text:
Indiana governor Mitch Daniels is getting some favorable attention from libertarians, perhaps with some justification given his reading habits. However he has nothing kind to say about the atheists among us:
People who reject the idea of a God -who think that we're just accidental protoplasm- have always been with us. What bothers me is the implications -which not all such folks have thought through- because really, if we are just accidental, if this life is all there is, if there is no eternal standard of right and wrong, then all that matters is power.
And atheism leads to brutality. All the horrific crimes of the last century were committed by atheists -Stalin and Hitler and Mao and so forth- because it flows very naturally from an idea that there is no judgment and there is nothing other than the brief time we spend on this Earth.
Everyone's certainly entitled in our country to equal treatment regardless of their opinion. But yes, I think that folks who believe they've come to that opinion ought to think very carefully, first of all, about how different it is from the American tradition; how it leads to a very different set of outcomes in the real world.
I was going to write a longer post about this until I realized the quote is from a December interview. That's remarkable in itself, given that I just recently came across it. An American governor saying that any religion "leads to brutality" would surely have made bigger headlines, but disparage atheists and hardly anyone takes notice until months later.
Atheists have polled as the least trusted group in the US and a majority of respondents say they would not vote for an atheist candidate. Statements from politicians like Daniels are part of the reason. Since atheists are an invisible minority we have the option of letting such comments slide. As I've written before, I think this is a mistake:
Respondents to the survey call atheists elitist and in one sense they are right. Academia and the sciences are wide open to us. Educated Americans on the coasts are more tolerant of atheism. Unless we're running for public office, no ceiling blocks our ambitions. Unlike other minorities, we have the luxury of not caring what other people think. And so we don't.
So maybe we ought to be speaking up more. I don't mean by forming advocacy groups or adopting pretentious new words like "brights," but by being forthright when people inquire about our religious beliefs. I'm as guilty as anyone of equivocating by saying I'm "not religious" when asked rather than matter of factly admitting to atheism. This polite ambiguity prevents some awkwardness, but keeps atheism outside the boundaries of what is publicly acceptable and, ultimately, shows a lack of respect for ourselves and the people we interact with. Enough of that. We've got catching up to do.
To their credit, the Center for Inquiry Indiana has taken Daniels to task for his comments, and Jonathan Turley was on it immediately.


text:
1 Item
We are the best online hookah store for all your hookah and shisha needs, carrying a wide selection of top quality hookah products in all shapes and sizes from from the leading hookah and shisha brands at the best available prices online. We always do our best to search for the highest quality products, with emphasis on variety, so each customer will be able to find what they are looking for. The unique shopping experience we offer, along with our exceptional customer service, have granted us thousands of loyal customers worldwide. We are proud to serve our customers all around the world. For any further questions, just contact us via phone or email. Read more
8413 Almeda Rd Ste Q3 Houston, TX 77054

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Looking for that perfect gift for the climber in your life? Thinking about introducing your passion for climbing to a friend, child, or special someone? Buy the gift that they'll remember - the joy of ascent!
Terms and Conditions
|Please call 617 387 7625 to request a gift card. We are happy to mail it to you or keep it at the gym for pickup. We offer certificates for certain dollar amounts or for specific programs, classes and memberships.
- Gift certificate can only be redeemed at MetroRock in Everett, MA.
- Gift certificate must be redeemed within 7 years from date of purchase.


text:
LOS ANGELES – As nearly a quarter's worth of time drained from the clock Sunday, Pau Gasol sat on the bench. And as a seemingly safe Lakers lead against the Atlanta Hawks was chopped and shaved until it wasn't much of a lead at all, Gasol rested.
The Lakers center was just 5 of 18 from the floor. Coach Mike D'Antoni later said "it looked like the air went out of the balloon."
But Gasol, who had stern words for his teammates after losses earlier last week, had a few more moves at the ready.
After the Lakers had blown all of a 21-point lead, Gasol made the two most important plays of the game, preserving a 105-103 triumph at Staples Center.
His free throws with six seconds left broke a tie and his block of Kyle Korver ensured there wouldn't be another one. He finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds in 28 minutes.
"We're going to have to go through him toward the end of the game," D'Antoni said. "That's where we're going to have to go."
The Lakers did so twice in the final seconds after a mid-range jump shot by Paul Millsap tied the game, 103-103. After missing once — and being saved by a Jordan Hill offensive rebound — Gasol was fouled as he went up with six seconds left, earning two free throws.
"I just wanted to make sure I knocked those two down and focus really intensely," he said. "The game was on the line and I had to make up for so many of the shots that I missed."
It was the second straight game the Lakers blew a big first-half lead. They led by 15 in Friday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
An area of concern for D'Antoni, who said in both instances the Lakers, who play their next three games on the road, got "soft on defense" and "started to get a bit selfish."
"Tonight it felt like a little bit of an energy drop," said Xavier Henry, who scored a team-high 18 points in his first Lakers start.
"But we made sure that we stood strong and finished out the game."


text:
A pair of hikers who had been rescued after getting lost in the fog and rain inside a Maine state park drowned on Tuesday night when their car plunged into the water off a boat launch as they were trying to leave.
Amy Stiner, 37, and Melissa Moyer, 38, were found dead inside a minivan in 20 feet of water about 175 feet from the boat ramp on the edge of Roque Bluffs State Park, the Washington County Sheriff's Department said. A dog, a pit bull mix who was with them, also drowned.
Officials say the women, who had just been returned to their vehicle by a game warden, took a wrong turn as they were driving away from the parking area.
"The end of the road becomes the boat landing and they just weren't familiar with it," Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith told the Kennebec Journal. "It was foggy and rainy and they literally drove off the boat landing right into the water."
Stiner made a desperate call to 911 at approximately 9 p.m., saying they were trapped inside the submerged minivan and that it was filling up with water, according to the Bangor Daily News.
"And then the phone just went dead," Smith said.
Police used GPS data from the cellphone to locate the general area of the van, and called in the Maine Marine Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard to join in the search, but it was too late.
Stiner, who lived in nearby Machias, Maine, was five months pregnant, police said. Moyer, from Sunbury, Pa., was visiting when the tragedy unfolded.
Earlier, Stiner and Moyer had used a cellphone to call for help after they became lost during their hike.
An off-duty firefighter with the Sunrise Search and Rescue team found the pair and their dog on the western shore of the park and took them to a nearby house, Smith said. A game warden then picked them up and brought them back to their vehicle.
The state medical examiner was called to determine the official cause of death, but Smith said he didn't suspect any foul play.
"It's just so easy to do," Smith said." When I got the call last night, I knew what had happened."


text:
Warning Signs? How to Understand Your City's Finances
By Jeannette Neumann
The Wall Street Journal is launching a series that delves into the fiscal health of the 250 largest U.S. cities.
What we found: Cities nationwide are grappling with the same types of underlying issues that sunk Detroit, which filed for the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy this summer. The magnitude of the problems is different, but the challenges are shared.
Our work was based on an exclusive data set shared by Merritt Research Services LLC, an Iowa firm that mines thousands of cities' public financial filings. You can mine your own city's finances. Here are five resources to use. The articles, data and public filings will help you understand whether battered roads and sidewalks and higher taxes and fees point to deeper financial woes or just temporary strain.
1. For an overview, check out the American Cities Project by Pew Charitable Trusts, a research nonprofit. They research and report on fiscal, economic and demographic issues for 30 major U.S. cities. Also check out reports and data on local finances published by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. And the National League of Cities publishes research, too.
2. Moody's Investors Service is a major credit-rating firm that looks at the finances of thousands of debt-issuers, including cities. In the right corner of the website, click on "Register" to sign up. Once you've created an account, search for your city in the bar in the upper left of the website and read the available credit reports. If you're unable to find your city or town, it might not be rated be Moody's. Some research is available only for subscribers.
The reports on "G.O.," meaning general obligation, bonds are generally the most straightforward if you want to grasp a city's finances. Read the "Summary Ratings Rationale" and then the "Strengths" and "Challenges" for your city. Moody's rates bond-deals using a letter-grade scale. Triple-A is the top, followed by the B-category on down. An outlook indicates the likely direction of future ratings. Stable means the rating is likely to stay the same; positive, up; and negative, down.
3. This website, known as EMMA in the municipal-bond world, is a repository for bond documents cities publish when they sell debt. Enter your city in the "Quick Search" in the upper right corner of the website. (Note: It's often helpful to type in "City of X," as this will pull up information about the city and not other local government units.) This search will bring you to a page with a list of securities issued by your city. To get the most recent document, click on the third column "dated date." Then click again. This should bring up the most recent documents. Next, click on one of the links in the second column ("Issue Description") and then click on the tab that says "Official Statement" to access the bond document. Look for the "economic and demographic information" section, which typically has interesting information about your city's population, major employers and finances. The organization that runs EMMA is developing an easier way to find this information. Click here for a look at their pilot program.
4. Every year, cities publish a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, known as a CAFR. This massive document provides detailed information about your city's finances. A simple way to locate the document is to Google your city's name and the word "CAFR." You can also look on your city's finance department website. Or call your city for help locating this key document. Note that cities are often months late publishing the CAFR, so you may not be able to immediately locate the most up-to-date filing.
5. Go to the U.S. Census Bureau for stats on your city and state. You can get figures on population, median household income and the poverty level. You can browse this data by county or city.


