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To advance a new generation of education technology leaders, Discovery Education, renowned for its quality content and digital media services in over half of all US schools, and Wilkes University, a leader in graduate education, have teamed up to create the online Master of Science degree in Instructional Media.
To thrive in the 21st century classroom, successful educators are embracing a new approach to teacher instruction. New tools. New technologies. A new appreciation for digital media. From Web 2.0 to digital storytelling, to virtual field trips, the 21st century classroom has the power to engage and inspire today’s tech savvy students. This degree provides teachers the tools, knowledge and strategies to be successful 21st century educators.
Learn about the program from our amazing course designers, check out student projects, and more at our brand new website: www.discoveryeducation.com/masters
Every Tuesday educators enrolled in the Discovery Education Wilkes University Instructional Media Program get together to share ideas. Join them on February 16, 2010 as they have Daniel Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind, dropping by for an hour-long discussion. All the details can be found here. | <urn:uuid:25a9c0d5-8434-4322-a73f-d112e39c1e21> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2010/02/06/dewuim/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00360-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925849 | 237 | 2.1875 | 2 |
|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 8.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What does Billy's doctor advise him to do every day?
(a) Take a nap
(b) Take a long walk
(c) Take anti-depressants
2. What does Billy do after getting to the hospital after the plane crash?
(a) He asks about his friends in the POW camp.
(b) He has brain surgery and dreams for two solid days.
(c) He tells the nurses that he has been kidnapped by aliens.
(d) He asks for a telephone and calls his wife.
3. What do stars look like to Tralfamadorans?
(a) Pulsating circles of light
(b) Hexagonal specks of light
(c) Glowing bouncing balls
(d) Strings of luminous spaghetti
4. Why does one of the Germans beat up an American prisoner of war?
(a) He was making fun of Billy Pilgrim.
(b) He said something that the German did not like.
(c) He was trying to escape from the POW camp.
(d) He was mimicking one of the other guards.
5. What happened when Lot's wife looked back on Sodom and Gomorrah?
(a) She started to sing and dance.
(b) She suddenly fell down dead.
(c) She turned into a pillar of salt.
(d) She began to weep uncontrollably.
Short Answer Questions
1. How do the Tralfamadorans view every creature and plant in the universe?
2. What do the American prisoners find at the railroad station?
3. What name does Roland Weary give to the group of lost soldiers?
4. Why did the Englishman say that Dresden would never be bombed?
5. What does the hobo in Billy's railroad boxcar tell him?
This section contains 326 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) | <urn:uuid:6d350db5-411e-40d0-bc22-f8afab945791> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/slaughterhousefive/quiz8f.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719784.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00426-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953794 | 446 | 2.359375 | 2 |
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The journey of Self Discovery English
Are you in any way dissatisfied with your life as it now stands? Has the pursuit, or even the achievement, of the goals you have set for yourself become somewhat frustrating? If so, read on.
Seen in this way, life becomes a journey of self-discovery, and that is the theme of this book. The Journey of Self-Discovery is your guide to a new way of looking at life, a way proven to lead you to higher levels of awareness and satisfaction.
Only 4 left in stock
The journey of self discovery
Seeing Krsna face to face
Kṛṣṇa is looking for, how eager you are to see Him. Kṛṣṇa will respond. If you are actually eager to see Kṛṣṇa—whether you are lusty, or you want to steal His ornaments, or some way or other you have become attracted to Kṛṣṇa—then it is sure your efforts will be successful.
How eagerness could be evoked?
So, this eagerness is a very important thing. But it can be awakened only by the association of devotees. Therefore we are giving everyone a chance to invoke that eagerness. Then you’ll see God, face to face.
No one can become master
But others are thinking, “Why should I become a servant of God? I shall become the master.” Actually, no one can become the master. And if someone tries to become the master, he simply becomes the servant of his senses. That’s all.
Try to understand how strong the senses are…
It is not simply young men who are servants of their senses. One may be seventy-five years old, eighty years old, or even at the point of death—still one is the servant of the senses. The senses are never satisfied.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1: The Journey of Self-Discovery
- 2: Superconsciousness
- 3: The Pleasure Principle
- 4: The Spiritual Master
- 5: Yoga and Meditation
- 6: Material Problems, Spiritual Solutions
- 7: Perspectives on Science and Philosophy
|Dimensions||20 × 13 × 1 cm| | <urn:uuid:b4f18ea6-4849-4674-bf45-fd57c1993aa5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://prabhupadaworld.com/the-journey-of-self-discovery-english/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.938998 | 510 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Strong Earthquake in AlaskaEnvironment | October 18, 2019, Friday // 12:10| views
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 shook the US state of Alaska, the US Geological Service reported, quoted by Tass.
The epicentre was at a depth of 34 km, located 475 km northwest of Fairbanks, with a population of 32,000 people.
There are no reports of casualties and damages so far.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you! | <urn:uuid:8a92347e-a585-4a11-b35d-dbc7b26aefbe> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://m.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=201032 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817001643-20220817031643-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.921894 | 121 | 1.828125 | 2 |
An excerpt from a Foreign Policy magazine website article:
The Arabs readied to strike -- but Israel did not wait. "We will suffer many losses, but we have no other choice," explained IDF Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin. The next morning, on June 5, Israeli jets and tanks launched a surprise attack against Egypt, destroying 204 of its planes in the first half-hour. By the end of the first morning of fighting, the Israeli Air Force had destroyed 286 of Egypt's 420 combat aircraft, 13 air bases, and 23 radar stations and anti-aircraft sites. It was the most successful single operation in aerial military history.
But, as feared, other Arab forces attacked. Enemy planes struck Israeli cities along the narrow waist, including Hadera, Netanya, Kfar Saba, and the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv; and thousands of artillery shells fired from the West Bank pummeled greater Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem. Ground forces, meanwhile, moved to encircle Jerusalem's Jewish neighborhoods as they did in 1948.
In six days, Israel repelled these incursions and established secure boundaries. It drove the Egyptians from the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, and the Syrians, who had also opened fire, from the Golan Heights. Most significantly, Israel replaced the indefensible armistice lines by reuniting Jerusalem and capturing the West Bank from Jordan.
What do thee people to or with their brains? How does this work? Can it be avoided? How can someone sustain the cognitive dissonance of first describing in detail how something was done already and then proceed to assert it's impossible to do ... as if it was the most self-evident impossibility on earth.
How much gets the FP editor paid for being editor? Couldn't a taxi driver do the same job, possibly better? A working and awake person couldn't let such a contradiction in an article slip through, could it?
Proper and effective propaganda used to require a core of truth. Propaganda techniques seem to have advanced to a point where propaganda can float completely independent of truth and still be effective.
Propaganda is no good for policy. You better look at pro and contra with a rational, open mind. Propaganda and ideology are blinders. | <urn:uuid:e627844a-cae3-4627-88de-e3da61bc6a71> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://defense-and-freedom.blogspot.com/2011/06/example-of-outright-dissonance-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00281-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960997 | 460 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Title: Circular Shield (Dhāl)
Date: 19th century
Dimensions: Circ. 18.5 in.
Museum number: 1062
Physical location: Section 2 (Central Hall): Implements of War
This black leather shield is made of dried and lacquered buffalo or rhinoceros hide. The backside of the shield is lined with red velvet and a brocade pad with handgrips sewn on it. These handgrips are held in place with the four steel bosses on the facing that also serve to reinforce the shield’s central area with metal to deflect blows. The projecting circular center of each boss has a perforated border placed around it within a thin outer ring. Above these four bosses is a crescent-like shape with a design similar to the ones encircling the bosses. The two holes atop the crescent must have held a star each as is evident from a shield of similar design on the Aljantiques website (link given below).
Maharaja Ranjit Singh is shown carrying a similar round shield at his back with four bosses and a crescent in several equestrian portraits. One such example is a sepia print of a miniature painting in the Princess Bamba Collection showing the Maharaja on horseback accompanied by his ćhattar or umbrella-bearer and three lance-bearers in the immediate foreground. | <urn:uuid:6be0f5d2-75eb-44bb-a77c-484a4407953a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sikhvirsa.pk/circular-shield-dhal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.937882 | 303 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Don’t Treat Trust Assets as if they are your own assets I have seen a number of people who set up a trust and treat the assets held as it those assets belonged to themselves. Trust assets belong to the beneficiaries of the trust as a whole - probably hundreds of people in most open class discretionary trusts. Trustees have various duties to the beneficiaries as a whole and where these duties are breached a beneficiary can sue the trustee personally. There is also a duty for a trustee to keep trust assets separate from personal assets. Trust money cannot be deposited in the trustee’s personal bank account for example. A lot of people are guilty of this. Not only is this a breach of trust it also greatly weakens the asset protection of discretionary trusts. Firstly it could be argued that the trust is a sham and/or it doesn’t really exist. Secondly trust assets won’t be protected if the owner of the bank account becomes bankrupt. Therefore if you are operating a trust keep the assets of the trust completely separate from your personal assets and don’t treat the assets as your own assets. Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean the income of the trust cannot be accessed until the end of the financial year. If the trust deed allows it the trustee may make distributions throughout the year and to tally these up at tax time. | <urn:uuid:f8c9213b-6dc8-4bfa-9135-3c344d999875> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.propertychat.com.au/community/threads/legal-tip-48-dont-treat-trust-assets-as-if-they-are-your-own-assets.2415/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00557-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963313 | 272 | 1.898438 | 2 |
BoschSparkPlugs.net is part of the SparkPlugs.com family - an authorized Bosch distributor. To contact Bosch USA, click here.
Wideband air/fuel ratio sensors utilize a sophisticated sensing element that enables them to measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust rather than switching between rich and lean responses. Building on the planar sensor base, wideband sensors provide the ECU with an exact AFR response, resulting in better performance, lower emissions, and increased gas mileage. Planar sensors utilize the same zirconia ceramic sensing technology as their predecessor, the thimble sensor, but engineered into a more compact version. The heater and small sensing element are contained in the small, thin, flat tip of the sensor, enabling a smaller and lighter design that requires less power. The smaller design allows the sensor to be utilized in tighter, more compact areas. Wideband planar sensors utilize 5 or more wires.
Sorry, no powersports applications are associated with this part.
Sorry, no non-automotive applications are associated with this part. | <urn:uuid:31a28d09-316f-4cf2-8bd9-1cbfabf2f077> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.boschsparkplugs.net/bosch-17100-oe-identical-afr-sensor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.878663 | 221 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Text neck (or “tech neck”) is the new buzzword about the poor posture of modern life.
Patients increasingly blame their worsening neck and back pain on their phones, tablets, and computers. This burgeoning awareness of posture’s impact on health is a boon for DCs who congruently address these new chronic pain syndromes in their clinical approach and recommendations for patient self-management.
Text neck correlates to the biomechanics of another postural theme in the media: “sitting is the new smoking.” The biomechanical stress of typing and texting while sitting is fairly new, and it’s linked to worsening neck and back pain occurring earlier in life.
And the health consequences of heavy technology use are just the tip of the iceberg. New research indicates the limitations of the human body to adapt to the functional demands of using technology. As young people increasingly live in front of keyboards and screens, they’ll experience cumulative postural compensations and adaptations, and these same risks pose challenges for baby boomers as well.
You’ll see these effects on college students who spend eight to 10 hours a day on their phones, and you’ll even see even middle- and high-school kids suffering from headaches, migraines, neck and upper back pain, and TMJ disorders.1-2 MRIs of these patients generally won’t show the exact cause of the pain.3 And while the simple explanation may be that it’s the result of poor posture, research shows significant consequences of postural degeneration, including early mortality and the onset of disease.
A 2015 meta-analysis of 47 studies found prolonged sitting to be associated with significant health consequences. In addition to cardiovascular issues, sitting 12 hours a day was associated with a slightly greater than 90 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes and increased overall mortality risk of about 25 percent.4 This is vital data for everyone—especially boomers looking to stay active and age well.
Postural biomechanics and crossed syndromes
There’s more to text neck and the dangers of prolonged sitting than inactivity and forward head position. These two modern posture problems are linked in the work of Vladimir Janda and the Prague school of rehabilitation.5 Janda first described in 1980 the “proximal and distal crossed syndromes,” later refined to Upper Cross syndrome (the forward head and rolled in shoulder posture pattern of text neck) and Lower Cross syndrome (the folded kinetic chain at the root of problems related to prolonged sitting).6
When it was pointed out to Janda that American audiences would not understand his “crossed” model, he replied by saying, “This is truth, how you tell it is your problem.”
Collapse of the kinetic box
Using a phone with hands close together is a perfect storm for Upper Cross and Lower Cross syndromes. Muscles move bones, whether a person is standing, sitting, running, or walking (and everything in between). And muscles work in pairs, each being opposed by another. Meaning dysfunctional muscles cause joints to work abnormally, and dysfunctional joints cause muscles to work abnormally.
The imbalance caused by positioning the head in front of the body overuses some muscles and underuses others.
Over time, the overused muscles shorten and tighten, while their underused partners lengthen and weaken. As a result, the head drifts further forward in a gradually worsening pattern.
A key insight of Janda’s is that the sensorimotor system functions as a single unit, and dysfunctional motion causes motor learning that initially causes functional compensation. Over time, this leads to structural adap- tations in muscle, connective tissue, and the nervous system.
In other words, the body gets better at doing whatever you train it to do. Muscles weaken when specific muscle fibers atrophy from disuse, as when not recruited in their arc of motion. In turn, the neuroplastic nerves controlling those fibers become inhibited from disuse.
In addition, connective tissue and fascia shape to the way the body is used. The result of chronic muscle imbalances are changed patterns of proprioception and control, which alter the kinetics normally supporting the body-mass structure so that it collapses and locks in a folded position.
Think of a cardboard box. With the ends folded closed, it’s stable and will support weight. However, open the ends and the box becomes floppy and will readily buckle under weight. Upper Crossed syndrome is the collapse of the head-torso kinetic box from forward head translation and the imbalance of tight and short upper posterior cervical muscles unbalanced against deep anterior muscles.
The simultaneous structural adap- tation is a shortening of the anterior chest and shoulder stabilization muscles through structural adaptation, and a weakening of their antagonistic posterior torso and glenohumeral stabilizers.
The body masses (or posture zones) of the head-torso box then fold and lock in that buckled geometry.
The phone-texting-posture that causes Upper Crossed syndrome creates a chronic muscle imbalance that locks the head forward of the torso with the shoulders rolled in, and it shortens the coracobrachialis muscle, which is an additional factor in the collapse of the kinetic box.
Texting while walking, sitting, and (unfortunately) driving requires people to stabilize for the precise placement of fingers when typing. The fine motor control necessary to accurately type on a small keyboard (especially with onscreen keys lacking haptic feedback for fingertip proprioception) requires locking the proximal upper extremities, often accomplished by shrugging the shoulders up and anterior, while stabilizing forearms to the ribs. This texting adaptation explains why posture pictures increasingly show people with shoulders that are actually anterior to the front of the chest wall.
Posture patterns are activity specific. Internal humeral rotation to hold a phone shortens the pectoral muscles. Plus, many people lock their arms in flexion with shoulder roll-in, restricting glenohumeral motion by over-recruiting an oft-neglected deep stabilizer, the coracobrachialis muscle. Manipulation, muscle therapy, and postural exercises can help this frequently overlooked text-neck issue.
Communication and cueing
The posture zone model views static posture as a proxy for the complexities of kinetic chain breakdowns, and as the beginning point of all motion. You can observe how people perceptually balance, objectively vertically align, and dynamically move the four body masses: head, torso, pelvis, and lower extremities.7
The concept of posture zones elegantly communicates complex concepts in common-sense language understood by patients as well as the public, the media, and other professionals. In addition, it facilitates a systematic cueing of rehabilitation exercises using focused attention to target balance, alignment, and motion.8
Janda’s Upper Crossed syndrome is described as the dysfunction of head- torso biomechanics. The Lower Cross syndrome is the dysfunction of torso- pelvis-lower-extremity biomechanics. And both can be benchmarked with a picture measuring the deviation of head, torso, and pelvis from gravity line center.
You can use pictures to show the problem and record changes over time. And communication demonstrations such as a “text-breathe demo” can deepen understanding and awareness.
The text-breathe demo
To help your patients understand how text neck and prolonged sitting can adversely affect their health, try the following demonstration.
- Sit down and type a short email (or text) on your phone.
- Now breathe in.
- Notice how much air you inhale.
- Scoot your pelvis back, lift torso and head up to sit tall.
- Strengthen posture by pulling shoulders back and down, pull elbows in, and lift your device up (so you don’t bend to see screen).
- Then take in another large breath.
Most people find strengthening their posture literally gives them more air.
Ultimately, chiropractors restore motion. Retrain that motion toward symmetry to help people sit and stand taller (and breathe deeply). Breathing fully and moving well is extremely good for health.
Steven Weiniger, DC, authored Stand Taller Live Longer and teaches the advanced posture specialist certification, Certified Posture Exercise Professional (CPEP), setting the clinical standard for posture improvement and rehab protocols with clinicians worldwide. He is managing partner of posturepractice.com and bodyzone.com. He can be contacted at 866- 443-8966 or [email protected].
1 Goodrich T. “Cellphone Addiction Is ‘an Increasingly Realistic Possibility,’ Baylor Study of College Students Reveals.” https://www.baylor.edu/ mediacommunications/news.php?action=story &story=145864. Published Aug. 2014. Accessed April 2016.
2 Jacobs K, Hudak S, McGiffert J. Computer- related posture and musculoskeletal discomfort in middle school students. Work. 2009;32(3):275-283.
3 Shah SA, Saller J. Evaluation and diagnosis of back pain in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 2016;24(1):37-45.
4 Biswas A, Oh PI, Faulkner GE, et al. Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2015;162(2):123-32. 5 Page P, Frank C, Lardner R. (2009). Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance: The Janda Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
6 Janda V. Muscles as a pathogenic factor in back pain. Proceedings of the IFOMPT Conference. Christchurch, New Zealand. 1980:1-20.
7 Weiniger S. (2010). Photographic Manual of Regional Orthopaedic and Neurologic Tests. Posture Chapter, 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
8 Weiniger S. (2008). Stand Taller Live Longer: An Anti-Aging Strategy. Alpharetta, GA: BodyZone Press. | <urn:uuid:d7ba8347-3ca5-4743-901e-41a5b6bd8856> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.chiroeco.com/patients-face-poor-posture-modern-lifestyle-habits/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571982.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813172349-20220813202349-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.906318 | 2,173 | 3.140625 | 3 |
by Ellen Hall
San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district is best known as the center of '60s hippie counterculture in the US.
Today, it's a lively neighborhood full of charm and many contrasts.
The area locals call the Haight covers a twenty-block stretch from Golden Gate Park to Market Street. It's divided into two portions, Upper and Lower.
The Upper Haight is trendier and more upscale, while the Lower Haight is somewhat grittier.
Though there is some debate, the main thoroughfare was probably named for Henry Haight, a local banker and philanthropist.
The Upper Haight was mostly dairy farms until the 1870s, when development began on Golden Gate Park.
Many wealthy Nob Hill residents built ornate Victorians near the park for their weekend homes. With the completion of local streetcar and cable car lines in the 1880s, the area became a thriving community.
Still others migrated here after the 1906 earthquake and fire, which left the Haight largely undamaged.
After World War II, the Haight fell into decline as city dwellers moved to the suburbs.
Summer of Love
In the 1960s, poets and writers from North Beach began moving to the Haight in search of cheap rent.
The dilapidated Victorians became home to a new subculture as the former beatniks discovered free love, rock music and psychedelic drugs.
The hippie movement, with the intersection of Haight and Ashbury as its epicenter, attracted anti-establishment types from around the world.
In January of 1967, tens of thousands gathered in Golden Gate Park for the Human Be-In, featuring counterculture icons Timothy Leary and Alan Ginsburg. The Be-In was a prelude to the Summer of Love, when as many as 100,000 young people flocked to the Haight.
During the '60s the Haight was home to popular musicians including the Grateful Dead (710 Ashbury), Janis Joplin (112 Lyon), and Jefferson Airplane (2400 Fulton). These San Francisco addresses are still popular pilgrimage sites for music fans.
Decline and Renewal
The Haight declined again after the hippie movement in San Francisco ended in the early 1970s.
Buyers returned to the area in the 1980s, attracted by what were then inexpensive Victorians. The Haight is now a mix of bohemian nostalgia and urban chic, with headshops, cafes, boutiques, and alternative bookstores lining the sidewalks.
A photo illustrated discussion of major Victorian house styles can be seen on my Historic San Francisco Victorian Homes page.
Buena Vista Park
Buena Vista Park is between the Upper and Lower Haight.
The first park in the city park systemestablished in 1867 as Hill Park and renamed Buena Vista in 1894Buena Vista has mature trees in a natural setting and offers sweeping views from downtown San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge.
You can even see the lighthouse on Point Bonita from Buena Vista Park though a pair of binoculars or telephoto lens is helpful.
A retaining wall was built here in the 1930s using slabs of marble recycled from cemeteries—some of the inscriptions can still be read.
Slideshow—all photos on this page
Find iNeTours.com on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for updates, Photo-of-the-Day, more.
Website and all photos copyright © 2001–2015 Lee W. Nelson | <urn:uuid:36b43287-a1ed-4ba1-b861-6f3783f0bb7c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Haight_Ashbury.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00504-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949047 | 724 | 2.25 | 2 |
A new study by Andrew T. Stephen, marketing professor at the University of Pittsburgh, and Olivier Toubia, business professor at Columbia, predicts that as Twitter continues to mature, more people will be consuming content on the platform rather than producing it.
Twitter, the study has it, will become “a prime vehicle” for advertising, moving away from being a content production tool.
Let’s look at a little closer at the data that supports this bold claim.
In an effort to determine why people tweet, Stephen and Toubia identified 2,500 Twitter users and gradually increased their followers by 100.
For those who originally had just 13-26 followers, the uptick in followers increased their Twitter activity. But those who originally had 62-245 followers actually tweeted less as their follower count increased.
The study basically suggests that as people gain more Twitter followers, they tweet less.
Why would people tweet less when they have more listeners?
The professors reason that, once a Twitter user achieves a certain status level, he or she is concerned about preserving it, loathe to tweet anything that might disturb that positioning.
Stephen and Toubia drew the conclusion that, therefore, as Twitter continues to grow, it may become less interactive and more of an ad broadcast medium.
Do you think the number of followers you have affects the amount you tweet? | <urn:uuid:65b4430c-9f28-41cf-a945-10f8ee4bfbc9> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/twitter-followers-2/487101?red=at | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988722951.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183842-00209-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96317 | 279 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Fun with Mail -- Flame Manual
Date: Wed, 27 Dec 89 19:11 EST
From: Leonard N. Foner <[email protected]>
Subject: Fun with mail (from five years ago!)
Proposed Symbolics guidelines for mail messages
It is impermissible to use the term "EMAIL".
Mail should be at least a mixture of upper and lower case. Devising
your own font (Devanagari, pinhead graphics, etc.) and using it in the
mail is a good entertainment tactic, as is finding some way to use
existing obscure fonts.
Sending the mail from
is frowned upon (although this has gotten much better).
It is customary to attack the someone by including his or her message,
indented (unless you are using MM), and replying point by point, as
someone debating someone they are watching on TV, or hearing on the
It is considered artful to append many messages on a subject, leaving
only the most inflammatory lines from each, and reply to all in one
swift blow. The choice of lines to support your argument can make or
break your case.
Replying to one's own message is a rarely-exposed technique for
switching positions once you have thought about something only after
State opinions in the syntax of fact: "...as well as the bug in LMFS
where you have to expunge directories to get rid of files....."
If you have nothing to say on a subject, replying with a line such as,
"I agree with this." puts you in the TO:'s for all future messages, and
establishes you as "one who really cares", if not an actual expert, on
the topic at hand.
Inclusion of very old messages from others makes for an impressive
The choice of a subject line is of supreme importance. It should be
concise and witty. The subject line has to survive once the discussion
has diverged far past the original subject. Remember "Hewitt AP0"?
Oblique allusion to past famous subject lines is one of the best
techniques for generating subjects. So is any reference to drawings of
People can be set wondering by loading obscure personal patchable
systems, and sending bug reports. Who would not stop and wonder upon
seeing "Experimental TD80-TAPE 1.17, MegaDeath 2.5..."? The same for
provocatively-named functions and variables in stack traces.
Know the list of "large, chronic problems". If there is any problem
with the window system, blame it on the activity system. Any lack of
user functionality should be attributed to the lack of a command
processor. A suprisingly large number of people will believe that you
have thought in depth about the issue to which you are alluding when you
Know how to blow any problem up into insolubility. Know how to use the
phrase "The new ~A system" to insult its argument, e.g., "I guess this
destructuring LET thing is fixed in the new Lisp system", or better yet,
Never hit someone head on, always sideswipe. Never say, "Foo's last
patch was brain-damaged", but rather, "While fixing the miscellaneous
bugs in 243.xyz [foo's patch], I found...."
You get 3 opportunities to advertise your Rock band, no more.
Idiosyncratic indentations, double-spacing, capitalization, etc., while
stamps of individuality, leave one an easy target for parody.
Strong language gets results. "The reloader is completely broken in
242" will open a lot more eyes than "The reloader doesn't load files
with intermixed spaces, asterisks, and <'s in their names that are
bigger than 64K". You can always say the latter in a later paragraph.
The entire life, times, collected works, expressions, and modalities of
Zippy the Pinhead are a common ground for much of the metaphor,
rhetoric, and invective which pass daily through the mail. An
occasional parenthetical "yow" CORRECTLY USED will endear one to the
senior systems staff. So will puns and other remarks addressed directly
to the point.
MLB volunteered the following, 4/13/84
This exchange between Eric Weaver and Mike McMahon ensued:
Including a destination in the CC list that will cause the recipients'
mailer to blow out is a good way to stifle dissent.
When replying, it is often possible to cleverly edit the original
message in such a way as to subtly alter its meaning or tone to your
advantage while appearing that you are taking pains to preserve the
author's intent. As a bonus, it will seem that your superior
intellect is cutting through all the excess verbiage to the very heart
of the matter.
Referring to undocumented private communications allows one to claim
virtually anything: "we discussed this idea in our working group last
year, and concluded that it was totally brain-damaged".
Points are awarded for getting the last word in. Drawing the
conversation out so long that the original message disappears due to
being indented off the right hand edge of the screen is one way to do
this. Another is to imply that anyone replying further is a hopeless
cretin and is wasting everyone's valuable time.
Keeping a secret "Hall Of Flame" file of people's mail indiscretions,
or copying messages to private mailing lists for subsequent derision,
is good fun and also a worthwhile investment in case you need to
blackmail the senders later.
Users should cultivate an ability to make the simplest molehill into a
mountain by finding controversial interpretations of innocuous
sounding statements that the sender never intended or imagined.
Obversely, a lot of verbal mileage can also be gotten by sending out
incomprehensible, cryptic, confusing or unintelligible messages, and
then iteratively "correcting" the "mistaken interpretations" in the
Electronic mail is an indispensible component of the automated office.
Besides providing entertainment, it gives one the appearance of
engaging in industrious and technically sophisticated activity. By
flaming constantly on numerous mailing lists, one can be assured of a
ready supply of makework as well as an opportunity to establish one's
reputation amongst the "litterati" [sic].
Date: Monday, 2 April 1984, 22:41-PST
From: Eric Weaver <Weaver at SWW-WHITE>
Send messages calling for fonts not available to the
recipient(s). This can (in the case of Zmail) totally disable
the user's machine and mail system for up to a whole day in some
Date: Friday, 13 April 1984, 20:07-EST
From: Mike McMahon <MMcM at SCRC-TENEX>
Subject: Mail Style Addendum
To: Eric Weaver <Weaver at SWW-WHITE>
Trivialize a user's bug report by pointing out that it was fixed
independently long ago in a system that hasn't been released yet.
Further suggestions along these lines welcomed. | <urn:uuid:10c2bf4c-217b-43ea-84c1-47c585a28b85> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://art.net/Studios/Hackers/Hopkins/Don/text/flame-manual.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00244-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915616 | 1,551 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Part One: Awakening
Season 1 Episode 1 | 57m 43s | Video has closed captioning.
The story of the birth of the modern Women’s Movement. When Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique came out in 1963, millions of American women felt the constraints of 1950s post-war culture, which confined them to the home or to low-paying, dead end jobs. At the same time, another group of women were emerging from the anti-war and civil rights movement determined to achieve their own revolution.
Problems Playing Video? | Closed Captioning | <urn:uuid:e7abd8b2-0682-4c41-b291-7ff3f7dc4f19> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pbs.org/video/makers-women-who-make-america-part-one-awakening/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.940005 | 143 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Long hours of work in the US: Associations with demographic and organizational characteristics, psychosocial working conditions, and health.
Grosch-JW; Caruso-CC; Rosa-RR; Sauter-SL
Am J Ind Med 2006 Nov; 49(11):943-952
There are relatively few studies of large national databases that contain information on working hours and health. The current study involved an analysis of data from a quality of work life (QWL) module developed for the 2002 General Social Survey. This module collected work and health data from a representative sample of the U.S. population (N = 1,744). Descriptive analyses were conducted for five groups based on total hours worked per week: part-time (1-34 hr/week), full-time (35-40 hr/week), lower overtime (41-48 hr/week), medium overtime (49-69 hr/week), and higher overtime (70+ hr/week). Multiple logistic regression examined the association between these five categories and several measures of health and well-being. Compared to full-time workers, the three groups of overtime workers were more likely to be male, white, and middle-aged, with higher levels of education and income. They were also more likely to be self-employed, salaried, work as independent contractors, have more than one job, and work split/irregular/on-call shifts. Although overtime work was characterized by higher levels of job stress and perceptions of overwork, it was also associated with increased levels of participation in decision making and opportunities to develop special abilities. Several significant associations emerged between hours of work and measures of health and well-being, particularly for respondents in the higher overtime group (70+ hr/week). Overtime workers differ from their part-time and full-time counterparts in several important areas. Some of these differences tended to increase with the number of overtime hours worked, suggesting a linear relationship. However, caution is warranted before generalizing the results of this study to specific occupations or workplaces.
Workers; Shift-work; Shift-workers; Demographic-characteristics; Work-environment; Occupational-health; Worker-health; Mental-health; Occupational-hazards; Injuries; Racial-factors; Sex-factors
James W. Grosch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-24, Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998
Work Environment and Workforce: Special Populations
American Journal of Industrial Medicine | <urn:uuid:73daeafc-7b8e-4812-8b52-fd1d5b959a19> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nioshtic-2/20031138.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280504.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00140-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942549 | 530 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Pontiac Phoenix (1980 - 1984)
This car might have escaped the list altogether had the green coupe version with painted wood panels not been sitting at a stoplight driven by one of the beard-brandishing bandits themselves.
Originally sold as a top-trim version of the Pontiac Ventura, the Phoenix came in rear-wheel drive with an optional 5.0-liter V8. But much like the “machines” sending Schwarzenegger back in time to kill John Connor and prevent something awesome from happening, the rear-drive and V8 were both scrapped in 1980.
Instead, Pontiac started peddling the wet sneeze on wheels you see here. Of course, this one isn’t wearing painted wood panels or a roof rack, but who’s counting? | <urn:uuid:5464279d-778e-41f4-9b12-449e46dee64f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/12/top-10-hipster-cars-not-in-ironic-order.html/9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00483-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940311 | 165 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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Constructivism & Technology/Assessment< Constructivism & Technology
7: Assessment in the Constructivist Classroom
Constructivists view assessment as a process that involves both the instructor and the student. Educators who prefer to use constructivist methods and principles in evaluating student work have several different avenues to choose from that can help enhance the learning experience of students (Holt & Willard-Holt, 2000). Similarities between constructivist and traditional methods of assessment do exist. Even though constructivists continue to research and experiment with more interactive, experience based assessments, the more traditional methods still prevail and are being used in classrooms as the predominant means of assessment.
Principles of Assessment in a Constructivist ClassroomEdit
One principle of assessment in a constructivist classroom is not to isolate evaluation as a single exercise. Constructivists often see learning as a cyclical process. Since the shape of a circle has no beginning and no end, then the mark of where to assess could become blurry. Constructivists do not see assessment as an ending activity, but rather an ongoing process that helps the student continue to learn (Holt & Willard-Holt, 2000). For example, one constructivist learning format comes from the Biological Science Curriculum Study. They isolated “Five Es" of constructivism: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Not only is assessment its own category (evaluate), but it is also interwoven throughout each of the other stages of the learning process. For example, when a teacher is engaging students in a learning opportunity, the instructor begins to question. The process of questioning not only interests students in a topic, but also gives the instructor an idea of the amount of prior knowledge a learner will bring to the experience. During the exploring stage, "...students’ inquiry process drives instruction during an exploration." Driving instruction is one purpose of assessment, whether in a traditional or constructivist classroom. During the explain stage, communication occurs between student and teacher. At this point, an instructor can input more information or points of inquiry as needed; again they are actively assessing. Also during the explain stage, artifacts become available that demonstrate concrete evidence of student understanding. When students begin to elaborate on their ideas and observations, possible avenues of future research can develop. Therefore, evaluation as a stage is not meant to be solitary and final, but a constant in each stage of constructivist learning (Miami Museum of Science, 2001).
Also embedded within the model provided by the Biological Science Curriculum Study is another principle of constructivist assessment: not having the instructor as the only source of assessment (Cole, 1992 as sited by University of Saskatchewan, 1995). Many constructivists encourage self-reflection as a means of assessment, or encourage students to exchange evaluations of each other’s work (NCREL, 1993). Some in the constructivist camp encourage instructors to employ several professionals or specialist in the topics being evaluated to give varying assessments on a given project (Cole 1992 as sited by University of Saskatchewan, 1995). When assessing, no matter who the evaluator is, many constructivists encourage an assessment of how the learner is thinking rather than just the outcome (Collins & Brown, 1987; McLellan, 1993; Gay & Mazur, 1993 as cited in University of Saskatchewan; NCREL, 1993). In assessing, a constructivist's goal is to help the learner acquire knowledge, not make the learning process laborious and undesirable. Therefore, it is important to have a non-critical attitude as one evaluates in a constructivist format. (Brooks & Brooks (1993) as cited in NCREL, 1993).
Principle Tools and Methods Used in Constructivist AssessmentEdit
When constructivists assess students, they prefer to use methods that either allow them to engage in dialogue with the learner, or give them opportunities to observe a student as he or she develops knowledge (Wilson, Teslow, & Osman-Jouchoux as cited in Skaalid, n.d.; Holt & Willard-Holt, 2000). Teachers can initiate a wide variety of verbal discussions such as interviews, debates, knowledge telling, co-investigations, or dramatizations. In constructivist evaluation, observation does not only mean listening to a student for comprehension of a concept, but a physical assessment of the whole child as well. When observed, a constructivist instructor will note physical stance and expression. KWL Charts (and other such baseline assessments), Mind mapping, portfolios, checklists, investigative projects, paper and pencil tests, and performance tasks are also often used to evaluate work in a constructivist frame (Badders, 2000; Constructivist Teaching Methods, n.d.). Many of the Web 2.0 tools can be integrated into constructivist teaching and assessment, including blogging, podcasting and audio sharing, social networking, video sharing, wiki creation, web authoring, and mashups.
Similarities and Differences Between Constructivist and Traditional AssessmentEdit
In comparing and contrasting constructivist methods of assessment and more traditional practices, the two types of evaluation have a few similarities. Both types of assessment can take on a variety of formats: paper and pencil, physical hands on experience, or some type of exchange. The phrasing and use of critical thinking terminology in questioning can also be similar. Instructors in traditional classroom also use assessments in order to plan lessons and develop activities. Responses to traditional questions will also require more than a 'yes' or 'no' answer. However, the idea that interactive feedback occurs between evaluators and learners as well as the concept of judging the active construction of thinking as well as the outcome are greater priorities to the constructivist assessor than a traditional method of evaluation (NCREL, 1993; Jonassen, 1991 as cited by University of Saskatchewan, 1995). Another difference lies in the support of standardized testing. Traditional learning environments support standardized testing and make many educational decisions off of those scores. Constructivists have a very negative view of this particular testing vehicle (Wiggins, 1993 as cited by Reeves & Okey, 2004). Constructivists prefer that assessments have more of a 'real-life' application (Herman, Aschbacher, Winters, 1992 as cited by Reeves & Okey, 2004). The types of assessment preferred by constructivists would be: authentic, performance, or portfolio assessment. These types of assessment, according to Reeves & Okey, require more genuine thought from the learner and provide a more stimulating form of evaluation than traditional classroom testing.
Despite the research and the attempts of many educators to incorporate a constructivist assessment into their curriculum, traditional types of assessment are viewed as a more reliable means to measure learner understanding (Reeves & Okey, 2004). Researchers who attempted to incorporate peer review into their social constructivist assessment procedure were unsuccessful (Price et al., 2007). Standardization by the government and questions regarding how valid constructivist assessments are lead Reeves and Okey to conclude that more studies need to be done before constructivist evaluation techniques can be more widely used. A survey of high school math teachers found that more traditional means of assessment are the dominant means of collecting knowledge data on students (Ohlsen, 2007). One program in Nebraska that allowed educators to use a variety of classroom assessments in their "standard based accountability reforms" that yield constructivist outcomes was put to an end by senators in that state because the politicians thought the program was, "...too complicated and time consuming...state tests were more amendable to NCLB [No Child Left Behind] compliance," (Ohlsen 2007; Gallager ).
Reeves & Okey concluded that before alternative assessments can be considered "viable and feasible", more research is needed. Although traditional methods still are considered more reliable and therefore more widely accepted to measure student achievement, constructivist learning formats such as Biology Science Curriculum Study's 5 E's can provide useful opportunities for educators to engage in student assessment constantly throughout a learner’s thinking process (Collins & Brown, 1987; McLellan, 1993; Gay & Mazur, 1993 as cited in University of Saskatchewan; NCREL, 1993). Although not completely relied on yet by the educational community to monitor student learning, constructivist assessments can be utilized in order to provide a learner with an opportunity to further develop knowledge and become challenged by engaging in dialogue and questioning from other.
Badders, W. (2000.) Methods of Assessment. Retrieved on March 8, 2009, from
Constructivist Teaching Methods. (n.d.) Retrieved on March 8, 2009 from The Psychology Wiki:
Gallager, C. (2009). Kairos and Informative Assessment: Rethinking the Formative/Summative Distinction in Nebraska. Theory into Practice, (48) 1, 81-88. Retrieved on March 17, 2009 from ERIC database. DOI: 10.1080/00405840802577676.
Holt, D. G. & Willard-Holt, C. (2000). "Let's get real – students solving authentic corporate problems". Phi Delta Kappan 82 (3).
Lake, C. (1997). Constructivism's Implication For Formative Evaluation. In Constructivism and Formative Evaluation, ACET. Retrieved on March 25, 2009 from [] (source from M. Beckman, personal communication, March 17, 2009)
Miami Museum of Science. (2001.) Constructivism and the Five E's. Retrieved on March 10, 2009 from
Neimeyer, R. A., & Levitt, H. (2004, February 15). Constructivist Assessment. The Internet Encyclopaedia of Personal Construct Psychology. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (1993). Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from Learning Point Associates Web site:
Ohlsen, M.T. (2007). Classroom Assessment Practices of Secondary School Members of NCTM. American Secondary Education, (36) 1, 4-14. Retrieved on March 24, 2009 from ERIC database.
Price, M., O'Donovan, B., Rust, and C. (2007). Putting a Social-Constructivist Assessment Process Model into Practice: Building the Feedback Loop into the Assessment Process through Peer Review. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, (4), 2. Retrieved from ERIC on March 17, 2009.
Reeves, T.C. & Okey J.R. (2004). Alternative Assessments for Constructivist Learning Environments. In Constructivist Learning Environments: Cases in Instructional Design. Brent G. Wilson (ed.). Forward by: David N. Perkins. Educational Technology Publications: Englewood Cliffs New Jersey. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from
Skaalid, B. (n.d.) Evaluation of Constructivism Learning. Retrieved on March 6, 2009 from (originally from "The Impact of Constructivism (and Postmodernism) on ID Fundamentals" by Wilson, Teslow, & Osman-Jouchoux.)
University of Saskatchewan College of Education. (1995). Evaluation of Constructivist Learning. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from
1. Which statement best defines how constructivists perceive assessment in education?
a. Constructivists measure learning at the ending activity. b. Constructivists use an ongoing process to help students continue to learn. c. Constructivists use multiple choice exams at the end of every chapter.
2. Which of the following are examples of teaching methods constructivists use to assess student learning?
a. Mind mapping and KWL charts b. Verbal discussions including interviews and investigations. c. True and False quizzes and close-ended questioning. d. Both a and b.
3. When assessing, one goal of a constructivist is to
a. figure out how the learner is thinking and acquiring knowledge. b. make certain the learner is fulfilling a desired outcome.
4. All of the following are examples of assessments constructivists use except?
a. Portfolio assessment b. Performance based assessment c. Isolated preformance tests d. Authentic Assessment
5. Based on the five “E’s” of constructivist assessment, explain how you could use two "E’s" in a lesson to model the ongoing process of learning from one stage to the next.
Scoring Guide 1 point: Student explains one “E” in the sample lesson. 2 points: Student accurately explains two ‘E’s” in the sample lesson. 3 points: Student accurately explains both “E’s” moving from one stage to the next. Explanation on how it is an ongoing process is vague. 4 points: Student accurately explains two of the five “E’s” and identifies how learning is an ongoing process.
6. Explain two ways constructivist-based assessment is the same and two ways it is different from traditional assessment.
Scoring Guide 1 point: Student explains one similarity or difference accurately. 2 points: Student accurately explains a total of two similarities or differences. 3 points: Student accurately explains two similarities and one difference (or vice versa.) 4 points: Student accurately explains two differences and two similarities.
Quiz is out of 20 points.
4: 18-20 3: 15-17 2: 12-14 1: 11 and below | <urn:uuid:f4fb5a4e-3119-4453-bb4c-142f25bf10d2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/Constructivism_%26_Technology/Assessment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00493-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926961 | 2,772 | 3.671875 | 4 |
General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photo: Internet
France’s l’Humanité magazine devoted six colour pages to write about the life and career of General Vo Nguyen Giap on the occasion of his 100th birthday. The article, entitled “General Giap, a strategist of freedom”, was written by French journalist and director, Daniel Roussel, a former Vietnam-based correspondent for France’s l’Humanité in the 1980s.
The writer used precious documentary pictures on the career of General Vo Nguyen Giap and Uncle, on the 260,000 pack-bikes crossing forests under napalm bombs of the French colonialists to reinforce their Dien Bien Phu campaign. The piece also used an image of soldiers from the Vietnamese People’s Army waving victory flags on the top of General De Castries vault on 7 May 1954 and the image of the Vietnamese tank collapsing Independence Palace gate on 30 April 1975 in Saigon to end the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign to unite the nation.
The General’s life is closely connected with the two resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American imperialists.
In his article, Daniel Roussel narrated the life and career of Vietnam’s talented military strategist, from his birth to the time when he became a general, directing the struggle of the Vietnamese People’s Army against the French colonial force in Dien Bien Phu to a globe shaking victory.
The writer also highlighted the role of General Vo Nguyen Giap in the struggle against the American imperialists to unite the nation, as well as his contributions to Vietnam’s renewal process.
According to the writer, the article was the result of dozens of meetings with General Vo Nguyen Giap, all with love and respect.
He wrote that the General is a very pleasant person, speaking fluently in French, with a direct look and a firm hand shake.
Retelling the memories of his meeting with General Vo Nguyen Giap when he was thirty years old, Daniel Roussel said that no issues were considered forbidden for discussion; however, when meeting with a uncomfortable issue, the voice of the general became sharper. He is the one of enthusiasm and “the general of peace”.
Daniel Roussel wrote that General Vo Nguyen Giap is a living legend in Vietnam – the strategist who masterminded the victory in Dien Bien Phu in 1954, concluding the war of the French colonist; in 1973, forcing the American imperialists to end its invasion in Vietnam; and in 1975, breaking up the puppet army of southern Vietnam to unite the nation. He is recognized as one of the most talented military persons and strategists of the people’s war.
According to Daniel Roussel, for Vietnamese people, General Vo Nguyen Giap represents one of the loyal followers to Ho Chi Minh ideology – the one who gave birth to independence for the Vietnamese nation./. | <urn:uuid:17827832-3376-4bf9-9c62-653fe8461498> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://en.baomoi.com/Info/French-newspaper-General-Giap-strategist-of-freedom/4/176117.epi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00484-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95639 | 606 | 1.96875 | 2 |
posted on Apr, 5 2006 @ 05:28 AM
The longest I have gone without sleep is 4 days (well, 3 and a half). By that point, amongst other things, I saw a pair of legs without an upper body.
It's not good, and it's definately not something to try doing. It can seriously unbalance your mind, and it will also affect your physical health.
Like someone else said, your body needs rest to get it's stuff together.
On the other hand, quite often I have found that I am at my most alert, intelligent and "spongey for information" (soaking it up
) aorund 2 hours
or so after the 24hr mark. That lasts for around 3 or 4 hours and then the exhaustion sets back in. I think at that point staying awake any longer is
harmful, but the occasional "28 hours awake" does wonders for *me*.
Your body and mind know when it's time to rest, thats why we get tired (I presume :lol
. Realisticly, staying up any amount of time past the point
where you feel "exhausted" is probably going to do you harm.
P.S. Insomniacs, or anyone really, should NEVER drive without proper sleep. Driving while tired, or with a lack of sleep, can be as dangerous as
"having a few pints" before going out for a spin. You wouldn't drink and drive, so don't starve yourself of sleep and drive | <urn:uuid:f666a09c-8662-44cc-a4e2-400b3af37722> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread201615/pg1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00120-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961065 | 316 | 1.625 | 2 |
This is a somewhat obscure Ruby on Rails question, but I thought I’d ask it anyway. Is it the case that the code that reads test fixtures into your database ignores any settings you apply to your models? It sure looks to me like if you point a model at a table name other than the default using
set_table, or override the default connection information to associate a particular model with a different database, the part of the testing framework that reads the fixtures just ignores it completely. That seems like a somewhat huge limitation to fixtures, which are otherwise very useful.
For those of you who don’t use Ruby on Rails, fixtures provide a way to easily seed your unit tests with data, as well as wipe out data between tests. The way Rails testing usually works is that you create a database that’s just for testing and set up some fixtures with test data, that way you can quickly and easily run your unit tests against a clean database to insure that data errors aren’t causing your code to break and to isolate your test data from data that might actually be useful. | <urn:uuid:e6d6242d-9f4f-4d5b-8091-5b914f2a68a0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://rc3.org/2006/03/10/ruby-on-rails-a-big-fixture-failing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00174-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938851 | 224 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The story about Iowa Mennonite High School was written based on the perceptions and representations of what the participants said related to what was working and why it was working. Every effort was made to portray the perspectives of those interviewed to get an accurate picture of what IMS was doing to help students be successful, engaged in school, and develop a faith.
Birky, Ginny, "Faith, Learning, and Success in Mennonite High Schools: What’s Working at Iowa Mennonite High School?" (2015). Faculty Publications - College of Education. 222. | <urn:uuid:19cb9762-9126-4e7c-97a0-91223023431d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/soe_faculty/222/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.955348 | 153 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Since February 2016, Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory provides the operational platform and support for a joint long-term time-lapse project in collaboration with Site-Eye Ltd., UK. Two cameras have been installed in Sodankylä, which both take a photo every minute. One of the camera looks at the sky, the other looks at the river Kitinen flowing past the Tähtelä site of SGO.
The cameras will be recording 4K time-lapse footage for the next 12 months, with monthly highlights published on-line. Above's a taste of what's to come, the time-lapse film of the sky in March 2016.
Slow Scan Photography
The so-called Slow Scan Photograph by Brian McClave of Site-Eye, summarises one night of beautiful aurora above Sodankylä. The image was taken over a period of 24 hours, at a rate of one image per minute. The Slow Scan Photograph is then composed by vertical slices of the original 1440 images. In this composite image, time progresses from left to right. The green aurora is clearly visible, mixed with some grey clouds, and there's a fantastic red dawn in the early morning.
Text: Thomas Ulich; images and film: Site-Eye Ltd. | <urn:uuid:c89a247a-db01-4370-9259-247445fa043e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.sgo.fi/2016/04/new-time-lapse-project-at-sgo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00018-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908174 | 262 | 2.34375 | 2 |
ERIC Number: ED405317
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1996-Nov-7
Reference Count: N/A
Tutorials in an Elementary School Taught by Sophomores Majoring in Education: A Review of Literature and Results of a Pilot Study.
Gee, Jerry Brooksher
The purpose of this study was to plan and implement a tutorial program in an elementary school setting to: (1) provide practical experience for undergraduates majoring in education; and (2) assist elementary students in the acquisition of basic skills on an individual basis. Students from a sophomore level survey class were selected to participate in this pilot program. It was determined that children in grades 1-4 needing additional assistance with reading, arithmetic, and general homework assignments would be organized into small groups with each college student having the opportunity to tutor on a rotating basis. All materials taught were a continuation of lessons previously introduced by the regular classroom teacher. Tutees in all grades showed some improvement with greatest improvement in reading and arithmetic found in grades 2-4. Classroom teachers were positive in their responses to the pilot program. Their suggestions included scheduling the same tutor with the same group of students for each visit and more advance notice on scheduling of tutor visits. The undergraduate students indicated that the experience brought them more confidence regarding their decision to become teachers, gave them practical knowledge about teaching, exposed them to varied teaching strategies, gave them practical grounding to theory, and allowed them a more realistic perspective of the teaching profession. (Contains 10 references.) (JLS)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association (Tuscaloosa, AL, November 7, 1996). | <urn:uuid:17fbc96f-81e8-49ea-94fc-c338f1d1fe2f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED405317 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00045-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951684 | 378 | 2.234375 | 2 |
To know: Egypt held its Presidential election today … Talks with Iran about its nuclear program are continuing in Baghdad … President Obama was embarrassed again by poor showings in Democratic primaries, this time in Kentucky and Arkansas … Four Secret Service employees dismissed as a result of the Colombia scandal will fight the decision, saying they were fired for something the agency has traditionally accepted.
To read: David Streitfeld and Kevin J. O’Brien, for the New York Times, on the privacy violations that took place as part of Google’s Street View program, and how the company has escaped punishment:
After months of negotiation, Johannes Caspar, a German data protection official, forced Google to show him exactly what its Street View cars had been collecting from potentially millions of his fellow citizens. Snippets of e-mails, photographs, passwords, chat messages, postings on Web sites and social networks—all sorts of private Internet communications—were casually scooped up as the specially equipped cars photographed the world’s streets.
“It was one of the biggest violations of data protection laws that we had ever seen,” Mr. Caspar recently recalled about that long-sought viewing in late 2010. “We were very angry.”
Google might be one of the coolest and smartest companies of this or any era, but it also upsets a lot of people—competitors who argue it wields its tremendous weight unfairly, officials like Mr. Caspar who says it ignores local laws, privacy advocates who think it takes too much from its users. Just this week, European antitrust regulators gave the company an ultimatum to change its search business or face legal consequences. American regulators may not be far behind….
But never count Google out. It is superb at getting out of trouble. Just ask Mr. Caspar or any of his counterparts around the world who tried to hold Google accountable for what one of them, the Australian communication minister Stephen Conroy, called “probably the single greatest breach in the history of privacy.” The secret Street View data collection led to inquiries in at least a dozen countries, including four in the United States alone. But Google has yet to give a complete explanation of why the data was collected and who at the company knew about it. No regulator in the United States has ever seen the information that Google’s cars gathered from American citizens.
ProPublica and “Frontline” report on the hidden human cost of cellular networks:
The convenience of mobile phones has come at a hefty price: Between 2003 and 2011, 50 climbers died working on cell sites, more than half of the nearly 100 who were killed on communications towers.
Yet cell phone carriers’ connection to tower climbing deaths has remained invisible. They outsource this dangerous work to subcontractors, a practice increasingly common in risky businesses from coal mining to trucking to nuclear waste removal. If you look up the major cell carriers in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s database of workplace accident investigations, you will not find a single tower climber fatality listed….
We found that in accident after accident, deadly missteps often resulted because climbers were shoddily equipped or received little training before being sent up hundreds of feet. To satisfy demands from carriers or large contractors, tower hands sometimes worked overnight or in dangerous conditions.
One carrier, AT&T, had more fatalities on its jobs than its three closest competitors combined, our reporting revealed. Fifteen climbers died on jobs for AT&T since 2003. Over the same period, five climbers died on T-Mobile jobs, two died on Verizon jobs and one died on a job for Sprint.
To watch: “Saturday Night Live” follows up on its classic “Lazy Sunday”: | <urn:uuid:3c0ee140-2f98-4ee6-a532-8a3f4d63b968> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/to-do-list-egyptians-vote-google-being-evil | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280872.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00319-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965681 | 772 | 1.5 | 2 |
Other listings in Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
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*All distances listed are as the crow flies, and not actual travel distances.
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden Reviews
More info about Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
One of South Africa’s top botanical gardens, the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort is also one of the prettiest and a regular winner of the Gauteng Province’s ‘Best place to get back to nature’ award. The diversity of colourful plant life and scenic setting make it a popular weekend sanctuary for city dwellers.
The garden is named after Walter Sisulu, a political activist who, like his good friend Nelson Mandela, was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Trial of 1964 and spent over a quarter of a century imprisoned. He died in 2003 and was given an official burial.
Central to the garden is the Witpoortjie Falls, surrounded by naturally occurring flora. Look out for a pair of Black Eagles that nest beside the falls, the splashes of white guano on the rocky cliff face giving away their location. From here, the Geological Interpretive Trail gives walkers a chance to climb to an... Show more
About Boutique Hotels
More intimate and personalised than larger hotels, guests can expect a warmer, friendlier stay at a Boutique Hotel. Boutique Hotels are high-end accommodation, and guests can expect all the usual luxury amenities expected from a regular/larger hotel, including wifi; tea and coffee facilities; and deluxe bedding, and then some. Most Boutique Hotels pride themselves on personal service that allows them to go the extra-mile - making it an ideal place to stay for guests celebrating special events or anniversaries. | <urn:uuid:daa61f52-3951-4bbb-96b5-2deecc610ab1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.afristay.com/a/walter-sisulu-national-botanical-garden/boutique-hotels/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571210.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810191850-20220810221850-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.911863 | 383 | 1.679688 | 2 |
This is the online presence of the organization that collections information about businesses and their reliability so that consumers can make informed decisions.
Bureau aims to make consumer financial markets work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole. It protects consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law. Also, the Bureau arms people with the information, steps, and tools that they need to make smart financial decisions.
This is the online presence of the agency that enforces laws that protect consumers against unfair or deceptive practices. The center gives you and your business tools to understand and comply with the law.
This website is a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and defend against identity theft.
