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Costa Rica Vacations
Visit a tropical paradise with me
Costa Rica - a country small in size, but immensely rich in natural beauty.
I invite you to journey with me through the mystical cloud forests, deserted beaches, or climb up volcanic peaks. Come explore deep into to calcareous caves, stand under fabulous waterfalls, and get a chance to witness the animals such as sloth, coati, armadillo, iguana, howler or capuchin and sweet Squirrel monkeys.
If you choose the right season you can see sea turtles, dolphins and whales, thousands of migratory birds in the vast wetlands, hundreds of species of butterflies. Exotic snakes such as boas, rattlesnakes, coral, and many more...
Travel in Costa Rica independently but without worry,
and enjoy a tailor-made vacation just for you!
If you let me organize your trip in Costa Rica, I promise you that you will not miss any of the current attractions. At this moment I am living in the country and I am in contact with many local park rangers and other people, who inform me about the interesting events, so I can promptly respond to the various changes that inevitably occur during a year.
If your dream is to observe whales or to see giant sea turtles, you can be sure that I will schedule your trip to increase your chances of sighting these animals in a wild to the maximum.
- Experienced tourism agent and guide with great knowledge of the country and the language
- 37 years old
- ten year experience in tourism
- 5 years living in Costa Rica, and worked as a volunteer and volunteer guide for local national parks.
- An organized trip tailored to all of your needs: budget, time available, requirements, and wishes
- Reservation and accommodation for airlines, buses, housing, and other services
- Guided tours
- Opportunities for volunteer stays
Your Costa Rica vacations / Costa Rica holidays / Costa Rica trip / Costa Rica excursions
Photo slide shows of Costarican beaches and nature:
Costarican Wilderness Costarican beaches


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BizBrokers Cairns are licensed business brokers for Cairns, Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland.
The team at BizBrokers are committed to providing the highest possible level of service to our clients. For over 23 years our focus and commitment to customer satisfaction has attributed to our continued growth and success for our clients.
We work to achieve results for the sale of your business. This includes a professional approach in the preparation of financial and marketing information to pass on to prospective buyers. Our business sales success proves these marketing skills and methods have worked for our clients.
Whether you are selling a business in Cairns, Port Douglas or the Atherton Tablelands the sales team at Biz Brokers will provide their expertise in negotiation and communication for a positive and rewarding outcome.
Licenced Restaurant in Heart of City...
Telecommunication Business for Sale
Stock Value: Approx $100,000
Great opportunity to own low overhead...
Great oppportunity to own busy street...
Stock Value: $10,000
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Specialised Solid Timber Manufacturing...
Stock Value: $200,000 Approx
Serious Business for Serious Operator
Dingo Seat Covers for Sale - inc...
Great opportunity to buy one or both...
Stock Value: $10,000 Approx
Beauty & Hair Studio for Sale
Stock Value: $18000

subset: commoncrawl


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Most of us don't know how we will respond to a true crisis. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Matthew Malmquist never has to wonder how he will respond.
Assigned to Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) within the HSI Houston office, Malmquist's quick thinking and heroic actions led to one suspect being killed immediately after shots were fired. Due solely to his actions, no one else was injured.
At about 1:35 p.m. on May 2, 2013, a Beaumont, Texas, man entered IAH Terminal B's non-secured ticketing area with a roll-along suitcase. He sat down in the open terminal's lobby seating. After sitting for several minutes in an apparently distraught manner, the subject pulled a handgun from an unknown location on his body and fired two rounds into the air inside the terminal.
The entrance of the HSI Airport Group Office where Malmquist works is located about 30 yards from where these initial shots were fired. Malmquist was alone in the office and sitting at his desk typing when he heard the gunshots and understood exactly what they were. He immediately exited the office into the open terminal lobby, drawing his weapon as he moved. He saw people frantically fleeing the area and taking cover, but he was not able to immediately identify the shooter. He managed to get the attention of a United Airlines ticket agent and shouted "where, where?"
The ticket agent responded by nodding her head towards the subject who was seated in front of her about 30 yards away. Malmquist looked in that direction and saw the subject still seated with a handgun clearly visible in his hand. It first looked as though Malmquist was in an advantageous tactical position about 20 yards to the right, and slightly behind, the subject. However, seated three or four yards behind the armed subject was a wheelchair-bound man who had been left alone and unattended once the shooting started.
Malmquist couldn't chance firing on the subject with the wheelchair-bound man directly behind the subject. Instead, Malmquist moved from his advantageous position to an exposed position slightly to the right and in front of the subject. He identified himself as a police officer and ordered the subject to drop his weapon. When the subject rapidly raised his weapon hand, Malmquist fired one round striking the subject in the chest. As this was happening, the subject simultaneously placed his handgun to his head and fired one shot. Both rounds were later determined by the coroner's office to be fatal.
"A true hero acts where others pause," said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of HSI in Houston. "There was no pause in SA Malmquist's selfless and decisive actions as those shots rang out. The entire HSI family can take great pride in how Matt carried out his duties when it mattered most."
Houston Police officers assigned to the airport responded after these fatal shots were fired. EMS also responded and pronounced the subject deceased at the scene. A black roll-along suitcase was found beside the subject. Inside the suitcase was a Smith & Wesson AR-15 assault rifle with one fully loaded 30-round .223-caliber magazine. The suitcase also contained an additional 20-round box of .223-caliber ammunition. Also in the suitcase was a hand-written note by the subject stating (paraphrased) that he had come to the airport with the intention of committing a mass shooting, but he changed his mind and indicated he planned to kill himself instead. According to HPD and FBI personnel assisting in the after-action investigation, the subject had posted on social media that he had intended to commit a mass shooting that day, which was averted by HSI Special Agent Matt Malmquist.


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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the classical detective story thrived. Also during these centuries the middle class rose to social prominence. There are many classes of people in our world. While the upper class receives all the luxuries and the lower class receives all the attention, the middle class holds the majority of the people and had the biggest voice in society. Society rises and falls with the middle class. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's book "The Sign of Four" the status of the middle class continually comes into the readers mind. Sherlock Holmes, as the main character, tries to solve a mystery involving many people from the lower to middle class. In "The Sign of Four" Holmes and his trustworthy Dr. Watson undertake a case to help a young woman.
Ms. Morstan is a troubled woman that comes to Holmes for help. Her father has disappeared and she has no idea what happened to him.
She has one lead, and that is a contact, who every year send her a pearl. She is for the most part a middle class citizen except for the fact that unknown to her she is the heir to a treasure that could make her one of the richest ladies in the country. Not only is she the heir to a treasure, but she is a beautiful lady that catches the eye of Dr. Watson.
Dr. Watson is himself a middle class citizen. He lives with Holmes as friend and physician. Slowly Watson develops an attraction to Ms. Morstan, he cannot stop thinking about her, however with the knowledge that she is to become one of societies elites he decides to keep his feeling to himself. As we read further into the story we find that Ms. Morstan's treasure has...


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Philosophically Interesting Books for Young Kids
A friend is interested in soliciting philosophically-minded books for young children—ones who are reading, but are not at the chapter-book stage. Here are a few I've enjoyed with my kids…
- The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater — for the young individualist.
- A Hole Is To Dig by Ruth Krauss — for the young teleologist.
- Pierre: A Cautionary Tale by Maurice Sendak — for the young nihilist.
- It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach — for the young.
- How To Behave and Why by Munro Leaf — for the child interested in explanations of rules.
- Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc (with Edward Gorey illustrations) — for the parents tired of explaining rules.
- If by Sarah Perry — an introduction to possible worlds.
- Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel — an introduction to friendship and free will (see "Cookies").
- The Red Book by Barbara Lehman and Zoom by Istvan Banyai — paradox and perspective, for whereof one cannot speak…
Your suggestions welcome!
(image: illustration from The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater)
UPDATE: Nolen Gertz reminds me of the "Plato & Co." series of books, featuring titles such as Wittgenstein's Rhinoceros, Professor Kant's Incredible Day, Mister Descartes and His Evil Genius, and more.


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How to ask doctor to check for MS?
How to ask doctor to check for MS?
I have what I THINK and have always assumed was carpal tunnel in my hand, but it has gotten worse in the last month where my husband insisted on a doc visit which has resulted in a neurology referral for nerve testing.
It would go in waves of weeks it was fine, then weeks it was bad and each time it would get worse. Then more like good days and bad days. And now it has almost a constant tingle like feeling in all the finger tips. Lightening shooting like pains at night a lot of the time. Yesterday I started having random lightening running through the side of my hand into my pinky? I didn't think CT affected your pinky, but who knows.
I also have what I call 'mom brain', very forgetful and slow to think of words. Again - just call it mom brain after 4 kids lol.
Clumsy and get randomly dizzy.
Oh and recently diagnosed with overactive bladder, again.
There's other little things, but those are the major flags that I noticed are the same as the MS symptoms - so I'm hoping to bring it up to my neurologist without sounding paranoid.
If interested - I was reading a book last week and a lead character had MS. I'd heard of it, but didn't really know what it was so I looked it up.. and well here we are lol.
Re: How to ask doctor to check for MS?
There are many, many diseases that mimic the symptoms of MS, and most diagnosed people do not get a MS diagnosis. Simple nutritional efficiencies and stress can often be the cause of many of the issues you describe.
But obviously something is going on with your health and you need to find out what it is and correct it.
Tell the doctor everything you mentioned in your posting (you described everything well) and let him/her figure it out for you. Please update us on the results of the appointment. Basic blood work if you have not already done so is probably a good idea at this time.
Re: How to ask doctor to check for MS?
take control of your own health.
pursue optimal self care, with or without a diagnosis.
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Stay on Top of Enterprise Technology Trends
Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community
The UK-based Wellcome Trust, the world's second-largest funder of medical research behind the Gates Foundation, has launched a free online magazine called Mosaic that is dedicated to longform science writing. The site will be run by former Times science editor Mark Henderson — who was involved with a monthly science magazine published by the Times called Eureka, which was shut down in 2012 — and will publish a new 3,000-word piece on a scientific topic every Tuesday. In an unusual twist, the content will be free for anyone to use under a Creative Commons license, provided they include attribution.


