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Category: Kimberly Pratt
Vince Rosato and Kim Pratt, March 28, 2006
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Vince Rosato & Kim Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
Mission: Collect oceanographic and climate modeling data
Geographical Area: In port, Charleston
Science and Technology Log
Yesterday we had a final meeting of "all hands." At the meeting, we presented Captain Patrae and Dr. Molly with gifts from our schools. Students from Searles designed sea-life posters that had their pictures on it, and students from Cabello signed their class photo to be hung on the ship. At this meeting we thanked all the officers, crew and science party.
In closing our logs, we would like to honor everyone we sailed with by presenting a pictorial display (a display of pictures). Thanks for letting us sail with you, we've learned a lot, had great conversations with our students, and most importantly you've shared with us and our students the love of the sea!
The Engineering Team
The Galley Team
The Mooring Team
"Carlos's Boys"—The Technicians
The Winch Operators
The Scientists
Dr. Molly and Carlos
Geographical Area: Eastern Florida
Today we had a special treat; we were a part of a "Man Over board" drill! A man overboard drill is held once during a three-month period so the crew is prepared in case someone falls off the ship into the ocean. The drill starts with a "dummy" which is made of an old Mustang (survival suit) and is named Oscar. Next, the Captain makes a call to the Bridge (where they run the ship), and three bells are sounded. These three bells are Morse code (a code of lights or bells that spell out words) and they make the letter "O" for Oscar. Everyone responds to a "Man Over Board" to search for the missing person, or in this case the dummy. Once the dummy was located, the ship traveled to the dummy and brought it on board by means of a large hook. At this point, LCDR Rodriguez and Chief Scientist Dr. Molly proceeded to practice CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation– to get the heart started and air into the lungs) on the dummy. Finally, an all-clear signal was given and the dummy was then put away for a drill later on in the year. It was very exciting.
Water was collected from the Bermuda Triangle for Ms. Pratt's fifth grade class. This area is known for strange disappearances. The Bermuda Triangle is located between the island of Bermuda, Miami, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Many people have tried to explain what happens to the ships, small boats and planes that disappear and the most reasonable explanation is that there are environmental factors (weather, sea conditions) at play or human mistakes.
Interview with Julia O'Hern
Julia O'Hern is a graduate student in biological oceanography at Texas A & M (Agriculture and Military) University. She comes from the Hawkeye State, Iowa. Julia loves being outside and in the water. She has an interest in environmental science, and this led her to the ocean. Her parents always promoted science activities. For instance, Julia recalls her summer, hiking through the prairie, catching bugs and identifying them. Julia had an environmental science course in her high school boarding school that taught her how to be a field scientist. Julia feels lucky that a creek ran by her home and she could collect big ugly tadpoles. From fifth grade through college she played softball, ran track, and she swam. Julia likes chemistry and physics and is working on a degree in biological oceanography but truly loves whales. "Marine biology," Julia explains, "is different from oceanography," which studies how some of the physical processes in the ocean (waves, sea floor, and water) affect where the whales live. Marine biology studies the whale itself including its life cycle, its behavior and how it is affected by people.
Ms. Pratt collecting water from the Bermuda Triangle.
"One of the only times I was out of Iowa, my parents took me on trip off of Maine and we saw whales," said Julia. This inspired her. To top everything off, she shared, "The coolest thing to ever experience is to be in the water when a humpback whale is singing. It doesn't even matter how far away they are, you feel their music." Books she suggested reading are Farley Moats's, Never Cry Wolf and Jack London's Call for the Wild as well as anything by Jane Goodall. Her advice to students is: "If you want to do oceanography and study marine life you have to get past math and computers, and it won't always be fun." But, Julia agrees it's worth it.
Assignment: In your sea logs, write the procedure for a "Man Over Board" drill. Label each step that happens. For example: #1 – Put "Oscar" into the ocean.
Personal log – Kimberly Pratt
This has been a very exciting trip! I've been stretched beyond my wildest dreams. The correspondence with my students has been meaningful and very educational. Working with the scientists, officers, crew and my fellow teacher has taught me lessons that I'll never forget! Thanks to all of you for this unforgettable experience.
Personal Log – Vince Rosato
Thanks to Captain Gary Petrae for welcoming us onboard and sharing so freely resources to help kids understand life at sea. Thanks, too, to Dr. Molly for extending this experience to us through NOAA. Thanks to my principal, Debbi Knoth, and the New Haven Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Pat Jaurequi, for enabling this trip and to Kim Pratt for inviting me along. Thanks to the crew! Thanks to Mrs. Riach for substituting for me. There are so many interesting and exciting happenings on board. Juliet was a hit and remains with Lt. Commander Priscilla Rodriguez. As Professor Jochem Marotzke shared, life at sea sensitizes you to put yourself in another's shoes, simply because the job isn't done when my own shift is over. I had the pleasure of getting quotes from many people here. Robert Bayliss, onboard from the THOMAS JEFFERSON for this cruise, advised anyone interested in life at sea to "Be prepared to spend long times away from home." Being one of Carlos' boys with Rigo, Dallas and Mick was a "bonus." At an all-hands meeting this afternoon we shared our gifts for the crew and NOAA scientists.