This is a website that offers timely and easy-to-read articles covering all FDA activities and regulated products.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.
This is a link to information regarding national fuel economy and printable fuel economy guides.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 kinds of consumer products used in and around the home, in sports, recreation and schools.
This is the online presence of the IRS. Get all your tax forms or contact information online.
The Medicare Rights Center is a national, nonprofit consumer service organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs and public policy initiatives.
The Retirement Estimator gives estimates based on your actual Social Security earnings record. Please keep in mind that these are just estimates. They can’t provide your actual benefit amount until you apply for benefits.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is a state agency whose goal is to protect the environment and public health by ensuring compliance with environmental laws.
Merchants of all types (e.g., restaurants, retail, auto care, medical and more) voluntarily offer special savings or deals for older Ohioans who carry the Golden Buckeye card.
The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues.
The mission of the Ohio Department of Insurance is to provide consumer protection through education and fair but vigilant regulation while promoting a stable and competitive environment for insurers.
This Ohio Department of Development is a promotional tool for the state of Ohio. Learn more about working and employing, heating assistance, and much more.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) facilitates the development, rehabilitation and financing of low- to moderate-income housing. The Agency's programs serve first-time homebuyers, renters, senior citizens, and other populations with special needs.
This is a website that provides rental information within the state of Ohio. Learn more about rentals, use resources to locate information on special programs, and much more.
The most comprehensive database of apartment ratings and reviews anywhere! Find out what tenants say before you sign a lease.
The mission of the USFA is to provide national leadership to foster a solid foundation for our fire and emergency services stakeholders in prevention, preparedness, and response.
It is important to have a first aid kit available. Keep one at home and one in your car. It should include a first-aid guide. Read the guide to learn how to use the items, so you are ready in case an emergency happens. | <urn:uuid:cb742c49-6d6c-4f71-be45-eba0931ba083> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://portagelibrary.org/index.php/content/consumer-education | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.9308 | 823 | 1.875 | 2 |
New solutions needed for the homeless, concludes think-tank
A THINK-TANK held recently in Wellington identified more housing and social support as the key to ending homelessness.
Local artist and activist Barry Thomas organised the think-tank as a public-input alternative to the Wellington City Council lock-in discussion in May.
He says the current response to homelessness is failing and local and regional governments need different ideas.
“The definition of a city I want to be proud of has got to include its capacity to deliver to its most vulnerable people,” says Mr Thomas.
At the think-tank, the public and service providers were invited to brainstorm alternative, creative and respectful ideas.
About 30 people attended, including representatives from Wellington City Council, the Downtown Community Ministry and Newtown Union.
There has been a rise in the number of people sleeping on the streets of Wellington and in night shelters during the past few years.
“I’m not proud of the city we live in, where we are in a situation where our most vulnerable people are sleeping rough,” says Mr Thomas.
More than 1000 people turn up at the Downtown Community Ministry every year. While most are financially destitute, there are often the complicating factors of mental health problems and substance abuse.
Kate Amore, a PhD candidate at University of Otago’s Housing and Health Research Programme in Wellington, attended the think-tank.
“People with other vulnerabilities, such as mental health problems, are generally thought to be at higher risk of homelessness,” she says.
The current services for the homeless, such as night shelters and hostels, save lives, but the consensus of the think-tank is that they can’t solve the long-term problem.
In addition, women can’t stay at the Wellington night shelter and many gay or transgender people do not feel comfortable there.
It emerged at the think-tank that homeless people are not just sleeping rough – the vast majority are hidden from view on friends’ couches and in their garages.
“There are people sleeping in garages who feel that is a step up from where they have been,” says Mr Thomas.
Kate Amore helped to write the Government’s definition of homelessness, which includes being without shelter, in temporary accommodation, sharing accommodation with a household or living in uninhabitable housing.
“The international consensus is that poverty and lack of affordable and appropriate housing is at the core of homelessness,” Ms Amore says. The solution is more accessible, affordable housing, she says.
Demand for housing is outstripping supply in New Zealand, and homeless people don’t often fit the expectations of an ‘ideal tenant’.
“The homeless are likely to be discriminated against in the private rental market,” says Ms Amore.
Of available social housing, much is unsuitable. “These one-size-fits-all housing estates in impoverished areas have inherent problems, says Mr Thomas. “And they put people with problems there. These monolithic housing estates don’t work.”
It also came out at the think-tank that there is a need for a networked support system for vulnerable people once they do get in to decent housing.
“They may not get the support they need to sustain their housing,” says Ms Amore. “Housing New Zealand Corporation no longer provides support to its tenants.”
Attendees of the think-tank plan to lobby the Government to act on the homelessness issue. “Raising public awareness is important if housing and social support are to be political priorities,” says Ms Amore.
MAIN PHOTO: Barry Thomas
CATEGORY PHOTO: Willamette Week | <urn:uuid:20173c71-63ed-486d-8452-d0d66e422730> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.newswire.co.nz/2012/11/new-solutions-needed-for-the-homeless-concludes-think-tank/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00382-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959364 | 790 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Grihya Sutras, Part 1 (SBE29), by Hermann Oldenberg, , at sacred-texts.com
1 1. On an auspicious day the harnessing to the plough. Or under (the Nakshatra) Gyeshthâ, (because that rite is) sacred to Indra.
2 2. To Indra, Parganya, the two Asvins, the Maruts, Udalâkâsyapa, Svâtikârî, Sîtâ, and Anumati, he offers curds, rice grains, perfumes, and fried grains, and then makes the bullocks eat honey and ghee.
3. He should put them to the plough with (the verse), 'They harness to the ploughs' (Vâg. Samh. XII, 67).
4. With (the verse), 'For luck may us the ploughshares' (Vâg. Samh. XII, 69) let him plough or touch the plough-share.
5 5. Or (he may) not (do so), because (that verse) has been prescribed for (the erection of) the Agni (-altar), and the act of sowing stands in connection (with it).
6. After the front-bullock has been sprinkled (with water), they then should plough unploughed ground.
7 7. He should make oblations of cooked sacrificial food to the same deities as above, when sowing both rice and barley, and at the sacrifice to Sîtâ.
8. Then (follows) feeding of the Brâhmanas.
326:1 13, 1. Indra is the presiding deity over the constellation Gyeshthâ; see Sâṅkhâyana-Grihya I, 26, 16, &c.
326:2 The names of the genius Udalâkâsyapa and of the female genius Svâtikârî occur, as far as I know, only hero. Böhtlingk-Roth propose to read Sphâtimkârî ('the goddess who gives abundance').
326:5 At the Agni-kayana ceremony furrows are drawn with the plough on the Agni-kshetra with the verses Vâg. Samh. XII, 69-7 2. Afterwards grains of different kinds are sown. See Kâtyâyana XVII, 2, 12; 3, 8; Indische Studien, XIII, 244 seq. Thus in the Srauta ritual the verse Vâg. Samh. XII, 69 stands in a connection which does not conform to the occasion for which it would be used here.
327:7 'As above' refers to Sûtra 2. On the Sîtâ-yagña, see below, chap. 17. | <urn:uuid:4b328625-7184-4c05-a83d-88ad6f4d9092> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe29/sbe29186.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00471-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.875963 | 612 | 2.328125 | 2 |
However, my brother-in-law is one of three people I know who still has a dumb phone. A cousin I am fond of has neither an email address nor a computer.
In the morning, I step on my scale which is hooked up to the house WiFi and my weight is then fed to my iPad. On my iPad, I can take my blood pressure by inserting a cuff to the iPad and my weight and blood pressure are put onto a chart which can be sent for download by my doctor.
But my doctor actually takes my iPad and hand writes the figures in his illegible scrawl into my chart. There is no ability to electronically interface the information I collect with the information that is kept by my physician.
Then looking at the medical products industry – in the database where we track social media outlets which includes pharma and device companies, there are some companies that have social media assets represented in each major platform – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and even Pinterest. Some companies have employee recruitment efforts on each platform. And there are companies with multiple assets within each platform. For example, we have 240 Twitter feeds that we track, but those represent only 60 different companies (including device companies) many of which have multiple Twitter feeds.
On the other hand, there are many companies with no social media assets at all, limiting themselves to Web sites.
Doubtless, there are many companies providing apps to support patients and doctors, and many which are not – just as there are many doctors and patients who would use them – and many who would not.
In short, the spectrum of health care communications has become not only diverse, it is in many respects, somewhat polarized. As evidenced by the great work of the Pew Internet & American Life Project research that continually feeds us valuable information on trends in the consumption of health care information online. There are many online physician communities and many docs using electronic medical records, and many who are not. And social media assets for patients about and are even curated by sites such as Webicina.com which provide resources categorized by condition for both patients and doctors.
The consequence? There are many – but here are only a few:
- First, for communicators in health care, it spells the need to consider how diverse and complex a truly integrated communications effort must be to address the spectrum of both physician and patient digital users and non-users;
- Second, while we get access to good, solid research on users, it is important to know as much as we can about non-users as well;
- Third, for companies that are non-users, how do patient relations compare to those who have heavily invested in being digital literati?
Just a little food for thought as we become an increasingly diverse, and sometimes mis-matched, group of patients, providers and manufacturers.
(Disclosure – I am a member of the Webicina Advisory Board.) | <urn:uuid:27a25061-ed2b-4885-a202-a338d8d54864> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.eyeonfda.com/eye_on_fda/2013/11/the-great-digital-divide.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00246-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97359 | 594 | 1.796875 | 2 |
OSHKOSH, Wis. - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials say sturgeon spawning on the Wolf River in eastern Wisconsin could begin later Monday or Tuesday.
Spawning had been delayed because of the cold spring, but Warden Supervisor April Dombrowski, of Oshkosh, said Monday in a news release that the warm weekend had heated the water and made conditions nearly ideal for spawning.
Dombrowski says sturgeon guards are being asked to report for their assigned shifts starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday. The volunteer guards keep watch as the fish make their annual spawning run up the river. Guards don't stop poachers, but they observe, collect information and call wardens, if needed.
- Four displaced in west side apartment fire
- 'Peaceful' protests, candlelight vigil held in Madison over Trump inauguration
- Wisconsin Supreme Court orders John Doe documents released
- Classes teach Madisonians how to keep backyard bees
- Judge orders suspended UW student to face trial
- First responders urge people to stay off ice this weekend | <urn:uuid:b2ff38c1-f26a-48a5-9d82-1634e9d0f5fe> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.channel3000.com/news/local-news/wisconsin-dnr-says-sturgeon-spawning-to-begin/158577852 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00272-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953833 | 215 | 1.96875 | 2 |
In a word, no. But it is also not the Vatican equivalent of a New York Times op-ed. Nor is it merely a scholarly dissertation, to be read only by theologians, who might write their own scholarly dissertations on it, to be read only by other theologians.
Instead, an encyclical – from the Greek word egkyklios, with kyklos meaning a circle – is a circular letter, sent from the pope to instruct a particular audience, usually bishops of a specific country or to all the bishops of the Roman Catholic world.
In the case of the newest encyclical, “Lumen Fidei” (Latin for “Light of Faith”), released on Friday, July 5, by Pope Francis (but begun by his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), the intended audience is, as indicated on the first page, “the bishops, priests and deacons, consecrated persons and the lay faithful.”
In short, it’s a letter to every Roman Catholic everywhere, exploring an appropriate subject for the current Year of Faith, declared by Benedict to last from Oct. 11, 2012 (the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II), to Nov. 24, 2013 (the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or for short, the Solemnity of Christ the King).
But, one might ask, if it’s a letter from the Vicar of Christ to his entire flock, why isn’t it infallible? After all, isn’t the pope infallible all the time anyway? Isn’t that what “papal infallibility” means?
A pope is as capable of sin as any man – as anyone who watched Showtime’s Renaissance Vatican melodrama “The Borgias” is well aware – and his every utterance does not necessarily represent a pronouncement of eternal and binding wisdom (as much as the opinion of one priest, bishop or cardinal, in the Vatican or not, does not automatically speak for the entire Church).
But the pope does occupy a singular place at the very top of the Church hierarchy, and Catholics believe that began at the beginning.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is. Galilean fisherman Simon son of Jonah pipes up, saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
Declaring that the only way Simon could know this is if it came straight from God, Jesus continues with, “And so I say to you, you are Peter” – from the Latin “Petrus,” meaning “rock,” translated from the Syriac or Aramaic “Cephas” and the Greek “Kepha” – “and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
“I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Since Jesus is not recorded as making a similar pronouncement about any of the other apostles, the Catholic Church sees Peter as first among them, with special privileges and responsibilities.
In addition, according to writings by such early Church Fathers of the First and Second Centuries as Ignatius of Antioch and Irenaeus, Peter and Paul, a convert and former persecutor of Christians, founded the Church in Rome. Peter then served as its bishop and was martyred there with Paul.
So, based on these, the Bishop of Rome is the head of the Roman Catholic Church and also carries the title of Supreme Pontiff or Pope. The Church traces a line of popes from Peter over 2,000 years to the current Francis (who seems to prefer the title of Bishop of Rome).
And since Jesus promised Peter that the “gates of the netherworld” would not prevail over the Church, and that it would remain under His protection and the guidance of the Holy Spirit for all time, the Church holds that, under certain circumstances, the Holy Spirit guides and protects the pope, allowing him to speak religious truth without error.
This is called speaking “ex cathedra,” or from the Chair of Peter (it’s a theological term and does not refer to the pope holding audience from a particular piece of fancy furniture).
The reasoning is that, without a belief that there are times when the Holy Spirit does this, then the promise of eternal protection and guidance wouldn’t be worth much in a practical sense.
Although defended in the Church since the Middle Ages, the doctrine of papal infallibility was not defined until the First Vatican Council of 1869-’70. It applies only when the pope is acting as teacher and shepherd, from his position of apostolic authority, in defining doctrines concerning faith or morals that apply to the whole Church.
In the modern era, infallibility has been invoked only once. In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared that the Virgin Mary, on her death, had been assumed body and soul directly into Heaven. With that, the Assumption of Mary became official Church doctrine.
Papal teaching documents, such as encyclicals, may not have the stamp of infallibility nor occupy the most authoritative spot in the general hierarchy of Church documents, but they carry the significant weight of the Supreme Pontiff’s teaching authority.
While not adding to the deposit of faith, these documents – as outlined in section 25 of “Lumen Gentium” (Latin for “Light of the Nations”), the “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” issued by the Vatican II council in 1964 – are regarded as definitive interpretations of existing Church doctrine.
But, sometimes, popes say things that are just their personal opinions, such as Francis’ recent comment that priests and religious sisters shouldn’t rush to get the latest smartphone or model of car but instead pick something more humble and devote additional resources to helping the poor.
While a remark like this has considerable moral authority because it comes from a pope – and may prick the consciences of clergy and lay people – it doesn’t rise to the level of an article of faith that all Catholics must believe or obey (to the undoubted relief of electronics and auto manufacturers worldwide).
So, then, what is the value of reading “Lumen Fidei,” and would any ordinary person not deeply versed in theology be able to understand it?
As to the first question, it does reflect an infrequent opportunity to see a sort of papal mind-meld, in which the work of scholarly, bookish Benedict is finished off by the expansive, spontaneous Francis. And, it’s only 80 pages, so it can be polished off over the course of an evening.
Second, the English translation is written in clear, expressive language in talking about the meaning of faith in theory and in practice – from Abraham through the Christian era – and its relationship to human reason, with many references to the particular challenges of the 21st Century.
It also touches on the hot-button issue of how to define marriage, reiterating the doctrine and explaining why – SCOTUS decisions notwithstanding – the Church will not vary from its characterization of Holy Matrimony as the lifelong union of one man and one woman.
In addition, “Lumen Fidei” refers to World Youth Day, started by soon-to-be-saint Pope John Paul II, which is celebrated every year, with large global gatherings held every two or three years.
“We have all seen,” it says, “during World Youth Days, the joy that young people show in their faith and their desire for an ever more solid and generous life of faith. Young people want to live life to the fullest.”
The next World Youth Day officially begins July 23 and runs until the 28th, in Rio de Janeiro. The presence of a South American pope – Francis was born to Italian immigrants in Argentina – was expected to swell crowds to perhaps record levels.
There has been talk that Pope Francis might not attend because of security concerns – and the new pope is known for giving his security detail fits because of his fondness for pressing the flesh (and kissing the babies) of the faithful – but right now it appears that, no matter the peril or how many show up, Francis will be going down to Rio. | <urn:uuid:2ae099ee-e378-4a76-89ad-1468540c2fe6> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2013/07/08/is-the-pope-s-new-encyclical-an-infallible-document/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717783.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00076-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958996 | 1,783 | 1.882813 | 2 |
* * *
In this special time of Grace the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Icon and Model of the Church, wants us to be introduced to that vigilance which is the constant attitude of Her Immaculate heart.
In fact, the Virgin lived constantly in prayerful vigilance. In vigilance, She received the announcement that changed the history of humanity. In vigilance, She kept and contemplated, more than any other, the Almighty who became her Son. In vigilance, filled with loving and grateful wonder, She gave birth to the Light Himself and, together with St Joseph, became a disciple of He to whom She had given birth. He was adored by the shepherds and the kings, welcomed in jubilation by Simeon and the prophetess Anna, feared by the doctors in the temple, loved and followed by the disciples and opposed and condemned by His people. In the vigilance of her maternal heart, Mary followed Christ right up to the foot of the cross where, in the immense sorrow of a pierced heart, She accepted us as her new sons. In vigilance, She waited with certainty for the Resurrection and was Assumed into Heaven.
Dearest friends, Christ constantly watches over His Church and over every one of us! We are all called to enter into that vigilance, that passionate observation of reality that moves us between two fundamental directions: the recollection of meeting Christ in our lives and the great mystery of being His priests and the openness to the 'category of possibility'.
The Virgin Mary, was in fact 'recollected', which means that in her heart She constantly relived what God had done for Her and, in the certainty of this reality, She lived the duty of being the Mother of the Almighty. The Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, was then constantly willing and open to the 'possible', to that materialisation of God's Will in daily circumstances and also in those that are most unexpected.
Also today, from heaven, the Virgin keeps us in Christ's living memory and continually opens the possibility of Divine Mercy to us.
Dearest Brothers and Friends, let us ask Her for a heart that is able to relive Christ's coming in our lives, a heart able to contemplate the way in which the Son of God, on the day of our Ordination, radically and definitely marked our entire existence immerging us in His priestly heart. He renews us daily in the Eucharistic Celebration so that our own lives become transfigured into Christ's coming for humanity.
Finally, let us ask for an attentive heart able to recognise the signs of Jesus' coming in the lives of every man, especially to the young who are entrusted to us, so that we are able to recognise the sign of that special coming which is the vocation to the Priesthood.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Priests and Queen of the Apostles, always grants those humble requests for that priestly paternity which is the only thing able to "accompany" the youth on the joyful and enthusiastic journey to follow Christ.
In the “Yes” of the Annunciation, we are also encouraged to be coherent to the “Yes” of our ordination. In the Visitation to Saint Elisabeth, we are encouraged to live that divine intimacy in order to bring Christ's presence to the others and to translate it into joyful service without the limits of time and space. In the Holy Mother's act of wrapping the Baby Jesus in swaddling clothes and adoring Him, we learn to treat the Most Holy Eucharist with an ineffable love. By conserving every event within our own hearts, we learn from Mary how to gather around the Only Necessity.
With these sentiments I assure all the dear Priests around the world of a special remembrance in the Celebration of the Holy Mysteries. I ask everyone for the prayerful support for the ministry that was entrusted to me and, before the crib, let us implore the ability to become that what we are every day. | <urn:uuid:f09d5f54-d150-44fc-8cc4-1439911c1b63> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://offerimustibidomine.blogspot.com/2011/11/treat-most-holy-eucharist-with.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00126-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964934 | 819 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Our planet is a closed system.
There are a limited number of compounds in our earthly ecology, but still plenty enough to combine in various ways to do amazing things like cure infections and vaccinate against diseases. These are HUGE game changers in our evolution as a species. We are the first...the very first creatures in known existence that can willfully control our reproduction.
Medical advances snowball. All it takes is one good advance, one leap of science to cause an avalanche. Every major medical advancement we rely on now was only invented a few generations ago. That's pretty amazing considering the fact that most of humanity has pretty much been hunters/gatherers/farmers without a whole lot of variation for the last few hundred thousand years.
Virtual reality is starting to place reality reality and reality reality is a lot scarier than pretend reality. Look at the technology we have now. Some of it is far more impressive than we could have ever imagined (and considering this is the species that brought you 'immaculate conception' that's saying something.
Star Trek communicators looked like such a gadgety wet dream back in the day, but my cell phone can balance my checkbook and remind me to take my allergy medicine. I can also talk on a hands-free set where other occupants of the same space only get to hear one side of the conversation, instead of the whole damn room getting exposed to potentially personal information. Take that Gene Roddenberry!
I'm a diver. I fully understand and can probably better conceptualize just how much we don't know about our world. There is a whole lot of unexplained out there, and every new discovery can be the potential 'next-big-thing.' Hell, even what's already been discovered but recently forgot holds interesting potential for the advancement of mankind.
That's why I actually listen to some of the less-than-mainstream sources for medicine.
85% are total bullshit. I'll admit that right off. But generally there is some good advice about avoiding ingredients in food that you can't pronounce, taking a closer look at nutritional guidelines and figuring out that there is something wrong when a decongestant is considered safe but a diet pill is considered dangerous and banned, even when it is the same ingredient. Yeah. Shit doesn't always add up, but I'm not on the crazy boat. Aloe doesn't cure cancer. Red meat does not cause cancer. There is no magic potion or healing 'vibes.' Crystals are pretty to look at but won't balance chakra. There is no such thing as chackra.
My friend is Australian. Statistically he's more predisposed towards skin cancer than I am. I'm American.
Science says that the ozone layer is thinner above Aussieland, and that accounts for the disproportionate number of skin cancer cases.
I maintain it is because we very abruptly dumped a boatload of white people into an environment that wasn't the friendliest for anyone, especially those without a whole lot of protective coloring. Evolution takes more than a few generations. As a species, we aren't so good with rapid change.
So anyway, my friend has skin cancer. Four surgeries in total on his shoulder to fully remove two lumps. Now it is back on his leg.
Instead of going through surgery again, he started using this stuff.
I've got the pictures but need permission to post them. He applied the salve, it created the nasty pocket thing, and then the diseased lump fell out. The painless hole in his flesh that remains is pretty scary to look at, but it is filling in fast. Treatment complete and western doctors have confirmed he's cancer free.
So, what do you all think?
I'm not claiming anything either way. I don't say how or why this works or if it even did work.
I'm just wondering about thoughts and opinions. | <urn:uuid:93294a52-4fa6-4fd4-8c72-c2f639a3cb5c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.thinkatheist.com/profiles/blogs/alternative-medicine-and-why-i | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00192-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962402 | 801 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Summary and Info
This book contains a collection of selected works stemming from the 2013 International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST), which was held in Wellington, New Zealand. The purpose of the book is to distill the highlights of the conference, and therefore track the latest developments in sensing technologies. The book contents are broad, since sensors can be applied in many different areas. Therefore the book gives a broad overview of the latest developments, in addition to discussing the process through which researchers go through in order to develop sensors, or related systems, which will become more widespread in the future. The book is written for academic and industry professionals working in the field of sensing, instrumentation and related fields, and is positioned to give a snapshot of the current state of the art in sensing technology, particularly from the applied perspective.
More About the Author
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game franchise. The series began on Microsoft Windows, and later expanded to consoles and handhelds.
Review and Comments
Rate the Book
Sensing Technology: Current Status and Future Trends III 0 out of 5 stars based on 0 ratings. | <urn:uuid:d045febe-35c9-47b3-a9d6-68ab6d4788ab> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://libdl.ir/book/62916/sensing-technology-current-status-and-future-trends-iii | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00549-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935497 | 228 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Case study: Early diagnosis of lymphoma in children and young adults in sub-Saharan Africa
Two innovative tools to speed-up diagnosis
Over 90% of children in the world with lymphomas are from sub-Saharan Africa, with these cancers caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections, malaria and HIV.
Although lymphomas are easy to treat and the therapy is free of charge, most patients are either diagnosed late, at which point the cancer is more difficult to treat, or remain undiagnosed. This is due primarily to the lack of reliable diagnostics services with enough surgeons and pathologists to establish the precise diagnosis fast enough.
With their NIHR Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation award, Professor Anna Schuh from the University of Oxford, with teams in Tanzania and Uganda led by Dr Clara Chamba (Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Dar es Salaam), Dr Faraja Chiwanga and Dr Hadija Mwamtem (Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Dar es Salaam), Dr Mkwizu (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), Moshi) and Dr Ogwang (St Mary’s Hospital, Lacor), are testing two new diagnostic technologies that can help provide a fast and reliable diagnosis of lymphoma in sub-Saharan Africa.
The aim of this programme is to improve and speed-up the diagnosis of a particular form of childhood cancer that is very common in sub-Saharan Africa, because it’s caused by a combination of malaria and EBV infections very early in childhood
Professor Anna Schuh, University of Oxford
The first diagnostic technology takes pictures of tissue biopsies with a small and affordable mobile camera that can be attached to any microscope. These pictures can then be sent anywhere in the world for a diagnosis. It means that fewer local pathologists would be required for diagnosis, which would make a huge difference in remote places.
The team are now in the process of validating this low-cost and low-maintenance technology, and enhancing local pathology services by making sure they have the immunostaining technology they need for the biopsy process, and that they can do second reviews.
The second diagnostic technique is a liquid biopsy, a simple blood test that can measure circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) to make the diagnosis of cancer. The team has now developed this non-invasive technology specifically for the EBV-related lymphomas in sub-Saharan Africa, but plan to use it for other cancer screenings across Africa in the future.
They’ve started to engage with representatives of the Ministry of Health in Tanzania and Uganda and with the director of the Central Public Health Laboratory in Kampala. This will open a path to offering the test to all children in Uganda, thereby introducing testing of ctDNA for the first time to Africa.
This research will provide a sound basis to expand the application of this innovative technology to other cancer screenings. So the aim is not just to improve the diagnosis for these children, but also to build capacity so that DNA-based cancer diagnostics can be used across the board in sub-Saharan Africa.
Professor Anna Schuh
Building clinical research capacity
As part of their project, the team have built up existing pathology services at MNH, St Mary’s Lacor Hospital and at KCMC with automated equipment for immunohistochemistry and second-generation digital image analysis to increase speed and improve reproducibility and quality of testing.
In close collaboration with MUHAS, they equipped a DNA laboratory for local DNA sequencing, cloud-based data analysis and clinical data collection. And efforts are underway to build additional capacity for a DNA sequencing laboratory in Uganda, in partnership with the Central Public Health Laboratory. This will further expand in-country capacity to analyse blood samples for ctDNA, but also to create capacity for other genomic research and diagnostics, for example of infectious or inherited diseases.
The project is one of the first to perform human-genome sequencing in East Africa and to analyse samples in the country.
Previously we’ve been forced to ship samples abroad for sequencing because we did not have the capacity. Being able to generate our own sequence data from our samples and being able to analyse them is one of the things I consider as a major achievement in this project
Dr Clara Chamba, Principal Investigator, MUHAS
In the last year, the teams from Oxford and MUHAS have been busy training staff in different disciplines, from bioinformatics to quality control, both with online workshops, and face-to-face sessions in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Ismail Legason, Laboratory Scientist at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor, recognises the learnings from the project: “This study has built my capacity in molecular diagnostics. I’ve had the opportunity to learn Omics techniques, including DNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing and analysis of genomic data.”
Dr Faraja Chiwanga, Head of Training and Research at MNH, has been designated as Research Capacity Strengthening Lead for the team.
“I’ve managed to properly maintain site files for this project, and I’m now training other Principal Investigators about it. I’ve started developing a Quality Assurance Plan, which didn’t exist before, and I’m being mentored on how to improve infrastructure for clinical trials including establishing a Clinical Trial Unit”.
The project has created about 30 jobs, including for doctors, nurses, bioinformaticians, students, PhDs and MScs in health economics, biology and oncology, who are all based locally. The team also aims to develop online teaching material and support for an MSc in bioinformatics that will be open to students across East Africa.
Raising awareness and providing a cost-effective treatment
The main research site in Northern Uganda is based at the border with South Sudan, where there is one of the biggest refugee camps world-wide. Here, diseases such as malaria and EBV-virus infections are much more common, and therefore lymphomas are more likely to present themselves.
“Since healthcare workers don’t know about our research site and about our programme, I spent 2 weeks in Northern Uganda going around the refugee camps, the various health centres, to raise awareness, and we’re continuing to do this work so everybody knows that we can treat children with lymphomas” says Professor Schuh.
They have recruited 137 patients with suspected lymphoma so far. These are all receiving a precise pathology diagnosis, and patients with Burkitt’s lymphoma or other types of B-cell lymphoma have received state-of-the-art treatment with chemotherapy and a more targeted therapy called rituximab.
We’ve managed to negotiate the price for rituximab with Roche to a GDP-adjusted value, so we’re able to provide the treatment to all our patients. Now we’re at the point where we’re already giving rituximab to children at MNH and KCMC, and we’ll start very soon in Uganda
Professor Anna Schuh
They’re also working with local charities, Tumaina la Maisha, Solitere and Prev-A Camp, to raise awareness about cancer early diagnosis.
Thanks to these collaborations, they’ve been able to reach out to over 5,000 people and many more through social media feeds, radio announcements and a song.
Professor Schuh is confident that by enhancing the local capacity, but also by creating a strong sense of collaboration, and with the right support from local governments, they’ll be able to secure sustainability for genetic diagnostics that will save the lives of thousands of children and young adults in the region.
“We have created a spirit of collaboration and equality that goes beyond research for EBV-driven lymphoma”, she says. “Clinicians, oncologists, bio-informaticians, health economists, lab researchers, diagnosticians, pathologists, we’re all working together and we’re sharing knowledge everywhere we’re working, and that touches every cancer patient, children and adult, the whole ecosystem of cancer services across two countries.” | <urn:uuid:30ff3e26-9dad-417f-b6b7-c1f93355b0b6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/our-impact/making-a-difference-stories.htm?postid=27899&pr= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00679.warc.gz | en | 0.935115 | 1,732 | 3 | 3 |
When Konstantin Romenskii's clients approached him to remodel two adjacent bathrooms, they were thinking of just updating the finishes. But once his crew had demolished both rooms, Romenskii had an inspiration: If he redesigned the floor plan and added an angled wall between the rooms, he could add some visual interest and still accommodate all the fixtures and fittings.
The owner of Domus Inc., in Rockville, Md., who makes a point of trying to add unique touches to all his projects, says that he was quickly able to visualize the redesign because much of his recent work has involved remodeling bathrooms.
To gain space for the remodeled bathrooms, the owners were willing to give up one of the adjacent bedroom's two closets and a hallway linen closet. Romenskii says that the clients carefully listened to his advice about the floor plan, the products, and the design. “Every idea I had, they accepted gladly,” he adds.
Romenskii believes that “to be a designer, [you] need to know how people live and what they like.” To that end, he began the remodeling process by sending his clients to showrooms to choose products they liked. Using these products as a starting point, Romenskii then suggested changes and installation ideas for the remodel.
Stone Walls Open shower: Romenskii was originally going to install a large enclosed shower, but the window on one wall of the shower was in the way. The open shower has a ceiling-mounted fitting with a large diameter. Romenskii worried about splashing, so he increased the floor slope to keep water flowing toward the drain.
Walls: To bring some interest to the travertine installation, Romenskii laid the stone horizontally in graduating sizes. He started with a 12-inch-high piece near the floor and narrowed each subsequent piece by 1 inch up to the final 1-inch-high piece.
Lighting: Unable to install evenly spaced recessed lights due to the location of the trusses, Romenskii found expandable tracks with miniature fixtures. “The homeowner liked being able to retract the lights horizontally toward or against the wall from 9 to 24 inches,” the remodeler says.
Glass countertop: To create the illusion of a larger bathroom, Romenskii used a glass countertop with a notch cut to fit the sink.
Open Spaces Bathtub: The original bathtub was a standard 30 inches wide. By using the space from the two closets, Romenskii was able to carve out extra room and upgrade the tub. The new tub is 6 inches wider and several inches deeper.
Lighting: The location of the trusses in this bathroom allowed Romenskii to install recessed lighting. He spread the lights out on an angle to match the walls. He also used ceiling-to-counter mirrors to reflect the light and make the bathroom feel larger.
Floor Plans BEFORE | <urn:uuid:61779b4d-7c23-4a2f-a528-0c3a34b6c137> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.remodeling.hw.net/business/angled-solution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00301-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968955 | 621 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Community Audiology Services
11120 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20904
A Losing Proposition
If you, like most people, take your ability to hear for granted, try spending an entire day wearing earplugs. You will soon find that hearing loss can make you feel cut off from the world. Aside from not being able to share information with other people, hearing loss may also deprive you of the enjoyment of music and other forms of art. Appreciate and protect the hearing you have because, in many cases, loss of hearing is permanent. Gradual hearing loss affects people in all age groups and is the third most common long-term health problem among the elderly. Most importantly, taking care of your hearing now can help stave off hearing loss later.
The following questions will help you determine if you have a hearing loss and need to have your hearing evaluated
1. Do you have a problem hearing when using the telephone?
2. Do you hear better in one ear than the other when you are on the telephone?
3. Do you have trouble following the conversation when two or more people are talking at the same time?
4. Do people complain that you turn the TV volume up too high?
5. Do you strain to understand conversations?
6. Do you have trouble hearing in noisy backgrounds?
7. Do you have trouble hearing in restaurants?
8. Do you have dizziness, pain or ringing in your ears?
9. Do you often ask people to repeat themselves?
10. Do family members and coworkers remark that you are missing conversations?
If you answered “Yes” to more than two questions, you should be tested.
As you know, hearing loss is an invisible condition that interferes with communication our most human quality. For an estimated 28 million children and adults in the United States who have a hearing loss, determining the most suitable medical intervention or rehabilitation alternative can be the primary factor needed to enhance the quality of life. When one recognizes that a problem exists, the first baby step toward better hearing has been taken. | <urn:uuid:c2d1037c-83e1-4168-9179-b82f427b3156> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/beauty-skin-care-gorgeous-smiles/a-losing-proposition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572033.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814113403-20220814143403-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.953377 | 430 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Comprehensive DescriptionRead full entry
Description of ProteobacteriaThe Proteobacteria kingdom is the largest and most diverse in the domain Bacteria. As a group, these organisms show extreme metabolic diversity and represent the majority of known gram-negative bacteria of medical, industrial, and agricultural significance. This is an evolutionarily, geologically, and environmentally important group. May have gas vesicles, flagella, or can move by gliding; they may have stalks, or other appendages. Some species are able to carry out photosynthesis, others deposit sulphur within the cells or outside. The subgroups are defined on the basis of rRNA sequences. | <urn:uuid:95ba0d29-573b-4dfe-90be-7deeda3a3c04> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.eol.org/pages/311/overview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719027.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00303-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892825 | 136 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Ever wondered why air quality in a room is quite as crucial as the need for sleep? Regardless of the need to get a night of better sleep and wake up fresh without a stuffy nose everyday depending on the quality of air that you breathe. Different companies have different options for air purifiers, with most of them using a HEPA filter.
Though not bad, this technology is outdated. It’s quite a challenging endeavor to find an air purifier that fits expectations unless you try the Molekule Review Sleep Sherpa.Molekule Review Sleep Sherpa offers what other purifiers do not. It doesn’t use a HEPA filter but a PECO filter. The innovation of PECO technology puts the Molekule Review Sleep Sherpa as a better option than other air purifiers due to the technology’s improved ability to destroy pollutants that can’t be destroyed using HEPA filters. The glossy, futuristic look used for this purifier simplifies people’s increased choice over other air purifiers in the market.
Molekule Review Sleep Sherpa is also able to remove volatile organic compounds. This feature is not familiar with most other air purifiers. Besides, it can be set in different modes. The silent mode enables use by people regardless of age; for instance, newborns and older people can sleep peacefully in rooms while breathing clean and fresh air, enabling better sleep. Although it uses light, the Molekule Review Sleep Sherpa holds a night mode that enables its proper functioning at night. | <urn:uuid:f8709b0e-90bb-4c66-9f85-607327ac98f2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://designingireland.com/the-difference-made-by-molekule-review-sleep-sherpa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570977.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809124724-20220809154724-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.885888 | 317 | 1.5 | 2 |
Did you know that in a given year across the United States, that more tow truck drivers are killed on the job than are police officers? Surprising, isn’t it? But it’s true.
This is why our industry has lobbied hard to have tow trucks added to each state’s “Slow Down, Move Over” laws. We’ve been very successful. With the addition of Hawaii in 2012, we now have this important law on the books in all 50 United States. Now the industry, with the help of many State agencies, is working to increase public awareness of this law and what we need to public to do to stop killing tow truck drivers on the side of our highways.
This excellent video produced by United Coalition for Motor Club Safety is highly educational, if a bit emotional. Towers and the motoring public alike need to watch this, and share it. Please – my life depends on public awareness of our need for a safe space to work. | <urn:uuid:c6af2961-b6d1-47f8-a050-185d2ae599bd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://oktow.com/all-i-ask-is-for-4-minutes-of-your-time-tow-operators-lives-are-worth-at-least-that-right/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.969276 | 203 | 1.726563 | 2 |
When you’re first trying to choose a country for international adoption, start by thinking about your comfort level. Think about how open you are to someone who is culturally or racially different – if you wouldn’t consider marrying someone from a particular background, you probably should not consider parenting a child from that country.
Consider your friends and support system. Who is coming over for dinner on Friday night? In other words, how isolated will the child be in your community? Do you speak another language? Have you visited – or lived in – a foreign country that is open to international adoption? How will you bring some of the culture and traditions of that country into your home? What about visiting that country later on?
Read the rest of the article HERE! | <urn:uuid:39a93f0e-1b64-477a-8275-df9539b3490d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.reecesrainbow.org/2010/05/choosing-country-for-international.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00544-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957206 | 154 | 1.515625 | 2 |
It seems extremely odd to me that handy little lists off of Tumblr, such as this one below, inspire as much ire as they do from members of the writing community.
Few things seem to piss off some writers more than telling them, even indirectly, that, while they’ve diligently studied the art of creating a solid story arc and researched medieval warfare extensively, their lesbian character might need some serious work to be anything other than a walking cliche. For some reason, every other aspect of writing is craft, and we generally accept that we should work hard on it to improve, but when it comes to characters and world-building, suddenly it’s all down to the ineffable and unquestionable work of the muse.
It’s interesting to note that the aspects of writing which are most rigid and subject to strict judgement are the parts that make it more difficult to succeed if you’ve not had access to an extensive education, you don’t have the funds to hire an editor, or your habitual speech patterns aren’t considered “proper english.” It’s also interesting to note that the areas where creativity and the muse are allowed to reign supreme are the parts that make it easy for those with social privilege to ignore the real experiences of people unlike themselves, while still using their identities as spice for their fiction. This indulgence allows writers to freely rely on lazy stereotypes and racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist narratives because art.
The thing is, the characters who pop into your head are not coming from some magical artistic inspiration. It’s your brain that cooks ’em up, and when they pop into your conscious mind already formed, it was your unconscious expectations and cultural programming that made them what they are. That means that, in spite of all the little details you may change to make them interesting, they’re just different pieces of you and your experience. If your only experience of asexuals is seeing them portrayed as damaged or confused, you’re going to be inclined to default to that tired, harmful trope. This does a disservice to everyone. Stereotypes are boring, they hurt vulnerable people, and they drag down the quality of their creator’s otherwise hard work.
In response to these helpful but oddly controversial lists of suggestions and warnings, the advice I often see is to ignore all that SJW crap and to just write the person first and then basically slap the label you want on top of the personality you’ve created. I think the basic intention here might be good. You don’t want to fall into the trap of making your character’s entire personality revolve around one aspect of their identity. The opposite pitfall, though, lies in the myth of the “real” person hiding underneath all the things that make people unique. Every aspect of every person affects their view of the world, including whiteness, maleness, heterosexuality, being able bodied, and all the other default character settings that too often go unchallenged. Yes, we all share a great deal in common and we can draw from that, but there’s an important difference between trying to imagine someone else’s experience so you can empathize with them, and imagining that they’re really just like you underneath all the things that make them who they are. Doing the latter results in characters that have maybe stretched a little, but can’t be much more than reflections of the way you already see the world. Doing the former involves listening to the lived experiences of others and respecting what they say, and it opens up a whole realm of possibilities you literally couldn’t have come up with on your own. That’s where the magic can really happen. | <urn:uuid:99898324-ad14-4cbf-a138-df025d77d54c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://jasminecollinsfiction.wordpress.com/tag/editing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.962439 | 776 | 1.554688 | 2 |
By David L. Phillips and Van Krikorian
Van Krikorian, Armenian Assembly of America Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, published an article titled ” Preventing Deadly Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.” Co-authored with David L. Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, the article appeared on the April 10 issue of The Huffington Post.
Violent conflict erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) on April 2, killing hundreds. Azerbaijan violated a cease-fire that had been in place since 1994. The situation remains extremely volatile, despite a temporary truce.
The United States and Russia must intensify their mediation. Negotiations should include representatives of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. US law already calls for sanctions on Azerbaijan if it acts aggressively. The Obama administration should implement Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Azerbaijan to punish its aggression.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory in the South Caucasus. Joseph Stalin included it in Azerbaijan as part of a broader effort to undermine the national aspirations of minorities in the Soviet Union. The Nagorno-Karabakh population held a referendum in 1991, as the Soviet Union was disintegrating. Christian Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence from Muslim Azerbaijan. In the ensuing conflict, over 20,000 people died and over 800,000 people were displaced. The war ended with a cease fire but no peace agreement.
In 1989, the US Senate passed a resolution “[urging] Soviet President Gorbachev to restore order, reestablish unrestricted economic and supply routes to the people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh, secure the physical safety of the people of [NK] from attack, and continue a dialogue with representatives of such region regarding a peaceful settlement of the dispute….” In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed Section 907 into US law, which prohibits assistance to Azerbaijan if it engages in aggressive military actions against Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh. Section 907 was an important deterrent, contributing to the cease fire.
In 2008, then Senator Barack Obama endorsed a “lasting and durable settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that is agreeable to all parties, and based upon America’s founding commitment to the principles of democracy and self-determination.” Since the conflict began, every US Administration has been committed to a peaceful, negotiated solution.
Starting in 1994, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe spearheaded efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE Minsk Group is mandated to mediate. It is co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation, and the United States. Attempts by Azerbaijan to change mediators have been rebuffed.
Tensions in this “frozen conflict” have increased in recent years. Escalating and well-documented cease fire violations occurred without consequence. Inaction by the international community encouraged Azerbaijan’s coordinated assault. Azerbaijan recently spent $4 billion buying weapons from Russia. On April 2, Azerbaijan used its upgraded air and land weapons to attack on multiple fronts. Weapons included Smerch rocket systems, Grad missiles, Russian-made T-90 tanks, TOS-1A flamethrowers, modern helicopter gunships, as well as kamikaze drones. All told, over 40 Armenians were killed (62 as of April 11-Massispost), including civilians. An ethnic Yezidi/Armenian citizen, was beheaded by Azeri troops. Over 200 Azeri soldiers died in the offensive. No territory was gained.
Azerbaijan did not act on its own. According to eye-witness accounts, Turkish troops and equipment were involved in battles near the Iranian border. The Azerbaijani offensive was immediately endorsed by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Nagorno-Karabakh will be returned to Azerbaijan.” Erdogan added, “We will support Azerbaijan until the end.”
Turkey is already a protagonist in this conflict. It maintained a blockade of Armenia since 1992. Erdogan scuttled the 2009 protocols to open the border and have diplomatic relations with Armenia, which Turkish diplomats negotiated.
Azerbaijan claims that Armenia instigated the recent conflict. However, Chatham House and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace maintain that Nagorno-Karabakh forces did not instigate attacks on Azeri positions. Armenians consistently proposed monitors and confidence building measures since 1994. Azerbaijan refused, calling for a military solution. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense initially took credit for initiating the offensive.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev relies on a combination of oil revenue, caviar diplomacy, and government crackdowns on fundamental freedoms to maintain power. In the face of the recent oil price crash, Azerbaijan’s economy is in decline and its currency has plummeted. Azerbaijan’s civil society continues to oppose the regime’s incarceration of journalists and human rights advocates. Igniting a war with Armenia, even a short one, aims at distracting the Azeri people from the regime’s abuses and economic insecurity.
It is no secret that Armenia has a strategic military relationship with Russia. It faces an existential threat from Turkey, as well as Azerbaijani aggression. At the same time, Armenia maintains good relations with the United States and the European Union. Armenia actively participates in NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program. A NATO official called Armenia’s contribution to international security “very impressive.” Armenia accepted more than 20,000 refugees from Syria.
Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the most dangerous places in the world today. With Russia and Turkey at odds in Syria, a proxy fight may be escalating. The US has a national security interest in preventing an all-out war, with regional implications.
The US and Russia have worked together more assiduously on Syria. They should also intensify cooperation through the Minsk Group. Specifically, the OSCE should deploy monitors around Nagorno-Karabakh to deter future aggression. The Armenian side is willing.
There is no military solution in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minsk Group should rejoin its original configuration, including Nagorno-Karabakh representatives in negotiations. They should be a part of political talks, which affect the peace and security of their constituents.
The US must not soft pedal Azerbaijan’s aggression. Nor can Washington condone Turkey taking up arms against Armenians. As we observe yet another anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, the US needs a fact based, principled approach to prevent the escalation of deadly violence in Nagorno-Karabakh. | <urn:uuid:cc9e915d-82db-4032-bd5a-d1a5799cd881> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://massispost.com/2016/04/preventing-deadly-violence-in-nagorno-karabakh/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573104.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817183340-20220817213340-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.949475 | 1,408 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Having learners motivated, immersed and enjoying the learning process is not always easy. Increase information retention by helping learners develop new skills in ways which are memorable and easily tracked. Implement a strategic gamification solution to boost learners speed of progress and motivation.
Use gamification to improve outcomes when training for professional skills, safety & compliance, contact center processes, customer support services, soft skills, software adoption, customer education and more. Encourage learners to progress through the content. Split learners into groups. Allow learners to track and visualise their progress. Monitor their performance using the right KPIs. | <urn:uuid:c066976a-af30-4cf8-9947-cf951911b289> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mambo.io/use-cases/learning-gamification | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572043.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814143522-20220814173522-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.928777 | 117 | 1.820313 | 2 |
China may be the centerpiece of the Obama administration's second-term foreign policy agenda, with U.S. strategists trying to avoid entanglement in Syria or Mali in order to stay focused on a vision of reasserting the American presence in Asia.
But getting sucked back into Middle East and North African conflicts isn't the only risk to the administration's so-called “Asia pivot”: The United States still hasn't found the right tone for its dealings with China, say analysts who specialize in Asia-Pacific issues.
Analysts say the United States remains too involved in the region's territorial disputes, especially as it helps nations organize into an anti-China bloc in talks over contested islands in the South China Sea that are of little or no strategic value. Elsewhere, the American administration still has to win over nations that are reluctant to risk the economic punishment of being seen as allied with a U.S. strategy to constrain China's rise.
“If you stand still in Asia, you're going to fall behind the rise of China,” said Robert S. Ross, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Boston College.
FIRST PACIFIC PRESIDENT
Obama, who's sometimes called the “first Pacific president” because of his childhood years in Indonesia and his upbringing in Hawaii, clearly has the political will to make Asia the focus of U.S. policy. More than half of American naval assets are deployed in the region, the administration has signed fresh defense agreements with Asian partners and there's been a marked increase in high-profile U.S. state visits to promote trade and diplomacy.
In November, Obama made a historic trip to the former pariah state of Myanmar, his fourth high-profile visit to Asia in as many years, and his secretaries of state and defense, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Leon Panetta, have been frequent visitors
“There's no comparison,” said Daniel Sneider, associate director for research at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, commenting on the Obama administration's approach versus that of its predecessor. “These guys have been there. They've thought about it more. They have a broad strategy.”
Any hope of a deeper, more complex U.S. focus on Asia, analysts who study the region say, hinges on how the second Obama administration tweaks the long-standing policy toward China that some dub “congagement,” an attempt to blend containment of growing Chinese military power with engagement on trade and diplomatic issues.
U.S. SHOULD STEP BACK
Justin Logan, the director of foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research center in Washington, argued in a report this month, called “China, America and the Pivot to Asia,” that few are fooled that U.S. policy isn't really about containment and that the United States should step back from involving itself in “every diplomatic flare-up” so that it retains greater distance from the squabbling parties.
“If the Chinese were … saying, ‘We're putting 60 percent of our naval assets in the Caribbean and developing military alliances with Cuba and Venezuela, and none of this has anything to do with the United States,' no one would believe that,” Logan said.
He suggests offloading some of the security responsibilities to allied nations such as Japan, South Korea and India, and encouraging talks among those nations without U.S. officials present, let alone in the lead. Logan said it was healthy for there to be some doubts about exactly where U.S. forces would be committed in any regional flare-up.
The administration's current plans call for deploying 2,000 Marines to Australia and four coastal combat ships to Singapore – hardly terrifying prospects for the Chinese, the hawks complain.
But critics of the notion that the pivot lacks military chops point out that there's already a huge U.S. military presence in the Asia Pacific, larger than during the most recent Republican administrations. There are 40,000 American troops in Japan, more than 28,000 in South Korea and 4,500 in Guam, a self-governing U.S. territory.
Obama's picks for secretaries of state and defense, Democrat John Kerry and Republican Chuck Hagel, have records of moderate stances toward China, which analysts say portends a policy of more engagement – not just with the Chinese, but also with other Asian powers such as Japan, India, Vietnam and South Korea.
Kerry, especially, is familiar with Asia from his close involvement with the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
“I expect him to pursue an intense strategy of engagement with China, with hedging,” Sneider said. “I expect Kerry to head down a path of trying to engage the new Chinese leadership as far as they're willing to go.”
- Hail hits some areas of Orange County Monday as 3rd storm packs final punch
- Banc of California CEO resigns following SEC probe
- Man, woman rescued from truck stranded by flood waters in Trabuco Creek
- Flooding, mudslides, power outages follow torrential rainstorm
- These videos show how some people had a little fun with flooded streets | <urn:uuid:f6a2e082-41ad-48b4-8707-192eb3a68450> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ocregister.com/news/asia-206208-ocprint-china-obama.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00512-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958849 | 1,084 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Imagine Puerto Rico without its beloved Coqui?
Rafael Joglar and Patricia Burrowes, biologists at the University of Puerto Rico, report that the Coqui is disappearing from Puerto Rico's rainforests--and that it's due to global climate change. They contend that increases in global temperatures has disturbed the ecological balance necessary for Coquis to survive in Puerto Rico.
Something must to be done noe to ensure the survival of the Coqui of Puerto Rico.
Surprisingly, the Coqui has found a new habitat 5,000 miles away on the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago.
Yes, Coquis in Hawai'i!
According to here, the Coqui is proliferating in Hawai'i--but they are unwelcomed.
Unlike Boricuas who love the nocturnal sounds of the tiny frogs, Hawaiians destest what they hear as unrelenting noises. The coqui is a national symbol in Puerto Rico and few there would purposely harm the Coqui; but Hawaiins are up in arms over the invaders--prompting local governments to eradicate them through fumigation and even lacing their food supply with toxins.
But the Coqui--like the Taíno spirit--can not be so easily killed off. And we should never allow anyone to harm the ecologically friendly amphibians.
Here's an important mission for Coqui lovers everywhere: Organize a campaign to protect the Coqui in Puerto Rico--and stop Hawaiian efforts at extermination. | <urn:uuid:52563dd4-6dbd-4393-a2e7-1a40174d9020> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://americantaino.blogspot.com/2007/04/coqui-endangered-in-puerto-rico-and.html?showComment=1313396541425 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570977.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809124724-20220809154724-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.926702 | 320 | 2.953125 | 3 |
The magnificent and infamous Empire Theatre. Built on the site of the old Gaiety Theatre (1874-1895), itself a conversion of a Choral Hall. The Empire Palace, as it was originally known, opened in 1897 as a follow up to the Moss Empire in Edinburgh (now the Edinburgh Festival Theatre). Designed, like the King's, by Frank Matcham, his opulent interior was swept away in a 1931 enlargement and rebuild which saw the assimilation of adjacent warehouses, hence the rather clumsy looking exterior seen above. The new theatre sat 2,100 and was popular right up to its demise in 1963, in a farewell show that saw Albert Finney literally demolishing the stage with a sledgehammer! | <urn:uuid:a5cab5da-3474-47af-a71f-477102fdc3c8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/glasgow/include.php?filen=empiretheatre.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.956819 | 151 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Expanded mesh takes a special position among all products made of metal. It is a versatile material that can be used in various construction, architectural and renovation works. One of the areas of its use is the installation of area fences. In this case, the CPVS fence mesh is an excellent alternative to the chain-link mesh, demonstrating greater strength, reliability and durability. That is why such fence material is widespread and is used during works of varying complexity.
Features of CPVS mesh for fence
A feature of the expanded metal mesh is its manufacture from a solid metal sheet, in which holes are made in a checkerboard pattern. Further, this sheet is stretched, forming cells of a certain shape, thickness and size. There are various types of mesh on the market, which differ among themselves and in the thickness of the sheet itself - as a rule, this indicator varies from 0.5 to 3 mm. The rigidity of the finished material directly depends on the thickness of the sheet.
Also, CPVS meshes are made of different types of metal used as the basis of the material. Most often they are made of stainless steel or cold rolled steel, galvanized or alloy steel, as well as ferrous metal or galvanized steel with polymer coating.
Before purchasing this grid, you should pay attention to the fact that all cells in it are the same size. In this case, you can be sure that you have chosen a really high quality product.
Advantage of CPVS mesh for fences and fences
The CPVS mesh for fences has a number of advantages, which include its following distinctive features:
- the optimal ratio of strength and weight, which is achieved due to the absence of welds that weigh down the structure;
- reliable and durable product;
- profitability of the grid, which allows it to be used on large areas;
- facilitation of the installation process due to the structure of increased thickness;
- the fence from the CPVS mesh allows sunlight and air to pass well into the fenced area;
- availability of various types of fencing for every taste;
- neat and modern appearance of such a fence.
Why is it worth buying a CPVS mesh for a fence from "Prodmash-Dnepr"
To buy such a product as a CPVS net for a fence and a net for the bottom of the hives, you can contact an enterprise with 90 years of experience in the Prodmash-Dnepr market for help. Products from the domestic plant, which for many years have been holding the leading positions in the production of perforated metal, are exceptionally high quality and have excellent performance characteristics. In addition, the company enables its potential clients to make purchases of materials via the Internet without leaving home and saving not only money, but also time.