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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Wins in each of the first three singles matches boosted Tusculum University's men's tennis team to a 4-2 victory over 34th-ranked Bluefield State College Sunday afternoon at the Nichols Tennis Complex.
The Pioneers (10-4) fell behind the Big Blues (8-8) after doubles but came back to pick up their second win over a ranked opponent in five days. The match was Tusculum's third straight against a ranked team, following a 4-3 win over 16th-ranked Queens on Wednesday and a loss to 37th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday.
Bluefield State won two of the three doubles matches to earn the team point, with the only win coming at flight three as Yago Fernandez and Jacco Mensinga beat Tom Schmieta and Mohamed Belcora 6-1.
In singles, the Pioneers ran off three wins in a row to take a 3-1 lead. David Akinpetide, ranked 36th nationally, beat Frederik Baumadsen 6-4, 6-4 at flight one and Tomas Guedes de Almeida upset 57th-ranked Arthur Figuiere 6-3, 6-4 at flight two.
At flight three, Yago Fernandez gave the Pioneers a 3-1 lead as the 73rd-ranked player in Division II defeated Schmieta 6-3, 6-4 at flight three. Vadzim Raitsou then delivered the clinching point for the Pioneers as he defeated Giorgi Datashvili 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) at flight five.
Tusculum will be back in South Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the road at Mars Hill.


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Cars by name
Trucks and Jeeps
Engines / Trans
Repairs / Fixes
Tests and Reviews
Trucks, Jeeps
Truck Home
Dodge / Ram
2019 Ram
by Robert W. Sheaves (edited). Part 7 of a series. Written in mid-October 2014.
Bob Sheaves was responsible for 4x4 suspension design at the Jeep/Truck Engineering's PreProgram Engineering Department from the AMC days until 1993.
Allpar's members asked what we are likely to see as the next-generation Jeep Wrangler. This article is based on my engineering evaluation of various public sources, plus private discussions.
So far, this discussion has ranged over suspension choices, aluminum-vs-steel, a pickup, the body (unibody vs body-on-frame vs roll cage, etc), transmissions, and whether it can stay in Toledo. Several of these issues bring up the question of weight and fuel economy.
The short answer: The 2019 Jeep Wrangler will probably weigh around 300 pounds more at curb weight than the current model, and achieve around 3-4 mpg more on the highway if they use the current V6.
The weight gain will be due to previously noted rollover strength, mediated by greater use of aluminum in the body. There are also safety tests, planned or existing, from both private industry and government, which did not exist when the current Wrangler was first engineered; achieving high ratings for these will drive weight up.
The fuel economy gain will come from aerodynamic improvements and the eight-speed automatic. Due to the expected use, a 3 mpg highway savings is more likely, as 4 mpg would require a full aero kit as used on Dart (this might be part of a less capable model).
Why not just use a VM V6 diesel with an eight speed? The engine does not fit. However, there are other diesel engines which might be possible — and we will discuss those later. The most likely V6, given Sergio Marchionne's comments, is an upgraded 3.2 liter gasoline engine.
Why not use a hybrid? Because of technical risk. As an example, look at stop-start systems: you start with a bolt-on system to assess the risks, then develop changes for one specific vehicle, then simplify the system to eliminate costs, and adapt the components to the next vehicle. During this time, you are also deciding where it is best applied, to have the largest impact on the customer and the smallest on production and training for the factory and repair personnel. You must minimize the technical risks of every part and subsystem to keep from going bankrupt, should your engineers fail to meet the targets.Sometimes you have to shoot the engineers and begin production. This doesn't mean a hybrid won't happen....just not at the start.
Think of the body of a car as a tube with the ends closed off.
The body must resist load inputs in torsion, bending, and linear crush (I apologise for oversimplifying this), among other forces. A round cylinder provides the stiffest shape given an amount of material (e.g. steel or aluminum). Cut a hole in this tube and you weaken it to where it will collapse (or, to be more technically accurate, "deform along force vectors." I am going to use "collapse" as an easier to understand term).
Here's a simple demonstration: take a round paper towel roll, and tape off the ends. Hold one end in each hand, and twist the ends in opposite directions. The paper tube will resist collapsing until you exceed the stiffness of the tube, then it will crush in a spiral pattern. This is called torsional deformation and represents the twisting of the body of the car, or unibody ("semi monocoque," normally).
As you cut more openings (doors, hood, tailgate, and the removable roof for Wrangler), you will have a piece of Swiss cheese that can barely support itself at rest, let alone under any form of induced loading. You have two options:
1. Add a load bearing member to the structure to transfer this load to another part of the body.
2. Add local reinforcement to the opening. The classic case is a Fox-body Mustang convertible; the bodies were built without the roof panels, sail panels, interior structure, and roof reinforcements (for the coupe or hatchback), back seat, and C-pillar to floor reinforcements, then shipped to McLaren to be converted into a roadsters. The issue of stiffness is clear in these cars; the weakest point was the B pillar, because of the missing structure above the beltline (rear quarter glass, aperture reinforcement, and roof header reinforcement), so that closing the door flexed the remainder of the B pillar (supporting the striker assembly) to flex inwards almost an inch, every time the door was closed. Now think about that...an inch of movement, each time the door was closed.
How many times do you open and close your door every day?
Opening reinforcements come in different variations; one is using the "sport bar" to reinforce the open section of roof. A common problem of aftermarket "roll bar kits" is that you can easily overdo the structure and cause body sheet metal fatigue failures, such as body cracking and separation at the attachments.
Like McLaren did with our example, you must use a finite element program to replace the structure needed only and spread those loads out on the body shell to prevent this condition.
Related Jeep Wrangler pages
Inside the Wrangler
Variants and related...
The 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL: suspension • aluminum vs steel • open or fixed roof • pickup
body engineering • weight, strength, and safety • transmissions • engines
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While soccer isn't the most popular sport here in North America, it is everywhere else! With the biggest sporting event on the planet (the 2018 World Cup) kicking off, soccer fever has reached critical mass as 32 countries across six continents compete in Russia to see who's men's national team is the best of them all (sadly, the US, and Canada, failed to qualify). One legendary dance musician is getting in on all the fun and has teamed up with one of the world's most popular football teams to collaborate on a track built like none other.
House legend MK, Marc Kinchen, joined forces with London-based Chelsea Football club on Beat Ball. Celebrated as "a house track formed from two different worlds", Detroit native MK creates an instrumental by capturing sounds from a soccer ball that is kicked, thrown, splashed, and deflected by some of the team's best players. It's hard to describe how this all works- but it does, and it is genius! See for yourself in this behind-the-scenes footage:
Promoted as MK's next single, Beat Ball currently doesn't have a release date, but we are eager to hear the finished product!
Who do you think will win the 2018 World Cup? Let us know in the comments below!
Get all the latest Pacific Northwest nightlife news, directly to your inbox.


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Schoolboy Q aint tripping about Childish Gambino calling him out earlier this Summer.
Earlier in the Summer, Childish Gambino had the internet buzzing when he called out Drake, Kendrick, & Schoolboy Q during a live freestyle in Sydney. Gambino later explained why he targeted those rappers, telling The Breakfast Club, âI said those rappers in particular because I feel like theyâre the best. Iâm sure theyâre fine with it.â
Well it turns out that he was right, and Schoolboy Q wasnât trippin at all about it. In a new interview with Montreality, Puffy says: âGambino throwing shots? I ainât tripping. I fuck with Gambino. It was a freestyle. He probably didnât even mean to say that. I ainât tripping.â
Seeing how the interview is nearly 9 minutes in length, Q also talked about several other topics in the video, including the type of student he was, his first big pay check, favorite video game, the most romantic thing heâs ever done, his message to the youth, and much more.
Check it all out above, and if you want to only hear him speak on Gambino, fast forward to the 5:50 mark to do so.


