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XMM-Newton's fifth anniversary in orbit
XMM-Newton was launched five years ago, on 10 December 1999. It is now detecting more X-ray sources than any previous satellite and is helping to solve many cosmic mysteries of the violent Universe, from what happens in and around black holes to the formation of galaxies in the early Universe.
It was designed and built to return data for at least a decade, and is the biggest science satellite ever built in Europe. Its telescope mirrors are the most sensitive ever developed in the world, and with its sensitive detectors, it sees much more than any previous X-ray satellite.
XMM-Newton's high-technology design uses over 170 wafer-thin cylindrical mirrors spread over three telescopes. Its orbit takes it almost a third of the way to the Moon, so that astronomers can enjoy long, uninterrupted views of celestial objects.
XMM-Newton has recently returned new data about the content of the currently popular model of the Universe (70% dark energy, 25% dark matter and 5% normal matter). XMM-Newton has found puzzling differences between today's clusters of galaxies and those in the Universe around seven thousand million years ago.
Some scientists interpret this to mean that the 'dark energy' which most astronomers now believe dominates the Universe simply does not exist. XMM-Newton has given astronomers a new insight into the Universe and a new mystery to puzzle over. These results are being confirmed by other X-ray observations and, if these return the same answer, we might have to rethink our understanding of the Universe.


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Convictions of crimes against humanity against Momcilo Perisic, a former Yugoslav army chief, have been reversed on appeal Thursday by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Perisic had been sentenced to 27 years in prison for crimes in Bornia and Croatia. He surrendered in 2005 and was to be immediately released, the tribunal said Thursday.
The tribunal was established to deal with war crimes that occurred during the fighting after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

subset: commoncrawl


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#2077, from the series House Hunting, 1997
Todd Hido
Coming soon
"This is one of the earlier images from the series. I drive, I drive a lot. People ask me how I find my pictures. I tell them I drive around. I drive and drive and I mostly don't find anything that is interesting to me. But then, something calls out. Something that looks sort of off or maybe an empty space. Sometimes it's a sad scene. I like that kind of stuff. So I take the photos and some are good. And so I keep driving and looking and taking pictures." —Todd Hido
Aperture is pleased to offer this very special limited-edition photograph by acclaimed photographer Todd Hido from his series House Hunting. Photographed in the foggy Bay Area of California, he started working on this series on 1996 while cruising through the San Francisco suburbs at night. By way of long exposure and intense color, the images results are both beautiful and disturbing.
Print Paper Size: 16 x 20 1/8 inches
Print Image Size: 14 x 17 inches
Edition of 30 and 5 artist's proofs
Signed and numbered by the artist
Todd Hido, a San Francisco Bay Area-based artist, has work in many prominent collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He was a guest speaker at Aperture as part of the Parsons lecture series. He has exhibited widely in galleries and museums across the country and he has published several books, such as the award-winning monograph House Hunting (Nazraeli Press, 2001), and more recently, Between the Two (Nazraeli Press, 2007). Hido is an adjunct professor at the California College of Art, San Francisco, California.


