 20 feet of a wire), concrete pumps were specifically excluded, meaning pumps could continue to follow the previous 17-foot rule. But to simplify things, ACPA adopted the 20-foot rule anyway. For higher voltage situations (large transmission towers and lines), the rule is 50 feet minimum clearance. Pump operators should always refuse to operate the pump if it will violate the 20-foot rule.
The next most-important aspect of safely positioning a pump is to assure that it won't tip over. When a boom is fully extended and full of concrete there could be ½ cubic yard of concrete or more in the line. That's about one ton of concrete, enough to easily tip over a boom pump that is not properly stabilized.
Boom pumps are stabilized using outriggers, and properly deploying the outriggers is essential. The four outriggers must be fully extended and bearing on a solid surface. Never partially extend outriggers since not only is it dangerous, but the outriggers can be damaged. The foot of the outriggers alone is seldom large enough to support that load and must bear on cribbing. Operators will position the cribbing and then jack each outrigger individually to assure that the ground is strong enough to support the load. If not, dunnage will be added to increase the bearing area. The most dangerous situation for pump stability is fill or hidden voids below the surface. If you see a pile of dirt near the set-up area, that's a sign that there could have been some excavation. Once the operator feels the outriggers are stable, he will slew the boom over each outrigger as a final safety check to see if any outriggers sinks into the soil.


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FIAP Jean Monnet, Paris, 9 March 2012
The Maisons familiales rurales (MFR) organized a seminar on vocational training for rural youth in the world in the presence of French and foreign officials of the Maisons familiales rurales (MFR). During the seminar the responsibles in rural Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Comoros, France, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Central African Republic, Senegal, Chad, Vietnam shared their experiences and discussed on the conditions necessary for the implementation of training programs for rural youth.
The seminar was held at the National Pedagogical MFR located at Chaingy near Orleans from 5 to 8 March.
The objective of the seminar was to give voice to a number of major players in the rural dynamic: unions, youth and popular education movements, institutions and analysts to assist MFR to make a diagnosis on the employability of rural youth and their training possibilities.
Related Links


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I painted a couple of Carlist guns recently to give the rebels a bit of firepower. This is the first set, a 3-pounder mountain gun. As I noted in the previous post, the Carlists' artillery arm was inferior to that of the Isabelinos. The Carlists relied upon captured pieces and guns that they could eventually cast themselves. There are a couple of conflicting references for the uniform, and I chose to go with grey frock-coats and blue berets. The grey I used for the frock-coats is a new Foundry palette (for me, at any rate), "Rebel Grey 118". Out of the two greys in the Foundry ACW paint set, "Rebel Grey" is a proper "grey", whereas "Confederate Grey 117" comes out with a distinctly blue tinge. That's not a problem for FCW painting, as I intend to use "Confederate Grey" for the French Foreign Legion's overcoats. For the mule, I used Foundry "Quagmire 63" to create a grey dun. Vines in the middle background are from Murray Bridge Trees & Terrain. Not much else to say, really!
4 figures and a mule. Painted January 2012.


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No correlation between alcoholic hand rub consumption and compliance in 73 German ICU's
Keine Korrelation zwischen Verbrauch an Händedesinfektionsmittel und Compliance in 73 Intensivstationen
Suche in Medline nach
Veröffentlicht: | 2. Juni 2010 |
Background: There are two systems available to determine hand hygiene (HH) compliance: direct measurement by observing of HH opportunities (HHO) in clinical practice and measurement of alcoholic hand rub consumption (AHC) as a surrogate parameter. Hospitals participating in the German national HH campaign are measuring AHC on a mandatory basis, while observation is voluntary.
Objectives: We correlated the AHC with the HH compliance of all ICU's providing both data in 2008.
Methods: The following data are provided annually per unit: consumption of AHC, the number of annual patient days (PD) per unit and type of unit. The AHC in ml per PD for individual units is fed back to the hospitals together with reference data stratified by type of unit. The AHC in pl per PD is fed back to the hospitals together with reference data stratified by type of unit. All participants used defined observation tools and were trained by campaign team members. A minimum of 200 observations per unit and 20 observations per indication was defined. Spearman correlation coefficient was used in order to define the relationship between the two parameters. Significance was tested using Wilcoxon rank sum test.