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Milan are reportedly close to completing a deal with Caen for their young French striker M'baye Niang.
The 17-year-old has been linked this summer with a move to the Italian Serie A runners-up, as they look to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack.
Capped to Under-21 level by France, Niang, who is described as similar in characteristics to Thierry Henry, recently admitted to having visited the Rossoneri's training facilities at Milanello.
Subsequently, reports this morning suggest that Milan and Ligue 2 outfit Caen are close to an agreement for the player.
It is believed that Il Diavolo do not value the player at the €5m-asking price Caen have set, and are instead offering an initial loan deal for the forward, with an option then inserted to make the switch permanent over the next year.
There is rumoured to be competition still in the market for Niang, with English sides Manchester City and Arsenal both said to be tracking the youngster too, with the Gunners having reportedly already had him train with them before.
Meanwhile, the Gazzetta dello Sport are running the line that the Rossoneri will certainly capture full-back Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa from Montpellier, either through a transfer agreement this summer, or on a free next summer when his contract expires.
Watch Serie A live in the UK on Premier Sports for just £9.99 per month including live LaLiga, Eredivisie, Scottish Cup Football and more. Visit: https://www.premiersports.com/subscribenow


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Forums › Bugs & issues › AxCrypt freezes when I try to log in › Reply To: AxCrypt freezes when I try to log in
Ok, well the thing with encryption is that if you don't know the password, you can't decrypt. There's no way to bypass that, that's what the whole thing is for. That's what makes encryption different from access control.
You need to remember what password you used when you originally encrypted the file(s).


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- Nymeria13
- 7 years ago
- Wedding: May 2015
Hello Bees!! I need some help/inspiration! I am planning a Destination Wedding and would love for it to be on/near the beach. FI and I are thinking kinda casual/relaxed (guys will most likely just be wearing khaki shorts and a nice button-down shirt) but I'd still like to find a dress that looks very flattering on me. Don't want a dress that will look too overly-formal next to the guys being a bit more relaxed, but still want people to know I'm the bride!! Probably something a little shorter/tea-length look is what I keep picturing, but I would love to see pics of all ideas! Post pics of your Destination Wedding dresses please!!!


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The large streams of audience are to be guided with announcements. Drop off search messages and emergency calls are made as well. This is only possible with a public address system that provides a high level of speech intelligibility. Ceiling speakers are usually employed in such cases, but they can deliver a poor job in reverberant exhibition halls. Careful design work incorporating room acoustics is necessary to provide the public with information at all times.
|Language selector
Beijing - China 2006 - 2010 New building
For the large foyer and all meeting rooms, the dedicated planning of the room acoustics took place. Also information about the audio, video and conference systems of the rooms were developed.
Since 2013 Room acoustics investigations of the complex space, repeated computer simulations and planning of the sound system of the very different exhibition areas
Since 1987, the oldest church of Berlin of the 13th century is used as a museum for seminars, concerts and exhibitions.
Planning of sound system between 2007 and 2009
Room and building acoustic planning works were necessary to ensure a high level of acoustic comfort through low reverberation times and thus low background noise levels.
Between 2005 and 2008, ADA carried out the room- and electroacoustics planning works for the construction of the museum called Sukkah. Since 2016, we have been working on room and building acoustics planning for the Children's Museum.
From 2003 to 2006 extensive planning work was carried out for the audio and video equipment of all permanent exhibition spaces. Also, the cinema located in the museum was planned in terms of room acoustics.
© fotolia.com-FUGE Freiburg #64854773


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Bamboo viscose
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LennyLamb Bamboo Muslin Squares are must-haves for a new baby.
They will help you to keep your little one comfortable - as a little blanket, a bib or burp cloth, a nursing cover, a changing mat, a sunshade and more. They will make a perfect gift!
The little swaddles are silky soft in touch, airy, naturally antibacterial, absorb water and provide UV protection. Little Swaddles are made from 100% bamboo viscose and hand washable at 30 degrees. Each square measures 70x70 cm.Little Swaddles are available in many colourful LennyLamb patterns. They are available individually or in sets of three.
Gorgeous bags and accessories. Diaper, travel, and waist bags that are fashionable and fun
High quality, high standards, for a fraction of the cost
Check out our resources on the blog for sustainability tips, gentle pregnancy and parenting strategies, fit guides, and more


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Welcome to 2018 where everyone is online, all the time. The more I think about this, the worse I think it is for us in general. For the past few months, I've largely bailed on social networks. More recently I've been avoiding news as well.
On my phone I've removed a many applications, and while I've left a few games for when hanging out in the bathroom taking a ?, I try to avoid my phone for things other than phone calls and text (eg. no social media and limited web browsing).
I took a quick peek at twitter over the weekend and immediately saw this tweet from @jjj which made me think of a
new old approach to life in the 21st century.
I think the current-generation Mac Pro is @Apple's best looking computer, and I hope that trend continues to the next generation.
Not all professionals want to be high-availability, full-time flexible, laptop carriers anymore. There's high value in doing & leaving work at work. pic.twitter.com/ojANK3MXxz
— J ³ (@JJJ) April 21, 2018
In web development we try to take an approach called mobile first. This is where the content is loaded as minimal as possible and designed considering mobile first, rather than designed with the kitchen sink (everything) for desktop then scaling it back for mobile. The reverse approach tends to be slow and bulky on mobile where you may have an old device or limited bandwidth. It's not ideal.
This week starts an experiment I'm calling "Offline First." For years I've worked off one or two laptops, work and/or personal, they've always been on, they usually travel with me (sometimes even when going to visit family). I get up in the morning, move the mouse to wake the screen, then lose time checking email and surfing the web. 30 minutes later I realize I'm late for something and I'm ignoring my family.
In avoiding my phone I've found this thing called the "real world" (scary, I know) and it's amazing. I've felt better about life, spending time with kids and family, and most important of all, NGAF about what is happening in the world at large.
Back to Offline First and @jjj's tweet. This week, I'm going to take a new approach to work. When I'm done work at the end of the day, I will be powering down my laptop. No longer will it be there, at the ready for me to unlock and start writing emails or surfing the web. It then becomes a conscious decision on whether or not I want to turn it on then sit and wait until I can use it, or defer until the morning. In most cases, hopefully the answer is "no, this can wait until the morning" and I write myself a note. While certainly there may be cases where I actually need to address something that involves more than an email reply on my phone, hopefully those are the exception rather than the rule.
In the morning, I'll get up and have coffee or breakfast, then do whatever I want to do with this newfound time-slot before I sit down and consciously start work. Once ready I'll start my day, work on accomplishing what I need to, and then turn it off again at the end of the day. It will be similar to going in and working in an actual office with a desktop computer then leaving for the night.
While work may never be done, it does need to be paused from time to time so that we spend some time enjoying life in the real world.
I'll keep you posted on how my experiment goes and hopefully it's something that yields good results, becoming a permanent fixture of my life rather than a one week experiment.


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Box Expands to Europe, Hires Infrastructure VP Away From LinkedIn
There's always something interesting going on at Box. Last I looked in on it, the fast-growing enterprise cloud service start-up had just moved into new headquarters in Los Altos, Calif., though employees there were trying to coin the name "South Palo Alto."
That issue remains tabled for now, for there are issues of a more global concern at hand. Box will today announce its first global expansion, with the opening of a new office in London and a plan to hire 100 employees across Europe by the end of next year. Greg Strickland, Box's VP of business operations, was named to run the London office as VP of global operations.
It's sort of a funny thing. While other companies complain and their executives buy antacids over their "European exposure" — stemming from the sovereign debt crisis, the troubles facing nations participating in the euro currency union and a regional recession that seemingly has much of the continent by the throat — Box CEO Aaron Levie says business for Box in Europe has been solid.
"We're kind of an international company by accident," he told me by phone last week. About 40 percent of Box's user base comes from outside the US, and much that is in Europe. The continent accounts for a "double digit percentage" of its annual revenue, he says.
Box is proving the relatively new adage of the cloud, that IT executives find it easy to trim their budgets by moving some services and applications to pay-as-you-go-type services in the cloud that can replace things that used to run on-premise on dedicated, underutilized hardware. "Cloud services do well in down cycles," he says. It was true in the U.S. during 2008-10, and it's true of Europe in 2012.
And it's more than Europe. While the company doesn't break down its business by geography, about half of its traffic comes from outside the U.S. Box now boasts 11 million individual users and 120,000 businesses, among them global players with a strong European presence like Procter & Gamble and O2 Media.
Box also said it has expanded its strategic relationship with Palo Alto neighbor Hewlett-Packard, aimed at small and medium businesses. HP is only the biggest among Box's several partners and investors. Salesforce.com and SAP are both investors and partners, while NetSuite is a business partner.
Separately, Box announced that it has hired LinkedIn's Stefan Apitz as its new VP of operations. Apitz was the one who oversaw LinkedIn's infrastructure during a time when it was growing like crazy, which is exactly what Box is doing.
One early piece of business is already done for him: Box has just flipped the switch on a new data center capacity Las Vegas, adding to two facilities already operational in California. (Box also uses Amazon Web Services for things like fault tolerance.) They're not Box-owned data centers — it's not that big yet — but leased space in existing data centers. But Levie says a big part of Apitz's job will be to oversee the growth in infrastructure internationally.
Then there's also the murmuring in certain circles about the possibility that Box will go public in 2013. "There's a certain amount of potential for that happening next year," Levie told me. "But right now we're getting as much done as we can as a private company."