text:
Tag Archives: campus movie screenings
Increase Movie Ticket Sales with College Advertising
Posted on February 6, 2017 by Rosanna
Movie theatres face serious challenges filling seats as they compete with more convenient and economical sources of entertainment. There's no denying that it's more convenient to stay at home and watch Netflix in your pajamas and chill than to go out to the theatres. It's also much cheaper to wait and rent a new release on Red Box than to see a movie in the theatres. Movie theatres can't compete with convenience and price, and must find other ways to appeal to the college crowd and increase movie theatre attendance.
Posted in College Advertising/College Marketing, Entertainment | Tagged 18-24 year olds, campus movie screenings, campus movie theatres, college advertising, college advertising agency, create conversations on social media, film studios, increase movie ticket sales, increase movie ticket sales with college advertising, movie theatres, movie ticket sales, on campus movie screenings, social media marketing strategy | Leave a comment


text:
Beyonce Sued by Fans After Being Trampled at Chicago Concert
Beyonce's Mrs. Carter World Tour came to a tearful close last week, but it looks like a couple of fans had a sad outcome at one of her shows. The R&B diva is being sued by two women who claim they were trampled by a stampede before her Chicago concert last December.
According to CBS Chicago, "longtime fans" Raquel Castellanos and Gabriella Davidson filed a lawsuit against the United Center, Live Nation and Queen Bey.
The two fans stated in their suit that they stood outside the venue for hours with hopes of getting close to the stage for Beyonce's show. But when the gates opened at 7PM, without proper instructions to allow an orderly entrance, they were trampled by a "rushing mob." The enormous crowd knocked them to the ground leaving them both unconscious and with broken bones.
Both Castellanos and Davidson had to be taken to the hospital for their injuries and did not stay for the show.
The women alleged that the United Center, Live Nation and Beyonce did nothing to prevent the growing crowd from bum-rushing the entrance at the venue once the gate was opened.
Castellanos and Davidson are seeking undisclosed damages.
Attorneys for United Center, Live Nation and Beyonce had no comment on the matter.


text:
Find Your Perfect Home.
Irons Real Estate
Irons is located in Michigan. Irons, Michigan has a population of 1,910. Irons is more family-centric than the surrounding county with 17.39% of the households containing married families with children. The county average for households married with children is 15.52%.
The median household income in Irons, Michigan is $32,644. The median household income for the surrounding county is $28,872 compared to the national median of $53,482. The median age of people living in Irons is 53.8 years.
Irons Weather
The average high temperature in July is 81.5 degrees, with an average low temperature in January of 12.4 degrees. The average rainfall is approximately 35 inches per year, with inches of snow per year.
Irons Map
Real Estate Near Irons
Nearby Cities
Nearby Cities Homes for Sale
Irons Zip Codes


text:
Adventure Time Finn's Hat
- Accurate and awesome reproduction of Finn's hat from Adventure Time.
- Super soft fleece that fits most adults heads (it's a little stretchy).
- Slamacow!
So, all the missiles went off and the world as we know it ended. Oh well. What's the last human to do? Why, be raised by a family of loving dogs and then go out into the world and find adventure. And do you know what time it is when you go out to find adventure? ADVENTURE TIME! Duh. And now you can be just like the kid we're talking about when you wear your Adventure Time Finn's Hat.
Each Adventure Time Finn's Hat is made with love by the wonderful denizens of Ooo and exported here (somehow) for your adventuring needs. Made of soft polyester fleece and sized to fit most adult heads, this is one easy step in getting the perfect Finn costume. Then, just grab your trusty dog and head off on adventures. Folks will get out of your way (and tell stories of your bravery after you pass) when you're wearing an Adventure Time Finn's Hat. Holy stuff!
waving snail
Adventure Time Finn's Hat
- Get ready to make all your adventures more adventurous with this accurate replica of Finn's hat!
- Made of 100% polyester, super-soft fleece.
- Chin strap closes with hook-and-loop strip.
- Fully licensed hat thing.
- One size fits most (intended for ages 14 and older).
- Dimensions: Head sized - with ears and a chinstrap.


text:
Conexant CX2388x
From LinuxTVWiki
Big brother to the BT878 produced by Conexant Systems, Inc.. Has specialised DVB support in a new PCI function, instead of using the digital audio input for it. (Yay!). In fact it has stacks of functions, like 6 or something, but fortunately they all share the same (huge 16MB!) memory mapping. Has the same (identical?) RISC programs as the BT878 and the same kind of i2c bus control controller.
But really for DVB I don't think it gives you anything that the BT878 doesn't. If however you want to put analogue video on the same card (like DVICO do) then it seems to have a few improvements in that department.


text:
The Cheapest Dome Vandalproof IP66 Metal 5MP CCTV IP Camera Housing P2P IP Camera
Product Description
1) 1/2.7" OV High-resolution CMOS Sensor
2) HISILICON Hi3516D, WDR
3) Internal POE and SD Card Slot optional
4)Main Stream: 5MP@15fps, 4MP@25fps, 1080P@30fps; 5MP HD Lens
iPhone, iPad, Android, Android Pad
PC software use VMS lite and Mobile app use Free ip
Found in 2006 year, Our factory has over 50,000 square meters which is the largest factory in the south of china and have over 200 enginners. Not just support the product which you need, and we can strong support to develop. Such as we R&D 1-2 new products in each 3 months, have professional engineer with good English which can solve your after-sale matters quickly.Free repaire broken products......Follow our company,let's get win-win business
And we aslo have many new products like PLC Kits, 12MP fisheye, wifi products, 4K,Starlight full color ipc ......Welcome to ask us for more details.
1. Scale
Cantonk, as one of the biggest CCTV manufacturer in China, top three export volumes. Over 1200 workers.
About 200 engineers can offer you best and professional and fast technical service.
2. Capacity
CANTONK, as a VIP of SONY, OmniVison applied with SAMSUNG SMT;
10,000pcs daily output promises a early delivery time
3. Customers
Over 6,000 customers all over the world, cantonk as a reliable partner, also want you to join us
As a manufacturer.
Regarding price comparison, cantonk price is very competitive, which cantonk share the same level with
Cantonk Package Color Box: (OEM your color box is accepted.)
Shipping Method:
We have close business relationship with Fedex,TNT,DHL.
1. What is your OEM service?
Our company support OEM your logo,manual, lable.colox box and even some software OEM is also accepted.
2. Our quality in details
Each of our product has passed strict quality test. Including Glasses, temperature test, Waterproof test. spare parts test. vandalproof test. pcb test ect
4. What is your payment term?
A: 100% T/T in advance in normall case.
For large amount, we can accept 30% deposit T/T in advance + 70% balance T/T before the shipment.
B: PayPal
4% commission charges will be added into the amount.
C: Letter of Credit (L/C)
a. On condition that order amount reaches our request then we will accept L/C;
b. We accept L/C at sight only;
D. OA 30days
a. On condition that order amount reached our target then we will accept OA 30days.
5. What is your warranty?
1 all our product warranty is two years.
If you have any question,Pls Click Below '' send inquiry to Miss Yang" She will reply you very soon.
Or You can add our skype:Yang.cantonk


text:
Item No.
Warning: Last items in stock!
Availability date:
Add to cart
This product is not sold individually. You must select at least 1 quantity for this product.
Silver Rose Plated CZ Oval Cuff Ring (R-1291-R)
Recipient :
Name of your friend * :
E-mail address of your friend * :
* Required fields
Cancel or Send