On the official website of the company there is a convenient online store, which presents various metal products to the attention of buyers. The catalog also contains a CPVS mesh for high quality fences and fences at an affordable price. You can purchase the selected materials with delivery throughout Ukraine, as well as choose any of the several proposed payment options that will be most convenient for you.
By purchasing products from the manufacturer "Prodmash-Dnepr", you can be sure of their high quality, excellent performance characteristics, strength and durability.
Цена на Expanded mesh for fence
|Expanded mesh for fence||Цена| | <urn:uuid:65885b1d-e369-4551-a1db-14ea1f7eadb7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://prodmashdnepr.com/en/setka-cpvs-dlja-zabora | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.95748 | 712 | 1.765625 | 2 |
In hopes of reducing Canada's growing labour shortage, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's jobs-focused 2013 budget is promising to overhaul the manner in which more than $500 million in federal transfers to the provinces for training is spent. Of that, $300 million per year will be spent on individual job grants for Canadians.
A welder works on a piece of pipe at a Toronto construction. CP/J.P. Moczulski
In hopes of reducing Canada’s growing labour shortage, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s jobs-focused budget will overhaul how $500 million in federal transfers to the provinces for training is spent by directing $300 million of that money toward individual job grants.
Flaherty’s 2013-14 fiscal blueprint also will invest $70 million over three years to support the creation of | <urn:uuid:bc098102-3e61-45d2-8269-676b0804118b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://ipolitics.ca/2013/03/21/jobs-budget-promises-more-training-and-accountability/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00155-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930043 | 168 | 1.703125 | 2 |
A new and very interesting report is coming again out of Italy. The Repubblica Roma web site is reporting about a project carried out by teachers and students at the Leopoldo Pirelli industrial high school in Rome in which students have built cold fusion cells which according to one of the instructors involved have achieved excess heat levels of 400 per cent. A slide show of the devices can be seen here.
Following this report, one of the instructors involved with the project, Ugo Abundo, emailed Daniele Passerini of the 22passi blog and provided more information. Abundo said that the cells used ‘free nanopowders’ in the cathode which they have patented. Abundo says that in a few days video and technical details will be made available (presumably online). It also appears that Passerini will be working to help publicize the project. | <urn:uuid:7880313a-c55c-49f6-8be7-834e6f01d2d3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.e-catworld.com/2012/04/23/cold-fusion-in-italian-high-school/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00044-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958132 | 183 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Step-by-Step: Add Table
What you will learn:
| to insert a table in an existing
to use Table AutoFormat
to change formatting
Go to page 3 of the report. Place cursor on blank line after
The table below summarizes...
- Draw a
table here that is about 3.5" wide and 2" high.
- Draw lines to create 6 rows and 4 columns.
- Enter text as shown in the illustration at right.
- Resize, if necessary, to make the column
headings fit on one line. Table width should be about 3.5" and the total height
should be about 2". Look at your rulers.
With the cursor in the table, click on
the Table AutoFormat button.
- Apply format Simple 1 with all boxes checked. What changed?
Select row 1 and format with:
Size = 14 pts.
Color = White
- Select the last row and make it Bold.
- Click in
the second cell
on the top row (# of people) and click the
button Align Left.
Justifying such a short phrase did not look
If you format and
then apply an AutoFormat scheme, you will replace your manual formatting
with that of the AutoFormat scheme.
- In the bottom row,
click in the cell to the right of Total and click on
the AutoSum button. This inserts a field which totals the lines above.
- Repeat for the last cell on the last row.
- Right click on each field and choose to
see the formula being used.
Notice that the row height increases to show the formula.
click again on each field and Toggle field codes to make
both fields show the sum again instead of the formula. The row returns
to the previous height.
Numbers usually look better and are easier to read
when either aligned to the right or justified on
a decimal tab. The table will look better if centered on the
Drag from the second cell in the second row,
which has the number 50 in it, down to the bottom right cell.
This selects all the cells with numbers.
- Click on
the Align Right button on the Formatting bar.
- Select the entire
| | or click on the
Move Table handle.
- Click on
button. The whole table is centered horizontally on the page.
If, instead, the cell contents are centered, then you did
not have the whole table selected. Undo and try again.
as report-worldtravel5.doc on your Class disk.
How to handle a full disk
Your table is now complete! Inserting the table made
text wrap over to a new page. | <urn:uuid:015bd49b-2a02-4390-90f5-10c92d6105dd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.jegsworks.com/lessons/words/report/step-addtable.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.719292 | 665 | 2.78125 | 3 |
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Consult Table 1 for the optimum seeding date. Peppers require 7 to 8 weeks and tomatoes 5 or 6 to grow to transplanting size. Squash and cucumbers require only 2 to 3 weeks to grow to an ideal size. Members of the cabbage and lettuce families need 4 to 5 weeks. Flowering annuals also vary in the time required to produce a size suitable for transplanting. Much depends on local growing conditions. It is important to keep a garden notebook and record seeding dates, length of time to germinate and time required to reach transplant size. Seedlings are ready to transplant when they have the first set of true leaves.
A mild deficiency of P can reduce height without causing nutrient deficiency symptoms or delay in plant development. The method has been used most successfully with petunias and tomatoes, but most bedding plants are probably responsive. Fertilizers to try are those with a P analysis is 0-2%. Very little P is required to satisfy the requirements of common bedding plants. In fact, the starter charge in many soilless media seems to be enough to carry marigolds and seed geraniums to flowering with little or no effect on height.Plants themselves can have an influence on growth medium pH. Many growers in Massachusetts have reported sudden drops in pH in soilless media growing geraniums. Oddly the low pH conditions which can develop as the geranium grows are the opposite of what geranium needs! In a North Carolina research project pansy, begonia, celosia, dianthus, and tomato caused the pH to drop while marigold, annual vinca, and zinnia caused the pH to increase. Sometimes these changes are large enough to cause a nutrient deficiency or toxicity.
Your indoor garden is never more vulnerable than in the first few weeks after you plant. Whether you start with seeds or clones, the tender seedlings can suffer from overheating, underfeeding, and lethal fungi. Check on your little plants every day and when you see any of these symptoms, take quick action to fix the problem and keep your crop growing strong. Looking for more gardening information? Check out our Organic Gardening 101 for more tips.A common fertilizer strategy is to begin fertilizing vigorous types shortly after transplanting. Small, slow growing types should receive lower rates (100-150 ppm N) or less frequent applications until they are well-established. To increase shelf-life it may be beneficial to cut the rate (ppm) in half at visible bud or about 2-3 weeks before sale. To avoid creating a nutrient deficiency, do a soil test before making a rate reduction. (Source: ag.umass.edu) | <urn:uuid:7acb9c17-0288-4f69-a233-ac0c6744ed38> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.futurestarr.com/public/blog/social-studies/shadblow-treeor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.918378 | 579 | 2.515625 | 3 |
“This is free social network and meeting community open to industry, government and academia. The goal of the organizers is to create a vendor neutral environment for open discussion and provide the membership with a valuable resource of information on industry trends and ongoing research.”
All are welcome. If you want to attend, please join the Central MD Semantic Web Meetup group and RSVP. The meeting will start with a pizza social from 6:00pm to 6:45pm and then continue with a series of short presentations of current Semantic Web research being done in our lab.
- Tim Finin: introduction and overview
- Laura Zavela: Mobile, collaborative, context-aware systems
The Semantic Web provides the technology and knowledge constructs to create a rich notion of context that goes beyond current networking applications focusing mostly on location. The context model includes location and surroundings, the presence of people and devices, inferred activities and the roles people fill in them.
- Varish Mulwad: Automatically generating linked data from tables
Evidence for a table’s meaning can be found in its metadata but currently requires human interpretation. We describe techniques grounded in graphical models and probabilistic reasoning to infer meaning associated with a table. Using background knowledge from the Linked Open Data cloud, we automatically infer the semantics of column headers, table cell values (e.g., strings and numbers) and relations between columns and represent the inferred meaning as graph of RDF triples.
- Lushan Han: A Question Answering System for DBpedia
Users need better ways to explore linked open data collections and obtain information from it. Using SPARQL requires not only mastering its syntax and semantics but also understanding the RDF data model, the ontology used by the DBpedia, and URIs for entities of interest. Natural language question answering systems solve the problem, but these are still subjects of research. We are developing a compromise approach in which non-experts specify a graphical “skeleton” for a query and annotate it with freely chosen words, phrases and entity names. The combination reduces ambiguity and allows us to reliably produce an interpretation that can be translated into SPARQL.
- Karuna Joshi: Smarter semantic cloud services
We propose a semantically rich, policy-based framework to automate the lifecycle of cloud services. We have divided the IT service lifecycle into the five phases of requirements, discovery, negotiation, composition, and consumption. We detail each phase and describe the high level ontologies that we have developed to describe them. Our research complements previous work on ontologies for service descriptions in that it goes beyond simple matchmaking and is focused on supporting negotiation for the particulars of IT services.
See this map for the building location and information on visitor parking. The recommended lot is just across from the entrance to UMBC’s campus from I-95. To access it, turn right and then turn left at the first stop sign onto Administration Drive. You can park on the lower level after 3:30pm by putting two quarters into the box at the gate. The upper level has parking meters that take quarters ($1/hr) and a change machine is located near the entrance. | <urn:uuid:995921fa-052b-4047-87fe-d05f306984f8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ebiquity.umbc.edu/blogger/2011/11/11/ebiquity-semantic-web-meetup-6-8pm-tue-1114/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00017-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90668 | 657 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Western science owes much to Islam's golden age — a debt that is often forgotten. To help redress the balance, Fuat Sezgin has reconstructed a host of scientific treasures using ancient Arabic texts. Alison Abbott reports.
Few passers-by in this leafy German suburb realize that the wonders of medieval Islam are just a few steps away. But those who enter Frankfurt's Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science find themselves among the wonders of the historic Middle East. Fuat Sezgin, professor emeritus of the history of science at the University of Frankfurt, guides his guests through a labyrinth of tiled and mirrored rooms to the white-walled chambers of an exquisite yet little-known museum.
And there it is: an Aladdin's cave of science treasures. Each one has been recreated, thanks to Sezgin's labours, from descriptions in ancient texts of the Arab world. Some 800 newly built instruments — from ornate astrolabes to complex water clocks — are on display within the museum's 13 rooms.
Sezgin's long academic life has been quietly dedicated to retrieving Arabic science history. Now, with his eightieth birthday just behind him, he is keen to exhibit his life's work to the public. He says he wants to both remind the West of its debt to the ancient Islamic world, and raise Arabs' pride in their past achievements.
Western science historians know very well that the Arab world was the guardian of the ancient Greeks' scientific knowledge during the Middle Ages, before the European Renaissance rediscovered and extended it. But they also acknowledge that there has been too little study of how the Arabs developed and used that knowledge, and how it fed Europe's cultural revival. “It has been a bit of a blind spot,” says Peter Damerow of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, “mostly because it demands such language skills.”
In his youth, Sezgin trained under the sternest of taskmasters in his home town of Istanbul — the orientalist Hellmut Ritter, who insisted that his students learn a new language every year. Thanks to such discipline, Sezgin is one of a small number of experts who has few linguistic problems with manuscripts written in Babylonian, Greek, Latin or Persian — in addition to Arabic.
By the sixth century AD the scientific traditions of Ancient Greece had largely petered out, but the Greeks left behind important scientific and philosophical texts. For two centuries between 750 and 950, the caliphs of the Abbasid dynasty, centred in Baghdad, supported a mammoth translation effort. Greek works translated into Arabic include Euclid's geometry, Ptolemy's astronomy, the medical works of Galen and Hippocrates and the pharmacopoeia of Dioscorides.
The caliphs understood the importance of scholarship to their expanding empire. As the reach of the Islamic world spread, stretching from northern India to Spain, they absorbed as much knowledge as they could from each conquest. In Persia and India, unlike Greece, the scientific traditions were still very much alive. And so it was to Persian and Indian scholars that the translators turned when they needed to make scientific, as well as linguistic, sense of the old Greek manuscripts.
Such expertise was vital because the caliphs wanted their acquired knowledge to deliver practical as well as intellectual benefits to their empire: from monumental architecture and city planning to medical care and transport. Luckily for Sezgin, this means that many texts written by Arab scholars include detailed engineering information on how to build mechanical devices, scientific instruments or architectural components.
In the fifteenth century, the Islamic world shrank under military pressure from western Europe — the last Muslim forces were forced out of Spain in 1492, the year Christopher Columbus reached America. By this time, the European Renaissance was under way and Islamic knowledge was sucked up by powers on the rise, such as Spain and France. Many Arabic works had by then been translated into Latin, but the sources themselves were neglected. Although European libraries and museums collected Arabic scripts, they sat in obscurity as they were largely indecipherable. Over time these trophies of ancient Islam were taken even farther afield to Russia and the United States.
The European Renaissance's debt to Islamic science has never been entirely forgotten, but there has been little systematic analysis. Sezgin is one of the few contemporary champions of the field. He spent more than three decades travelling the world seeking out ‘lost’ manuscripts, copying them and interpreting them. He tracked down some in countries formerly under Islamic rule, particularly India — which Sezgin estimates to have 50,000 such manuscripts.
His odyssey led to a 12-volume academic work, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums (History of Arabic Literature). Then, about 30 years ago, he decided to begin reconstructing the instruments he had read about. “Sadly, few had survived the centuries,” says Sezgin.
His first reconstruction was a model of a horse-drawn ratcheted wheel to raise water from wells, built by the workshop at the University of Frankfurt, where Sezgin was appointed professor in 1966. It had been described in a book dating to about AD 1200 by Ibn al-Razzāz al-JazarĪ. As his enthusiasm deepened, Sezgin found himself casting far afield for craftsmen who could help reconstruct more complex instruments. The drawings of figures and pictures on a 1044 celestial globe were done in Bremen, but the fine engraving, with the accompanying script, was done in Cairo.
Some of the items in his collection are fairly simple — the diverse surgical scalpels and cauterizing instruments, for example. But others, including astronomical instruments, are extraordinarily complex. Some of the most dramatic are enormous, intricate clocks that use water to measure time. Sezgin is particularly proud of an elaborate water clock described by al-JazarĪ in about 1200 (see ‘Jumbo timepiece’).
Sezgin is most animated when talking about ancient Arabic geographical and nautical scholars. But there are no true disciplinary borders to his pride. He beams just as broadly on recalling his discovery of manuscripts describing astronomical instruments used in tenth-century Islamic observatories — some six centuries before they were used in Europe.
And he gaily reassures visitors recoiling from his gruesome surgical instruments that “the old Arab world had general anaesthetics — morphine-based”. He describes his collections of sophisticated Islamic weaponry, and the equally sophisticated distilleries for rose water, with ebullient pleasure. The museum also includes a major collection of original Islamic musical instruments, assembled by Sezgin's colleague Eckhard Neubauer.
It was not much harder to reconstruct without pictures, but it always required a lot of reading of the text to be sure we had understood exactly.
Descriptions of the al-JazarĪ water clock were accompanied by detailed drawings. But other equipment was harder to reconstruct. For example, the advanced compass that a Portuguese sailor came across while sailing the Indian Ocean was reconstructed from a description by a sixteenth-century historian. “It was not necessarily much harder to reconstruct without pictures, but it always required a lot of reading of the text to be sure we had understood exactly,” says Sezgin.
Whatever the challenge, Sezgin rose to it, sparing no time, trouble or money. He has always used materials that would have been used at the time — heavy woods, brass, even gold when called for. When he retired, Sezgin created a foundation to raise money for the museum. But he has thrown his own money in too, saying that he lives as modestly as he can: “I don't have many personal needs.” His total investment in the collection is well above €2 million (US$2.7 million), he estimates, not including travel costs. How much might it be worth on the open market? “Maybe €50 million,” says Sezgin, with a delighted laugh at the absurd thought that he could let it go at any price.
Despite its dimensions and diversity, the collection remains, even among scholars, almost unknown. Sezgin has chosen to be a loner in his venture. But this year, for the first time, he allowed a few small exhibitions to take place. Some of the instruments were shown at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul and at the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt. And there is now a virtual museum in German on the Internet.
Scholars who haven't seen the museum are intrigued. “Having physical instruments can be helpful in getting people to understand what they cannot read because of the language issue,” says John Heilbron, a science historian at Worcester College, Oxford, UK. And even for those who can read the texts, says Damerow, “it's hard to know just how easy an instrument might have been to use, and how precise it may be in its measurements — it really helps to have it in your hand”.
These scholars, and the wider public, may not have to wait much longer to see Sezgin's treasures up close. The first major exhibition of the collection is planned for spring 2006 at the Arab World Institute in Paris. Sezgin is finally opening his museum doors to the future, as well as to the past.
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Abbott, A. Rebuilding the past. Nature 432, 794–795 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/432794a | <urn:uuid:3343c42c-1f66-4a7c-9ccb-f01a322f45a7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nature.com/articles/432794a?error=cookies_not_supported&code=54ff7ed0-57ae-4217-aa11-3e04b8b8adbd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571502.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811194507-20220811224507-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.967602 | 2,032 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Kula in the Sky
Date: August 28, 2022 - 3:00pm
Join Urbana Arts and Culture and The Urbana Free Library the opening reception for Kula in the Sky, an exhibition of whimsical illustration work by author and artist, Vivian Krishnan from her work Kula in the Sky.
Vivian Krishnan is a multimedia artist with works that cross the vast stage of storytelling, from designing costumes for theatrical characters to writing and illustrating diverse zines and children’s books. Vivian’s focus is creating accessible work and centering stories of minoritized people. She approaches subjects regarding mixed-race identity, colonization of the Global South, sustainability in art and the environment, all while reclaiming ancestral craft through costumes, textiles, and printmaking.
Earlier in the afternoon, join the Library and Vivian Krishnan from 2pm-3pm for a special reading:
Hear the story of two loving sisters from Fiji and the friendly bat who helped them. You'll also get a chance to learn more about bats in Central Illinois!
All ages welcome to celebrate Kula in the Sky, a beautiful new picture book that celebrates the cultural roots of Fiji, the bond of sisterhood, and the beauty of the South Pacific. Kula and Yasi are young sisters living in pre-colonial Fiji. Their close bond is challenged when Yasi enters womanhood and Kula feels left alone. But an unexpected friend - a clever bat! - takes Kula on an emotional journey that leads her to a new understanding.
After the reading, we will be joined by members of the Illinois Bat Conservation Program to learn why it is important to protect bats all over the world. This discussion will include information about how we can support our local bats right here in the CU area, followed by a family friendly activity!
The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at [email protected] or via phone at 217-367-4057. | <urn:uuid:99d25c1c-5363-4582-a33a-6d8d4bcab81e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.urbanaillinois.us/node/10226 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00078.warc.gz | en | 0.92376 | 445 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Part of the reason I chose the Russian Altai mountains for a mountaineering expedition in 2009 was that I had never heard of the Altai Mountains before and, it seemed, nor had anyone else I spoke to.
Planning for the Unknown: Climbing in the Altai by George Cave
In the summer of 2011, I graduated from the University of Bristol. I was a fairly average climber with experience of numerous European destinations all no further abroad than an easyJet flight from Gatwick would take me.
In the summer of 2012 I returned from an expedition to the Altai mountains. This rarely visited alpine range lies on the southern Russian border next to Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan. Along with three friends I climbed five routes on five mountains, all British first ascents and two probable world firsts. We spoke no Russian, knew of no previous Western climbers visiting the valley and had planned and executed the trip on a modest budget within two weeks of holiday leave from work..
My initial assumption a year previously was that expeditions to seek out unclimbed mountains in remote locations were the preserve of either the climbing elite or well-connected individuals. In November 2011 I attended the Royal Geographical Society’s (RGS) Explore Conference, a weekend in London marketed as two days of expert opinion and networking opportunities for aspiring worldwide explorers. With such a wide scope there was only limited content of interest for a mountaineer but it was impossible not to be caught up in the whirlwind of feverish excitement as seasoned explorers of today handed out nuggets of advice to the budding explorers of tomorrow.
I had a simple game plan and listed the requirements in my head beforehand. I wanted to go climbing somewhere beyond Europe. I wanted it to be exploratory. I wanted to do it all in the space of two weeks, ideally during the following summer. A list of possible destinations floated around in the back of my mind: the Caucuses, Greenland, Urals, Morocco, Svalbard. I roamed the sessions on offer, seeking out advice from anyone who would listen.
Late on the Saturday afternoon I came across a man called Tim Moss who suggested he had a better idea than mine. Tim drew a map of directions to a range called the Altai Mountains. I had no idea where this was but rang a friend immediately after I left that evening, launching into this gambit:
“Do you want to come climbing in Russia? There’s this range called the Altai, it’s near the border in the South somewhere. I think it’s a bit like the Alps”…
“Sure, sounds good”, she replied, with typical concision.
By December, our expedition’s numbers had swelled to three. Sitting in the pub at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel in Scotland, we waited to be kicked out to spend a night bivvying in a car-park before an early morning start for climbing in Beinn an Dothaidh. The beer was expensive but the Wi-Fi was free and we made a single page website for our trip because it seemed like a good thing to do. Owning a domain name somehow gave the expedition an air of importance and authority it perhaps didn’t yet deserve.
Having no actual content to put on the webpage, I simply listed our names next to a photo of Belukha mountain, the highest in the region at 4506m. The rest of the night was spent filling out an application to the Mark Clifford Award. The award’s objective was stated as “to encourage & support young mountaineers go to exciting new places” and over the next few days we managed to pull together a plan sufficiently coherent to warrant a grant application. The deadline was the 31st December and we submitted our application just hours before the New Year began. Our intentions now publicly declared, there was no turning back.
In mid-March, we were sat on a train back to the RGS in London. We had been summoned by the Mount Everest Foundation (MEF) to explain ourselves at a meeting of their committee. Possibly the most important charity in the UK awarding grants to mountaineering expeditions, we were nervous and excited in equal measure. In our bags were piles of papers, the physical evidence of several months’ accumulation of research: flight options, a waste management plan, a map of Russia, an e-mail from a potential fixer. At stake was a potential grant of several hundred pounds. We secretly agreed that if they simply gave the trip their approval we would be happy enough.
Myself and my climbing partner Clay sat nervously outside the meeting room until, a short haired, soft mannered chap came out and called our names. Clay turned to me and mouthed excitedly: “It’s Nick Colton!” I shrugged back blankly, the famous routes he lent his name to from the Alps to Alaska not registering in my mind.
Inside was a long table of seriously gnarly, but also kind looking, old men. Speaking from behind my laptop we opened with several minutes of debate with the panel about the true location of the highest mountain in the region. They disagreed with our description of it lying along the Russian border, after all Mick Fowler had told them otherwise. Eventually a compromise was reached with their suggestion that there “might be two Belukhas” This wasn’t the opening I had been expecting*. Kenton Cool sat to our right and pointed to our photographs one by one: “is that the mountain you’re climbing?” he would ask, “is that where you’re going?”
(*For an explanation of the confusion, please see: http://www.thealtai.co.uk/blog/it-must-be-the-other-belukha)
We explained that we didn’t have any photographs of our objectives because it was an exploratory expedition, hoping they wouldn’t see through the thinly veiled disguise. We had little real idea of where we were heading and thirty minutes later the questioning was over.
On the way back to the station we detoured past the Russian embassy to enquire about border permits for the region. Our lack of experience in how to handle the affairs of a foreign expedition showed as we stood ringing the doorbell of the Russian ambassador’s private residence by accident, only to be sent packing by his doorman. We concluded on our return train ride that the day had gone as well as we could have hoped for.
By mid-April, we had made enough progress to warrant a formal meeting. We now numbered four and we agreed that a short session at one of our houses in Bristol would be sufficient to iron out the last few details. My agenda for the session read: flights, visas, timetable, kit, food/drink, training, logistics, grants, website, location. Ten hours passed and by early evening plans for an afternoon of climbing had been abandoned but the expedition was three months away and we had made significant progress.
Grants from the MEF and British Mountaineering Council were awarded to us, and we were delighted. The total came to just over £1200, a fantastic sum to fund our summer holiday, but more than anything the confidence boost they provided by supporting us made us for the first time feel that this expedition might actually succeed.
In July, we held a skills training session in the Lake District. Our dubiously rusty crevasse rescue techniques were quickly polished at the foot of Gillercombe Buttress. Buoyed by the confidence from our grant successes we had embarked on a small self-promotion drive, of which some of the efforts had paid off. At the Keswick Mountain Festival in May we had pitched for and won a package of gear and financial support from Berghaus. Buffwear sent us a large box of their finest head garments and Alpkit had agreed we could borrow one of their tents for basecamp. We were incredibly grateful for the generosity and faith these organisations had shown in us. Thirty metres of cord and a handful of pegs were ordered from Needle Sports and we sat in the pub debating the merits and dangers of climbing alpine style on a half rope.
Eleri transferred $2000 electronically to a man called Igor who told us he lived in Omsk but could provide us with transfers from the airport terminal to our chosen basecamp site. There is something inherently unsettling in wiring thousands of dollars of cash to a man who writes in broken English and describes himself as the “fat, bearded one”, but we had little choice and he came well recommended.
On 4th August it was my birthday and I threw a massive party at my house with the rational that if we never came back, at least people could remember me for having once shown them a good time. A week later we flew to Moscow from Heathrow airport. The last nine months of planning had become a reality.
Read more about their trip at www.thealtai.co.uk and George at www.67hours.co.uk. You can also see him giving a TEDx talk here and read about his next expedition to Kyrgyzstan at www.djangart2013.co.uk.
If you fancy an expedition to the Altay then drop me a line or add a comment below. | <urn:uuid:73390d02-e3b5-4653-882b-65b3693e1cad> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://thenextchallenge.org/climbing-altai/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00079-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979461 | 1,942 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Basic encryption and data transmission
Posted on 2004-04-08
I have to write an application in VB6 to implement some basic encryption algorithm and subsequently transmit this ciphertext across a LAN to another terminal where it will be decrypted. This algorithm will be devised by me and doesnt have to be hacker proof just make the data pretty unreadable. Since the data is not neccesarily ASCII (ie could be images etc.) I was thinking that the best course of action would be to do some data manipulation (such as simple XOR) on the binary data of the file.
My overall question is would the MSCOMM control be the best thing to use the get the PC's to communicate? I will simply be setting up 2 PC's in a lab, connected by a crossover cable in order to demonstrate my program.
How do I go about opening a file in binary format, to do the encryption on it?
Im a bit of a newbie so any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time. Steve | <urn:uuid:d2a7e139-7b95-4811-a9eb-cfa2f63f9395> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/20947736/Basic-encryption-and-data-transmission.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00548-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937645 | 214 | 2.734375 | 3 |
From the president
Recently I purchased a copy of the Indiana Amish Directory 2017: Elkhart, LaGrange, and Noble Counties, a 1090-page volume edited by Joas and Freda Miller from Middlebury, Ind. In the forward, the editors say: “Our goal for the Directory is to make it a reliable source of birth, marriage, and death date information. Also we try to provide accurate addresses, church district maps, and locations of Amish homes, schools, and cemeteries.” And they have succeeded in a grand way: the book is a combination of genealogy, atlas, church history and labor statistics – a comprehensive overview of the Old Order Amish community in northern Indiana.
The book is organized by church districts, and each district includes a map showing the county roads, with numbers keyed to a list of names on the opposite page that indicates where families live. The map also shows the location of the Amish schools and a few stores relevant to the Amish community.
I wanted a copy of the directory because I’d heard a rumor that for the first time the maps of church districts would also include the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. To me that seemed significant: if the directory included the Pumpkinvine, it would indicate that the Pumpkinvine had become an important for the Amish community. And a map showing where the Pumpkinvine was in relation to homes would help anyone who wanted to purchase property know where that property was in relationship to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
How times have changed. I can’t help recalling the beginnings of our efforts to convert the abandoned Penn Central railroad into a multi-use trail in the early 1990s when people told me that the Amish community would be solidly against a bike trail due to concerns about privacy and vandalism. In other words, they wouldn’t want a bike trail anywhere near where they lived.
This map sends the opposite message: it helps people know where to buy property, if they want to be close to the trail. | <urn:uuid:a148d5ca-b5f9-4fd5-980e-195de72f5372> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://pumpkinvine.org/2017/11/01/amish-directory/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570765.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808031623-20220808061623-00272.warc.gz | en | 0.96422 | 420 | 1.5625 | 2 |
If you have, or are planning on having, an organization that you wish to keep secret from the rest of the people around you, then please read.
1When in the beginning stages of forming a secret organization, only plan it with people you know and trust. Including someone that you've just met is not a good idea. No matter how long you've talked to someone, if you've just met, you do NOT know them.
2Choose a name. Your organization's name should not depict your ultimate goal, as it is a secret organization, and having someone figure out what you're all about based on your name would be a bad scenario. Try to be original as well, choosing a name that is a copy or, or similar to, the name of a band, movie, or non-secret organization shows a lack of creativity. Anagrams and Initials are overused, so try to steer clear of those.
3Have a code of conduct and a list of rules. Make sure it's clear that all members, including the leader, are to follow this code of conduct, and list of rules. Have a policy in place for breaking these rules, such as the three strike rule, each strike deserving of a different penalty.
4An initiation process is a good idea, but do not make it humiliating, painful, or anything of the sort. You want your members to be happy and healthy, not afraid and in pain.
5Making any and all members swear to keep this a secret. This means no telling, no hints, no 20 questions-style interrogations. Have a harsh punishment in case they break this rule, such as demoting them within the group, evicting them from the group, or worse, depending on your organization and it's level of importance to you and your members.
6Do not give someone special treatment just because you like them better than the others. If they break a rule, assign them the same punishment you would had it been anyone else. This includes yourself. If you break a rule, give yourself the same punishment you would the other members. Just because you lead this organization, does not make you exempt from messing up.
7Follow your own rules. Don't hint that you have a secret to anyone. If you want to try to recruit someone, it should be done in a manner that has already been pre-discussed by the group.
8Do not recruit, or try to recruit, anyone who you know will disrupt the group. Talk it over with your members before trying to recruit anyone to make sure no one else has a problem with it. If someone does have a problem, request them to give you reasoning as per their answer.
9Keep your organization quiet. There should be no advertisements for it whatsoever. If you and another member(s) are determined to talk about it outside of your designated meeting area, do it in a setting where you would be unheard by others.
10Avoid suspicion. If someone has noticed you and your fellow members together more than you would normally be, take a break. Spend time away from each other and with other people. On this note, however, do not just suddenly stop spending time with each other, do it in increments.
11Don't admit anything. Someone may call you on having a secret organization either based on a wild guess, or true suspicion. Never say, "Yes, I'm in one." or anything of the sort, not even 'Maybe.' This will make them more suspicious. Try not to get defensive, as when someone is defensive, it is a dead giveaway that they are either lying, or truly care too much about the subject at hand. Alternately, you may admit in a sarcastic manner; "Duh, of course I'm in a secret organization - isn't everyone?". This often works well towards putting off further questions and is, on occasion, hilarious.
12If a member decides to leave your organization, make sure they won't tell anyone about it. Try to make their leaving a process that harbors little to no hard feelings, as when people are hurt, they tend to do things they later regret, such as becoming a loudmouth.
13Do not publish anything about your organization on the internet. It can, and most likely will, be found. Keeping records of what happens during meetings is a great idea, but it should be done in hand written, or typewriter, form only. Keeping your records stored on a computer that is unacceptable to the internet is fine, as long as you prohibit flash drives, floppy disks, and any other item that can store information from a computer on it, within your meeting area.
What should be my organization's name, and why should I make one?wikiHow ContributorMost secret organizations are gatherings of people with common knowledge, purpose, or cause, so pick a name relating to that knowledge, purpose or cause. Making a name unifies you and the others in the organization.
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- It might be good to have a cover story about why you and your members are always together, for example, a book club. Make your cover story unappealing so nobody will want to join. If they do want to, you'll may want to fake a meeting and make it ultra-boring. If, after all that, they still want to join the 'book club', you could say that you will have to talk it over with the other members in private, and then decide together whether or not you want to recruit this person.
- Be serious about your organization. If it is all just a joke to you, you have no goal, or something else that determines your lack of seriousness for it, then why are you in it to begin with?
- Recruiting people who have a reputation for being a loudmouth isn't the smartest idea.
- Despite all this, you might still get caught. Have a good excuse planned, perhaps that you are planning a surprise party for someone, and keep some supplies around, but hidden, just in case.
- Planning and forming a secret organization should be done with people who are not prone to drama. As such, you may want to set an age limit, and make sure your members, or potential members, are mature and trustworthy. A little kid who tells everything to their parents/best friend/older sibling may not be the best recruit.
- When coming up with a punishment for someone who has failed to keep your organization secret, do not do anything that could physically or mentally harm them in any way. That is called, "Abuse", and it is illegal, and could result in your imprisonment.
Things You'll Need
- A group of people who you trust wholeheartedly.
- A place that is safe from others who may overhear your discussions.
- A goal that you hope to accomplish by forming this organization.
- A good sense of leadership, or a friend with a good sense of leadership. | <urn:uuid:bdf99689-9e32-4bf4-bfa0-f57220a30352> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-a-Secret-Organization-Secret | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00125-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96948 | 1,457 | 2.09375 | 2 |
This book focuses on bistatic SAR signal processing, mainly on imaging aspects. Topics include bistatic SAR resolution analysis, echo generation methods, imaging algorithms, imaging parameters estimation, and motion compensation methods. Qiu, Ding, and Hu begin with the history, present status and the trends of SAR development. The concept of bistatic SAR is then introduced and the key problems of bistatic SAR signal processing are described. To aid readers in understanding bistatic SAR more easily and establish a foundation of the concepts, the authors describe the theory of SAR imaging and briefly cover the traditional imaging algorithms of SAR. To give readers deeper impression of the subject the next chapters categorize bistatic SAR configurations and analyze resolution abilities for each configuration. This is followed by echo simulating methods of bistatic SAR. These are used to generate simulated scene echoes of bistaic SAR, which can provide data for the research of bistatic SAR imaging algorithms. Next, the authors describe several imaging algorithms for translational invariant bistatic SAR in detail comapre these algorithms, as well as introduce imaging algorithms for translational variant bistatic SAR configurations. This is followed by a study of the special working modes of bistatic SAR (forward- looking mode and three-dimensional resolving mode), analyzes the resolution of these bistatic SAR modes, and studies their imaging algorithms. Lastly, the authors focus on data processing technologies which are closely related to imaging, such as Doppler parameter estimation and the motion compensation method of bistatic SAR. | <urn:uuid:1214ec34-c618-4244-b86e-e583cc5deab7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.tenlong.com.tw/products/9781118188088 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.88568 | 325 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Disability and Teaching
|Series title:||Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling Ser.|
|Publication Date:||Jul 2013|
| Publisher:||Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Incorporated|
| Book Format:||Paperback|
|List Price:||USD $42.95|
| Book Description: |
Disability and Teaching highlights issues of disability in K-12 schooling faced by teachers, who are increasingly accountable for the achievement of all students regardless of the labels assigned to them. It is designed to engage prospective and practicing teachers in examining their personal theories and beliefs about disability and education.
Part I offers four case studies dealing with issues such as inclusion, over-representation in special... | <urn:uuid:109909a5-1019-4b97-8e44-4206b50059cf> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.bookwire.com/book/Disability-and-Teaching-9780805849141-Gabel-Susan-13822690 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718296.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00539-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.877568 | 154 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Raleigh, capital city of North Carolina. It has a population of 207,951 (1990). The city is located in the central part of the state near the Neuse River. Raleigh is a commercial and distribution hub for an extensive agricultural area. Federal, state, and local government activities, financial and educational institutions, and construction are also important to Raleigh's economy. The city, along with Durham and Chapel Hill, is part of the state's Research Triangle, an area containing extensive facilities used for scientific and educational research and development.
The Tuscarora people lived in what is now the Raleigh region before Europeans arrived. The present site was selected in 1788 as the location of a permanent capital. The first state capitol, completed in 1794, was destroyed by fire in 1831 and was replaced by the present Greek Revival structure in 1840. In 1865, during the American Civil War, the city was occupied by Union troops. In the 1970s and 1980s, a major urban-renewal program improved housing conditions and transportation networks in the downtown area. | <urn:uuid:9dab8dde-ef1c-4464-8a4e-c9a5c0c6f057> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://clemsonwiki.com/wiki/Raleigh | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.971271 | 222 | 2.609375 | 3 |
|Publication number||US6735584 B1|
|Application number||US 09/316,436|
|Publication date||11 May 2004|
|Filing date||21 May 1999|
|Priority date||29 May 1998|
|Publication number||09316436, 316436, US 6735584 B1, US 6735584B1, US-B1-6735584, US6735584 B1, US6735584B1|
|Original Assignee||Bridgewell, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (10), Referenced by (10), Classifications (9), Legal Events (4)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to databases and pertains particularly to accessing data from a database using user-defined attributes which are familiar to a user and easily memorized.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The collection and use of information is important both for individuals and corporate entities. This is particularly true for certain professions, such as news agencies and publishing companies. In these professions, the collection and management of data is essential.
In early data management systems, data was collected and preserved. Data, when needed, was searched out one article at a time. Such a traditional data management lacks structure, and is not sufficient for modern society which values efficiency and speed.
In more recent years, the use of computers has greatly increased the efficiency of data management. Data management by computer is generally divided into two systems. In one system, data is sorted by index. In the other system, data is sorted using multiple indexes similar to the use of a bibliographical card index.
When sorting by index, a subjective judgment of data is made according to the existing sorting criteria. Based on this subjective judgement, the data is indexed and stored into a corresponding file. When a particular lot of data is desired, a search is performed by index in an attempt to locate the appropriate data.
One drawback of a single index system is that sorting is done manually in reliance upon the subjective judgment of an administrator. Data supposed to be classified under a first category might be misplaced in a second category simply because the administrator failed to recognize the nature of the data. Since any lot of data is generally put under only one particular category only, the lot of data is practically missing if put under another category by mistake. Therefore, it is easy in a single index for data to become lost or difficult to retrieve.
In multiple index systems, multiple indexes are used. For example, separate columns can be used to allow sorting by author, log-in date, log-in publication, topic or serial number. The data can then be retrieved using an index for any column.
However there are also deficiencies with multiple index systems. For example, for any particular lot of data any and all specific columns can fail to satisfy the needs for organization of data. For instance, it may still be difficult to define and classify data used by a news agency or a publishing company. For example, if there are seven co-authors in a given article and the specific column used to index authors allows the entry of at most three authors, then only three of seven co-authors can be used to index the article. The remaining four authors would have to be abandoned in the entry. A later search for the works of these four authors would not turn up this article. Furthermore, the selection of which authors to include in the entry and which to drop requires a subjective judgment.
Key words can be used to index data. For example, to index a target article, keywords can be used such as “Politics”, “Related to Crossing the Straits”, or “Straits Exchange Foundation”. These keywords can be stored with the document or the database system can perform a full text index through all documents in the database searching for a keyword. However, use of keywords for searching lacks accuracy since articles may contain searched key words, but the key words may have different meanings as used in different articles. Thus searching by key word is often not worth the effort.
Whereas the existing data index and management methods for files deficient both in terms of efficiency and speed, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a dynamic methodology for data base index and management by attribute. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a multiple of columns are provided for a user to actively define the data into various attributes for fast and precise search of target data by the fact that the user is familiar with those user-defined attributes which at the same time can be easily memorized by the user.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a dynamic methodology for data base index and management by attribute. The configuration of the database is not predetermined. Instead the data itself is used as a starting point to create a data characteristics oriented configuration of the management system. The resulting database system is not limited to using a set number of columns to define identification characteristics. Instead, at the reference, attributes are created and fit into an attribute structure at the discretion of the users. Multiple attributes may be associated with any data lot. What is meant by a data lot is any grouping of data such as a document or data file.
Any word or group of words deemed by a user to have meaning can be formed by a user. A created attribute is then placed in an appropriate location in an existing attribute structure. Multiple attributes can be assigned to a data lot. Any or these attributes or logical combination of these attributes can then be used to access the data lot. Since a particular document may be given various attributes, this allows for an easy search using such logical operations as intersection or union of attributes.
A further objective of the present invention is to include an attribute logging segment and a file logging segment. Within the attribute logging segment is provided for the storage of attributes defined by the user on various documents. Each attribute is respectively designated with items of “Description of Attribute”, “Attribute No.” and “Relevant Attribute No.” for the logging. The “Description of Attribute” is actively entered by the user, the “Attribute Number” which may be in the form of sequential number, is automatically generated by a management unit of attribute logging in the attribute logging segment for each logging attribute and the “Relevant Attribute No.” also actively entered by the user relates to the number of any other attribute related to that of the document, and is made an integral part of those attributes to the document in question.
The file logging segment is provided to log in and store those document data with defined attributes, and file number as well as the address of placement are given to each lot of data together with its attribute number. The file number may be given the same as the attribute number for identification purpose only provided it does not repeat itself. The method described above achieves a structured data and a more user-friendly environment.
Another objective yet of the present invention is the address for placement of the file logging segment may be marked by the description of a disk unit, route and file name while the methods of index and management described above are run by a computer.
In order to satisfy the above objectives the access of data is facilitated using user-defined attributes. Attributes are stored in a first logging segment. Entries for the attributes contain information which indicate subordinate relationships between attributes. The subordinate relationships creating an attribute structure. When a user stores a data lot, the user is allowed to specify one or more attributes to be linked to the data lot. Entries which show links from data lots to attributes are stored in a second logging segment.
In the preferred embodiment, each entry in the first logging segment includes an identification of an attribute and an identification of any subordinating attribute. Specifically, each entry in the first logging segment includes an attribute number, an attribute name and a relative attribute number. The relative attribute number is an attribute number for a subordinating attribute. Likewise, each entry in the second logging segment includes an identification of a data lot and an identification of an associated attribute. Particularly, each entry in the second logging segment includes a file number, a file location and a relative attribute number. The relative attribute number specifies an associated attribute.
A user can hierarchically traverse the attributes stored in the second logging segment in order to specify an existing attribute. Alternatively, the user can perform a text search to locate an attribute within the second logging segment.
In the preferred embodiment, the user can also define a new attribute. The user supplies a name for the new attribute. The user can also specify any existing attribute to which the new attribute is subordinate. An entry for the new attribute is then placed in the first logging segment.
There are various ways the user can use the attributes to access information. For example, in response to the user specifying an attribute, data lots are listed which specify the attribute. Alternatively the user can hierarchically traverse the attributes stored in the second logging segment in order to specify the attribute. Alternatively, in response to the user specifying a logic combination of attributes, data lots are listed which satisfy the logic combination of attributes. The logical combination of attributes is, for example, an intersection of two or more attributes, or a union of two or more attributes.
The present invention allows dynamic definition of attributes unrestricted by fixed columns. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention all attribute items used to define a document are chosen by the user. The principles of the present invention may be applied in the management of data from various fields because the attributes are dynamically defined. This eliminates the problem of a fixed structure (such as columns) no allowing sufficient flexibility in defining attributes. Additionally, since attributes of the document are defined subjectively, by the user, attributes can be precisely specified in the course of index to allow fast location of documents.
The present invention allows access to data in various forms. A data lot can be composed of text, image, sound or any other form of information. The attribute management system herein disclosed allows simplicity of cataloging and retrieving even data, such as imaging data, for which traditional searching techniques, such as full text search, are not available. Since the attribute management system is an external cataloging system, this facilitates the storage and retrieval of all sorts of information. Storing and retrieving is done without affecting the integrity of the source document in any way.
Since present invention facilitates attribute definition external to a document, the system supports existing methods to catalog data, such as is involved in a folder system, but allows data to be accessed from several attributes, without requiring duplicate copies of a file. For example, the user may separately create two attributes for a file. The first attribute is based on the USA National Library Sorting Criteria. The second attribute is based on ROC National Library Sorting Criteria. If both attributes are assigned to a single file, then the file can be accessed using either system. However, no duplicate of the data in the file is necessary. All that is necessary is to assign both attributes to the file. Therefore, the present invention allows a number of sorting systems to become compatible among one another with unrestricted expansion and modification at the discretion of the user.
Attributes of different types can be specified by a user for better retrieval of data. For example, one type of attribute assigned to a file can be similar to a keyword. The keyword could be, for example, a person, an event, a time, a place or an object. The vocabulary of the keyword attribute expresses clear and independent significant. In addition, the user can assign to a file an attribute which specifies a category or sorting code. This allows the file to be accessed based on a particular sorting system. Such a simultaneous use of attributes of different types may give a very integral and faithful definition to data contained in a document. However, the two types of attributes allow for versatile access of data. The present invention allows fully utilization of attributes of both types through the dynamic definition of attributes allowed by the preferred embodiment in the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an attribute logging segment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a file logging segment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an additional file logging of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an index file logging of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another index file logging of the present invention.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention allows for the use of dynamic database indices and the management of data based on attributes.
When storing a data lot (for example, a data file), a user assigns one or more attributes to the data lot. A search is then made among already defined attributes for relevant attributes to the lot of data to be stored. The search is done by text matching or utilizing established subordinate relationships between the attribute and other attributes. The lot of data is stored at a specified location. The file location and relevant attribute number, as correlated to already defined attributes, is also stored.
When defining attributes, a user is not limited to any fixed column length or a certain standardized format. On the contrary, any message that the user determines has a reference value may be used as an attribute. Thus an attribute can be defined, for example, as a word, a symbol, a specific term, a number, a person's name, a name of a location or an organization.
For example, for an article on the status quo of the external trade between Taiwan and Canada in 1991, a user can assign any or all of the following as attributes for the article: “1990”, “Taiwan”, “Canada”, “Trade”, “Agricultural Crops”, and “Surplus”.
Since the attributes are proposed by the user, the chosen attributes best suit the viewpoints of the user. Therefore, when the user is retrieving the data, the attribute can be accurately specified for a fast search of the data required.
Furthermore, since attributes are defined by the user, there are no built in size or number limitations. This eliminates the problem described above where in a traditional index system only a limited number of items (e.g., authors) may be listed because of a limited number of items being allowed for a particular column.
Since a user is able to define new attributes at will, the number of attributes can increase as the amount of stored data items increases. In order to arrange for structured storage of data, attributes can be placed in a structure where some attributes are subordinate to other attributes.
For example, FIG. 1 is an example of the arrangement of a structure for attributes. In a table 10, a column 11 stores an attribute number for each attribute. Table 10 functions as an attribute logging segments. A column 12 stores an attribute name. A column 13 stores a relative attribute number, if applicable. The relative attribute number is used to indicate subordinate relationships
In Table 10, the listed attributes have attribute numbers from 0001 through 0007. The attribute names listed in column 12 are the following: “Earth”, “Asia”, “America”, “Taiwan”, “Taichung”, “History”, and “Canada”. respectively. Column 13 lists subordination relationships for the listed attributes. For example, the entry for Asia (Attribute Number 0002) includes a Relative Property Number 0001. This indicates (the continent of) Asia is subordinate to (e.g., part of) Earth (Relative Property Number 0001). The entry for America (Attribute Number 0003) includes a Relative Property Number 0001. This indicates (the continent of) America is subordinate to (e.g., part of) Earth (Relative Property Number 0001). The entry for Taiwan (Attribute Number 0004) includes a Relative Property Number 0002. This indicates (the country of) Taiwan is subordinate to (e.g., part of) Asia (Relative Property Number 0002). The entry for Taichung (Attribute Number 0005) includes a Relative Property Number 0004. This indicates (the city of) Taichung is subordinate to (e.g., part of) Taiwan (Relative Property Number 0004). The entry for Canada (Attribute Number 0003) includes a Relative Property Number 0003. This indicates (the country of) Canada is subordinate to (e.g., part of) America (Relative Property Number 0003).
There is no relevant attribute number listed for the attribute entry for “Earth” (Attribute Number 0001) and for the attribute entry “History” (Attribute Number 0006). This indicates that there is no other attribute available to which these attributes are subordinate.
When a user defines a new attribute, an attribute entry (also referred to as an attribute logging segment) is created in Table 10. Once the attribute entry is created, its “Attribute Name”, “Attribute number” and “Relevant Attribute Number” are stored in within the attribute logging segment. The “Attribute Name” is entered by the user when the user defines the attribute. The “Attribute Number” is automatically generated by an attribute logging management unit. Each “Attribute Number” is unique. For example, Attribute Numbers are assigned in sequence so that an integer assigned to an Attribute Number for any particular entry will depend on the sequential order the Attribute entry was created.
When a new attribute is created, the user can select another attribute to which the new attribute is subordinate. Based on this selection, the attribute logging management will place the appropriate Relative Property Number into the new Attribute entry.
In order to store a data lot (e.g., a data file), a file logging segment is created which stores a “File Number”, a storage “Location” and “Relative Attribute Number”. The “File Number” is a unique identification number for the file.
The storage “Location” indicates the physical storage location of the data lot in memory. The storage location is typically identified by designating the disk unit, the route and the file name. The data lot (file) is individually stored by the disk unit using the route and filename.
For example, a Table 20 functions as a file logging segment, as shown in FIG. 2. In a column 21, the File Number is stored. In a column 22, the storage Location is set out. In a column 23, the Relative Attribute Number is stored.
When a file is stored, the user selects and/or creates one or more Attributes to be stored with the file. Within a table 20, shown in FIG. 2, the logging management unit creates one or more file logging segments for the file. One file logging segment entry is created for each attribute assigned to the file.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a file with file number A000025 (column 21) and storage location at C:\Document\Article.doc (column 22), has been assigned three attributes: “Taichung”, “History” and “Canada”. Thus three file logging segment entries are present in Table 20 for File Number A000025. The three file logging segment entries are identical except that each has a different relative attribute number. These are, respectively, relative attribute numbers 0006, 0005 and 0007.
Within FIG. 20, a file with file number A000030 (column 21) and storage location at D:\Person\Report.xls (column 22), has been assigned a single attribute: “Taiwan”. Thus only a single file logging segment entry is present in Table 20 for File Number A000030. The file logging segment entry has the relative attribute number 0004 in column 23.
Also within FIG. 20, a file with file number A000035 (column 21) and storage location at E:\Readme.txt (column 22), has been assigned a single attribute: “Taichung”. Thus only a single file logging segment entry is present in Table 20 for File Number A000035. The file logging segment has the relative attribute number 0005 in column 23.
When a lot of data (data file) is modified, it may be desirable for a user to add or subtract an attribute from the file. When the user deletes an attribute, the corresponding file logging segment entry is removed from Table 20. When the user adds an attribute, an additional entry is made to table 20.
This is illustrated by comparing FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. In FIG. 2, the file with File number A000030 stored at the location of D:\Person\Report.xls has only a single file logging segment entry and thus only relevant attribute number 0004 (for Taiwan) is stored for File number A000030.
FIG. 3 shows the changes made to Table 20 when a user has added another attribute (for example because the file has been modified) to the data file. In FIG. 3, an additional file logging segment has been added for the file with File number A000030 stored at the location of D:\Person\Report.xls. The user has determined that the attribute History now also describes the file with File number A000030 stored at the location of D:\Person\Report.xls. Thus the new file logging segment entry has been added for file number A000030 stored at the location of D:\Person\Report.xls which has the Relative Attribute number 0006 subordinating the file to the Attribute History.
When a user removes an attribute from a file, the associated file logging segment entry is removed from Table 20.
A user may sort the data in listed in Table 10 and Table 20 in several different ways. In a “Designation” step, the user designates an attribute. In an “Index Attribute” step, a search is made in Table 10 to find any listed attribute which matches the designated attribute. In an “Index Relevant Attribute” step, any relative property number from column 13, is searched to determine subordinate relationships of the accessed attribute.
In a “Index of File Relevant with Designated Attribute” step, a search is made in Table 20 for a data file with a designated attribute. In an “Index of File Correlated to Relevant Attribute of Designated Attribute” step, a search is made in Table 20 for any data file correlated to the relevant attribute of the designated attribute.
When a user wants to designate an attribute for a file, the user can traverse the contents of Table 10 for a relevant attribute. For example, FIG. 1 shows Table 10 to have seven attribute entries. If a user screens for attribute entries which do not have correlation (i.e., there is no relative attribute numbers for the attribute) the attribute for “Earth” and the attribute for “History” are located. Upon analyzing the attribute item of “Earth”, it is found that there are two attributes subordinate to the “Earth”: the attribute for “America” and the attribute for “Asia”. A user can select either the attribute for “Asia” or the attribute for “America”; if the attribute for “Asia” is selected, there is only one attribute subordinate to the attribute for “Asia” that is the attribute for “Taiwan”. The user can specify the attribute “Taiwan” as the designated attribute for the file. This method of selecting the option step by step promises fast search for the relevant attribute.
Alternatively, when a user wants to designate an attribute for a file, the user can traverse the attributes using an item-by-item comparison. For example, the user specifies the attribute name, and an attempt is made to match the name to an attribute name for an entry in Table 10. Such a search is trivial given the processing power of contemporary computers. The search is implemented, for example, by a full text search through Table 10 for a matching entry. Then the scope of index can be effectively narrowed down for fast pick up the data required in conjunction with each attribute item and judgment on its relevant attribute.
A user need only specify an attribute to easily locate a related file. For example, using Table 20 shown in FIG. 2, if the user specifies the attribute “Taichung”, a search of Table 20 will produce two data files: the data files with the file numbers of A000025 and A000035. The file logging segments for the data files with the file numbers of A000025 and A000035 are shown in FIG. 4. Whereas the relevant attribute is the same for each of the two file logging segments (i.e., the relevant attribute number is 0005) both files can be quickly located by using the attribute as a search text.
Once a user has designated an attribute, the system takes over to use the attribute to locate associated files. If the user specifies attribute “America” (with attribute number of 0003), during the “Index Relevant Attribute” the system locates the attribute “Canada” (with relevant attribute number of 0003) can be picked up from file table 20. In the “Index and File Relevant with Relevant Attribute of Designated Attribute” step, the data file with relevant attribute number of 0007 can be located in the file logging segment, as illustrated by FIG. 5.
By following those steps described above, a data file with a specified attribute can be quickly and precisely located by the user while another data file related to the data file also can be picked up for the user to refer to.
Furthermore, logical operations between attributes, such as union or intersection, can increase the accuracy of a search. As the number of attributes specified by the user increases, the number of data files indexed by the intersection of the attributes becomes smaller and more accurate. For example, when searching for a data file with a topic involving the discussion of the status quo of foreign trade between Taiwan and Canada during the 90's, four attributes could be specified. For example, these could be “1990”, “Taiwan”, “Canada” and “Trade”. In a hypothetical system, there may be, for example, twenty files with the “Taiwan” attribute and fifteen with the “Canada” attribute. Five files that have both the “Taiwan” and the “Canada” attribute may survive when a search is made for a file which has both attributes. When a third attribute “Trade” is added, this may reduce the number to only one or two which has all three attributes.