Results: Both datasets were available for 73 ICU's. There was no correlation neither for all units (ρ=0.019) nor for special types of units (surgery ρ=–0.068, internal medicine ρ=0.061, interdisciplinary ρ=0.234, neonatology ρ=-0.131).
Conclusion: Based on our data, there is no correlation between AHC and compliance rates. Observations to determine compliance rates are very challenging. Satisfactory inter rater reliability is hard to achieve. Evaluation of observation results revealed an inter rater reliability between 30% and 60%. Observation is an excellent tool to determine quality, e. g. whether HHO's are appropriately detected in clinical practice. However, without extensive training and evaluation, quantitative interpretations of compliance rates should be done very carefully. Measurement of AHC provides a feasible and perhaps more reliable system to detect quantitative changes in HH behaviour, provided that there is a stable and unit based order system of AHC.
(Table 1 [Tab. 1])


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UCR Today covers a new exhibit from the History and Relevancy Project, "Finding Ourselves in the Groves: Stories and Storytellers of Citrus in Inland Southern California."
Category Archives: Events
History and Relevancy in The Press-Enterprise
Check out coverage of the the History and Relevancy Project in The Press-Enterprise!
"Citrus to be celebrated Saturday, May 6, at Riverside event," May 5, 2017
"Poet, photographer tell laborers' stories with images, phrases," July 15, 2018
"Here's how the pickers and packers gained respect at Riverside's Citrus State Historic Park," July 16, 2018
Sweet N Sour
A Community Celebration
Saturday, May 6
1 to 4 pm
California Citrus State Historic Park
9400 Dufferin Avenue, Riverside
Peek through 3D viewers by Arnold Martin created for the park!
Find your favorite Sour Puss in the photography exhibit by Kate Alexandrite!
Clap to Son Jarocho music & dance by Conjunto Tenocelomeh!
Trek the citrus im/migration trail on student-led tours!
Taste SWEET N SOUR flavors at a citrus tasting!
Guess the winner in the crate-packing competitions!
Time travel with traditional sounds of CAHUILLA BIRD SINGING!
Print your own book by riding a teeter-totter!
Experience art in the groves by Juan Delgado & Thomas McGovern!
Join the Dora Nelson African American Art & History Museum, Japanese American Citizens League, Malki Museum, Save Our Chinatown Committee, Sherman Indian Museum, Tesoros de Casa Blanca, and other COMMUNITY GROUPS to share stories of citrus in the I.E.!
Free admission / $5 Vehicle Entrance Fee
A program of the Relevancy and History Project, a partnership between UC Riverside and the California State Parks, in collaboration with the Studio for Southern California History and CSU San Bernardino.


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Our parents lived in their own house on Vilna Street near the Sazhelke (the town water pond). My sister and I were born in this house. Our parents established a sawmill and gristmill on the east shore of the Volozhinka on grandfather's advice and with his help. After ten years of work the business began to limp. The steam engine was the source of the trouble. Old and inefficient it had to be replaced. Father with his associate Mr. Moyshe Rapoport decided to replace the machinery. A new engine and boiler were ordered in Danzig. Coincidentally a bad fungus affected the Vilna street wood house at the same time. The family was obliged to leave it for reconditioning and to rent another apartment, a small one.
The engineer Mr. Pollak arrived from Warsaw to supervise the infrastructure preparations.
The steam boiler's transportation was an exciting event. Harnessed to a dozen horses it was led through the main streets, passed safely over the Volozhinka's wooden bridge and was installed at its place, on the foundation.
The family invested all of its savings and even more in the renovation of the mill. The infected house on Vilna Street was dismantled but the overall works did not begin. Often I was sent home with a message asking payment of tuition fees. At home the spirits were low. Father collapsed under his burden of debt. Mother stretched supplies to make ends meet.
Meanwhile the new engine was set in motion and begun to push the renovated mill forwards. The new facilities for the flourmill appeared to be profitable. And the forest business with a fresh investor flourished. The so desired good times arrived and our family moved into a more spacious place.
The horse-drawn cart made its turns. The leather sofa "kushetka", the wall clock, which played the hours, the big mirror which stood at an angle, flowerpots, suitcases and peklah were transferred over the wooden bridge and discharged into a new four-room apartment at the entrance to our saw & grist mill on the Volozhinka's left bank.