text:
Services on Demand
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in Google
South African Journal of Science
On-line version ISSN 1996-7489
Print version ISSN 0038-2353
S. Afr. j. sci. vol.110 n.11-12 Pretoria Nov./Dec. 2014
Determining the feasibility of harvesting invasive alien plant species for energy
Worship MugidoI; James BlignautII; Matthew JoubertIII; John De WetIV; Andrew KnipeV; Selmi JoubertIII; Ben CobbingVI; James JansenV; David Le MaitreVII; Marius van der VyferVIII
IBeatus Advisory Services, Pretoria, South Africa
IIDepartment of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
IIIEC Biomass Fuel Pellets (Pty) Ltd, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
IVFacilities Management Division: Forest Operations and Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
VWorking for Water, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
VICSS (Pty) Ltd, Grahamstown, South Africa
VIINatural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Stellenbosch, South Africa
VIIIDepartment of Botany, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Woody invasive alien plants (IAPs) are a threat to South Africa's water resources, biodiversity and land productivity. The impacts of IAPs were the main reason for the South African government to embark on a natural resource management public works programme called Working for Water (WfW), which was aimed at controlling IAPs in a cost-effective yet labour-intensive way. At the same time, the high biomass of these species presents opportunities for synergies between the clearing of IAPs and the generation of biomass-based energy. The purpose of this study was to determine the cost of harvesting and extracting, chipping, and transporting the biomass, and also to determine the financial and economic feasibility of such an exercise from a commercial perspective. Sampling of the biomass was done at 31 representative sites within the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. The cost of the operation was carefully monitored, documented and reported at each stage, and compared to the cost of replacing the thermal coal currently used by industry within this municipality. The project proved to be financially viable, but only when the energy entrepreneur forms a partnership with the WfW programme, and then only under specific conditions. The project has, however, very high socio-economic returns with respect to a reduction in environmental externalities and job creation.
Keywords: woody biomass; invasive alien plants; biomass energy; externalities; financial cost; economic feasibility
Woody invasive alien plants (IAPs) pose significant direct threats to South Africa's ecosystems and the services they provide, including water, land productivity and biodiversity.1-5 These threats are being addressed by the Working for Water (WfW) programme which aims to control invasions as well as provide work and training for unskilled people. The biomass produced during control operations could be used to generate energy, potentially fully or partially offsetting the costs of control.
The mining, transportation and combustion of coal for the purposes of generating electricity has negative impacts on the environment and human health. Studies have shown that some of these effects include the impact of air pollution on human health, the impact of climate change and the environmental impact on water quantity and quality and on biodiversity.6-11 A number of studies have quantified the externality costs of mining coal and transporting it to the Kusile coal-fired power station in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga Province of South Africa6-9 (see also Letsoalo et al.12 and O'Farrell et al.13 for a discussion on the value of natural resources and the difficulties of their quantification). These studies estimated the externalised cost on both the environment and humans of mining and transporting coal to be between ZAR6358 million and ZAR12 690 million per annum. While extremely large in and by themselves, these figures still exclude some externalities like noise pollution, damage to roads and damage caused by ash lagoons on water resources.
The externality costs associated with using coal for electricity generation purposes justify an investigation into the viability of using IAPs for bioenergy production. In particular, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa depends on coal to generate electricity to meet its energy needs. The unit cost of coal has increased noticeably because of increasing transport costs and a decline in the quality of the coal. The combination of the negative externalities and the rising price of coal may make the utilisation of (woody) IAPs for heat and power generation economically viable. While it is generally recognised that the use of biomass for energy generation has many positives, including low ash and low flue gas emissions, there are also recognised risks, particularly uncertainties about the sustainable supply of high-quality biomass and the cost of its delivery.14
The use of IAPs for energy purposes has the potential to reduce both the negative externalities caused by coal-fired energy generation and their harmful effects on the environment. In addition, the use of IAPs for bioenergy production will contribute to reducing invasions and restoring the invaded ecosystems. The benefits of clearing IAPs include a reduction in both fire protection costs and damage to infrastructure as a result of wildfires, the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, an increase in water quantity and quality, improved river system services, social development and poverty alleviation, job creation, economic empowerment and training, flood control, and the containment of erosion and a decrease in the siltation of dams.315-18 Linking a public works programme like WfW with an industrial sector activity, such as the generation of electricity, has the added benefit of providing sustainability to the job creation process within the so-called 'green economy'. It elevates the WfW project from being a poverty reduction initiative with environmental benefits, to one that is also integrally linked to the mainstream industrial economy.
Although there are these clear synergies between the benefits of control, it is essential to establish the viability of such a venture. In this study, we determined the direct financial cost of harvesting (i.e. felling and extracting), chipping and transporting woody IAP biomass in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area to a site for energy generation purposes. We also determined the overall financial and economic feasibility of such an exercise.
Materials and methods
Background and rationale
The WfW programme is currently running a number of IAP clearing projects within a 50-km radius of the Coega Industrial Development Zone (Coega IDZ) in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. A biomass processing plant has also been established in the Coega IDZ. This situation presented an opportunity to investigate the synergies between the clearing of IAPs and the bioenergy plant within the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. A joint venture between the bioenergy power (pelletising) plant and WfW was formed to conduct a trial project. This trial project entailed WFW clearing IAPs in four WfW project areas and the bioenergy power plant chipping and transporting the material to a weigh bridge, and carefully monitoring and documenting all costs, moisture levels, species composition and densities of the IAPs harvested. Biomass-based electricity generation requires a constant supply of biomass. Yet, the biomass source is finite. This necessitates that (1) the method of harvesting and transporting the biomass must be as efficient as possible and (2) both the area of supply and the period within which the material can be harvested are constrained. Therefore the study area was limited to a 50-km radius and a project period of 60 months was assumed. No regrowth was factored in, as that would negate the benefits of harvesting IAPs. This source, however, provides the project developer with a window of opportunity to develop other, sustainable, sources of biomass supply without having to wait.
Selection of harvesting sites
A desktop analysis was conducted using ArcView geographic information system (GIS) software to characterise the woody alien vegetation biomass within the boundaries of the study area. Polygons of alien vegetation were digitised from recent (late-2009) aerial photography and the species composition and density were classified and mapped. The biomass models developed by Le Maitre et al.19 were then used to estimate the available biomass based on this classification.
This desktop analysis was then filtered using an area-based IAP clearing suitability index. The index was based on five factors: slope, distance from the pelletising plant, distance from an access road, biomass volume and influence of riparian area. Windrows were included but treated separately. Maps ranking the suitability of the study area based on the above-mentioned parameters were produced.20 The 15 364 polygons were ranked in terms of their suitability and the ones that scored poorly were eliminated as there was a general consensus among stakeholders that it would be unlikely to be economically viable in the long term to extract biomass from these polygons. This exclusion resulted in a reduction in the number of polygons to approximately 650.
Field verification was done on 286 of these pre-selected polygons noting the type of species, age of trees, tree density, the slope, distance from the road and also distance from the riparian zone for each polygon. This observed information was then compared to the information contained in the original GIS data set to ascertain the correctness of the GIS database through a process of 'ground truthing'. Field verification is essential because it is very difficult to accurately identify actual species in a given polygon based solely on aerial photography, particularly for acacias, and to refine the estimates of density and tree size. The field verification thus increased confidence in the biomass determination.
The IAPs were then harvested on 5%, or 31, of the 622 contiguous polygons. Of the 622 polygons, 81 were randomly selected for field trials using a GIS random selection function to determine which sites should be harvested. This number was more than is required but the extras were included to make provision for farmers or landowners who did not want portions of their land to be cleared.
Harvesting, chipping and transporting methods
The harvesting was done using two methods. Method 1 involved felling and stacking the branches on the roadside and then chipping them. Method 2 entailed felling and hand-feeding the branches into the chipper directly, avoiding the stacking. Felling was done using chainsaws and/or brush cutters depending on the size of the trees. Felling and extraction was done by three teams, each comprising 22 people. The chipper that was used for both methods is a Bandit 250XP (Port Elizabeth, South Africa).
A truck brought two empty 28-m3 bins to the site, one on the truck and another on a trailer. The bins usually were placed close to the stacked branches or where the branches would be stacked. The chipper would then chip the biomass directly into the bins. The chipping team consisted of one supervisor, two chipper operators and eight general workers. The team was responsible for hand-feeding the chipper and managing the chipping process. Once the bins were full, the truck would collect them and take them to the weigh bridge. The weight of each bin and the transportation costs were then passed on to the data collection team. Samples were taken from each bin and sent to a laboratory to determine the moisture content and calculate the dry mass.
Data collection methods
The data collection team (with the help from the chipping team, felling and extraction team, and project manager) developed data logging forms for felling and extraction and chipping. These were completed by the respective supervisors in charge of felling and extraction, and chipping. Information recorded on the forms included the number of workers, amount of fuel used, number of days worked per site, and chipping hours. The records were checked daily to establish whether they were completed correctly.
Calibrating the GIS data
Non-destructive mensuration was also to supplement the remote sensing and field harvesting, and refine the estimates of the available biomass in the study area. As in similar studies21-23 on invasive Acacia species, 'non-standard, non-plantation and non-commercial forestry concepts' were required.21 We noted, however, that the size (age), density and species distribution of the stands had changed and thus the biomass composition had changed from that found in previous studies. It was critical to have accurate estimates of the available biomass in the study area because the trial demonstrated that the cost of harvesting, chipping and transporting biomass is very sensitive to the volume of biomass. Furthermore, if the amount of biomass available in the study area is not well known or if there is insufficient biomass it may not be worthwhile to undertake such a project.
The objective of the mensuration for this trial was to estimate the standing biomass of the complete tree, inclusive of all tree components, as well as the biomass of whole stands. Allometric measurements were taken on a total of 103 different polygons, including all the field harvesting sites. A representative transect of 50 m x 4 m was selected within each polygon based on its species composition, density, tree age and growth form. The site was briefly described and photographs were taken for reference purposes. Necromass (standing dead wood) was not measured. Diameter measurements were taken according to the tree type: medium trees had their diameter measured at knee height (0.5 m above ground level) and large trees had their diameter measured at breast height (1.3 m above ground level). Tall (large) trees included Eucalyptusspp., Acacia mearnsiiand Pinusspecies, with height also measured for pines. Medium trees included Acacia cyclops, Acacia salignaand Acacia longifolia. The mass of each tree was determined and used to calculate species-specific allometric equations based on the corresponding stem diameters. These equations were then used with the sample of diameters to estimate the standing biomass in each polygon. As a result of the limited contribution of Pinusspp. to the biomass of the area, standard plantation volume equations with conversion factors were applied to calculate oven-dry mass for the whole tree.
Results and discussion
Harvesting and extraction, and chipping and transport costs
There is a wide range in the cost of harvesting and extraction, and chipping and transportation of biomass per species class (Table 1). The Acacia longifoliaclass has the highest harvesting and extraction costs, while the Acaciaspp. class has the lowest harvesting and extraction costs. The variance in the cost of harvesting and extraction can be attributed mainly to differences in stand densities, tree sizes and the slope in the study area. The Eucalyptus-Acacia-Pineclass had the highest chipping costs, while the Acacia salignaclass had the lowest chipping costs. The Eucalyptus-Acaciaclass showed the greatest variance in terms of transport costs. The cost of transport is based on the actual realised (invoiced) cost of transporting the biomass from the harvesting site, and the distances varied between 30 km and 50 km. The unit costs varied between ZAR1.09/km/t and ZAR4.63/km/t with a weighted average of approximately ZAR2.50/km/t. This cost is much higher than the industry average of approximately ZAR1.1/km/t (Road Freight Association 2013, verbal communication, September 16) because of the method used, namely outsourcing the transport to a contractor who uses non-customised bins.
The harvesting and extraction cost generally constitutes most of the overall cost, followed by chipping and then transport (Figure 1). The chipping cost is particularly high for the Eucalyptus-Acacia-Pineand Acacia-Pineclasses. These high chipping costs were a result largely of operational issues - including road conditions and related challenges with respect to access and transport - that is, conditions that were site specific and not determined by the species class.
Allometry biomass data verification
The findings from the in-field verification, detailed in-field mensuration, destructive allometry and the actual harvested biomass tonnages were used to confirm the availability of the biomass and calibrate the available biomass GIS data values. The net result was that each of the mapped invasion classes was allocated a relevant biomass value (Table 2). The allometry species class biomass values show a variance of between -22% and +16% from the allocated class biomass values. The relatively high variances within species classes for allometry biomass tonnage results reflect the in-field realities of varying densities, ages and previous selective harvesting by wood cutters. The variances observed justified the in-field harvesting of the biomass to improve the credibility of the estimated volume of biomass availability. Based on the biomass distribution and densities in the GIS database, after being calibrated with the information from the harvested sites, there is approximately 551 550 tonnes of readily accessible woody lAPs scattered across 8900 ha within a 50-km radius of the Coega IDZ.
Feasibility assessment
Eight scenarios were developed to assess the feasibility of harvesting lAPs for energy purposes under different conditions. Each scenario had three different pricing options (the main inputs and assumptions of the model are presented in the Appendix). The eight scenarios are:
1. All activities are outsourced to third parties, and all costs are paid for by energy entrepreneur.
2. All activities are outsourced to third parties, but harvesting and extraction cost is carried by the Natural Resource Management (NRM) programmes (i.e. WfW).
3. As in Scenario 2, but biomass is allowed to dry in-field for 60 days.
4. Transporting is done in-house, all other activities are outsourced to third parties, but harvesting and extraction cost is carried by the NRM programmes.
5. Transporting and chipping are done in-house, but harvesting and extraction cost is carried by the NRM programmes.
6. As in Scenario 5, but biomass is allowed to dry in-field for 60 days.
7a. As in Scenario 6, but the biomass cost payable by the pelletising plant to NRM is increased from ZAR100/tonne (Scenarios 1-6), to ZAR150/tonne.
7b. As in Scenario 7a, but limiting the operation to 100 000 tonnes.
The costs of all the scenarios were based on the actual data that was collected throughout the course of the project, except for the transport costs of Scenarios 4-6 which were based on the Road Freight Association's information. The chipping costs for Scenarios 5 and 6 were based on the default costs of the manufacturer of the chippers (Bandit). The price for coal was set at 4.7c/MJ, which is 95% of the value of thermal coal landed in the municipal area.
Feasibility assessment results
Scenario 1, the scenario under which the energy entrepreneur has to carry all the cost, is not financially viable (Table 3). Scenario 6 offers the highest net present value for the net income to the energy entrepreneur. Under this scenario the energy entrepreneur would be responsible for all chipping and transport activities in-house, allow the biomass to dry for 60 days in-field, and compensate the WfW ZAR100/t (wet) biomass harvested (felled and extracted to road side). Scenario 6, however, implies an increase in clearing cost to the WfW from a norm of about ZAR6000/ha to ZAR11 200/ha which does not meet the WfW mandate of cost-effective clearing of IAPs. This is despite the large externality benefits as a result of the biomass replacing coal as energy feedstock. The introduction of Scenario 7a, which is the same as Scenario 6 except for an increase in the cost of the biomass to ZAR150/tonne, reduces the cost of clearing for the WfW to ZAR8200/ha. The estimates with respect to the externality costs only refer to the use of coal for electricity generation purposes in the Highveld of South Africa as point of reference. This approach excludes the externality cost associated with the transport of the coal to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. It also excludes, as an addition, the externality benefits associated with clearing IAPs. It was decided to exclude these benefits as they are very site specific and because a harvesting plan and method had not been developed; it would be erroneous to include them.
Scenarios 7a and 7b indicate the economic feasibility of the operation without comparing it with the cost of coal. Using a calorific value of 11.5 MJ/kg for biomass with a moisture content of 35% (i.e. freshly cut) and 13.6 MJ/kg for biomass with a moisture content of 25% (i.e. after an in-field drying period of 60 days), the energy unit costs for all the scenarios were estimated (Figure 2). While the unit costs of Scenarios 7a (ZAR28.7/GJ) and 7b (ZAR31/GJ) exceed that of Scenario 6 (ZAR24.8/GJ), they are still much lower than that of coal (ZAR49/GJ), making them potentially economically feasible.
Invasive alien plants are widespread in South Africa and pose a major threat to the country's water sources and biodiversity as well as threatening lives and infrastructure by being fire prone. At the same time, South Africa is highly dependent on coal for its energy needs. We investigated the economic feasibility of using woody IAPs as a source of bioenergy in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. The total cost of the operation could be as high as ZAR62/GJ, which compares unfavourably to that of coal at ZAR49/GJ. If the WfW programme bears a portion of the cost, the direct cost to the energy entrepreneur declines to between ZAR25/GJ and ZAR31/GJ depending on the scenario. Under such conditions, the harvesting of IAPs for bioenergy purposes is both financially and economically viable given the large, positive externalities associated with such an operation, namely replacing fossil fuels, clearing IAPs and generating employment.
In sum, the project is financially viable when done in conjunction with the WfW programme and has high socio-economic returns with respect to a reduction in environmental externalities and the creation of job opportunities.
We acknowledge funding from Working for Water and the Industrial Development Corporation. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments. Calculations and factors were reproduced with permission from the Road Freight Association. These figures were derived from the Vehicle Costing Schedule (VCS) - Edition 47 (April 2013). Neither the Road Freight Association nor the authors are responsible for any misuse of the data or assumptions quoted in this article.
Authors' contributions
W.M. was responsible for all data collection, data analysis and the compilation of the text. J.B. was responsible for the project management, data analysis and the compilation of the text. M.J. was responsible for the site management, client and landowner liaison and technical analysis. J.d.W was responsible for the verification of the data in relation to forestry benchmark statistics. A.K. was responsible for managing the WfW harvesting and extraction teams. S.J. was co-responsible for the allometry estimates. B.C. was responsible for the GIS analysis. J.J. was responsible for landowner liaison from a WfW perspective. D.L.M. was responsible for the GIS and allometry calibration. M.v.d.V. was co-responsible for the allometry estimates.
1. Blignaut JN, Marais C, Turpie J. Determining a charge for the clearing of invasive alien plant species to augment water supply in South Africa. Water SA. 2007;33(1):27-34. [ Links ]
2. Turpie JK, Marais C, Blignaut JN. Evolution of a Payments for Ecosystem Services mechanism that addresses both poverty and ecosystem service delivery in South Africa. Ecol Econ. 2008;65:788-798. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.12.024 [ Links ]
3. Van Wilgen BW, Reyers B, Le Maitre DC, Richardson DM, Schonegevel L. A biome-scale assessment of the impact of invasive alien plants on ecosystem services in South Africa. J Environ Manage. 2008;89:336-349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.06.015 [ Links ]
4. Le Maitre DC, Gaertner M, Marchante E, Ens EJ, Holmes PM, Pauchard A, et al. Impacts of introduced Australian acacias on ecosystem services and functions, and options for restoration. Divers Distrib. 2011;17:1015-1029. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00816.x [ Links ]
5. Crookes D, Blignaut JN, De Wit M, Esler K, Le Maitre D, Milton S, et al. Dynamic modelling to assess economic viability and risk trade-offs for eight ecological restoration projects in a water-scarce developing country. J Environ Manage. 2013;120:138-147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.02.001 [ Links ]
6. Riekert JW, Koch SF. Projecting the external health costs of a coal-fired power plant: The case of Kusile. J Energy South Afr. 2012;23(4):52-66. [ Links ]
7. Blignaut JN. Climate change: The opportunity cost of Medupi and Kusile power stations. J Energy South Afr. 2012;23(4):67-75. [ Links ]
8. Inglesi-Lotz R, Blignaut JN. Estimating the opportunity cost of water for the Kusile and Medupi coal-fired electricity power plants in South Africa. J Energy South Afr. 2012;23(4):76-84. [ Links ]
9. Nkambule NP Blignaut JN. The external costs of coal mining: the case of collieries supplying Kusile power station. J Energy South Afr. 2012;23(4):85-93. [ Links ]
10. Epstein PR, Buonocore JJ, Eckerle K, Hendryx M, Stout Ill BM, Heinberg R, et al. Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal in 'Ecological Economics Reviews'. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2011;1219:73-98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05890.x [ Links ]
11. Amerasinghe N, Porter S. Fossilized thinking. The World Bank, Eskom, and the real cost of coal. Washington DC: CIEL; 2011. [ Links ]
12. Letsoalo A, Blignaut J, De Wet T, De Wit M, Hess S, Tol RSJ, et al. Triple dividends of water consumption charges in South Africa. Water Resour Res. 2007;43(5):W05412. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004076 [ Links ]
13. O'Farrell P Le Maitre D, De Lange W, Reyers B, Blignaut J, Milton S, et al. The possibilities and pitfalls presented by a pragmatic approach to ecosystem service valuation in an arid biodiversity hotspot. J Arid Environ. 2011;75:612-623. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.01.005 [ Links ]
14. Bowyer J. Life cycle impacts of heating with wood in scenarios ranging from home and institutional heating to community scale district heating systems. Minneapolis, MN: Dovetail Partners, Inc.; 2012. [ Links ]
15. Marais C, Eckert J, Green C. Utilisation of invaders for secondary industries, a preliminary assessment. Best management practices for preventing and controlling invasive alien species - Symposium proceedings. Cape Town: Working for Water Programme; 2000. [ Links ]
16. Blignaut J, Mander M, Schulze R, Horan M, Dickens C, Pringle K, et al. Restoring and managing natural capital towards fostering economic development: Evidence from the Drakensberg, South Africa. Ecol Econ. 2010;69:1313-1323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.01.007 [ Links ]
17. De Groot R, Blignaut JN, Van Der Ploeg S, Aronson J, Elmqvist T Farley J. Benefits of investing in ecosystem restoration. Conserv Biol. 2013;27(6):1286-1293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12158 [ Links ]
18. Blignaut J, Aronson J, De Groot R. Restoration of natural capital: A key strategy on the path to sustainability. Ecol Eng. 2013;65:54-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.09.003 [ Links ]
19. Le Maitre DC, Van Wilgen BW, Chapman RA, McKelly DH. Invasive plants and water resources in the Western Cape: Modelling the consequences of a lack of management. J Appl Ecol. 1996;33:161-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2405025 [ Links ]
20. Cobbing B. Estimation of alien plant biomass for EC biomass fuel pellets. For the Working for Water Project areas within a 50km zone around Port Elizabeth. Grahamstown: CSS; 2012. [ Links ]
21. Van Laar A, Theron JM. Equations for predicting the biomass of Acacia cyclopsand Acacia salignain the Western and Eastern Cape regions of South Africa: Part 1: Tree-level models. S Afr For J. 2004;201:25-34. [ Links ]
22. Van Laar A, Theron JM. Equations for predicting the biomass of Acacia cyclopsand Acacia salignain the Western and Eastern Cape regions of South Africa: Part 2: Stand level models. S Afr For J. 2004;201:35-42. [ Links ]
23. Theron JM, Van Laar A, Kunneke A, Bredenkamp BV. A preliminary assessment of utilizable biomass in invading Acaciastands on the Cape coastal plains. S Afr J Sci. 2004;100:123-125. [ Links ]
James Blignaut
Department of Economics
University of Pretoria
Private Bag X20
Hatfield 0028
South Africa
EMAIL: email@example.com
Received:30 Dec. 2013
Revised: 10 Mar. 2014
Accepted: 15 Mar. 2014