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|U.S. Classification||1/1, 707/E17.008, 707/999.003, 707/999.104|
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|21 May 1999||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: BRIDGEWELL, INCORPORATED, TAIWAN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CHOU, PEILIN;REEL/FRAME:009998/0757
Effective date: 19990511
|19 Nov 2007||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|11 May 2008||LAPS||Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees|
|1 Jul 2008||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20080511 | <urn:uuid:d1ae0c61-3cb0-4188-8e5a-0cbac7b52738> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.google.ca/patents/US6735584 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720380.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00056-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.866758 | 6,467 | 1.804688 | 2 |
If you dive into the project head-first without understanding what needs to be done, it’s a sure recipe for disaster. So we don’t do it. Instead, we begin with establishing what it is that we’re working towards. We can decide which steps to take to deliver the project only if we understand the end goal.
If we see each other at the kick-off meeting, it means that you have decided to work with our company and that you have already discussed issues such as timeframe, budget, and expectations with our sales team. Then, the dedicated project team takes over; they enter kick-off equipped with relevant background information and prepared to talk about the next stages. At this point, we aim to set the course of action.
Why we do the kick-off meeting
The purpose of the kick-off meeting is multifold. Generally speaking, it’s about ensuring that the company and the client are on the same page; that everyone understands what needs to be done. Only then can we move forward and deliver a successful product that will meet the client’s needs. The kick-off meeting is a vital element of the project cycle bringing undeniable benefits for both sides:
This is the first meeting between the people responsible for the project delivery and the client. We invite the whole project team – it’s important to us to involve key stakeholders from the start. Mutual chemistry is, of course, essential – after all, we’ll spend days, weeks, or months working together. It’s great to get to know each other early on and set the tone for future cooperation, but the kick-off is so much more than simply a familiarization session.
Why we do it
The bottom line is that your success is our mission. We’re here to listen because we want to know precisely what this project means to you and how you envisage the end goal. So first, we need to understand the background – what drove you to initiate the project in the first place? Maybe the aim was to introduce a new product or service, adapt an existing one to attract more clients, or perhaps you plan to show off some new solutions at incoming industry events. Whatever the motivation, let’s define what the project’s success and possible failure mean.
For us, the most important thing is to understand the product. In Develtio, we go beyond discussing the time and money; we look at the big picture to ensure the delivery of the perfect solution for you.
What needs to be done
We know a lot, but we don’t know everything. It’s important to understand that this is the meeting of two specialized teams. You are the expert in your field, and you know best what your business needs are – we won’t argue with that. On the other hand, we know all about digital and are ready to match your goals with our knowledge and skills. We have lots of ideas on how to address the pain points and are prepared to share them with you. We will propose actions to take and discuss possible options to deliver solutions that meet your needs.
This is, however, also a good moment for questions from our side. We need to agree on activities required to deliver a project. If needed, we will ask you to clarify the scope of the website or the application, its functionalities, desired user experience, and envisaged user scenarios in order to proceed to the next stages of the project.
How we work
No two projects are exactly the same, and neither are the timelines, stages, and deliverables. At the kick-off, we will present the proposed communication and reporting guidelines. Usually, we work in two-week sprints and deliver demos to the client bi-weekly. Depending on the project, we can communicate more frequently at different stages. Importantly, we build the product together, which means we rely on your feedback after each sprint, when we introduce a new element or functionality, or if we need to clarify outstanding issues. We will give you a better picture of how we work – how we plan activities, which environments we use, and how you could track work progress with relevant tools.
The project and this meeting are a marathon rather than a sprint. This is not the time to discuss every design detail, but It’s a chance for you (and us) to ask questions and clarify any doubts. This is not to say that we won’t be available at later stages, but you can use this opportunity to the max and fire away.
What can we do for you?
Talk to us about your project and let's start building it together! | <urn:uuid:1c06f98a-a583-4ab8-81ce-fe6ff135b219> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://develtio.com/blog/knowledge/kick-off-meeting-with-the-client-how-we-do-it/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572161.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815054743-20220815084743-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.946413 | 973 | 1.578125 | 2 |
a classical scholar or student of the liberal arts
an advocate of the principles of humanism
pertaining to or concerned with the humanities; "humanistic studies"; "a humane education"
of or pertaining to a philosophy asserting human dignity and man's capacity for fulfillment through reason and scientific method and often rejecting religion; "the humanist belief in continuous emergent evolution"- Wendell Thomas
a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty
the profession of teaching (especially at a school or college or university)
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received no formal education"; "our instruction was carefully programmed"; "good classroom teaching is seldom rewarded"
the result of good upbringing (especially knowledge of correct social behavior); "a woman of breeding and refinement"
the gradual process of acquiring knowledge; "education is a preparation for life"; "a girl's education was less important than a boy's"
knowledge acquired by learning and instruction; "it was clear that he had a very broad education" | <urn:uuid:64083ba9-84df-4c09-8655-2d37676cefc4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://wordage.info/colossus+of+knowledge/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00012-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947495 | 238 | 3.109375 | 3 |
New research suggests even one night of zero shut-eye can impact metabolism.
Past research has shown that there is an increased risk of weight gain associated with chronic insomnia. A new study is the first of its kind to examine whether sleep loss can cause molecular changes at the tissue level, which can cause an increased risk of adverse weight gain. To determine this, researchers observed molecular signatures of increased inflammation across tissues in response to sleep loss.
The study consisted of 15 healthy and normal-weight individuals who participated in two in-lab sessions in which activity and meal patterns were highly standardized. The participants were kept awake an entire night in one session, and then slept a normal amount of hours in the other session. Blood samples and small tissue samples were taken from the participants’ subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle the morning after each evening session. After molecular analysis, the tissue samples revealed that the sleep loss resulted in a tissue-specific change in DNA methylation, which plays a role in regulating gene expression.
The results demonstrate that one night of sleep has a tissue-specific impact on the regulation of gene expression in humans, which may explain how night shifts and chronic sleep loss impairs our metabolism and affects our body composition. Researchers plan to study other forms of sleep or disruption of circadian rhythms that may affect tissue metabolism. Jonathan Cedernaes, a circadian researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden, states, “It will be interesting to investigate to what extent one or more night of recovery sleep can normalize the metabolic changes that we observe at the tissue level as a result of sleep loss. Diet and exercise are factors that can also alter DNA methylation, and these factors can thus possibly be used to counteract adverse metabolic effects of sleep loss.” These reports underscore the crucial role that sleep plays in overall wellness. Looking to improve your sleep habits? Aim for 7-8 hours of shut-eye to gain the most health benefits.
Find more of the latest health news here. | <urn:uuid:e2be4b09-044d-44dc-9e6e-868836d78065> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.drozshow.com/article/can-one-sleepless-night-cause-weight-gain | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.947763 | 404 | 3.25 | 3 |
As Known Through Faith A. The Knowability of God I. Formal Anti-Theism Had the Theist merely to face a blank Atheistic denial of God's existence, his task would he comparatively a light one. Formal dogmatic Atheism is self-refuting, and has never de facto won the reasoned assent of any considerable number of men.
This section of the Essential Tool explores the role of culture in the transition process. Culture refers to the patterns of values and learned behaviors that are shared and transmitted from generation to generation by the members of a social group.
Values in this broad sense are assumed to guide how people live their lives, including their moral judgments, goals, and behaviors. Exploring and understanding the values of youth and their families is therefore an important key for planning and providing transition services and supports, and in achieving better outcomes.
It is possible, however, to identify an area of contrast between the values of American mainstream culture and the values characteristic of many other cultures Niles, An example using self-determination will illustrate the importance of understanding and addressing the contrast between individualistic and collectivistic values.
It is important to realize that values, like any human characteristic, fall along a continuum. For example, a culture oriented to individualism might highly value being able to work independently, while a culture oriented to collectivism might highly value being able to work as part of a group.
However, the first culture almost certainly also values being able to work as part of a group, and the second culture also values being able to work independently. The difference is in the relative importance that each culture places on these contrasting values. The concept of a continuum also applies to individuals within a culture.
Most members of a collectivistic culture will hold values at the collectivistic end of the continuum, although each will be at a different spot on the continuum, and some will even be at the individualistic end.
Where they are on the continuum of values depends on such factors as how closely they identify with traditional culture, their level of education, and the ethnic mix of their community. This variability among people again illustrates the need for individualization in transition services and supports Atkins, As Trumbull et al.
Alternative Views of People as Independent or Interdependent Individualism and collectivism are subsets of broad worldviews, which have been called, respectively, atomism and holism Shore, Atomism is prominent in the western hemisphere and refers to the tendency to view things in terms of their component parts.
This orientation has supported advances such as scientific discoveries about how the physical world works and the development of assembly line manufacturing. Holism is characteristic of most CLD cultures and refers to the tendency to view all aspects of life as interconnected.
The primary individualistic view is that there are sharp boundaries between people, with each person being a complete unit. In other words, people are considered to be independent.
They are generally also thought to have rights and responsibilities that are more or less the same. By contrast, the primary collectivistic view is that people are not separate units, but rather are part and parcel of a larger group i.
In other words, people are interdependent. The person is instead a locus of shared biographies: This traditional Pacific Island view of the person falls at the extreme collectivistic end of the continuum, while the American mainstream view of the person is widely considered to fall closer to the extreme individualistic end than any other culture Lasch, ; Shore, Yet even these cultures each reflect elements from the other end of the continuum to varying degrees.
When they identify a part of themselves with the team, they tend to feel a bond with each other and experience similar emotions of joy, pride, sadness, etc. Interdependent values appear to be stronger among people living in conditions of scarcity and threat, because they depend more on each other for survival.
For example, settlers of the American West during the s probably had a more interdependent orientation than most Americans today, as reflected in how they helped each other build barns and harvest crops. The relatively extreme individualism of American mainstream culture today is made possible by a high and dependable standard of living that allows self-sufficiency i.
Youth of American mainstream culture almost always have ready access to a substantial store of economic and social capital accumulated by their families.
This capital allows them to begin practicing independence and self-sufficiency at an early age and to be supported to achieve independence and self-sufficiency as they transition to adulthood.
By contrast, Americans living in poverty generally have much lower levels of economic and social capital that can support independent lifestyles. Unfortunately, the social fabric of many low-income communities has become so frayed that effective interdependence may not be possible for many residents.Lord of the Flies Study Questions As you read the novel, keep in mind that the behavior of the characters is meant to be indicative of human nature in a general sense, not simply a .
The arguments for the existence of God constitute one of the finest attempts of the human mind to break out of the world and go beyond the sensible or phenomenal realm of experience. Certainly the question of God's existence is the most important question of human philosophy. So far in this section of your course, you have had the opportunity to think about the themes of “Communication in Another Language”, “Introduction to Communication”, and, to a certain degree, “The Influence of Culture on Communication”.
The use of Ralph and Jack in Lord of the Flies is done on purpose. In this book, the three protagonists are civilized British boys that get shipwrecked and land on an island. In this book, the three protagonists are civilized British boys that get shipwrecked and land on an island.
Feb 01, · To what extent do you agree? Sarah Watt’s multi strand narrative Look Both Ways is a film that presents trauma, loss and lack of control as we see the characters grapple with unexpected twists as they learn that uncertainty is an element they cannot control.
If you know the people drinking the water or running around, you have a different experience watching them. View Images A mother humpback whale and baby dive in Pacific waters off Maui. | <urn:uuid:9909e265-f6f7-48fd-b714-12fc326fad82> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://tecykiz.initiativeblog.com/to-what-extent-do-you-feel-that-piggy-represent-the-qualities-of-sense-and-order-in-the-island-essay-38213hu.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.947596 | 1,280 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Whether you wish to learn more about the history of Motown or the origins of Hernando landmarks, historical heroes or hysterical comic luminaries, environmental sights or chocolate delights, everyone should find something to like–and learn–about the newest season of Academia Hernando.
Drawing its origins more than a decade ago from the popular Mondays in Brooksville program, Academia Hernando–the not-for-profit lifelong learning organization providing quality instruction and learning experiences for adult students throughout Hernando County and beyond–is returning in grand fashion for the Fall 2021 season, as sponsored by The Hernando Sun, Kenjo’s Tree Service and The Residence at Timber Pines.
“Our goal is to inform, educate and inspire adult learners through a series of weekly lectures on a wide variety of topics,” reads a mission statement found at https://www.academiahernando.org/about.
This goal, says Sharon Printz, board member of Academia Hernando, is the guiding mission of this and every season of Academia Hernando sessions.
“We make an effort to feature a wide variety of topics,” said Printz, who conducts Academia booking duties with board member Mickey Mandel. “We like to present topics that will make people want to dig deeper and learn more.”
All sessions will take place at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 2301 Deltona Blvd., Spring Hill. Lectures begin promptly at 10 AM and last for 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission. Face maks are required for attendance.
“We enjoy the process of booking these sessions,” said Printz, “just as much as our guests enjoy seeing them.”
The fall season of Academia Hernando kicks off at 10 a.m. Sept. 17 with The History of Chinsegut Hill, a Hernando landmark.
“Chinsegut Hill Historic Site has a human history that spans millennia. Prehistoric people, Seminole Indians, wealthy American planters, enslaved individuals, political crusaders and more inhabited this ground,” reads the program website. “We interpret this history thematically as the ‘Persistent Florida Frontier” as the Hill has come to hold different meanings for people over time.”
Presenting the history of Chinsegut through the eras is Brian Buttafuoco, who has served as the Curator of Education for the education department at the Tampa Bay History Center since 2015, and more recently for Chinsegut Hill Historic Site.
History of a more musical variety will be presented at The Birth of Motown, Friday, Sept. 24, at 10 a.m.
“Take a trip with Angela Birdsong to the Land of Motown!” read an event description. “Angela will take us through the history and joy that is Motown music from its creation by founder Berry Gordy to the landmark site of “Hitsville USA” in Detroit, Michigan, where groups like The Temptations, The Jackson Five, and The Supremes all began their careers. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a rockin’ ride!”
Musician Angela Clarke married Edwin Birdsong, a recording artist and Cindy Birdsong’s cousin–also the best friend of Stevie Wonder. Now a member of the Motown family, “Angela wants to keep the legacy of Berry Gordy and Motown alive forever.”
Hernando Sun will bring you further details on the programs scheduled for October in an upcoming issue. | <urn:uuid:9219ae37-1543-449c-a977-41fb1f29a38c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hernandosun.com/2021/09/03/whats-store-academia-hernando-september/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572021.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814083156-20220814113156-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.931346 | 766 | 2.15625 | 2 |
BEIJING: India-China relations saw high- level engagements in 2015 and the two sides look to 2016 to step up cooperation in counter-terrorism and efforts to resolve their boundary dispute as they moved towards more interactive and less confrontationist relationship.
This year saw a series of high-level visits from both sides, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Beijing, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visits to China and Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao’s trip to India.
Signing off the most engaging year in recent history, Northern Area Commander Lt Gen D S Hooda travelled to Beijing this month on an invitation from China. Hooda’s visit was significant as his predecessor Gen BS Jaswal was denied a visa on the ground that Northern Command covered the “disputed” Jammu and Kashmir, which sparked angry reactions from India.
Officials say Gen Hooda’s visit restores military ties between the two countries, removing a major irritant.
Modi’s visit like that of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to India last year focussed more on do-ables while stepping engagement to resolve boundary dispute and measures to deal with issue of incursions.
The Prime Minister’s visit resulted in $22 billion in business-to-business pacts, hotline connection between the two military headquarters and opening of more border points for interaction of local commanders, formation of task force for address widening trade deficit which touched $46 billion and granting of E-visas for Chinese tourists.
Consequently Chinese officials say that there is a steady rise of Chinese investments in India which so far reached about $3 billion with a prospects of more on the way into India’s infrastructure projects. China promises to open more for Indian IT and Pharmaceuticals to improve India’s exports.
During Singh’s visit, the two countries for the fist time agreed to step up anti-terrorism cooperation in the region.
China expressed willingness to crackdown on some of the rebel groups in the North East as part of anti-terror drive.
But the two countries had serious differences over China’s increasing engagement with Pakistan and its $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. India objected to it as it goes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The corridor connects China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang with Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port and provides it access to the Arabian Sea and facilitates speedier imports of oil from the Middle East.
Differences also remain on China’s ambitious Maritime Silk Road as India has concerns over its impact in the Indian Ocean.
China this year opened a new, “safer” and “more convenient” route for Indians undertaking the arduous Kailash- Manasarovar Yatra in addition to the existing Lipulekh Pass.
The opening of the second route through the Himalayan pass of Nathu La in Sikkim, 4,000 metres above sea level, was officially announced during Modi’s visit to China and will allow more Indians to undertake the pilgrimage.
The new route reduced the pilgrimage time from more than 20 days to about eight and enabled pilgrims to travel the 1,500 km-long route from Nathu La to Kailash by buses.
India and China this year held 18th round of talks in New Delhi to resolve the contentious boundary issue. India asserts that the dispute covered about 4,000 km, while China claims that it was confined to about 2,000 km to the area of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers as Southern Tibet.
The two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas which was a “pre-requisite” for continued growth of bilateral relations as also to enhance cooperation in key areas, including counter-terrorism, maritime security and civil nuclear energy sector.
Offering highly concessional loans, Japan this year bagged India’s first bullet train project worth $12 billion connecting Mumbai-Ahmedabad, much to chagrin of China which looks to get other routes like Chennai-Delhi and Mumbai-Delhi.
Indian officials say the routes are open for China if it offered matching concessional loans.
Also, India expressed concern over the current round of tensions between the US and China over an American guided- missile destroyer sailing through artificial islands in the South China Sea (SCS) built by Beijing.
China had raised vociferous protests and warned the US against sending naval vessels and military jet to the area.
China has been wary about India’s ‘Act East’ Policy under which New Delhi sought to expand its relations with the South East Asian countries in Beijing’s backyard, specially India’s fast-developing ties with Vietnam and the Philippines.
Beijing opposes India undertaking oil exploration off Vietnam’s coast, asserting that the area falls within the disputed area of the SCS.
India, however, took up Vietnam’s invitation, stating that it is undertaking only a commercial activity which has no bearing on the dispute.
About the freedom of navigation, China has maintained that there is no threat to commercial shipping and civilian overflights but considers naval vessels and military aircraft travelling through the area as violation of its sovereignty.
China claims almost the whole of the resource-rich SCS. Its claim, however, is strongly contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
China is also apprehensive about increasing India-Japan and India-US engagement. It has expressed apprehensions over India’s move to include Japan in India-US Malabar Naval exercises on regular basis during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to India.
Despite such apprehensions shown by China, officials say 2015 will be remembered as year of in-depth Sino-Indian engagements as the dialogue between them to restore relations on all fronts including the military-to-military ties has set the stage for a more interactive and less confrontationist relationship. | <urn:uuid:d8189548-84d8-4fce-bae9-69b0901e7997> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.brics-info.org/2015-india-china-sign-off-most-engaging-year-in-ties/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.946724 | 1,250 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Modified Single Cylinder Motor V3
by code4food, published
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If you print this Thing and display it in public proudly give attribution by printing and displaying this tag.Print Thing Tag
I really liked Sirmakesalot's Single Cylinder Motor V2. His original design is great. However, I wanted to replace the crankshaft bushing with a C clip, making it easier to assemble. That is the only difference on a otherwise wonderful thing!
I printed this with 1.82mm ABS plastic. I also used a Replicator 1 at firmware level 6.2 with acceleration turned on, using defaults. The print will be higher quality if produced at a slower rate, but accelerated mode produces as acceptable output.
Instructions to print this derivative:
1.) Print it!
2.) Assemble in the following order:
a.) There is a connecting shaft that connects the crank handle to the crank shaft. Press the shaft into the hole of the crank handle first. It is a really tight fit, so be patient!
b.) Put piston and piston rod together. Small hole end of piston rod goes into the piston. Use a piece of 3mm filament or, since I used 1.82mm filament to print it (I don't have any 3 mm hanging around), I cut a small piece of wire as a pin to connect the piston head and rod together. Next, slide the end of the piston rod over the end of the crank shaft (see image of step 2b). Slide piston into cylinder, and then press together the crank handle/connecting shaft assembly, the cylinder hole plate, and crank shaft. c.) Finally, super glue the small cap onto the end of the crank shaft. Wait for it dry, and then push the C clip onto the crank shaft. See image for completed assembly.
Then crank away! Thanks for Sirmakesalot for making such a cool little motor. This is just my contribution - nothing special!
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Modified Single Cylinder Motor V3 by code4food is licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike license.
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To post a Make simply visit this Thing again and click I Made One to start uploading your photo. It’s even easier to post a Make via the Thingiverse Mobile app (available via Google Play and Apple App Store). | <urn:uuid:c984fd11-f363-476a-9bfe-fb4f4664d81d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:39572 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00060-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.847934 | 651 | 1.851563 | 2 |
ERIC Number: ED191676
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1979
Reference Count: 0
Program of Studies--Science, 9-12.
Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD. Dept. of Instructional Planning and Development.
Described is the ninth- through twelfth-grade science program of the Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland. This program provides opportunities for students to experience individual interests and career choices. Two credits in science are taken in grades nine through twelve and generally include laboratory science and biology. Most students elect to take more than one additional science course. The secondary science course electives available to the students include Biology 2, Chemistry 1 and 2, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Horticultural Science, Physical Science 1 and 2, Physics 1 and 2, Laboratory Sciences, Anatomy and Physiology, Applied Science and Aviation Science. Also included is information describing each course and a listing of learning objectives for each course. (DS)
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD. Dept. of Instructional Planning and Development.
Note: For related documents, see SE 031 745. Contains occasional light and broken type. | <urn:uuid:0ac8615b-b47f-4a21-86aa-619d217a4a4b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED191676 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00055-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.849447 | 266 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Gradient Ascent #8
Stochastic gradient descent, automatic differentiation, saddle points
Welcome to the 8th edition of Gradient Ascent. I’m Albert Azout, a prior entrepreneur and current Partner at Cota Capital. On a regular basis I encounter interesting scientific research, startups tackling important and difficult problems, and technologies that wow me. I am curious and passionate about machine learning, advanced computing, distributed systems, and dev/data/ml-ops. In this newsletter, I aim to share what I see, what it means, and why it’s important. I hope you enjoy my ramblings!
Is there a founder I should meet?
Send me a note at [email protected]
Want to connect?
Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) is by no doubt the workhorse of deep learning—a critical component in deep learning’s success and ubiquity—well-suited for optimizing deep learning networks whose solutions are non-convex. The aim of SGD and its variants (momentum, Nesterov accelerated gradient, Adagrad, Rmsprop, etc) is to discover a local minima in the very hilly terrain of the network’s loss landscape.
In today’s deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc), the calculation of SGD is abstracted away from engineers via automatic differentiation (backprop is a special case). Automatic differentiation (autodiff) converts a computational graph (example below) into a sequence of primitive operations with specified routines for computing derivatives.
The autodiff backprop abstraction in ML frameworks has catalyzed a significant amount of scientific progress and has certainly led to the many large-scale deep learning models in the wild. But with any abstraction, there are both pros and a cons. On one hand, machine learning scientists and engineers focus on mathematics and network topology versus reasoning about the low-level optimizer implementation. On the other hand, we take for granted that solutions found by SGD (a converged optimal set of network parameters) are one of many minima in the loss landscape, each distinct solution providing varying properties. These properties can have a significant impact on the task at hand.
A quick tangent…
Backprop utilizes the error signal from a loss function to adapt neuronal weights (by recursively calculating the chain rule of calculus). The algorithm generalizes not only to supervised learning settings, but also to reinforcement learning (temporal difference or policy gradient) and unsupervised learning (reconstruction loss). Backprop is loosely inspired by adaptive learning in the brain, and is a specific instance of credit assignment—the brain must learn to adapt synaptic strengths in response to error from the environment through feedback mechanisms. This is an evolutionary necessity.
While most believe the brain does not implement backprop for credit assignment, several of backprop’s features are consistent with brain neural networks (below-left a continuum of feedback versus the precision in reducing error, below-right the speed of backprop learning in finding local minima versus other methods [source]).
It is of note that one of the ways that biological brains differ from artificial neural networks (ANNs) is that error feedback in brains not only adapts synaptic weights but also alters the activity states of neurons. In essence, our brain state evolves as we experience or we experience our brain-state 🤪 — perception is unconscious inference.
Back to the topic at hand…
I started thinking more about this area after reading an interesting blog post out of Berkeley’s BAIR lab. The authors discuss some of the shortcomings of SGD, including an intrinsic bias towards ‘easy’ solution (two solutions with the same loss may be qualitatively different, and if one is easier to find, it is likely to be the only solution found by SGD). In aiming to find a diverse set of solutions to a task, they introduce an algorithm called Ridge Rider (RR), which simultaneously and recursively follows multiple orthogonal directions of negative curvature from a saddle point (that is a mouthful, but I point you to the paper for the very neat technical details).
Why is this research important?
Whether this particular algorithm ends up being popularized or not, this area of research is nonetheless important. The intuition is that optimization algorithms should explore a range of solutions that are diverse in the semantics that are important to humans/tasks, assigning credit not myopically but in the context of classes of solutions that address important task dimensions. Inevitably, this approach transforms the optimization problem into a search problem. Indeed, the characteristics and implications of sets of solutions should be a key component in MLOps pipelines—model training, model stability, and observability.
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 everyone!
While the author of this publication is a Partner with Cota Capital Management, LLC (“Cota Capital”), the views expressed are those of the writer author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cota Capital or any of its affiliates. Certain information presented herein has been provided by, or obtained from, third party sources. The author strives to be accurate, but neither the author nor Cota Capital do not guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information.
You should not construe any of the information in this publication as investment advice. Cota Capital and the author are not acting as investment advisers or otherwise making any recommendation to invest in any security. Under no circumstances should this publication be construed as an offer soliciting the purchase or sale of any security or interest in any pooled investment vehicle managed by Cota Capital. This publication is not directed to any investors or potential investors, and does not constitute an offer to sell — or a solicitation of an offer to buy — any securities, and may not be used or relied upon in evaluating the merits of any investment.
The publication may include forward-looking information or predictions about future events, such as technological trends. Such statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. The information herein will become stale over time. Cota Capital and the author are not obligated to revise or update any statements herein for any reason or to notify you of any such change, revision or update. | <urn:uuid:518e8976-90c9-48b0-afb1-77a6aa6263cc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://albertazout.substack.com/p/gradient-ascent-8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.914248 | 1,304 | 1.703125 | 2 |
PowerISO is a powerful image processing and file compression tool, which allows you to create, extract, compress, edit and convert ISO/BIN image files, and mount these files with internal virtual drive. And most of all, the compressed files can be used directly without decompressing.
- Support ISO, BIN, NRG, IMG, DAA, ...
- Open, Create, Edit, Extract ISO File...
- Compress, Encrypt, Split ISO File...
- Integrated with internal Virtual Drive...
- Support almost all CD/DVD-ROM image file formats (ISO, BIN, NRG, IMG, DAA and so on).
- Note: DAA (Direct-Access-Archive) is an advanced format for image file, which supports some advanced features, such as compression, password protection, and splitting to multiple volumes. It can be handled directly just like other formats, such as ISO, BIN, ...
- Supports on-the-fly burning.
- Supports UDF image file.
- Create image file from hard disk files or CD/DVD-ROM.
- Edit an existing image file.
- Can edit and burn Audio CD image file.
- Extract files and folders from image file.
- Convert image files between ISO/BIN and other formats.
- Make bootable image file, get boot information from bootable image file.
- Make floppy disk image file.
- Optimize files to save disk space while saving image files.
- Mount image file with internal virtual drive. Even if the image file is saved as DAA format, the virtual drive can handle that format directly.
- Support shell integration, such as context menu, Drag and Drop, clipboard...
- Supports command-line parameters.
- Can open XBOX image file.
- Supports multiple languages
New Features in v5.6:
- Support burning to multiple drives simultaneously.
- Support simulation burning.
- Support viewing drive and disk information.
- Support searching within image file.
- Some minor bug fixes and enhancements.
- Windows 98 / Window Me / Windows 2000 / Windows XP / Windows 2003 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8 operating system or above.
- Intel Pentium 166MHz or above.
- 64MB memory.
- At least 10MB hard disk space
- Install The App
- Use Keygen to make a valid serial of your name or Use Serial from Txt File
- Enjoy This Release!!
Nb: Klow gak tau cranya download liat gambarnya ini sob | <urn:uuid:88c0aa0c-ed73-4c11-a699-fb8ee08510e4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://choozz.blogspot.com/2013/05/downlaod-power-iso-56-full-versi.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00272-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.72313 | 540 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Titel: A Medieval Herbal Garden
Verlag: Pavilion Books Ltd. 1995-01-19
Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Dust Jacket Included
Hardcover. 67pp Very good condition. Very good dust jacket. ISBN: 1857932366. Buchnummer des Verkäufers E1119427
Inhaltsangabe: This guide to the medieval herbal garden contains manuscripts and illuminations from early herbals revealing a mixture of learning and folklore. It offers remedies for diseases such as "sore of the head" and "pestilence", and recipes for love potions, face washes and cosmetics. Practical instructions are given on low to gather and store herbs. Herbals also reveal the many beliefs surrounding the uses of herbs, which leant on other ideas popular in the Middle Ages like astrology, humours and the doctrine of signatures.
Dieser Anbieter akzeptiert die folgenden Zahlungsarten:
AbeBooks Verkäufer seit: 28. August 1996
AbeBooks Mitglied seit 1996
Pennsylvania Residents please add 6% PA Sales tax to total including shipping. All books are guaranteed and may be returned within 30 days of purchase date for a full refund of the purchase price.
Orders usually ship same or next business day. Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required especially on international orders. | <urn:uuid:06504db7-48fb-4061-91e0-58097358a127> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.abebooks.de/Medieval-Herbal-Garden-Gex-Jenny-Pavilion/14801223879/bd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00471-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.676555 | 330 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Article2: Petiteschoolhouse.com Benefits of Enrolling a Child in a Northridge Preschool Parents who are looking for ways to give their children educational and social edges that could very well extend throughout life may want to consider enrolling them in a Northridge preschool. A structured, age-appropriate program can pave the way for educational success down the road while providing the stimulation young children need to become passionate, lifelong learners. When a well-rounded preschool in Northridge, CA, is selected, children will benefit from: Age-appropriate education – Toddlers and true preschool-age children are not in the same developmental stage of life. The best Northridge preschools recognize the differences and build curriculum that is best suited for specific ages. The best programs also recognize that young children are not mini-grade school students. Acting accordingly, they build plenty of enrichment activities into the daily routine that enable children to learn, play and burn off energy at the same time. Sound educational programs offered by Northridge preschools are also headed up by highly trained educators who specialize in teaching early learners. This gives them an edge in fostering natural curiosity so children can develop a true thirst for knowledge. Greater exposure to new topics – Some of the best preschools Northridge has to offer make certain to offer well-rounded programs. That means not only the basics of reading, writing and math, but also art, music, foreign language, physical education and more. By exposing kids to the great big world around them in age appropriate ways, solid Northridge preschools hope to spark a passion for learning in their young students. Greater social opportunities –Strong social and interpersonal skills can serve children well throughout their lives. Early exposure to other youngsters, teachers and other role models can help them develop the skills they’ll need. Preschool is the perfect environment for children to learn about developing friendships, conflict resolution skills and more. A preschool or child care center, Northridge parents will find, can open the door for expanded learning opportunities for children in their toddler years straight through kindergarten. When children are enrolled in reputable, structured programs, they gain the ability to develop skills and interests that may serve them well throughout live. About the Company Petite School House is a leading Northridge Preschool that prides itself on providing children a place to grow and learn. Its age-appropriate classes, highly trained teachers and nurturing environment are designed to help youngsters build strong social and educational foundations. | <urn:uuid:8a2aebad-928b-4b9e-a378-5fad34484312> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://fr.slideserve.com/petiteschoolhouse/benefits-of-enrolling-a-child-in-a-northridge-preschool | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.95559 | 492 | 1.726563 | 2 |
ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OF INSURANCE INCLUDING THE CONTRACT OF BOTTOMRY
Item #: 66513
Pages: xiv, 330 pp.
Published: OE; P.S. King and Son; Reprinted in 2009.
Subjects: CONTRACTS, INSURANCE, LEGAL HISTORY
A title in the series Studies in Economics and PoliticalScience. This richly detailed history examines the "originand development of the contract of Bottomry and Respondentiadown to the 11th Century A.D., (ii) the traces of methods ofinsurance other than life known to the Ancients, (iii) thequestion whether life assurance was known and practised bythe Romans or their predecessors, (iv) the history of thedevelopment of medieval insurance in the Low Countries fromthe family group system and of modern insurance therefrom"(1)." Originally submitted as a thesis to the University ofLondon by the late Dr. C.F. Trenerry, whose intention it wasto recast it for publication. Edited by Ethel L. Gover andAgnes S. Paul. cf. Forward. "Bibliography of some of theauthorities consulted": p.313-330. Reprinted by The LawbookExchange, Ltd. Distributed by William S. Hein & Co., Inc.
Please contact us to request purchasing information. | <urn:uuid:e4d62d23-92b9-401d-9967-54ad3842ed7c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.wshein.com/catalog/66513/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.84217 | 289 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Improving soil health not only cleans up water quality and reduces soil loss but also provides a better environment for cash crops to succeed. Learn about basic soil health principles and how cover crops are key to making those happen on your farm.
Panelists include USDA Agricultural Research Service soil scientist Kristine Nichols and Indiana farmer Ray McCormick. The webinar was recorded on March 6, 2014.
This webinar series was produced by the American Society of Agronomy and was co-sponsored by SARE. Topics include:
- Cover Crops, Soil Health Principles and Maximizing Yields
- Combining Livestock, Manure and Cover Crops
- Cover Crops Seed Selection and Planting
- Cover Crop Management and Termination
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE. | <urn:uuid:1bc5eab5-3860-46ca-8909-56ee5b66ce72> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sare.org/resources/cover-crops-soil-health-principles-and-maximizing-yields/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.950586 | 233 | 2.421875 | 2 |
2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal for Multicultural Fiction
2015 Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award Honorable Mention for Multicultural Fiction
There is a commonly held belief the tropical storms and hurricanes that form off the coast of West Africa are not natural disasters, but rather they are retaliation by restless spirits impacted by one of the darkest chapters of world history – the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Awiti’s destiny was forever changed the day the slave raiders arrived at her village. She made a life-altering decision with the hope of being reunited with her family, only to discover her effort was in vain. For centuries, her sadness raged within the winds and rain, resulting in tropical storms that devastated the South. But there is more to Awiti than creating hurricanes, as those who have encountered her love and wrath will attest. The truth is, there is so much more.
Follow Awiti’s story from mid-15th-century Africa to 21st-century New Orleans in this historical fantasy novel that will leave you questioning the impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the physical and spiritual realms. | <urn:uuid:76e15d0b-8711-40a3-863b-c75b9d6a3740> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://cppatrick.com/book/the-truth-about-awiti/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00021-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956636 | 231 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Getting a vaccine booster shot significantly increases protection against a COVID-19 infection — especially from the omicron variant.
Despite that, only about a quarter of the Alaskans 5 and older are both vaccinated and boosted. The rate of shots also has slowed considerably in recent weeks, health providers say.
The CDC currently recommends booster shots for anyone 12 and older, five months after they’ve gotten two doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, or two months after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The rise of variants like omicron have translated to waning protection from people’s initial vaccine series and increased the importance of booster shots. Multiple studies have linked booster shots to fewer hospitalizations and a significant increase in protection against an omicron infection — from around 30% to up to 75%.
Dr. Lisa Rabinowitz, a staff physician with the state health department, said she thinks the lower booster rate has to do with changing public health guidance, a lack of awareness about how helpful booster shots have been at warding off omicron and general COVID-19 fatigue.
“It’s been confusing, and guidance has changed often,” she said.
There are also people who have had COVID-19, and may believe that they are protected from that and didn’t need to get boosted — which isn’t true, she said. While natural immunity from an infection can give some protection against reinfection, data from the CDC has also shown that getting vaccinated after having COVID-19 significantly improves immune protection and further reduces the risk of reinfection.
Alaska’s booster rate has varied by demographics, especially age, Rabinowitz said.
“We definitely saw that elderly, more at-risk populations get boosted,” whereas the rate has been much lower among younger, healthier people.
Younger people may not believe they need that extra protection, or are unaware of how much extra protection you can get with the booster, she said.
By Thursday, state data showed that about half of all Alaskans 65 and older — a more high-risk age group — were vaccinated and boosted, while just 15% hadn’t received any of the three shots.
That compares to 26% of Alaskans 5 and up who’ve been boosted — and a third who hadn’t got a shot at all.
Still, while Alaska is in the middle of the pack when it comes to its overall vaccination rate, its booster rate is actually slightly above the national average by a couple of percentage points, Rabinowitz pointed out, attributing that fact to strong public messaging about the importance of boosters.
Nationwide, about 43% of everyone who completed their initial vaccine series is eligible for a booster shot but hasn’t gotten one yet, CDC data shows. In Alaska, that number is about 45%.
In recent weeks, Alaska’s overall rate of both booster shots and first and second doses has continued to decline. State dashboard data showed a 52% decrease in shots this week compared to the week before.
At a vaccine clinic at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Anchorage this week, nurse Kadie Hansen and her colleague Tom Wilson sat alone in an empty recreation room. The site had just one person show up to get a shot in the last three days, Hansen said.
Hansen said she thinks that stems from the fact that most people who want to get a shot have gotten one already, and that the deadline for most workplace vaccine mandates have come and gone.
On the other side of town, at a vaccine clinic located in Tikahtnu Commons, staff took bets on how many people would show up that day for shots.
Kimberly Wells, a nurse manager at the site, guessed nine. Colleagues guessed six and 16. By noon, just three people had stopped by.
Wells reflected on the stark difference in her work days between now and last year. There was one day last year where she’d had to vaccinate 152 people in one day, all by herself.
“Time definitely passes more slowly now,” she said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the overall population in an examination of Alaska booster shot rates. Twenty-six percent of Alaskans age 5 and older have been boosted, not 26% of the total eligible population. | <urn:uuid:5502d05a-f01d-4b36-a11b-34dff2ee4cc7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2022/02/24/only-about-a-quarter-of-alaskans-have-received-their-covid-19-booster-shot-despite-data-showing-its-effectiveness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00679.warc.gz | en | 0.965672 | 919 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Distance from Lengerich to Hovelhof
Distance from Lengerich to Hövelhof is 68 kilometers. This air travel distance is equal to 42 miles.
The air travel (bird fly) shortest distance between Lengerich and Hövelhof is 68 km= 42 miles.
If you travel with an airplane (which has average speed of 560 miles) from Lengerich to Hovelhof, It takes 0.08 hours to arrive.
Lengerich is located in Germany.
|GPS Coordinates (DMS)||52° 11´ 11.7960'' N |
7° 51´ 37.5480'' E
Lengerich Distances to Cities
|Distance from Lengerich to Dusseldorf||131 km|
|Distance from Lengerich to Ibbenburen||14 km|
|Distance from Lengerich to Leinfelden Echterdingen||399 km|
|Distance from Lengerich to Kempen||135 km|
|Distance from Lengerich to Emden||139 km|
Hovelhof is located in Germany.
|GPS Coordinates||51° 49´ 0.0120'' N |
8° 39´ 0.0000'' E
Hövelhof Distances to Cities
|Distance from Hovelhof to Eitorf||144 km|
|Distance from Hovelhof to Dusseldorf||146 km|
|Distance from Hovelhof to Detmold||20 km|
|Distance from Hovelhof to Clausthal Zellerfeld||116 km|
|Distance from Hovelhof to Dortmund||89 km| | <urn:uuid:9ecc7001-944e-4c5f-841a-e1c20e2eb85d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from-lengerich-de-to-hovelhof-de | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00556-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.733256 | 349 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Safeguarding and equality
British Dressage places the highest priority on safety within the sport, and recognises that it has a duty of care towards children (Children’s Act 1989), young people and adults at risk, irrespective of age, any disability they have, gender, racial origin, religious belief and sexual identity.
British Dressage, as part of the British Equestrian Federation, takes Safeguarding very seriously and together with the other member bodies forms a Safeguarding Action Team (SAT). SAT works together in collaboration to share best practice, produce policy and procedures to ensure the safety of all participants, as well as actively promoting safeguarding through education.
Children want to be respected, their views to be heard, to have stable relationships with professionals built on trust and for consistent support provided for their needs. This should guide the behaviour of professionals. Anyone working with children should see and speak to the child; listen to what they say; take their views seriously; and work with them collaboratively when deciding how to support their needs.
There's a risk that even the mention of the subject will frighten people away. But no one should be deterred from participating, whether as a coach, official or rider, in equestrian sports. On the contrary, people should be reassured that, by promoting Good Practice and addressing the subjects of bullying, emotional, physical and sexual abuse all members of The British Equestrian Federation are working to ensure that children and vulnerable adults will be able to pursue their sport in a safe, happy and enjoyable environment.
Who to contact
For confidential advice with any queries, or to report a concern or incident, please email Lead Safeguarding Officer, Ben Waterhouse:
For general Safeguarding queries & information please contact Sharon Weir or Hannah James on 02476 698834.
Alternatively, you can talk to the BEF regarding a Safeguarding concern - please contact their Safeguarding lead or call 02476 698871.
If you want to talk to someone else you can call Childline on 0800 1111 or visit www.childline.org.uk
If you think a child may be in immediate danger call the police on 101 or contact the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit helpline on 0116 366 5580.
BD has registered with the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) in England and Wales, with Disclosure Scotland and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland and is the 'umbrella body' for child protection and vulnerable adult checks within the equine industry.
All BD workforce engaging with children and young people are required to be on the British Dressage Trainers Database, have had a DBS check carried out through BD or one of the other BEF Member Bodies and have attended a Safeguarding course.
DBS checks can be done on-line and if done through any of the other member bodies, can be used as evidence for BD Youth activities. The cost of this is £61 including the cost of your documents being sent back to you via recorded delivery.
In any other instance, unless an extra fee is paid on-line, DBS checks are not transferable from one position to another outside of the member bodies.
Equality and equal opportunities
- Is fully committed to the principles of equality of opportunity and aims to ensure that all people, irrespective of ability, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation have equal opportunities to take part in dressage at any level and in any role.
- Seeks to educate and guide British Dressage members, their employees and volunteers on the ownership, adoption and implementation of its equality policy.
- Intends to raise awareness of equality through the implementation of this policy and the adoption of an Equality Action Plan and, as a result of this process, aims to monitor, review and evaluate progress in achieving the stated aims and objectives and to feed back to British Equestrian and member bodies on progress made.
British Dressage will ensure that its recruitment and selection procedures for volunteers, staff and officials are fair and transparent, and meet the appropriate legal requirements. | <urn:uuid:a9c20805-13f0-4267-889c-298601c6a948> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.britishdressage.co.uk/our-sport/british-dressage/safeguarding-equality/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572033.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814113403-20220814143403-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.945221 | 868 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Joining A Group Purchasing Organization
Pooling the purchasing power of service contract companies to create discounts.
Industries that are largely comprised of small businesses can realize huge benefits through a group purchasing organization (GPO).
These organizations pool the purchasing power of the members to negotiate significant discounts from suppliers covering the goods and services they use in their business every day.
GPOs are most commonly found in the healthcare, foodservice and grocery industries but have expanded into many other industries in recent years — even into nonprofit organizations.
National Service Alliance (NSA) is a GPO that was started in 1996 by several independently-owned building service contractors.
Over time NSA has recruited additional members, and today the organization represents over $1.7 billion in collective revenues.
This gives NSA significant leverage when negotiating national contracts with product manufacturers and service providers.
Guy Mingo, chief executive officer (CEO) of Marsden Holding, a privately owned security and facility service provider primarily serving the mid-western and western U.S. says, “NSA provides the purchasing power we need to be competitive in today’s market. It’s vital to realize every cost advantage possible, and NSA is a key partner for us in this effort.”
When NSA first formed, a few vendor partnerships for core janitorial products were negotiated.
Over the years, this vendor base has expanded to include a wide variety of products and services used daily in the facilities management industry.
The additional vendor partners offer significant discounts on equipment purchase and rental, office supplies and services, fleet and rental car services, core business needs and technology solutions.
A partnership with Sprint provides members with cell phone services, and they can take advantage of programs many building service contractors may not consider, such as safe driving practices, GPS tracking of employees for better service routing, timekeeping and payroll solutions, etc.
NSA negotiates savings with vendors leaving building service contractors (BSCs) and related businesses more time to focus on what really matters.
Paul Greenland, president of Aetna Building Maintenance, a regional janitorial, facilities management and industrial support service provider in the Midwest sums this up by saying, “By purchasing cell phones, office supplies, chemicals, vehicles and equipment though my NSA contracts, I easily save more than $50,000 per year. Plus, NSA takes care of the negotiations so I can focus on business, not pricing agreements.”
Members receive contractually protected pricing and can continue to purchase consumables from their loyal and trusted distributors — saving money without disrupting their established supply chain or retraining site personnel.
Members can also purchase a wide variety of equipment and services directly from the manufacturer or service provider, eliminating the distributor markup.
Companies can realize savings of 50 percent or more on consumables, equipment and services.
The NSA team works with the vendor partners to monitor product use and ensure members get the best value for the goods and services they need to run their business.
According to Stanley Doobin, president of Harvard Maintenance, a national janitorial, facilities and building maintenance services provider based in New York with satellite offices across the U.S., “Our savings are amazing and we recoup our membership fee in just one week. How can you afford to pass on an NSA membership?”
Members can take advantage of order control and reporting tools that help monitor and manage their spending, making sure that each job stays within budget.
The end result is bidding and servicing jobs more profitably.
Members also have access to extensive training tools and webinars designed to improve employee productivity, delivering greater profitability.
In addition, sponsored meetings provide opportunities to hear from top national speakers, share experiences and network with peers and vendor partners.
Further, the investment in membership can pay dividends through significant savings and year-end rebates.
“NSA’s purchasing power and education programs helped reduce our costs and significantly improve our profitability,” says Yasser Youssef, president of The Budd Group, a janitorial, maintenance and landscaping services provider in the southeast.
Prior to joining, a dedicated representative will perform an initial cost analysis for a business and project the savings an operation should realize.
Once a business joins, a representative will guide an owner through the process to make sure he or she receives group pricing from preferred consumables distributors and access to direct pricing from many of NSA’s equipment and services partners.
A representative will continue to work with a company to ensure maximized savings and overall program benefits.
Bob Weintraub, chief executive officer (CEO) and owner of Service Management Group, a commercial cleaning and building maintenance provider for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, states: “Joining NSA and getting started was easy. Our NSA rep took us step-by-step through the process on how to maximize the savings and other benefits offered to NSA members. Joining NSA was a smart move for SMG and we look forward to the savings we will realize every year.” | <urn:uuid:66c92f6b-95f1-402d-aa54-59455e24a9e4> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.cmmonline.com/articles/print/233391-joining-a-group-purchasing-organization | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718866.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00003-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955671 | 1,029 | 1.53125 | 2 |
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From design to deployment, building a scalable, highly available service is different from building other kinds of applications. This session discusses the impact that designing for the cloud has on all stages of the service lifecycle, and how the Microsoft cloud platform works for you to meet the scaling and availability goals of your service. This session will show how automation is used to free the developer from dealing with many hardware and networking issues. Also learn how the cloud services platform is architected to enable a pay-for-use dynamic model.
Yousef KhalidiYousef Khalidi is a Distinguished Engineer in the Clouds Infrastructure Services group where he is leading a team responsible for several components of a cloud computing platform. Yousef is responsible for several aspects of the platform, centered on the goal of building a low-cost, automated, large-scale computing system, using commodity hardware, with efficiently managed shared resources. Previously, he led an advanced development team in Windows that tackled a number of related operating system areas, including application management and isolation. Before joining Microsoft, Yousef was a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems. At Sun, he held positions including CTO and Chief Architect of Solaris, Chief Architect of the Sun Cluster product line, and Chief Architect of Sun's N1 product line. He has a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Tech.
Available formats for this video:
Actual format may change based on video formats available and browser capability. | <urn:uuid:b4d2449d-744c-42af-b0ba-f91e477014ab> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/pdc2008/ES02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00274-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93696 | 310 | 1.851563 | 2 |
With easy-to-follow exercises, the book gives you a visual walk-through of meaningful hands-on functions and design projects. The book begins with a clear-cut introduction to essential concepts and terminology. Newly learned skills are then put to the test by following the step-by-step exercises. Full color, crisp screenshots on every page give readers a clear picture of whats possible, and the CD included with the book contains all of the source files needed to complete the exercises.
Dozens of real-world examples, from straightforward to advanced, demonstrate how to integrate techniques. In the end, you will know how to enhance your designs and photos with all the new features that Photoshop CS 3 has to offer, including how to:
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced Photoshop user, this book will help you grow in your skills and learn the ins and outs of this version of Photoshop.
For a review copy or more information please email [email protected]. Please include your delivery address and contact information.
Blues Kim has written several books on Photoshop and has had a successful career as an artist/designer for numerous companies and magazines in South Korea. A graduate of the Seoul National University of Technology, Blues Kim is currently a principal and co-owner of the Green Art Institute in Incheon, South Korea. His other books have included: Fast Work- Photoshop CS; Designing the Designer-The Ideas Style Book: Photoshop CS in 20 Hours; and Flash MX in 20 Hours.
For more information about the book, see the catalog page for Photoshop CS3 Accelerated.
YoungJin.com has been publishing since 1987 and is one of South Koreas leading publishers on technology and computer graphics and design. They began publishing for the English language markets in 2003. Beyond their Accelerated series, other best-selling titles have included 40 Digital Photography Techniques and Maya Character Animation. YoungJins English language IT books are distributed by OReilly.
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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Contact Mary Thengvall | <urn:uuid:c8ed39fb-0c04-441d-bd18-15bd7f21e051> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.oreilly.com/lpt/pr/2002 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721141.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00415-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934754 | 515 | 1.992188 | 2 |
A classic pencil-and-paper
game, the basis for the commercial game Battleship
Also, a modern grid-logic puzzle based on the old game.
The usual rules for battleships are these:
In the grid, the one-unit ships are represented as circles, while the longer ones are represented by U-shapes at each end, and squares for the middle pieces. (So you don't know whether a square is part of a ship running horizontally or vertically.)
The ships are all straight, each lying in a single row or column of the grid.
These ships are all arranged in the grid so that no two ships touch, not even diagonally.
For each row and each column, you are told how many units of ship pieces lie in it.
Usually you are initially provided with the contents of a few squares -- just enough to make the solution unique.
- In a 10x10 grid (occasionally another size), there are 10 ships hidden, as follows:
- Four ships which each occupy a single space in the
- Three two-unit-long ships
- Two three-unit-long ships
- One four-unit-long ship | <urn:uuid:a2687334-2233-4e45-904d-2f915d2382ee> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://everything2.com/title/battleships | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00356-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954975 | 246 | 3.78125 | 4 |
St Peter’s School derives its strength from truth and honesty with God and one another. As we strive to model the love of Jesus, our teaching and learning will reflect the needs and interests of individuals and the community..
St Peter’s is a developing triple stream co-educational primary school situated about 6 kilometres north of the CBD. The school has an enrolment of approximately 750 students from Pre-Kindy to Year 6 and draws the majority of students from within the Parish of Bedford/Inglewood.
The staff provides an integrated curriculum for all the students with Religious Education as the focus. The curriculum draws together the concepts, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values from the curriculum framework in developing the competencies of expressing, investigating, communicating, creating and reflecting. St Peter’s offers a range of specialist programs including a Reading Recovery Program, Extension Program, EMU Mathematics Program, as well as Music, Physical Education, Visual Arts, Science and Italian. The school has also been part of the RAISE Literacy Initiative and Primary Connections program.
The school endeavours to establish close links with parents that result in:
- Greater understanding by parents of their children’s schooling
- Greater understanding by teachers of the students and their needs
- Better communication between home and school
- High student morale and confidence
- More goodwill and mutual esteem between parents and teachers
- Greater involvement by parents in school activities
- A happier school
St Peter’s Church and the school share common ground and a number of facilities. The Parish Priest is very supportive of the school and has built a good relationship between the staff and students.
The School Advisory Council plays an integral part in the school and have carried St Peter’s through various building programs of our current site to cater for our developing triple stream. The site now provides children with an attractive learning environment and also an excellent working environment for staff.
The Parents and Friends are an active body who support the school financially and encourage social interaction between parents and also between parents and staff. | <urn:uuid:d577e8a9-6883-4ac3-89ed-25b1817db0ed> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.stpeters.wa.edu.au/our-school/about/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.966322 | 422 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Discover your family's story.
Enter a grandparent's name to get started.
M. E. O’Hair, farming and stock; P. O. Charleston; was born in Morgan Co., Ky., Feb. 22, 1829. He married Miss Catharine R. Zink June 6, 1856; she was born in Edgar Co., Ill., and died Dec. 7, 1873; they had six children, viz., Calvin L., Laura B., Nettie T., Harvey Z., Gladys V. and Alvaretta C. He married his present wife, Miss Sarah E. Bryant, Oct. 14, 1875; she was born in Edgar Co., Ill., July 29, 1852; they have two children, viz., Charles H. and Francina D. He lived in Kentucky until he was 13 years old, when, with his parents, he came to Illinois, and settled in Edgar Co., where he lived until he became of age, when he went to California, his object being to mine; he remained two years, meeting with fair success; in 1852, he returned to his home in Edgar Co., and engaged in the stock business; in 1853, he bought part of his present place. and settled and improved the same; in 1857, he removed to the village of Kansas, in Edgar Co., Ill., and engaged in the general merchandise business, which he continued about four years; in 1860, he moved to Paris, and served as Sheriff of Edgar Co. for two years; he was then appointed Deputy Sheriff, and served two years, and, in 1865, he returned to his present place; in 1871, he was elected Supervisor of Seven Hickory, and held the office four years; since which time he has held the office of Highway Commissioner. He owns 700 acres in this township, which he has earned by his own labor and management. His parents, John and Mrs. Eliza Hardwick O’Hair, were natives of Kentucky, where they were married; in 1842, they came to Illinois, and settled in Edgar Co., where they now reside. | <urn:uuid:475df3d3-8c58-422a-8354-44783ec0c77b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.accessgenealogy.com/illinois/biographical-sketch-of-m-e-ohair.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00523-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.994078 | 439 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site
Known historically as "the Gateway to the Dakotas," Fort Abercrombie was the first permanent United States military fort established in what was to become North Dakota. It was also the only post in the area to be besieged by Dakota (Sioux) warriors, for more than six weeks during the Dakota conflict of 1862. During the Dakota Conflict, Minnesota Volunteer soldiers manned the fort when area settlers sought shelter there. The "regular" U.S. Army soldiers had been withdrawn during the Civil War and had been replaced by the Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. The fort was not protected by blockhouses or a palisade during the siege, but these defensive structures were constructed soon afterward.