text:
Batesville Store: Another history chapter comes to a close
According to the current owners of the historic Batesville Store on Plank Road, state agents showed up unannounced on Friday, June 10 and gave them "no option except to close."
"Ironically, our success has proven to be our undoing," wrote co-owner Cid Scallet on the store's website. "They told us that it was decided that we do too much business to remain a country store."
The news spread fast across the web over the weekend, casting a heartless state bureaucracy as the villain who had killed a beloved store.
"There was absolutely no warning," says Scallet, who, with his wife Liza, has been operating the store since 2007 (the latest in a string of owners who have kept the store a going concern for more than 100 years). "And the timing was horrific. We suffered ten thousand to twelve thousand dollars in lost revenue. As a result, fifteen people have lost their jobs."
On Sunday, June 12, the Scallets quickly organized a 50 percent off sale on everything in the store (except alcohol) to recoup their losses, a sale they plan to continue throughout the week.
The store's Facebook fans were outraged, launched a Save the Batesville Store group, and Scallet says he received 400 emails expressing sympathy and support. The Newsplex, NBC29, and the Daily Progress all jumped on the story with headlines like "State shuts down Batesville Store" and "Customers fight to keep Batesville Store Open." Loyal customers contacted County officials and wrote letters to Governor Bob McDonnell and Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb asking them to intervene.
It's been no secret that the Scallets had transformed the sleepy little Batesville Store into a popular restaurant, gathering place, and music venue known for early evening concerts.
Indeed, according to Scallet, he was told by County officials that the Store was a "model" of how to save country stores. There was just one problem: as a "convenience store" under the watch of the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, they were only allowed to have 15 seats. For years now, says Scallet, they've had well over 40.
"They gave us two options," says Scallet, "either reduce the seating or get permitted as a restaurant."
Neither one, says Scallet, is economically feasible.
"If I went back to being a small country store, I'd be broke in a week," he says.
Making many of the necessary changes to bring the old building up to code as a restaurant would be too expensive, says Scallet, plus he claims the building's historic designation prohibits significant alterations.
"It's a real Catch-22," says Scallet, "and the folks from the Health Department knew that."
Scallet admits he and his wife knew about the seating issue, and he says they've had more than 15 seats since opening day.
"Everybody knew we were operating this way," he says, "including many city and county officials, who often sat in those seats."
So had the Agriculture Department been overlooking the violation of the 15-seat limit?
"The agriculture inspector was in here a month ago," declares Scallet. "And he didn't say anything."
So why shut it down now? Local health department officials say they had no choice.
"Someone complained about a food-borne illness after eating at the store," says Jeff McDaniel, local Environmental Health Manager for the Virginia Department of Health. "So we asked the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who are responsible for inspecting the store, to look into it."
While no major health violations were discovered, Health Department agents visiting on Friday discovered that the store appeared to be operating as a restaurant without a permit.
"So we told them they had to stop operating as a restaurant," says McDaniel. "If they wanted to continue operating as a restaurant, they would have to apply for a permit and operate like every other restaurant in the area."
Agriculture officials, however, tell a different story. Spokesperson Elaine Lidholm says their agent notified the health department when it was noticed that the store was operating with more than 15 seats, and that a "store employee" was told in April that the health department would be informed.
"We informed them that because seating now exceeds 15," says Lidholm, "they would fall under the inspection of the Health Department, not us."
"That's a bald lie," says Scallet. "They never mentioned anything to us about our seating."
However, Lidholm and McDaniel agree on one thing: neither agency "closed" the store down, only informed the owners that they couldn't operate as a restaurant anymore.
"We have no authority to close a convenience store," says McDaniel, noting that in addition to reducing the number of seats, the Scallets were presented with other options including limiting the amount of food and selling pre-packaged or catered foods.
For the Scallets, who appear to have made the store a success by fudging some rules (they even put price tags on some chairs so inspectors wouldn't count them), the edict for a store surviving financially from week to week was essentially a death sentence.
"Cid and Liza Scallet transformed it into a real community meeting place with homemade food, beer and wine by the glass, and live music," writes store fan Geoffrey Henson in an email. "It was spectacularly popular and was the heart of Batesville."
However, there would be no sympathy from the Health Department.
"If they wanted to re-open as a restaurant," McDaniel says, "the Health Department would work with them to make sure they were in compliance with state health codes, just as they do with all restaurant owners."
While Batesville Store fans hope there's a way to keep the iconic country store open, Scallet explains that he's had enough.
"We're just beat up and tired," says Scallet, citing battles he's had with government bureaucracies in the past, and the fact that he and his wife are approaching their 60s. "Even if there was a way to fight this, I doubt we would re-open."
According to property owner Norm Jenkins, who bought the store in 2004 and ran it for a time, an exit clause allows the Scallets to walk away from the lease.
"I was certainly surprised," says Jenkins. "But hopefully we'll find someone who wants to take over the store."
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48 comments
Good article, I realize it's later than the DP article but definitely explains more.
Hope the store can re-open much like it is now.
What a wimp...you don't complain to the state if you get sick in restaurant...you complain to the restaurant.
These restrictions on small business like this slowly strangle our liberties. Every year the politicians du joir...take their turn at making laws that please their most vocal constituents. And the laws, rules and regulations, just keep piling up, year after year. You would think...that after a while we would have finally thought up every law, rule and regulation possible. It's a suffocating thought; we have so many laws on the books in this country that making even one more is surely going to tighten the noose on our liberties to one degree or another. These people provided a safe and desired service to the community, that's all the government involvement needed. I think the government should get out of the chair counting business.
If the whole town started complaining and all the patrons were from out of town riding in on their motor cycles and raising heck...Turns out its one bad apple, and the patrons ARE the town.
Dave McNair writes this about events leading to the closing of the Batesville store"
"Someone complained about a food-borne illness after eating at the store," says Jeff McDaniel, local Environmental Health Manager for the Virginia Department of Health. "So we asked the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who are responsible for inspecting the store, to look into it."
It's clear from reading comments about the Batesville store's closing on other media websites that there were one or two dissidents in the Batesville area who didn't like the store; one of the disgruntled expressed his displeasure with the political temperament (progressive) that seemed to emanate from discussion at the store.
Could it be that the "complaint" received by the health department was feigned, and was really more about politics and political philosophy than any real illness?
I'm wondering...
Someone will buy the land, tear apart the store and reopen it as a trendy restaurant/music hall where the progressives from Charlottesville can congregate. Rapunzel's offers this type of atmosphere but it is pretty far away and the downtown mall is getting over-ridden with hoodies. This seems like a gold mine opportunity.
You so right Foe, I mean every time you turn around they're doing something to the small businessman. It's like all they're jour di veve comes from oppressing good honest businesspeople. Like that canaboyardee about Formaldehyde being a carsinogen. That's ridiculous, and it's gonna hurt the little guy like those Tea Party Patriots the Koch Brothers.
When we gonna stand up and rally around the people who own the country? Gosh
Seems to me that they knew they were breaking the rules (law?) and had already made the decision that they would do it for as long as possible and simply close when they got caught. They were given the opportunity to work within the rules and decided that it didn't make financial sense. That was their decision.
It sounds like the health department and ag department were simply enforcing the rules that are on the books. If they want to run a restaurant then they should have to compete by the same rules as everyone else. I am fine with thinking the rules are wrong, but lets not make this a story of the big bad government coming down on the small mom and pop establishment. If anything, the rules should have been enforced sooner, so that the store/restaurant couldn't grow to the point that it was important to the community.
The Dept of Agriculture and the JR Health Dept knew exactly what was happening, and even encouraged, what was going on at the Batesville Store. Read the article, both held out the Batesville Store as a 'model to save Virginia rural country stores', for G od's sake the Dept of Agriculture brouchure on saving country stores features the Batesville Store.
This comes down to two hateful people in town that were happy to make up stories just to spite their neighbors, not only the Store but all of us who live here in Batesville.
sounds a little butt hurt for gettin busted, why does it matter if they were sick or not, either way they were in violation of the law yes? people get pulled over for broken tail lights then arrested for a dui, maybe the cops were angry about the obama sticker?
Drooling Elmo, do you have a link to that brochure? Inquiring minds want to know!
I know for a fact that the head of the health department has attended the buffet and concert evenings that the Batesville store had over the past couple months. I do not know if anything can be done but she should step in. As a loyal customer and fan of the store, she owes it to the owners.
The City of Charlottesville is filled with lots of late night hipsters from the COunty as well. maybe when another sleepy town gets ripped apart by the drinking and noise, people will get the message bout these so called music stores. I haven't been to the Batesville Store in a long time, but I used it as what it was. A Country Store.
Two people making up lies just to get them shut down!! are you serious!. They thought they were above the law!! they wernt helping Batesville they were hurting it. We couldnt drive down the road w/out fear of hitting a car or someone. We couldnt check the mail with out parking in the way of other people! the store was trying to be a restaurant even though they knew they couldnt the people going there were made up of mostly people not even from here! or didn't live close to it. I know this because I live right down the road!!! thank god they are gone now. I don't really care how it happened. He admitted they knew they had to many chairs..but of course he didnt care. Batesvilles residents that have been here for a long time did not like the store and are not sad to see it go most anyway. Nobody is above the law, they could of changed things around and kept it but the chose not to. There fault not the person that got sick and not the goverment, its cid and liza's fault. If you don't think so then your just an idiot!
dirt worshipper - It's physical not online, but I've got it in my hand, post an email and I will scan for you.
Hey Old Timer -- from the Monacan perspective I used that space as what it was...a good spot for a squat and butt scratch before rambling on to the water you newcomers call the Hardware River.
The thing about laws is they can't be assigned arbitrarily -- and that's a good thing. Let's say that this wonderful, nice store was technically operating as a restaurant (which it WAS) but because it was so "nice" officials looked the other way. That "looking the other way" must therefore apply to all country stores operating as restaurants without permits -- even if they are dirty and run down. That's how the law is supposed to work, folks, otherwise officials can choose arbitrarily whether they enforce things or not based on who YOU are. That's how it's done in countries without equity and freedom, and I don't think that's a road we want to go down. The store owners had some pretty simple options, honestly, which they chose not to take. That is not the state's fault.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it and the Batesville Store was not broke UNTIL government bureaucracy got involved and broke it. With all the problems in the world today, this is what our tax dollars are being spent on. Stupidity.
I don't get the outpouring of sympathy for the owners. They want to operate as a restaurant, but don't want to spend the money to get the facility compliant with the local laws. The fact that it's a charming place and they're lovely people is irrelevant. As an earlier poster pointed out, they knew that they were noncompliant from the first, and chose to continue to operate. It sounds to me like they went into this with their eye open and decided to take their chances.
Bottom line: why should they get a pass when everyone else who operates a restaurant has to play by the rules?
The problem is the zero tolerance and the lack of judgement. The state should have come to an agreement onn the spot to reduce the kitchennoutput, reduce the number of chairs and given them 30 days to apply for some sort of a varianace on the chair issue.
Its too bad the laid off workers will not be able to spend their newly found food stamp money at the store since is closed.
It is the wrong time for the state to willfully put 15 people out of work when there is no imminent danger to society. If the chairs had been piled up in the parking lot he would have been given 30 days to remove them as trash.
@Droolin Elmo
Scan and put in on Scribd, please.
"The problem is the zero tolerance and the lack of judgement. The state should have come to an agreement onn the spot to reduce the kitchennoutput, reduce the number of chairs and given them 30 days to apply for some sort of a varianace on the chair issue.
Its too bad the laid off workers will not be able to spend their newly found food stamp money at the store since is closed.
It is the wrong time for the state to willfully put 15 people out of work when there is no imminent danger to society. If the chairs had been piled up in the parking lot he would have been given 30 days to remove them as trash."
Everything you describe is arbitrary, meaning any official can decide "on the spot" how to apply the law. That all sounds nice and fine, but do you want one individual to have that kind of say-so over your business? Yikes. It is clear upon taking a closer look that the owners had notice and knew very well that they were in violation. And, once again, they CHOSE to close up shop. They themselves could have reduced the chairs to 15 on the spot...but they didn't.
Many of us who have lived in the Batesville area for many years appreciated being able to stop at the store for a bite to eat, some live music and a beer without driving all the way to town, or without driving at all! The speed limit is 25 there and with the post office right there, please do continue to go slow and be aware of pedestrians whether the store is in business or not. What I think is the worst part about this situation is that Cid and Liza were aware of the possibility of this happening, and allowed us all to become accustomed to having this community meeting place without sharing that knowledge with us. They did a great business, and probably made a nice profit overall, and now we are left without a store. I do hope someone is able to re-open it in an allowable and feasible capacity.
That comment about the squat and butt-scratch - now that was funny. I don't care who you are - that was funny.
On a more serious note: If we could get all the folks who moved to Central Virginia from California, New York, Illinois, and Northern Virginia - to leave town, this place would be so much nicer. It be an ALL-AMERICAN TOWN like it was back in '76.
A person can dream.
The "state" bends over backwards to work with owners who, for what ever reasons, find themselves in this type of situation. The last thing state or local agencies want to do is close businesses and have people put out of work. Sure sounds like the operators just decided they were not going to even attempt to comply and closed. The state did not put these people out of work.
I know this firsthand, Dave, owning two small businesses here. I think this just provided yet another lightning rod for people to grind an anti-government axe. The owners also had the option to seek a waiver from ordinance requirements from the county. Happens all the time.
Well, the law's the law, folks, and if it should be applied uniformly then so be it. But I agree with Mr Marshall in that even if the county was aware of the discrepancy in actual seating versus approved seating and the precipitating factor was presumably a complaint about an order of food purchased there, with the ensuing intrusion of the Health Dept, the end result is an empty building with no revenue generated, and an increase in the unemployed in the area. The old timers (and having lived in this area since 1950 I feel like I qualify) should be smart enough or perceptive enough to appreciate the fact that "the way it used to be" wouldn't come close to cutting it - in Batesville, White Hall, Keene, Cunningham, Earlysville - name another small village that's lost or losing it's economic base when the mood strikes you. The county was happy to grant permission to Harris Teeter to build on 250 just a few miles down the road. Do you really think that the next Batesville store will successfully compete with their wheel of cheese, fishing lures and live bait and hard boiled eggs and beef jerky for sale? Has anyone wondered what it would take to come into "restaurant" compliance - bathrooms-wise - in a community where there's a stream running through the middle? Here's my prediction:The Batesville Store will either: (1) remain closed because any intelligent businessman using his own money will quickly figure out that the conventional revenue stream available to the operator of a "country store" under the purview of the county/state regulators will be hamstrung from the day he opens; (2) go through a succession of operators who will think that they know the way to make it work before they too abandon the idea. Either way, Page's Store ain't coming back.