At the southern corner of Pilsudski (Minsk) Street, on the bank of the stream, which was some five meters high, a wood constructed well was situated with a tin bucket on a rope. Beside the well was the entrance to the PerlmanRapoport mill. Farther along the street our new home was located. In that wooden house we spent the last three years in Volozhin. Here we were exposed to the events of the First World War. So it remains forged in our memory.
Behind the house was a small, fenced vegetable garden, with a rope-swing suspended from two wood boles for Sonichka and her children friends. In the window frame that faced the garden and the sun some bottles were arranged in which fruit liquors fermented, our Dad's hobby, inherited from his Father.
On the stream-shore, pumping water for cooling and steam producing, the engine and boiler were installed. It used saw dust and wood chips as fuel. The engine was operated by the machine-man, Mr. Kadirka, the mechanic. His helper the kotshegar heater - worked hard. His duty was to maintain the steam pressure, exposed in big figures on a round dial, by heating the boiler. He conveyed the wood waste to the boiler room on a hand pushed one-wheel cart and poured it into the fire spitting mouth. Besides the machine housing on the river shore, the black, tall, fuming and at some times whistling chimney had its place. A visible, locomotive like, crankshaft mechanism transferred the steam engine's linear movement to a big turning wheel. A large flat leather belt transmitted its circular movement to the long shaft under the floor, on which was mounted further transmission wheels. Flat link belts transmitted the energy in their turn to the grist and saw mills installed on the ground.
The grain-grinding heavy stones were positioned on the upper floor. The peasants used to bring their grain-sacks to the mill gate. Mr. Lieberman, the weighing-man, was at the scale. Sometimes Mother, or Ms. Rapoport our associate would replace him. After the weighing and payment in cash or in grains, the sacks were raised in a wooden lift driven by the transmission to the upper deck. The peasant's function was to empty his sacks into the big funnel above the grinding system, and to collect his flour in sacks from the exit beneath. A white dust always covered this building, and it smelled of the field, wheat grains and flour.
A bit farther over the transmission, inside a covered shed, open in two directions, the two wood sawing machines were placed. The machine (gatar) consisted of a steel frame, inside which a set of saws moved up and down. Vagonietka - carts, which were mounted on narrow railways, carried the trunks to the gatar entry. Two iron sprocket rollers, installed inside the machine frame, rolled the trunk forcing it to pass through the sawing set. The boards were transported upon the rail carts to the other side of the sawmill plant (tartak). Here they were stored in rectangular towers of planks arranged in a crisscross.
In wintertime, the forest section trees were cut and cleaned from branches. The long trunks, each one loaded on two sledges, the first hitched to a horse and the second one attached to the first, were transferred to the sawmill. The cutting in the forest and the transporting of the trunks, an action called Zavoz was a time limited mission. It could only be done during the dry snow period. When the snow began to melt the forest road became impassable. So there was a feast when Zavoz ended on time. All the involved persons were invited, vodka with zakuska (after vodka food) was brightly and handily served, and the joy was big.
I encountered Father on workdays in the sawmill area, overseeing the functions of the machinery and the workmen, or measuring the volume of the incoming trunks.
The sawmill area provided a wide scope for our childhood games and activities. The sawdust hill, piled up to heat the steam engine, was a perfect place for all kinds of games that required tunnels, pits and hills. The rectangular towers of planks arranged in crisscross served as hiding and climbing sites.
But the best and most popular object for play was the railway cart - vagonietka, which moved the trunks and boards. The cart was build as a rectangular frame of wooden blocks, mounted on four iron wheels. It moved on a narrow railway by gravitation, or was pushed by hand. The real pleasure was riding on the cart frame on the downhill descent. But, the cart - vagonietka - rolling was not entirely legal. The quick heavy rolling could be quite dangerous. We used to do it on Sundays only, when the mill was not functioning and the area was free. Often, however, the amusement was interrupted. The mill manager used to supervise the area and when he came upon the unwanted intruders, he drove them away, shouting and yelling.
All the sawmills and flourmills were nationalized soon after the Soviets occupied the region. The Perlman and Polak families were sent to Siberia. They occupied together a single room lodge in a Siberian collective farm. We became best friends, but this is a different story.