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2018 May 14
Shipyards of Russia are not equally loaded so far. Considerable number of potential orders will let ensure a well balanced loading. State leasing companies representing an important instrument to finance newbuildings provide for construction of almost all commercial ships.
Demand for cargo and passenger ships
The demand for vessels of mixed river/sea navigation and inland navigation ships was estimated by Gennady Yegorov, Director General of Marine Engineering Bureau, at Saint-Petersburg Maritime Forum hosted by the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping.
According to him, some 130-140 dry cargo ships of Volgo-Don Max class, 60-80 dry cargo barges and 20-30 pusher tugs should be built by 2020-2022 to retain the current volumes of inland and short-sea shipping.
Minimum demand for Volgo-Don Max river/sea tankers is estimated at 100 units. Besides, the fleet will require 15-20 shallow-water oil barges of Novaya Belskaya type.
It should be noted that average age of self-propelled dry cargo ships and tankers is 42 y.o. Marine Engineering Bureau examined 2,195 vessels of mixed, inland and limited sea navigation of the most popular series built between 1956 and 1999. 812 of them (37%) were decommissioned, 98 units with average age of 30 y.o. (12%) were lost in accidents. 714 vessels with average age of 35.2 y.o. were scrapped. 1,179 units with average age of 37.5 y.o. are in operation. 204 vessels with average age of 40.6 y.o. are out of operation.
The demand for construction of cruise liners – 10-12 units. "To meet the current flow of cruise passengers, which is about 400,000 passengers per year with foreign passengers accounting for a half of this number, we will need about 10-12 vessels of project PV300. Such vessels are under construction today. Most likely, the lead ship will be delivered in 2020. The second ship of this project can also be ready in 2020. So, 8 to 10 are needed additionally", said Gennady Yegorov.
The lead ship of Project PV300, the first cruise liner of sea/river class to be built in Russia over the 60-year period, was laid down at Astrakhan-based shipyard Lotos in August 2016. The customer of the ship intended for the Caspian Sea is Moscow River Shipping Company. Nizhny Novgorod based shipyard Krasnoye Sormovo will build the second PV300 ship under the contract with Vodohod and Goznak-Leazing signed in January 2017.
According to the head of MEB, passenger fleet will also need six cabin-class ships for 150-200 passengers each to ensure interregional and long-distance transportation, 109 passenger ships for 150-12 passengers and 35 freight/passenger ferries.
Experts say that actual number of passengers carried by river transport can be as high as 20 million per year.
With the help of leasing
Large scale construction of ships is supposed to obtain state support through providing subsidies to cover loan and leasing interest rates, utilization grants and privileged leasing.
Today, leasing is among the most efficient mechanisms applied to finance fleet renovation.
Water transport leasing is getting more and more popular among shipbuilding companies and those who order new ships. About a hundred of different vessels are being built by Russian shipyards under leasing programmes with dozens to be laid down in the nearest future.
For example, State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) has developed proposals under water transport leasing programme aimed at construction of at least 150 ships, STLC Director General Sergey Khramagin told Russian President Vladimir Putin on 5 March 2018, at the Congress of Transport Workers of Russia. The proposals take into account technical capabilities of domestic shipbuilders.
"50% of ships will be decommissioned within 10 years. Consequently, transportation of cargo by inland water ways will decrease, infrastructure upgrading and development will slow down. That will have an impact on the standard of living in coastal areas. That is a systemic problem that can be solved with the state support through application of the leasing mechanism like in the aviation. Taking into consideration technical capabilities of domestic shipbuilders we have developed proposals – key parameters of the programme. Total number of vessels built as part of the programme will be at least 150", Director General of STLC told the President.
According to Sergey Khramagin, the order backlog of STLC numbers 92 vessels of different types, investments into water transport exceeded RUB 80 billion, the company's share in the market is 83%. The sole shareholder of the company is the Russian Federation represented by the Ministry of Transport.
Another player in the market of ship leasing is ZAO Goznak-Leasing, a captive leasing company of United Shipbuilding Corporation. Its share in water transport leasing market is 14%. The company is set to build up the backlog of orders in civil shipbuilding.
In early 2018, United Shipbuilding Corporation and shipping company Volgotrans signed an agreement of intent to implement a project on construction of 32 cargo ships of river/sea navigation within a seven-year period. According to the agreement, utilization grant and other financial mechanisms can be applied. The ships will be built to Russian designs and will fly the flag of the Russian Federation. Both USC and non-USC shipyards will be involved.
The market participants emphasize that it is more reasonable for the state to support industry-focused leasing companies, not associated with specific shipyards. That will let load all USC companies and companies that are not included in the corporation so that maximum fleet renovation coincided with the peak decommissioning of vessels expected in the beginning of 2020-ies. Shipbuilding is not a self-contained industry. It is closely connected with manufacturers of components and equipment, with designing organizations. Therefore, any structure associated with specific shipyards will force the customers deal with specific suppliers and designers. That, in its turn will lead to lower competition and, consequently, to higher prices, lower quality and monopolization of the market. The customers will finally leave for foreign shipyards.
When speaking at Saint-Petersburg Maritime Forum, Aleksey Karchyomov, lawyer at Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, emphasized that leasing in shipbuilding features long payback period and high costs. However, it has a number of advantages when compared with other financial mechanisms: razing loans and investing internal funds. Leasing agreements are signed for four-to seven years and, consequently, let a lessee return the raised resources from money earned on ship operation. Upon expiry of the leasing period, a lessee can register its ownership. Besides, there are other advantages including a possibility to take subsidies or participating in other programmes.
Aleksey Karchyomov says that shipbuilding is far from being a leader among other market segments taking part in leasing programmes. Yet, a positive trend has been seen from 2015 - the share of resources allocated by leasing companies for construction of sea and river ships has been growing.
"Major ship owners generally have no problems with acquiring vessels under leasing agreements. Small size companies are placed at a disadvantage amid high requirements of leasing companies when it comes to lessee's financial performance…", says the expert adding that many domestic leasing companies have recently updated heir policy towards increasing the share of sea and river ships. According to him, that lets small and medium businesses use this instrument.
"Just like any form of financing, leasing has both advantages and disadvantages. When using this instrument, the liability distribution should be competently covered by a leasing agreement. Leasing agreements are quite flexible, which is an apparent advantage", summarized Aleksey Karchyomov.
Promotion of leasing programmes in the segment of vessels and marine equipment is among the priorities in the state policy focused on the development of shipbuilding. According to the state programme of the Russian Federation "Development of shipbuilding for offshore fields in 2013 – 2030", the number of vessels to be built under leasing and loan contracts will reach 264 by 2030.
A lot should be done to upgrade the fleet with a special role to be played by state support measures and state leasing companies which provide for construction of almost all commercial ships.
Margarita Babkova


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Mega Millions. Indeed.
One person is the Mega Millions lottery winner.
One ticket.
$1.9 billion dollars.
Can you even imagine?
Silly question. Of course you can.
If you bought a ticket, that's exactly what we've all been doing for the last few days.
I, personally, find so much joy in playing the lottery.
(Especially one called Mega Millions!)
Maybe that is partially due to my only engaging in the activity when it's HUGE.
So It's not like I invest much time or money in the whole shebang.
But, like right now, when I do, it's So much fun imagining what it would be like to have your heart drop to your stomach when you read off the numbers on your little flimsy piece of paper and realize they match the ones on your screen.
A tiny, receipt of a piece of 'trash' essentially hold THE ticket to change your whole ass entire life.
Can you even imagine?!
What's the first thing you would do?
Me? Personally. I'd send a mass text to anyone I talk to on a regular basis.
Scratch that. To my mom, aunt, sis and a few choice friends.
I'd be all "hey, I am now the owner of mega millions"
Then. I'd call and pay off my student loans (oh man, the relief that would bring me)
Anybody that EVER gave me money out of the kindness of their hearts when I was down – consider yourself a recipient of some cash.
Zae. We're going to Paris so check your calendar to find out when the next school break is. Those cooking classes you've been asking for, they're happening.
Then. I'd buy a house. In cash. CAN YOU IMAGINE NO HOUSE PAYMENT?!?
And you know this is coming. I'd invest in a state of the art wine cellar structure/set up. Because duh.
After that, I honestly see the only real "life change" is the LACK of stress that naturally attaches to everything in our worlds of adulting requiring funds. I'd spend with less anxiety and I'd be freer to invest, donate, and save.
I wouldn't stop working.
I love what I do for Career Success.
I love being a wine ambassador.
And Beautycounter IS my jam.
Life would just be even lighter.
And that, that's enough to get me to the gas station whenever the pot gets big.
It's perfectly healthy to dream and imagine.
You know how I feel about manifesting the life you want to live.
Did you buy a Mega Millions ticket?
What did you imagine you'd do if those numbers hit?