The fort guarded the oxcart trails of the later fur trade era, military supply wagon trains, stagecoach routes, and steamboat traffic on the Red River. It also was a supply base for two major gold-seeking expeditions across Dakota into Montana. Fort Abercrombie served as a hub for several major transportation routes through the northern plains.
After the fort was abandoned in 1877, fort buildings were sold and removed from the site. A Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in 1939-1940 reconstructed three blockhouses and the stockade and returned the original military guardhouse to the site. Beginning in the summer of 2001, a project to refurbish major portions of the WPA project and to reinterpret the site was initiated.
- Dates of Operation: May 16-September 15 (Each Year)
- Admission: $5 for Adults, $2.50 for children 6-15
- Hours of Operation: Daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | <urn:uuid:60987c79-9d84-4f98-8456-60d5f17a8679> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ndtourism.com/abercrombie/attractions/fort-abercrombie-state-historic-site | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00347-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974581 | 349 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Planting trees in cities can reduce land surface temperatures by up to 12 degrees Celsius during the summer, according to researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers have revealed that, on average, cities with trees were up to four times cooler than similarly-sized cities with little to no green cover.
In the past, research has shown that green spaces can help reduce high ambient temperatures in cities during the summer months. As the vast expanses of concrete and asphalt in cities tend to absorb a lot of heat, temperatures in areas without greenery tend to skyrocket.
For the latest study, the researchers analysed hundreds of European cities using satellite imagery and land surface temperature sensors to figure out the impact of greenery on land surface areas instead of ambient or air temperatures.
They found that urban areas with green cover tended to have cooler surface temperatures when compared to similarly-sized urban areas which had no green cover. The researchers found the most difference in temperatures in Southern Europe, with trees helping cities to stay nearly four times cooler.
Interestingly, for the purposes of comparison, the researchers also analysed rural areas and found little to no difference. One reason for this might be the lack of concrete or asphalt that can absorb the heat.
The trees in cities help keep the ground cooler by providing shade and helping to reduce the amount of heat absorbed by materials like concrete, cement and asphalt. This highlights the importance of having green spaces and tree cover in urban areas, especially as global temperatures continue to increase year on year. | <urn:uuid:3f695111-3010-4a0c-99b2-eb13095f2e3e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://in.mashable.com/science/26025/trees-can-keep-cities-cooler-by-up-to-12-degrees-celsius-study | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.929415 | 318 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Psychotherapy is an effective way to work through emotional and mental health problems. It is a non-medicinal avenue in which individuals, couples and families are given the opportunity to work through challenges in their lives. Healing is a process of personal growth and exploration, guided by a skilled practitioner.
There are many benefits to therapy. Some of these benefits are in the opportunity to develop greater self awareness and understanding for your own life goals and values; as well, improving existing relationships or learning how to better develop healthy relationships. Therapy is also beneficial in that it can help people work through significant mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. Finally, the greatest benefit is in seeking resolution for issues that bring you to therapy in the first place. In general, most people find that psychotherapy can help them deal with their life's challenges. The key is in finding the right therapist for you.
For more information on Meagan's qualifications and practice, click here or the about tab above. | <urn:uuid:9fa0163b-250c-4f54-bf15-11ee793b7d9f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://therapywithmeagan.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00503-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962278 | 199 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Many companies are now incredibly keen to make sure that their practices, processes, products and procedures are ethical, sustainable and environmentally friendly. In short, they see themselves as having a ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR).
This commitment to corporate social responsibility is partly for philanthropic reasons, but an impressive CSR strategy can also enhance a company’s reputation and thus maximise its profitability.
If CSR initiatives are publicised effectively, they can make the company more attractive and reputable in a variety of ways. For instance, they can help the recruitment process by attracting the best candidates, and they can actively reduce outgoings by helping the organisation to cut down on its consumption of valuable resources.
But how can companies make sure that their endeavours have a positive impact on society and the environment? Well, they hire a dedicated corporate social responsibility manager, of course!
Corporate social responsibility managers are responsible for defining and developing the strategies which underpin a company’s CSR objectives. They conduct research, come up with ideas, develop policies, create detailed plans, build relationships with partner organisations, and then implement and coordinate a range of activities and initiatives which are designed to have a positive impact on the environment and local communities.
A corporate social responsibility manager’s job also tends to involve aspects of marketing and publicity. Indeed, if you enter this line of work, you will act as an internal and external representative for your company’s CSR policies and projects. You’ll be responsible for raising awareness of your company’s commitment to CSR and generating publicity around your organisation’s altruistic endeavours.
Finally, corporate social responsibility managers are also responsible for recruiting, managing and training junior staff members.
Salary & benefits
Entry-level corporate social responsibility officers tend to earn between £18,000 and £23,000 per annum, while professionals with a few years of experience can earn around £30,000 to £35,000 a year.
Senior corporate social responsibility managers can earn annual salaries of anywhere between £60,000 and £80,000.
Corporate social responsibility managers typically work five days a week, nine-to-five. However, extra evening and weekend work may be required from time to time to meet project deadlines.
To enter this line of work, you will need an undergraduate degree or aN HND (Higher National Diploma) in any discipline. However, studying a relevant subject, such as sociology, economics, human rights, international development, international studies, modern languages, marketing, PR, law, politics, business studies, maths, environmental engineering, environmental management or ecology, may boost your chances of securing an entry-level graduate job.
Training & progression
Most people start their CSR careers as an assistant or corporate social responsibility officer and work their way up through the ranks to become a corporate social responsibility manager. CSR teams tend to be quite small, so if you work hard and have plenty of ambition, you can progress quite quickly.
At entry-level, the majority of your training will be done while on the job under the supervision of a senior corporate social responsibility manager. You may also be given the opportunity to attend in-house training sessions from time to time.
Once you have established yourself as a corporate social responsibility manager, you will pretty much have reached the top of the career ladder. Consequently, you may have to move to a larger company in search of new challenges and a higher salary. Alternatively, you could go freelance and offer CSR consultancy services to a range of different clients. | <urn:uuid:22a4b5b6-2c17-46d5-9d18-e427bf134fbd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.allaboutcareers.com/careers/job-profile/corporate-social-responsibility-manager | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00565-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952007 | 735 | 1.984375 | 2 |
From new releases to modern classics, these children’s books were written to educate, empower and inspire.
Black History Month is a time to celebrate not only influential Black trailblazers, but also the true meaning of Black excellence. It is a month where Black people should feel encouraged to celebrate their authenticity and truly embrace the greatness of Black culture.
In order to truly understand the magnitude of their greatness, young children must learn their history. It is essential for Black children to learn about not only the trials of the Black experience but also the triumphs. With that in mind, here are 13 must-read children’s books that focus on both Black history and self-appreciation.
I Am Enough by Grace Byers (HarperCollins, 2018)
Written by actor and activist Grace Byers, this New York Times bestseller is a beginner’s guide to self-love. Designed for children between the ages 4 and 8, I Am Enough is a picture book that explores self-love, respecting others and treating people with kindness.
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson (Penguin Random House, 2021)
Credit: Penguin Random House
Written by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who masterminded The 1619 Project, and Renée Watson, a Newbery award-winning author, this picture book is designed for children between the ages of 7 and 10. Born on the Water follows a young student who has a family tree assignment, but can only trace her history back three generations. With the help of her grandmother, she learns about the consequences of slavery, the history of Black resistance and the life her ancestors led before 1619.
Who are Your People? by Bakari Sellers (HarperCollins, 2022)
In his debut picture book, political commentator Bakari Sellers aims to celebrate the village that it takes to raise a child. Written for children between the ages of 4 and 8, the goal of this book is to recognize the people and places that help define young readers. Who Are Your People? is a tribute to the family and communities that shape young people into who they are.
Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper (Capstone Young Readers, 2015)
Credit: Capstone Young Readers
With this inspiring book, Floyd Cooper told the story of a young Black girl named Mazie who is ready to celebrate liberty. Juneteenth for Mazie, which is designed for children between the ages of 6 and 9, celebrates Juneteenth, the Emancipation Proclamation and Black history.
Black Inventors: 15 Inventions that Changed the World by Kathy Trusty (Rockridge Press, 2021)
Credit: Rockridge Press
Black inventors have made great advancements in science, technology, engineering and math, but their accomplishments oftentimes are not acknowledged. Designed for children between the ages of 8 and 12, Black Inventors details 15 Black men and women who created inventions, ranging from the first hairbrush to the personal computer, that changed the world.
Black Heroes: A Black History Book for Kids: 51 Inspiring People from Ancient Africa to Modern-Day U.S.A by Arlisha Norwood, (Rockridge Press, 2020)
Credit: Rockridge Press
Written by Arlisha Norwood, Black Heroes introduces children to Black heroes throughout time. Through biographies, colorful portraits and extra ways to learn, this book, which specifically caters to children between the ages of 4 and 6, takes children on a journey through time highlighting Black trailblazers across the world.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic edited by Lilly Workneh (Rebel Girls, 2021)
Credit: Rebel Girls
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic features the work of over 60 Black female and non-binary authors, illustrators and editors exploring the stories of women like tennis player Naomi Osaka and author Toni Morrison. Edited by award-winning journalist Lilly Workneh with a foreword by #BlackGirlMagic originator CaShawn Thompson, the New York Times bestseller is intended for children 6 and older, and is dedicated to celebrating, acknowledging and amplifying the stories of Black women worldwide.
Why?: A Conversation about Race by Taye Diggs (Macmillan, 2022)
Children naturally are very inquisitive. In Why?: A Conversation about Race, actor Taye Diggs distills the conversations many Black children are having with their parents when it comes to race, injustice and anger. Created for children between the ages of 3 and 6, this book gives young readers context for the things they see with the hopes that it will lead to more conversations, change and peace in the world.
Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black by Dapo Adeola (Penguin Random House, 2022)
Credit: Penguin Random House
Award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola created a picture book that explores what it means to grow up as a Black child in systemic racism. In addition to explaining the impact of systemic racism, Adeola instills hope for the future and empowers the next generation of dreamers. Hey You!, which is intended for children between the ages of 4 and 8, shares an urgent and timeless story while offering a rich reading experience.
Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist by Terry Catasús Jennings and Rosita Stevens-Holsey (Simon & Schuster, Feb. 8, 2022)
Credit: Simon & Schuster
Catasús Jennings and Rosita Stevens-Holsey are the writers behind Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist, a riveting biography about a trailblazer who spent her life fighting for civil, queer and women’s rights. Geared toward children between the ages of 10 and 14, this book tells the story of how Pauli Murray fought for the oppressed, lived by her convictions and challenged the authorities.
Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal by Karyn Parsons (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021)
Credit: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
With this addition to her Sweet Blackberry series, Fresh Prince alum Karyn Parsons tells the story of Garrett Morgan, the Black inventor responsible for creating the traffic signal. Saving the Day, which is intended for children between the ages of 4 and 8, details Morgan’s growth from a little boy with a head full of ideas to the successful inventor who saved countless lives.
Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader by Michelle Duster (Macmillan, 2022)
As told by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader shares the inspiring story of legendary journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells. As a founder of the NAACP, the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, the Alpha Suffrage Club and the Negro Fellowship League, Wells never stopped fighting for justice. This picture book, which is geared toward children between the age of 4 and 8, recounts the powerful story of one of the most influential people in Black history.
As Good As Anybody by Richard Michelson (Penguin Random House, 2013)
Credit: Penguin Random House
Written by Richard Michelson, As Good As Anybody explores the remarkable friendship of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. While the dynamic duo came from two very different walks of life, they both fought for equality and justice. The book, which is geared toward children between the ages of 6 and 9, recounts the story of how King and Heschel’s personal experiences translated into a message of love and equality for all.
Kayla Grant is a cross-topic multimedia journalist who is pursuing her Master of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In addition to being featured in theGrio, the Clark Atlanta University alumna’s words are published in Poynter Institute’s HBCU Voter Guide, Oz Magazine, iPondr, Prism, rolling out and the Atlanta Business Journal. Follow her on Twitter: @TheKaylaGrant.
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The UNIT RIG Story
Index For This Page
By Jerry A. Shelton
Retired Vice President of Sales
All rights reserved, April, 2010
(Download a PDF version of the original book, which includes photographs; 85 pages, 34MB)
This book on the history of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. is dedicated to Jesse L. Vint, Jr. who was the heart and soul of Unit Rig from 1956 to 1982. It was his leadership in all phases of the company's operations including; engineering, sales, manufacturing and financing that allowed Unit Rig to be successful in the off- highway truck industry. It is also dedicated to all of those employees who benefited from his leadership and dedicated themselves to making Unit Rig so successful. We also recognize the founders of Unit Rig and the Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. family who encouraged Unit Rig to get into the off-highway truck business and then gave their financial support to that effort.
This history of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. is in recognition of all of the thousands of Unit Rig employees that worked hard through the bad times and the good times to make Unit Rig the great company that it became. In the Acknowledgment Section of this history, I acknowledge a number of Unit Rig employees that contributed to the success of this company. But for everyone that I named there must be a 100 that I did not name and every one of them can be proud of their contribution to the success of Unit Rig.
In the early 1950's, Unit Rig was struggling to keep its doors open during a down turn in the oil well drilling industry. There would be times when the company had no product manufacturing work for the plant personnel. Instead of laying-off these workers, Unit Rig management would put them to work doing things like, painting the inside of the plant, repairing tools and machinery and other jobs just to keep them busy. When business improved, many of the workers would return that favor by working their shift, going home and eating supper, then returning to the plant and working a few more hours without clocking in. It was this kind of dedication, by the employees and management of Unit Rig that allowed a small, struggling manufacturer of oil field equipment to move into the business of designing, manufacturing and marketing large haulage trucks for the open-pit mining industry. This market was dominated by companies like; Caterpillar, K. W. Dart, Wabco and Terex. Unit Rig not only entered that market but they dominated it for more than 20 years. This is the story of that company.
I started to work for Unit Rig & Equipment Co., in November, 1951, as a Trainee Mechanical Draftsman. I was on three months probation that was later extended to six months. I retired from the company in March, 1994, as Vice President of Sales. During those 42 years I saw the decline of our oil well drilling equipment business and our entry, in 1959, into the business of designing, manufacturing and marketing large trucks for hauling waste and ore in the open-pit mining industry. In an earlier history of Unit Rig, I designated the first 20 years in the mining truck business, 1959 to 1979, as Unit Rig's Golden Years. But, I have concluded after researching the years from 1935 to 1950, that the founders and early employees of Unit Rig might say the years from 1935 to 1950, were also golden years in the history of the company. The truth is that Unit Rig, all through its history, from 1935 to 1988, was an outstanding company that accomplished some really amazing things and produced a lot of "gold" for its owners, stockholders and its customers. For various reasons, I stopped this history of Unit Rig at the time, in 1988, when the company was purchased by Terex Corp.
I started The Unit Rig Story by writing about events that happened during my employment at Unit Rig. I was more comfortable with this part of the history because I either had first hand knowledge of an event, or I could talk to someone else who had knowledge or at least an opinion as to what had happened. When I started writing about the early history of the company, 1935 to 1950, I had to educate myself by researching those early days. If I had had more time, or had just taken more time to look into the early history, I know that I could have come up with additional information. For instance, there are still members of Hugh S. Chancey's family living in the Tulsa area. I made one brief contact with one family member, and I am sure that there is information available with other family members that would add to Unit Rig's early history. Later, maybe I will try to add to our information on Mr. Chancey.
I would have liked to have obtained more information concerning the 1947 law suit that pitted Bill Guier against Hugh Chancey. This law suite ended up with Bill Guier getting control of Unit Rig and Hugh Chancey getting Unit Rig's sister company, Portable Drilling Company. The only real information that I could uncover was that "Boots" Adams, President of Phillips Petroleum Company was apparently involved in that law suit. I talked to some clerks at the Tulsa County Court House about this law suit, but they were not very encouraging. They did not believe that there was very much information still available.
With a limited amount of research I was able to gather a lot of information concerning the company and the people that made it so successful Irish poet, William Butler Yeats said, "All life is a preparation for something that will never happen, unless you make it happen." That just about sums up the definition of a Unit Rigger, they were people who were not afraid to make things happen. This is their story.
There were a number of people that made direct contributions to my effort to write this history of Unit Rig and Equipment Company. I was fortunate to have obtained the written works of H. Craig Doennecke concerning William C. Guier, one of the founders of Unit Rig. Craig was an outstanding design engineer who worked for Unit Rig off and on from the late 1930's to sometime in the mid 1970's, first as a Mechanical Draftsman while he was still in high school and then as a Design Engineer after college and his time in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Craig had a personal and working relationship with Bill Guier. When Bill Guier moved to Tulsa, in 1935, he moved into a house just across the street from where Craig lived with his family. Another Unit Rigger, Jim Christopher grew up in the same neighborhood. At some point in their relationship, Bill asked Craig to write the Bill Guier Story and I know that Craig put a lot of time and effort into that request. Later, apparently, the family commissioned someone else to write the Bill Guier Story. But the work that Craig did in putting together information concerning Bill Guier was a big help in writing this history of Unit Rig.
I was lucky to have met R. J. Savage at the Granby Miners Museum in Granby, Missouri. R. J. remembered Jerry Underwood, a founder of Unit Rig, and provided me with a lot of useful information about Mr. Underwood who was a banker in Granby and a partner in the Kelly-Underwood Bridge Building Company. Stan Storer, who once lived in Granby, contributed additional information on Jerry Underwood.
A couple of years before Jesse L. Vint, Jr. died; he gave me a box of newspaper clippings that provided me with a lot of old Unit Rig information. I also spent some time talking to Jesse when he was in various nursing homes. His body was not in good shape, but his memory was sharp, and he provided me with inside information on a number of important events in the history of the company. Royal Hibblen gave me four issues of "The Oil Show Daily" Newspaper, from the 1940 Oil Show. Two of the issues I gave to Kenneth W. Davis, Jr. and the other two I have used in putting together the early history of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. I "quietly" quizzed Jim Christopher, Dick Evans, Jack Hodges, Bill Chronister, Mickey Ford, Jim Willis and Rodger Goodbary to get their knowledge, opinion and prospective on the history of Unit Rig. They were all a big help and each of them looked at the history from a little different perspective.
The information on the life of Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. was obtained from the Fall 1968 issue of the Mid-Continent News magazine and from the book "I'll Take The Rest Of The World" By Carlton Stowers, Published by William S. Davis. I also used information from the book, "Faszination Baumaschinen" by Wolfgang Poppy.
A special thank you goes to my Daughter-In-Law, Perlinda Shelton, to my friend Tom Smith, Unit Riggers Jim Thompson and Mary Meeks. They edited my work and made suggestions for making this history a little easier to follow and understand. But I am still not sure of the correct way to use a comma.
The Unit Rig story started in 1935 when an oil field equipment salesman, Hugh S. Chancey had an idea for a rotary drilling rig that he believed would give a drilling company a competitive edge in the booming oil well drilling business. It essentially ended in 1988 when the 1985 bankruptcy of Unit Rig's parent company, Kendavis Industries International, Inc., caused Unit Rig to be sold to the Terex Corporation. Even though I continued working for Unit Rig/Terex until March, 1994, I stopped this history in 1988.
This is the story of a successful oil field equipment manufacturer that was not able to sustain its success in that industry. To stay in business, it changed its product line to open-pit mine haulage trucks and became even more successful. But once again could not sustain that success. One of the reasons for Unit Rig's inability to continue its success in the mining truck business was an external event, the bankruptcy of its parent company. There also were internal events such as the hiring of upper and middle management people from outside the company. These and other events had a big effect on Unit Rig's demise. Still, Unit Rig's entry into the mining truck industry, and the things that were accomplishments in that business, is a real American success story and its employees can all be proud of that success.
Unit Rig accomplished some really amazing things in both the oil field and the mining industries. In the 1930's, 40's and 50's, Unit Rig set the Gold Standard for rotary drilling equipment by successfully competing with all of the big companies in the oil field equipment industry: National, Ideco, Brewster, Oil Well Supply and others. In the 1960's, 70's and 80's, Unit Rig set the "Gold Standard" for open-pit, off-highway haulage trucks by taking on the "Big Boys" in the open pit mine haulage equipment industry: Caterpillar, Euclid, Wabco, Terex and K. W. Dart.
In the mining truck business, Unit Rig was the first to:
- Use the General Electric's motorized wheel drive system in a haulage truck. (1959)
- Manufacture and Sell a fleet of diesel-electric trucks for the mining industry. (1963)
- Use gas turbine engine power in a open-pit mining truck (1965)
- Use diesel/trolley power for a fleet of large open-pit mining tricks. (1970)
- To build a 200 ton payload capacity, two-axle, rear dump truck. (1972)
- To develop and operate a fleet of "Driverless trucks" in an open-pit mine (1974)
These are accomplishments that made Unit Rig a leader in this industry.
My first motivation for writing the history of Unit Rig was probably just curiosity as to how the company really got started. Over the years, the company had written a number of "Histories" that I knew were just promotional articles. So when I started to write about my own experiences working for Unit Rig, I decided that I wanted to include a more accurate and comprehensive record of why the company was founded, why it was so successful and why it would eventually fail.
Outside of the people that I listed in the preface, I did not interview anyone else. In hindsight I wish that I had been able to interview some other ex-Unit Riggers who contributed so much to the success of the company. Such as: Assembly Leadman, Elis Barlow, who redesigned my first (failed) design project, while standing in the Assembly Shop. After he fixed my design he then sat me down on a wooden crate and watched while I measured the changes and recorded them on a scrap of paper. Whenever I was involved in designing a hydraulic system, I always let another assembly man, Fred Johnson, look at my design because of his practical experience in hydraulics. And there were L. C. Steward and Glenn McCarty who, at various times, ran the Assembly Department. In the Weld Shop we had John Schuette and guys like Virgil Cooper, who was an outstanding steel fabricator.
(I was standing in the Assembly Department one day with Virgil Cooper looking at a rather long chain drive case that I had designed. It was mounted on a "Rock Over Trailer" that had an engine compound mounted high above the axle and a mud pump sitting low between the axle and the fifth wheel. The upper end of the chain case had a shaft and sprocket assembly mounted in pre-machined rings that had been welded to the chain case. The lower end was mounted to the pump with the pump drive shaft and sprocket extended inside the chain case. The problem was that in the fabrication process, the chain case had twisted and the two shafts were not parallel. I told Virgil that we were going to have to remove the chain case from the trailer, remove the shaft and sprocket from the case, remove the welded on rings and weld a new ring in place so that the shafts would line up.
Virgil looked at me and said, "Oh, I don't think so." He turned around and walked away. When he returned he had a bucket of water and a heating torch. He sat the bucket on the floor and began heating the outside wall of the chain case with the torch. Every now and then he would spit on the heated area and then continue to heat it with the torch. Finally he said, "That should do it" and he picked up the bucket of water and threw it on the heated area of the chain case. There was a little steam and the chain case made some funny noises. When I looked around, Virgil was gone. We checked the two shafts and they were parallel.)
I do not know what we would have done without Kenneth C. (Wally) Wallingford's talent for designing jigs and fixtures for use in the shop and the field. I worked for Wally for a couple of months one summer and marveled at his ability to understand a problem, visualize the solution to that problem, and then design a jig or fixture to assist with fixing the problem. Wally was equally respected by Management, Engineering, Manufacturing and the customers that he dealt with in the field.
Unit Rig always had dedicated people in charge of the manufacturing plant, people like John W. Tullis, William J. (Bill) Peycke Jr., James A.(Jim) Christopher and Russ Jones.
A number of our plant personnel and engineering personnel were asked to transfer to the field and work as service engineers and/or go to the field to solve a specific problem. These employees did more than just keep our trucks operating; they were the "face" of Unit Rig in the mining industry. Their dedication and hard work promoted Unit Rig to our customers and potential customers and contributed to the "Repeat Orders" from customers that were so important to Unit Rig's success.
There were good people in every department, people like Craig Doennecke, Duane Lackey, Rodger Goodbary, Dick Evans, G. A. Tomlinson, John Neighbors, Gene Wortman, Ed Lyle, Jim Willis, Jack Hodges, Don Wilson, Larry Lyon, Paul Parton, Dennis Duffy, Hubert McAulay, Nolan Cummins, Mary Meeks, Larry Vargus, Royal Hibblen and many more in the Engineering Department. In the Sales Department there was: Charlie Southward, Tommy Long, Bob Johnsen, Roland Parmentier, Tommy Peery, Rusty Braswell, Bob Pierce, Al Logan, Al Hunt, Eldon Stout, Glenn Samford, Ed Bielo, Bob Herrick, Connie Wheeler, Susan Casey, Billie Snow, Barbara Walling and Jesse Ewing. And my very good friends; Zarko Puretic, our main man in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and R. P. Kotecar in Mangalore, India. Mickey Ford, Jack Bodnar, Russ Ford, Ray Farquharson, Bob Grossman, Doug Crain, Ray Gibson and Roger Goolsby in Service. Howard L. Brainaid, Dani Turner and Tia Thompson in Sales Administration and William L. (Bill) Chronister and his ability to accurately estimate the cost of a new product or part. The list could go on and on with people like; Don Curran, Charlie George, Richard Thomas, Al Steward, George Watson, Harold Purkiss, Vernon Mills, Walter Pate and Sue Morgan and so many more, - - - I wish that I could name them all. Virtually, everyone that worked for Unit Rig during the first 50 years of its history can be proud of their contribution to the success of this company.
And of course there was our President, Jesse L. Vint, Jr.
Jesse was President of Unit Rig from August, 1956 until his retirement in April, 1982. It was his leadership that took Unit Rig from a struggling manufacturer of oil field equipment to a company that became the innovative leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of haulage trucks for the open-pit mining industry. Jesse was not perfect and he never pretended to be, nor did he expect you to be perfect. He wanted employees that worked hard, made decisions, fixed mistakes and then learned from those mistakes. He could be a tough, intimidating president, but he was also caring and loyal, sometimes to a fault.
He did not mind if you disagreed with him as long as your disagreement was based on tangible things and not emotions. Once he had made a decision he wanted you to forget about the disagreement and get on with your work. I remember one time Jesse needed to make a decision on a new product. He assigned two employees, who were very capable, but relatively new to the company, to research the product and make a recommendation. As Manager of Application Engineering, I was copied on their report that recommended that the company not proceed with this new product. I strongly disagreed with the recommendation and called Jesse to see if I could discuss it with him. I walked into Jesse office and he was sitting behind his desk. I sat down in a chair in front of his desk. After I had explained to Jesse why I was in favor of the project, Jesse said, "Jerry, I assigned two very good people to research the product and they disagree with your recommendations. I responded, "I agree they are both capable people but I think that they based their recommendations on what they thought you wanted to hear and not on what they believe." Jesse said, "Why would they do that?" "Well, I responded, you can be pretty intimidating."
Jesse rose up from his chair and in one motion, leaned across the desk and hit the top of the desk so hard with an open hand that a framed photograph on the desk fell over. In a loud and angry voice Jesse said "DAMN IT JERRY I AM NOT INTIMIDATING." Without losing eye contact I leaned back in the chair and smiled at him. For about five seconds I was not sure what was going to happen and then his face softened and his body relaxed. He sat back down in his chair and a big sheepish grin came across his face and he said, "Well maybe a little intimidating." He turned down my recommendation, which I still think was right, but I left feeling that I had a fair hearing and was ready to get on to the next problem.
When I was about 15 years old, my Grandfather Shelton told me that there were only two things that he knew of, that were good about growing old. He said, "For one, you could flirt with the younger women, and they could flirt with you, and neither one of you would take it seriously. And two, you could "pass gas" in public and no one would laugh at you." Grandpa was 65 years old when he passed that bit of information on to me. I am now 78 years old and I agree with his thoughts on flirting and passing gas, although I try real hard not to do the latter in public.
At 78 years old, I can add a couple of other advantages to growing old; one, you can play golf from the senior tees and two; you have the wonderful advantage of hind sight. In writing this history of Unit Rig & Equipment Co., I have tried hard not to pass judgment on things that happened years ago, based just on hind sight. For the most part, I was not there and therefore do not know what went into the various decisions that had both a positive and negative effect on the history of this company. As I said, I have tried not to pass judgment based on hind sight, but, as you will see, sometimes I just could not help myself.
In putting together this history, I have noticed a parallel between the old Unit Rig (1935 to 1960) and the new Unit Rig (1961 to 1988). The old Unit Rig started in 1935 with an improved version of an established method of drilling oil wells. The innovative Unit Rig U-10 and U-15 were easier to set up and easier to move from one location to another. They were also more efficient to operate and therefore more profitable to the owners and operators. From 1935 to 1960, this innovation became the "Gold Standard" of the oil well drilling industry.
In the late 1950's, the General Electric Company took a successful product, the diesel-electric locomotive drive system, and through innovation, produced a new drive system for off-highway, open-pit mine haulage vehicles. Unit Rig took this new drive system and through hard work and its own innovations, produced a new line of haulage vehicles (the M-85, M-100 and M-120-15) that was more efficient and more profitable for the operators of open-pit mines. This line of trucks became the "Gold Standard" of the mining industry from 1963 to the late 1970's.
In both the "old " and "new" Unit Rig, competition caught up with their innovative products and Unit Rig was not successful in maintaining a high market share. I do not know what happened during the early oil field days, because I was not there, but in hind sight I do believe that the "new" Unit Rig could have maintained its advantage, for many more years, in the off-highway truck business. In the course of writing this history of Unit Rig, I will try to convey, in hind sight, what Unit Rig might have done to better maintain that competitive edge.
In the mid 1960's, Unit Rig hired an engineer named John Neighbors. I was assigned to introduce John to the people in the Engineering Department and to show him around the company. At lunch, that day, I asked John what his first impressions were of Unit Rig and he said, "Unit Rig will not have any problem reaching a high level of success, because they have good people and a good product that is needed and accepted by their customers. The problem is that I do not think that Unit Rig will be able to handle and maintain that success."
John's prediction was correct; it was a lot harder maintaining a high level of success than it was reaching that level. Key people retired, or died, or just left the company and were not replaced with the right people. And things happened at our parent company over which we had no control. But this does not take away from the 50 years of success that was accomplished by dedicated, hard working overachievers who were winners because they made things happen. This is the story of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. based on my research, 42 years working for Unit Rig and input from many other people. -- Jerry A. Shelton
Why A New Company? What Was The Motivation?
When I started writing the history of Unit Rig, I asked myself these questions, Why did the founders start a new company? What was their motivation? Why, in the middle of the great depression (1929 to 1941) did the founders of Unit Rig leave good jobs and begin this new venture. All of the founders are dead, so it is impossible to be sure of their motivations, but I have gathered enough information to make an educated guess.
Unit Rig was founded as a partnership in 1936 by William (Bill) C. Guier, Hugh S. Chancey and Jerrold (Jerry) R. Underwood. Nineteen thirty-six was right in the middle of the Great Depression that started in 1929 and lasted until the United States' entry into World War II. This was a time, in the history of the United States, when any job was hard to find and good jobs were almost impossible to find. All three of Unit Rig's founders had good jobs. William C. Guier was Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing at Cardwell Manufacturing Products Company in Wichita, Kansas. Hugh S. Chancey also worked for Cardwell and was Sales Representative for the Oklahoma Sales Area. Jerry R. Underwood was a partner in the Kelly-Underwood Bridge Building Company, located in Granby, Missouri, as well as the owner and President of a bank in Granby. What motivated Guier and Chancey to leave their good jobs to start a new company and what motivated Underwood to invest in this new venture?
HUGH S. CHANCEY
Hugh S. Chancey was born July 23, 1903 in Sulphur Bluff, Texas, about 35 miles southeast of Paris, Texas. At age 17, he started working in the oil fields. Early in his career he moved into sales and worked for a number of companies that were involved in the oil industry, including Cardwell Manufacturing Products Company, in Wichita, Kansas. He married Grace Henden, of Granby, Missouri, in 1925. He died August 21, 1955 at the age of 52. Entombment is in the Mausoleum at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two of the honorary pallbearers were Paul Courtney, former President of Unit Rig and T. J. (Tommy) Peery a long time employee of Unit Rig. At the time of his death, Mr. Chancey was President and owner of Portable Drilling Co., and Vice President, Treasurer, and co-owner of Gackle Drilling Co., Inc. Gackle Drilling Co. had offices in Fort Worth, Texas and Hobbs, New Mexico.
I did not know Hugh S. Chancey. But the fact that early in his career he moved from what was probably, a roughneck job into sales, says to me that he was ambitious and smart. Like all good salesmen, he probably was always looking for an angle that would give him an advantage over his competitors. There were indications that he was also a bit of a maverick;. If that was true, he probably was the type of person who would rather own a company than work for a company owned by someone else.
I think that the original idea for starting a company to build a unitized drilling rig and another company to operate this new concept in drilling rigs probably came from Hugh S. Chancey. He would have been 32 years old when he got together with Bill Guier and Jerry Underwood and started Unit Rig and Portable Drilling. I do not know where the idea for a unitized drilling rig originated but it really does not matter. Maybe it was Hugh Chancey's idea, or maybe someone suggested it to him. Chancey may have taken the idea to Bill Guier and together they may have taken it to the President of Cardwell, who may not have been interested in pursuing it. But that is not important. The important thing is that Chancey, Guier and Underwood took the idea and made it happen.
I think that Chancey wanted to get into the contract drilling business and believed that a unitized drilling rig would give him the advantage that he needed to get started, and be profitable in that business. Thinking like a salesman, he would have concluded that all that he needed to pull this off was someone to design and build the new rig, someone to put up the money and he would do the rest. I am sure that he had good contacts with Caterpillar and Twin Disc, because he sold their equipment as part of Cardwell's product line. He would have used those contacts to get Caterpillar and Twin Disc to help finance this new venture. His brother-in-law, the brother of his wife, Grace Henden, worked at a bank in Granby, Missouri. The president of that bank was Jerry Underwood, who would become a partner in the new companies. Underwood's bank would be another source of money for financing the new companies.
So, Hugh Chancey's motivation probably was wanting to be his own boss and a chance to make a lot of money in the contract drilling business. He was willing, even during the great depression, to take the risk of leaving a good job so that he would have that opportunity. That is what smart, ambitious people do.
JERROLD (JERRY) ROSCOE UNDERWOOD
Jerrold (Jerry) R. Underwood was born in 1878 and died in 1946. He is buried in the Granby Cemetery in Granby, Missouri. He was a partner in a bridge building company named Kelly-Underwood and owned a bank in Granby that was probably named Bank of Granby. He may also have been an ore assayer. Today Granby is a town of about 2,100 people and is located in southwestern Missouri, a few miles east of Neosho on U. S. Highway 60. The sign on the water tower states: "Oldest mining town in the southwest," remembering the days when the mines near Granby produced lead and zinc.
On November 8, 2006, I drove from Tulsa to Granby to see if I could uncover any information about Jerry Underwood. I left Tulsa early enough so that I could have breakfast in Granby. My thought was that I might run into some old timers, like myself, eating breakfast who might remember Jerry Underwood, even though he had died 60 years earlier. On Main Street I found a cafe in which I could have breakfast. The young waitress walked up to my table, took one look at me and said," I bet you are one of those kind of guy that has to see a menu before you will order." Without taking my eyes off of her I said, "Two eggs over easy, bacon, whole wheat toast, milk and orange juice." She smiled and replied, "That works for me."
Sure enough there was a table with 6 or 7 men sitting around discussing the mid-term elections that had been held the day before. I decided that they were having too much fun talking politics to be interested in my problem, so I just ate my bacon and eggs, paid my bill and walked outside.
A little ways down Main Street I found the Granby Historical Society, located in the Granby Miners Museum. After signing the register and getting no response from ringing a bell for assistance, I walked to the back of the museum where I met R. J. Savage. To my surprise, R. J. did remember Underwood and thought that he, R. J., was about 10 years old when Jerry Underwood died. We spent the next half hour sitting in the office discussing Mr. Underwood. That is when I learned that Underwood had been a partner in the Kelly-Underwood Bridge Building Company. While we were talking, Dixie Hasse walked in and R. J. introduced her as, "Granby's Historian". Dixie Hasse also remembered Jerry Underwood. I asked her if Underwood was only involved in the financial end of the bridge building business. She said that if there was a bridge being built, Jerry would be out at the work site, working or supervising. One of the people who worked at Jerry Underwood's bank was a Mr. Henden, who was the brother of Grace Henden who was married to Hugh Chancey, one of the partners that formed Unit Rig & Equipment Co.
Stan Storer, an ex-Unit Rigger that lives in Tulsa and at one time lived in Granby, came up with some additional information concerning Jerry Underwood from the Internet. Underwood attended the University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy in the late 1800's. In 1899 he authored a dissertation for his Bachelor's Degree Thesis in Mining Engineering. The title was, "Some Quantitative Experiments on the ElectroDepositions of Copper." This indicates that Jerry Underwood may have graduated from the University of Missouri, in 1899.
R. J. and I walked down the street to the current bank, Community Bank & Trust, which is in the same location as was Jerry Underwood's old bank, the Bank of Granby. At the bank we talked to the bank's President and learned that Underwood's bank closed down a few years before he died. A couple of years later, another bank opened up in the same location. R. J. thought that this bank was named either the Citizen Bank or Citizen State Bank. This was followed by the current bank, Community Bank & Trust. None of this banking information is important except that it probably precludes any chance of finding any records of Underwood's bank's involvement in forming Unit Rig and Portable Drilling. Jerry Underwood and his wife Jenny Henden Underwood had no children, so this was probably a dead end for obtaining more information.
In talking to R. J. and Dixie, I did get a feel for Mr. Underwood who, unlike the other two partners, did not have to leave his job to get involved with the drilling rig venture. I am guessing that Jerry Underwood was an intelligent, hard working, entrepreneurial type who worked hard at surviving during the depression. He built bridges, owned a bank, loaned money for various projects and my sources in Tulsa indicated that he was an ore assayer for the mines near Granby. I can find no record of his direct involvement in the day to day business of Unit Rig, but he seemed to be the type that would have kept a close watch on how his money was being spent. I know that he was a partner until his death because the two surviving partners, Bill Guier and Hugh Chancey had to go to court to decide on who would control Unit Rig and Portable Drilling.
Jerry Underwood would have been 58 years old when he got involved with the forming of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. and Portable Drilling Co. His motivation was probably that it was just another way to make some money during the Great Depression.
WILLIAM C. GUIER
William C. Guier was an innovator and inventor. He seemed to be one of those rare people who could not look at a man-made object or procedure without seeing a way to improve it. His innovating and inventive ways took him from; the design of drilling and pipe line equipment, to a machine to blow a sand, mortar and water mixture on the side of his concrete block house, to new ways to handle a string of drill pipe, to inflatable "Pigs" for use inside of pipe lines, to his golf swing trainer (The Pro-Trainer) and his adjustable golf putter that allowed the golfer to adjust the weight and shaft of the club. He worked with W. C. Coleman, founder of the Coleman Lamp Company and Lloyd Stearman who started the Stearman Aircraft Company. He truly was a man of many interests.
William C. Guier was born in Reno County, Kansas August 21, 1898. He died on February 13, 1986 and is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma along with his mother Fannie May Guier, his father George F. Guier and his wife Dorothy E. Guier.
Reno County is a few miles north and west of Wichita, Kansas In the very early 1900's, his father bought an interest in the White Mercantile Company, a hardware store in Henryetta, Oklahoma. Later Bill's father was in the real estate business and worked in a furniture store. Bill made money, while growing up, by trapping muskrats for their fur. He joined the U. S. Navy in 1918 where he was trained as a radio technician. After the Navy, he studied at Fairmont University in Wichita. It appears that his studies did not include engineering. He worked at Laird Aircraft Company. He got his first introduction into the oil industry at White Eagle Oil and Refinery Company. In 1929 Bill became Chief Engineer for Cardwell Manufacturing Company.
Bill Guier was 37 years old in 1935 when he moved to Tulsa to start putting together Unit Rig. The new company was formed in 1936 and Bill Guier rented a room in the basement of the Wheatley Brothers Pump and Valve Company and started designing the Unit Rig U-10 unitized rotary drilling rig. The Wheatley plant was located at what was then known as Hales Station on the Sand Springs Interurban Line that ran between the cities of Tulsa and Sand Springs. Wheatley was a manufacturer of pumps and valves for the oil industry. The Wheatley Company has since been purchased by another company, but the old plant building is still there.
Bill Guier remembered the summer of 1936 when he was working in the basement of the Wheatley plant. The weather was very hot that summer and Bill's rented office became a steamy sauna making it very hard to work. Bill reported that Frank Wheatley, President of Wheatley Brothers, would occasionally help Bill alleviate the problem by bringing him a pint of whiskey.
The following paragraph is from Bill Guier's autobiographic notes, dated December 12, 1984.
"My experience with Cardwell from 1928 to November 1935 was about enough to give me an itch to try it on my own. An opportunity presented itself. Chancey, who was Cardwell's Oklahoma sales representative and a banker, Underwood, organized two companies, one a manufacturing company to be run by Guier, and a drilling company to be run by Chancey. I was to design and have built a rotary drilling rig to do contract drilling. The manufacturing company was named Unit Rig merging "Unit" and "Rig" each of which is a recognized term in the drilling field. The drilling company was to be known as Portable Drilling Co., Inc."
From the way that Bill's autobiographical note is worded, it indicates the original idea, for Unit Rig, was Hugh Chancey's and that Bill Guier's motive for getting involved with this new company seemed to be that he had an "itch" to run his own company.
A New Company Is Born
Unit Rig and Equipment Company was formed as a partnership in early 1936 by William C. Guier, Hugh S. Chancey and Jerry R Underwood. The partnership's total funding was $27,000.00, which included money borrowed from Caterpillar Tractor Co. and Twin Disc Clutch Co. The balance of the $27,000.00 probably came from Jerry Underwood's bank in Granby, Missouri. But there is also the possibility that Bill Guier and Hugh Chancey put some of their own money into this venture.
William C. Guier had been Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing for Cardwell Manufacturing Products Company, which was located in Wichita, Kansas and Hugh S. Chancey had been Cardwell's sales representative for Oklahoma. Jerry R. Underwood owned a bank and was a partner in a bridge building company in Granby, a small town in the southwest corner of Missouri. Granby is located on U.S. Highway 60, east of Neosho, Missouri. Chancey's brother-in-law, Mr. Henden, worked in Underwood's bank and that is probably how Jerry Underwood got involved with Chancey and Guier.
There is no known record of the break-down of the $27,000.00 that was used to start Unit Rig and Portable Drilling, but we do know that Caterpillar, Twin Disc and Underwood's bank were involved. The fact that Guier used Caterpillar tractors in his design of Cardwell's pipe laying equipment and that H. W. Cardwell was owner of the H. W. Cardwell Tractor Company, a Caterpillar dealer in Wichita, would have provided Bill Guier and Hugh Chancey with very good connections at Caterpillar. This probably was the reason that they went to Caterpillar for part of the $27,000.00. There may have been a similar connection with Twin Disc. The reason for moving to Tulsa, was probably because Tulsa was getting the reputation of being the Oil Capital of the World and what better place to start a new oil field equipment company. Also, Hugh Chancey probably had made many trips to Tulsa, representing Cardwell and liked this booming oil town.
Guier and Chancey's idea was to design and manufacture a unitized drawworks and engine compound that was capable of drilling a medium depth oil well. By mounting the draw works and engine compound on one common frame or skid, the rig could be more easily moved from one drilling location to another. The manufacturing company was named Unit Rig and Equipment Company, with Bill Guier in Charge. The first unitized drilling rig would be named the U-10. The sister company, Portable Drilling Company, headed up by Hugh Chancey, would put the first U-10 into operation.
Later, in 1936, as the U-10 design progressed, Unit Rig moved to a small, two story building at 1603 South Phoenix Avenue in West Tulsa. The building formerly housed the 7-Up Bottling Company and was torn down a few years ago to make room for the Oklahoma State University's College of Orthopedic Medicine.
One of the first people who Bill Guier hired was an engineer named Bob Brown. Bob worked for Unit Rig for a few years and then moved to Ideco. One of Bob's main assets was that he was incredibly fast at making a drawing using a Kerr fountain pen. In 1936, Ray Eldon Carter left Cardwell and joined Unit Rig as Chief Engineer and Partner. Ray was 29 years old. Other engineers to leave Cardwell and join Unit Rig were Earl Johnson and Fred. C. Schubert. Earl Johnson became Assistant Chief Engineer in August, 1951 after Ray Carter became President. Later, in 1955, he would transfer to Loffland Brothers Drilling Company where he finished his career. Earl Johnson hired the author, Jerry A. Shelton, in November, 1951.
The basic fabrication of the U-10 was done at the Patterson Steel Company plant in Tulsa and the balance was manufactured at the Wheatley Plant at a flat rate of $1.80 per hour. The first U-10 was completed in 1937 and was used by the Portable Drilling Company to successfully drill the company's first well. The well site was near Oklahoma City and they drilled to 5,500 Feet using 4-1/2 inch drill pipe. This was 1,500 feet deeper than the U-10 was rated. The improved U-10, called the U-15, had larger engines and could drill to 10,000 feet. This was a good beginning for the two new companies.
(In the early 1950's, after Bill Guier and Ray Carter left Unit Rig there was a story that I was told about the shipment of the first U-10. There is no way of knowing if it is true and I do not think that it reflects, in a negative way, on either Bill Guier or Ray Carter. It just reflects the personality of these two very talented men. The story goes that after the first U-10 was assembled and tested: Bill Guier was ready to ship it to Portable Drilling Company so that they could test the new design under actual drilling conditions. But every time they got ready to ship the new rig, Ray Carter found something that he wanted to change to improve the product. After weeks of changes and delays, Bill Guier suggested to Ray that he needed to take the weekend off to gather his thoughts and then come hack Monday ready to finalize all of the changes that he thought needed to he made so that they could ship the U-10 to Portable Drilling. So Ray took the weekend off and you guessed it, Bill shipped the U-10 to the field over the weekend. There is no proof that the story is true; but it does seem to reflect the personalities of the two men.)
The U-10 was quickly accepted by the oil well drilling industry. Its oil tight chain cases and the well planned transmission gave the U-10 a streamlined look compared to the crude look of the 1920's vintage rigs that were still in operation in the 1930's. The U-10 design employed Bill Guier's two rules for successful innovation: 1) Keep it simple and 2) pay attention to the appearance of the product.
The U-10 portable rotary drilling unit was featured in a Unit Rig advertisement that appeared in the 1940 Oil Show Daily newspaper. The ad also included: the U-17 Service Hoist, the U-19 Auxiliary Spudder, the U-16 Combination Rotary and Cable Tool Rig, as well as several different models of the U-10. Unit Rig was not just sitting on its hands with the successful U-10; they continued to look at new and better products.
After a couple of years, what few "bugs" were uncovered on the U-10 were eliminated and an updated draw works was designated the "U-15". The July-August 1953 Mid- Continent News magazine featured the 1953 Tulsa Oil Show. In this magazine, there is a photograph showing the 500th Unit Rig U-15. That is a really amazing accomplishment, since the 1940 Oil Show advertisement for Unit Rig did not mention the U-15. The U-15 must have been introduced in the early 1940's. The 1953 Oil Show was 13 years later and if you consider that World War II took over three full years of production away from Unit Rig's drilling rig business, that would indicate that Unit Rig produced about 50 U-15 per year for 10 years.(There is also a chance that the 500 U-15 's included the U-10 's that were produced before the U-15 went into production). It is a real tribute to Bill Guier, his Chief Engineer Ray Carter and all of the people who worked at Unit Rig, that they could produce and sell that many U-15's from the early 1940's until 1953. In the mid 1980's many U-15's were still in operation and some may still be in operation today.
There were other products such as the U-12, which was the rear portion of the U-15 which made a chain drive transmission with a reversing capability, the "Automatic Cathead." that when engaged by the driller would pull the catline (which was attached to the breakout tongs), one turn and then automatically release, the U-20 Telescoping Super Mast (not to he confused with the U-20 Drawworks that would he introduced in the late 1940's)
By 1941 Unit Rig had outgrown its facilities in West Tulsa and moved its offices, including the Engineering Department, to the Kennedy Building in downtown Tulsa. All manufacturing operations, including fabrication, machining, assembly, warehousing and a new service department, were moved to the old Parkersburg Supply building that was, at that time, owned by Oil Well Supply Company, located at 11 N. Elwood Avenue, between Denver Avenue and Elwood Avenue, and between Archer Street and the railroad tracks. An article in The Oil Show Daily newspaper dated May, 1940 states, " one of Tulsa's largest industrial real estate transactions was announced at the International Petroleum Exposition Monday in the purchase of the plant and equipment of the Oil Well Supply Company by Unit Rig & Equipment Company. This is said to he one of the largest buildings in the southwest devoted entirely to the manufacturing of equipment. Hugh S. Chancey and William Guier, principal owners of Unit Rig and Equipment Company, stated that the purchase of the new plant was necessitated by the increase of business and need for more space. The company manufactures a complete line of modern, streamlined drilling equipment and well-servicing units".
The six year old Unit Rig & Equipment Co. was enjoying tremendous success in the growing oil industry when the United States entered World War II. Production slowed on Unit Rig's line of oil field equipment and Unit Rig threw itself into the war effort. The first project was an anchor windless for the Navy.
Next was a Bill Guier designed marine transmission. It was a roller chain transmission in a fabricated steel case which also housed the clutching mechanism for forward and reverse speeds, plus compounding of the engines. Seventy-nine of the transmissions were ordered but only sixty-five were shipped before the end of the war. When the sea trials were conducted, in the Gulf of Mexico, to test the transmission in actual operating conditions, the sea became very rough and all of the Navy officials and most of the crew of the ship got sea sick. The only people that did not get sick were the two Unit Rig representatives, Bill Guier and Ray Carter.
The last project in the war effort was an assembly line that produced 155mm artillery shells.
With the war over and sales going strong, everything was going well for Unit Rig; at least that is how it looked on the outside, but on the inside things were not going so well. There was heavy friction between the partners that ended up in Court. The situation came to a head in 1947 when Jerry R. Underwood died. At the time of his death, Unit Rig and Portable Drilling Company were still a partnership and although incorporation proceedings were already in process, being a partnership gave Hugh Chancey the opportunity to sue for control of both Unit Rig and Portable Drilling. In what has been described as a dramatic courtroom scene, Bill Guier and Ray Carter, with the help of "Boots" Adams, President of Phillips Petroleum Company, gained control of Unit Rig while Hugh Chancey got control of Portable Drilling. The incorporation proceedings were completed after the law suit was settled.
Unit Rig would no longer work with Portable Drilling, so a new drilling company was formed with E. A.(Ed) Smith as President. Ed was an experienced drilling expert and well prepared to head up the new company, Service Drilling Company. The new company specialized in moderately shallow wells and operated mainly in the Texas Panhandle and Osage County in Oklahoma. They eventually operated 8 to 12 drilling rigs, most of which were the new Unit Rig U-34's. Service Drilling survived the oil "bust" of the mid 1980's. After Ed Smith's retirement and subsequent death, his son Sherman ably ran the company and kept the company as one of the premier small drilling companies in the country.
Sometime after World War II, around 1948 or 1949, Unit Rig moved the Engineering Department to the basement of the Elks Club at Second Street and Boulder Ave. Jack H. Smith was chief engineer, Ray Carter was executive vice president and Bill Guier was president.
Work was begun on two new draw works, a small torque converter driven unit called the U-34 and the U-30 to be used with the U-36 engine compound and designed for deeper drilling. The U-34 was a small, torque converter driven unit designed for shallow drilling. I believe that he project engineer on the U-34 was Tom Moughon. Tom was one of the more interesting people at Unit Rig.
(Sometime in the early 1950's after Tom had completed another big project. (I believe that it was the U-35 Project. It was a project that kept Tom working 12 hour days, six or seven days a week for about nine months), he was back in the Engineering Department in Tulsa, sitting at his drawing board, with his head in his hands. I walked over from my drawing board and asked him what he was going to do now that he had finished this project. Without looking up Tom asked me if I had ever been to his house. I responded that I had. Well then he said, "I would guess that you remember the front porch with the railing around the outside and the old rocking chair that is sitting next to the railing." I told him that I indeed remember the porch, the railing and the old rocking chair.)
Tom raised his head from his hands and looked me in the eyes and said, "Well Jerry in about one minute I am going to get up from this chair. I going to go down stairs and get into my car and drive to my home. I going to go in the back door of the house, stop at the frig and pick up a six pack of beer and continue out to the front porch. Then I am going to sit down in that old rocking chair, put my feet on the wooden rail and open a bottle of beer. And after about six months, I am going to start rocking real slowly."
The U-30 was a much larger unit designed for medium drilling. I believe that Jesse L. Vint, Jr. was project engineer on the U-30. The U-34 was very successful, but the U-30 enjoyed only moderate success, maybe because it was decided to market the U-30 draw works as a drilling rig with more capacity than the original concept.
To get the product line back in balance, it was decided to design a new medium deep drilling rig, the U-20. The first U-20 was probably produced in 1950.
Bill Guier loved the pipeline business and thought that someday he would get back into that type of equipment. Although that did not really happen, to any significant extent, Unit Rig did nibble at the business. In the late 1940's, Unit Rig built about a dozen "Big Incher" for Crutcher, Rolf and Cummings, a big pipe line supply company that was generally known as CRC. The "Big Incher" was a large wheel type ditching machine with Caterpillar drive tracks and steel drum front wheels. Unlike the all mechanical machines of the day, the "Big Incher" featured a number of hydraulic drives designed by Ray Carter. The appearance of the machine was rather spectacular and it was a colorful and popular exhibit at the 1949 IPE show in Tulsa.
The Transition Years
In January, 1951, William C. Guier and Ray E. Carter sold Unit Rig & Equipment Company to Kenneth W. Davis, Sr., of Fort Worth, Texas for a reported $2,000,000.00. Mr. Davis, at the time he purchased Unit Rig, owned Mid-Continent Supply Company, Loffland Brothers Drilling Company, Cummins Sales and Service and several other Companies. Mid-Continent was one of the largest and most aggressive of the oil field supply companies operating at that time. Later, the Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. conglomerate would be named Kendavis Industries International, Inc.
Kenneth W. Davis, Sr., joined Mid-Continent in 1929 and within a year he bought controlling interest in the company and started building his industrial empire. He was a man without a formal education, but with an indomitable will, sound business judgment and the courage to pursue his ambitions. Ken and his wife had three sons, Ken Jr., Cullen and William. Bill Guier liked Ken Sr. and got along well with him and agreed to stay on as President of Unit Rig until August, 1951. At that time Bill Guier left Unit Rig and Ray Carter became President. The date of Ray Carter's exit from Unit Rig is not known but it was probably in May of 1953, the date that Paul Courtney became President of Unit Rig.
At the time of the sale to Ken Davis, Sr., Mr. Davis was having a dispute with Aeroquip Hose Company, for whom he had been a distributor. One of the first thing that Ken did after he had purchased Unit Rig, was to set up a group of automatic screw machines in a pre-fabricated building on the east side of the Unit Rig manufacturing complex, and started his own hose and hose fitting company to compete with Aeroquip. This new company would be named Stratoflex Inc. Stratoflex Inc. became a very successful company.