Afterwards those who wished got their picture taken in groups. Dr. Molly created a centralized computer space for sharing pictures. I have some CD's to work with, thanks to Dr. Shari and LCDR Rodriguez. Those kinds of sensibilities make life pleasant. I understand my Uncle Sam better from this cruise. I cannot leave without a special hello to my 14-year-old daughter, Alexandria Jo. When we return, there will be extension activities, such as lesson plans, presentations to prepare and publicity pieces. My enriched enthusiasm and understanding of ocean science will be shared with every student. I got autographs from world-class oceanographers, modern-day explorers, and stand in awe at the collaborative efforts being made to better understand the ocean and its relationship to climate. The current issue of Mother Jones is devoted to the state of the seas. Gratitude was my beginning attitude and remains as I prepare to return to land. What makes a fine sailor also remains: someone who knows their job and gets it done, is dependable, a friendly person to be around, and one who you can trust to watch your back. This applies as a major lesson to those in all walks of life.
Mooring team at work
Besides deploying (launching) buoys, and doing CTD casts, the RON BROWN also has a group of scientists from the United Kingdom (which consists of the countries England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) and a scientist from Germany who are putting moorings in the ocean. Moorings are instruments that are sent to the bottom of the ocean and are held there with weights. They can weight up to 3000 pounds!
Also attached to the moorings are floats so that when the scientists decide to get the instruments, they send a signal to the mooring to detach from the weight and then it can float to the surface. After that, the scientists can easily locate the floats in the ocean and then pick the instrument up. The moorings send information to the scientists about the velocity (or speed) of the deep-water currents. They also measure temperature, salinity, pressure and tidal heights. Each mooring costs about $200,000 each!
On the RON BROWN, three large moorings were recovered (picked up) and four more were deployed (put into the ocean). This team has deployed moorings all across the Atlantic Ocean— from west of Morocco, near the Sahara desert region, to east of the coast of Florida (where we are now.)
LT Liz Jones
Interview with LT Liz Jones, Field Operations Officer
LT Liz Jones defined herself as Field Operations Officer, or FOO, as "a coordinator of scientific operations between the science party and the ship's crew to ensure the mission is carried out and the scientific objectives are met." While all NOAA Corps Officers have either science or engineering backgrounds, she also had prior seagoing experience before joining the NOAA Corps in 1999. Liz graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1996, majoring in Marine Safety and Environmental Protection. Maritime academies provide classrooms at sea aboard their training ships.
An interactive program called the "Voyage of the MIMI" sparked her interest in the 5th grade. It sounded similar to the current "Jason Project," where a scientific team videotapes and teleconferences their work from interesting places in the ocean. Liz explained to a high school guidance counselor, "I love the ocean; I want to do some kind of work with the ocean." Fifteen years later, she is doing just that!
NOAA Corps officers attend three months of Basic Officer Training at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. From there, they are sent to sea aboard one of NOAA's research vessels. A typical career has one rotating two years at sea and three years on land. "I really like the idea of reinventing myself every few years," Liz explained. The RONALD H BROWN is her second sea assignment. Liz worked at NOAA's headquarters for her first land assignment She spent one year there as an aide to Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields, who was the first African American female to head the NOAA Corps.
As the FOO, Liz is always planning ahead. She stays very busy working on the plan of the day for tomorrow or the logistics for the next four cruises. The most challenging projects to coordinate are the ones where new technologies will be used for the first time. She is thankful to the crew that can make just about anything happen. In her spare time, Liz works out, reads a good book or just relaxes. For interested students, The California Maritime Academy in Vallejo has the Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR, which one day could be your very own classroom at sea.
Assignment: Using a world map, locate Morocco, the Sahara Desert and the east coast of Florida. Draw moorings straight across the ocean to connect these areas.
We finally finished our CTD casts! The last job I learned was how to be "Sample Cop", which means I wrote down information about each water sample that was taken. When scientists take samples, they need to clean each bottle three times before they fill it with the sample. This is so the sample is pure and not contaminated (dirty) from the previous sample. We use a lot of seawater for this purpose. Thanks for all the e-mails!
I checked out the drifting buoy-tracking site and found our buoy! I have been busy responding to your emails and writing logs. The scientists and crew have been very helpful in helping me be accurate and sensitive in the presentation of the work being done out here. I salute my nephew, in the Navy now. We are getting excited about coming into port in a couple more days.
Geographical Area: Barbados, West Indies
SHIP VOCABULARY
The meaning of common ship terms may help land "lubbers," (people who love life off the sea), get around this home on the seas. First, let's cover directions on a ship. The front is called the BOW and the back end is called the STERN. The very back deck over the propellers is the FANTAIL. Facing the bow, the right side is the STARBOARD SIDE and the left side is the PORT SIDE. The KEEL is under the middle of the boat. The WATERLINE is where the water meets the HULL on the outside of the ship. The picture today is of the interior, or inside of the ship. Use the picture diagram to practice your knowledge of shipboard terms.
A cross sectional view of the RONALD H. BROWN.
The floor of the ship is called the DECK. Stairs to the eight different levels are called LADDERS. The ceiling is called the OVERHEAD and the hallway is called the PASSAGEWAY. When seas are choppy, you hang onto RAILINGS along the passageway and ladders. Railings can keep you from falling. There is a safety phrase aboard that goes, "One hand for you and one hand for the ship." That means it's safer to always touch some part of the ship.
Let's go down where food and supplies are STOWED or put away before being brought up to cook and eat. In the HOLD AND TANK TOP, two decks below the MAIN DECK you find the ship's STORES, or storage area. There are dry stores, a chill box, a freeze box, a room for cleaning supplies, and another for ship's supplies, including shelves of flags. That's five different rooms for food or supplies on this bottom floor, the HOLD. The temperature in the CHILL BOX keeps fruits and vegetables just above freezing, but the FREEZE BOX feels like being turned into instant ice. Those two lockers have safety latches so you can't get locked inside. Together they measure about 11 feet wide by 12 feet long by 8 feet high, the size of a medium size moving van.