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Ronald Burch endorsed for Morris first selectman seat
MORRIS >> Ronald Burch has been endorsed by the Morris Republican Town Committee to run for first selectman this November, and he did so without any opposition Monday night. Phil Birkett, formerly the first selectman for 14 years, was also among the long Republican slate to be endorsed, many of which are incumbents.
"It was nice," Burch said of gaining the endorsement without another nominee from the floor. "It's a vote of confidence is the way I took it, so I was very appreciative."
Burch is a first time candidate for the town's top seat. He worked in pharmaceutical research and development for 25 years, and moved to Warren from the town of Wilton in 2007.
"I can't believe our good luck that someone like Ron came forward," Republican Town Committee Chair Jerry Hickey said, "because he's got incredible credentials. He's got business experience, he's run companies, he's a very interesting fellow. And he's got good management skills and he's a very likable, low-key kind of guy."
Burch and Birkett announced in July that they would run as a team, given that each man said that their skill sets complement one another.
"He has a lot of attributes that I don't, but by the same token I have a lot of attributes that I bring to the table that he doesn't have," Birkett said in July. "So, I believe that we will dovetail very well."
"This is a guy who has run corporations," Hickey said. "You don't usually find people like that volunteering to run for board of selectman."
Burch's wife, Barbara, is on the Board of Finance and the Conservation Commission.
Incumbent town clerk Ann Carr, tax collector Launa Goslee, current planning and zoning chair Robert McIntosh and board of finance nominees Patricia Goslee and Tracy Martin also received endorsement by the Republican Party. Candidates for the zoning board alternates are Chris Dupont and Giles Giovinazzi. Judith Dorsett and Virginia Williamson have been endorsed to run for the library board. Del Knox was endorsed for the Board of Assessment Appeal and Ed Dorsett as an alternate for the Board of Finance.
The Democratic Town Committee's caucus is Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Morris Senior Center, located at 109 East St., Morris. Incumbent First Selectman Barbara Bongiolatti and selectman Lisa Harrison have both declared their interest in the first selectman position.
Morris elections will be held on Nov. 12.
Reach Ryan Flynn at 860-489-3121 extension 345.


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NovoDynamics and University of Michigan Critical Care Research Institute to Develop Next-Generation Clinical Decision Support Systems
NovoDynamics, Inc., (www.novodynamics.com), a technology innovator focused on transforming large, complex data sets into actionable information and insights, today announced that it has entered into a master collaboration agreement with the University of Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care (MCIRCC) (www.micircc.org).
This collaborative venture will develop technology platforms and applications that advance the efficacy of critical care by combining NovoDynamics intellectual property and expertise in advanced pattern recognition, image analysis and data mining with MCIRCC's integrated, multidisciplinary approach to critical illness and injury research. Together, the two organizations will develop real-time clinical decision support systems driven by adaptive learning algorithms operating on large datasets of patient information including medical images, real-time biosensor data, laboratory values, patient histories and treatment outcomes. Initial areas of focus for the team include the use of imagery and other patient information to support the treatment of traumatic brain, pelvic and abdominal injuries. All research will be carried out in compliance with appropriate regulations.
"Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 and overall, critical care represents a yearly cost to the U.S. economy in excess of $260 billion, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of total annual hospital costs," said David A. Rock, president and chief executive officer at NovoDynamics. "We're committing NovoDynamics' expertise and the ground-breaking work of MCIRCC scientists, engineers and clinical investigators to develop a new class of decision support systems for providers of critical care that will improve patient outcomes, enhance the clinician experience, and reduce healthcare provider costs."
"We're delighted to be collaborating with NovoDynamics to translate MCIRCC research into commercial solutions supporting critical care teams," added Kevin R. Ward, M.D., executive director of MCIRCC, and professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. "NovoDynamics has a proven track record of delivering commercial software products based on leading-edge research and large data analytics. Our collaboration will combine the research, technologies and expertise of both organizations, bringing the power of pattern recognition and predictive analytics to the treatment of critical care patients."
For more information about MCIRCC, please visit www.micircc.org.
Tweet this: .@NovoDynamics announces collaboration with @Umich MCIRCC to bring #PredictiveAnalytics to #CriticalCare http://ow.ly/xxJeK
About NovoDynamics
NovoDynamics, Inc., an In-Q-Tel portfolio company, develops pattern recognition and predictive analytics solutions that are used throughout the world by commercial industries, governments and academia to capitalize on large, disparate data assets. The company also offers software products, based on similar technologies, designed to capture, classify and extract critical data from documents by converting image-based information into digital formats for business process automation, content management, and search and retrieval solutions. Learn more at www.NovoDynamics.com.


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While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.[Genesis 8:22 ]
We are living on earth and we have to learn working with the universal principles that we can't avoid. The first one mentioned above is that of SEED, TIME and HARVEST.
Think of it this way, whatever you want in life is a harvest. Take success, your dream, goal, vision as a harvest. Take a good marriage, successful business, spiritual growth, dream career, health, personal development goal, financial goal as the harvest that you want.
Life gets better when you understand these things as the harvests and you know that God does not give you these as a finished product but we get them as seeds in the form of ideas, desires, aspirations, prophecies and expectations then we put work and effort and exchange with our time to get the harvest.
Everything that you want you have the currency to get it...its called time. You can exchange your time for health, success, happiness, growth and wealth if you sow the right seeds.
Whatever you see in the next person and envy for, that person has exchanged time for it. Everyone has 24hours to trade with and our lives are distinguished by how we trade with the time.
We have been crippled by expecting a harvest as a miracle because we do not want to sow the right seeds and allow time to work its magic and get the harvest. You cannot be stressing for a harvest while you have maize seeds in your hand. Work the ground and create the right environment, sow the seeds and allow TIME to work its magic and you will get the harvest.
Whatever the developed nations have, its a result of ideas and dreams that were grown through time and work and we can't expect a better Africa from aid and donations but starting with the little we have and putting work to it and giving time to it.
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,...
[Deut 8:18]
God does not give us wealth as a harvest but gives us ability that we have to put to work consistently and leave it to time to produce a harvest.
Have a great day- Coach Tarie: Arise Africa Cause- Its a love revolution.


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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—On May 18, the first day of Google I/O 2016, Google brought to the Shoreline Amphitheater stage news involving its Android mobile operating system, unveiled a powerful analytics engine and introduced a new server ASIC at the same time.
Yes, Google not only creates software of all kinds, it also makes server components. In fact, it's been building its own servers, networks and storage facilities for as long as it's been in business, which is just shy of two decades.
Here's a rundown of what Google announced for software developers on May 18.
Android N
Android, currently being pounded by Oracle in federal-level copyright litigation up the 101 freeway in San Francisco, is morphing into its next version, called "N."
"In Android N, we want to achieve a new level of product excellence for Android, so we've carried out some pretty deep surgery to the platform, rewriting and redesigning some fundamental aspects of how the system works," Google Android Vice President of Engineering Dave Burke said.
"For Android N, we are focused on three key themes: performance, productivity and security. The first Developer Preview introduced a brand new JIT compiler to improve software performance, make app installs faster and take up less storage. The second N Developer Preview included Vulkan, a new 3D-rendering API to help game developers deliver high performance graphics on mobile devices."
Both previews also brought useful productivity improvements to Android, including Multi-Window support and Direct Reply, Burke said.
Android N also adds some important new features to help keep users safer and more secure, Burke said.
"Inspired by how Chromebooks apply updates, we're introducing seamless updates so that new Android devices built on N can install system updates in the background," Burke said. "This means that the next time a user powers up his device, new devices can automatically and seamlessly switch into the new updated system image.
"Today's release of Android N Developer Preview 3 is our first beta-quality candidate, available to test on your primary phone or tablet," Burke said.
Firebase Analytics
The Firebase Analytics engine on the Google Cloud Platform is a free and unlimited analytics solution providing developers with unlimited reporting for up to 500 distinct events that can be defined using the Firebase SDK (software development kit).
Firebase Analytics reports helps users understand how users behave, which enables informed decisions regarding app marketing and performance optimizations.
"One of the most requested features by Firebase developers is the ability to store images, videos and other large files," product manager James Tamplin wrote in his blog. "The new Firebase Storage is powered by Google Cloud Storage, giving it massive scalability and allowing stored files to be easily accessed by other projects running on Google Cloud Platform.
"Firebase now uses the same underlying account system as GCP, which means you can use any GCP product with your Firebase app. For example, you can export raw analytics data from the new Firebase Analytics to Google BigQuery to help you surface advanced insights about your application and users."
Firebase is slated to be a freely available component for all Android development in the future, Google said.