text:
Television Coverage
December 2011: KING-5 (Seattle's NBC affilitae) ran a 2-minute feature devoted entirely to our sustainability programs here at Stevens Pass! This ran during the evening news cycle on December 17, 2011. Click to see story and footage.
Print Media Coverage
Spring 2013: Supply Chain Sustainability from Nat'l Ski Areas Association Journal
February 2013: Stevens Pass #2 in National Report Card for Ski Resorts from the New York Times
January 2013: Global Warming and WA Ski Resorts from Puget Sound Business Journal
January 2013: Sustainable Purchasing from Ski Area Management magazine
November 2012: Featured as a "Green 50" Winner in Seattle Business Magazine's annual issue
May 2012: Coverage of "Golden Eagle Award for Env. Excellence" from Outside Magazine
October 2011: Stevens Pass Electric Vehicle Chargers from Nat'l Ski Areas Association Journal
November 2009: Environmental Program coverage from Seattle Weekly's Winter Ski Guide
News Radio Coverage
May 2009: A longer version of the story below as part of a one-hour special on green jobs in Washington, on Seattle's NPR station, KUOW. Our segment is about 5½ minutes into the show: LISTEN NOW
April 2009: Our environmental staff were interviewed about our work and sustainability efforts, leading to a story on the nationally syndicated news program Environmental Report, April 6, 2009: LISTEN NOW
Case Study: US Travel Association "TravelGreen"
In 2009, we were invited to be a green case-study on a new website operated by the US Travel Association, the group that serves as the leading national voice for the $750 billion travel industry in the U.S! They launched TravelGreen.Org to publicize and explain the sustainability efforts of travel-related businesses nationwide. Right now, we're one of only 2 ski resorts profiled!
Inside Stevens Articles
January 2009: "Taking the (Environmental) Initiative at Stevens Pass"
Ross Freeman, Environment & Sustainability Manager
March 2008: "The Stevens Pass Environmental Program"
John Meriwether, Director of Environmental Services