The DRY STORES keep all the extra cereal, tea and dry foods that do not need to be chilled. It is bigger than the freezer locker, about 110 square feet, the size of a small garden shed. It has over 60 shelves, each 2 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet, the size of a garment or hanging clothes type-moving box. Michael Moats, the General Vessel Assistant, pointed out the SOPROLE, a milk product substitute that doesn't need chilling for a long time. A phone and an elevator are handy outside the supply rooms. The kitchen areas, "the Galley," and dining room, "the Mess Deck," are two ladders up, so the elevator and phone make checking on and moving supplies easier. There is also a HEAD, or toilet, on the MESS DECK. The chief steward, Richard Whitehead, mentioned that in the GALLEY the safety bars on the ship's stoves are called SEA RAILS. A great reference for these and many other ship terms and the flag alphabet is http://www.schoonerman.com/sailingterms/. Time for more ship term practice!
The RONALD H. BROWN is 274 feet long and sails worldwide supporting our scientific understanding of the world's oceans and climate. The ship was commissioned, at a big birthday-like celebration, on July 19, 1997, in honor of the late Secretary of Commerce, Ronald H. Brown. To commission a ship is to put it into service at sea. The ship carries six NOAA Corps officers, 20 crewmembers, and a maximum of 33 scientists. The ship has two monster motors that give power to the ship. Each one has the power of 3,000 horses pulling a load, or 3,000 hp. Top speed is 15 knots or fifteen nautical miles per hour. That's a little faster than a car going 17 miles per hour, mph. The ship makes 5,000 gallons of drinkable water a day just like the rain purifies water, by evaporation and condensation. We use about 4,000 gallons a day here. Since we can only make water thirteen miles away from shore we need to not waste our water supply.
Interview with Commander Stacy Birk, Executive Officer
Commander Stacy Birk said, "It's a tough life at sea," so she really tries to make life on the RONALD H. BROWN valuable and meaningful for all hands. Stacy is the Executive Officer, XO. As the captain's back up, the XO is boss in the captain's absence. She manages people, deals with people's salaries and serves as safety officer while the ship sails from Charleston, SC, for about ten months of the year. In elementary school Stacy enjoyed the books Island of the Blue Dolphins and I, Nathaniel Bowditch. This California surfer girl completed college and joined the Coast Guard Reserves. She actually sailed around the Channel Islands.
As a personnel manager, Stacy hires people and evaluates them, like a teacher gives grades. As a safety officer, the XO helps people follow the rules, such as not wearing open toe shoes or not leaving kitchen cups around the ship or showing up at the wrong place for drills. You might compare this to a parent making sure rules are followed. She does everything possible to be fair with people. Stacy's science background and sailing experience help her make accurate observations. Her uniformed service as a NOAA Corps Officer and her rank as XO fit with her respect of the sea from childhood. Not everyone has such a clear direction from youth. She just celebrated her 19th wedding anniversary and suggested to students, "Visit ships in port in San Francisco, explore the TECH museums or practice flag signals," to grow in ocean knowledge.
XO, Stacy Birk, during the Port Authority passport-clearing trip at Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island, Bahamas
Assignment and question of the day: Use as many of the ship terms in place of the land names. Example: Instead of saying, "I'm walking down the hall," say "I'm walking down the passageway." BONUS: Check out that website to learn more ship terms. What is the perimeter of the CHILL BOX and FREEZE BOX together? Hint: Check the length and width of both boxes.
After a great night's sleep I learned at breakfast that a small shark was sighted during the night as the CTD was at the surface. I also found out about an awesome website, http://www.ngsednet.org/oceans, that has pictures taken by students from my previous expedition to the Channel Islands with National Geographic. You will see more critters on that site, for those interested. In addition, over 7,000 living organisms will be under investigation on the RONALD H. BROWN's next cruise. I took a tour of engineering today, thanks to Chief Engineer Frank Dunlap. The engineering department powers and maintains all systems on the ship; something like the Corps Yard does for our District. Juliet, the flat person, took some pictures with two of our Southampton college graduates and with a few of the people on Stuart Cunningham's Mooring Team. Keep up your journal entries and emails.
Hi all. Last night I saw two Mahi Mahi fish, which they also call dolphins or dolphinfish. They were swimming along side of the ship and at first I thought they were sharks! They certainly are beautiful. Yesterday the scientists from the United Kingdom worked on moorings all day so I got some time off. Today we're busy again doing CTD casts and my job lately has been "cast cop", which means I log all the data. The weather continues to be nice, although today we went through a squall (which is a storm) and now it's overcast outside. Also today we received a distress call from a Catamaran that was taking on water, so we proceeded to go to help, but the Coast Guard was on their way and they also called a tow service from a nearby island to help them. It sure added some excitement into our day! With less than a week to go, things have certainly been busy!
Geographical Area: Bahamas, West Indies
Deploying the ARGOS buoy!
On Saturday, we deployed two buoys. A buoy is a floating object that sends science information to scientists. They can have numbers, colors, lights, or whistles on them. The buoys we sent off are a drifting buoy and an ARGO buoy.
A drifting buoy is the size of a basketball and sends its position in the ocean to a satellite where scientists can measure current speed by using its location and by tracking it around. Because it has a sock on it, it's a good measure of current and it is not affected by the wind. The buoys can last a long time unless they are damaged or destroyed by a ship, run into land, or are stolen by a pirate. There are currently 1,468 drifting buoys worldwide and they cost more than $1500 each. Cabello, Searles and Key Biscayne Community School jointly adopted two of the buoys deployed. Students signed stickers that were attached to the buoy and sent out to sea. To track the buoy, here.