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"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Anyone who has ever worked on a movie knows Murphy's Law to be true. Anyone who has ever worked on a Hollywood blockbuster knows this doubly so. Even Brad Pitt. World War Z arrives this weekend after a reportedly disastrous production. A June 2013 Vanity Fair feature put it all on the table: What began as a promising zombie tentpole (Ain't It Cool News called an early version of the script by J. Michael Straczynski a "genre-defining piece of work") barely made it to theaters in one piece. Rewrites, reshoots, on-set quarrels, and the seizure of gun props by a Hungarian anti-terrorist squad were just a few of the hurdles World War Z faced while in production. Intensifying the problematic shoot was the scrutiny of prospective audiences. Each misstep became a news item, adding more to the already deafening cries of disaster. Even as the film opens, director Marc Forster is busier playing cleanup than discussing the merits of the movie. On Friday, he took to Deadline to refute rumors of his on-set tension with Pitt and explain the ever-changing script.
For every Cleopatra, which nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox in 1963, or Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, a movie that was equally lethal for United Artists in 1980, there is a Jaws (and its constantly malfunctioning shark) or a Star Wars (Tunisian weather and a faithless crew) or an Apocalypse Now (the wild demands of Francis Ford Coppola). The mythologizing of their hellish productions are washed away by what they deliver. Woes become distant memories to critics and audiences, turning them into success stories.
Will World War Z prevail? The modern movie era has seen mixed results:
Waterworld (1995)
The Bad Buzz: Throughout its 1994 shoot, whispers of escalating costs and feuding between star Kevin Costner and director Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) made their way off the set. A report from the L.A. Times described the shoot as "'extremely difficult,' 'chaotic' and 'out of control,'" while budget numbers suggested that Waterworld "could end up costing more than any movie ever made."
The Results: Reviews of Waterworld couldn't help but reference the controversy. After poking fun at the film's budget issues ("In the old days in Hollywood, they used to brag about how much a movie cost. Now they apologize."), Roger Ebert called the movie "decent." With a final cost of around $175 million, Waterworld walked out of theaters with $88.2 million domestic gross, and worldwide totals/home video helped the film eventually turn a profit. None of Costner's later lead roles would eclipse Waterworld's box office.
The Island of Doctor Moreau (1996)
The Bad Buzz: There was a time when Val Kilmer was making $6 million a movie. There was also a time when Kilmer's on-set antics were perfect tabloid fodder. Early word on The Island of Doctor Moreau suggested a movie in a constant state of chaos, all a result of Kilmer's behavior. In an Entertainment Weekly report published four months prior to release, director Richard Stanley (who spent four years developing the script only to be fired three days into the shoot) recalled, "Val would arrive, and an argument would happen." Stanley's replacement, John Frankenheimer, was blunter: "I don't like Val Kilmer, I don't like his work ethic, and I don't want to be associated with him ever again." By the time Marlon Brando arrived on set to shoot his co-starring role, the movie had spiraled so far downward that no one refused him when he asked to spend one scene wearing a bucket on his head.
The Results: Doctor Moreau grossed just above $27.6 million — a paltry total for a Kilmer vehicle at the time. Variety suggested that wouldn't "be seen in its full glory until it turns up on Mystery Science Theater 3000." That eventually happened, courtesy of RiffTrax.
Titanic (1997)
The Bad Buzz: How fitting that the largest bad-buzz-to-success story happened to come courtesy of history's most famous shipwreck. Director James Cameron's style on Titanic was to go big or go home, spending boatloads of money to perfect the sets, the costumes, and the special effects. After the movie came out, claims were made of Cameron's sadistic working behavior, but the prerelease judgments all focused on the director's inability to bring Titanic to port. Originally scheduled for summer 1997, the movie was delayed so Cameron could commit more time to the computer graphics. The budget hit an all-time high — a reported $200 million price tag. It was a disaster.
The Results: Or not. Titanic became the highest-grossing movie of all time, a four-quadrant beast that remained No. 1 at the box office until March of the following year. Teenagers across the globe fell head over heels in love with Leonardo DiCaprio, needing routine fixes of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" to survive. The movie wasn't a success — it was a phenomenon. The movie sailed back to theaters in 2012 for a 3-D rerelease, just to ensure no one would ever displace its near top spot.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
The Bad Buzz: A director the studio couldn't work with. A script reworked on a daily basis. A star running interference to keep his character intact. An exposé revealing the mess of a production two months before it hits theaters. The Bourne Identity isn't too far off from the World War Z affair. Director Doug Liman struggled with studio executives looking to inject the thoughtful thriller with more and more of their own time-tested ideas. Over-budget thanks to constant doubling back to scenes that had already been shot, the first Bourne was in big trouble. In The Wall Street Journal's "A Movie 'Bourne' to Be Wild," Matt Damon is described as the logical liaison between Liman and Universal Pictures — and the reason the movie was ever finished.