Unit Rig continued to design new equipment. In 1952 they introduced a new draw works, the U-40. Jesse L. Vint, Jr. was project engineer on the U-40. A number of " Rock-Over" trailer mounted pumping units were produced and several new engine compounding units.
Two new products lines were also introduced; Traveling Blocks and Rotary Tables.
Later in 1953, Unit Rig moved all of their office functions from the Kennedy Building and the Elks Club, to the Oklahoma Tire and Supply Company's old warehouse at 12 N. Cheyenne Avenue. This new location was one block east of Unit Rig's manufacturing plant on Elwood Avenue.
From 1936 to 1951, Unit Rig's history was dominated by Bill Guier and Ray Carter. From 1956 to 1982, Unit Rig's history was dominated by its President, Jesse L. Vint Jr. and his management team of C. F. (Charlie) Southward, V.P. Sales, John W. Tullis, V.P. Manufacturing, and F. C. Morton, V. P. Finance. Between 1951 and 1956, there was a transition period that frankly did not get off to a very good start.
Sometime in 1952, probably about May or June, Unit Rig got involved in designing a new product, the Unimatic Detachable Ditching Machine. A. B. "Al" Burns convinced Unit Rig, or maybe Mid-Continent, to design and manufacture a ditching machine that could be quickly and easily attached or removed from a Caterpillar D-4 Tractor. I do not know Al Burns's background, except that he was an able promoter and had been involved with Unit Rig's Big Incher project in the late 1940's. Al Burns became President of the new company, Unimatic, and set up his office just off the reception area of Unit Rig's office at 12 North Cheyenne in Tulsa. An engineering office was set up near downtown. I believe in the 200 block of West Boulder Ave. Three very good design engineers worked on the project, Hubert McAulay, Gene Wortman and Dick Evans. The Unimatic was an engineering success, but a marketing disaster. It was a good entrencher and could be attached and detached quickly; but, it was very expensive and was not accepted in the industry. Unit Rig built six or seven of the machines, most of which sat in the weeds in the corner of the Unit Rig West Tulsa property that would, in 1964, be the location of it's new plant.
(In 1963, Unit Rig invited Mr. Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. to come to Tulsa to see the first production model of the M-85 Lectra Haul being tested at the West Tulsa property. They did not want to remind Mr. Davis, that the last project that he was asked to invest his money in, was a big failure. So they sent some shop people out to the location of the Unimatic's and laid them on their sides, deep in the weeds, where they could not be seen from the test track.)
In May of 1953, Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. brought in Paul Courtney to be President of Unit Rig. Mr. Courtney brought in his own team of people to help him run Unit Rig. This included; J. T. Tucker as General Manager of Sales, and K. W. Patterson as Assistant to the President.
In August, 1954, Tucker was promoted to V. P. of Sales and Patterson was promoted to V. P. in Charge of Manufacturing. Paul Courtney went inside Unit Rig to promote Jesse L. Vint Jr., who had been Chief Engineer, to V. P of Engineering. With the exception of Jesse Vint, the expertise of the new members of Unit Rig's management team did not match up with Unit Rig's requirements and by March 1955 the new team, except for Jesse Vint, was gone and Ken Sr. had made Kenneth W. Davis Jr., President of Unit Rig.
Ken Jr. quickly got Unit Rig under control. When Ken Jr. became President, he appointed Jesse L Vint Jr .to the position of V. P. President of Sales. At the same time, Ed A. Lyle was appointed Chief Engineer. Ed Lyle joined Unit Rig in 1952 and was responsible for the design of a new line of equipment for Unit Rig; rotary tables and traveling blocks. In August 1956, Jesse L. Vint Jr. was appointed President. This was the beginning of the second wave of golden years for Unit Rig & Equipment Co.
On January 23, 1958, Mid-Continent Supply Co. became the exclusive distributor for Unit Rig's line of oilfield equipment which would be sold under the Mid-Continent trade name. The name "Mid-Continent" was placed on all Unit Rig oil field equipment. The serial number plates indicated that the equipment was manufactured by Unit Rig & Equipment Co., a subsidiary of Mid-Continent Supply Co., Fort Worth, Texas. Unit Rig would continue to handle field service and Mid-Continent would handle sales and advertising.
The mid 1950's were a difficult time for companies in the oil industry and Unit Rig was fortunate to have Jesse L Vint Jr. as its President. With the oil business in a slump, Unit Rig had to look elsewhere for opportunities to keep its work force busy. An opportunity came in mid 1958, when Unit Rig was asked to bid on the detail design work and manufacturing of a folding aluminum bridge, and bridge launching mechanism for the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers. The launcher would be mounted on an M-48 U.S. Army tank chassis and would be used to launch a 40 foot long, folding, aluminum bridge. The first launcher and bridge was tested near The Tulsa Country Club on June 25, 1957. Unit Rig completed a contract for 27 bridges and 18 bridge launchers. In May 1960, Unit Rig received an additional contract to provide the U.S. Army with 140, 60 foot long aluminum folding bridges and 67 launchers for those bridges. The total contract was for $5,997,631. The bridge portion of the contract was sub-contracted to Allison Steel Manufacturing Company in Phoenix, Arizona.
In 1959, Unit Rig was awarded a contract to design and manufacture a high speed combat entrenching vehicle for the U.S. Army. Max Frazer was Project Manager and Eddy Foster was Project Engineer on the entrenching machine. Later, Jack Hodges was named Project Engineer. The first unit was tested on May 25, 1960. The entrencher was capable of digging a trench 6 feet deep and 2 feet wide at the rate of 20 feet per minute. Unit Rig produced 150 of these units for the army.
The End Of One Golden Era, And The Beginning Of Another
Unit Rig management knew that the government work was short term and continued to improve their line of drilling equipment by adding two new draw works, the U-914 and the U-1220.
While they added to and improved the drilling rig product line, they continued to look for a long term solution to their need for a product that would supplement the cyclical oil field drilling business. The solution came in 1958, when Unit Rig and General Electric would come together to produce a new line of open-pit haulage vehicle. The prototype was an articulated, four wheel drive, 64 ton payload, rear dump truck that was named the Unit Rig M-64 Lectra Haul. It was produced in 1959.
The first production truck was built in 1963 and would be a two-axle, 85 ton payload rear dump truck designated the Unit Rig M-85 Lectra Haul. This new line of trucks would dominate the open-pit haulage industry for two decades and would mark the start of Unit Rig's golden years in the off-highway truck business. (M-85 serial number 52, the second M-85 built, operated at Kennecott's Chino mine in New Mexico.)
Many unrelated events were happening in the late 1950's that contributed to Unit Rig's entry into the open-pit mining truck industry. General Electric needed a product to replace its declining locomotive business. Unit Rig needed to supplement its drilling equipment business with a product in a different industry. The open-pit mining industry needed a more efficient means of moving large volumes of ore and waste material in their expanding mining operations. To that end, they were testing some innovative new haulage trucks. The Anaconda Company's Berkeley Pit became an important testing ground for some of these new haulage concepts.
The General Electric Company produced a variety of railroad locomotives that were powered by diesel-electric drive systems. In the mid 1950's, GE's share of the locomotive market had been substantially reduced by its competitors, I believe, to about a 20 percent market share. An important part of this business was railroad locomotives that hauled ore and waste material in large open-pit mines. GE was getting a lot of competition from the makers of mechanical drive, rear dump trucks with payloads up to 65 tons. Hauling material in these rear dump trucks gave the mine operators more flexibility than the trains. It was much easier to load the trucks because the trucks could drive right to the shovel and during blasting, the mines did not have a railroad track to move.
In 1959, The R. G. LeTourneau Company placed a 65 ton payload, TR-60 rear dump truck in the Berkeley Pit. The TR-60 was a diesel-electric rear dump truck with traction motors mounted at each of four wheels. Each motor was rated at 400 horsepower and obtained its power from either an overhead fixed trolley line or its truck mounted twin-diesel engines. The diesel engines were used for off trolley operations at the dump or at the shovel. During the same time frame, another diesel-electric truck, a tractor-trailer vehicle built in Portland, Oregon, was being tested at the Berkeley Pit. This was a 65 ton payload truck with a 700 horsepower diesel engine that provided power to two electric wheels.
(The following information concerning how and why General Electric decided to design a drive system for use in off highway trucks is from my memory of what happened during the early days of Unit Rig's entry into this business. While writing this history of Unit Rig, I did contract some people that were ether working at GE or had worked at GE, for their input, but I got no written response. So, the following information is to the best of my knowledge.)
Some time in the early 1950's, GE had been involved with converting a number of rear dump trucks from diesel-mechanical drive to all electric-trolley drive. A fleet of these trucks were operated at Riverside Cement's underground mining operation near Riverside, California. When GE started looking at diesel-electric drives for trucks, they revisited the "Riverside design" and converted two 65 ton payload trucks (I believe they were Wabco 65 ton Haulpaks) to diesel-electric drive by replacing the transmission and converter with a DC generator and twin electric traction motor that plugged into the rear axle of the truck. These two trucks were operated in The Anaconda Company's Berkeley Pit near Butte, Montana some time in the mid 1950's.
Kennecott Copper Corporation was also a big user of General Electric's locomotives in their open-pit mines. They apparently told GE that they liked their diesel electric drive system in their locomotives but wanted to replace the locomotives operating in their mining operations with rubber tired rear dump trucks. Kennecott suggested that GE should design an electric drive for an off-road mine haulage truck. GE recognized that developing a diesel-electric drive system, for a truck, using the same basic components as their locomotives, could be a way to recapture the business currently being lost to mechanical drive trucks.
General Electric knew that using the "Riverside Design" would give a truck an unfavorable empty vehicle weight to payload ratio and therefore might not be competitive with the mechanical trucks. GE decided if they were going to have a successful drive system they needed to develop a design where the traction motors that would fit inside a tire or dual tires, thereby allowing the motor frame to become a structural part of the motorized wheel thus lowering the weight of the drive system. This presented some difficult design problems. GE overcome these problems and successfully completed their design, some time in the mid 1950's.
(When Unit Rig first started looking at designing the production model of the Lectra Haul line of trucks, the "Gold Standard" of the industry was the LeTourneau Westinghouse (Wabco) Haulpak line of trucks with payloads from 20 to 65 tons. I believe that this line of trucks was introduced in 1957. The designer of these trucks was Ralph H. Kress and I have always considered him to be the father of the modern rear dump truck. If you look at today's 400 ton payload, two-axle, six tired, rear dump trucks with their "V" bottom dump body and hydraulic suspensions, they look a lot like the Kress design. However, without question, Unit Rig was the father of the modern diesel- electric drive rear dump truck. Unit Rig took General Electric's innovative motorized wheel and married it to the Unit Rig Lectra Haul truck. That combination, along with Unit Rig's oil field service mentality, changed open pit mining material handling forever. And that will always he the legacy of Unit Rig & Equipment Co.)
GE took their new drive system to some or all of the major truck manufacturers without success. One reason may have been that the mechanical drive trucks had many more moving parts that produced a big and profitable after market parts sales. The electric drive had fewer moving parts to wear out and therefore would produce a smaller parts business. Or it may have been that the truck manufacturers had been building mechanical trucks for many years and just did not see a reason to change. Or maybe they remembered some bad experiences with previous electric drive systems. Whatever the reason, the truck manufacturers turned down the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this new venture and opened the door for Unit Rig. I believe that the only place that the new drive system was tested, before Unit Rig built their first truck, was on a Caterpillar scraper.
General Electric believed they had a good idea and continued to look for a way to get this project off high center. The opportunity presented itself with the Hanna Mining Company. Hanna which I believe was owned by The National Steel Company had a Vice-President who was on the Board of Directors of the General Electric Company. Through this connection, I believe that GE and Hanna decided to work together on this project. The first step was to agree on the basic configuration and specification of the truck. The second step was to find someone to design the truck to that specification and produce a prototype.
The details of how Unit Rig and General Electric got together on this new project are probably lost forever, but a good educated guess can be made. Pete Trenary, a General Electric engineer, was working with Unit Rig's Manager of Research and Development, Duane Lackey on designing an all electric drive drilling rig for off-shore drilling. Pete was not in GE's Transportation Division but was aware of their motorized wheel project and the difficulty they were having getting one of the established truck manufacturers to make a serious effort to employ the diesel electric drive on one of their trucks. Pete may have contacted his friends in the Transportation Division and suggested they contact Unit Rig and set up a meeting. I am only guessing that is the way it started, but I do know that GE contacted Unit Rig's President Jesse L. Vint, Jr. and asked for a meeting concerning the possibility of Unit Rig getting involved in this new project. A meeting was set up and a group from GE came to Tulsa and made a presentation to Mr. Vint. The meeting apparently did not go well and the GE people decided to regroup and come back for a second meeting. Jesse L. Vint Jr. was a very creative and innovative engineer who was looking for new products for Unit Rig to manufacture and sell and I am sure that he would have been interested in this new product. So I am not sure why the first meeting did not go well. I talked to one of the GE engineers that made the presentation and my best guess is that the GE people were too aggressive in their presentation. Jesse was not the kind of guy that you could pressure to make a decision. A second meeting was held between GE and Unit Rig and this time an agreement was reached to proceed on this project.
The following is from a March 31, 1968 article from the business section of the Tulsa World newspaper in which Jesse L. Vint, Jr. is quoted as follows:
"General Electric was looking for new outlets for its locomotion equipment and we went into the mining country and talked to them about large hauling equipment. It was evident there was a substantial market if we could develop a product to substantially reduce coats. We started in 1958 to survey the market, a study which went into 1959". "In June 1959 Hanna Mining Co., General Electric and Unit Rig worked out an agreement to produce and test a prototype electric drive unit. After 2-1/2 years of testing, Unit Rig built four units of what was then termed the production design units. These were 85 ton capacity ore hauling trucks".
General Electric and Hanna Mining Company were not the only companies involved in this project; Cummins Engine Company supplied the engine, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company supplied the tires, a manufacturer of hydraulic components supplied the hydraulic components and Unit Rig designed and manufactured the truck.
The Golden Years In The Open-Pit Mine Truck Industry
Looking back on the early days of the Lectra Haul truck project, there was no way we could have known what lay in the future for Unit Rig. In the next two decades, Unit Rig would go from a small oil field equipment manufacturer that was having a lot of trouble competing in that market, to the dominant supplier of large haulage trucks for the mining industry. It is truly an amazing story.
The prototype truck would be designed to Hanna Mining Company's specifications and would be named M-64 Serial number 51. It would be a; four wheel drive, articulated, rear dump truck using General Electric's new drive system. It would be powered by a 700 horsepower Cummins diesel engine, with four 33.5 inch x 37 inch low pressure tires and a payload capacity of 64 tons. The brand name of this new line of haulage trucks would be Lectra Haul.
(Starting with serial number 51 was a hold over from the early days of Unit Rig when the first U-10 was designated serial number 51. Bill Guier and Ray Carter did not believe that it was a good idea to start a new product with serial number 1. One brand name that was suggested, in jest, by Gene Wortman, one of the design engineers, was "Vint 's Volts Wagon" which got a lot of laughs but no consideration.)
Duane Lackey was project engineer on the M-64. Hubert McAulay designed the steering and dumping hydraulics. Jerry Shelton laid out the steering and designed the mechanical portion of the steering. Jim Willis designed the dump body from a hand sketch made on a yellow legal pad by Gene Wortman. Other engineers involved with the design were: Dick Evans, Dick Sittle and Gene Wortman. Later, Dick Evans took over as project engineer and both Dick and Gene spent a lot of time at the Hanna mine monitoring the operation of the M-64.
Unit Rig Lectra Haul M-64, serial number 51 was completed in January 1960 and tested at Standard Industries, Inc.'s rock quarry east of Tulsa. Unit Rig was very concerned about driver acceptance of the M-64, and asked Hanna to send one of their drivers to Tulsa to test the truck. Hanna Mining Company's union employees were on strike so Hanna sent their tire inspector, Lester "Les" Nash to drive the new truck. Les stayed in Tulsa for ten days on that first trip and made many subsequent trips back to discuss the truck during the time it was being tested in Minnesota.
(I talked to Les Nash by telephone on September 6, 2006. Les, who is living a few miles north of Nashwaulk, Minnesota, said that he had fond memories of Unit Rig. He asked about Jesse Vint, Gene Wortman and Dick Evans. He said that he was really surprised that the President of Unit Rig, Jesse L. Vint, Jr., met him at the airport on his first visit to Tulsa. He also reminded me that Ronald Reagan was the host of General Electric's Star Light Theaters, a live, prime time television program. One of the shows featured the Unit Rig M-64 truck and had Les Nash on the program as a guest.)
Shortly after the testing began at Standard Industries rock quarry, the goose neck, that connected the tractor to the trailer, failed. This problem required some major redesign of that area of the truck. The goose neck redesign project was handled by Dick Sittle. The M-64 with the redesigned goose neck was shipped to Hanna Mining in June 1960 and assembled near Hibbing, Minnesota. It was then driven some 20 miles to be put into operation at Hanna's Hunner Mine near Colaraine, Minnesota. Later, it was driven back to the Hibbing area and put in operation at Hanna's Pierce Mine.
The goose neck continued to have problems that were amplified by a major ride problem. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company advised the Unit Rig design team that if they used the low air pressure 33.5 x 37 tires, there would be no need for a suspension system. The results were a very bad ride that put extra stress on all of the structural components of the vehicle and made it very difficult to drive.
Through a lot of hard work by Unit Rig's engineering department and service department and the co-operation of Hanna's service people, the M-64 stayed in operation, I believe, until the end of 1961.
During the testing of the M-64, Unit Rig surveyed the open-pit mining industry and determined that there was a substantial market for a diesel-electric powered truck. So, with the experience of the M-64 under their belts, it was back to the drawing board to design the first production model.
Unit Rig was so sure that the GE electric drive system was going to be successful in the open-pit mines that even before they started work on the design of the new truck, they were prepared to sign a contract with GE to secure, for three years, all of GE's production of the new drive system. Unit Rig had to agree to purchase all of GE's motorized wheel production during the three years, but they did not have to pay for a system until they took delivery of each drive system.
The specifications of the drive system included components for a four wheel drive similar to the drive system on the M-64. Unit Rig's plan was to design another articulated, four wheel drive truck. Dick Evans, Project Engineer on the M-64 project did not believe that four wheel drive was necessary in an open-pit operation. He reasoned that if a two wheel drive mechanical truck could operate in open- pit mining, then a more efficient, lighter weight, two wheel drive electric truck, should be able to out perform the mechanical trucks that were currently in operation.
The day before General Electric was scheduled to be in Tulsa to have Unit Rig sign the new contract; Dick Evans spent the day and on into the night putting together the calculations that proved that there was no need for four wheel drive on the purposed vehicle. The next day, before GE arrived at Unit Rig's office, Dick presented his calculations to Unit Rig's President, Jesse L.Vint, Jr. who agreed with Dick's conclusions. As a result, the contract with GE specified a two wheel drive system.
The importance of this change was probably the difference between success and failure of the Lectra Haul project at Unit Rig. A four wheel drive vehicle would have been; more expensive, harder to maintain and its higher Empty Vehicle Weight (EVW) would have made it more expensive to operate and less competitive. Even a better designed articulated, four wheel drive vehicle would not have been good enough to have given Unit Rig the kind of start that it needed to get a foothold in this business. Unit Rig would have had to scrap the four wheel drive vehicle and started designing a two wheel drive truck. This delay would have made it more difficult to get a start in this business. Also Unit Rig may have had trouble getting Kendavis Industries to invest more money in the project. Like war, sometimes the battles in business, turn on the action of just a few. In this case, the good work of Dick Evans.
The production model truck was an 85 ton payload, two axle, rear drive, rear dump truck equipped with six 21.00 x 49.40 PR tires, 700 horsepower diesel engine and the GE electric drive system. In June 1963 Unit Rig invited Kenneth W. Davis Sr., President and CEO, of Kendavis Industries International, Inc., the parent company of Unit Rig, to come to Tulsa to witness the testing of this first M-85. The test was conducted at the West Tulsa site of the future Unit Rig manufacturing plant and offices. The test was successful and Mr. Davis was favorably impressed.
(Dick Evans, Project Engineer on the 85 ton payload truck, had worked all night, with our manufacturing people, preparing the truck for the test. After the test, Dick was standing near Mr. Davis and Unit Rig's President Jesse L. Vint, Jr. Dick said that he remembered Ken telling Jesse, "If you want to build a new plant, you are not waiting on me," I am guessing that Mr. Davis's thinking was that it looked like the new truck had a lot of potential and there was no way Unit Rig could build enough of them in their current plant to get a very big market share and realize the full financial potential of the product so he said, "If you want to build a new plant, you are not waiting on me." I think that this was a good indication of why Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. was so successful. He saw a business opportunity. He recognized its potential. He encouraged the people who worked for him to take advantage of the opportunity and he then gave them the resources to make it a success. It also shows why Jesse L. Vint, Jr. was so successful. Jesse also realized the potential of the diesel-electric truck and was not afraid to build a new plant so we could go after the business.)
It was decided to manufacture four production M-85's, serial number 52, 53, 54, and 55. The first three were shipped to Kennecott's Chino mine near Silver City, New Mexico. The fourth was to go to Kennecott's Bingham Canyon mine near Salt Lake City, Utah. Kennecott only wanted to test the new truck at one of their mines, so Unit Rig went looking for another location. This was probably the best thing that could have happened because Unit Rig ended up putting the fourth truck at the Anaconda Company mine near Butte, Montana. This mining operation ended up purchasing 178 trucks from Unit Rig.
In 1966, with only minor changes to the M-85, the M-100 was added to Unit Rig's line of trucks. In 1968, the M-120-15 was added to the line. In the next 19 years, over 2,100 of these trucks would he manufactured and sold.
The story of how Unit Rig was able to put the fourth M-85 into the Anaconda's copper mine near Butte, Montana is another example of how the action of one or two people can affect the success or failure of a company. A few months before Jesse L. Vint, Jr. passed away, he told me this story of the first M-85 in the Anaconda Butte Mine.
Charlie Southward had information that indicated Anaconda was about to place an order for six new trucks. When Unit Rig failed to place the fourth production M-85 with Kennecott, it was decided to try to place it at Anaconda's operation near Butte, Montana.
Jesse and Charlie made the trip to Butte, Montana to try to get Anaconda to test the fourth M-85. I am a little surprised, because it is not the Unit Rig way, but Jesse's wife, Paula and Charlie's wife, Freda made the trip to Butte with Jesse and Charlie. When they arrived in Butte, they checked into a cheap motel and went out to dinner. When they returned to their room, there was a rather loud party going on in the room next door. Jesse said that the walls of the motel were so thin that they could easily hear what was going on in the room next to them. It turned out to be a competitors representatives and their local dealer, celebrating obtaining an order from Anaconda for six trucks. One of the celebrators said that they might be celebrating a little early because Unit Rig still had a meeting the first thing in the morning and Unit Rig might get the order. Jesse said that there was a moment of silence and then everyone started laughing. Then someone said that there was no way those Okies from that hick company that builds oil well drilling equipment was going beat us out of this order. Well, Freda started crying because they were making fun of Unit Rig and Jesse said the more he listened to these guys, the madder he got. Jesse said, "I sat there for a minute or two and then turned to Charlie and told him that we were not leaving Anaconda's office in the morning with out an order." The next morning a deal was made that let Unit Rig put the fourth M-85 at this Anaconda mine for a six month test, at no cost to Anaconda. After six months, Anaconda could either purchase the truck or return it. This agreement was based on Anaconda delaying the purchase of the six new trucks until after the test and if they did decide to purchase the M-85 they had to give Unit Rig the order for an additional six M-85's. M-85 serial number 55 was shipped to Anaconda in October, 1963.
Jesse said that one of the best moments of his life was walking out of that office and seeing the competitors sitting there waiting for their meeting. "I just thought, 'fellows, two ole boys from that hick company in Oklahoma, just kicked your ass. And you know what, you had better get used to it.'" An important moment in Unit Rig's history that went Unit Rig's way because two people would not let Unit Rig fail.
The six-month test was successful and Jesse Vint and Bob Volpe, Assistant to the President, and one of the original members of the GE diesel-electric drive system design team, returned to Anaconda to finalize the contract for the test truck and the additional six trucks. Unit Rig was scheduled to be the first supplier to meet with Anaconda, but Jesse refused this arrangement. He insisted on being the last supplier to make their presentation. Anaconda agreed to Unit Rig's request and Jesse and Bob was the last supplier to make their presentation. It took a lot of courage for a company like Unit Rig that was just getting started in a new business, to make that kind of demand on a large mining company like Anaconda. The strategy was successful and Unit Rig walked away with an order for the test truck and six additional trucks that were shipped, three in May 1964 and three more that were shipped in June 1964.
This strategy became standard operating procedure for Unit Rig's Sales Department. I have heard Charlie Southward, V. P. of Sales say, many times, "If I'm the last one in, I will get the order."
The M-85 was an immediate success. By end of 1964, Unit Rig had shipped 34 M-85's. There were a lot of reasons for the success of this new product. The electric drive made this vehicle much simpler than the competition's mechanical drive trucks The "Rubber Disc" suspensions, designed by Craig Doennecke, were easier to maintain and the rear disc brakes combined with the dynamic braking made it an easier and safer truck to operate. It fit Bill Guier's, one of the original founders of Unit Rig, idea of a new product, "keep it simple and pay attention to its appearance". It should be remembered that the M-85 was designed, manufactured and serviced by people that, for the most part, had never been involved in anyway with off-highway haulage trucks. This was an amazing accomplishment for the employees of Unit Rig. We took the big companies in that industry: Caterpillar, Dart, Terex, Euclid and Wabco, head on and came out on top.
Engineering, Service, Manufacturing and Sales departments worked together to provide a level of quality and service that had never been provided in the mining industry. Unit Rig was used to providing the level of service that was required in the oil well drilling industry. If a part on one of our draw works failed while the drilling company had drill pipe down in the hole, they wanted the problem fixed quickly or they might lose all of the drill pipe in that hole. When a part failed, that drilling operation was 100 percent down. The mining industry was different. If a mining operation had 20 trucks operating and a part failed that shut down one truck, then the operation was only 5 percent down. But it was better than that because the mining company would purchase enough extra trucks to cover a certain percent of non-availability. So a truck being down was not near as important in the mining industry as a draw works being down in the drilling industry.
An example of Unit Rig's superior service occurred in 1963, in the early days of the operation of the first three M-85's at Kennecott's Chino Mine. A competitor's truck backed into one of our M-85's and destroyed the operators cab. Chino called Tulsa, on a Friday, and placed an order for a new cab. Unit Rig pulled a cab off of a truck in their assembly shop, loaded it on a flat bed truck and assigned two servicemen to drive straight through to Silver City, New Mexico. They were sitting at the front gate of the mine on Monday morning. They drove the flat bed truck into the maintenance shop, helped remove the old damaged cab and supervised the installation of the new cab. The truck was back in operation by the end of the day shift. The mine manager told our servicemen that based on his experience with our competition, they had not expected the new cab to be shipped for a couple of months. Enough cannot be said for the high level of service that Unit Rig's Engineering, Service, Manufacturing and Sales Departments brought to the mining industry, or the importance that it had to the success of the company.
(On October 26, 2006, I was having lunch at Unit Rig's old timer's monthly luncheon. In attendance was Mickey Ford who was involved in field service for Unit Rig, both as a field service engineer and as Manager of Service. Mickey and I got to talking about what made Unit Rig so successful in the mining business. Although there were some design and manufacturing problems, the overall design and the quality of the manufacturing of the early M-85's was outstanding, especially when you consider that, for the most part, the people who designed and manufactured these first trucks had almost no experience in off highway trucks. Mickey said that the reason we got through some early problems was that our Engineering Department was quick to solve the problems and provide the fix, either parts or drawings, to the field service people. I said that I thought that the reason was that we had a group of dedicated hard working service people that were determined to make the trucks operate successfully. I bring this up because the real reason that we were successful was not because the Engineering Department was quick to solve problems or because we had dedicated service people. We were successful because all departments at Unit Rig worked together, as a team, to make the company successful. That's not to say we didn't have a few fights among the different departments, because we did, but in the end we all knew that serving the customer was our first job.)
The high level of service that Unit Rig provided, combined with our superior product and the General Electric drive system, combined to provide a truck with a higher availability, along with a lower operating cost. This allowed the mines to operate with fewer trucks at a lower cost per ton of material moved.
The quick acceptance of the GE electric drive and the M-85 Lectra Haul allowed Unit Rig to invest in a new manufacturing facility. Unit Rig continued to use the plant at 11 N. Elwood Avenue for all of its manufacturing while the new facility was being built. In October 1964, they began to move their operation to the new location at 5400 S. 49th W. Avenue. The first departments to make the move were the Weld Shop and the Assembly Shop. This would be followed by the Machine Shop, Warehousing and the Engineering Department. Late 1968, a new office building was completed and the balance of the company would relocate to the new facility.
It became apparent that the M-85 would be capable of carrying more than its 85 ton payload rating if it had more horsepower and larger tires. The 21.00 x 49 tires that were standard on the M-85 were replaced with 24.00 x 49 tires. The first M-85's to be equipped with the 24.00 x 49 tire, went to Molybdenum Corporation near Questa, New Mexico. Twelve of these trucks were shipped to Molycorp in May 1965.
Unit Rig's quest for more horsepower resulted in it being the first to try gas turbine power in an open-pit haulage vehicle. The first M-100, UR serial number 120, was shipped to Anaconda at Butte, Montana in October 1965. This truck was equipped with a Solar gas turbine engine. The second M-100 was equipped with a General Electric gas turbine engine and was shown at the 1965 American Mining Congress Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. After the show this truck was shipped to Kennecott's Chino Mine in New Mexico. A third gas turbine powered M-100, serial number 173, was built in March 1966 and shipped to Anaconda Butte. Although the gas turbine tests were not satisfactory, the tests did put pressure on the manufacturers of diesel engines to provide higher horsepower engines for the M-85 and M-100. Soon 1,000 horsepower diesel engines were made available. Later, the availability of the larger, 27.00 x 49 tire and 1,200 horsepower diesel engines, lead to the introduction in 1969 of the M-120 (Later to be named the M-120-15 for its 15 foot wheel base). The M-120 was, essentially, the same vehicle as the M-85 and M-100. The only differences were the size of the engine and tires, plus thicker steel in the frame. Its 15 foot wheel base contributed to a lighter empty vehicle weight than its longer wheel base competitors. This lighter EVW allowed the M-120-15 to carry a 120 ton payload without exceeding the allowable tire loading on the 27.00 x 49 tires. .Our competitors needed 30.00 x 49 tires to carry 120 ton payloads. The first M-120-15 was shipped to Molycorp in November 1969.
The second M-100 that Unit Rig built was given serial number 121 as a continuation of the M-85 serial numbers. It was equipped with a General Electric gas turbine engine and was shown at the 1965 AMC show in Las Vegas. The lettering on the side of the engine compartment said Kennecott Copper Corporation, Utah Copper Division. This would indicate that it was shipped to Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah. However I believe that it was shipped to Kennecott's Chino Mine in New Mexico.
In 1967, Unit Rig tested its first trolley power on a M-100 in the Kennecott Chino mine near Silver City, New Mexico. This successful test lead to the Quebec Cartier Mining Company to convert their fleet of ten M-85's and seven M-100's to trolley power. QCM operated trolley powered trucks in their Lac Jeannine Mine from 1970 to 1977.
In about 1979, Rio Tinto's Palabora Mine started converting its fleet of 170 ton payload Mark 36's to trolley power. In 1980, South African Iron & Steel Corporation Ltd. (Iscor) started converting its fleet of trucks to trolley power. In all three of these operations the trolley was very successful. Nchanga in Zambia and Gecamines in Zaire (Congo) may also have operated trolley trucks.
On September 8, 1966, the idea for a 200 ton payload truck was presented to Unit Rig in a meeting with Kaiser Steel that was attended by Charlie Southward and Jerry Shelton. In this meeting, Dick Barber, a mining engineer for Kaiser Steel who was writing the specifications for equipment to be used at Kaiser's Crowsnest operation in British Columbia, listed a 200 ton payload, rear dump truck to be used to haul overburden. Dick Barber wanted this truck to be powered by a diesel-electric locomotive drive system that used a 900 rpm Alco diesel engine. Unit Rig did not use the Alco engine but instead used the EMD engine and drive system. Unit Rig's decision to design a 200 ton truck around General Motor Company's EMD system was not well received at the General Electric Company.
In summer of 1969, Unit Rig shipped the first 200 ton payload, M-200 Lectra Haul to Pima Mines for testing. In 1969, this M-200, along with six additional M-200's, was shipped to Kaiser Resources, for their coal mining operation in British Columbia, Canada. These were the first of 119 M-200's that were produced and sold by Unit Rig.
The M-200 used the same basic frame technology as the M-85 frame, including the use of 100,000 psi yield steel. The truck incorporated a 1,650 horsepower, 900 RPM locomotive EMD engine that provided power for the EMD electric drive system. The rule of thumb for horsepower to payload ratio, for off-highway trucks, is 10 horsepower for each ton of payload. Therefore a 200 ton payload truck should have 2,000 horsepower to operate in most mines. The M-200 had 8.25 horsepower per ton. This limited the market for the M-200. It operated fine at Kaiser and CJM, but not so well at Nchanga in Zambia.
The saving grace for the M-200 was that Unit Rig put a 2,450 horsepower EMD engine in the M-200 and A. K. (Rusty) Braswell and Charlie Southward sold 84 of them to V/O Autoexport for use in an Eastern Russian Siberian coal mine. The negotiations were long and difficult with the sale being finalized sometime in 1977. This was the largest and probably the most profitable truck order Unit Rig had ever received. Some of that profit was eaten up by the front and rear axle failures that were the result of some design and manufacturing problems and the extreme cold (-56 F) temperature of Siberia. But, nevertheless, it was a very profitable deal for Unit Rig, and made the M-200 project a success.
The M-85, M-100 and M-120-15's continued to be successful and over 2,100, 15 foot wheel base, M-85, M-100 and M-120-15's were sold before that line of trucks was taken out of Unit Rig's production early in 1982. That amounts to an average of approximately 10 trucks per month for 19 years.
The M-85, M-100 and the M-120-15 all had the same basic frame. The only major difference in the frame was that the M-100 frame had a thicker top and bottom flange than the M-85 and the M-120-15 frame had a thicker top and bottom flange than the M-100. All three frames utilized 100,000 psi yield, T-1 steel. The basic design of the frame and the use of T-1 steel, made the frames difficult to manufacture. To the credit of the manufacturing department, the early frames were successfully manufactured without jigs and fixtures. However most of the frames in this series of trucks were manufactured utilizing elaborate jigs and fixture and careful preparation for welding. After the bugs were worked out of the early M-85 frames, this design was very successful, for 85 to 120 ton payload trucks.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Unit Rig was under a lot of pressure, from the manufacturers of tires and our customers, to install the larger 30.00 x 51 tires on all 120 ton payload trucks. It was a problem for Unit Rig because the 15 foot wheel base M-120-15 would not accept the larger tires. The M-120-15 with its lighter EVW, and less expensive 27.00 x 49 tires, cost less and would outperform its competition's heavier trucks with 30.00 x 51 tires. The tires on the competitor's trucks did have a longer life, but when comparing the cost per ton of material hauled, the 27.00 x 49 tires on the M-120-15 had a lower cost than our competitor's trucks with 30.00 x 51 tires. Since the tire manufacturers guaranteed the life of the tires, not the cost of operating them and the fact that our competition needed the larger tires because of their heaver EVW, the two combined to put a lot of pressure on Unit Rig to provide a 120 ton payload truck equipped with 30.00 x 51 tires.
The decision to design a new truck that would utilize 30.00 x 51 tires was the right decision. Unfortunately, Unit Rig did not really design a new truck; they just took the M-120-15 and added two feet to the wheel base. By doing this, Unit Rig missed an opportunity to design a new truck around a frame design that was easier to build and better suited to the longer wheel base.
The first person that I remember questioning the frame design was Rodger Goodbary. Rodger came to work for Unit Rig, I think, in 1964 or 1965. I remember him wondering why we used a rectangular cross section, cross beam, to transfer loads from one main frame member to the other main frame member. He thought that we should have used a tubular cross section. Rodger, Dick Evans, Jim Christopher and probably many others also questioned the use of 100,000 psi yield, T-1 steel in our frames.
I can only speculate as to why we just extended the frame of the M-120-15, to accommodate a 17 foot wheel base and 30.00 x 51 tires, instead of investing in a new design.
(One big mystery to me has always been why Unit Rig did not have a Vice President of Engineering. Whenever there was a meeting to discuss a new product or new project, typically, the meeting was attended by: the President, the Assistant to the President, the Vice President of Manufacturing, the Vice President of Finance, the Vice President of Sales and the Chief Engineer or Director of Engineering. The person that was in charge of engineering did not have the same status as the top people in the other main branches of the company. This may have had an influence on many major engineering decisions.)
About a year later, we compounded the mistake by designing a new 170 ton payload truck using the same frame concept as the M-85, M-100 and the M-120-15 family of trucks. In my opinion, if Unit Rig had designed a completely new 120 ton and 170 ton payload truck, instead of just making a larger version of the M-85, M-100, M-120-15 trucks, and assuming that the new designs were successful, we would have continued to dominate this market through the 1980's. Instead we produced, approximately, 105 Mark 30's, 303 M-120-17's and 648 Mark 36's, all of which had major frame problems. This opened the door to our competitors and allowed them to get back into the ball game.
An interesting side note involves the naming of the 120 ton trucks. The first 17, 120 ton trucks were named Mark 30. The original idea was to rename the 15 foot wheel base M-120, as the M-120-15. The new 17 foot wheel base 120 ton truck, would be named the M-120-17. Jerry Shelton, Manager of Application Engineering, proposed that we stop using the payload rating in our model name and instead use the tire size. This would allow us to take advantage of our lower EVW and rate our trucks payload capacity based on each application. So the 17 foot wheel base truck, with 30.00 x 51 tires was named the Mark 30. The first seventeen 120 ton payload Mark 30's were manufactured between August 1971 and January 1973. Fifteen of them were shipped to Iron Ore Company of Canada. These early 120 ton trucks had a lot of problems and in 1974 we changed the name back to M-120-17. This was done to give us an opportunity to design a new 120 ton truck and use the name, Mark 30. Unfortunately, we did not really design a new truck. In 1981, we just made some improvements to the M-120-17 and renamed it the Mark 30. The frames on all of these trucks were based on the same concept as the M-85.
In 1971, Unit Rig designed the BD-180, a tractor-trailer bottom dump truck to be used to haul coal in open-pit mines. The BD-180 utilized the M-100 as its tractor. The first one was shipped in February, 1972. A total of 29 BD-180's were shipped between February 1972 and May 1984. Additionally, in 1985, one BD-240 was shipped and, in 1986, two BD-270's were shipped. In 1979 Unit Rig designed a new bottom dump truck, the BD-145 which was later redesigned and named the BD-30. Five of the BD-30's were built and sold.
A two axle, bottom dump truck, similar in concept to the BD-30, was first proposed by Rodger Goodbary, who I believe was Manager of Product Planning at the time. I discussed this with Rodger recently and Rodger provided me with the following information.
There was resistance within Unit Rig to this truck project and the two axle bottom dump truck was rejected. Rodger Goodbary was convinced that there was a market for this concept and was determined to get the project approved by Unit Rig management. A stalemate developed between Rodger and Unit Rig. Recently I discussed this with Rodger and he confirmed what I had a vague memory of, that Jesse L. Vint Jr., President of Unit Rig, offered financial assistance, through Unit Rig, if Rodger wanted to build this truck outside of Unit Rig. An agreement was not reached and Rodger left Unit Rig and started Goodbary Engineering Company.
Goodbary Engineering Company designed and manufactured the two axle bottom dump truck that Rodger had tried to get Unit Rig to build. Later Goodbary Engineering would design and manufacture a 240 ton payload, two axle, rear dump truck. Sometime later, Unit Rig would file a law suit against Goodbary Engineering that would last nine years before it was thrown out of court. The law suite had the effect of tying up much of Goodbary Engineering's monetary funds which made it difficult for Rodger to operate Goodbary Engineering. Sometime in the late 1970's, Bill Davis, one of Kenneth W. Davis, Sr.'s sons, purchased Goodbary Engineering and formed a new company, Wiseda, Ltd. Many ex-Unit Rig employees worked for Wiseda including A. K. (Rusty) Braswell who was President of Wiseda when it was sold to Liebherr Mining Equipment Co. I suspect that Rusty's negotiating skills played an important role in the negotiations with Liebherr. Liebherr has become a major player in the off-highway mine haulage industry.
In the late 1960's, Pete Trenary ex-GE and KIII employee, along with ex-Unit Rig employee, Duane Lackey got involved in the design of a radically new off-highway vehicle and started Vehicle Constructors or V-CON. V-CON would later become a Division of Peerless Manufacturing Company. I am not sure whose idea it was to try to develop this new truck. Pete and Duane had worked together on oil well equipment design and both had been involved in the first Unit Rig truck. Sometime late in 1970 or early in 1971, V-CON produced the first, and I believe only, V-CON Model 2606 end dump truck. The truck was tested at the Pima Mine near Tucson, Arizona. The truck was rated at 340 ton payload and was equipped with eight 36.00 x 51 tires, six GE772 motorized wheels and was powered by an Alco 251-12E 2,600 horsepower diesel engine.
(After the V-CON truck was shipped to Pima Mining, Duane Lackey asked me to leave Unit Rig and become Chief Engineer for V-CON. I had looked at the V-Con truck at the Pima Mine and although I thought that the design was based on some interesting ideas, I did not believe V-Con had much of a chance at success and I turned down the offer.)
Unit Rig's early success, in the open-pit mining industry, encouraged the company to investigate other products that could use a diesel electric drive system. In August 1968 the company introduced the L-120 Lectra Lift, a 60 ton capacity fork lift. The L-120 utilized many components of the M-100 and was designed to carry large slabs of steel at speeds above 25 mph. Unit Rig's engineering department did a good job designing the L-120; but, the market for a 60 ton fork lift did not develop and this first venture outside of rear dump trucks was a failure. Only two L-120's were built.
Unit Rig had better results getting into the airplane tow tractor business. In the early 1960's, Boeing was competing with Lockheed to build a new heavy logistics transport aircraft. On September 30, 1965, Lockheed was awarded the contract to build the C-5 Galaxy. Boeing decided to go ahead with a project that it had been working on before and during the competition with Lockheed, and announced the start of the Boeing 747 project. Pan American Airlines ordered no less than 25 of these aircrafts. The first demonstration model was finished September 30, 1968 and the 747 was FAA approved on December 30. 1969. Pan Am put the first 747 in operation January 22, 1970.
The Air Transport Association decided that the 747 would require a larger tow tractor to move this large aircraft while it was on the ground. They went out for bids for a larger, more powerful tow tractor and on February 26, 1969, Unit Rig announced that it had orders for the new Unit Rig T-150 from Pan Am, and Lufthansa. Unit Rig built a total of 57 T-150's and 12 of the smaller, T-90 tow tractor.
In 1970, Unit Rig started designing a system that would allow a haulage truck, working in an open-pit mine, to operate driverless. Unit Rig teamed up with a Swedish firm, Saab-Scania, to develop and test a driverless truck. The driverless, "The Hands Off Truck" was shown at the AMC mining show in Las Vegas in 1974. In 1976 Unit Rig operated a fleet of five M-100's, utilizing the driverless system, at Kennecott's Chino Mine near Silver City, New Mexico. An interesting side note was that in order to get the labor union at the Chino mine to agree to the driverless test, Unit Rig had to agree not to sell the system to this mine for ten years. The test was successful and lasted several months and then was disassembled. The system did work but just was not practical with the technology available at that time. Today, with GPS, it might work or maybe this concept is just not practical for open-pit material hauling.
Another big project was the Bucket Wheel Excavator or BWE. This was not one of Unit Rig's better coordinated efforts. A man in Texas had built a mobile digging machine that consisted of three large digging wheels mounted on the front of the unit. These wheels could be lowered into the ground to dig coal, shale, dirt, etc. The wheels would deposit the material on two cross conveyors that moved the material to another conveyor that moved the material to the rear of the machine and on to another conveyor that deposited the dug material on the ground. The machine was mounted on two axles, the rear of which was powered by a diesel engine. A number of people from Unit Rig made trips to Texas to evaluate the machine and eventually Unit Rig signed a contract with the inventor that gave Unit Rig the right to redesign and manufacture a new machine based on the prototype machine. When the Unit Rig design was completed it was very big and very heavy. Unit Rig had trouble finding axles large enough to support the BWE. The BWE did eventually get to the field and was put into service. The axles continued to be a problem. Dust produced by the digging action was another problem. Unit Rig eventually abandoned this project.
After all of the frame problems that Unit Rig had on the M-120-17, Mark-30, Mark-36 and M-200, Unit Rig finally decided to start with a "clean sheet of paper" and design a completely new truck, the MT-1900. Unfortunately this became the pet project of our President and the Director of Engineering. The basic specifications and concepts were not discussed with other more experienced people and the MT-1900 was a disaster. The project plan was to design a 190 ton truck with a main frame that would never fail. The first time that I saw the MT-1900 frame was when it was being fabricated in the weld shop. One of the welders stopped me and asked, "How many tons of payload is this designed to carry"? I told him, 190 tons. His response was, "Are you kidding me? This frame will carry twice that load".
My reaction to the frame was just about the same. I walked back to the office and went to the engineering department and told the Director that based on the size of the frame, I thought the truck should be rated at a payload of 250 ton. He said that it was a 190 ton truck. I was later told that the truck was designed so that the largest tires that could be installed on the MT-1900 was 36.00 x 51 and the maximum payload on the M-1900 truck, with 36.00 x 51 tires, was 190 tons. It is always a mistake to design a new product without including all departments in the decision making process.
The first MT-1900 was sold to RTB Bor Majdanpek in Yugoslavia. I think that this was actually serial number 52. Serial number 51, I think, was used as a test truck at the plant. Number 52 was shipped to Yugoslavia, March 7, 1986. It had a lot of rear axle problems and did not provide satisfactory service. The salvation of the MT-1900 program was that the new Director of Engineering, Fred Loeber and his people found a way to install 40.00 x 57 tires and we renamed the MT-1900; first, the MT-2050 rated at 205 tons and then the MT-2120 rated at 212 tons. We sold 21 of these trucks to Hamersley Iron in Australia and guaranteed them for 240 ton payloads. Further redesign was done on the MT-2120 and it became the very successful MT-4000.
The design of the MT-1900/MT-4000 frame got Unit Rig away from the frame concept used on the M-85, M-100, M-120-15, M-120-17 Mark-30 and Mark-36. We also stopped using 100,000 psi steels in the frame. Although the frame was better than the Mark-36 frame, it still had lots of room for improvements.
In 1984, Unit Rig organized the Product Planning Department and under the leadership of the Product Planning Department, a "Family of Big Trucks" (FBT) task force was organized. These were tough times for Unit Rig and its employees and everyone was concerned about their future and the future of the company. From the beginning, it was obvious that there was going to be some serious conflict between the FBT Task Force and the Engineering Department. The MT-1900 fiasco just made the situation more difficult. The FBT project did not really get going until after Unit Rig came out of bankruptcy in May 1988 and the design of the family of big trucks was left in the hands of the Engineering Department. The results were good, but the Engineering Departments resistance to FBT Task Force and the lack of support from our President delayed getting started on the new truck design during the bankruptcy days. This put Unit Rig four or five years behind where they should have been and made it more difficult to return, after bankruptcy, to a paramount position in the mining industry.
In designing the new trucks, Unit Rig incorporated the Dart's unique front axle arrangement into the frame design. This new frame design and the end to using 100,000 psi steel move Unit Rig away from the problems of the Mark-36 type frame. The first vehicle utilizing this new frame design was the MT-3700. This was followed by the MT-3600, the MT-3300, the MT-4400 and the MT-5500. These trucks are still being manufactured today and are probably the best trucks that Unit Rig had ever designed.
The Beginning, Of The End, Of A Great Company
If you ask an ex-Unit Rigger, to pin point the beginning of the end of Unit Rig, the response that you would get would depend on where they worked and when they had left the company. I retired in 1994, and to me the beginning of the end for Unit Rig was the 1985 bankruptcy problems of its owners, Kendavis Industries International, Inc. (KIII). It wasn't so much the bankruptcy itself, because Unit Rig came out of the bankruptcy in very good shape. The real problem was that KIII's bankruptcy forced the sale of Unit Rig. When Terex Corp (Who had just recently been purchased by Northwest Engineering) bought Unit Rig in 1988 they did not, in my opinion, appreciate the potential of the company they had purchased and did not, with a few exceptions, have the right people in place to manage the company. As a result, Unit Rig was not able to return to a dominant position in the off-highway truck market.
On the other hand, a real strong case can be made that the beginning of the end started much earlier, when in the 1970's Unit Rig started going outside the company to hire top management people. I believe that Jesse L. Vint, Jr. wanted to transform Unit Rig from a relativity small company into a large company and he thought that the way to do that was to hire upper management people from big companies like General Electric. This change in hiring philosophy started when the company began to lose the management team that had guided the company during the 1960's and 1970's. First, in the mid 1970's, a new Manager of Engineering and an Administrative Assistant to the President were hired from outside the company. Then F. C. Morton, V. P. of Finance and John W. Tullis, V. P. Manufacturing retired and in early 1977, C. F. Southward, V. P. of Sales died. The decision was made to replace these managers and many others, with people from outside of the company. The situation was made worse by the fact that most of these new managers brought in additional people to serve on their staffs to try to strengthen their own position in the company. This created new levels of middle management that made for a less efficient and more costly operation. Additionally, these new middle managers were more likely to be competing with the other departments rather than cooperating with them. I believe that employment topped out at over 2,000 people which was way more people than was required to handle our level of business.
On April 12, 1982, A. T. (Tucker) Davis (The son of Kenneth W. Davis, Jr.) was appointed President replacing the retiring Jesse L. Vint, Jr. By 1985, under Tucker's leadership, Unit Rig had become a leaner company and was in a better position to face the 1985 bankruptcy problems of KIII. A. T. (Tucker) Davis left Unit Rig in 1987.
There were also some bad decisions involving equipment design. In my opinion the decision made, in 1975, to base the design of the new 120 ton payload trucks (M-120-17 and Mark 30) and the 170 ton payload truck (Mark 36), on the design of the successful M-85, M-100 and M-120-15 series of trucks, was a major mistake. The frame design on the M-85, M-100 and M-120-15 was not suited for a longer wheel base and heavier payload truck. The Mark-30/M-120-17 was, for the most part, an M-120-15 with a two foot longer frame utilizing slightly thicker steel. Basing the design of the new M-120-17 frame on the design of the M-120-15 frame limited the amount of depth in the main members of the frame and the longer wheel base increased the amount of torque, between the main members of the frame. This torque was transmitted by rectangular cross members that were not well suited to do this job. Adding to the frame problem was the use of 100,000 psi steel and the use of .065 inch bare welding wire. The use of 80,000 psi steel and a different welding technique may have lessened the frame problems. Unit Rig produced over 1,000 trucks with what I believe was an inadequate design. This decision cost Unit Rig a lot of money in frame warranties and hurt our reputation as the premier manufacturer of off-highway vehicles.
In hindsight, another mistake may have been in not putting our major competitor, Wabco out of business. In the early 1970's, Unit Rig had a major share of the off-highway truck market and it appeared that Wabco was "on the ropes". Unit Rig's profit on new trucks and service parts was very, very good. It was suggested that we lower our prices a few points and try to force Wabco out of the truck business. If that strategy had been tried, I think that it might have been successful and if so, would have had an important, long range impact on the industry. In the short term, not going after Wabco may have been the right decision, but I think that long term it was a mistake.
By the mid 1980's, Unit Rig had made progress in overcoming its management problems and had definitely overcome the equipment design problems of the 1970's and early 1980's. It looked like Unit Rig was on the road to reemerge as a leader in off-highway open-pit mine haulage vehicles, and in my opinion it would have, if not for the bankruptcy problems of KIII.
When the first wave of Terex management took over the operation of Unit Rig, it appeared that their "marching orders" were to immediately lower expenses by getting rid of as many people as they felt that they could, and still operate the company at the level of business that it operated at during the bankruptcy. This resulted in the loss of a lot of very good people who were important to Unit Rig's ability to return to a dominate position in the off-highway truck industry. Although Unit Rig came out of the bankruptcy in good fiscal condition, its market share of new truck sales had suffered and I would guess that Terex based Unit Rig's potential, on its sales level during the bankruptcy and not on the sales level before the bankruptcy. When the second wave of Terex management arrived, they did not seem to have the experience or the patience required to return Unit Rig to the level of success that it enjoyed before the bankruptcy problems. I do not know what level of Due Diligence that Terex did before they purchased Unit Rig, but I am guessing that it was not much. In Terex's defense, the Unit Rig management people, including myself, did not do a good job of convincing Terex of Unit Rig's potential.
(Shortly after Terex purchased Unit Rig, the new Director of Finance came storming in to my office demanding a list of all of Unit Rig's liabilities. When I told him that no such list existed, he responded, "How the hell can you run a company without knowing all of its liabilities?" I responded, "How the hell could you buy a company without knowing all of its liabilities?")
There is no question in my mind that bringing in mangers from outside the company in the 1970's, the equipment design problems of the 1970 and the bankruptcy problems of KIII in the 1980's were the principal reason for Unit Rig's decline. But on the other hand, maybe John Neighbors was right, it was just that as good as we were, we just could not stand success. But boy it was a great ride while it lasted.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
On February 21, 1985, involuntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code were filed against Kendavis Holding Company, Kendavis Industries International, Inc. (KIII) and sixteen individual companies that were a part of KIII. Although no involuntary petitions against Unit Rig & Equipment Co. were accepted by the Bankruptcy Court, the court did force Unit Rig to operate as if they were in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The primary business for all Kendavis Industries International, Inc.'s companies, which were involved in the filing of the bankruptcy petitions, was connected to the oil industry. The only exception was Unit Rig, whose main business was manufacturing and selling haulage trucks for the open-pit mining industry. The oil industry was going through some hard times in 1985 and this appears to be the root cause of KIII's creditors filing the involuntary bankruptcy petitions. An article, which appeared in the May 19, 1988 issue of The Tulsa Tribune, stated that, "It (Unit Rig) was forced into bankruptcy in May 1985 as part of the bankruptcy action against the Kendavis group of Fort Worth. A French banking company, to which Kendavis owed $13 million, had forced the action." The Tulsa World stated that, "Thirteen banks filed petitions with U. S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas late Friday afternoon, seeking payment of nearly $400 million in loans that had been guaranteed by the 16 firms, - - - - ." There is not enough information available to me to determine if the action was justified; but KIII and the Kenneth W. Davis, Sr. family had a long history of success in the oil business and it is not hard for me to believe that the creditors would have been better served by giving KIII a chance to work out their problems. It is for sure that Unit Rig would have been better off.