The second buoy that was deployed was an ARGO buoy. The ARGO is interesting because it acts like a little submarine. The ARGO is launched off the ship, floats on the surface, then sinks to certain depth, gathering information on temperature, pressure, salinity, latitude and longitude. The ARGO, acting like a submarine, stays at a certain depth for a while, gathering information, then fills its bladder and rises to the surface, collecting information on the way up. At the surface, the ARGO sends all the information to a satellite for the scientists to use in their labs. To picture a bladder, think of "Professor" from Sponge Bob. Professor fills up with air and floats (like the bladder filling), exhales his air and sinks (like the bladder emptying). This ARGO was special because it had a large sticker from the New Haven Unified School District. So New Haven is literally traveling all over the ocean! To track the ARGO buoy go here.
Interview with Lieutenant Commander, Priscilla Rodriguez, US Public Health Service
On the RON BROWN you will find the Medical Officer, Lieutenant Commander (LCDR), Priscilla Rodriguez. Officer Rodriguez actually is a part of the United States Public Health Service that overlooks the public health system for the whole country and sets the standard for health care. LCDR Rodriguez is a Physician Assistant and her assignment onboard the RON BROWN will last for two years. The most common illness on board a ship is seasickness and LCDR Rodriguez is on the lookout for crew or scientists who are not showing up for meals or who look a little "green." She explains that your brain and inner ear need to get used to the movement of the ship and once they do you're okay. In the meantime you may feel nauseous or tired. LCDR Rodriguez has a lot of responsibility on board the ship. She's responsible for the health care of everyone and if someone gets extremely ill, she has to advise the Captain on whether to go into shore, or get a Coast Guard helicopter to come out and pick him or her up, which is very expensive. LCDR Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic, grew up in New York City and presently calls New York City her home where she has just made a cooking video. When she's not working on the ship, she enjoys playing the guitar or flute, drawing and making videos. She's currently developing "podcasts" for the Internet and has been interviewing subjects on the ship. In the future, she would like to return to work with AIDS patients in underdeveloped countries and do everything she can to help the world.
Assignment: Draw a picture of what the ARGO buoy does. (How it acts like a submarine). Label each movement – sinks, stays at the same level, and rises. Draw a picture of what you think the ARGO buoy looks like. (Hint: Long, thin, black tube).
It's good to be writing logs again. I've been having amazing conversations with all the scientists onboard. They've been very generous with their time. A special thanks to Dr. Molly for our "up top" chats. Today the scientists from the United Kingdom are working on recovering a sub-surface mooring, so we've got time to work on logs, interviews and answer e-mail. Last night I saw squid in the moonlight: one was approximately 1.5 ft, and another was approximately 2.5 ft. They were chasing and eating flying fish! Also fish that look like little swordfish were jumping around. It was a virtual circus! Hello to everyone! Students, keep writing! Make it a good day!
Relaxing after a day of hard work
New Haven Unified School District, Searles 4th graders and Cabello 5th graders got some press recently. Thanks to fellow teachers for the article and to the Argus newspaper and Educational Service Center Information Officer, Rick LaPlante, for the favorable text. We'll have another chance to thank ANG for newspapers in education and for the many businesses that sponsor Book Bucks. I'm glad so many in the class are participating in this reading reward program. I also heard the bus is confirmed for our "Reading is Cool" Sharkie field trip to the Hewlett Packard HP Pavilion, home of the Sharks hockey team. It's always good hearing from you so keep those emails coming and good luck with Book Bucks! In my spare time I'm getting pictures with Juliet around the ship and reading John Climatus', The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Deploying the Argos buoy
Lieutenant Rodriguez
A view of the RON BROWN from the Zodiac (a small boat).
Science and Technology Log: The "Way Cool" Factor
Today I spoke to Lisa Beal who introduced me to the "Way Cool" factor of the science we're doing. I kept asking the question… why?… why?…why?… and now I realize how what we're doing makes sense. This is a physical oceanography trip and it's easy to get confused by the testing, measuring and chemistry that we're doing.
So, the Way Cool Factor: The ocean has many currents, or rivers, running through it. Some vary with the seasons and are called inter-annual (more than one time per year). What is measured is the circulation and overturning of the ocean. We need to measure this overturning of water because it affects our climate and considering that two-thirds of our planet is covered with water, that's important to know. Also, water masses have separate identities. They all have a unique signature that is determined by the salinity (salt content) and temperature. It's sort of like a fingerprint. These water masses travel all over the ocean in both a horizontal flow and a vertical flow. Scientists track these water masses as they flow around the ocean.
What's really cool is some of these water masses are over 100 years old. For instance, North Atlantic Deep Water starts at the North Pole and travels all around the Pacific and even in the Indian Ocean and back again. It's sort of like a migration of water. The colder (measured by temperature) and more dense (measured by salinity) water sinks to the bottom and scientists can then follow it around the globe.
Pretty interesting huh? It helps make what we're doing make sense.
Dr. Molly Baringer, NOAA scientist
Interview with Dr. Molly Baringer, Chief Scientist
Today I had the good fortune to sit and talk to Dr. Molly Baringer, Chief Scientist on the RON BROWN. Molly is an Oceanographer with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), based out of Miami, Florida. She's been with NOAA for 12 years and is currently working on the Deep Western Boundary Currents (DWBC) project. The Deep Western Boundary Time Series, take her all over the Caribbean and into the Florida Straits taking measurements to measure the conductivity, salinity, temperature and depth of the ocean. She is studying the currents, or the rivers, in the deep water of the ocean. This study has been on-going and it will really help the scientists understand the ocean better.