The Results: Bourne should leave World War Z skeptics with hope. The slick thriller earned $120 million at the domestic box office, high marks from critics, and a devoted fan base. Damon went on to star in two more Bourne films before handing the baton to Jeremy Renner.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
The Bad Buzz: Where were you the first time you heard Christian Bale exploding in a fit of rage on the set of Terminator Salvation? TMZ had released an initial report of Bale's tantrum on the set of McG's Terminator sequel and followed it up with an audio clip of the incident. Despite wooing eager fans with an adrenaline-fueled panel at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, the Bale controversy put Salvation under a microscope. Soon there were rumors — fuled by McG himself — that the movie was undergoing constant revisions over the course of the shoot. The finished film was sounding more and more like a patchwork quilt of Terminator references.
The Results: With mixed reviews and $125.3 million at the domestic box office, whether or not Terminator Salvation was a "success" remains unclear. The biggest indicator was the lack of movement on a sequel — a sure thing for today's biggest hits. The film was supposed to act as the beginning of a new Terminator trilogy. Clearly that didn't happen — the Halcyon Company, who backed the project, auctioned off the rights, sweeping Salvation under the rug.
The Wolfman (2010)
The Bad Buzz: One month out from the start of production on Benicio Del Toro's long-gestating passion project, director Mark Romanek bolted, citing creative differences. While not uncommon, Universal averted a production delay by quickly filling Romanek's role with The Rocketeer director Joe Johnston. Dust settled and the shoot carried on as planned, but when the first footage arrived online, many speculated that planned practical effects designs for Del Toro's makeup had been glossed over with CGI. Makeup guru Rick Baker fanned the flame. "I saw, on my last day at Pinewood [Studios], some of the work they were doing – and I wasn't crazy about some of the direction it was going in," he told MTV in July of 2008. Delayed from November 2008 to February 2009 to April 2009, Wolfman finally hit theaters in February of 2010.
The Results: With a let's-just-get-this-dang-thing-into-theaters approach, The Wolfman came and went, grossing $61.5 million against its reportedly $150 million budget. In his review, generally amiable Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers noted that "The Wolfman bites, but not — I think — in the way the filmmakers intended." Knowing The Wolfman wasn't winning over audiences, Universal quickly put a reboot in motion, a film that eventually became the direct-to-DVD release Werewolf: The Beast Among Us.
Margaret (2011)
The Bad Buzz: Everyone who was floored by Kenneth Lonergan's debut film You Can Count on Me eagerly awaited his follow-up, Margaret. They waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And when someone finally looked into where the Anna Paquin, Mark Ruffalo, and Matt Damon–starring film had gone, it was evident that the film was living out a cinematic nightmare. According to the L.A. Times, Lonergan started rolling cameras on Margaret in 2005, but when it arrived in the editing room, Lonergan was unable to deliver a version of his sprawling drama under the predetermined 150-minute limit. At various points over a six-year period, legends like Sydney Pollack, Scott Rudin, and Martin Scorsese all stepped in to help Lonergan cut it down. Eventually, compromises were made, and the film was primed for release. Or burial — as it only trickled out into fourteen theaters at its peak.
The Results: Margaret was never going to make big money, but it certainly didn't make successful indie money either. And like the behind-the-scenes battle, Margaret sparked a passionate debate after its release. Our own David Edelstein declared, "This is the first bad movie that has ever made me call for a sequel — to get it all right." But against the wave of negative criticism came a passionate group that saw Lonergan's sprawling drama as a misunderstood masterpiece. They took on a Twitter-friendly moniker: #TeamMargaret. The online championing was enough to push Fox to give the movie another chance. In July 2012, Lonergan was able to release a three-hour-and-six-minute version on DVD. The new cut turned heads. After revisiting the film, Edelstein went on to write that Margaret "in its extended form and only its extended form is as close to a masterpiece as any American movie in a decade."


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What are the results of VOCALS?
Scientists must work very hard to understand the data collected in field campaigns like VOCALS. They must review and study it to determine what has been learned. Many model runs will be made and analyzed. Eventually, they will publish their discoveries in scientific journals and give oral presentations at conferences.