The problem is the zero tolerance and the lack of judgement. The state should have come to an agreement onn the spot to reduce the kitchennoutput, reduce the number of chairs and given them 30 days to apply for some sort of a varianace on the chair issue.
Its too bad the laid off workers will not be able to spend their newly found food stamp money at the store since is closed.
It is the wrong time for the state to willfully put 15 people out of work when there is no imminent danger to society. If the chairs had been piled up in the parking lot he would have been given 30 days to remove them as trash.
If you think that the government is your friend you are sorely mistaken. Why do you think it takes so long to get a project approved? They are very subjective in their interpretation of the laws and not at all interested in a small busineses need for expediency.
They are however, interested in harrasing Arbys about his signs or local car dealers about ballons.
They also do need to try and consider the big picture when choosing levels of enforcement. There is nothing wrong with a cop seeing someone with an expired inspection sticker 1 block from home telling them he will be driving by in a couple of days to make sure they got it done... especally if it is an old beater of a car with an obviously poor person driving. He can always fine them in a couple of days...
Its called compassion and practicality.
Simple solution here. Cut down the number of chairs to 15. Have high stand up tables to display goods and let the patrons stand around like in the olden days. As far as parking goes, park in the lot by the post office, NOT in front of the building, There is several vacant lots down the road where the church parishoners park that could be used. The people can walk 50 yards to the store for the concerts.
Tim -
What happens when the cop goes by a few days later and the car has not been inspected and then after warning the person yet again goes by a few more days later and it has still not been inspected. The bottom line is that in all the cases you mentioned the people were just plain stubborn and refused to comply or attempt a resolution. The government is what the people make it - it has been elected by a majority of those few who bother to vote. If people are not happy with the present government they can vote it out next election (especially true at the local level). The operator at the Batesville store was simply getting over because he deemed it too costly to comply.
This is an outrage... and a cryin' shame.
Hey Ghost,
LOL. Well, that means you are definitely a ghost. But it WAS a good spot before rambling down to the river. I had a lot of fun up and down plank road with my kids too. There was some butt scratching from time to time.
"Two people making up lies just to get them shut down!! are you serious!. They thought they were above the law!! they wernt helping Batesville they were hurting it."
Sounds like a familiar story. Its all great for those who are getting the benefit, but for those who are inconvenienced by rules being ignored, its another story. Stand up, and you are the bad guy; You are anti-business. You are an old fogey. You are lazy. You don't like people. You are a whiner.
Ultimately, it all comes down to the business owner understanding their community, and fitting in with that community with what they want to offer, and then doing the legwork. Nobody should be unable to access the PX because of the store. When the rules are finally enforced, we get the scream of 'victim victim' even though they have been victimizing people all along.
I continue to be puzzled by Tim Taylor's "logic."
On the one hand, he says (oddly) that a cop might choose to overlook enforcement of state vehicle inspection laws, especially if a vehicle is "an old beater of a car." This is exactly the kind of vehicle that is most likely to be safety-deficient and, therefore, a potential threat to other drivers. (Taylor refers to this as "compassion and practicality)
On the other hand, Taylor says that the county "harassed" the owner of the Forest Lakes Arby's, even though he blatantly violated the county sign ordinance multiple times, in addition to other offenses (the owner lost in court, and he lost his appeal too). Apparently he also ran afoul of his contractual agreement with Arby's .
This is the very same Tim Taylor who said that it was necessary to use a breathalyzer on a student who some other students said may have been drinking at school because "accusations equal reasonable cause." The student who ended up being breathalyzed had not been drinking. Taylor said that "she is a better person for having been on the right side of the humiliation," and "The breathalyzer may have saved her reputation."
Hmmm. Talk about some fuzzy thinking.
This is the same Tim Taylor who dug up a student interrogation case from North Carolina and tried to turn it into a search and seizure case. I called the case that Taylor cited a "a convoluted twist of logic" because in the North Carolina case a student was pulled from class and placed in a conference room, questioned by police, not informed of his rights, and not told that he could leave the room if he wanted. The North Carolina Supreme Court (in a 4-3 decision) said the student was never really in custody.
The North Carolina case cited by Taylor was decided today by the Supreme Court (5-4), in favor of the student. The Court said, in part, ""To hold, as the state requests, that a child's age is never relevant to whether a suspect has been taken into custody — and thus to ignore the very real differences between children and adults — would be to deny children the full scope of the procedural safeguards that Miranda guarantees to adults."
I hope Tim Taylor now feels that he is a better person.
Heard from 2 reliable friends today that the HD has contacted the Scallets and they are going to meet with them next week, with the goal of reopening Batesville Store.
I really don't get the antipathy towards the Scallets by some commenters.
@Old Timer: How were they "victimizing people"?
@Caroline: You must own 2 very simple businesses if you've had no issues with county regs, I'm curious if either involve HD inspection?
@Dave: The state "bends over backwards"? You've got to be kidding me.
"On a more serious note: If we could get all the folks who moved to Central Virginia from California, New York, Illinois, and Northern Virginia - to leave town, this place would be so much nicer. It be an ALL-AMERICAN TOWN like it was back in '76.
A person can dream."
@Tuck: Don't forget New Jersey. I have that dream all the time too, when UVA wasn't in session Cville was a ghost town...... and sooo much fun. Really do miss those days, but they're not coming back
And interestingly, both the health department and the department of agriculture and consumer services are telling different stories about what happened, and how.
Apparently, requests under the state freedom of information act have been made for the complaint, and for documents related to it.
I'd be willing to bet that there will be a follow-up story in The Hook.
I would like to know why you choose to mischaracterize what I said as antipathy. In fact, I find the attitude towards those who complained as being a bit closer to the mark.
My point was really simple. If you knowingly break the rules, people suffer because you break the rules, and you get called on breaking those rules, you aren't a victim. You aren't being picked on. You made a conscious choice. And yes, the people who suffer the consequences of your decision to break the rules, are victims of your decision. That might not be your intention, but it is the result just the same.
Its very clear from the article that the owners knew exactly what they were doing, and had every intention of at best circumnavigating the rules. Some people got sick, people were denied access to their private property - mail - and people were placed at extreme risk - the road being filled with pedestrians. Visibility in that area is not good.
There are rules about different business models for very good reason. As a now retired business owner, I find the Scallets methods very tiresome. Sad too, because its clear they have a lot of options to make money and provide a desired product, without the negative impact.
This event has been such a lightning rod, and the reactions are so interesting; they boil down to:
--Big government gonna get us all Tea-Party rants (that besides the usual Kaczynski paranoia and slippery slope logic, overlook the fact that this an action by state authorities under a Republican governor).
--Oh life was so sweet back then before all them came (how many Virginians does it take to change a lightbulb?)
--Oh you're just all spoiling our fun (but is your fun spoiling someone else's?)
--They knew the rules and chose not to play by them (but was there a "wink" on file?)
--Cut the well-intentioned people some slack and work for solution that suits state, proprietors, and community new and old.
OK the Monacans don't make out so well in any scenario because they were pushed out and are extinct. But they remind us that no one gets dibs on "I was here first). Hopefully the rest of us can probably figure out the last one, right? Not just Pages Store but the other stuff too.
Just recieved this by email from Cid:
Dear Friends,
Liza and I have been overwhelmed and deeply touched by the torrent of support and consternation that the closing of The Batesville Store has provoked in the community. I have received almost five hundred emails in response to last Friday's incident, and we have been hearing about the waves of protest and concern that have been directed toward state and county officials and politicians.
Who would ever have thunk it?!! A humble country store in the middle of Wheretheheckarewenowsville that had some pretty doggone good homemade food and some darn fine live music seems to have generated enormous loyalty--and true sadness about its closing. It goes to show that while other places might mouth sweet sentiments about the importance of their so-called "community," Batesville and its environs truly are a wonderful and caring community.
What Liza and I would love to do to thank you for your support is to give you a famous Scallet chocolate chip cookie or a brownie or a scoop of homemade ice cream.We can't do that in reality, but then again, has our store ever been quite real? So let's all pretend that we are sitting down together one last time on our excess seating and are having a big sweets party . . . with Eli Cook or The Pollocks or Rick Olivarez or Bobby Read or Willie D-E or Brad Bryant or Bluzonia or Jim Wray or Hod O'Brien or Billy Caldwell or Lulu and the Virginia Creepers or Sarah White playing in the Wine Cellar.
Ain't that a fun fantasy?
Many of you have asked us what we plan to do next. The short answer is that we don't have a clue. We are still recovering from last Friday's ambush and its immediate consequences. We need some time to recover our bearings and consider our options. Whatever we decide to do, I promise that y'all will be the first to know.
In the meantime, we had considered opening the store tomorrow--Saturday, June 18--to continue our big blowout sale, but we have so little left to sell that we've decided to stay closed tomorrow after all.
Thanks ever so much for the amazing support you've offered over the past week and everything you've done over the past four-plus years to make The Batesville Store the finest commercial establishment in the area.
"@Caroline: You must own 2 very simple businesses if you've had no issues with county regs, I'm curious if either involve HD inspection?" ~ Biff
Huh? When did i say I've had "no issues with county regs." Helps to read accurately and put things in context, Biff. Check the post prior to mine to which I was replying, which said that the "last thing the state wants to do is shut businesses down and put people out of work." I was agreeing with this statement. And I don't know if you would call my businesses "simple" or not -- one is consulting to Pacific Rim governments (try navigating THOSE waters) and the other is provision of short-term business management teams here in VA. So no, they don't require health department inspection.
But that's not the real issue here, Biff. If I were serving food at a volume that made me a restaurant I would get the inspection. The owners here decided VOLUNTARILY not to have that done. Now, if you have issues with whether restaurants should be inspected, that's cool. You can certainly challenge those through the proper means. But as of now that's what's on the state's books.
As expected, trying to make the State look like the bad guys here. I didn't think Batesville had a population of 500.
Maybe you can give us the names and addresses of all those folks...
What is scribd?
Old Timer - quite a nasty one aren't you? The Scallets got an email from us, we live in
Batesville, they also got an email from my daughter in college and her friend from school who comes to visit us when she can't return to the UK over breaks. They also got emails from North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts, all from people who have stayed with us over Memorial Day, Labor Day or Thanksgiving and visited the store. They also got an email from a musician friend of ours who travels the country and has no address that I can provide you.
There are not 500 people here in Bateville, but they touched the hearts of many from far away. I am appalled at the vitriol all over the web from a few filled with hate when there was nothing but love at the store. I may be an old hippie but some of you commenting here su k. I just hope you don't live in Batesville.
As for Scribd, google is your friend:
Drooling Elmo,
"Old Timer - quite a nasty one aren't you?"
Not at all. And not saying anything different than a lot of other folks on this thread. I am just worn out on attitude that because something is cool to some people, that the rules shouldn't be applied, or enforced, and everyone else should be inconvenienced by it. It is irrelevant if people from out of Virginia like it. What is relevant is that there are zoning rules, and for health and safety reasons, they need to be enforced.
I am even more worn out on folks like you who want to label folks like me as nasty because we don't share you feelings about equal treatment under the eyes of law.
Who the heck is speaking for me? Are they speaking for me?
Umm, He knew it was illegal. The dep't looked the other way for a long time. He even had price tags on chairs to skirt chair restrictions. It was gonna end eventually. He could be a restaurant or a convenience store or a hybrid or lose the tax benefits. Save me the drama. They took the $$ and ran it seems.
Dear Old Timer,
You wrote:
I would like to know why you choose to mischaracterize what I said as antipathy. In fact, I find the attitude towards those who complained as being a bit closer to the mark.
I read what you wrote and used the word "antipathy" to characterize the feelings I detected as I tried to understand what some commenters wrote, didn't single you out Old Timer, believe I referred to "some commenters". How is that a "MIScharacterization".
Antipathy is simply the opposite of empathy, which as a fellow small business owner I have in spades for the Scallets in their difficulties dealing with the various state and local agencies. Do you approve of the Ag dept / Albemarle County Health Dept bait and switch game? I find it the worst sort of random government action. Businesses need clear guidelines with which to work, and cooperative agents to work with. After 4 years of successfully building their business under the eye of the state Ag Dept, the Health Dept stepped in and changed the rules, forcing them to shut down.
How do you defend that as a reasonable government action?
I also asked you a question that you failed to answer, so I'll ask again: How were they "victimizing people"?
Look forward to your reply, Biff
@zack: you wrote:
"Umm, He knew it was illegal. The dep't looked the other way for a long time. He even had price tags on chairs to skirt chair restrictions. It was gonna end eventually. He could be a restaurant or a convenience store or a hybrid or lose the tax benefits. Save me the drama. They took the $$ and ran it seems."
I can only assume from what you've written here (including what I take to be your sarcastic "Umm") that you have never run a small business that required dealing with any Albemarle County government agency. I figure you're pretty young and inexperienced, and generally see things in terms of black and white instead of the thousand shades of gray that actually constitute the reality of a businessman's life.
Have you ever heard of the expression "the spirit of the law"? There are conflicts and questions about the best of laws, hence the need for LAWyers. The draconian actions of the Albemarle County Health Dept in this case were not a wise application of laws intended to revitalize dying country stores. If you were familiar with the back story about the debate and passing of those laws you'd realize that their intent was to support people like the Scallets who invested considerable time and treasure in an enterprise that found considerable community support, provided valuable services, and was helping preserve a historical community treasure.
"He could be a restaurant or a convenience store or a hybrid or lose the tax benefits."
What a ridiculous oversimplification of the realies involved here.
"Save me the drama."
Please spare us having to read your silly drivel, and don't reply further.
"They took the $$ and ran it seems."
I find this last remark comtemptible and petty. Who do you think you are to say such a thing. I'd call you a name, but Waldo would delete this whole post, so I'll leave that to another time.
Please don't reply unless you're willing to address the reality of the situation, or at least state your case reasonably. And skip the sarcasm, it's unbecoming.
Almost forgot:
"It was gonna end eventually."
So will you Zack, and so will I.
What a ridiculous line.