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Medicinal Cannabis Activists Are Furious And Think Politics Is Getting In The Way Of Progress
After the Senate voted down a motion last week that would have allowed fast-tracked access to medicinal cannabis for the terminally ill, activists all over the country moved to condemn the government.
Medicinal cannabis activists across Australia say the federal government is blocking the path to progress with bureaucratic process.
The backlash comes after a motion that would have allowed fast-tracked access to medicinal cannabis for the terminally ill, or those with life threatening illnesses, was defeated in the Senate last Thursday.
Backed by the Greens and the Labor Party, the motion intended to disallow changes made by former health minister Sussan Ley to the Special Access Scheme (SAS) in 2016.
Ley's modifications removed the rights of terminally ill patients to apply for fast-tracked access to medicinal cannabis. The vote for the motion was tied in the Senate 32-32, meaning it was defeated.
Controversially, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party – which campaigned heavily on medicinal cannabis access during last year's federal election – voted against the motion. In a post on her Facebook, Hanson said the motion would have allowed "massive unregulated access to clinically unproven treatments".
One Nation's decision to vote against the motion was met with outrage from some of its supporters. Angry comments flooded Hanson's Facebook, with many saying they would no longer vote for One Nation.
Meanwhile, medicinal cannabis activists are convinced that the decision from the government not to back the motion illustrates its willingness to put politics ahead of the health of the seriously ill.
Lanai Carter's son Lindsay was the first patient in Australia to receive approval for schedule 9 medicinal cannabis products. In an effort to make things easier for others going through the complicated process of government approval, Lanai and the Medical Cannabis Advisory Group (MCAG) has spent the last seven months campaigning for fast-tracked access through Category A of the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Special Access Scheme.
The group has been calling and emailing One Nation since November last year.
"A meeting was arranged, but then they cancelled the next day," she told BuzzFeed News. One Nation has not responded to multiple requests to confirm this.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie would have had the casting vote last week, however she told BuzzFeed News she abstained because she did not think she had enough information.
"Well, that's her job, isn't it," said medicinal cannabis activist and compassionate supplier Jenny Hallam. "She should have the information."
Lanai Carter said one of the activists at MCAG had contacted Lambie on a number of occasions since January in an attempt to talk to her about the motion.
BuzzFeed News also understands that Lambie has spoken with a number of medicinal cannabis patients, including the carer of a war veteran with PTSD, about the Category A issue.
In March, the MCAG received a response saying Lambie did not yet have a formal position on medicinal cannabis, and that it would appear on her website once she did.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Lambie said the only people winning from no access or restricted access are the big pharmaceutical companies.
Much of the outrage surrounding the government's decision revolves around a letter sent to senators ahead of the vote by federal minister for health, Greg Hunt.
In the letter, which BuzzFeed News has obtained, he outlined why members of parliament should not back the motion. He said the burgeoning Australian medicinal cannabis industry would be significantly harmed if patients were able to import from other countries.
"That's rubbish," said Hallam. "So he's putting the industry over the lives of terminally ill children? Children who need this medicine to stop seizures?"
Hunt also said the motion would put Australian patients at "undue risk", but activists say this is not true.
"He gives the impression that you could just order in uncontrolled substances, but whatever you import still has to come from a country where [medicinal cannabis] is federally legal," said Carter.
Hunt told The Courier Mail the motion could have allowed "bags of weed" into Australia – which activists say trivialises medicinal cannabis and its role in helping patients with life threatening conditions.
"Under the Category A scheme the pharmacist or doctor still has to import whatever it is you're getting and can only import from regulated sources," said Carter. "Whatever you import would also be subject to the importing country's regulations. It's not like you're just buying it off the street."
Any imported medicinal cannabis products would also have to be subject to quality assurance of overseas health bodies – even before it arrives in Australia and is met with strict state and territory customs laws.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale told BuzzFeed News he was unsure why Hanson voted down the motion.
"I'm not sure which is more frightening: that Pauline Hanson doesn't understand the medicinal cannabis proposal that her team helped defeat in the Senate last week, denying relief to terminally ill patients, or that she does understand and is merely playing politics with their lives," he said.
Di Natale said medicinal cannabis should be treated like other medicines and be available to terminally ill people if they get a script from a doctor.


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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
U.S. Grant Banquet Box from Palace hotel
Submitted by Maurene: Wondering if someone could help me with an engraved "Farewell Banquet" box for Gen. U.S. Grant, Palace Hotel, Oct. 25, 1879 with the guest name of Adam Grant, a prominent figure in San Francisco at the time, engraved also. It has a little damage in the back only where it appears the outer casing, which appears to be tortoise shell, has 3 small areas which have broken off. If you can help Maurene by offering information on this item, please click on the comment button. Thanks!
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the byob "boots" for her little sis (the tgif), keeping a beer can safe in her secret side pocket that is equipped with a magnet closure. she's sure to keep your cold beer on the down low.
11" tall/ 12" wide/ 5"deep/ 5/8" strap width
available in 100% new leather with interior cotton lining and zip pocket.
shown in mustard, blue, blush, rose, toothpaste, black, caramel, wine, forest and green.
hand-crafted in our downtown vancouver studio


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Mini Implants – for Denture Wearers
Are your dentures so comfortable and well seating that you find eating, talking, smiling as comfortable as when you had your own teeth?
Or do you find the opposite? That you are restricted in what types of food you eat, constantly require denture adhesives, have reduced clarity of speech and taste and find your dentures are not quite as comfortable as you would like but don't want to go to the expense and time required for their replacement with regular dental implants and bridges?
If so, the answer is at hand in the form of miniature dental implants which:
- Allow the immediate stabilisation of a normal sized denture.
- Can be placed in one session – in a very simplified surgical technique which minimalises mouth trauma and the post operative healing period.
- Allow you to leave the surgery and immediately afterwards eat, talk and smile with the surety that your dentures will remain securely in place – even biting an apple is, normally, 'on the cards'.
- With full upper dentures, allows removal of the section that covers your palate – without any loss of retention and an immensely improved sense of taste.
- This snap fit implants can also be used to to stablise partial dentures
- Cost a fraction of the financial outlay involved with 'regular' implants
- Can be used when there is not enough bone for regular sized implants
- Once placed, the maintenance costs are quite minimal and, in the unlikely event of losing one these implants, the replacement cost is relatively cheap and, frequently, can be placed straight away in an adjacent implant site.
Please go to 'Gallery' for examples


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We have been working with Canal Farm Cottages near Louth for the last few months in building them a new website to showcase their holiday cottages. As well as the fully responsive design with SSL security we also completed all the photography including aerial and 360° virtual tours of the cottages to ensure potential clients has a real understanding on what was available.
The project was a great showcase for their excellent appointed cottages and we look forward to increasing their bookings during the coming months. Click here to visit the site and perhaps even book a break !
We have a number of exciting web projects coming up in the next few months so check back for our latest news


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Focus Features is in negotiations for U.S. distribution rights to the Jesse Owens biopic "Race."
The film will be directed by Stephen Hopkins from a script by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse.
"Race" will focus on how Owens, the son of an Alabama sharecropper, shattered Adolf Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay. Owens' victories are considered among the greatest athletic feats of all time.
Hitler had insisted that Jews and blacks not be allowed to participate in the Games but relented when threatened with a boycott. He shook hands only with the German victors on the first day of competition and then skipped all further medal presentations.
Jean-Charles Levy, Luc Dayan, Kate Garwood, Stephen Hopkins, Louis-Philippe Rochon, Dominique Séguin, Karsten Brünig and Thierry Potok will produce. Al Munteanu from SquareOne Entertainment is exec producing.
The movie still needs to find its star, which may hold up the deal if an actor is not found to play Owens. John Boyega was attached but fell out due to his commitment to "Star Wars."


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Fastest Way to Bump a Listing to the Top of Craigslist
Craigslist posts, like some spring flowers, have a limited lifespan; they both begin life young, attract attention for a while and then fade away into oblivion. One day your Craigslist posting will expire. Before it does that, it takes a slow journey towards the bottom of the search results list as newer posts arrive. You can't push a button to put your post back on top, but you can renew it to make that happen.
Visit Craigslist, click "My Account" and enter your login information to log into your account and view the account page. This page shows your current listings in a table.
Scroll through the listings and find the one you'd like to renew.
Click the "Repost" button next to an active post to renew. The word "Active" appears next to active listings
- If you didn't have a Craigslist account when you posted your listing, find the confirmation email message Craigslist sent when you made the post and click the message's "Renew this Posting" link.
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- Craigslist: About > Help > Posting Lifespans
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Hazard insurance is part of your home owners insurance policy. This is the portion of your plan that will take care of fire or other hazards in the event of disaster. The other portion of the plan is liability insurance. This will take care of medical expenses if someone is injured while visiting your home. It is important to have both hazard and liability insurance coverage. If your home is destroyed, you want to repair or replace it as quickly as possible.
Although you do not want to think about your home being devastated by a fire, flood or other disaster, if it does happen, your hazard insurance will cover the expense of either repairing the damage or even rebuilding your home. Homeowners insurance may not be required by law, but if you have a mortgage on your home, your lender will probably require this type of protection. Since hazards vary from state to state, you will want to look at the policy and make sure you are covered for all types of disasters that are common for you area. Some areas may require special hazard coverage for flooding or hurricanes. Make sure when you compare quotes, you understand the type of protection you need.
When speaking with an agent, you can ask "Is hazard insurance covered under my homeowners insurance policy?" This will help you determine the type of plan you need and still find a policy you can afford. The best way to make sure you have a great plan is to compare rates. Do not just choose the first quote you find, when you compare both price and coverage, you might be able to get a better deal. Knowing you have top of the line insurance coverage will ensure peace of mind.