VOCALS will allow examination over an entire month of how variability in ocean currents, ocean upwelling, marine winds, and air pollution will impact the properties of the atmosphere, the clouds, and the amount of precipitation found there. The climate of the Southeast Pacific is especially complicated by the nearby Andes Mountain range.
VOCAL measurements will be important! They will add to current knowledge in the fields of atmospheric science and oceanography. They will be used to improve models exploring the atmosphere and climate. VOCALS could ultimately lead to much better predictions of future climate. Predictions are very important to people around the world who are in danger from the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise, heat waves, drought, severe rainstorms, and changes in growing seasons.


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My Favorite Basic Sourdough Loaf
I bake a lot of sourdough bread. Over the past several months I have been trying a lot of new techniques and trying to perfect the quality of my loaves. The recipe below is how I am currently making my white bread. Next year I may have a whole different approach, as I am constantly learning and trying new things.
Deluxe Sourdough Bread
1 1/4 cups proofed starter
1 cup water
3 T. dry powdered milk
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup instant potato flakes
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
2 T. sugar
3 T. butter or margarine
2 tsp. salt
Combine the first 5 ingredients. Mix in the flour just until the mixture is a shaggy mass. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Add sugar, butter, and salt and mix until all is incorporated. Knead dough until it is smooth and satiny.
Cover and let dough rest for 45 minutes. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Pat each dough portion out into a large, flat circle. Gently stretch and fold the left side over the middle, then the right side over the middle (like folding a letter). Pat down with the palms of hands and repeat the folding with the remaining two unfolded ends. Shape loaves, always keeping the folded side as the bottom. I do free-form oval loaves and place them on parchment paper.
Spray the loaves with Pam and cover with plastic. Place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, take loaves out and let them finish rising at room temperature. They should be very light. Do not rush it or your bread will be dense.
While bread is rising, preheat oven and stone to 400� F. I also place a shallow pan of hot water on the bottom rack for steam.
When bread is fully risen, slash top and slide onto hot stone. If you don't have a stone, just bake on a baking sheet. After 10 minutes, turn the oven heat down to 375� F. When loaves start to show color, water pan can be removed. Bake until loaves are a nice golden brown. Time will vary according to the shape and size of loaf.
Cool on a wire rack. You can brush crust with butter while still hot if you like a soft crust.
The small addtion of white whole wheat flour that I use in this bread gives it an interesting depth of flavor that I like. It does not change the color of the bread. I don't know if white whole wheat flour is easily available just anywhere. I am fortunate to live in an area where wheat is grown and milled so I have easy access to various flours.


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- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 05:22 06:35 12:33 15:53 18:26 19:39
Australia sweltered through its third-hottest year on record in 2017 despite the lack of a warming El Nino weather phenomenon, official figures showed Wednesday.
Seven of the vast continent's 10 warmest years have occurred since 2005, with only 2011 cooler than average, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said in its annual climate statement.
"Despite the lack of an El Nino -- which is normally associated with our hottest years -- 2017 was still characterised by very warm temperatures," the weather bureau's climate monitoring chief Karl Braganza said in a statement.
"Both day- and night-time temperatures were warmer than average, particularly maximum temperatures, which were the second-warmest on record."
The data came ahead of the release of global mean temperatures by the World Meteorological Organisation, with BOM projecting that 2017 was one of the world's three warmest years on record -- and the hottest without an El Nino.
El Nino occurs when trade winds that circulate over waters in the tropical Pacific start to weaken and sea surface temperatures rise.
Australia's annual mean temperature has increased by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1910, with most of this warming occurring since 1950, the bureau added in its report.
Experts have also warned that climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures, leading to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.
Last year, the national mean temperature was 0.95 degrees Celsius hotter than the 1961?1990 average. In 108 years of recorded temperatures, only 2013 and 2005 were warmer.
The eastern states of New South Wales and Queensland were the hardest hit, recording their hottest year ever in 2017.
Some regions also had their driest months on record, including Victoria state in June, and New South Wales and vital river system the Murray-Darling Basin in September.
But the last three months took a wetter turn, with above-average rainfall in many areas, Braganza added.
Meanwhile, oceans around Australia recorded temperatures "well above average" for the year.
Prolonged high sea surface temperatures linked to climate change saw significant coral bleaching on the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef during early 2017.
Australia is one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, due to its heavy use of coal-fired power.
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