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Kate Mara showed up at the Los Angeles premiere of Her last night to support her sister, Rooney. It's a thing now with these two. Even at an event like this, they won't pose together. Is this fascinating to me, and only me, because I don't have a sibling? I have an almost-sibling called Cat. Our fathers are brothers. And when we're together, we are TOGETHER, side by side, holding hands. I guess that's why I don't get this.
And I definitely, definitely don't get Kate's affection for these shoes. She's worn them before – click here for a refresher – and I shat on them then too. Look at them. They're hideous. I don't understand. Anything.


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bit (Transact-SQL)
Applies to:
An integer data type that can take a value of 1, 0, or NULL.
The SQL Server Database Engine optimizes storage of bit columns. If there are 8 or fewer bit columns in a table, the columns are stored as 1 byte. If there are from 9 up to 16 bit columns, the columns are stored as 2 bytes, and so on.
The string values TRUE and FALSE can be converted to bit values: TRUE is converted to 1 and FALSE is converted to 0.
Converting to bit promotes any nonzero value to 1.
See also
ALTER TABLE (Transact-SQL)
CAST and CONVERT (Transact-SQL)
CREATE TABLE (Transact-SQL)
Data Type Conversion (Database Engine)
Data Types (Transact-SQL)
DECLARE @local_variable (Transact-SQL)
SET @local_variable (Transact-SQL)
sys.types (Transact-SQL)


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Hart Crane
Date Of Birth:
21 July 1899
Date Of Death:
27 April 1932
Place Of Birth:
Garrettsville, Ohio
Name at birth: Harold Hart Crane
Bright, volatile, short-lived and hard-drinking, Crane was in some ways an archetype of the Roaring Twenties author. Crane is best known for The Bridge (1930), an epic vision of American life with the Brooklyn Bridge as a central image. Crane is often compared to Walt Whitman, both for his modern American sensibilities and for the homoerotic imagery some find in his work. In sheer style Crane also resembled T.S. Eliot, whom he admired. Crane committed suicide by leaping from the S.S. Orizaba in 1932.
Extra Credit:
Crane was no relation to Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage.
See also:
Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
Copyright © 1998-2018 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.