As a child, she always liked science. She originally had a desire to be a neuroscientist and graduated from Tulane University where she was a premed/math major. Her minor was in science. She became a Research Assistant working with numerical models for a professor who was an oceanographer and, behold, her love for science coupled with the environment, became a perfect fit.
What she likes best about being a scientist is that she gets to be creative, learns new things every day, and she is valued for her thinking. She spends most of the day and sometimes nights on board the RON BROWN checking data, supervising casts, problem solving, and overseeing all the science that is happening.
The CTD seen here is just under the water's surface.
While at sea she really looks forward to talking to her two children, Anna and John, and her husband (a computer scientist) who are awaiting her return. While at home, she really likes to spend time with her family helping at their school, checking their homework, and going places and doing things. Her hobbies are quilting, needlepoint, Bridge, and before she had her children, she and her husband used to golf approximately 3-4 times a week.
She hopes that eventually we'll have an ocean observing program that will be institutionalized so we can continually monitor the state, or health, of our oceans. She states that being a scientist is a great profession. You get to be creative every day, you learn new things, and most of all you are valued for how you think.
Assignment: Compare the movement of water masses of the Atlantic with the migration of gray whales. In your science logs, draw a picture of both. Remember Gray Whales migrate (move) from Alaska (their feeding grounds in the summer) to Baja California warmer waters (for mating and calving) in the winter and back again. North Atlantic Deep Water masses move from the North Pole south, into the Pacific and back again.
Hi all. Until now Vince has been writing the scientific logs, but starting today I'll be submitting them as well. I've really missed discussing the science I'm learning with you. I was really happy to talk to Dr. Beal who quite simply explained what we were doing. It can get quite confusing and intimidating learning new things, but I'm adapting slowly. The weather has been beautiful. Yesterday we deployed the Argo Buoy with New Haven's name on it so we'll be able to track it. And we also deployed the drifter buoy that has been adopted by Cabello, Searles and Dr. Molly's daughter's school, Key Biscayne Community School. Today has been beautiful! Awesome weather, beautiful blue water and we even got cell service! I miss you all. Hello students! Keep e-mailing me and doing all your great work. Remember you are the brightest, best and most confident fifth graders (soon to be sixth graders)!
Thank you second grade reading buddies from Mrs. Mares class, for Juliet, the flat person, who has gotten in pictures with the drifter, visited the dining room, the bridge, the science lab and even went with the Zodiac party (speed boat) to get our passports cleared today. I'm sorry to report the laundry bag used to sink our Styrofoam cup mementos was lost at sea after ten years of loyal and faithful service. We're here off Abaco Island today. I looked out from the bridge deck into the starry night last night. In pitch dark the vastness of the heavens is AWESOME! It reminded me of camping in the mountains away from the city. Clear views, crystal smooth water and imagine no television and only random music for three weeks. I like it—very recollective. Thanks, also to NHTA for the blue shirts showing our dedication to students as our special interest. Finally, I was glad to call home today and find out in voice conversation all are well.
Dr. Beale with "Cheesy Poofs."
You may recall from the previous log that the package, or CTD, contains "mostly" a rosette of polyvinyl chloride (PVC )bottles that collect water samples on the way up from the sea floor. We have completed eight casts, which means we have dropped the package to the bottom eight times. On Cast # 4, on the way up, a piece of equipment on the package broke. On this Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) expedition scientists want to put as many devices on "the package" as possible. All of the measurements they are taking have some relationship to measuring the current, velocity, or flow of water masses. Flow in deep water is a little like a river in the ocean, but not like the one in the film, Finding Nemo. Some of the devices measure the same thing as other instruments do, and are redundant, or duplicated, in case some device fails on the unit. A secondary reason for redundancy is to check the precision of calculations to the thousandth or even ten-thousandth place (.002 or .0005). Other devices measure different things. For example, the altimeter measures distance to the bottom. It is important because a device lowered from the ship does not necessarily go straight down like a nut dropping off a tree, but moves with the rocking of the ship and shifting of the current in any direction. While the ship may show the ocean floor at say 5445 meters, the package may be over a sea mound—a big bump upward from the ocean floor—that registers 5300 meters. Do you see the necessity of having an altimeter to monitor of ocean depth? What the ship sees below may not be what the package has directly under it. Since it costs so much to send an expedition out, it makes sense to protect the instruments as well as to do as many measurements as possible in each cast.
In the center of the package is the biggest instrument of all, an acoustic current meter fondly nicknamed "Cheesy Poofs." Look at the photo… can you see why it has that name? On Cast # 5 Cheesy Poofs went "POOF!" and broke. The ocean is a harsh environment for man-made instruments. They must be very strong because of the pressure, and very water-tight so they do not spring a leak. Poor Cheesy Poofs sprang a leak and didn't work anymore. It measured the speed of the current, or, the "motion of the ocean," as Dr. Lisa Beal said, the operator of the instrument. Luckily, Lisa had a spare instrument to replace Cheesy, so she and several technicians worked hard for three hours to remove one instrument and replace it with another. Just one acoustic current meter costs $50,000! So, "Cheesy Poofs" visited Davey Jones' Locker, or the ocean depths. Observation and measurement are essential elements for scientific investigation.
Question of the Day: What sorts of measurements need to be very precise in your daily life at school or home, and what tools make those measurements?
Dr. Shari Yvon-Lewis
Interview with Dr. Shari Yvon-Lewis Lead CFC Scientist.