text:
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Hot desi online free dating Pakistani Punjabi Picture Collection
These pics are taken From Internet and with from visitors.if you have any pics send to me firstname.lastname@example.com. www.indian-online-free--dating-girls.blogspot.com is not responsible any incoviences. contact me for more details firstname.lastname@example.com.( reena.reena19 skype)
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Park City, UTHome Menu
- Hot Searches:
- transit-bus
- play
- services
City Council Contact Information:
445 Marsac Avenue
Park City, UT. 84060
Email all
Phone and Mail Information
Council Community Outreach Series
City Council invites you to join us for a series of informal meet-ups connecting City Council with residents to chat about Park City issues and initiatives.
The time, locations and formats will vary; however the event will usually be held monthly on the last Tuesday of the month. The events are open to the public and free to attend.
Please contact Linda Jager at 435.615.5189 if you have any questions about the series.
View 2018 Appointments
City Council Rules of Order and Procedure - Resolution No. 29-12
City Council Goals - Council Values, Goals, & Priorities


text:
Jenny Najduch
ALSC Marketing Specialist
(312) 280-4026
For Immediate Release,
March 4, 2008
2008 Penguin Young Readers Group Award Winners named
CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has awarded four children's librarians with the 2008 Penguin Young Readers Group Award. The award consists of a $600 grant, sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group, for winners to attend their first ALA Annual Conference.
Barbara J. Head from Multnomah County Library in Portland, Ore.; Cheryl Fishman from Boynton Beach City Library in Boynton Beach, Fla.; Sara Jeffress from Tuzzy Consortium Library in Barrow, Ala.; and Madeline Walton-Hadlock from San Jose Public Library-Cruz Alum Rock Branch in San Jose, Calif. are the four winning librarians.
To be considered for the award, applicants must have less than 10 years of experience as a children's librarian and work directly with children. Also, the award is only available to first-time conference attendees.
"I love working with young people of all ages, and I am enthusiastic about the work I do and the many opportunities I have to teach and communicate the importance of literacy," said award winner Walton-Hadlock. "By attending the 2008 ALA Annual Conference, I hope to gain information that will help me improve the services I offer to my community and bring back to my library new ideas for reaching the diverse urban population of San José."
ALSC is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,200 children's and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for all children by creating better opportunities. To learn more about ALSC, visit their Web site at www.ala.org/alsc.
Members of the 2008 Penguin Young Readers Group Award committee include: Alison O'Reilly, Austin Public Library Southeast Austin, Austin, Texas; Rita Auerbach, New York, N.Y.; Beth Blankley, Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Tracy-Lyn Van Dyne, Connetquot Public Library, Bohemia, N.Y.


text:
Views: 276
Replies to This Discussion
i am on the westside of houston. gessner/westheimer/tanglewilde. looking for a practice partner. let me know if you wanna play
Hi! I am also getting back into playing and would like to start playing on a regular basis. I live in the medical center very close to Rice. Let me know if you'd like to play.
Hit me up! :) I can play any of those areas... I want to play this week!!!
Email me at email@example.com if interested. :)
Hi Michael,
If you're still looking for someone to play, let me know. This weekend I'm open. Mornings are best though...
hi Michael
I'm new to town and i stay near bellaire. I'm looking for tennis partner to hit with so if you're interested let me know. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
PS: i'm free after 2pm and weekend.
Hey, interested in playing- weekends, Tuesday/wednesday mornings, Monday evenings. I live at 59/Shepard. Hit me up if you wanna play! email@example.com
Anyone here live around Willowbrook mall/1960 area, and wanna hit on weekday evening or weekend? Let me know at firstname.lastname@example.com. I think my ranking is about 2.5-3.0
© 2019 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


text:
CD-adapco is the world's largest independent CFD focused provider of engineering simulation software, support and services. We have over 30 years of experience in delivering industrial strength engineering simulation.
New York and London. June 27, 2013
CD-adapco's latest release is even easier to use and interact with, and significantly reduces the time required to get a high-quality solution.
CD-adapco, the largest privately held CFD focused CAE provider, today announced the second release of their STAR-CCM+ v8 software. "Our latest release is specifically aimed at increasing engineering productivity, making the software even easier to use and interact with, and significantly reducing the time required to get a high-quality solution," said Senior VP Product Management Jean-Claude Ercolanelli. "STAR-CCM+ v8.04 [1] is the second of our v8 releases to benefit from our investment in a dedicated User Experience Team, whose task is to dissect and improve every aspect of the software, resulting in more effective and more productive simulation engineers."
"STAR-CCM+ v8.04 raises the bar even further" continued Ercolanelli, "With ground-breaking performance enhancements resulting from new features such as continuum-wide partitioning, which dramatically improves the parallel scalability for complex multi-region simulations, with usability improvements such as the new object selector which makes the selection of multiple objects much simpler, and with increased product scope from the new overlapping overset [2] capability, which allows you to easily model applications with complex relative motion such as gear pumps, and from the new adjoint flow solver with which you can even predict the effect of design modifications before making them."
User Experience related enhancements include:
Solution turnaround Time related enhancements include:
Expanded coverage includes:
[1] http://www.cd-adapco.com/products/star-ccm
[2] http://www.cd-adapco.com/blog/deborah-eppel/epicyclic-gear-simulation-overlapping-overset-mesh
[3] http://www.cd-adapco.com/blog/sabine-goodwin/unlocking-mystery-adjoint-solver
[4] http://www.cd-adapco.com
[5] mailto:email@example.com


text:
Word was circulating yesterday that Nina Totenberg, the 68-year-old legal-affairs reporter for NPR and the doyenne of the Supreme Court press corps, had gotten tossed out of the Roger Clemens trial for eating potato chips. At least, that's what we heard from a tipster.
We emailed Totenberg to see if it was true.
"Not true," she wrote back.
Alrighty! Around this time, our tipster retracted the potato-chips tip; turns out it was a cell phone—forbidden in the courtroom—that got her the boot. We followed up with Totenberg.
"I wasn't removed," she wrote back.
We'll take her at her word.
Are you at the Clemens trial and trying to come up with a way to get kicked out/pass the time? Drop me a line: email@example.com.


text:
Big eye-popping screen and luxurious design
Outstanding battery life
Fast processor and data speeds
Colors are vibrant and the 1,280-by-720 pixel resolution is sharp
Fast performance
Good call quality
Solid build quality
Strong call quality
Features a fast processor, a lovely screen, 4G LTE
Remarkable compact size, thanks to the almost bezel-less display
Great performance for the money
Affordable and compact
Plenty of multimedia features
Stand-out design, materials and build quality
Fantastic qHD display, blazing LTE speeds
Ultra-powerful and fast
Perfect size, Fast performance, 4G LTE support
Bang for your buck in terms of both performance and style
Big, bright screen & a fast processor
Nice, mostly stock ICS experience
Excellent 720p display
Large 2530mAh battery
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,474 products.
© 2019 ReviewGist.com. All Rights Reserved.


text: Having a problem with piping emails from postfix to shell script. Here's the setup: Ubuntu 12.10, Postfix with MySQL Virtual Users (followed this guide) I have domain example.com which I am hosting email for. When an email comes in for example.com, if a virtual user exists for the to address then send the email normally. If the user doesn't exist, pipe the email to a script. I have set up a transport for example.com and defined it in master.cf to pipe the email to the script. The script checks if a user exists for the To address and acts accordingly. The problem is that if the user doesn't exist, the email never makes it to my transport. Instead I get "user unkown in virtual alias table" in mail.log. So the question is, how can I tell postfix not to reject email for unkown users on a specific domain, or is that even possible? btw, I know that adding a catchall alias for the domain will solve this, but it doesn't work in my setup as I need to preserve the To address, and a catchall alias changes the to address to the catchall. Thanks in advance for any help


text:
Clinic Hours M-F 8am – 6pm.
Address155 E Sonterra Blvd
Suite: 101
San Antonio, TX 78258
Testosterone Replacement Therapy Clinics
Clinic Hours M-F 8am – 6pm.
I am writing this letter so you might hear from a very happy client. . . I am seeing the benefits of this treatment and hope to continue this therapy into the future. Thank You.
I really want to take this opportunity to thank you, with all sincerity, for not only the time you spent with me, but also for the level of care and concern you displayed towards me — a complete stranger. . . .I thank you for all your help.
Ageless Men's Health has been dedicated to assisting men with low testosterone levels since opening our first clinic in 2007.
Now with several locations throughout the United States, we remain focused on the client's needs based upon reported symptoms and tested levels during their initial and ongoing evaluations.
Copyright © 2019 · All Rights Reserved · Site by Positive Element · Log in