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Mechanical engineering
Mechanical Engineering takes in all built structures and moving parts flown in space, which includes automation and robotics, instruments for scientific missions as well as assessing the effects of the space environment on materials.
So while Electrical Engineering is centred on the motion of electrons this set of disciplines focuses on the movement of everything else: how satellite structures react to the extreme accelerations, vibrations and temperature shifts experienced during launch and orbit, the performance of moving devices in vacuum conditions, the passage of light through optical systems and the inner workings of engines and other propulsion systems.
It also includes the design and operation of physics and biology experiments destined for the International Space Station or other microgravity platforms, and the life support systems needed to keep people alive and comfortable in orbit.
There is no easy way to repair space hardware once it breaks down, so it has to be designed to perform in a strudy and reliable manner. Satellite structures must remain stable in order to avoid distorting payload performance while moving mechanisms have to go on operating without failure for many years. If rocket engines or thrusters do not fire as planned the results could be catastrophic.
The 180 people in the Mechanical Engineering group at ESTEC face the challenge of designing, analysing and manufacturing the broad range of space mechanical systems, advising ESA projects and implementing R&D studies to develop technologies for future missions.


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The Alzheimer's Association website provides information on the symptoms and signs, seven stages, diagnosis, treatment and care of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Get support from our 24/7 Helpline, message boards and your local Alzheimer's Association Chapter. We also provide updates on Alzheimer's Association programs, partners and events.
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Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast
with Scott Aukerman
Join host Scott Aukerman ("Comedy Bang! Bang!" on IFC, "Mr. Show") for a weekly podcast that blends conversation and character work from today's funniest comedians. While Scott begins by traditionally interviewing the celebrities, the open-door policy means an assortment of eccentric oddballs can pop by at any moment to chat, compete in games, and engage in comic revelry. With all that, and regular bonus episodes, we bet your favorite part will still be the plugs!
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Whilst I should make you aware that it's not necessarily a bad thing (since when something NEEDS to use the ram, it should clear the old Cache out) It sometimes doesn't work that way.
An dead easily solution is to clear up some data from your ram is to use an old and trusted command I use to clear my servers RAM after an mysql dump.
And if you're like me and you leave your machine on for quite a number of days at a time, it might be best to add a cron job to take care of it daily. If you're not sure what cron is, take a quick read here http://tldp.org/LDP/lame/LAME/linux-adm ... -cron.html
Code: Select all
sudo sync; echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
And here is a little before and after as an example:
And after!
Code: Select all
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 7908 --->6288<--- 1619 0 206 4859
-/+ buffers/cache: 1222 6686
Swap: 8096 0 8096
Hopefully this helps you guys out. If you have any questions, post them below!
Code: Select all
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 7908 --->1689<--- 6218 0 2 469
-/+ buffers/cache: 1218 6689
Swap: 8096 0 8096


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Tiny milky golden opal seed beads
Choker is 13 inches with a 2 inch adjustable extender chain. 15 inches full length.
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Jun 29, 2018


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Blake and the Digital Humanities
Submitted by Roger Whitson on
My course for the next semester is heavily involved in the "digital humanities." Recently, Alex Reid wrote a fascinating post on his blog "Digital Digs" about what he called the "strong" and the "weak" versions of the digital humanities. The weak definition, Reid says "is one that draws some fuzzy and arbitrary line among digital technologies and says if you use these technologies to study humanistic content then you are a digital humanist." The strong version, on the other hand, "has two main components. There are makers, who build various digital tools for use in humanistic research and teaching. Then there are researchers, who study humanistic aspects of digital media and culture." Reid admits that this second definition might be too limiting, since the digital humanities are becoming more inclusive, and suggests a third category "adapters, who are taking emerging technologies and developing new scholarly and pedagogical methods. The difference being that adapters would be see disseminating knowledge about new digital methods and adapted tools as part of their scholarly work rather than simply using the tools to create familiar scholarly products."
Reid's third category is particularly interesting to me, since I feel that Blake held an "adapter" role in the development of a mass print culture during the Romantic period. In Graphic Design, Print Culture, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel (2003), Janine Barchas cites Blake as an author whose combination of verbal and visual elements shows the need to move beyond the traditional bibliographic vocabulary used to describe "illustrations" and "design." In fact, along with writers like Alexander Pope and Laurence Sterne, Blake "include[s] a far wider variety of graphic designs (for example ornamentation and punctuation) which the scholarly community is just beginning to recognize as textual phenomena with interpretive impact" (9). Blake, Pope, and Sterne inhabit a transitionary period between manuscript and mass print culture in the eighteenth century, one that was slowly giving way to the woodcuts and the novelistic illustrations that would become more central as the novel emerged as the dominant middle-class form of narrative in the nineteenth century. Blake's designs, however, also allude to medieval forms of illumination, and in this capacity, they inhabit an adaptive role for both the visual and the textual aspects of modern print culture.
I want to use my course to see if Blake can be used in a similar adaptive capability for digital and participatory culture. My thesis isn't very new. Marcel O' Gorman, for example, uses Blake as a "pictoral schema for organizing and generating knowledge," specifically for what he calls a "hypericonomy:" a series of icons used to "encapsulate an argument and present it pictorially." My course would push O' Gorman's hypericonomic project into the realm of social and collaborative media.
With this in mind, I consulted the extremely useful DH Questions and Answers message board hosted by the Association for Computers and the Humanities. You can find a record of my conversation with the digital humanities community here. To summarize, I mentioned my desire to have my students create a DH tool over the course of the semester - and that I'd like the tool to rearrange William Blake's textual corpus according to specific tags. The responses were wide and varied. Patrick Murray John, for example, suggested that I have the students build the project three times: in Wordpress, in Drupal, and in Omeka. Wordpress and Drupal are both content management systems (CMS) that build websites around blog-based designs. Users can upload plugins and modules to expand the basic functionality of the site. Omeka is also a CMS, but it is built specifically for publishing online exhibitions.
I got many great suggestions for the class, including one from Dorethea Salo that suggested I look specifically at how different media platforms use different forms of programming, but I felt by the end of the discussion that I was getting away from my core-interest in applying William Blake and Romanticism to concerns in the digital humanities. That being said, I would suggest that anyone who is interested in the digital humanities or digital pedagogy visit DH Questions and Answers. It's an invaluable tool for learning about and experiencing the breadth of knowledge and experience held by the digital humanities community.
I'd like to turn my question it to the RC community. What are some suggestions for tools that will help scholars, students, even non-academic admirers of Blake to understand his work? I'm not looking for the programming-specific advice I got on the digital humanities board. Rather, I'd like something akin to a wish list. What do you want, as a scholar or a teacher, that could help you explore the world of William Blake?
Barchas, Janine. Graphic Design, Print Culture, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003.
O'Gorman, Marcel. "The Fourfold Visions of William Blake and Martin Heidegger." Romantic Circles Praxis Series. (2005). Web. 07 November 2010.
Reid, Alex. "Weak and Strong Defintions of Digital Humanities." Digital Digs. 03 November 2010. Web. 07 November 2010.