Shari, a true steward of the planet, is the lead CFC Scientist on cruise RB-06-03, aboard the RONALD H. BROWN. She studies Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or more specifically, halocarbons, anything that has carbon and a halogen attached (one column left of inert gases on the Periodic Table). She hails from Chicopee, Massachusetts and grew up there. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and doctoral degree at the University of Miami.
She wanted to use her chemistry not only in a laboratory but was inspired to apply it to natural systems. Her work on this voyage is all about determining the age of deep water. We are familiar with how the rings of a tree tell its age, and how the layers, or strata, of rock date the age of the earth. Tree rings are usually horizontal. Rock strata are thin horizontal layers that show age vertically. Rock layers are more like ocean layers, except ocean layers are fat. Ocean aging is found in the rising and sinking of warm and cold waters. Shari is studying when the deep water was last at the surface—the zero age reference. "Anything that is lower than the surface is older," she explained. This is not to be confused with how old the oceans are, an entirely different question. Rather, if water sinks in one part of the ocean than it has to rise in another place, otherwise the dynamics of the ocean would more closely be like a pond, and it is not a pond. Wind controls the surface currents or water on top of the ocean, and temperature and salt concentrations controls the deep-water circulation. The scientific name for deep-water circulation is ThermoHaline Circulation, THC, or Meridional Overturning Circulation, MOC. This particular cruise gives Shari one of the best places to study and prove or disprove that HydroChloroFluroCarbons (HCFCs) can be used as age indicators, or as viable tracers of water mass motion. If proven, these HCFCs, which are replacement refrigerants (what used to be Freon as in car air conditioning systems), propellants (like in aerosol spray cans) and foam blowing agents (like the material sprayed on ceilings), will help scientists understand the age of deep water from the time it was last at the surface.
What might a person studying such wonders enjoy in her recreational time? Shari likes to family golf, read Stephen King horror stories and other thrillers, and listen to Barry Manilow. She loves science and the mysteries of the earth. She would love to completely know the "feedback" between the ocean and climate change, as science continues to be a motivating force in her life. She encourages going to the beach and watching the tides ebb and flow, seeing the effect of the ocean and humbly realizing we are powerless against its force. Shari has judged science fairs from middles schools through graduate school and has mentored graduate students, who are students who after college graduation work on master's degrees. She has a graduate student, Julia O'Hern, working with her on this trip, who is sharing a cabin with mentor NOAA teacher, Kimberly Pratt. Shari concluded our discussion by telling me what 4th and 5th graders and everyone can do to get interested in oceanography: "Enjoy the ocean and take care of it," she said.
Personal log—Vince Rosato
Hello, everyone. I have been absorbing information from crew, scientists, civilians, and officers and been very busy during my shift helping scientists with getting samples and analyzing them. I'm learning with Kim ways to put this knowledge into practice in the classroom. Your email questions about the ship and the science, especially from your ocean books and logs, you're your tracking our journey are filling my days with variety. What is especially exciting to me is that misconception after misconception is being laid aside for truer models of what really is. For example, I never thought of surface flow of water being driven differently than deeper water currents. Another insight was about what seafaring life is really like and the type of teamwork, community, and cooperation it fosters. In fact, it supports Searles' "cooperation," as the character education virtue of the month. In participating in making measurements with so many specialized instruments, my uncle's statement, "With the right tool you can do any job," makes so much more sense.
I'd like to share something that I learned as a tribute for all future seafaring enthusiasts. Officers, crews, and sailors worldwide have rituals not only for proper decorum, as at watch change, but also to inspire cooperation, and lift the spirits for those who live at sea away from family for months at a time. One of the spirit-lifting rituals from maritime history was for those who were sailing over the equator for the first time. To "measure" the courage of the sailors, so to speak, each one had to endure a rite of passage that graduated them from "pollywog" to "shellback." Crewmates waited with fear and trepidation about what the latest rite of passage would entail. Recently, the challenge was for everyone to participate in a talent show. Once you pass your "trial," you receive a card of graduation that you have to carry with you. If you are found without such documentation, you must endure the trial again! It is reported by maritime historians and confirmed by Chief Boatswain, Bruce Cowden, also an accomplished cartoonist, that wars were interrupted by this longtime tradition. He also mentioned that long ago, the shellback ritual was not so friendly.
Personal log—Kimberly Pratt
Hi all. It's been an interesting two days. First of all, I'm trying to get used twelve-hour working shifts. It's been difficult! Staying up late has been hard but it's getting easier. During my shift I've been helping collect water from casts, helping deploy the CTD, running "salts" which means putting water in an auto salinometer machine and testing it for conductivity. I've also been conducting interviews, talking with crew and trying to figure out what's been wrong with e-mails. Today, after not hearing from my family for over a week, the Chief Scientist, Dr. Molly, let me call home. Apparently my e-mails have been going out, but when people try to answer they are bounced back. Therefore, from now on use my AOL account, grnflea@aol.com, to contact me. That way I am sure to hear from you. The weather has been sunny, and yes, I did get sunburned yesterday. I also saw some flying fish and am always on the lookout for marine mammals. Now with the e-mail situation taken care of, I look forward to hearing from my students and continuing to share more of what we're learning from the sea!