text:
Cooking For Engineers
Analytical cooking discussed.
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Equipment & Gear: Kitchen Knives
Goto page
Cooking For Engineers Forum Index
Comments Forum
View previous topic
View next topic
Joined: 06 Jan 2011
Posts: 1
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:27 pm
Post subject:
What do you use in sharpening your vegetable knife?
Back to top
Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:35 am
Post subject:
Does anyone out there have experience with Rada knives? I am considering them, but would love to hear some feedback on the pros and cons if anyone can weigh in on those
Back to top
Guest Chef & Bladesmi
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:06 am
Post subject: Selecting and sharpening
As a Professional Chef and a Hobbist Bladesmith I have some basic points to make:
Aesthetics are for interior decorators. In the professional world the standard is to use the proper tool for the job. If you only want something that gets the job done occasionally, keep your spending to the minimum to acheive that functionality. Bear in mind that World Renown Master Chefs have been using practical knives for Centuries; knives made of far less quality of materials than what we have available today. Even the most basic stamped 8 inch throw away stainless steel Chef knife is of better and more consistant than what was commonly available in the Middle Ages. And the best of the period, those beautiful japanese iron wrapped, steel edged katana blades... they were comprable in cost to todays new off the lot corvette and up.
So unless you are prepping vegatables or butchering meats for 6 plus hours a day, every day, I can only reccommend that you find a knife that is the most comfortable to use for its inteded purpose while spending the least amount of money possible. If it looks cool but feels horrible than you are a danger to yourself (and possibly others) while you are using it. If it looks like crap, but it holds an edge, is really comfortable and you would not mind using it for 15 hours of cutting small diced carrots for mirepoix - than you probably should be buying that 8 dollar stamped knife at the smart and final store. I did. And I still do.
Sharpening - Stainless steel will never hold as fine an edge as high carbon steel. This is because stainless is a much softer kind of steel. the alloy that makes it stainless also makes it softer and hardening it only makes it brittle. High carbon steel truly is a different animal. And yes, you absolutely can sharpen it to a razor edge. It will need to be attended to very carefully to maintain its surface from etching from acids and rusting from water and moisture. But, well maintained blades will quickly show themselves to be far superior.
Wash your knife immediately after use with warm water and mild soap. Rinse Well and Dry Thoroughly! I keep my blades with a exceptionally light coating of cutting block oil, and they do not rust. I also run them gently over the steel about 12 times before use, each time I start a new task. The result is that I usually only need to sharpen my carbon steel every three months of very heavy use.
I personally have a considerable selection of knives that I have accumulated over the years. I've had many duds and a few winners. I have also learned a lot more about metalurgy and knife construction than I had ever planned. One thing I tell you is that without exception, all knives become dull. It is basic physics called friction. Its the same reason why getting a nasty abrasion from a fall on a hard gravel path does really bad and painful things to your skin.
Yes, some edges are more durable than others, but this is due to the quality of the materials and the amount and care of use by the weilder. A sharpening steel will keep the burr in good shape but only for so long. eventually all knives will reach a point in thier use when they will need to be reground. You can do this with the right tools and the right instruction. but a professional will have his reputation on the line when he accepts your knives to sharpen... you will like the results. your knives may even be better then when you first acquired them.
p.s. using an uncooled power tool to sharpen a blade can easily alter the temper of the metal and decrease the edge holding capacity of your blade.
Back to top
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:32 pm
Post subject: Thanks for the info
This is great, I have not long moved into my first house and now need to buy all my kitchen bits, so this article has been a great help for me because I didn't realise there where so many types of knives to buy for different tasks!
Thanks Nath
Back to top
Joined: 12 Dec 2012
Posts: 3
Location: South Windsor, CT
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:27 pm
Post subject: Blades are nice, but Edges are more important
Once you get settled in your new house, you need to find a cutler to edge your knives for you. You can hone them yourself, but don't bother trying to sharpen them; 99% of us will just mess the blade up. Check the local paper or Craigslist for one. A good guy can set different edges based on need. I use a more aggressive edge on one boning knife than another, so I can do particularly fine work with it, but if I a boning a leg-o-baaah, then I use the one with a less aggressive edge that can take a beating. He can also scratch a blade so that it can grab what it is cutting, so slicing tomatoes is a breeze. Stay away from the guy at the meat counter; likely his knives are the food service ones, and he just grinds them.
And don't forget good ol' Carbon Steel blades. Some of the best out there are carbon steel again, and they can get sharper than any of the stainless types. You can pick up old stamped ones at flea markets to try them out; surface rust is fine, and they clean up with a little steel wool. I got a 10" chef that way, decided that I like it, and picked up a SWEET F. Dick blade for a song (compared to Wusthof or Shun).
Back to top
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:38 pm
Post subject:
I am kind of on a crossroad, not sure what to do. Out of all the information that I've looked for and found Wusthof and Shun seem to be a choice of many. I got to actually feel the some of the Wusthof Selection in my hand and they were simply amazing. They had great balance and when I grabbed the cleaver, o my, not sure if I would be brave enough to use it, I'd probably use a finger or two...I liked what I seen..
Then the shun, well I'm liking what I see from them too. The blades are just freaking awesome and very good looking, I love the grainy look, really are a set of nice looking knives, plus from what I read, they retain the sharpness better than most, which is good.
Long story short I'm up in arms on which set to invest in. I found some good prices on both shun and wusthof at: (spam link removed) But I'm not sure what to go with...My tipping point is toward Wusthof because the price points are little bit lower than shun and I actually got to feel them in my hand so I know what to expect, but Shun looks intriguing.... So my question is what would you suggest the wusthof or anty up for the shun... I'm currently looking at the shun Classic Essentials Set 7pc and the Wusthof Classic Ikon Set 9pc ... obviously there is a two piece difference but looking for some good feedback here... If I'm going to invest this much into a set, I want to make sure I make the right choice...
Back to top
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1215
Location: central PA
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:29 pm
Post subject:
you could always ask Todd.
he'll tell you a knife has to be comfortable and feel right in your hand.
there are many other touted differences between the old clunker style German knives and the Japanese style knives.
Back to top
Display posts from previous:
All Posts
1 Day
7 Days
2 Weeks
1 Month
3 Months
6 Months
1 Year
Oldest First
Newest First
Cooking For Engineers Forum Index
Comments Forum
All times are GMT
Goto page
Jump to:
Select a forum
Cooking For Engineers
Cooking For Engineers Website Discussion
Messages from Michael
Comments Forum
Travel Comments Forum
Useless Stuff Comments Forum
Food, Cooking, & Dining
Cooking Tips
Cooking for Two
Favorite Foods
Tools, Equipment, and Gadgets
General Food Discussion
General Discussion
Anything Goes
Engineer Speak
post new topics in this forum
reply to topics in this forum
edit your posts in this forum
delete your posts in this forum
vote in polls in this forum
Powered by
© 2001, 2005 phpBB Group


text:
Al-Jazeera Buys Current TV
Al-Jazeera announced Wednesday that it was acquiring Current TV, the network launched by former Vice President Al Gore.
"By acquiring Current TV, Al Jazeera will significantly expand our existing distribution footprint in the U.S., as well as increase our newsgathering and reporting efforts in America," Al-Jazeera Director General Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani said in a statement.
The new channel, Al-Jazeera America, will be based in New York. The Qatar-based Arabic-language network already operates an English-language arm, Al-Jazeera English. The New York Times reported that roughly 60 percent of the new network's programming will be produced in the U.S.; the rest will come from Al-Jazeera English.
The acquisition gives Al-Jazeera, which is financed by the Qatari government, access to an American TV audience. According to The Times, Current is available in about 60 million of the 100 million homes with cable or satellite service.
Here's The Times' Media Decoder blog's take on the acquisition:
"To date, the country's cable and satellite distributors have been reluctant to carry Al Jazeera English. It is available in just a handful of cities, including New York and Washington. To change that, Al Jazeera has lobbied distributors, called for a letter-writing campaign by supporters and promoted its widely praised coverage of the Arab Spring.
"Acquiring Current TV, and thus its distribution deals across the country, solves this dilemma for Al Jazeera, at least partially."
In its statement, Al-Jazeera said that it will open new bureaus across the U.S. It already operates bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. The expansion, the network said, will double Al-Jazeera's U.S.-based staff to more than 300 employees.


text:
Tampa Field Division
Welcome to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Tampa Field Division. Our Division is responsible for ATF criminal enforcement and industry regulatory activities in 58 of the 67 counties in the State of Florida. The ATF Tampa Field Division encompasses over 44,370 sq. miles with a population of more than 12 million people. The Tampa Field Division consists of two Federal Judicial Districts, the Northern and Middle Judicial Districts of Florida. Read more about the Tampa Field Division.
Management Team
Daryl R. McCrary
Special Agent in Charge (SAC)
Craig Kailimai
Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC)
John Wester
Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC)
Aaron Gerber
Director of Industry Operations (DIO)
Mary Harmon Eliason
Area Supervisor, Acting Public Information Officer (PIO)
Text the code ATFTAM to 63975 and then follow the link to create a report.
Division Contact Information
400 North Tampa Street, Suite 2100
Tampa, Florida 33602
Voice: (813) 202-7300
Fax: (813) 202-7301