Unit Rig had a good position in the open-pit mining haulage equipment industry and was strong and profitable. Things were good enough that in April 1985 Unit Rig purchased the Dart Company's line of rear and bottom dump off highway haulage trucks, along with the Dart 600C front-end loader. In 1984, in behalf of Unit Rig, I made the first inquiry into the possibility of Unit Rig purchasing the Terex Corporation (this was before Terex was purchased by Northwest Engineering.) Unit Rig was also in discussion with the Bucyrus-Erie Company, a manufacturer of large power shovels for the open-pit mining industry, regarding the possible purchase of that company. The future had looked very bright for Unit Rig & Equipment Co.
The management of Unit Rig petitioned the Bankruptcy Court to exclude Unit Rig from the Bankruptcy proceedings; but the court decided to delay a ruling on the petition to a later date. The effect of this decision was that Unit Rig had to operate as if it was a part of the bankruptcy proceedings. When the decision was made to sell Unit Rig to help pay off some of KIII's debts, the Bankruptcy Court made Unit Rig a part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
On May 1, 1987, A. T. (Tucker) Davis resigned as President of Unit Rig and L. T. (Tom) Williams was named Tucker's replacement. During the time that Tom Williams was President, there was an attempt by Tom and other Unit Rig employees to purchase Unit Rig. I was at first, a part of this action but later withdrew from this effort because I was not satisfied the groups relations with the Davis family. Therefore I do not have any details except that the effort was not successful. In hindsight this might have been a better long range solution for Unit Rig- - - - or maybe not.
On October 8, 1987, Joe Freeman, court appointed CEO of KIII, announced that Unit Rig & Equipment Co had signed an agreement of purchase and sale of its assets to Marathon LeTourneau Holding Co, Inc. It was estimated that the final agreement would be signed on November 30, 1987. I do not know what happened to the Marathon LeTourneau agreement. It was rumored that Marathon LeTourneau was late in getting the final agreement to the proper people and Terex Corporation slipped in with an offer that was accepted. That may be what happened, but I suspect that there is more to it than that. As I said, I do not know how this change came about, but it would be very interesting to know what happened that allowed Terex to purchase Unit Rig.
On June 7, 1988, Unit Rig was sold to the Terex Corporation and Frank Hill, an ex Wabco Vice President of Manufacturing, was named President. The company was renamed, Unit Rig Incorporated. On July 15, 1988, Unit Rig Incorporated purchased, essentially all of the operating assets of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. I remember that the Human Resource Department went around and removed all of the small brass tags on desks, chairs etc. that identified that object as the property of Unit Rig & Equipment Co. But nobody bothered to remove the approximately 10 foot high 200 foot long sign on the side of the assembly Shop building that identified this property to be UNIT RIG & EQUIPMENT CO.
From the questions that were asked by Unit Rig's new owners, I suspect that Terex had very little time to do due diligence before they purchased Unit Rig. This could have contributed to Terex not understanding what a strong company they had purchased and to their decision as to how and who would run the company.
Later the name of the company would be changed to: Unit Rig a division of The Terex Corporation. When Terex reorganized its mining equipment companies into Terex Mining, they continued to use the Unit Rig & Equipment Co.'s brand name, "Unit Rig Lectra Haul."
A Little Twist Of History
At the time that I completed the writing of the "Unit Rig Story", in February, 2010, it had been announced, that Terex Mining had been sold to Bucyrus-Erie Company. As of this moment, I do not know if the sale has been completed, but if it has been, it makes for an interesting twist in the history of Unit Rig and may mean better days ahead for Unit Rig Trucks.
Sometime late in 1984 or early 1985, Unit Rig management, including myself, met in Tulsa, with a team of management people from Bucyrus-Erie to discuss the possibility of Unit Rig purchasing Bucyrus-Erie Company. About the same time, I was authorized by the President of Unit Rig, to contact the Terex Corporation to start discussions with Terex concerning the possibility of Unit Rig purchasing Terex. (This took place before Terex was purchased by Northwest Engineering.) I made one phone call, but we never met. This all came to a halt when Unit Rig's parent company KIII went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 21, 1985. If the bankruptcy had not happened there is a possibility that Unit Rig would have owned both Terex Corporation and the Bucyrus-Erie Company.
If the purchase of Terex Mining by Bucyrus-Erie is completed, it could be good for the Unit Rig brand. Unlike Terex, Bucyrus-Erie knows the Open-Pit mining business and could make better use of the Unit Rig family of trucks.
As of December, 2009, Unit Rig trucks were being manufactured in Mexico and sold around the world. Unit Rig Lectra Haul trucks, probably will never return to the days when they were the "Gold Standard" of the industry. But it is a credit to the many dedicated people who worked for Unit Rig, from its beginning in 1936 until today, that the Unit Rig name and Unit Rig products are still respected in the oil well drilling and open-pit mining industries.
The Unit Rig name lives on, at least for now but the company is gone. We will all miss this great company and the people who made it so successful. I don't know about other Unit Rigger's, but I miss the smell of cutting fluid and the sounds of a machine tool cutting steel in the machine shop, the "fireworks" and clanging of steel on steel in the weld shop and the satisfaction of seeing a truck going together in the assembly shop and all of those manufacturing people who made it happen. And there was the satisfaction of a good design that satisfied the needs of our customers. And of course there were the Family Day Picnics, the Scanner Magazine and the pride of being a part of the best in the industry.
Every department: Weld Shop, Machine Shop, Assembly, Warehouse, Accounting, Parts, Human Resources, Administration, Engineering, and Service and, of course, the "Glory Department", Sales can all be proud of their contribution to our success. I have always said that those of us in the Sales Department got way too much credit when we obtained a truck order and way too much blame when we lost one. Winning and losing an order was a team effort at Unit Rig, and that is what made this an outstanding company. The team is gone. The company no longer exists. But the memories of those golden years in Unit Rig's history will live on in the minds and hearts of all of us "Old Riggers".
Some Other Thoughts
In my position as General Sales Manager, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, I worked with two guys in the Sales Department who contributed a lot to Unit Rig's success and from whom I learned a lot. They were Bob Pierce, General Sales Manager, South America, Pacific, China and Australia, A. K. (Rusty) Braswell, General Sales Manager, North America.
Craig Doennecke was in the Navy during World War II and was second officer on LCT 332. LCT 332 was involved in the landing on Omaha Beach during D-Day and was scheduled to land on the beach 20 minutes alter "Zero" hour. Craig said that he remembered American P-47 fighter planes flying cover during the landings. Another of our engineers, John Neighbors, was also involved in the D-Day Omaha landings. He flew P-47 's. John was an Ace in World War II and flew F-86's during the Korean War.
One day I was sitting at my drawing board in the Engineering Department and John Neighbors and Craig Doennecke were standing a few feet from me having a casual conversation. John had not worked for Unit Rig very long, so it was sort of a get acquainted conversation.
John said, "I hear that you were in the Navy in World War II." Craig responded, "Yeah I was on a LCT Landing Craft." John, "Did you see any action?" "I was second officer on a LCT during the Omaha Beach Landing on D-Day. Our ship was disabled by a Teller Mine before we got to the shore and we had to sit there, off-shore for several hours until the tide went out and we could unload. The Germans were lobbing mortar shell at us and we were glad to have a number of P-47 fighter planes flying over us, attacking the shoreline."
Craig then asked John if he was in the war and John responded," I flew P-47's in the European Theater. On D-Day I flew missions covering the landings at Omaha Beach." For a few seconds John and Craig just looked at each other and then Craig extended his hand and the two of them shook hands. Craig said, "Thank you." "You are welcome." John responded. For another few seconds they just looked at each other and then they walked back to their drawing boards. I never again heard them discuss the war.
My Last Business Trip
I settled back in my seat as the Boeing 727 jet started moving down the runway at the Reno, Nevada airport. I had said my little prayer, a habit that I had practiced the last few years of traveling, and was ready for the flight to Dallas and then on to Tulsa. The plane lifted smoothly off the runway, followed by the familiar sound of the landing gear retracting. It was January 5, 1994 and it was hard to believe that this would be the last trip that I would make for Unit Rig. I had informed Unit Rig's President, on December 10, 1993, during a sales meeting in Las Vegas, of my intentions to retire on March 31, 1994, after 42 years, 4 months and 4 days.
It had been an interesting career, one that had been challenging and had provided well for me and my family. I owed a debt of thanks to a lot of people including; the original founders of the company, the Kenneth W. Davis Sr. family, the Unit Rig management team during the company's golden years, numerous fellow employees and my wife Betty for her support. I had started as a trainee mechanical draftsman in 1951 and watched the company grow from a struggling supplier of oil field equipment to the golden years as a dominant supplier of trucks for the open-pit mining industry. And now I was retiring as Vice President of Sales. I was leaving without any real regrets, but with some apprehensions over what the future held for Betty and me. But after 482 business trips, 3,015,769 miles of air travel, being away from home 2346 days (6.4 years), visiting about 70 countries on six continents (I somehow missed the Antarctica), I knew that it was time to give it up and get on with this the next stage of my life. Travel wasn't the only factor in the decision, there were others including; a change in the management style of the company, my inability to influence the direction the company was taking, a change in the company's relationship with our customers, a strong desire to spend more time with my wife, Betty and a real case of career burnout.
My eyes closed and I relaxed to the sounds of the 727 aircraft. Forty-two years at Unit Rig drifted up from my memory: Missing my first day of employment because I was too scared to go to work; driving to Wynnewood, Oklahoma with G. A. Tomlinson, in his yellow Cadillac convertible, on my first field trip; flying to Lafayette, Louisiana on my first airline trip; and flying to Belgrade, Yugoslavia on my first international trip. I remembered the bitter cold of Russian Siberia; and the almost overwhelming heat at the bottom of Palabora Mining Company's copper mine in South Africa. There was the thrill of seeing the Pyramids in Egypt; the Taj Mahal in India; and the Great Wall of China. The fun of stealing a piece of the Kremlin Wall and Red Square while walking through Red Square one evening. I got to see beautiful Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, the South American Andes in the summer and the Swiss Alps in the winter. I thought about the midnight sun in the summer and the long nights in the winter in Kirkenes, Norway; the poverty in Calcutta, India and the prosperity in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. And there were the beautiful Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, the endless sands of the Sahara Desert; Kruger (wild animal) Park in South Africa; and experiencing the beauty of the East and West coast of Australia. And there was all of that jogging, in more places around the world than I could remember.
On the business side, there was the satisfaction of creating a good mechanical design during my days in the Engineering Department, and in the Sales Department, the incredible high when you obtained an order and the equally incredible low when you lost one. There was the loneliness of travel and the thrill of returning home to the family that I loved. I thought about all of the people, all over the world, that I worked with, competed against, sold to, or tried to sell to, and those that I just came in contact with, they would all be missed. (Well, maybe not all of them.)
That part of my life was over and I was ready for Betty and me to move on with our lives. In a few hours I would be home from a business trip for the last time and ready to start that next stage of my life. I had once again reached a level of incompetence, but I knew that Betty and I, together, would overcome that incompetence and we would be as successful in this stage of our lives as we had been in all of the previous stages. My eyes opened, and out the window of the plane were the lights of Tulsa. -- Jerry A. Shelton
And What About The Future? It Sure Won't Be Like It Used To Be
Years ago, in the 1930's and 1940's, there was a comic strip named "Out Our Way". that appeared daily in one of the Tulsa newspapers. This comic strip featured men that worked in a manufacturing plant that looked very much like Unit Rig's plant on North Elwood Ave in Tulsa. The workers wore Bib Overalls and Railroad Engineers Hats or old felt Dress Hats. These comic strip characters were people that were raised on a farm or still lived on a farm and were now working in the big city. They drove to work, from the country every day, with fresh eggs and produce to sell or give to their fellow workers. The Engineering Department had drawing boards and calculations were made with slide rules. The accountants used green eye shades to block out the light from a single overhead light bulb over their heads and arm bands to keep their white shirt sleeves out of the ink. I am guessing that this is very much like Unit Rig in the 1930's and 1940's.
Things had not changed very much when I started to work for Unit Rig in November. 1951. Most of the workers had probably moved to town and bringing eggs and produce to work was not an everyday happening, but it still happened. I remember sitting in the Assembly Department one day during lunch and watching one of the assembly guys remove a sack of fresh eggs,(that a worker had brought to the Plant Superintendent), from the Plant Superintendent office and hard boil them in a "cooling pan" with a heating torch. After the eggs were hard boiled he returned them to the Superintendent's office before he returned from lunch. I ask the superintendent the next day how he liked his eggs and he just laughed and said that he was not near as surprised as was his wife.
In 1951 the manufacturing and design methods had not really changed that much from the way things were done in 1935. Engineers were still sitting at their drawing boards and doing their calculations with their slide rules. Better lighting made it unnecessary for accountants to use eye shades, and ball point pens made it difficult for them to get their sleeves in the ink. And all of the machining, burning and welding was done by hand. From 1951 until 1994 when I retired, there were a lot of changes mainly brought on by the computer. Drawing boards gave away to Computers with CAD programs. Slide rules were replaced by pocket calculators and accountants let the computers help them keep the books. In the manufacturing plant, computers did a lot of the machining, after a worker had set it up, and a lot of the burning and welding was also handled by computers. Since I retired in 1994, I am sure that there have been even greater changes.
But if you are impressed with the changes over the last 73 years, then hold on to your hat, because the next 73 years will blow your socks off. I am not going to try to predict what the changes will be, but I will tell you what I think will be the effect of these changes.
I believe, based on what I have been reading that the world is on the threshold of a technological boom that will change both its business and political structure. It will change the way people work and the way they play. Sometime in the future, a manager will be able to sit in his office and have real time meetings with the images of people from another continent, just as if they were really sitting across the table.
It will change health care, transportation and communications. But of more importance is that technology will change the political structure of the world because businesses will no longer be organized around countries, they will be organized in a way that allows the company to produce a product in the most efficient and most profitable manner.
These changes have already started; components for the Boeing Company's new 787 Dreamliner airplane are being manufactured all over the world and the different components flown to the United State for assembly. Airbus, an English and French company is competing for a contract to build, for the U.S. Air Force, a new aircraft tanker for refueling other military aircraft while in flight. Some of the components for the Airbus airplane will be manufactured by U. S. companies. This change from, "Country" oriented companies to "World Wide" oriented companies will continue and will, out of necessity, force a change in the political structure of the world. The United States must work hard to make sure that in this changing world we are fully in control of our future. We need to keep our way of life, our type of freedom and our moral standards the model for all of the world's people.
There are only three things, that I can see, that could stop these amazing changes in how, in the future, people live; (1) a failure of our political system, (2) a big natural disaster, or (3) the use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists. We need to be better prepared for natural disasters, we must as citizens of this great country take a greater interest in the operation of our government and we can not afford to stop working to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.
My father, Loy James Shelton, died in 1967, when the United State's was racing to be the first to land a man on the moon, and he me told from his hospital bed that, "It isn't so much that I mind dying, it is just that I hate to miss whatever is going to happen next." I agree with him and when my time comes, I am sure that I will be thinking the same thing.
The great New York Yankee baseball catcher, Yogi Berra said it best, "The future ain't what it used to be" It surely is not, Yogi. -- Jerry A. Shelton | <urn:uuid:4d6a7ecd-f851-4963-8bd2-7aa95df6df78> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://utahrails.net/bingham/trucks-unit-rig.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00241-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9836 | 30,858 | 1.5 | 2 |
= C =
The "Communications Decency Act" of 1996,
passed on Black Thursday as section 502 of a major
telecommunications reform bill. The CDA made it a federal crime in
the USA to send a communication which is "obscene,
lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse,
threaten, or harass another person." It also threatened with
imprisonment anyone who "knowingly" makes accessible to minors
any message that "describes, in terms patently offensive as
measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory
activities or organs".
While the CDA was sold as a measure to protect minors from the
putative evils of pornography, the repressive political aims of the
bill were laid bare by the Hyde amendment, which intended to
outlaw discussion of abortion on the Internet.
To say that this direct attack on First Amendment free-speech
rights was not well received on the Internet would be putting it
mildly. A firestorm of protest followed, including a February 29th
mass demonstration by thousands of netters who turned their
home pages black for 48 hours. Several civil-rights groups
and computing/telecommunications companies mounted a constitutional
challenge. The CDA was demolished by a strongly-worded decision
handed down in 8th-circuit Federal court and subsequently
affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court on 26 June 1997 (`White
Thursday'). See also Exon.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk. | <urn:uuid:8f7943c0-ef87-44c9-9293-f9f894212054> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://everything2.com/title/CDA | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00023-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951085 | 345 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Akash Infra-Projects (NSE: AKASH) has good debt
Legendary fund manager Li Lu (whom Charlie Munger once backed) once said, “The greatest risk in investing is not price volatility, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. So it seems smart money knows that debt – which is usually involved in bankruptcies – is a very important factor when you’re assessing a company’s risk. Like many other companies Akash Infra-Projects Limited (NSE:AKASH) uses debt. But the real question is whether this debt makes the business risky.
What risk does debt carry?
Debt helps a business until the business struggles to pay it back, either with new capital or with free cash flow. An integral part of capitalism is the process of “creative destruction” where bankrupt companies are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is when a company has to dilute shareholders at a cheap share price just to keep debt under control. By replacing dilution, however, debt can be a great tool for companies that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about a company’s use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
Check out our latest analysis for Akash Infra-Projects
How much debt does Akash Infra-Projects have?
The image below, which you can click for more details, shows that Akash Infra-Projects had a debt of ₹227.1 million at the end of March 2022, a reduction from ₹239.1 million on a year. However, since he has a cash reserve of ₹65.2 million, his net debt is lower at around ₹161.9 million.
What is the track record of Akash Infra-Projects?
According to the latest published balance sheet, Akash Infra-Projects had liabilities of ₹506.9 million due within 12 months and liabilities of ₹168.4 million due beyond 12 months. In return, he had ₹65.2 million in cash and ₹1.07 billion in receivables due within 12 months. So he actually has ₹463.8 million After liquid assets than total liabilities.
This surplus strongly suggests that Akash Infra-Projects has a rock-solid balance sheet (and debt is nothing to worry about). Given this fact, we think its balance sheet is as strong as an ox. There is no doubt that we learn the most about debt from the balance sheet. But you can’t look at debt in total isolation; since Akash Infra-Projects will need revenue to repay this debt. So, when considering debt, it is definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive preview.
Last year, Akash Infra-Projects was not profitable on an EBIT level, but managed to increase its turnover by 18%, to £788 million. This rate of growth is a bit slow for our liking, but it takes all types to make a world.
Over the last twelve months, Akash Infra-Projects recorded a loss of earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). Indeed, it lost a very considerable ₹111 million in EBIT. That said, the balance sheet currently has plenty of cash. This will give the business time and space to grow and expand its business as needed. The business is risky as it will grow in the future to achieve profitability and free cash flow. There is no doubt that we learn the most about debt from the balance sheet. But at the end of the day, every business can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. We have identified 3 warning signs with Akash Infra-Projects (at least 2 that are significant), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
If, after all that, you’re more interested in a fast-growing company with a strong balance sheet, check out our list of cash-flowing growth stocks without further ado.
Feedback on this article? Concerned about content? Get in touch with us directly. You can also email the editorial team (at) Simplywallst.com.
This Simply Wall St article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to bring you targeted long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest announcements from price-sensitive companies or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. | <urn:uuid:52584b4a-13e0-4e91-a48a-c9165dea9d29> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sharewared.com/akash-infra-projects-nse-akash-has-good-debt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.95572 | 1,012 | 1.6875 | 2 |
This session will aim to set the road map and major milestones for ending dependence on humanitarian assistance.
The ascending frequency of climate-related natural disasters is having significant economic and health impacts, especially for the poor and vulnerable groups. A systemic transformation of food systems is required to strengthen food security for the world’s current and future population under climate change.
The large and growing body of evidence advocates the potential of major investments in proactive climate risk management strategies, including; early warning and adaptive safety net programs, to secure more resilient livelihoods for millions of farmers in low- and middle-income countries. Accordingly, a transformative action ‘Secure resilient livelihoods and value chains through early warning systems and adaptive safety nets’ is proposed. It has a goal to end dependence on humanitarian assistance for 40 million rural dwellers by 2030, realigning US$5 billion per year for adaptive safety nets. Mechanisms to achieve the outcome include a) constructing a tighter continuum from humanitarian assistance to development processes; b) developing and improving early warning systems in climate risk hotspots; c) aligning best practice safety net programs in climate risk hotspots and; d) supporting early action with risk finance.
Accordingly, a session has been envisaged to dwell further on setting the road map and major milestones for ending dependence on humanitarian assistance. The session includes a short presentation followed by a panel discussion to understand the possible bottlenecks and curative measures in these mechanisms to attain the proposed 2030 outcome.
There will be live polling simultaneously to gauge the opinion and point of view of the audience. Polling results would also serve as food for thought during the panel discussion. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with the participants.
Pramod Aggarwal, Asia Program Leader, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
Giriraj Amarnath, Research Group Leader, Water Risks and Disasters, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Harini Kannan, Director P&C Reinsurance India, Swiss Re
Imelda (Dada) Bacudo, Advisor to ASEAN on climate policy and finance, climate smart agriculture and land use
Where to watch the event
The around-the-world virtual relay event will be live streamed right here
on the CCAFS website. You can also watch on our Facebook page
, our LinkedIn page
, and on our YouTube
channel. The livestream will also be accessible through the Whova companion app.
Hosted from: New Delhi, India
Local time: 13:30 – 14:15 IST
The event will be livestreamed on our website, watch here.
Join the conversation on Twitter: | <urn:uuid:3a563956-72e8-47c4-9b68-89382e825bf8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ccafs.cgiar.org/fr/node/85544 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.886469 | 582 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Charlotte is the largest city in the Carolinas.
Charlotte, is an ambitious and very rapidly growing city in the southern part of central North Carolina. It is the largest city in the state (540,828 city, 1,350,243 metro according to census.gov), and is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. It is the center of finance, industry, technology, and entertainment for the region. Primarily known in the past as a business center, Charlotte is steadily developing its fledgling tourist industry; currently its central core is one of the most visitor-friendly districts in the Carolinas.
For information on the city's central district, see Uptown Charlotte.
Heavy growth in the past 20 years has made Charlotte one of the southeastern USA's largest and most successful cities. In many ways, the city is still trying to catch up to its own growth; visitors often comment that it seems understated in terms of culture and development. However, Charlotte is changing at a breathtaking speed. A very rapid influx of population and business investment has given it one of the most dynamic urban areas in the region.
Charlotte's official visitors' center is called "Main Street" (something of a misnomer, as there is no Main St.) and is located in the center of the city, at Tryon and 2nd St. Brochures, souveniers, and advice are available for first-time visitors as well as long-time residents. Along with the public library, this is the best place to go if you are looking for a concentrated source of information about the city. It is worth checking out the brochures for self-guided walking and driving tours.
This statue near the Uptown Holiday Inn honors Charlotte's namesake.
Charlotte's earliest settlers were Presbyterians of Scotch-Irish descent who built a small courthouse, marketplace and village at the intersection of ancient Native American trading paths (the actual intersection is the Square formed by Trade and Tryon Streets) during the middle of the 18th Century. Both Charlotte and Mecklenburg County were named in honor of the Germanic wife of King George III of England. In addition, the main thoroughfare (Tryon St.) was named in tribute to the English Governor of the day. The establishment of a courthouse made Charlotte the seat of Mecklenburg County, and it was known for little more in its early days.
Charlotte's early residents were fiercely independent, in accordance with their rural Protestant heritage. The city was known as a hotbed of separatism well prior to the American Revolution, culminating in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (signed a year prior to the American equivalent). The Square was the site of a minor skirmish with Cornwallis' army, which led to the city's characterization as a "hornet's nest" of rebellion. Nevertheless, the city remained a relatively obscure village, and was dubbed a "trifling place" by visiting President George Washington.
The first signs of economic prosperity came to Charlotte with the discovery of a huge gold nugget at the site of modern-day Reed's Gold Mine. This triggered the United States' first gold rush, and dotted Mecklenburg County with gold mines. The mines contributed low-grade gold to the city's street-paving program, which led to the joke that the streets were literally paved with gold in Charlotte. Eventually the city earned the establishment of a U.S. Mint for currency production on modern-day Mint St. Perhaps most importantly, the city positioned itself as a railroad hub. With several lines intersecting in Charlotte, the city became a major destination for farmers wishing to distribute their tobacco and cotton crops nationwide. These events presaged Charlotte's future as a city of commerce and distribution.
Thankfully, Charlotte was mostly spared the wide-scale destruction of the Civil War. The city contributed troops to the Confederate effort, many of whom are buried in the Confederate graveyard at modern-day Elmwood Cemetary. Curiously, landlocked Charlotte briefly became the home to the Confederate Naval Yard near the end of the war, as a result of its railroad connections. Also, the city was host to the final full meeting of the Confederate Cabinet, and Jefferson Davis was standing on Tryon St. when informed of Lincoln's assassination (Davis' widow later retired to Charlotte). Generally, though, Charlotte was fortunate to play a relatively minor role in the devastating conflict. Its main casualty was the loss of the Mint, which was shut down for obvious reasons by the Union government.
Charlotte has been noted as one of the South's most resilient cities in the wake of the Civil War. Having been spared the widespread destruction of cities such as Atlanta and Columbia, Charlotte was relatively free of obligations to rebuild infrastructure. It jumped quickly onto the "New South" bandwagon, increasing its ties to the railroads and mill industry. Some of the major mills established here after the War are still standing, and have mostly been converted into modern businesses and condominiums. Perhaps most importantly, Charlotte was a site of heavy financial investment by "carpetbaggers" (northern transplants who were eyed with suspicion or outright hostility). These upstart banks were the predecessors to Charlotte's modern banking giants.
At the turn of the century, Charlotte was still a small town in spite of its favorable position. But by the 1950s, it had exploded into the largest city in the Carolinas. Aggressive businessmen transformed the city into a financial juggernaut, and the distribution industry made a smooth transition from the railroad-dominated 19th century into the automotive 20th century. As the local textile and furniture industries faltered, Charlotte invested its energy into finance and transportation, enabling it to avoid the depressions suffered in many other Carolinas cities. By the 1970s, the city was into a full-scale economic boom. The population skyrocketed with immigration from around the USA and foreign countries. The city skyline began to transform as office towers sprouted on an almost yearly basis, and the suburbs pushed farther toward the county borders. By the end of the century, Charlotte had transformed from mill town into metropolis.
It could be said that Charlotte's greatest struggle is with its own identity. The city remains tied to its roots as a giant of finance and transportation, but has diversified as it has grown. The rapid growth of the late-20th century lead to the unfortunate demolition of much of the city's historical infrastructure, giving Uptown a glittering feeling of newness despite its 250-year history. The city continues to focus on the development of its core, despite the explosion of suburban communities out of Mecklenburg County and into surrounding towns. One thing is definite, though: all indications are that the city will continue to grow for the forseeable future, making it one of the United States' most prominent metro areas in the next decade.
North Carolina is one of the USA's most popular sites for relocation (both people and businesses), and Charlotte has been no exception. The city is full of "transplants" from the northeast and midwest, and a considerable immigrant population. Nevertheless, the city still has a sizeable population of locals who can remember when the city was still a medium-sized town centered around railroad distribution. Like most Southern cities, Charlotte has a large African-American population. Also, it has a significant community of Asian descent, and a very rapidly growing Hispanic population. What was once a white-and-black city has become increasingly colorful with each passing decade.
Charlotte's physical arrangment reflects the growth trends of the 20th Century. Like most Southern American cities, it is "sprawled" over a relatively wide area for its size. Most of the city is suburban in nature, and most of those suburbs are less than 50 years old. These suburbs are encircled by the partially-completed I-485.
However, unlike many of its peers Charlotte has a very dense urban core that functions as an axis for its business and cultural life. The center of the city is therefore the primary destination for tourists and business travelers.
What is often lost in this arrangement is a diverse, colorful ring of "inner suburbs" that lie in the zone between the core and the new suburban development. Most of Charlotte's most unique neighborhoods lie in this ring, as well as most of the city's "underground" activity. As a result, these areas have a highly local flavor and are just beginning to be discovered by tourists.
Charlotte is first and foremost a city of business and commerce. Charlotte is the second leading banking center in the United States, with the headquarters of Bank of America and Wachovia. Charlotte is also a distribution center and has the headquarters for major companies. Fortune 500 companies such as Duke Energy, Nucor, Sonic Automotive, SPX, Lowes and Family Dollar are based in the immediate metro area. Charlotte is regularly listed as one of the USA's fastest-growing business areas, as well as one of the best places to do business in the nation.
The temperature ranges from about 14 °F (-10 °C) to 104 °F (40 °C). On average, a summer high is about 90 °F (32 °C) and a winter low is about 32 °F (0 °C). Charlotte receives 43.52 in (1105.3 mm) of precipitation annually, most of which is in the form of rain (though there is some snow and ice in the winter). Charlotte is not as well equipped for snow and ice as more northerly cities; significant accumulations of snow (more than 2cm) or ice on the roads can disrupt activity city-wide. Usually, this includes the closing of local businesses and schools, and happens about once a year on average. Charlotte's inland location usually protects it from being hit directly from Atlantic hurricanes (the most recent exception being Hurricane Hugo in 1989), though it often receives heavy rains due to passing tropical systems.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), is located on the west side of town near Billy Graham Parkway. Bus route 5 (Airport) goes there. The airport is a major domestic hub for US Airways, and receives flights from most major airlines.
Though the airport has diversified somewhat in the past few years, US Airways domestic flights are still its primary source of traffic.
Taxis charge a flat $20 rate for a trip from the airport to Uptown (for one or two passengers; additional charges apply for groups).
The Amtrak station is located on North Tryon near Dalton, on bus route 11 (North Tryon). If you arrive by train, be aware that this area is relatively seedy. Though you will be safe in and around the station, it is not a good idea to "wing it" once you arrive. Try to pre-arrange travel from the station to your next destination; walking is not recommended.
The interstate highways through Charlotte are Interstates 85 (northeast-southwest) and 77 (north-south). I-85 takes you to Burlington and Greensboro. N.C. 74 is also a primary route into the city, and links with I-277.
Note that while I-277 (inner loop) has been completed for some time, I-485 (outer loop) is incomplete and still under construction. The northwestern quadrant of I-485 is still missing, but the rest of the freeway is quite useful for circling the perimeter of the city.
Similarly, I-277 is very useful when moving quickly around the center city. However, it is important to understand that one side of the "loop" is actually I-77, which interchanges with I-277 in two places. It is easy to misread the signs and end up moving farther along I-77 rather than circling back onto I-277. When using the loop, be sure to follow signs for "Downtown" in order to stay on the correct path.
Secondary roads in Charlotte are notoriously difficult to navigate. In particular, visitors and residents alike are often befuddled by frequent name changes in the roads. To make matters worse, many roads in the city share similar names. Also, very few of the city's roads are based on a grid or similarly organized system; most of the roads outside the city core are winding avenues that follow the natural features of the land.
The city can be a delight to explore by car, but visitors are strongly advised to pick up a free map or purchase a road map upon arrival.
The Greyhound station is just northwest of Uptown Charlotte and is served by buses 8 (Tuckaseegee), 34 (Freedom Drive), and 7 (Beatties Ford).
CATS (Charlotte Area Transit System) buses cover most of the city. They depart from the teal-roofed Transit Center in the Uptown business district. Though they are generally clean and safe, they are usually not the most efficient way to get around the city. The Express buses connecting Uptown with the outer suburbs have proven popular among the professional crowd as a way to get in and out of the city without having to fight traffic. Though they only depart and return to their destinations a handful of times per day, they may be a desirable mode of transportation for someone making a day trip to the downtown area.
Uptown Charlotte is very dense, and almost all attractions in that part of town are easily reached by walking. However, only a few other districts (such as NoDa and Dilworth) are truly pedestrian-friendly. Outer districts, such as Ballantyne and University City, are pedestrian-unfriendly areas. If you must walk, give some thought to the weather; summer days in the South are quite hot and it is easy to get dehydrated.
- Driving Uptown is laid out in a grid, with numbered streets running east-west with few exceptions. Streets running north-south have proper names. Charlotte's outer suburbs are often difficult to navigate. Most roads are built according to the natural lay of the land; once you leave the I-277 loop, you are likely to find it increasingly difficult to predict the direction (and often, the name) of the road you are travelling on. Therefore, it is a good idea to make certain your directions are specific and trustworthy before venturing into an unknown area. Otherwise, you will likely find yourself relying on the (usually) friendly natives for directions back to your starting point.
- Taxis Taxi services are available to any part of Charlotte. There are several prominent companies, and unlike larger cities (for instance, New York or London) the design of the vehicles is not uniform. However, a taxi is always recognizable by a sign on the roof of the car. If the taxi is vacant, the sign will be lit up; if it has a passenger, the sign will be off. It is customary to give a tip to cab drivers, especially if they help you with luggage or other items. It is usually a good idea to inquire about the fare before boarding if you are planning to make a longer trip; Charlotte's sprawled-out nature can lead to high fares for trips outside the center city.
Cab fares in Charlotte are regulated by the city, and are consistent for all companies. The "drop charge" (pickup rate) is $2.00, and each 1/5th mile is $0.40. During weekday rush hours (7-9AM and 4-6PM), you will also be charged $0.40 for every minute spent in stopped traffic. For a direct one-way trip to or from the airport, the rate is a flat $20. You can save money by sharing a cab with a companion, but be aware that there is a $2 charge for each person after 2.
When the Light Rail Southern Corridor is finished in the next couple of years, it will be a rapid and efficient way to commute from Uptown to the edges of Mecklenburg County. It will include stops at Bobcats Arena, the Convention Center, and other major locations. In the meantime, construction on the line may block certain streets on the eastern and southern ends of Uptown and along South Blvd.
- Buses You can rent a car or a taxi at any of several places, but if you're willing to take longer to get where you're going, a bus ride is much cheaper. Most bus routes start at the Transportation Center and go toward the suburbs like spokes on a wheel (roughly). Bus fare is $1.20 for a one-leg or two-leg trip, $1.65 for an express bus (these run mornings and evenings and go to an outlying area without stopping), and 50¢ for a shuttle. Allow 45 minutes for a one-leg trip, 2 hours for a two-leg trip. Also, be aware of the colorfully-painted buses in the suburbs that connect neighborhoods to primary routes.
- Cycling Some parts of Charlotte are very friendly to cyclists, especially the south-central area around Myers Park and Dilworth. It is a good idea to research in advance to identify streets with designated bike lanes on the right-hand side of the road. Be aware that bicycles are subject to the same traffic laws as cars.
- Uptown. The literal and figurative "center of things". Uptown is Charlotte's central district, and the location of its somewhat oversized skyline. It is generally agreed that the word "uptown" refers to anything inside the I-277 loop, though some adjacent entities might describe themselves that way. Uptown is the center of Charlotte's commerce, culture, and government. As recently as the mid-1990s, the area was a virtual "office park" -- home to a lot of business but very few residents -- but is rapidly repopulating with highrise condos. The district is home to several Fortune 500 headquarters, museums, nightclubs, restaurants, parks, city and county government offices, theaters... pretty much anything you'd expect to find in a city center. Most of the bustle is centered around Tryon St., the "Main St." of the city. Note that most east-west streets are numbered, whereas most north-south streets have proper names. It is well worth noting that Uptown is statistically one of Charlotte's safest areas, due in large part to a large flow of human traffic at most hours.
- NoDa. NoDa, short for North Davidson Street, is one of Charlotte's most eclectic and original neighborhoods. Also known as the Historic Arts District, NoDa is about two miles north of the center city. The district grew up around a large textile mill that closed in the 1970s, sending the surrounding neighborhood into a long period of decline. After artists began moving back into the neighborhood in the 1980s, they began to revitalize and preserve the old brick buildings and quaint mill houses. Even the old Highland Mill, next to the Johnston YMCA, is being renovated for both residential and retail/office space. Enjoy street level art galleries, several restaurants and other unique shops in the district. There is a "gallery crawl" every first and third Friday that attracts many visitors to NoDa.
- South End. This neighborhood is located close to Uptown in the corridor formed by Tryon St. and South Blvd. It was previously a mill district located along the railroad tracks, but has gradually converted into a hip, semi-upscale entertainment/cultural district. The addition of trolley tracks (and soon, light rail) connecting it to Uptown has helped spur expansive development here. Possibly the best place in town to take a walk with children, as the neighborhood features ice cream shops, a trolley museum and several kids-oriented stores. Also home to Charlotte's emerging design industry, South End features several galleries and a "gallery crawl" parallel to those in NoDa.
- Plaza-Midwood. Similar in some ways to NoDa and South End, but a little rougher around the edges. Plaza-Midwood (named in part for its location along The Plaza) prides itself on its "old Charlotte" feel, and a grungy underbelly that has resisted gentrification. This neighborhood has quickly become a vibrant alternative to the upscale scene, and is home to several local institutions (including the legendary Penguin restaurant).
- Myers Park. Once located altogether outside the city, Myers Park is near the heart of modern-day Charlotte. Its reputation as an "old money" neighborhood is accentuated by its cathedral-esque tree canopy and slowly winding avenues. It is home to some of Charlotte's oldest and most expensive homes (formerly country estates), as well as Queens University of Charlotte and Freedom Park. A driving tour of Myers Park is a popular way for tourists to get acquainted with the city, but bring a map; some of Charlotte's most difficult intersections are located here.
- Dilworth. Charlotte's first "streetcar suburb", Dilworth has never lost its reputation as a desirable place to make a home. In recent years the neighborhood has blossomed into an upscale district dotted with eateries and galleries. The promise of increased public transit service has added even more development to this already walkable neighborhood.
- The Mint Museum of Art, 2730 Randolph Rd., +1 704 337-2000, . Tu 10AM-10PM, W-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 12PM-5PM. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Charlotte's main art museum is located in the original building of the Charlotte Mint (see History), which was moved from its location at Mint St. Though its permanent collection is somewhat lacking, it regularly hosts high-quality traveling exhibits from around the world. Its primary strengths are American art and ceramics; colonial/pre-colonial art; and costumes and other decorative art from many countries. Not a must-see, but worth a visit if you are in Charlotte for more than a couple of days or have a special interest in art. $6 adults, $5 seniors and college students, $3 6-17, free under 5.
- The Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Drive, +1 704 568-1774, . M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1PM-5PM. Is a museum dedicated to the history of Charlotte. Located on the property of a prominent 18th-century homestead family, and features the original home and related buildings nearby. Offers guided tours of the historic sites as well as the modern museum building. Exhibits inside the museum are relatively small, but of exceptionally high quality due to its collaboration with the Smithsonian. $6 adults, $5 students and seniors, $3 children.
- James K Polk Historic Site, 12031 Lancaster Hwy. (Pineville), +1 704 889-7145, . Tu-Sa 9AM-5PM. From Interstate 77 south of Charlotte take Interstate 485 east (Exit 2). At the Pineville exit take U.S. 521 south through the town of Pineville for about one and one-half miles. The Polk Memorial is on the left. The museum offers tours and information about the home of U.S. President James K. Polk, as well as a reconstruction of his house. Monthly special events. Free.
- Nature Museum, 1658 Sterling Rd., +1 704 372-6261, . M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1AM-5PM. Discovery Place affiliate, this kid-friendly museum offers a variety of exhibits focusing on nature and biology. A butterfly garden, nature trail and live animals offer additional attractions. $5, 2 and under free.
- Carolinas Aviation Museum, 4108 Airport Drive (at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport), +1 704 359-8442 (fax: +1 704 359-0057), . Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 1PM-5PM. This is a big attraction for aviation fanatics. This museum features a wide variety of resources including historic and restored airplanes, air shows and a library (by research request only). Because it is located at Charlotte-Douglas, it is the only attraction in the city that can be reached by airplane. If you want to meet people working on restoring the airplanes, come on a Tuesday or Thursday. It is also a great place to watch takeoffs and landings at the airport!
- Charlotte Trolley Museum, 2104 South Blvd., (at the end of the streetcar line in SouthEnd), +1 704 375-0850, . This small museum is a good place to drop in when making a trip on the rails. Featuring photos, exhibits, and rides. Also offers walking tours of Dilworth and Plaza-Midwood, two of the city's oldest and most interesting neighborhoods. Free.
Bank of America Stadium is home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
- Lowe's Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Parkway South, Concord NC, +1 704 455-3200, . A huge race track and host of several NASCAR and other racing events annually. It is not overly impressive from the outside, but if you can get in on race days it is an experience to behold. $5 for guided tours of the facility.
- Bank of America Stadium, 800 South Mint St. (Almost no on-site parking; several lots are adjacent but fill quickly on game days), +1 704 358-7000, . Typically open only on game days, though some special events are open to the public. Home of Carolina Panthers football team, the stadium seats about 75,000 for an NFL game. Upper-level seats have a partial view of the city skyline. A team store is open at the main entrance throughout the year, selling souveniers and merchandise.
- Cricket Arena, 2700 East Independence Blvd., +1 704 372-3600, . Historic domed arena in southeast Charlotte on N.C. 74. Once the largest free-standing dome in the world, it has played host to Elvis, Jimi Hendrix and many sporting events. Currently used for community events, conventions and smaller musical acts.
- Bobcats Arena, 333 East Trade St., 1-800-495-2295, . New arena located in Uptown, next to the central transit center. Venue for several large events, and home to the Charlotte Bobcats. Expected to be renamed within the next few months. Box office is open in the main lobby during weekly business hours and 10am - 2pm on Saturday. Tours are available on a limited basis but must be made at least a week in advance.
- Memorial Stadium, 310 North Kings Dr, +1 704 353-0200. Located adjacent to the CPCC campus south of Uptown, with a spectacular skyline view. Generally used for smaller events such as high school football games and band competitions. In 2006 it was the site of the city's main 4th of July fireworks display.
- Manor Theater, 607 Providence Rd, +1 704 334-2727. The best place in Charlotte for independent and "artsy" cinema. Very well-reputed, even though it doesn't have the cutting-edge amenities of larger theaters. Just south of Uptown.
- Belmont Drive-In, 314 Mc Adenville Road (Belmont, NC), +1 704 825-6044. A traditional drive-in movie theater, located off NC-74 in the nearby town of Belmont. Very strongly recommended for visitors looking for "local color". Extremely cheap compared to a regular theater ($6 per car, regardless of how many people you cram in), welcoming of pets and kids, and serves pretty good concessions. Typically shows 2-3 movies in an evening, and you're free to leave at any time.
- Discovery Place IMAX. Large domed theater in the heart of Uptown. Paid entry into Discovery Place is not required in order to see an IMAX movie. Mostly shows documentaries, with occasional feature films (most recently a Harry Potter movie). See Discovery Place under "Museums" for more information.
- Park Terrace 6, 4289 Park Road, +1 704 556-6843. Small (six-screen) theater in the Park Road Shopping Center. Shows independent and limited-run films, and occasional foreign movies. Cozy and friendly, very non-commercial in nature.
- Phillips Place, 5970 Fairview Road, +1 704 556-6843. Large and comfortable, with 10 screens showing feature films. Located in the SouthPark area.
- Ballantyne Village Theatre, 14815 John J. Delaney Drive, +1 704 369-5101. Brand-new theater in the southern suburb of Ballantyne. Noted for its bold decision to show independent films on only 4 screens, despite being part of the landmark Ballantyne Village shopping center. Pitches its product as a "luxury" experience with fine dining and other amenities nearby.
- AMC Carolina Pavilion 22, 9541 South Boulevard, +1 704 643-4262. Very large, comfortable theater in the southern suburbs near I-485. Generally carries a variety of feature films, and shows blockbusters on multiple screens.
- AMC Concord Mills 24, 8241 Concord Mills Blvd (Concord, NC), +1 704 643-4262. Large theater inside Concord Mills Mall (see "Malls" for details). Can be counted on to show any recent feature film, often on multiple screens. Convenient for combining a movie with a day of shopping and dining, without leaving the mall complex, and it makes an excellent date location.
- AMC Northlake 14, 7325 Northlake Mall Drive, +1 704 643-4262. The newest and smallest of AMC's theaters in Charlotte. Attached to Northlake Mall in the northeastern suburbs.
- Arboreturm 12 Cinema, 8008 Providence Road, +1 704 556-6843. Medium-sized theater located in the Arboretum shopping center (in the southern suburbs, near I-485). Very popular among young teens as a weekend hangout.
The major language is English, and English will be more than enough to get around.
In recent years, the number of foreign-language establishments in Charlotte has begun to rise. In particular, Spanish-speaking shops and restaurants have become numerous on the city's east side. Also, there are a fair number of Asian establishments as well. There is a large shopping area called "Asian Corners", and a part of the east side nicknamed "little Hanoi". It is worth noting, however, that these areas make up a relatively small part of the English-dominated city.
Professional sports are one of Charlotte's most popular forms of entertainment. Though its roots are primarily in stock car racing, the city offers something for fans of nearly every kind of sport. In particular, its success in the NFL and NBA have given it widespread exposure as a growing sports hub:
- Carolina Panthers (American Football). 800 South Mint St. (Almost no on-site parking; several lots are adjacent but fill quickly on game days), +1 704 358-7000, . The local NFL team, playing uptown in the 73,000 seat Bank of America stadium. Due to a sudden surge in popularity, it is becoming more difficult to find tickets to home games. This is especially the case late in the season, when the team is expected to be in the playoff hunt. Scalpers roam the sidewalks in front of the stadium, so it is possible to find gameday tickets at a premium cost. It is technically illegal to charge more than a small percentage above the face value of a ticket, though this law is generally uninforced.
- Charlotte Bobcats (Basketball). 333 E. Trade St., (park in adjacent lots and decks; they are generally easy to spot), 1-800-495-2295 (Tickets) or +1 704 688-8600 (Arena), . Charlotte's new NBA team plays in a brand-new arena located uptown. Support for the team has been inconsistent due to an ugly divorce with the Charlotte Hornets franchise in 2003. Ticket prices are being lowered for the upcoming season, and it is generally not a problem to purchase a ticket on game day.
- Charlotte Knights (Baseball). 2280 Deerfield Drive (Fort Mill, SC), +1 704 357-8071 (+1 803 548-8050 in South Carolina), . A minor-league baseball side operating out of Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Knights play many home games in the summer, though its far-flung location makes it somewhat inconvenient to visitors. The organization prides itself on providing a family-friendly atomosphere, making this option a favorite for those with children. There are negotiations under way to build an uptown stadium for the team.
- Charlotte Checkers (Ice Hockey). 333 E. Trade St. (It is usually easy to find parking in adjacent lots and decks for hockey games), +1 704 342-4423, . Minor-league hockey team, playing in Bobcats Arena uptown. This is perhaps the best entertainment value in Charlotte, with very low ticket prices for a relatively upscale experience. Charlotte was the first city south of Baltimore to host professional hockey, and has had a team for most of the last 50 years. The team is an affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers. $10-$27.
- Racing. Charlotte is the de facto hub of stock car racing in America, several NASCAR teams call Charlotte home. The city's race track (Lowes' Motor Speedway: Charlotte; in Concord, NC) hosts 3 NASCAR Nextel Cup races a season, including the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. Also, Charlotte was recently chosen to build the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which will be located near the uptown Convention Center. Each year Charlotte hosts "Speed Street", a large festival featuring various racing-themed attractions and a long list of musical guests. Speed Street is one of the city's largest annual events.
- Charlotte Eagles (Soccer). E.E. Waddell High School (Head North/West out of Charlotte on I-77, take Exit 4 to Nations Ford Rd.), +1 704 841-8644, A minor-league semi-nomadic soccer team, currently playing at Waddell High School, in search of a home stadium.
- Charlotte Rugby Football Club, (Rugby Union). Local rugby side that in recent years has been the top side in the South and the Mid-Atlantic. And has recently joined the Super League, the highest club level in the American Rugby Union.
Charlotte has been noted for its "green" appearance, due to its extensive tree canopy and abundance of parks. Listed below are some of the major city parks.
- Freedom Park - A large and scenic park located in the historic Myers Park neighborhood. Walking trails circle a large pond, which is populated by friendly ducks and geese. This is also a relatively busy park, and a favorite of joggers and families. Each year it is host to a number of special events, including a large festival each fall. It includes a bandshell for performances, and extensive sporting facilities.
- Independence Park - The city's oldest public park, located in the Dilworth neighborhood. Though its edges have been eroded by development over the years, it is still sizeable and pleasant.
- Latta Park - Located at the edge of Dilworth, this historic park is well-positioned to serve the lunch crowd coming from South Blvd. restaurants. It includes a "sprayground" for children, making it a summertime favorite.
- Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre, 707 Pavilion Blvd., +1 704 549-5555, . Located in the University area, this is the location of Charlotte's summer concert series. Seats up to 20,000 including general-admission lawn space; larger concerts will typically sell out. If you purchase lawn seats you may rent chairs, but for a larger show you will probably not be able to use them.
- Tremont Music Hall, 400 W Tremont Ave., +1 704 343-9494, . Home of the city's best series of underground concerts. Its gritty location on the edge of SouthEnd is right in tune with the personality of the music hall. At maximum capacity it can only hold a few hundred people, and the lack of permanent seating allows you to get as close as you like to the stage. A good mix of local and national acts.
- Neighborhood Theater, 511 E. 36th St., +1 704 358-9298, . The heart and soul of NoDa, this was once a burlesque theater but has been converted to an intimate venue with comfortable seating. A wide variety of acts play here, from hard rock to acoustic jazz.
- The Double Door Inn, 218 E. Independence Blvd., +1 704 376-1446, . Legendary for its blues history, and one of the city's most beloved institutions. Any long-time Charlottean will tell you the story about Eric Clapton's impromptu set at the Double Door; a framed newspaper article over the bar is proof. Hosts musical acts on most nights of the week. Very intimate, and more for the drink-and-watch crowd.
- Visulite Theater, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., +1 704 358-9200, . Long-lived movie theater-turned-music house on Elizabeth Ave. near Uptown. Hosts a variety of acts, and is well-reputed as one of the city's most intimate atmospheres.
- The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd, +1 704 398-0472, . Almost forgotten in Charlotte's mainstream entertainment scene, this veteran club has a shockingly prestigious music history -- Nirvana, the Flaming Lips, and REM have all graced the stage here. Though the interior looks like something out of skid row, there is a well-cultivated hipster vibe at the Milestone that is virtually untouched anywhere else in the city. Mention this one in conversation to guage a friend's true cool-factor.
- Amos' SouthEnd, 1423 S Tryon St, +1 704 377-6874, . Like SouthEnd Brewery, Amos' popularity exceeds the mere gentrification of the neighborhood; it helped make SouthEnd hip. Amos' hosts a very diverse range of live acts, but the proprietors have good taste and shows there are generally expected to be pretty good. One of the best singles joints in town, and typically a good stop for a beer regardless of who's on stage.
- Coyote Ugly, 521 North College Street , +1 704 347-6869. Crazy bar (just like the movie) with girls singing, dancing and getting out of control. Don't forget to ask about a "Penalty Shot" or a "Body Shot", you won't be disappointed. 21+ Only.
- Grand Central, 101 North Tryon St., Suite 113 , +1 704 348-7032. Uptown's Grand Central. A taste of Manhattan in the heart of Charlotte. NY style bar with a house DJ every Friday & Saturday. No cover.
- Lava Lounge, 1420 Elizabeth Ave., +1 704 376-3347. Tue-Thurs 8PM-2AM, Fri-Sat 8PM-4AM. By far the hippest place to go for post-dance chillout. This is literally a lounge, though the small dance floor is often quite active. DJs play a diverse array of music while hookah smoke floats in front of live candles. A very low-key, exotic vibe. Cover charged only after 2am on Fri. and Sat. ($5).
- Coyote Joe's
- Velocity, 935 S. Summit Ave., +1 704 333-0060. Fri-Sat 10PM-4AM. Huge warehouse converted into a gay/lesbian club in the funky South Blvd. area. Known for its large area and variety of attractions inside, Velocity is reputed as one of the more entertaining clubs in the city. Very large dance floor, usually filled with a diverse crowd.
Golf is a major sport in the Carolinas, and is played nearly year-round due to the mild autumn and spring seasons. Listed below are public and semi-private courses that are likely to be accessible to visitors. Private courses are not listed, as they require personal invitation to play.
- Birkdale Golf Club, 16500 Birkdale Commons Pkwy (Huntersville, NC), +1 704 895-8038, . Relatively new championship course located in Huntersville, north of Charlotte on I-77. Designed by Arnold Palmer, and includes practice facilities. Fees range from $40-$63 depending on day and time. Tee times must be reserved at least 8 days in advance.
- Carolina Golf & Country Club, 2415 Old Steel Creek Rd, +1 704 392-6363. Built in 1929. $25-$30 for 18 holes, depending on day of the week.
- Charles T. Myers Golf Course, 7817 Harrisburg Rd, +1 704 536-1692. $23-$30 for 18 holes, depending on the day. Tee times must be reserved at least 7 days in advance.
- Charlotte National Golf Course, 6920 Howey Bottoms Road (Indian Trail, NC), +1 704 882-8282, . Located just southeast of the Charlotte city limits off NC-74. Fees range from $30-$45, depending on time and day.
- Eagle Chase Golf Club, 3215 Brantley Road (Marshville, NC), +1 704 385-9000, . Located about 30 minutes southeast of the Charlotte city limits off NC-74. Fees range from $23-$35 depending on day of the week.
- Emerald Lake Golf Club, 9750 Tournament Drive (Matthews, NC), +1 704 882-7888, . Located a few minutes outside the Charlotte city limits. Fees range from $30-$60, depending on day and time. Lessons offered.
- Firethorne Country Club, 1108 Firethorne Club Drive (Marvin, NC), +1 704 243-2433, . Located just south of the city limits off I-485.
- The Golf Club at Ballantyne Resort, 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy, +1 704 248-4383, . Part of the Ballantyne area's luxury resort. Reserve a tee time through the pro shop. Tee times must be reserved at least 2 days in advance.
- Highland Creek Golf Club, 7001 Highland Creek Pkwy, +1 704 875-9000. Fees are $44-$50 for 18 holes, depending on day of the week. Tee times must be reserved at least 3 days in advance.
- Larkhaven Golf Club, 4801 Camp Stewart Road, +1 704 545-4653, . Charlotte's oldest public golf course, located in the eastern suburbs. 18 holes, par 72. Rates vary from $30-$40 for 18 holes, depending on the day and time.