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We pride ourselves on sparking your inspiration with a live wallpaper of beautiful christmas photos you will fall in love with. Our Halloween live wallpaper selects a different image each time you access your Home screen. How to enable: Install the application. Long tap at Home screen and select to set your wallpaper. Select Live Wallpapers. Tap and set "Merry Christmas Live". Visit the settings page or the main apps menu entry for more information.
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text:
26 January, 2011 | (01 hr)
Sign In to access this Webcast
This Conference KeyNotes Webcast will include video clips and live discussion of a session delivered at The 2010 Succession Management Conference. Senior executives from Prudential Financial will share insights on identifying and preparing leaders for pivotal roles.
Participants will have the opportunity to pose questions to the speakers.
Who Should Attend:
Executives responsible for talent management, leadership development, succession management, executive coaching.
Dr. Raoul J. Buron, Jr.
Raoul J. Buron is Vice President & Chief Learning Officer for Prudential Financial. In this role, he is the chief architect of learning and leadership development strategies that support the company's business groups and corporate functions. Buron leads a community of practice within Corporat...Full Bio
Ms. Sharon M. Wright
Sharon Wright has human resources responsibilities for the International Division of Prudential Financial, which currently has approximately 20,000 employees in 11 countries, including the United States. She moved into this position in December of 2007. The focus of this role is talent acquisit...Full Bio
Meg Gottemoeller
Meg Gottemoeller is a Senior Fellow, Human Capital at The Conference Board. In this role, Meg supports the Human Capital Practice which includes The Conference Board Human Capital Exchange™, research, conferences, webcasts and programs in a broad spectrum of h...Full Bio


text:
A number of Getty Images' photojournalists are the big winners at the World Press Photo awards, which is one of the largest annual photography competitions in the world. Up to six photographers from Getty Images have been awarded top honours for photographs in categories ranging from general news to staged portraits.
The first-place winners were Brent Stirton for his Blind Indian albino boys Staged Portrait entry, Sara Lewkowicz for her A portrait of domestic violence Contemporary Issues entry, and Chris McGrath for his General News entry documenting Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Ezra Shaw received a second placing in the Sports Action Stories category for America's Cup work, and Quinn Rooney received a third placing in the same category for his images of the World Swimming Championships.
Al Bello received third placing in the Sports Action, Single category for his photo of Novak Djokovic at the US Open entitled Forehand Forward
Of these photographers, three are Australian: Chris McGrath, Ezra Shaw, and Quinn Rooney.
The CEO and co-founder of Getty Images, Jonathan Klein, said in a statement that "Getty Images are proud of our colleagues and friends selected for World Press Photo honours". He went on to say that "storytelling unites our shared humanity and is at the heart of our work at Getty Images. In this increasingly visual age, with the number of platforms for imagery growing rapidly, photojournalism is more powerful and important than ever before and we are committed to ensuring that important stories are told".
Visit the World Press Photo Web site to view all the top photos in the 2014 contest.


text:
Campus is testing ground for environmentally friendly venture
Princeton junior Chris Aguilar had an offer to work this summer as an analyst for a major financial firm, but when the opportunity came along to cut grass and shovel worm droppings, he jumped at it.
Aguilar wasn't lowering his ambitions; he was opting to join classmates in a startup business selling an environmentally friendly lawn-care service. The business is an offshoot of another student's startup company, called TerraCycle, which uses worms to compost garbage and turn it into fertilizer.
"I wanted to be involved in starting a business," Aguilar said. "There is no way you would get that experience working for a big company."
Aguilar is working on the business, called TerraCycle Lawns, with classmate Alex Salzman and sophomore Caitlin Edwards, as well as with Rob Hedden, who graduated this spring from the College of New Jersey.
The four entrepreneurs have signed up local homeowners as clients and are mowing their grass and applying worm-produced fertilizer. They also have arranged to test their product at Princeton University, helping to restore turf in courtyards where the tents and heavy foot traffic of Reunions killed the grass.
"We only have a short period in the growing season to get a lawn going again before the students get back in the fall," said Jim Consolloy, the University's grounds manager. "This may help us reduce the turnaround time, and we thought this would be a good opportunity to try an all-organic fertilizer."
The students started their tests in the courtyard between the Edwards, Little and Witherspoon dormitories. They roped off triangular plots in the courtyard and are applying their fertilizer in different amounts and frequencies and will compare the results with a plot that has just the conventional inorganic fertilizer that the University usually uses. The students are expanding their tests to the Wilcox and Joline courtyards.
TerraCycle was founded by former Princeton student Tom Szaky, who has taken a leave from college to run the company. The company uses small but voracious red worms to turn common garbage into high-quality compost and fertilizers. Among various marketing plans, the company is selling a liquid form of the fertilizer in reused soda bottles through the Home Depot Web site.
Szaky and Salzman started talking last fall about looking for a market for the worm-based fertilizers in lawn care. After discussing the idea and recruiting friends, Salzman decided the best way to encourage homeowners to buy the product for their lawns was to offer a full lawn-care service. So, with startup money for TerraCycle, Salzman and friends bought lawn mowers and went into business.
"What really caught my attention was the opportunity to combine interests in business and the environment," said Salzman, who was a classmate of Szaky's in high school in Toronto. He had been intrigued with the idea of "environmental capitalism" -- companies making a profit from environmentally sustainable products -- but did not know of any practical examples. "But then I found out that is exactly what Tom was doing."
Hedden said that in addition to the company's focus on organic products, he liked TerraCycle's community oriented initiatives, such as organizing fund-raisers for schools in which students collect plastic bottles and the company buys them to use as containers for its liquid fertilizer product. He chose to work with TerraCycle over an engineering job he had lined up.
"I turned it down because this seemed more interesting to me, doing something with the environment and being involved in the community," Hedden said. "And it's a great group of people with similar interests."
Consolloy said it is too early to tell how much of a difference the worm droppings will have on improving the lawns, but he would be grateful for an economical way to fortify the soil so the grass can withstand more traffic or will regrow more quickly from seed. "We have 15 courtyards and we have to get them all back in shape each year," he said. "The question is: Could we somehow get more sustainable turf?"
Contact: Eric Quinones (609) 258-3601


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Fully Customize Your Wristbands
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Promonow.co.uk is the largest supplier for custom made products in UK. We deal in multiple and single use products which are eco friendly and are manufactured with latex free materials. Our product range is exclusive however we entertain special requests of our customers as well. Our highly professional team works at lightening fast speed leaving the customers happy and satiated. We are hence associated with companies like Google, Nike, Amazon, BMW, etc.
Our product range speaks for itself and the quality is maintained in all our processes. We have the best online customer support service along with the most reliable people making the deliveries in time. We offer various options from which the customer can choose as per his convenience. Complete customization from manufacturing to delivery methods can be opted for. Our services remain active throughout the year which makes us easily accessible to all our customers.
Our mission is to make high quality custom products for our customers at lightening fast speed. Most of the products which we manufacture are used for noble causes and hence we wish to be a small part in uplifting the society by raising awareness among people. We associate with companies, individuals, forums, institutions, etc to fulfil their needs by making top notch custom products.
Our products come in wide range with the lowest possible price. We assure high quality services at every level which helps to build the sound relationship which we possess with our dear customers. We achieve our goals with sheer hard work and consistency in our excellent services. We wish to continue growing by serving the people in the best possible way. We focus on making the customers happy and for that we offer various offers and special deals which are hard to find anywhere else.
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Cafeterias in all South Bay schools began participating in the Harvest of the Month program this past academic year. Each month, students were introduced to seasonal produce, and they were able to easily incorporate these fruits and vegetables into their meals. Posters at the salad bars promoted new foods, which were available for taste tests. This program will continue to provide students the opportunity to safely try different types of fruits and vegetables that they may not have otherwise known about.
The Network for a Healthy California sponsors this program throughout the entire state. Its goal is to stress the importance of encouraging healthy eating habits early on. Studies have shown that a strong focus on nutrition combined with daily physical activity boosts the overall physical and mental capabilities of students. School attendance, positive attitudes, and the ability to better learn new material are all significantly improved by a healthy diet. More information regarding the Harvest of the Month can be found here.
Coupled with the in-school initiatives are informative newsletters which families receive monthly. These highlight nutritional facts about produce grown in California. Students can share their new in-school experiences with family members. Easy-to-make recipes and trivia are also featured on the newsletter to reinforce South Bay's commitment to all-encompassing and applicable education.
About the South Bay Union School District:
The South Bay Union School District proudly serves over 7,500 students in Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, and south San Diego. The District is comprised of twelve campuses, including nine K-6 schools, two K-8 charter schools, and one Preschool. South Bay offers several specialized programs including Dual Language, Instrumental Music, Visual and Performing Arts, and a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Academy.
Media Contact
Company Name: South Bay Union School District
Contact Person: Amy Cooper
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (619) 628-1605
Address:601 Elm Avenue
City: Imperial Beach
State: CA
Country: United States
Website: http://www.sbusd.org/pages/SouthBayUnion