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Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'lmp'.
Found 2 results
Audi R18 LMP Racecar - 2016 Livery (1:16)
Guy0naBuffalo posted a topic in LEGO Scale ModelingWith the 24 Hours of Le Mans approaching this weekend and seeing some other LMP cars on here recently, I decided to post as well! This is the Audi R18 in 2016 colors, on its last race year, more description below. I've been fascinated with the Le Mans 24 hour Endurance race since I was a little boy. My father shared his passion for auto racing with me and naturally, I also got hooked! After recently visiting an World Endurance Championship race this year and seeing a life sized Porsche 919 made half out of Lego and half out of a real car, I couldn't resist designing my own (although not quite as big). I know there are already a few current Lego sets that feature racecars like Speed Champs, but I wanted to design one that had a higher level of detail and really showed off the beautiful design of the LMP class. This design was done using the studless technique to keep the aerodynamic feel of an actual car. It is quite sturdy and uses standard Lego bricks/panels/slopes without requiring specialized body moldings. The car measures 11 inches (28 cm) long x 5 (12.7 cm) inches wide x 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) tall and is equivalent to 1:16 scale. It is just a bit bigger than minifig scale, although a minifig will fit inside the cockpit after removing the roof which easily comes off of two studs. The car can roll on a flat surface and has about 4 mm of ground clearance. I added racing numbers on the side panels and front for fun. Obviously more stickers could be added to make the car look even more like an actual car highlighting all the team sponsors, but I chose to keep the look clean.
MOC: Octan One LMP Race Car
wooootles posted a topic in LEGO TownI think it's time for me to start posting some finished LEGO work again, it's been a while Here's my latest creation - an LMP-style race car. Inspired by both the 60053 (which I found too stubby) and the upcoming Speed Champions line. It can sit minifigs upright. Since I'll probably buy some of the Speed Champions stuff I am contemplating moving my future car MOCs to full 6-wide body, as well. Also, it started off in LDD. Here's my POV-Ray render (and my current wallpaper) Here's the whole album with the full-size images! https://www.flickr.c...57650317055727/ Thanks for looking! I am looking for other CITY/Friends cars to modify. I gotta get my feet warm again before I post some of my bigger stuff!


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A busy mom of three is looking for the ultimate kitchen. She wants Christina to give the dated space an open, beachy feel while still keeping it functional for her family.
A couple is in a rush to renovate their kitchen before the arrival of the second child. With a ticking clock, conflicting schedules and different style preferences, they hope Christina will help them figure out the perfect makeover for their growing family in time.
A couple who has been steadily renovating their Huntington Beach home has only one room left to conquer. They hope Christina can turn their cramped, dark master suite into the bathroom of their dreams.
A couple wants to update the master bedroom and bathroom in their Costa Mesa, California, home and need Christina's help to merge their tastes into a cohesive design. While she's a fan of rustic looks, he prefers modern, clean and contemporary.
A couple that recently moved into their Tustin, California, home started working on cosmetic changes like paint and flooring, but they had to put the kitchen project on hold when their daughter was born. Now, they need Christina's expertise to update the space.
A couple's master suite home is in desperate need of a makeover. Christina comes to the rescue, turning the dingy, dated bathroom and bedroom into a chic and functional space.
Christina's lifelong friend, Cassie, is moving back to her childhood home in Anaheim Hills, California. The home has not been renovated in over 17 years, and she's hoping Christina can work her magic on the dated kitchen and dining area.


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Bar Code: 9780571534999Part Number: 571534996Brand: Faber Music
Big Pop Instrumental Solos (Clarinet) contains 75 of the most popular songs of recent years. An excellent choice for students, amateurs, and professionals alike, it is great for performances at parties and receptions, or just for fun! Includes hits from Madonna, R.Kelly, Alanis Morissette, Elton John and many, many more.
Home > Clarinet


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Michael Des Barres
Michael Des Barres has been on the rock n' roll scene for more than four decades. A European Marquis, Michael was raised in England and now lives in Los Angeles. His enduring love of delta blues and the rock and soul of the mid-60s beat boom, carries forth from his days as the front man for such seminal 1970s bands as Silverhead and Detective, a band personally signed by Jimmy Page to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song records in 1975.
Michael Des Barres was also the touring singer for the Duran Duran spin-off group, The Power Station, performing at Live Aid with one of the most iconic live acts of the mid-1980s. From 1982 to 1984, Michael was a member of Chequered Past, which included Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols, and Clem Burke and Nigel Harrison of Blondie...Read More


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Nokia Lumia 1320 for Video Copilot's Element 3D plugin for Adobe After Effects
This is a highly detailed and accurate version of the Nokia Lumia 1320 smartphone in Yellow, Red, White and Black colors.
This pack contains:
• Nokia Lumia 1320 model optimized specifically for Element 3D in Cinema 4D file format
• nokia_lumia_1320.c4d
• 4 Element 3D model presets with textures and materials applied
• nokia_lumia_1320_yellow.e3d
• nokia_lumia_1320_red.e3d
• nokia_lumia_1320_white.e3d
• nokia_lumia_1320_black.e3d
• 5 .png textures
• 1 AE CC and CS6 project with image based lighting setup based on a tutorial by Video Copilot
• nokia_lumia_1320.aep
Light setup and reflections look can be changed to your needs.
Homescreen supports video, still images or text.
All preview images were rendered in After Effects


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Policy for Promoting Good Attendance & Punctuality
Why do we need a policy for attendance and punctuality?
Children come to school to learn and good attendance is important if they are to gain as much as possible from their time in school. When children miss lessons it is harder for them to reach their full potential. Poor attendance and punctuality can lead to children feeling unsettled at school, it can affect their friendships and reduce their confidence. Poor attendance can result in social and academic problems.
Punctuality is important so children can be registered, seated and listening to the teacher when the first lesson of the day begins.
It is the duty of the Local Authority to ensure that parents/carers fulfil their duty under section 7 of the Education Act 1996. This duty is to ensure that your child receives full time education.
Our school day officially begins at 8.50am when all children are expected to be in school, unless they have an authorised absence pass. The school gates are closed at 9.00am for safety reasons. Any children arriving after that time will need to enter at the main entrance via the intercom system and report to the office where they will be given a late mark on the register. Children arriving after 9.30am who have not been issued with a pass will be marked as late after close of register. This will show as an unauthorised absence for the morning on the register.
Punctuality procedures
- The Attendance Officer and staff monitor lateness.
- Late arrivals are entered in the register and an arrival time is entered on our computerised attendance system.
- A letter is sent home for persistent lateness.
- Parents will be contacted to discuss any problem which may contribute to a lack of punctuality.
- A referral may be sent to MAST (Multi Agency Support Team) if necessary.
Punctuality when collecting children at the end of the school day is just as important. If a parent/carer is running late school should be notified by telephone if at all possible, so that the child/children can be cared for by the schools Learning Mentor until they are collected. If the school is not notified the Learning Mentor will try to contact the parent/carer. If no contact can be made and the child/children are still in school one hour after the end of school the relevant Children's Social Care Area Team or the Police will be contacted.
Staff can not be requested to walk children back home.
The school day finishes at the following times:
FS1 (Nursery) Am session 11.30 Pm session 3.20
FS2 3.10pm
KS1 3.10pm
KS2 3.20pm
Registers are taken at the beginning of the morning (8.50am) and the afternoon (1.10pm) sessions. The morning registers close at 9.30am.
Parents/carers are requested to telephone school on the first day of absence to explain why their child is not in school. The appropriate code may then be entered in the attendance register. If a parent/carer fails to notify the school the attendance officer will phone them. This is known as 'First Day' absence calling. If no explanation is received a text is then sent requesting the parents/carers to get in touch with the school. If we get no reply a letter will be sent home requesting a reason and will be kept on file. If no explanation remains forthcoming then the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Authorised/unauthorised absence
It is important to note that a letter or phone call from a parent does not authorise an absence, only the schools acceptance of the explanation can authorise the absence.
Absences from CarfieldPrimary School will be authorised for the following reasons:
- Sickness
- Days of religious observance (3 per year)
- Exceptional circumstances (agreed by the Head teacher)
- Medical/dental appointment*
- Pre-arranged visits to another school*
- Music exam*
*Absence passes are available at the school office and should be carried when out of school for appointments.
A medical appointment card or letter should be shown at the school office and a leave of absence form must be completed when requesting a pass. If a letter or appointment card is not available school will supply a form for the practitioner to complete.
The school should be informed if a child has an emergency medical appointment and a pass has not been given and proof of the appointment should be obtained.
It is expected that:
Parents will –
- Ensure their child attends regularly and on time
- Notify school on the first day of absence
- Only request leave in term time in exceptional circumstances
- Not keep their children away from school for trivial reasons
- Not keep their children off school during SAT's or at times of testing.
The school will –
- Ensure that the Head Teacher is informed about any attendance matters and is in agreement with any action taken
- Have an expectation that full time punctual attendance will be the norm and all persistent absences/lateness will be followed up
- Monitor attendance through checking registers and the computerised attendance system
- Have a system of pupil passes for legitimate time out of school due to unavoidable appointments
- Identify and act upon problems with attendance.
The registers are monitored on a regular basis by the school's Attendance Officer. Attendance patterns are monitored half termly and attendance records of any child with an attendance of less than 90% will be discussed with the Head Teacher, who may wish to discuss the problem with the child's parents/carers. The school will also alert parents if a child's attendance is below the 90% mark by the use of attendance information/alert certificates which highlight areas of absence that are felt could be improved on.
Information on attendance is returned half termly to the DFE.
Attendance procedures
If a poor pattern of attendance is formed:
- The Head Teacher will be informed
- The attendance officer/teacher will contact parents/carers
- The attendance officer will look at strategies for improvement
- The Head Teacher/Attendance Officer may wish to meet with parents/carers to discuss and agree strategies for improved attendance
- The school may contact MAST (Multi Agency Support Team) to request the allocation of a Family Intervention Worker.
- The Family Intervention Worker will keep in contact with parents/carers, if necessary sending a warning letter
- The Family Intervention Worker may issue a final warning
- Parents/carers may receive a court summons.
Penalty Notices
Where a child's attendance is consistently poor (less than 90% with at least 20% of the absence being unauthorised) and all steps have been taken to rectify this by the school and the Family Intervention Worker working with the child and the parents/carers, but have been unsuccessful then the Attendance and Inclusion Service will after consulting with the school, consider issuing a Penalty Notice (see appendix). This will only be issued after taking each case into consideration and taking into account any mitigating circumstances.
Awards and rewards
All children achieving 100% attendance in a half term will receive a certificate for perfect attendance at the end of the half term and children who achieve 100% for the whole of the academic year will be presented with a medal. Any class where all the children have attended all week will receive attendance stickers and the class in each phase with the highest attendance each half term will be awarded an attendance cup. Children also receive stickers and small prizes of pens, pencils etc. for positive and improved attendance.
The school hold's Attendance Weeks/competitions and has a prize draw to reward positive attendance/punctuality.
Leave during term time
Leave in term time is not an entitlement and can only be granted in exceptional circumstances at the Head Teacher's discretion.
All requests for term time leave must be submitted at least 20 days in advance, by the parents/carers, to enable school to have time to consider the request. Each request will be considered individually and on its own merits. The school will reply in writing within 10 school days of receiving the request. Requests that do not include a start and end date or reason for the leave cannot be considered. If a child is granted leave and does not return to school by the agreed return date or takes unauthorised leave parents will be at risk receiving a fine and/or the child of losing their place at school.
Taking leave in term time is strongly discouraged, 'as it can be disruptive to children's education and there is strong evidence to indicate that significant absence from school during term time can have a negative impact upon a child's attainment and learning'.
CYPF Policy
For further information on term time leave please refer to:
Sheffield City Council
Children Young People and Families
Term time leave: Policy for schools
A copy of which is available by request from the school office.
Children missing from education
The Attendance Officer will liaise with the Children Young People and Families Directorate, Children Missing from Education Team. Pupils who cannot be located will be considered as missing. The Children Missing from Education Team will be informed and they will pursue the matter in accordance with Local Authority procedures.
Children in public care
The Head teacher is the school's co-ordinator for looked after children.
The Attendance Officer will monitor their attendance and report this to the
Looked After Children's Team on request.
Appendix: Penalty Notices
The Local Education Authority has brought to the attention of every school in Sheffield the new powers made available in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
These came into force in February 2004 and include Penalty Notices, which mean that for pupils with unauthorised absence from school (i.e. any absences for which the school has not given permission) their parents/carers may be subject to a prompt fine.
Penalty Notices will be used as a deterrent to prevent a pattern of unauthorised absence developing. They will be issued simply by post to a pupil's home after a warning and in cases of absence without acceptable cause which will include pupils caught on truancy sweeps and also those taking unauthorised holidays in school time.
At Carfield School we consider that regular attendance is very important and these new powers so significant, that we are bringing this change in the law to the attention of every parent/carer with a child in this school. It means that any parent/carer of a pupil with a level of unauthorised absence may now have a potential liability in the form of a Penalty Notice issued by the Local Authority.
If you believe at any stage that your child's absence record from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice it is extremely important that you take action without delay to secure their regular attendance.
When considering the use of a Penalty Notice, a Sheffield Local Authority Officer's first response will be in the form of a written warning. In exceptional circumstances, however, a Penalty Notice may be used as a first response. This could be when an unauthorised absence was for an extended period and condoned by the parent/carer, for example when a parent/carer has chosen to take their child on holiday during term time without authorisation.
Support and guidance on attendance is always available and if you have any questions about this or if you need any help to achieve an improvement then please contact us to discuss the situation.
Advice and support can also be made available to you through the Attendance and Inclusion Service by contacting 0114 2735701.