Science and Technology Log: CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) Test Cast
We learned what to do to help the scientists today. In other words, all science personnel were trained in CTD Data Acquisition Procedures. "The package," is what we send down to the bottom, about 5600 meters, more than three miles deep. The package, or CTD, is mostly a rosette of 23 cylinders, (specially machined thick PVC tubes). It is deployed, or lowered, overboard. A winch, a machine run by trained sailors, does this lowering. It has a strong wire and pulley to lift and put the package into the ocean. Once on the surface of the ocean, the CTD was lowered to 10 meters, to get the air out of the system. The distance of 10 meters is where the atmospheric pressure doubles. The CTD is then returned to the surface. We bring it back to the surface after getting all the bubbles out, in order to mark the winch line to zero so they know how far away the bottom is. Not only is the winch line zero, but the software begins at a good water only profile level as well. All the tubes are open in the rosette on the way down so they do not burst with the pressure and they can collect water at various depths on the way back up from the bottom. On the way down water passes right through the open tubes. The procedure for lowering the package with the commands is given by the survey crew to the winch operator. They are simple and brief, explained Jonathan Shannahoff, the Chief Survey Technician, who along with the Chris Churylo, the Chief Electronics Technician, are in charge of the use of all the electronic equipment onboard.
So we followed a very detailed procedure of lowering the package to the depth of 2,000 meters and popped the tubes, closed the tubes on the rosette, thus collecting water samples at the depth of 2,000 meters. This was a test cast. It was brought to the surface and we practiced taking various samples from the water. Kim got to do the salinity and nutrient samples and Vince got to work with Dr. Shari Yvon-Lewis, CFC Project Lead, and Julia O'Hern, post-graduate CFC analyst, with the trace element samples. Each type of sample has a procedure to follow to make sure it is done in the same manner so no mistakes are made with the data. The first actual data collection casts will be coming up on Monday. We expect to do 55 or so casts and make more than 20 samples from each cast. Yes, today was all practice. We labeled vials and sample bottles to make them more orderly. The scientific process requires that you replicate experiments, which means that someone else can do the same thing as we do under similar conditions and get the same results. Without that procedural similarity, reliability of data is compromised. In other words, if you don't do the same thing you did the last time you did it, you may not get the same conclusions.
Captain Gary Petrae on the bridge of the RON BROWN
Interview with Captain Gary Petrae
When you enter the bridge of the RON BROWN, you probably will meet Captain Gary Petrae. Captain Petrae has spent over 27 years with the NOAA Corps. He joined NOAA after graduating from Florida Institute of Technology where he majored in physical oceanography. Captain Petrae chose NOAA because he likes adventures and loves a challenge. His favorite ports are Barbados W.I., Kodiak AK, and San Diego, CA. When he's not on duty, he catches up on paperwork, reads, and watches movies. He encourages all his staff and crew to stop and relax and he tries to practice this daily himself.
CAPT Petrae really enjoys his commission, but does admit that the family separation is difficult. He encourages anyone to join NOAA and you can apply with a college degree to the commissioned corps, or in an entry-level position with a high school diploma. A great benefit for NOAA employees is that you can live on-board a ship, (don't have to pay rent), eat three meals a day and you can see the world. This is CAPT Petrae's first command upon the RON BROWN which is a class one research vessel that travels all over the world. The RON BROWN measures 274 feet stem to stern, is 52.5 feet wide, and needs 20 feet of water in which to operate. The RON BROWN uses diesel fuel and has six generator motors. The ship makes its own water using an evaporation system. The RON BROWN is scheduled to go to Brazil later in the year, and CAPT Petrae with his love of adventure is ready to go!
You have asked, what is it like on the ship? The cabin I'm in has two bunks and two wall cabinets with closet space and drawers and one tall metal Chester drawer all of which I share with my cabin mate Ho, a doctoral student from the UK. I have the bottom bunk and I work the noon-midnight watch. He has the midnight to noon watch, which means each of us gets the room to ourselves for the time we're not on watch. We share the bathroom that has a fixture and shower stall with our adjacent cabin. When we use it we lock both entry doors and remember to unlock them when we leave. There is a sink with a mirror in each cabin as well. The room has two sofa-like chairs and a stool that can be used like a desk chair next to the Chester drawers that has a pullout section that acts like a desktop. In each double size bunk there are drapes around three sides since one side faces the metal wall. They shield the light in either direction because there is a bunk light with an outlet inside. All in all the cabins are practical and spacious and we are in charge of keeping them neat and tidy. Speaking of tidy, I did my laundry today two decks below.
Hi all. The weather is beautiful. I've spent the last two days doing interviews, taking pictures and forming friendships on board the RON BROWN. Yesterday I was trained in CTD collection procedures and really felt like a scientist as I got to take samples. I'll be processing salinity samples as well as non-organic nutrients. The ship has stopped rocking and rolling so seasickness is at bay. Today I really go to work, collecting samples as my shift is from noon to midnight. The crew and officers have been very helpful and friendly. It's been going really well, and it's nice to have a fellow teacher on board!
Posted on March 9, 2006 March 18, 2021
Vince Rosato and Kim Pratt, March 9, 2006
Teachers at Sea aboard the Ronald H. Brown
We sail today. After spending the entire day traveling from San Francisco to Barbados by way of Miami, we arrived in Bridgetown. We heard screeching critters at the Grand Barbados Hotel. We learned that they were tiny frogs that sounded like squawking tropical birds. We took a taxi to the port, about 20 minutes on the other side of the island, after meeting Chief Scientist, Dr. Molly Baringer, also called "Dr. Molly."