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ESA and oil industries explore applications from space
Members of the space and oil and gas sectors have come together in the first meeting of its kind to discuss current Earth observation capabilities and the evolving information requirements within the oil and gas industry.
While remote-sensing experts and specialist value-adding companies shared information about routine and innovative Earth observation-based services, industry experts outlined the challenges in their present and future operations and provided examples of important environmental parameters needed.
"This is the first time that we have had this level of collaboration between ESA and the oil and gas industry," said Dr Richard Eyers, Senior Remote Sensing Consultant for Shell International.
"We are increasing our level of mutual understanding by finding out what technologies are available to us and letting ESA know what information we need."
Jean-Paul Xavier, a remote sensing expert for the French oil company Total, said the industry's main need now is value-added products.
"We are at a point where we have lots of data but need more precise parameters, such as temperature, subsidence and land cover change," Xavier said. "As an industry we share the same problems and are looking for solutions. This is an important ESA workshop because by combining oil companies with service providers, we are able to discuss these challenges."
Kjell Morten Sviland, a principal engineer for mapping and geographic information at Statoil, Norway's biggest oil and gas producer, wanted to ensure his company is aware of all the Earth observation-based services offered.
"We have requested a list of service capabilities that are currently available," he said. "We also communicated our future requirements to ESA and the value-adding companies."
Three topics were addressed throughout the meeting: exploration, environmental sustainability and infrastructure and transportation.
A series of measures was identified at the workshop that can be taken within the oil and gas and service-providing communities to consolidate and expand the use of remote sensing across the sector.
Presentations from the meeting are available via the workshop website, and a brief report will be made available by the end of the month.
The workshop, held at ESA's Earth observation centre (ESRIN) in Frascati, Italy, on 14 and 15 September, was attended by 120 participants, with at least 40 from the oil and gas industry, including the majors such as AGIP, BP, ENI, Petrobras, Statoil, Shell, Total, ExxonMobile, Chevron and Woodside.
It was jointly organised by ESA, oil companies, including Shell, BP, Total and Woodside, service-providers and the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies.


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Over three quarters of American IT workers use memory sticks for work-related purposes, and most corporate heads don't have a clue about the peril they face as a result of the stick love.
Or so that's what SanDisk discovered via a survey commissioned to explore the risks of using unsecured USB flash drives in enterprise organizations.
The memory vendor wants to remind IT management to be good and scared over the prospect of their apparently oafish and forgetful grunts stuffing these 'devil sticks' with sensitive information like it was Paxo Sage & Onion.
SanDisk's numbers came from a commissioned phone survey conducted in the US in March 2008 by Applied Research-West.
About 77 per cent of surveyed employees use flash drives at work. When corporate IT leaders were asked to estimate the number of employees they thought used personal flash drives, on average they said only 35 per cent.
Tut, tut, says SanDisk. Because end-user respondents also said that data they were most likely to copy onto a memory stick includes customer records (25 per cent), financial information (17 per cent), business plans (15 per cent), employee records (13 per cent), marketing plans (13 per cent), intellectual property (six per cent) and source code (six per cent).
(We'll suppose the remaining 11 per cent consists of goatse and humorous photos of cats, which to be fair can be equally nefarious when in the wrong hands.)
This security lapse might be okay if the survey didn't indicate approximately one in ten end-users reported finding a flash drive in a public place. When asked to pick the three most likely actions they would take if they found a memory stick in public, 55 per cent said they would view the data.
"Surely there are measures in place to protect our precious data," you may be thinking. But about 44 per cent of polled employees said, to their knowledge, their company does not have a policy that forbids copying corporate data to a personal USB flash drive.
And why should a memory stick maker tell us to panic over the misuse of memory sticks? Oh ho ho, well it just so happens SanDisk sells secured flash drives aimed at corporate use.
Just yesterday SanDisk announced version 3.0 of its Central Management and Control software for its Cruzer Enterprise USB flash drives. Perish the thought of us being overly-cynical, but not a moment too soon!
But seriously folks, flash drive security for corporations is no laughing matter.
By the way, if anyone in the Silicon Valley area finds a red thumb drive with a vulture logo on it — don't look inside. And if you already did, that's...uh...you should know the contents are perfectly legal in the country it was uploaded from. ®
Related Reviews
IronKey 1GB secure USB Flash drive
SanDisk Cruzer Pro, Enterprise secure USB Flash drives


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VEDA: Virtual Environment for Dynamic AFM
A suite of dynamic AFM simulators for air/liquid/vacuum on soft or hard samples.
Version 2.1.14 - published on 04 May 2020
doi:10.21981/8F3N-S929 cite this
Open source: license | download
Published on
VEDA is a suite of tools for simulating many different aspects of dynamic AFM under a range of operating modes and environments. VEDA consists of four tools: Dynamic Approach Curves tool: accurately simulates an AFM cantilever excited at resonance and brought towards a sample surface. Two version are available: basic and advanced. The basic tool simulates oscillations of a single eigenmode of the cantilever, while the advanced tool simulates multiple eigenmodes and multiple excitation frequencies. Amplitude Modulated Scanning tool:simulates amplitude modulated scans over specified geometric features with heterogeneous material properties. This tool accurately simulates surface scans performed by an AFM probe controlled by amplitude modulation. Both basic and advanced versions of this tool are also available, corresponding to the same feature sets as the Dynamic Approach Curves tools. F-Z Curves tool: simulates the response of an undriven microcantilever approaching or retracting from a sample. This tool is useful for observing bi-stabilities in equilibria and the related ``snap-in'' and ``pull-off'' phenomena Frequency Sweep tool: simulates the nonlinear response of a driven cantilever swept across resonance. Simulations of single or multiple eigenmodes are possible. All of the VEDA tools include a variety of different tip-sample interaction models including DMT, JKR, and Hertz, as well as capillary and viscoelastic forces.
Sponsored by
- Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Dow Chemical Corporation
D. Kiracofe, J. Melcher & A. Raman, "Gaining insight into the physics of dynamic atomic force microscopy in complex environments using the VEDA simulator" Review of Scientific Instruments, 83, 013702 (2012). J. Melcher, S. Hu, & A. Raman, "VEDA: A web-based virtual environment for dynamic atomic force microscopy" Review of Scientific Instruments 79, 061301 (2008).
Cite this work
Researchers should cite this work as follows:


text: "in the world the longest wooden trestle located at the Chinese Dalian", Guinness world record headquarters in 2009 issues the certificate officially on November 17, confirms the span 20.99 kilometer Dalian Binhai Rd. wooden trestle for the present world in the longest wooden trestle. One of as Dalian coast city special characteristic important representatives, in construction humanities, ecology, environmental protection, under healthy scenic area idea instruction, Binhai Rd. Dalian south Xinghai park, forest zoo, Fujiazhuang park and so on eight big scenic areas, 48 scenic spot Lian Wei a body. Also constructed 27 to look at the scenery along the way the platform. As the municipal government one of for managed by the people real situation projects, the wooden trestle not only has safeguards the pedestrian personal safety the function, also further strengthened Binhai Rd. "to kiss the sea" the effect. This by Guinness world record headquarters delivery "the world most" the certificate - - "in the world the longest wooden trestle located at the Chinese Dalian, the wooden trestle span 20.99 kilometers, namely 13.04 miles, manages the construction by Dalian Scenery Horticulture office, and in August, 2009 28 completion."At present from all over the world wooden trestle's use limits in the yacht club and so on personal upscale place, in public places and so on tourist scenic zone constructs the wooden trestle for the ordinary resident and the tourist is a pioneering work specially. The Binhai Rd. wooden trestle selects the Russian evergreen tree and the South America great an wooden abrasion resistance and the inoxidizability are very strong, but alleviates the wooden trestle effectively the attrition."