text:
Photos by: Bethany Struble Shirt by: H&M Jacket by: Paige Denim Pants by: Uniqlo Shoes by: Palladium
Monday, May 26, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Spring Waves in Summer Heat
Photos by: Bethany Struble Shirt by: H&M Pants by: Kasil Shoes by: Aldo
This Heat wave has got me beach cravin. Luckily as a SoCal native, the beach is only a short drive away. Let me know in the comments below how you beat the heat waves!
Posted by Peter/Yoshi at 5:09 PM 7 comments:
Labels: aldo, chino, hm, kasil, kasilworkshop, mensfashion, menswear, ootd, Peter Adrian, stripes, wiwt
Monday, May 5, 2014
Island in the Sun
Photos by: Bethany Struble Shirt by: Rhythm living Denim Shirt: Pacsun Shorts: Adidas Neo Label
LA weather has been so darn hot. Which not a bad thing :] it just means beach weather is THAT much closer. Heres a quick casual outfit pairing light blue denim with light blue details.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
OJS Roadmap
From PKP Wiki
Development Roadmap
Milestone 3.0 (Current - Q4 2009)
PKP Framework
- Development of a common framework for all PKP software.
- See Modularization of PKP Systems for details.
Milestone 2.3 (Current - Q4 2008)
- Article of the day
- Photos for Masthead
- Allow for short Announcements
- Package OJS as CVS checkout
- For users who will not be using OJS to publish journal co...
- W3C Validator complaints
- Disable user creation/enrollment for disabled roles
- Streamline access for users with a single role
- example wording of path
- Import Timeout Issues
- Report a Bug/Request a Feature for Users
- Include word counts for locale keys and files
- Multiple thesis authors
- Tag-cloud of submission keywords
- List most searched-for words
- Add RSS feed for article comments
- Access to printer-friendly version of article if RT disabled
- Register existing using button does not validate role
- Merge users should selectively transfer subscription
- Add TinyMCE support to reviewer comments
- Extend the xmlGalleys plugin to include support for DocBo...
- Reply to reviewer comments should quote parent title + 'Re:'
- Allow for image uploads with TinyMCE
- Custom Sidebar Block Plugin
- Extend Editor/Author review workflow to include multiple ...
- Expedited Submission Process creates unecessary copies of...
- Italics in titles causing issues with reading tools display.
- Advanced search year is hardcoded in, insufficient for ol...
- moving common templates into the PKP source tree and abst...
Proposed for Future Release
Less linear workflow
- Less downloading and uploading req'd for workflow
- Possibility of using a single file for all workflow and tracking changes rather than submitting new files for each stage (perhaps with drag and drop, with copies left behind for documentation)
Better support for pre-prints
- "In press" section for articles that are currently in holding for actual publication.
Thesis Workflow Tool
- OJS as a thesis submission and tracking system.
- SFU Library has a project on the books to develop a more robust thesis workflow tool.
Submission as single file
- Submission model might be made better by including the option to make a .pdf containing the article, all supplementary files and appropriate metadata. Advantages include no need to de-identify properties, and review document is a single document - no need to download all figures, supplementary documents, etc in order to review. Of course, letter to editor and other documents not for reviewers would need to be submitted not to be included.
- configurable metadata: mappings to/from common schemas? (eg. DC, METS)
- output in multiple document formats (galleys framework refactor)
- Shibboleth, CAS, WebAuth, SiteMinder, OpenID
- APT/Ubuntu package installation
- lucene-compatible full-text indexing
- EPrints uses LCSH controlled vocab. indexing + local structure
- expose all data as RDF (Hyperjournal)
- SQLite storage backend (through ADODB; speaking of which, an update to bundled ADODB version?)
- custom role permissions
- fully customizable workflow
- direct submission ingestion via, eg. FTP or WebDAV
- "the same article can belong to multiple journals" (TOPAZ)
- "contextualization" features for linked bib data (this seemed like OJS' reading tools?) (Hyperjournal)
- add option to "display ISSN in sidebar" near the ISSN field in journal setup
- add 'Former Journal Title' and 'Former ISSN' as repeatable fields, for journals that have changed their names and/or ISSNs once or twice or more.
- announcements should display newest to oldest by default; and also allow for re-ordering by the JM
- import transaction/rollback
- more flexible statistics
- arbitrary metadata gateway
- Dspace export
- support alternate stylesheet for PDA viewing
- support for embedded video (youtube style)
- user/article thesaurus/controlled vocabulary
- user tagging
- ACL:based permission classes
- WYSIWYG special character handling (e.g., tinyMCE extension for latek)
- "login as" behavior should be limited in certain contexts
- centralized role management for plugins
- featured article plugin/block
- user friendly error handling/logging
- local private messaging system a la phpBB
- scholar's portal plugin interface (UTL)
- advanced search options / interfaces (eg. zend lucene index plugin)
- mobile / WML plugin (athabasca)
- exporting to LAC web interface
- option to make abstracts a required field for journal sections
- add DOI to citations
- "Advice Tool" - integrating links to publishing references directly into the interface (or in the Help files). - from Mark Weiler, email Nov 6, 2007
- Allow reviewers to make additional comments after completing their review.
- Add a "email reviewer" icon to the editor interface for each submission. This would allow communication between the reviewer and the editor to take place within OJS and be captured in the History
- Allow Journal Managers to create customized email groups for sending out messages (i.e., they could create an email 'group', select the users to include, and then send to that group whenever required).
- Make the CSS and/or templates editable within the web admin interface -- see WordPress as an example
- Enabling specific reading tools at a section level - Submitted by Mark Weiler (email@example.com) - Currently, when reading tools are enabled, they are enabled for all the issues (current, future, past) in the entire journal. Thus, the decision to enable reading tools is global (affecting all sections) and is diachronical (affecting all past/present/future) issues. It would be useful feature if the journal manager or editor could create sections and specify what reading tools are enabled for those particular sections and even particular issues. With respects to the reader comments reading tool, this would allow editors to create innovative sections. For example, a journal may want to have a section that is unique in that editorial team actively seeks readers to add comments to the articles. Or a journal that is in the practice of enabling readers to comment for all sections, may wish to create a section that does not have reader comments enabled.


text:
They are PC/MAC/Cell(&devices) each with sub sections for win7/xp/win8 Ect.... If your system isn't listed please post what needs to be added.
This way the users that use one or the other can help those that use the same. And in time when we see a user that helps we can make them a MOD in their section.
I have my preference and knowledge but know nothing of the others, so there is no need for me to even look at posts about Cell/Mac/ATV/XBMC .... I'm windows and that's it
We are trying to fix it to where any question that comes up can be answered by someone no matter the system.
Here are some Pics to show you that can't seem to understand where to post.
The HELP Section
Then Pick the System/Device that you use from the next Sections
Windows Sections you pick which version you have
If you Pick a different System/Device say the Cell Section here is what it will look like.


text:
Find all healthcare centers in Roslyn Harbor, New York or medical centers around your actual location.
Roslyn Harbor map with healthcare centers is the best place to discover all related medical centers in Roslyn Harbor, along with their address, phone number and other contact information, including map and directions.
Page 1
Medical Center Name
Web address
Roslyn Harbor map with medical centers locations.
Tags: Roslyn Harbor medical center, Roslyn Harbor medical center, Roslyn Harbor health care center .
Medical center • Health center • Health care • Hospital •
General Medical/Surgical Hospital • Children's Hospital • Birth Center • Cancer Treatment Center • Psychiatric Hospital


text:
Your Online Source for Swarovski Crystal, Japanese Seed Beads, Findings, Tools and So Much More
No Minimums... & FREE SHIPPING! on US orders over $25.00
Sign Up for our Newsletter & Receive Exclusive Updates of SALES, New Products, Special Offers, and Much More!
Add to Cart
NB Copper 2mm Bead Bright Copper. Pack of 6.


text:
Barracudas Activity Day Camps George Abbot School - Up to £20 off
Avg. Saving £5.00*
* average saving based on two adults and two children
19 members have claimed this offer
- people are currently joining Kids Pass
- Over a million Kids Pass Members are saving thousands of pounds on 5000+ family offers
- Save up to 40% off at cinemas nationwide, including adult and child tickets seven days a week
- Access to thousands of exclusive family friendly offers
- Enjoy thousands of "Kids Eat Free" offers
- Free App for Android and iOS to make saving even easier
Victoria from Cleveland saved £10.09 - Blackpool Zoo
Lindsay from Gloucestershire saved £11.15 - Bristol Zoo
Simon from Lincolnshire saved £5.95 - Handmade Burger Co
Merle from Hertfordshire saved £8.98 - Adventure Wonderland
Carrie from Hampshire saved £4.00 - Little O Toddler Sessions Oxygen
Mark from London saved £139.20 - Alton Towers
Georgia from Cambridgeshire saved £4.10 - Hamerton Zoo
Richard from Derbyshire saved £10.00 - Haven
Amjad from Lancashire saved £5.00 - Oxygen Freejumping Acton
Kira from Cheshire saved £68.50 - Knowsley Safari Park
More About This Offer
Barracudas offers Easter and summer activity day camps in England for children aged between 4½ to 14 years. We've been running the UK's favourite activity day camps for 26 years now, and have a fantastic and experienced team who make sure your children always have a brilliant time with us. With over 30,000 weeks booked last year and loads of amazing feedback from parents, and children alike, it's fantastic to know that our enthusiastic staff are exceeding expectations and giving children such an amazing experience that they cannot wait to come back!
Address and Contact Details
- George Abbot School, Woodruff Avenue, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1XX
- Opening Times: Please check website
- 01480 467567


text:
Tamoxifen and vaginal estrogen use
Last Reviewed: April 14, 2002
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
Over the counter lubricants do not alleviate the atrophic vaginitis that I am experiencing with tamoxifen use. Will using estradiol(25mcg) twice weekly inserted vaginally nullify the efficacy of tamoxifen?
Kevin Fox, MD, Assistant Director, Clinical Affairs and Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:
The effect of vaginal estrogen on the efficacy of tamoxifen is not known. However, you should realize that tamoxifen works quite well in women who are premenopausal and make normal amounts of physiological estrogen. Therefore, vaginal use should not interfere. We recommend vaginal estrogen when necessary in our patients.