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Freshman team's bike-rack design for METRO tops TxDOT College Challenge
A team of six Rice University engineering students took their first project — the design of a rack to transport three bicycles at a time via METRO bus — all the way to its logical conclusion and have won this year's Texas Department of Transportation's College Challenge.
Now they're starting the second half of their freshman year.
The team — bioengineering students Ken Groszman and Sharon Ghelman, mechanical engineering students Max Hasbrouck and Annabelle McIntire-Gavlick and chemical and biomolecular engineering students Kivani Sanchez and Brian Barr — took the $3,000 top prize with a presentation at the ninth annual Texas Transportation Forum in San Antonio Jan. 8.
The team was one of three finalists asked to develop innovative concepts that address the state's mobility, connectivity and transportation safety issues. The other finalists were from the University of Houston and Austin College.
The students were motivated by a recent study by the Houston-Galveston Area Council that anticipates the region's growth will make racks that can hold two bikes on current METRO buses insufficient to meet the needs of commuters. In fact, this week's news is a double win for Rice, as the three-rack solution was one of several recommendations by a Houston Action Research Team (HART) of undergraduates who worked over the summer to help METRO improve bike-bus transit in the city.
"Ridership is up significantly systemwide, and people want METRO to solve the 'last-mile' problem," said Matthew Wettergreen, a lecturer at Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering who works with freshman design teams at the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK). "You can get almost anywhere in Houston on the buses and trains, but that 'last mile' to and from your destination requires you to either drive or walk. Bikes are a great way to solve that problem, but there's a limited number of bike racks on METRO rail and buses."
He said three-bike racks from METRO's current vendor wouldn't work because of the buses' windshield design. Folded up when not in use, the racks would impede the driver's view.
The contest required students to submit a project proposal and a video. It didn't require them to actually build the project.
"One of the judges commented on that," McIntire-Gavlick said. "He said, 'It's a good day when an engineer actually gets his hands dirty.' I think they really appreciated the fact that we put so much time into this and that we have a working prototype to show all of our efforts. We had done testing on our prototype, too."
The rack would take only a little more space than a two-bike unit when folded up because the spring-loaded unit for the third bike is collapsible. A rider would load it up by pulling a handle that allows the third rack to slide out. The wheels sit in a strap-supported channel and an arm extends over the front wheel to lock the bike into place.
The prototype cost less than $900 to build at the OEDK, and the students figure it would easily meet METRO's cost requirement of roughly $1,100 per unit when scaled up for manufacturing.
The project's future is now in METRO's hands. "We discussed this with them at the end of last semester and the conclusion was that they're going to spread the idea around the department," Groszman said. "Hopefully, it will either be passed on to a design engineer to look into manufacturing or a different design team at Rice that can continue testing."
METRO officials indicate they will do their part. "METRO is enthused by the success of the project and will assist by introducing the students' ideas to manufacturers with a goal of providing more access to transit systems in the U.S.," said Doug Peck, director of bus maintenance support. "We were glad to be a resource for the students and provided access to METRO's fleet and Kashmere bus operating facility as well as documentation regarding our maintenance experience with current bike racks. It was great to see these young people working hard on new ideas and solutions for transit concerns."
The students took on the task at the dawn of their academic careers at Rice. "What's remarkable is that they had no experience manufacturing anything," said Wettergreen, who got the pitch from Elizabeth Vann, director of civic research and design at Rice's Center for Civic Leadership, based on the HART team's proposal.
Vann and Robert Stein, Rice's Lena Goldman Professor of Political Science, advised the HART team of biochemistry and cell biology student Skye Kelty, civil engineering students Maria Rangel and Laura Lopez and architecture student Austin Jarvis, all seniors. Over the summer they worked on their proposal to METRO and challenged the Engineering 120 class to come up with a three-bike rack in the fall.
"It was an especially challenging engineering project for freshmen," Vann said. "In the beginning, I wondered if they were going to be able to pull this off. METRO had a lot of special requirements and demands in terms of cost, size, durability and function, so it was a lot to take on.
"But as the weeks went on, I could see they were making real progress. By the end it was just fantastic."
That the Rice freshmen entered the TxDOT challenge at all was just good luck. "One of our teammates happened to see a flyer for the contest posted at the OEDK and said, 'Hey, guys, we should enter this,'" McIntire-Gavlick recalled. "It was real last-minute. Then we made the finals and said, 'Wow, let's put some more work into this and see what happens.'"


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Seahawks TE Jimmy Graham out for season with torn patellar tendon
Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham left the field on a cart after suffering a knee injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Steelers and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Head coach Pete Carroll told reporters after the game that Graham was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon and will require season-ending surgery, as first reported by SI.com's Doug Farrar and Dave Mahler of KJR-AM Seattle.
Graham was injured while trying to make a catch in the end zone. His leg appeared to get pinned beneath his body as he fell to the ground and he was carted off with an air cast on his right leg after being attended to by the medical staff.
Before he was injured, Graham had four catches for 75 yards, including an impressive juggling reception.
Graham, 29, was acquired in a trade with the Saints before the season. He has played a smaller role in the offense this season than he had in New Orleans, totaling 49 catches for 605 yards and two touchdowns through Sunday.
- Dan Gartland