- Leatherman Golf Learning Center, 5845 S. Tryon St., +1 704 527-1123, . Formerly owned by basketball star Michael Jordan, this is a facility for practice and instruction in golf. Offers services for a wide range of skills. In addition to a miniature golf course, the main facility includes a driving range with target greens, chipping greens, pitching areas, and more. Fees vary; calling ahead is encouraged.
- North Carolina National Golf Club, 1000 Broken Arrow Drive, +1 704 873-4653, . Located about 45 minutes northwest of Charlotte outside the town of Statesville, and very much worth the drive if you are an avid golfer. This championship course was well-received when it opened in 1997, and currently is semi-private and therefore accessible to visitors. 18 holes, par 72.
- Oak Hills Golf Course, 4008 Oakdale Rd, +1 704 394-2834. Green fees are $22-$28 for 18 holes, depending on day of the week. Tee times must be reserved at least 1 day in advance.
- Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation, 7500 Olde Sycamore Dr., +1 704 573-1000, . Semi-private course designed by Tom Jackson. 18 holes, par 72. Fees range from $50-$70 for 18 holes, depending on day and time.
- Paradise Valley Golf Center, 9615 N. Tryon Street, +1 704 548-1808. Fees range from $27-$36, depending on day of the week. Tee times must be reserved in advance.
- Pawtucket Golf Club, 1 Pawtuckett Rd, +1 704 394-5890. Fees are $22-$30, depending on day of the week. Tee times must be reserved at least 7 days in advance.
- Regent Park Golf Club, 5055 Regent Parkway (Fort Mill, SC), +1 803 547-1300, . 18-hole, par 71 course straddling the NC-SC state line. Fees range from $30-$65 for 18 holes, depending on day and time. Tee times must be reserved at least 3 days in advance.
- Revolution Park Golf Course, 2661 Barringer Dr, +1 704 342-1946, . 9-hole course built in 1937. Fees are $8. Tee times must be reserved at least 14 days in advance.
- Sunset Hills Golf Course, 800 Radio Rd, +1 704 399-0980. Fees vary from $20-$28. Tee times must be reserved at least 6 days in advance.
- Driving Tours Queen City Tours covers most of the center city and surrounding area. Note that they offer different types of tour service for different group sizes. This tour shows you Uptown, Dilworth and Myers Park.
- Helicopter Tours North Carolina Rotor and Wing offers a birds' eye view of The Queen City and its surrounding neighborhoods.
- The CIAA Basketball Tournament will come to Charlotte in early March for the next several years. Historically-black colleges from across the country bring their teams, alums and fans to the center city for a week of games... and accompanying parties and conventions. Games are held in Bobcats Arena. Other events take place throughout the city, including a festival along Tryon St.
- The St. Patrick's Day Parade is not on the scale of Boston or NYC, but always well-attended and a fun time to visit the Irish restaurants Uptown. The parade goes up Tryon St., and the best place to view is at the Square.
- Southern Spring Home & Garden Show has brought designers and experts to the city for nearly 50 years. Held in March, and located at the Merchandise Mart. $9 at the door, kids free.
- In mid-March, Speed Street brings half a million partiers to the center city for major musical acts and events related to the NASCAR All-Star Race. This event shuts down several major streets, and covers the entirety of Uptown with crowds after sundown. Parking is usually stretched to the limit, and hotels will be difficult to find. However, this is an excellent time for hard partiers to see the city at its most active.
- Charlotte is not known as a horse-racing hub, but the Queen's Cup Steeplechase gives the city an event to call its own. Located about 45 minutes from the center city in Mineral Springs. Held in mid-April.
- There is no better time to visit South End than during the Art and Soul of South End Festival in April. Several major events coincide to bring the district a variety of visual art, music and entertainment. Prices vary based on event, but most is free to attend.
- The PGA Wachovia Championship brings the world's best golfers to Quail Hollow Country Club for a weekend in April. As one would expect, there are plenty of wine-and-cheese events associated with the championship... as well as a noticeable upturn in Polo shirts at Uptown clubs.
- The Taste of Charlotte festival in June is far and away the best time to bring an appetite to the city. Tryon St. closes down for the weekend and many of the city's best restaurants are represented with samples of their signature dishes.
- The Fourth of July Fireworks Display has shifted locations several times lately, but is always located somewhere in Uptown. This event draws nearly 100,000 visitors to the center city at once; be prepared to sit in gridlock, especially during the display when streets will come to a complete halt. Using public transit to park-and-ride from another district is recommended.
- Also in July, comic book collectors meet for the annual Heroes Convention at the Convention Center.
- The Black Gay Pride Festival has made inroads as an annual festival in July.
- Charlotte Pride is a more general gay-pride festival in August. It has shifted locations, most recently to the Gateway Village area on the edge of Uptown. It has grown significantly since its inception.
- September is one of the best times to visit the city. The city's Labor Day Parade along Tryon St. is modest, but a well-established annual event. The month-long Charlotte Shout collaboration includes not only cultural festivals and events, but also a day of free admissions to important cultural locations. For over 40 years, Festival in the Park has transformed Freedom Park into a massive marketplace and fair. The new Charlotte Film Festival is a collaboration between the city's most prominent theaters in and around the center city. Also, the Yiasou Greek Festival is a long-running tradition at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church that draws a huge crowd for its mouth-watering food and unique shopping opportunities.
- The Public Library of Charlotte hosts the Novello Festival of Reading in October. This series of readings and events brings well-known authors (such as Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Toni Morrison) to the city. Prices vary based on event, most of which are held at the Central Branch.
- Scarowinds is the city's most unique Halloween event. The Carowinds theme park turns ghoulish after dark, with special decor and events. Though it's a bit pricey, it never draws complaints of overpricing. $29, no kids.
- The Carolina Renaissance Festival is in late Fall. Located just outside the city, it is a family-friendly reenactment of Elizabethan times. Features a wide array of shopping and themed events. $15 for adults, $5 for children.
- The Southern Christmas Show in late November is one of the region's biggest holiday shopping events. The Merchandise Mart on E. Independence Blvd. hosts the event. $8 at the door for adults, $3 for kids. $6 per car to park all day.
- EclecFest is a fledgling November festival in NoDa, started by the owner of a local bookstore. A combination flea market and cultural festival, this event is a good way to get introduced to the stores and locals of NoDa. Parking is typically available on and around N. Davidson St.
- The Charlotte International Auto Show brings various dealers and buyers together. Located in the Convention Center and usually in November. Adults $8, kids free.
- Carrousel Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the city's most beloved annual events. Televised regionally, this parade has run along Tryon St. for half a century. A great time to visit.
- The large Charlotte Collectible & Antique Show comes to Metrolina Expo on Statesville Rd. each December. The name says it all: shopping opportunities abound. $5, kids free.
- For college football fans, the Meineke Car Care Bowl is a chance to catch a great game as well as a football-themed festival. An ACC team and a Big East team close out their seasons in Bank of America Stadium. Price varies year-to-year.
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte - The city's public university, located in the growing northern side of the city. It is a suburban campus, and not noted for architectural brilliance (i.e., probably not worth the trip unless you have business there).
- Central Piedmont Community College - The main branch is located just southeast of I-277, though there are others scattered around the area. CPCC has been noted as a relatively high-quality community college, and has increasingly integrated itself into the life of the city (though the central campus itself is still a bit bland). Recently, the college constructed a major new theater building, with a landmark statue on its front lawn.
- Queens University of Charlotte - A historic liberal arts university in the Myers Park neighborhood, noted for its scenic setting. Once a Presbyterian women's college, Queens went co-ed in the 1980s and features a business school founded by prominent Charlotte businessman Hugh McColl.
- Johnson C. Smith University - A historically African-American university located just outside Uptown. The centerpiece of the historic Biddleville community, J.C. Smith's campus is a picturesque gateway to the north/west side of the city.
- Johnson & Wales University - The most centrally-located university in the city, only blocks from the central business district. This culinary arts university is only a few years old, but has already spurred major redevelopment in Third and Fourth Wards, with its location in the Gateway Village complex.
Charlotte is a city that thrives on big business. Its most visible employers are Wachovia (the city's largest employer), Bank of America, and Duke Energy. Though the Uptown area has the largest concentration of business offices, the entire metro area has sprouted office/industrial parks. In particular, the gleaming midrises of SouthPark and Ballantyne are worth noting if you're in those areas. There are several Fortune 500 companies located in Charlotte and its surrounding towns.
One of Charlotte's biggest weaknesses is the relative lack of retail shopping in the center city. Though this will change somewhat in the near future, you will generally have to venture into the suburbs to do your shopping. As with most American cities, most retail is located in malls and shopping centers, though some areas (especially the inner suburbs) have stores along the streets.
- Concord Mills . Though not technically located in Charlotte, this is the largest shopping destination in the region. Only minutes from the Charlotte city line. Over a linear mile of outlet-sized stores; if you can think of it, you can buy it here. 200 factory-size stores, a 24 screen theatre, large NASCAR-themed race track/arcade, and many restaurants, this Mall's motto is "Eat. Drink. Play". This is the largest tourist attraction in North Carolina.
- SouthPark Mall . Charlotte's upscale shopping destination, including Nordstrom, Dillard's and Belk. This is the lynchpin of the rapidly-developing SouthPark neighborhood, about 15 minutes south of Uptown. The mall is reputed for having a slightly snobbish atmosphere, but the upscale shopping is the best in the area.
- Carolina Place Mall . Large mall near the southern city line, convenient to the southern suburbs and South Carolina. This is a somewhat more middle-class alternative to SouthPark, and extremely popular among teens in the southern part of the city. Its location off I-485 puts it in the middle of traffic, but also locates it near a large number of other shopping centers and restaurants (though the food court is more than adequate to feed a family). Anchors include Belk's Dillard's, Sears, J.C. Penney, and Hecht's.
- Northlake Mall . Brand-new mall in north Charlotte, convenient to the University area. On the same price level as Carolina Place. Anchors are Belks, Dillard's, Hecht's and (coming soon) Macy's. Includes an AMC movie theater.
- Eastland Mall . Once the largest mall in the state, Eastland has seen better days. Located in east Charlotte, it has reflected that area's decline from its upscale origins. Eastland is still generally a safe place to shop, but the experience has been made considerably less comfortable by negative press arising from gangs and robberies at the mall and surrounding area. However, there is hope on the horizon; a new transit hub located adjacent to the mall is expected to pump some life (and money) back into the area. Includes a movie theater that specializes in "G" and "PG" films; anchors are Belk's, Dillard's and Sears.
- If you are looking to shop outside the commercial retail sector, try exploring some of the districts just outside the I-277 loop. In particular, the Dilworth and Plaza-Midwood areas are good places to visit unique, funky stores. East Blvd. (upscale) and Thomas St. (downscale) are both good places to find unusual items.
- Park Road Shopping Center is worth a visit, and can easily take up an afternoon of leisurely shopping. Charlotte's first true shopping center, this long strip of stores still has its old 1950s-style sign. Included among its tenants are a good bookstore, a record store (specializing in vinyl), an excellent toy store, an old-fashioned hardware store, a drug store, restaurants, a barber shop and a movie theater. Visit during the fall when the leaves of Myers Park are in full color, and outdoor shopping is most comfortable.
- There are several market-style locations scattered across the city. There is a "green market" during the warmer months on E. 7th St. near Tryon, the EclecFest market (every second Saturday) behind the Neighborhood Theater on N. Davidson St., and many flea markets in and around the city.
- Wal-Mart - If you must, the nearest location to Uptown is on Wilkinson Blvd. Starting on I-277, head west on NC-74 and look for it on the right. While you're at it, there are several restaurants in the area that will make the excursion worthwhile.
For the most part, Charlotte's culinary tastes are in line with the rest of the American South. Standards such as grits, sweet potatoes (yams), and greens are common in kitchens and restaurants. Southern food is typically high in fats and carbohydrates, so dieters should be careful to stick to higher-end restaurants that serve a more cosmopolitan fare. Otherwise, dig in and enjoy the richness of the Southern diet.
Many of Charlotte's older restaurants are owned by Greek families. Often, you will unexpectedly find Greek items on the menus of restaurants that otherwise serve American fare (South 21 and Athens Restaurant are good examples).
North Carolinians have long been fiercely competitive about their barbecue, and Charlotte's eateries reflect that heritage. Outsiders beware: Carolinas "barbeque" is chopped and sauced pork. The sauce will depend on which region it comes from (east or west), and it all works well as a sandwich (though you usually get to choose between sandwich or plate). Barbecue sandwiches are invariably served with slaw (either a vinegar-based red slaw, or a mayonnaise-based white slaw) on the meat, though it will be left out or on the side if you request. Most locals are not aware that this is a very local custom.
"Carolinas style" hamburgers and hot dogs are typically served with mustard, chili, and cole slaw, though some restaurants will vary their toppings slightly to create a "signature".
Krispy Kreme donuts are produced in nearby Winston-Salem, and are widely available. Also, Lance Snacks is based in Charlotte.
The dominant local grocery chains are Harris Teeter and Food Lion, both owned by N.C. companies. Harris Teeter is relatively expensive but more upscale. Food Lion is a middle-class favorite, and usually has an extensive ethnic section. Other groceries include Bi-Lo, ALDI, Lowes Foods, and Bloom (a high-tech spinoff of Food Lion). The city is also dotted with dozens of ethnic groceries, especially Hispanic, Indian and Vietnamese.
|This guide uses the following price ranges for a typical meal for one, including soft drink:
|| Under $10;
- The Penguin, 1921 Commonwealth Ave. One of Plaza-Midwood's dogged survivors, this restaurant has earned its high reputation among locals. The eclectic patronage fits well with the gritty-artsy area surrounding the restaurant. The menu features many Carolinas-themed delicacies, including barbeque and "Brunswick stew".
- South 21. Of only four surviving drive-in restaurants in Charlotte, two belong to South 21. With one location on South Blvd., and one on East Independence Blvd., this chain has over 50 years of experience in serving Charlotte's best onion rings. A particularly good choice if you have a roomy vehicle.
- Open Kitchen, 1318 W. Morehead St., . Once the only restaurant in Charlotte to serve pizza (back when it was considered an exotic delicacy), this restaurant continues to thrive on the outskirts of Uptown. It's not difficult to find three generations of patrons at a single table.
- House of Pizza, 3640 Central Av. Somewhat less trendy than its competitors, House of Pizza has an old-Charlotte appeal that has weathered the decades. Very low-key and friendly, this is an establishment among the working-class families in the Plaza-Midwood area. The food also happens to be cheap and well-made.
- Fuel, . A fast-growing, homegrown chain that started in a converted gas station (if you're curious, visit the original location on Central Ave. to see it for yourself). Fuel sells pizza by the slice, making it convenient and cheap to stop for a quick bite. There are two Uptown locations, both convenient to major attractions.
- Price's Chicken Coop, . Simply the best fried chicken in all of Charlotte, having earned an enviable reputation after several decades of service to locals of all descriptions. The restaurant is take-out only, and the line often stretches out the door during lunch. Your best bet is to find a spot in nearby Latta Park to eat.
- Lang Van. 3019 Shamrock Dr. By far Charlotte's best-reputed Vietnamese restaurant. Located in an unassuming building on Shamrock Dr., this has become a quiet favorite among fans of Asian cuisine. The neighborhood is perfectly safe by day, but be alert if going for dinner.
- Little Italy. 2221 Central Ave., +1 704 375-1625. Italian for the rest of us. The neon sign directs you to this long-tenured establishment on gritty Central Avenue. Low prices and lots of neighborhood character.
- Showmars. Many locations citywide. Home-grown chain restaurant that has made a name for its excellent Greek "fast" food. Don't be put off by the odd concept or gaudy neon signs; this chain is successful for a reason. Mouth-watering Greek fare and excellent sweet tea.
- Wolfman Pizza, . Four south Charlotte locations, and one in Mooresville. Take it on reputation: Wolfman was voted "Charlotte's Best Pizza" for eleven years in a row. California-style pizza highlights a diverse and interesting menu.
- Mellow Mushroom, 3228 N. Davidson St. (also two South Charlotte locations), . Neo-hippie pizza dining at its finest. The NoDa location is not only very convenient to the artsy attractions of the district, but the building itself (formerly a large Victorian home) is decorated with a fine-art twist (think Picasso meets pizza). Very kid-friendly and comfortable. Also, two locations in south Charlotte.
- Boudreaux's, 501 E. 36th. (at the corner of N. Davidson St. and East 36th St. at the center of NoDa, . Cajun food and drinks, plus vegetarian versions of their jambalaya and etouffee. A great bet if you're checking out the art galleries or a concert in the neighborhood. Occasional jazz.
- Sir Edmond Halley's, 4151 Park Road, +1 704 525-2555. Can you say "beer by the yard?" Located in a neat alcove of Charlotte's oldest shopping center, Sir Edmond's is a good place to stop for lunch while exploring the nearby shops.
- Mama Ricotta's, 601 S. Kings Dr. Excellent italian food and pizza at reasonable prices ($8-$14 entrees, less at lunch). Penne alla vodka is their signature dish. Known for its highly fashionable interior and attentive service.
- Zapata's, 8927 J.M. Keynes Blvd (just off N. Tryon St. in the University area), +1 704 503-1979. Probably Charlotte's best Mexican (though some Spanish-speaking joints on the east side might beg to differ). Relatively upscale, Zapata's enjoys one of the best restaurant locations in the University area: perched over a picturesque lake, across from the Hilton hotel, and within minutes of shopping destinations. Almost everything on the menu is good, including the drink specials.
- Cajun Queen, 1800 E. 7th St., +1 704 377-9017. Set in a refurbished century-old home, this is one of the jewels of the Elizabeth neighborhood. Very good Cajun cuisine is only one of the attractions; the artsy decor and live jazz bands (upstairs) add to an attractive atmosphere. The service is on-and-off because the restaurant is usually busy. Dinner only.
- Cajun Yard Dog, 8036 Providence Rd., +1 704 752-1750. Located in the large Arboretum shopping center near I-485 in south Charlotte. Though this is somewhat less authentic than Charlotte's other offerings, it is also a bit more affordable. Plenty of other options in the area if the line is long.
- Riverview Inn, 10012 Moore's Chapel Loop, +1 704 399-3385. A bit off the beaten path, but more than worth the drive. Located right on the Catawba River, giving it a rare waterfront view in this area. 60 years strong, this has one of the best reputations of any restaurant in the area. The seafood buffet is extremely complete, and to die for... bring a big appetite.
- Greek Isles, 200 E. Bland St., +1 704 444-9000. Located right in the middle of South End, very convenient to the ameneties that the district has to offer. A larger restaurant that serves primarily Greek fare.
- Charleston House, 3120 The Plaza, . Another well-established soul food restaurant, owned and operated by African Americans. Located in the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood, Charleston House is known for its exemplary service, coat-and-tie atmosphere and tasteful live music. A bit pricier than Mert's or Simmons, but worth every penny.
- Patou, 2400 Park Rd., +1 704 376-2233. Well-reputed as one of Charlotte's long-standing French restaurants. The location in the fashionable Myers Park neighborhood adds to the ambience.
- Ciro's, 8927 J M Keynes Dr., +1 704 510-0012. Upscale Italian located in the strollable center of the University area. High-end service and prices, and an excellent wine menu.
- Frankie's Italian Grille, 800 E Morehead St., +1 704 358-8004. One of Charlotte's best-reputed Italian restaurants. Very good service, though the prices are a bit high. Located in the ritzy south-central area.
- La Bibliotheque, 1901 Roxborough Rd, +1 704 635-5000. French-American fusion restaurant, complete with a wide variety of wines available. Boasts of being voted Charlotte's most romantic restaurant. Reservations advise
- Melting Pot. 2 locations: one on Kings Dr., one in the University area. Very upscale fondue restaurant. Excellent service and fine taste in cuisine help you forget how much the bill will come to. If you're looking to splurge, this should be one of your top options. Reservations suggested.
- Absolute Organics, +1 704 470-4963, . Free home or office delivery of organic produce. Three sizes of variety organic produce boxes to choose from tailored to your individual preferences. Each week 6-7 different vegetables and 4-5 different fruits are selected based on price and availability, but you will never get anything you will not use or eat.
- The Kosher Mart, International Way off Providence (bus 14), . Su 10AM-3:30PM, M-W 10AM-6PM, Th 10AM-7PM, F 10AM-3PM. The only eat-in kosher deli in the Carolinas. A variety of meats, soups, frozen foods, wines, and at Passover, all sorts of matzos.
- Home Economist, . Two locations: South Boulevard across from Pepsi (bus 12 or 24), Su 10AM-7PM, Mo-Sa 8AM-8PM; and Idlewild and Independence (bus 17), Su 11AM-6PM, Mo-Sa 9AM-8PM. Whole-grain bread, free-range poultry, organic produce. The South Boulevard location is larger and has a deli counter.
- New Century Food and International Supermarket, both at Sugar Creek and Tryon (bus 11). Two full-size East Asian supermarkets in the same building. Come here for fresh durians, assorted cow stomachs, honeysuckle flowers (labeled in Latin!), and a wide variety of seitan.
- The Smelly Cat, 514 E. 36th St. Located in the heart of the NoDa district. A comfortable, friendly place with a lot of approachable regulars. Located only a short walk from NoDa's galleries, restaurants and the Neighborhood Theater.
- Lava Java, 5724 E. WT Harris Blvd. Classy and chic, this is a good place for lunch or dinner as well as coffee. Reputed for its excellent desserts.
- La-Tea-Da's, 1942 E. 7th St., +1 704 372-9599. A quaint coffee-and-tea cafe in the Elizabeth neighborhood. Very close to where 7th St. turns into Monroe Rd., La-Tea-Da's is surrounded by other excellent restaurants and unique shops.
- Queen's Beans, 1510 Camden Rd., +1 704 790-2326. Your best bet in South End, located on funky Camden Rd. alongside galleries and other "artsy" fixtures.
- Starbucks. Like them or not, you have to mention them. As with most American cities, Charlotte is dotted with Starbucks locations. The trendiest is on N. Tryon Street a stone's throw from the Square; this location is a wi-fi hotspot (very convenient if you need to get online for directions while visiting).
Liquor is available by the drink in the city of Charlotte. However, some smaller towns in the region prohibit liquor sales. If you plan to explore nearby counties, there is a chance you may encounter a "dry" area. Open containers of alcohol are never permitted on the street; if you order a beverage you must finish it before leaving the restaurant or bar. If you want to buy liquor by the bottle, you must do it at state-run ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) stores, rather than at traditional liquor stores. Beer and wine are available for purchase at most markets, grocery stores and gas stations.
Cheerwine, a cherry-flavored soft drink, is a local favorite. Sundrop , available in a unique citrus blend and cherry-lemon, is based out of Gastonia, NC and is a favorite among locals. R.C. Cola is also a "traditional" Southern soft drink.
If you are not from the American South, be aware that sweet iced tea is the predominant non-carbonated drink. When ordering tea, you will need to be specific as to whether you want sweet or un-sweet tea. Diabetics should take particular note of the distinction, as a glass of sweet tea is roughly as sugary as a glass of soft drink.
- Hartigan's, 601 S. Cedar St., . Open M-Sa; lunch only Mondays; open from lunchtime till 11:30PM during the week, till 2:30PM on weekends. "Irish" pub located on the edge of Uptown near the football stadium. A good place to grab a sandwich for lunch, Hartigan's has solid traffic as a bar after sundown. Upstairs is mostly casual dining and drinking; downstairs is Charlotte's best-known all-lesbian bar. Gay-friendly, but very welcoming of straight clientele.
- Thomas St. Tavern, 1228 Thomas Avenue, +1 704 376-1622, . Open M-Sa 11AM-2AM, Su 12PM-2AM. Well-established in the heart of Plaza-Midwood, this is also a good place to grab lunch or dinner before the heavy drinking begins. It's well worth giving some thought to combining dinner at the Penguin with drinking at the Tavern. Very intimate with lots of regulars. Beer between $2 - $7, Shots between $4 - $10, Wine $4/glass.
- Liaisons, 316 Rensselaer Ave, +1 704 376-1617, . It might not look like a gay club from the outside, but this iconic Victorian house in Southend is one of the city's hidden gems. Music videos, TV-watching parties during the week, and a nice balcony overlooking the skyline all make for a very cozy atmosphere.
- Elizabeth Billiards, 1400 Central Ave., +1 704 342-2663. Daily 3:30PM-2AM. Again and again, this pool bar ranks at the top of Charlotte's dive-bar scene. Its small size and smoky atmosphere are perfect for clientele seeking a "neighborhood bar" feel. It doesn't take long to notice that everyone seems to know each other; the regulars are welcoming and among pool bars this is one of the safest.
- South End Brewery, 2100 S. Blvd. (set a way back from the road, look for the sigh with pastel colors and sheet metal decorations), +1 704 358-4677. 11:30-21:00 Su-Tue, 11:30-20:00 We-Sa. $2-$5/pint. A fixture on South Blvd. before the area was fashionable. Produces several excellent beers; South End Blonde is the signature. Also serves a decent food menu. Draws big crowds on football Sundays, who usually fill the bar near the huge "Tank 5" vat.
- Rock Bottom Brewery, 401 N. Tryon St. Suite 100 (look for the red neon sign), +1 704 334-2739, . 11AM-2AM Mo-Sa, 11AM-11PM Su. $3-$5/pint. A local franchise of a small national chain, several beers are brewed on site. It's also a restaurant with pretty decenent food.
If you are not driving or renting a car during your visit, it is highly advisable to try to find lodging near the center city. Otherwise you will be stuck paying cab and bus fares, and you will find it quite difficult to move around as freely as you'd like. Most of the city's large hotels are located either uptown, near the airport, or in the University area. There are also some luxury hotels appearing in Ballantyne, and there are the typical options off the highways and interstate exits.
- InTown Suites, 110 Rocky River Rd West, +1 704 599-2380. Possibly the cheapest hotel in the city. Located off Tryon St. in a somewhat gritty area, but easily accessible to a lot of the city's amenities (you can get to almost anything in Uptown, University City and NoDa within 15 minutes' drive). Most rooms run about $25/night.
- Super 8 Motel, 11300 Texland Blvd, +1 704 588-8488. Upside: immediate access to I-77 and I-485. Downside: train tracks run nearby. Give some thought to this one especially if you’re planning on going to Carowinds, which is only a few minutes’ drive down the interstate. Continental breakfast. $28 - $150.
- Microtel Inns & Suites Charlotte (Airport), 3412 S. I-85 Service Road, +1 704 398-9606, . A good low-fare option for business travelers planning to fly into the city. Immediate access to I-85 lets you get about the city quickly. $45 - $55.
- Red Roof Inn, 3300 Queen City Drive, +1 704 392-2316. Nothing fancy, but cheaper than most hotels in the area. This is an economy chain, so the rooms are sparse but clean. Immediate access to the airport and surrounding amenities. $52 - $60.
- Microtel Inn & Suites, 6309 Banner Elk Dr., +1 704 227-3377. Located immediately off I-77 (Exit 16B) on the northwest side. You sacrifice location for a cheaper price, but the hotel itself is of acceptible quality. Features a pool and business center. $45 - $70.
- La Quinta Inn & Suites, 4900 S Tryon St., +1 704 523-5599. Reasonable prices and a location that works for air travelers. From the hotel, you have a short drive to the airport and a straight shot through SouthEnd into Uptown. Fitness center, pool, hot tub. $50 - $115.
- AmeriSuites Charlotte/Airport, 2950 Oak Lake Boulevard, +1 704 423-9931, . Convenient to the airport, and primarily aimed at business travelers. Pool, family rooms, fitness center, breakfast buffet. $79 - $99.
- Wyndham Garden Charlotte Airport Hotel, 2600 Yorkmont Road, +1 704 357-9100 (Fax: +1 704 357-9159), . Located across the road from the now-defunct Charlotte Coliseum, the Wyndham nevertheless offers an extremely high standard of accommodations. Huge rooms, landscaped garden area, and no expense spared on the details (they use Bath and Body Works for their bathroom supplies) make this an excellent buy for visitors staying in the airport area. Continental breakfast, fitness facility, restaurant, pool, airport shuttle. $55 - $170.
- AmeriSuites Charlotte/Coliseum, 4119 South Stream Blvd, +1 704 357-8555, . Formerly this hotel’s main attraction was its proximity to the Charlotte Coliseum. Since the Coliseum’s closing in 2005, it is now primarily a business hotel with relatively convenient access to the airport. Offers a complimentary airport shuttle and has rooms designed for business travelers. Fitness center, breakfast buffet, pool. $89 -$119.
- Morgan Hotel & Suites, 315 E Woodlawn Rd (southwestern suburbs), +1 704 522-0852. If you don't mind staying outside the center city, this offers everything you need. Immediately accessible to I-77. Also, located just off South Blvd. with easy driving to SouthEnd and Uptown. Kids 12 and under stay free. Valet parking, pool, continental breakfast, restaurant, workout room. $84 - $111.
- Marriott City Center 100 West Trade St, +1 704 333-9000. A good value with immediate access to the center of the city. Only short walk from the Convention Center and many other attractions. Location is excellent for nightlife, as it is on one of the safest and best-lit blocks in the city. A bit pricy, but surprisingly luxurious for its price range. Valet, restaurant, pool, parking deck. $99 - $169.
- Renaissance Suites, 2800 Coliseum Centre Drive, +1 704 357-1414, . Ideally situated near sporting events, arts and entertainment, shopping and dining.
- University Place Hilton 8629 J.M. Keynes Dr., +1 704 547-7444, . If staying Uptown isn't your cup of tea, consider this one of the best alternatives around. This hotel is one of the vibrant University City area's keystones, and is located adjacent to a major shopping complex. Take a stroll around the lake, try out the paddleboats, eat dinner on a patio balcony only a few minutes' walk from your room. Upper rooms have excellent views of the surrounding area, and most lower rooms have a nice view of the lake. $98 - $140.
- The Duke Mansion, 400 Hermitage Rd., +1 704 714-4400, . If you can afford it (but then again, you're reading the Slurge section) this is one of the city's most unique experiences. Everything about the historic mansion (built 1915 and the home of the famous Duke family) screams old-money, and a stay there is second to none in luxury. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Great for weddings or retreats. $169 - $249.
- Ballantyne Resort, 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., +1 704 341-4653. Located adjacent to posh Ballantyne Country Club. Features a spa, pool, and golf club. Also, nice details such as babysitting service and shopping-shuttles are offered to guests. The restaurant gets rave reviews. Probably the city's best resort spa, located on the southern edge of town. If you want to create a buzz, ask for a $300 "Ballantini" from the bar; it has gold leaf around the rim and you get a bottle of champagne to boot. $160 - $400.
The city of Charlotte has mandatory 10-digit dialing, so you must include the area code even on local calls. Charlotte has two area codes: 704 and 980.
There are some public pay phones scattered around the city, but they are becoming increasingly rare with the predominance of cell phones. It is not safe to assume you will be able to find a pay phone at any given time.
All ZIP codes in the city of Charlotte begin with 282. The cental district's code is 28202.
88.9 - Jazz
89.9 - College
90.3 - National Public Radio
90.7 - National Public Radio, Jazz
91.7 - College
91.9 - College, some Christian
92.7 - R&B
93.5 - Religious
95.1 - Pop, Hip-Hop
95.7 - Classic Rock
96.1 - Hip-Hop, R&B
96.9 - Country
97.9 - Hip-Hop, R&B
99.3 - News, Talk (companion to 1110 AM)
99.7 - Classic Rock
101.9 - Variety
102.9 - Light Rock
103.7 - Country
104.7 - 70s, 80s mix
105.7 - Country
106.1 - Standards
106.5 - Alternative
106.9 - Religious
107.9 - Pop, Adult Contemporary
610 - Sports, Sports Talk
730 - Beach, Oldies
930 - Christian
980 - Spanish
1030 - Spanish
1110 - News, Talk
1290 - Talk
1340 - Talk, Sports
1350 - Oldies
1480 - Radio Disney
1600 - Gospel
Cable in the Charlotte area is provided by Time-Warner.
Listed below are channels with cable channel listed first and broadcast channel listed in parenthesis. Channel listings may vary based on location.
CBS - 2 (3)
ABC - 4 (9)
PBS - 5 & 13 (30 & 42)
NBC - 6 (36)
UPN - 8 (46)
FOX - 11 (18)
WB - 12 (55)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools - 3
Public Access - 9
WAXN - 10 (64)
News 14 - 14
Charlotte Government - 16
Educational Access - 17 & 22
Though the crime rate is not astronomical, Charlotte is still a city -- don't let your guard all the way down. If you are uptown, the biggest worry is auto theft/break-in, which is hardly rampant. Violent crime is relatively rare in the central district, as well as the affluent southern side of town. The most dangerous areas are the west and east sides.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police (CMPD) almost always maintain a visible presence in crowded areas. If you have trouble, look for an officer. Note that in certain parts of the city the police are deployed on bikes as well as cars.
If you are visiting from overseas, it is recommended that you keep your passport on your person at all times. Though the likelihood of encountering trouble is slim, under the current state of American international relations it is a good idea to make yourself as credible as possible if you have to deal with the police.
Charlotte is not a good allergy city, due to the abundance of flowering trees and greenspace.
Smog has become an increasing concern in recent years, as the city becomes more populated and in turn hosts more auto traffic. Local authorities monitor ozone levels and make public announcementswhen "vulnerable" groups (children, the elderly, etc.) are at risk. These announcements are carried on local television, radio, and newspapers.
North Carolina is known as "Tobacco Road", and cigarettes are almost ubiquitous in Charlotte. However, smoking is prohibited in most indoor public areas, including public transportation and many restaurants. It is still legal to smoke on the street, though you may want to be considerate of others if you are in a crowded area. Smoking is permitted at most bars and nightclubs, and most restaurants have designated smoking sections. At concert venues (such as Bobcats Arena) there are outdoor decks for smokers.
In general, it is a good idea to be polite about smoking... whether you smoke or not. If you smoke, try to do it in an area in which others won't be bothered by it. If you are a non-smoker, be aware in advance of whether you will likely be bothered by smoke in a particular place. In North Carolina people tend to be much less sensitive to smoking than in other parts of the country, so you will likely be received with a bit of bewilderment if you make a scene about it.
Library branches are scattered across the city, and vary in size and function. Typically there are street signs nearby to direct you toward the nearest branch. Also, there are substantial libraries at each of the local universities.
- Charlotte Observer . The Observer is the city's primary newspaper and its only daily periodical. It is standard for a newspaper in a medium-sized city. Politically it is often perceived as left-of-center, though the slant is not very strong and unlikely to be perceived by visitors. The Observer is widely available in stores, boxes and by subscription. $0.50 on weekdays, $1.50 on Sunday.
- Creative Loafing . Weekly "alternative" newspaper distributed for free at most stores and restaurants. CL has the city's best weekly entertainment and restaurant index, and is widely used by both locals and visitors as a handbook to city nightlife. Free.
- Rhinoceros Times .' Conservative weekly newspaper distributed for free at many stores and restaurants. Despite its relatively limited circulation, RT has grown quickly and has become something of a gadfly in local politics. Free.
- Charlotte Weekly . Probably the most politically-neutral of the weeklies. The Weekly enjoys wide distribution, but seems to prefer a relatively low-key role in local reporting.
- Charlotte Business Journal . Weekly edition devoted to reviewing the city's business climate. Its thorough reporting often "scoops" other sources, and the CBJ can make surprisingly interesting reading even for those uninterested in business affairs. Available primarily at bookstores and other newsstands, though boxes can be found on the street Uptown.
- La Noticia . Spanish-language weekly newspaper. This has become the primary voice of the Hispanic community in Charlotte. As of now it has no English-language edition, so its circulation is relatively confined to eastern Charlotte. Free.
- Charlotte Post . African-American weekly that enjoys a devoted following but a relatively low circulation. Found mostly at institutions with a high percentage of black consumers, such as restaurants and churches on the west side. Free.
- Mecklenburg Times . Focuses on the workings of County government, especially politics and business issues. In-depth review of court decisions and related issues.
- Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal . Narrow, detailed coverage of the sports-business industry. Available primarily through newsstands and Uptown boxes. Weekly editions.
- NASCAR Scene Daily . Part of Street & Smith's, but focuses only on NASCAR-related news. A weekly newspaper, despite its title.
Compared to large tourist destinations, Charlotte has a relatively small international population. Locals are usually quite friendly toward foreign visitors, especially those who are able to speak English. Speakers of other languages may find the language barrier more difficult to break than in "international" cities (though Spanish-speakers will likely have an easier time). It is recommended that international visitors keep their passport handy at all times.
Charlotte's sister cities are Arequipa (Peru), Krefeld (Germany), Baoding (China), Voronezh (Russia), Limoges (France), Wroclaw (Poland), and Kumasi (Ghana).
- International House, 322 Hawthorne Ln, +1 704 333-8099, . International visitors to Charlotte are strongly encouraged to begin their visit at the International House. Though it is worth the trip south of Uptown to visit the historic neoclassical mansion and meet the friendly staff, the IH can also be very helpful in finding interpreters, translated documents, travel information, etc.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service, 210 E. Woodlawn Road (Suite 138, Building 6), . 7:30AM - 2PM M-F.
- Armenian Cultural Association of the Carolinas, +1 704 334-5353 x239.
- Bosnian Organization, +1 704 921-9080.
- Cambodian Community Association, +1 704 566-0155.
- Chinese American Association, +1 704 593-0897.
- Eritrean Community Organization, +1 704 563-9000.
- Ethiopian Community, +1 704 343-6629.
- Filipino-American Community, +1 704 541-5944.
- Ghana National Association, +1 704 567-2510.
- Haitian American Club of the Carolinas, +1 704 537-1785.
- India Association of Charlotte, +1 704 948-7664.
- Iranian Group, +1 704 321-3578.
- Islamic Society of Greater Charlotte, +1 704 568-0907.
- Japan-America Society of Charlotte, +1 704 687-2727.
- Korean Association of Charlotte, +1 704 376-8820.
- Laotian Cultural Center, 2208 Rowan Way, +1 704 393-3588.
- Laos American Association of North Carolina, +1 704 393-7363.
- Metrolina Phoenician Club, +1 704 846-2269.
- Taiwanese-American Association of Greater Charlotte, +1 704 847-6340.
- Vietnamese Community Association of Charlotte, +1 704 568-8744.
- British Consulate, 301 South College Street (9th floor), +1 704 383-3944, . The Consulate in Charlotte is primarily interested in business affairs; however, it can also be helpful in connecting British citizens with their Embassy in Washington, D.C. and supplying important documents. Do not, however, expect full embassy services unless you are in a true emergency.
- Mexican Consulate, 4424 Taggart Creek Rd, +1 704 394-2190.
Like most cities in the American South, Charlotte's communities have historically been centered around Protestant Christian churches (though this is changing as the city diversifies and urbanizes). A complete list of worship sites is impractical; below is a list of major congregations. Be aware that smaller Christian churches can be found with ease in any part of the city.
There are many foreign-language places of worship in the Charlotte area. For information about them, contact the International House at +1 704 333-8099.
- Baha'i Faith Charlotte Community , 843 Eastway Dr, +1 704 563-2323. Located in a converted home in eastern Charlotte, near NC-74.
- Cambodian Buddhist Society , 219 Owen Boulevard, +1 704 596-6628. In a residential neighborhood, this community is made up mostly of Cambodian refugees. Most communication is in Asian languages.
- Charlotte Community of Mindfulness , 1931 Selwyn Avenue, +1 704 583-1279. Meets in Room 27 of the Myers Park Baptist Church building for weekly meditation.
- Charlotte True Buddha Temple, 1601 E. 4th St., +1 704 788-6278. Services are held in Chinese, though many members speak English.
- Chau Lien Hoa , 6505 Lake Dr., +1 704 537-1126. Services are conducted in Vietnamese in this large (and growing) temple.
- Wat Lao Buddharam , 1824 Todville Road, +1 704 597-5037. Laotian community of Buddhists in a relatively large temple grounds. Services are in Laotian.
Christian - In alphabetical order, with one church listed from each major denomination. Contact the church office for information about other locations.
- Ascension Lutheran Church , 1225 E Morehead St, +1 704 372-7317. Located in the picturesque Dilworth neighborhood, very close to the I-277 loop.
- Calvary Church , 5801 Pineville-Matthews Rd., +1 704 341-5320. Large non-denominational church in south Charlotte, probably the city's largest single congregation. Stadium-style building is one of the largest structures in the southern part of the city.
- First Church of Christ, Scientist , 1048 E. Morehead Street, +1 704 334-1973. Located in a large, Federal-style historic building in the Dilworth neighborhood.
- First United Methodist Church , 501 North Tryon Street, +1 704 333-9081. Based in an historic neo-Gothic building in the center of the city. Very convenient if you are staying in an Uptown hotel.
- First United Pentecostal Church , 4929 N. Sharon-Amity Rd., +1 704 535-1000. Located in the eastern suburbs.
- Hickory Grove Baptist Church , 6050 Hickory Grove Road, +1 704 531-4000. Just off of busy Harris Blvd., this church has one of the largest membership base in the area. They also have a north campus.
- Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral , 600 East Blvd., +1 704 334-4771. Ornate cathedral located in the middle of Dilworth. Worth visiting even if you don't plan to worship.
- Little Rock AME Zion Church , 401 N Mcdowell St, +1 704 334-3782. Uptown location with a distinctive modern steeple. One of several AME Zion churches in a small radius.
- Myers Park Presbyterian Church, , 2501 Oxford Pl., +1 704 376-3695. Long-tenured church in a landmark Gothic building, located in the historic Myers Park neighborhood.
- St. Peter's Catholic Church , 507 S Tryon St, +1 704 332-2901. Not to be confused with St. Peter's Episcopal only a few blocks away. Immediately next door is a small park with shops and restaurants.
- St. Peter's Episcopal Church , 115 W 7th St, +1 704 332-7746. Historic church near the city's major tourist district. One of the oldest continually-operating religious communities in the city.
- Hindu Center of Charlotte, , 7400 City View Drive, +1 704 535-3440. The city's largest single Hindu community, located in the eastern suburbs off NC-74.
- Ash-shaheed Islamic Center, 2717 Tuckaseegee Rd., +1 704 394-6579. Primarily an African-American Islamic community, located on the city's west side.
- The Islamic Center of Charlotte , 1700 Progress Lane, 704-537-9399.
- Islamic Society of Greater Charlotte, 7025 The Plaza, +1 704 536-2016. Located in the eastern suburbs and composed largely of Eastern immigrants.
- Masjid Ali Shah Center , 1230 Beatties Ford Rd., +1 704 377-9010. Smaller community in western Charlotte, composed of a mix of African-American and Eastern families.
- Temple Israel & Temple Beth-El , 4901 and 5101 Providence Rd. Conservative and Reform (respectively) temples located virtually adjacent to one another in the Myers Park neighborhood. Part of the large Jewish Community Center.
- The Sikh Heritage Society of Greater Charlotte , 4909 Fairvista Dr., +1 704 948-7664. Small Sikh community, primarily composed of Punjabi Indians.
Charlotte benefits from a highly centralized location in the Carolinas, giving visitors the option of driving to either the beach or the mountains if they choose. Cities within day-trip range include Asheville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and the Raleigh/Durham area. If you are interested in seeing smaller Southern towns, consider a short drive to Matthews, Davidson, or Huntersville; all are within 15 minutes' drive on the interstate.
- Concord Mills - see Malls.
- Lowe's Motor Speedway . Located just out of northern Charlotte in nearby Concord, off I-85. Home of near-constant racing events including NASCAR's All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600. Occasional home of concerts and other special events. Among other special attractions, includes the opportunity to drive around the track or attend racing school.
- Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden . In Belmont (just west of Charlotte), this is one of the most acclaimed attractions in the area. The natural beauty and serenity of the gardens make it a favorite for romantic day trips and family outings. Guided tours offered.
- North Carolina Zoo . Located in Asheboro, about 60 miles northeast of Charlotte. The largest zoo in North Carolina, featuring over 200 species of animal and many more botanical species. Highlights include gorillas, elephants, lions and an aviary.
- Reed Gold Mine . Pan for gold in the USA's first gold mine. Very kid-friendly and educational, besides being pretty fun. Located in Cabarrus County, about 45 minutes from Charlotte.
- Schiele Museum of Natural History . A surprisingly high-quality museum in Gastonia, just west of Charlotte. Includes a planetarium, an aviary, and many special events and exhibits.
- Southwest of Charlotte are the Catawba lands. See how this Native American tribe used to live and lives today.
- South of Charlotte along Route 16, in Waxhaw, is the Mexico Museum. Items of cultural and historical interest include pottery, costumes, and photographs.
- Carowinds . Large theme park with a focus on movies. Many roller coasters and other such attractions; coasters include Top Gun, The Hurler, and the beloved Thunder Road. Give strong consideration to eating beforehand, as concession prices are very high. Go south on I-77 and get off at the state line. Bring sunscreen as most of the park is unshaded.
- Chimney Rock Park . Part of the highly scenic Blue Ridge Mountains in the Appalachian chain. One of the region's most visited parks, primarily because of its unusual rock formations and waterfalls.
- Nantahala Outdoor Center . About 3-4 hours west of Charlotte in the heart of the Appalachians. Excellent whitewater rafting and tubing for all experience levels; the river runs particularly well after big rains. Charlotte's own rafting center (the U.S. National Whitewater Center) is currently under construction, but will struggle to match the natural splendor of the Nantahala. Also an excellent place to hike, bike, birdwatch, etc.
|This is a guide article. It has a variety of good, quality information including hotels, restaurants, attractions, arrival and departure info. Plunge forward and help us make it a star! | <urn:uuid:39802026-6e88-4799-8fb7-18f19c6e7841> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Charlotte&oldid=492049 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00188-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943094 | 21,307 | 2.359375 | 2 |
3次元非定常熱伝導解析のための境界要素法を用いた直接法解析コードの開発 Development of Numerical Codes by Direct Boundary Integral Method for Three-dimensional Non-steady Heat Conduction
Final purpose of this study is to develop a subsystem which constructs three-dimensional numerical system in order to contribute to predictive calculation of output and life of Hot Dry Rock geothermal energy generation. The authors have developed the two kind of the systems for 3D non-steady heat conduction by the direct boundary element methods, the TIME INTEGRAL method and the STEP WISE method. They have carried out numerical calculations by using the system developed and have shown applicability of the system, especially in aiming to high precision and high speed computation. In this report, the outline of the unique procedure of the numerical system developed by the authors is described first, the calculated results on heat conduction in a sphere solid is compared with the corresponding strict solution and accuracy of numerical solution is demonstrated next. Finally, the strict solution of heat conduction in infinite medium around a spherical cavity is originally presented and the numerical solution of it is compared with the strict solution.
- 資源と素材 : 資源・素材学会誌 : journal of the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan
資源と素材 : 資源・素材学会誌 : journal of the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan 114(4), 225-228, 1998-04-25 | <urn:uuid:1d462049-b682-46fd-b63f-8f6407eb598c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10002467404 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00569-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.836969 | 383 | 2.484375 | 2 |
April 29, 2016
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today's post.
The following list compiles ten things I learned about Gibbon by reading the footnotes from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. First of all, I highly recommend his footnotes, just for the fun of trying to puzzle out what Gibbon deems worthy of being source-material. But also, because his notes guide the reader to understand how he uses source materials, which is very relevant to his historical work. Gibbon's sources span the spectrum from poetry to legal documents to government decrees to military speeches. Without the footnotes, it is impossible to weed out fact from possible fiction. At times, too, he includes sarcasm without alerting the reader (outside of the footnote reference). And at times, he acts as if in mid-conversation with the reader, expecting us to know the reference and text as thoroughly as he does. He also expects us to know Latin and Greek. The following list is far short of all of the hilarious notes I have compiled, but it gives a sense of Gibbon's tone, irony, sarcasm, writing style, and most of all, his ego.
1] Gibbon plays fast and loose with translations. One example of this is footnote 34, Chapter XXXI, which reads: “It is incumbent upon me to explain the liberties which I have taken with the text of Ammianus. 1. I have melted down into one piece the sixth chapter of the fourteenth and the fourth of the twenty-eighth book. 2. I have given order and connection to the confused mass of materials. 3. I have softened some extravagant hyperboles and pared away some superfluities of the original. 4. I have developed some observations which were insinuated rather than expressed. With these allowances my version will be found, not literal indeed, but faithful and exact.” I laugh out loud at his idea of faithful representation every time. Of course, he could very well be faithful...so much depends upon our own perspective. (I give him much credit for incorporating the original text in the footnotes so that the reader can measure the citation for himself (if one is able to read foreign languages)). Which brings me to point number two.
2] Gibbon incorporates a lot of Greek, Latin and some French in his footnotes. He does not offer the translation for the reader because we are meant to understand the context from his text. He fluidly jumps back and forth and he expects much from the reader's ability too. (I find no need to place an example, but his footnotes are riddled with foreign languages).
3] Gibbon clearly read as much material as possible in preparation for writing The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. As much as he relies on these sources, he rarely grants a full compliment to the writer. Even to Ammianus, who is the most highly esteemed source in the text, I believe, he offers some remark of dissatisfaction. Gibbon usually couples a compliment with a derogatory remark of nearly equal weight. In the following example, he speaks harshly of St. Ambrose (one of his least favorite sources, who he, ironically, cites quite a bit). In footnote 96 from Chapter XXVII, he writes: “His epistle is a miserable rhapsody on a noble subject. Ambrose could act better than he could write. His compositions are destitute of taste or genius; without the spirit of Tertullian, the copious elegance of Lactantius, the lively wit of Jerom, or the grave energy of Augustin.” (It should be noted that all of the authors whom he compliments here, he also derides at some point, though not with such harshness).
4] Gibbon's sources span the spectrum of poetry, history, philosophy, religious and legal texts. This does not mean that he places equal importance on each of these styles. Instead, he offers the reader his personal account of the individual author of these accounts. Some of which he finds decent historians (regardless of their genre) and some of them he finds false and witless. He draws meaning from many texts and then presents it so that one can understand how Gibbon reads a text and what he might be looking for (as historian and/or philosopher). Footnote 149 from Chapter XXXI reads: “I have disdained to mention a very foolish, and probably a false, report..., that Honorious was alarmed by the loss of Rome till he understood that it was not a favourite chicken of that name, but only the capital of the world, which had been lost. Yet even this story is some evidence of the public opinion.”
5] Sometimes I do not know if Gibbon is being ironic or not. But I take this footnote as an honest desire to save the beauty and perfection of his contemporary British society. (In which case, this tremendous history of Rome may have been written as a cautionary tale). In footnote 15, from Chapter XXXIX, Gibbon writes, “The merit of discovery has too often been stained with avarice, cruelty, and fanaticism; and the intercourse of nations has produced the communication of disease and prejudice. A singular exception is due to the virtue of our own times and country. The five great voyages, successively undertaken by the command of his present Majesty, were inspired by the pure and generous love of science and mankind. The same prince, adapting his benefactions to the different stages of society, has founded a school of painting in his capital, and has introduced into the islands of the South Sea the vegetables and animals most useful to human life.”
6] Gibbon can be quite pointed. If he doesn't like something, the reader will likely know. Footnote 23 from Chapter XXXVII reads, “All that learning can extract from the rubbish of the dark ages is copiously stated by Archbishop Usher in his Britannicarum Ecclesiarum”.
7] Gibbon is not overwhelmingly sympathetic or flexible. Footnote 27 of Chapter XXXI reads, “[A]mbiguity is an inexcusable fault in the language of laws.”
8] Sometimes Gibbon treats the authors of religious texts a bit harshly. On his hierarchical scale of a source's credibility, he would probably place religious texts at the lower end. For example, footnote 77 of Chapter XXX reads, “How many interesting facts might Orosius have inserted in the vacant space which is devoted to pious nonsense.” (In other words, Orosius was writing of miracles and religious history, but not 'credible', 'factual' history that Gibbon desired. And yet, Gibbon uses Orosius as a source and the reader only knows of Gibbon's feelings from the footnotes).
9] Gibbon clearly has a preconceived notion of the 'true Roman'. Footnote 75 from Chapter XXX reads, “Yet the Jupiter of Radagaisus, who worshipped Thor and Woden, was very different from the Olympic or Capitoline Jove. The accommodating temper of polytheism might unite those various and remote deities; but the genuine Romans abhorred the human sacrifices of Gaul and Germany.” I wonder, what exactly did Gibbon believe was “the genuine Roman”?
10] Gibbon likes sarcasm and employs it liberally, particularly in reference to any religious miracle. For example, Gibbon laughs off the notion of a miracle in the form of a dead man talking. Footnote 76 from Chapter XXVIII reads, “Martin of Tours...extorted this confession from the mouth of a dead man. The error is allowed to be natural; the discovery is supposed to be miraculous. Which of the two was likely to happen most frequently?”
11] Just for a bonus: Gibbon loves his own wit and sometimes cannot stop himself from making a ridiculous comment. For example, footnote 118 from Chapter XXXVII discusses corrections to the Bible. Gibbon quips: "Notwithstanding these corrections, the passage is still wanting in twenty-five Latin MSS... the oldest and the fairest; two qualities seldom united, except in manuscripts."
I have compiled pages of notes on Gibbon's notes and I sincerely suggest any serious reader of Gibbon to do the same. It's absolutely fun and instructive. Please add any additional comments on Gibbon or his footnotes. Thanks for reading!
To post a comment, click on the title of this blog and scroll down. | <urn:uuid:a3ab27ee-6d9a-42db-930c-3a8a491e80a4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hmu.edu/hmu-blog/2016/4/25/reading-gibbon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00354-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964957 | 1,771 | 2.65625 | 3 |
CCOG for ED 264 Summer 2022
- Course Number:
- ED 264
- Course Title:
- Portfolio Development II: AAS Paraeducator Addition
- Credit Hours:
- Lecture Hours:
- Lecture/Lab Hours:
- Lab Hours:
Intended Outcomes for the course
Upon successful completion students should be able to:
Revise, enhance and/or add to a professional portfolio as a vehicle to provide evidence of career-related competencies,
Select, describe, arrange, and display appropriate artifacts to enable a reader of the portfolio to interpret them as intended without assistance.
Prepare and deliver a professional quality oral presentation.
Make appropriate adjustments to professional presentations.
Course Activities and Design
The content of this course will be delivered through lecture, analysis of model portfolios, simulation, and class discussion/sharing/critique.
Outcome Assessment Strategies
Student progress will be evaluated and criteria will be developed for assigning a course grade using the following tools:
1. Completion and presentation of supplemental AAS sections to a comprehensive portfolio designed to demonstrate the student’s knowledge and skills to date as related to specific program outcomes ;
2. Participation in group and class discussion and activities.
Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)
Arrange evidence of personal knowledge and skills related to the field of education in a professional portfolio;
Provide feedback to others for improvement of their portfolios and adjust their own portfolios in response to feedback. | <urn:uuid:cf6199d6-7b63-4755-abb9-af514f0527c2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pcc.edu/ccog/ed/264/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.876229 | 325 | 1.648438 | 2 |
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