text:
Jump to navigation
Morgan Sindall is a UK construction and infrastructure business with a network of local offices. The company works for private and public sector customers on projects and frameworks from £50,000 to over £1 billion.
Overbury specialises in fit out and refurbishment nationally with projects ranging from a few thousand pounds up to £100 million.
Located in London and the Thames Valley, Morgan Lovell is the UK's leading office interior design, fit out and refurbishment specialist.
Lovell has expertise in housing-led regeneration including new-build, open market sales, refurbishment and planned maintenance.
Morgan Sindall Property Services deliver planned and 24/7 responsive maintenance services nationwide to more than 200,000 homes and public buildings.
Muse Developments is one of the country's leading names in mixed-use development and urban regeneration.
Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd. provides project development & funding solutions allowing private & public sector partners to implement sustainable change, improving prospects & well-being of local communities
Delivering innovation in design and engineering since 1957.
Our group companies
Search form
Main menu
Who we are
Responsible business
Our work
Contact Us
Who we are
Our businesses
Our Board
Our people
Latest News
AGM Trading Update: "A strong start to the year"
2018 Annual Results
Morgan Sindall Group Careers
Responsible Business
Links and Downloads
Full Year Results 2018
Corporate factsheet
Partnership Housing brochure
Who we are


text:
Research at NCEAS relies on access to existing data on a broad variety of topics, and these data usually are very difficult to locate, access, interpret, and analyze. Our approach to informatics uses extensive documentation about data (i.e., metadata) to overcome many of these data management challenges. Thus, most of our tools utilize metadata to effectively handle the complexity of ecological data sources.
Our emphasis on metadata-driven systems comes from an ongoing analysis of the capabilities of existing metadata standards that are relevant to ecology. Some of the standards we have examined include the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC), the NBII Biological Data Profile (key sections of which we helped to author), the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, and the Directory Interchange Format (DIF). While several of these standards are relevant, none comprehensively addressed the needs of ecology, particularly in terms of allowing automated data processing on heterogeneous ecological data sources. Thus, we believed there was a need for a new metadata specification with the following properties:
- Modular
- Extensible at run-time
- Highly structured for machine parsing
- Supports automated data processing
- Supports non-geospatial data
- Incorporates important biological metadata (e.g., taxonomy)
- Practical adoption by the ecological community
We designed and developed Ecological Metadata Language (EML) to satisfy these design requirements and to be compatible with metadata recommendations originally developed by the Ecological Society of America's Future of Long-term Ecological Data (FLED) committee and associated efforts (Michener et al., 1997, Ecological Applications). EML is a flexible, highly structured metadata markup language that allows scientists to fully describe their data, while maintaining a light footprint for those scientists not yet ready to invest the time needed to more comprehensively preserve their data. An EML description provides all of the information found in other roughly comparable standards (e.g., Biological Data Profile) but also provides details about both the logical and physical structure of data to allow them to be machine processed by automated systems.
Building these automated systems has been the focus of many of our informatics research projects. Our projects span the whole scientific process, including automating data collection in the field using metadata-driven form generation (Jalama), desktop data and metadata editing (Morpho), data discovery on the network (Morpho), schema-independent data and metadata storage, search, and preservation (Metacat), and metadata-enabled analytical tools for capturing and executing ecological analyses and models as scientific workflows (Monarch, Kepler). Each of these tools relies on metadata, and moves us closer to our goal of an information management solution that allows synthetic re-use of data to flourish.
Advances in ecological informatics will enhance our ability to discover, access, integrate, and appropriately apply the growing body of ecological and other data that are needed to inform integrative environmental research. The informatics projects undertaken by NCEAS staff and collaborators address key challenges in the storage and management of environmental data registries and repositories, discovery and preparation of these data for further analysis and synthesis, advanced automated machine processing of information and models through knowledge representation and semantic mediation approaches, and powerful visualization and intuitive access of these capabilities to the practicing research scientist.


text:
New Delhi (IANS) The government Tuesday clarified that the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. has "not been availing the services of the lobbying firm Patton Bogs for more than a year".
The external affairs ministry's statement follows uproar in parliament following reports that Wal-Mart had spent Rs.125 crore in the last four years to lobby with US lawmakers, and Indian MPs alleged that the firm had indulged in corruption to enter India.
Patton Boggs, one of the lobbying firms which represented Wal-Mart, had been hired by the Indian embassy in the US in 2008 to help clinch the India-US nuclear deal.
Opposition parties opposed to the entry of foreign retail giants in India allege Wal-Mart has used lobbying firms to push for India to go in for FDI in multi-brand retail.
To a question whether the Indian government had taken up the issue of the lobbying and bribing by Wal-Mart with the US government, the spokesperson said he was not aware if India has formally taken it up with the US government.
"And I do not know whether there has been any assurance provided on those grounds at all," he said.


text:
Main navigation |
Main content
Physics Force the Next Generation will
perform at 7:30 PM in Tate Lab of Physics, Room 150.
All are most welcome to attend. Bring your friends and students!
©2005-2013 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer


text:
This is a tutorial to learn KDE programming by examples. It assumes you are working with KDE 4, not KDE 3 (see build_unstable for how to build it).
KDE is tied together with Qt. KDE classes mostly inherit Qt classes and specify them. KDE 4 is based on QT 4, KDE 3 is based on Qt. When this tutorial introduces Qt classes, this helps you learn KDE programming.
Whenever you have a KDE class and want the KDE documentation for it, point your konqueror to kde:KApplication (in case you want help for the class KApplication). For the Qt class QApplication, you can point your konqueror to qt:QApplication.


text:
From palm oil to shale gas – six UK equity tips that look likely to give a positive 2013
WHAT will happen in the next 12 months is difficult to predict. The US "fiscal cliff" seems to have been largely averted but the eurozone sovereign debt issues will never be far away.
However, 2013 is likely to be a positive year for equities as investors look for yield and bond markets overheat.
These six tips are all London-listed companies that look likely to benefit, although there is a degree of risk, especially in the commodity plays. But commodity markets will have a better year this year as China ramps up its infrastructure spending and fears of a disintegration of the euro recede.
MP Evans 485p
MP Evans runs palm oil plantations in Indonesia. Palm oil prices have been falling but cannot keep going down for long. Crude palm oil futures are currently quoting below $800 a tonne, compared with $950 a tonne in August because of record inventories in Malaysia.
Prices are likely to be supported by fears of tightening vegetable oil markets. Soybean planting looks as if it could be delayed because of excessive rain in Argentina and palm oil is already looking relatively cheap compared with oil from soybeans.
The continuing US drought has also raised questions over 2013 production of soybeans. This commodity was Morgan Stanley's second pick in its performance predictions for 2013, with only gold seen as outperforming. This should boost demand for palm oil as a cheaper alternative.
Evans expects to have produced 300,000 tonnes in 2012, rising to 500,000 tonnes by 2015, as its plants mature.
Evans also has a stake in an Australian cattle breeding operation, owning a significant amount of land.
The 2013 earnings multiple is 12.1, falling to 11.8, and the prospective yield is 1.3pc.
London Mining 145p
London Mining produces iron ore from its Marampa mine in Sierra Leone and is developing two other iron ore mines in Saudi Arabia and Greenland. The company also has a coking coal operation in Colombia, so all of its output focuses on the feedstocks for steel.
Iron ore prices are rallying sharply after hitting a three-year low in September and the price of London Mining has not rallied in step. China received 65pc of all global iron ore shipments and concerns about a slowdown dampened prices earlier in the year. However, Credit Suisse expected China's steel output will rise 6pc this year.
Management have recently been wading in to buy shares. In mid-December Graeme Hossie, its chief executive, spent almost £185,000 buying 150,000 shares, Dr Colin Knight, its chairman, spent £40,000 buying 35,000 shares and Sir Nicholas Bonsor, deputy chairman, spent £20,000 buying 15,300 shares.
The company has a 2012 production target of 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore but plans to expand annual output to 5 million tonnes equivalent later this year. A second plant is expected to be completed in the next few months increasing annual capacity to about 3.6 million tonnes.
Currently unprofitable, the company is expected to post its first profits in 2013 and is on an earnings multiple of 4 falling to just 2.8 in 2013.
Heritage Oil 190.3p
Heritage Oil has gone through a transformation this year. It has exited from Kurdistan, where progress on the country's first oil industry legislation has been slow and where it would have faced expensive exploration and developments obligations. Its focus has now moved to Nigeria, where it will soon have production from its purchase of the OML 30 licence from Shell. On Monday, Heritage's Nigerian partner in OML 30, Shoreline Power Company, exercised its option to buy 30pc of the joint venture. Heritage should get $100m (£61.5m) this month.
OML 30 produced 35,704 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in November with 15,665 barrels net for Heritage. This gave revenues of $52m for the month.
Heritage also has assets in Russia and Malta. It is one-third owned by its chief executive, Tony Buckingham.
The current year earnings multiple is 13.4 falling to 6.4 in 2014. This could be a transformational year for Heritage.
Melrose Ind. 226.3p
Melrose Industries was punished after it issued a conservative outlook in November. This looks like an overreaction and the shares have partially recovered since then. Melrose is a turnaround group that employs a private equity-like model to buy underperforming industrial companies.
The last one it bought was German group Elster, which makes smart meters. Management have an impressive track record and analysts commented that the funding of Elster was conservative. However, net debt stands at £306.5m following the deal.
Trading on a 2013 multiple of 13.2, the yield is 3.4pc. The shares are a continuing recovery play.
Capita 755p
Austerity means outsourcing – and Capita is likely to benefit as a result.
The country's largest outsourcing group is likely to return to organic growth of about 3pc when it announces its 2012 results but 2013 should be even better. Like-for-like growth could be as strong as 6pc. This represents strong turnaround from 2011 when organic growth fell by 7pc.
In 2012 margins are likely to be 45 basis points lower but the fall is due to additional costs associated with acquisitions and the start-up of new contracts. The fall is a sign the group has won contracts and is bedding in new business. It is not a "structural" problem that investors should be concerned about.
There is a pipeline of bids worth £3.1bn over the next six months and any wins would lead to upgrades.
The shares are trading on a 2013 earnings multiple of 13.5 compared with its previous 16 when in a growth phase.
San Leon Energy 8.9p
Probably the most speculative of all the 2013 tips, £100m capitalised group San Leon Energy is currently in the process of merging with £50m Aurelian Oil and Gas in an all-share deal.
Both companies are involved in shale gas exploration and their combination means San Leon will hold the largest amount of exploration acreage in Poland, where shale gas prospects look good. It has assets across Europe and North Africa.
Aurelian had €51.4m (£42m) on its balance sheet at its last interim results, so the merger brings in cash to fund the explorations programme.
Successful drilling could lead to a significant re-rating for the shares. However, the group is likely to be loss-making for many years and investors should see this as a relatively risky investment. (©Daily Telegraph, London)
Indo Business


text:
- This event has passed.
Chesapeake Rotary Weekly Luncheon
October 17, 2018 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Please note that event details are subject to change. Refer to the event coordinator for updated event details.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We do our best to keep information updated for events not produced by us. However, please be sure to contact the event organizers directly for specific details and updated information such as time, agenda and ticketing information.
Due to the nature of private functions, some events may not be listed on our calendar.
Need a place to host your next event? Call today 757.382.2500!