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Counter Terrorism
The mission of the New York State Police Office of Counter Terrorism is to detect, deter, and prevent future terrorist attacks by working in partnership with our citizens, the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and the law enforcement community. The Office of Counter Terrorism seeks to advance the efficient, timely and accurate exchange of information on a statewide basis.
Public Security: Alert Level
The Alert Level System is maintained by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. You can go to their website and get up to date information for New York State and New York City alert levels.


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Tags November 2010 Prison Legal News
Tag: November 2010 Prison Legal News
End prison slavery in Texas now! Part II: Class consciousness and...
Minister Nyle Fort starts us off with a strong quote. I am going to expand his analysis by highlighting the historical fact that slavery in the United States was and is still directly tied to capitalism! So in order for us to combat and abolish legalized slavery in Amerika we must focus our attention on dismantling the system which has allowed this institution of modern prison slavery to proliferate.


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wharf on Family Tree Circles
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Journals and Posts
Looking for Harford or Townsend in Birmingham, Sheridan in Dublin.
I'm researching the following:
Joseph Philip HARFORD b. Aston Warwick March 25, 1879. He had an older brother Thomas and a sister Emily (married surname TOWNSEND).
He joined the Lancashire Fusiliers at age 18 in Birmingham on August 25, 1897, where he had been working in a bicycle shop and serving in the militia.
He served 12 years in the army in Malta, Crete and South Africa.
Thomas was a sergeant in the army when Joe signed up.
In 1909 in Dublin he married Margaret SHERIDAN b. September 21, 1886 in Dublin, Ireland. They lived in Dublin until the summer of 1911 when they moved to Belfast, after which they emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
When WWI started he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force, serving in England and France, and dying in Toronto in October 1918.
Their children are Joseph Philip b. April 9, 1910 in Dublin, Mary Margaret (Mamie) born August 9, 1911 in Belfast, and Bruce born in 1915 in Toronto.
And so the search begins... for Joe's parents and siblings in Birmingham.
Harford Research -- Birmingham to Dublin to Toronto
I'm researching my paternal grandfather's family in Canada and England (and beyond???).
I've been dabbling at this for many years and am hoping to move things along in 2013 -- my new year's resolution.
Wish me luck.
- Displaying 1-2 of 2 Journals
- 1
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The young avatar Aang had his share of fierce foes to take on in "The Last Airbender" -- but none were bigger than the critical review pile-on that occurred before the movie opened this weekend.
Somehow Aang and director M Night Shyamalan still came out on top. The movie took in $70.5 million in its five-day opening weekend, according to Boxofficemojo.com.
Forget any other story about the box office this weekend -- with "Eclipse" naturally pulling in gaudy figures for its six day opening (175.3 million). That had all the suspense of an Adam Sandler movie. It's "Airbender's" ability to shake off these terrible reviews to score a victory at the box office that made the weekend's movie news interesting.
A.O. Scott in The New York Times didn't waste any times in his scathing review. "The Last Airbender? he began. "Let's hope so." Usually those kinds of zingers are saved for the summation. But he just couldn't wait. He finished that opening paragraph with a logical assumption of the movie's box office prospects -- "They're screwed." Somehow the little bald kid escaped that death blow.
Time magazine labeled the movie the "Worst Movie Epic Ever." That was just the headline.
We could go on, but you get the picture. Things weren't looking so good heading into the weekend.
To further muddy the waters for Paramount and Shyamalan, the only true buzz that came out of the movie was the controversy over the casting of the movie's Chinese hero, who was played by a Caucasian boy named Noah Ringer. This irked a lot of people. No doubt they were even more worked up when they saw how incredibly clunky the kid's acting was. Sure he is bald and wears it well -- and he knows his tai chi. But give me a kid from a regional Chevy dealer commercial, preferably the son of the owner, and I can show you a better actor. Especially considering the controversy, it was a shaky foundation on which to set a movie franchise.
No problem. Fans of the Nickelodeon cartoon still flocked to the theaters, along with guys trying to do anything but see "Eclipse." And there were no doubt suckers (like me) who were pulled in by the totally cool trailers and commercials which were part of Paramount's marketing blitz. And there were no doubt a group of people who go to see movies that critics hate just to thumb their noses at the evil media. Okay, I'm struggling here.
Will the movie continue to roll at the box office and make a clear case for (gulp) sequels as the ending suggests? That remains to be seen, though not as likely now that the die-hards have done their duty. But right now Shyamalan has to be to be the most relieved guy in Hollywood to even be able to entertain such a notion.


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Giants bring back Machi to bolster bullpen
SAN DIEGO -- Needing bullpen depth in the wake of George Kontos' suspension, the Giants recalled right-hander Jean Machi from Triple-A Fresno on Thursday.
Technically, Machi replaced left-hander Mike Kickham on the active roster. The Giants needed to make sure their bullpen was adequately stocked, due to Kontos' unavailability. Kontos began serving his three-game suspension, which he received for hitting Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen with a pitch on June 11. As a result, the Giants must function with a 24-man roster until Sunday.
Machi, who began his third stint with the Giants, entered Thursday with a 2-0 record and a 3.86 ERA in 25 appearances in the Majors. He was 2-1 with a 0.60 ERA in 12 outings with Fresno.
Coincidentally, Petco Park was the scene of Machi's finest big league performance. He threw three shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out three, on April 27.


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Bell Lighting
Bell Lighting 4w LED E27/ES golf ball lamp can be used as a perfect alternative for incandescent golf ball lamps and offers a bright, energy efficient and more environmentally friendly lamp with an incredibly long lifetime.
This LED lamp has a Kelvin code of 2700K for inviting, warm white illumination and emits the equivalent of 40w of normal light or 250 lumens.
The lifetime of this LED is up to 30,000 hours and has a 5 year guarantee.
***Please note that this bulb will not come supplied with an additional complimentary bulb***
LED's are a fantastic energy efficient replacement as they offer the equivalent to approximately 40w of normal light while using less than 84% of the energy.
Also available in B15/SBC, B22/BC or SES/E14 caps and cool white, the Bell lighting range includes a non- dimmable LED golf ball lamp in warm white all of which can be ordered from our website.
Size: Height 7.8cm Diameter: 4.5cm
Wattage: 4w LED (equivalent to approx 40w of normal light or 250 lumens)
Colour temperature: 2700K (warm white)
Castlegate Lights Ltd will normally deliver your order within 3 to 5 working days. All orders placed before 1.00pm on items in stock will be delivered next working day.
UK Returns
If you decide to cancel and return the goods, then you should put this in writing, either by letter (proof of posting or recorded delivery is advisable) or you can fax or email. A telephone call is not sufficient.
We accept unused and unfitted correctly boxed returns for exchange or refund within 30 days. To define correctly boxed: this means the product should be correctly repacked in it's own product box and then safely protected and packed in another outer box for shipping. Do not send products back in only their product box only as this will lead to damages happening in transit and refunds not being issued for returned damaged goods. Any such damages should be taken up with your return courier.
Faulty returns must be sent back for inspection using our correct postal address (as below). If found to have a manufacturing defect you will be offered a refund or exchange. Goods must be adequately sealed in all the original packaging, including the outer. Please note that Royal Mail may reject any package that is not adequately wrapped. All information regarding your purchase was sent to the email address you supplied whilst placing your order. If using any address label please attach securely to the package. Please ensure you ask for a certificate of posting from the Post Office as proof you have sent the package. (The Post Office do not charge for issuing these certificates)
Please note that all orders for spare parts are non-refundable and non-returnable.
Payment can be made online by any credit or debit card, Paypal, or by Google Checkout.
Our site uses the latest 128 bit SSL security, complying with and exceeding all necessary security requirements to protect your details. We do not store any sensitive information (card number, etc).
SSL encrypts your order online to avoid any decoding of that information of anyone other than the necessary processing parties. To check the security of your connection, look at the status bar of your browser window after accessing the server. If you see an unbroken key or a closed lock then, depending upon your browser, SSL is active. You can also double check by looking at the URL line of your browser - while accessing a secure server the first characters of the address will change from HTTP to HTTPS.