Docked among cruise liners (which are huge hotel-like pleasure ships), we were greeted aboard the NOAA ship, RONALD H. BROWN, by Ensign Jackie Almeida, serving as OOD, Officer of the Deck. The OOD is the captain's delegate like when the principal has to go to a meeting the AP (assistant principal) is in charge. Everyone welcomed us and made us feel right at home. After stowing our gear and being directed to where the cabin linens (bed sheets, pillows and towels) and galley (where we eat meals) were, we made our way to Bridgetown and back by foot. One of the main sources of income for Barbados is selling things to travelers, otherwise called tourism. They made money by our visit. It cost $1.40 Barbados for postcard postage. We passed a fish processing area not far outside of the closed port facilities where Mahi Mahi, otherwise known as "Caribbean Dolphin" by the locals was being prepared for market. They are not real dolphins, since they are fish, and not marine mammals.
The harbor pilot and his assistant boarded the ship yesterday when our ship was moved. We were invited to view the ship maneuverings from the bridge, where the officers navigate and drive the ship in the front, or bow, of the ship. Junior Officer Ensign James Brinkley invited us to the bridge at the request of the Captain Gary Petrae. If you thought parallel parking looked difficult by car, the captain explained a ship doesn't have any brakes, which makes it harder. He made it look easy. We will continue to take photos and interview officers, crew, and scientists and help out where we can. We will be sending logs periodically to keep you informed of our journey and help make the science we are learning more accessible in school and home.
Everyone enjoys seeing critters like monkeys and dolphins, but this expedition is primarily about chemistry, currents and climate, non-living, or abiotic, features of the seas. Coming up soon are fire and abandon ship drills. Fire and emergency drills are held weekly at sea because shipboard personnel must rely solely on themselves in the event of an emergency. In some cases help may be days away, so ships at sea will render assistance to other vessels located in proximity. Later we will be conducting a test run of the CTD. The CTD is a conductivity, temperature and density reading at various depths from instruments on a line that extends from the surface of the sea to the ocean floor. Stay tuned for more data.
Assignment – Maritime flags are a very important way for ships to communicate to each other. For example, when a ship wants a harbor pilot to help it navigate its way through the harbor, they'll hoist (put up) a blue and gold pilot flag. We all use flags in our daily lives—the American Flag, California Flag, and we use flags to start races. Describe one flag that you know of. Describe its markings and state the purpose for the flag or what it means.
Vince Rosato—Personal Log
At the airport after getting up around 3:30 a.m. Kim and I were in line and an agent asked me to get into a "special" line. No, it was not the express line. As others walked by, one said, "Are you in the penalty box?" I said, "I was chosen–perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket." Anyway, I was run through a glass container and puffed with air jets which sensed nothing but my cologne and was passed along to our delayed flight and Kim's enjoyment. On the journey here the wife of a former Minister of Trinidad watched out for us. That was memorable because she attempted to get us quick passage to our connection at Miami after our arrival terminal was switched due to our delayed flight.
Kimberly Pratt—Personal Log
Hi all! It's great to be in Barbados! The students and I really worked hard to get ready for the trip. In class they decorated their Styrofoam cups (for a later experiment), signed the stickers for the drifter buoy we'll be deploying later and most importantly, they all made me going away cards! I was really touched (they love to see me cry). It's beautiful here. The weather has been warm and tropical. The flight was long, and I met a wonderful lady named Nora. The next day I went to the ship and checked in. Today, we sailed and we'll be motoring straight away for two days. I haven't felt really sick, so that's good news. It's nice to be traveling with another teacher this time around. My e-mail on board the ship is kim.pratt@rbnems.ronbrown.omao.noaa.gov


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Dialogical integral repair in structural inequality sentences.
Repairing completely for victims of rights violations is more difficult than recognizing the violation of their rights, hence the brench of sentences that guarantee social rights affects the victims and the institutional framework of the Constitutional Courts or Tribunals. The problem that will be explained in this presentation consists of exposing the difficulties that the High Constitutional Courts at the time of materializing the sentences of structural discrimination and the comprehensive reparation measures in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Hence, a criticism of the judicial or traditional model of execution of sentences will be raised to propose, from the deliberative theory, a solution that contemplates dialogical justice to achieve greater effectiveness of the decisions, considering that it is more appropriate and possible to comply with the sentences with these characteristics with the participation of those affected and the public institutions involved.
The vectors of incorporation of International Human Rights Law in the work of the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court. Case study: Judgment No. 1 1-18-CN / 19.
A vector is a line segment that joins two points in space, A and B, considering that A is the beginning of the segment and B is the end of it. Therefore, the vector has a direction magnitude, which is the length of the segment AB. In this work, it is stated that the analyzed vectors have a different origin, but all have the same end, becoming concurrent or angular vectors, interacting at a specific point. This Physics' figure is related to the approach of "judicial dialogue", especially regarding the protection of human rights. If we consider that there is a flow of information that starts from a certain point (international human rights courts) and reaches another (Constitutional Court of Ecuador), it is worth asking what vectors this traffic follows.
Rethinking Social Rights in the Constitutional Law due to the Covid-19 Crisis
The Covid-19 worldwide crisis has proven – again- that social rights are fundamental for protecting lives, and that the social security systems should be strengthen. Not a single country was prepared for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 virus but even less were the developing countries. For instance, lockdowns in Latin America cause suffering to poor people mostly because it causes food insecurity. Also, inadequate housing, poor sanitation, and lack of access to clean water prevents people from taking precautionary measures against Covid-19. These reasons, amongst others, should drive us to rethink how Constitutional Law can and must reinforce protection for social rights, specially by safeguarding social security systems, their benefits and decommodifying communal resources like health and labour.
ECUADOR: AMONG A STRONG AND/OR WEAK MODEL OF JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CONSTITUTIONALITY
Starting with the 2008 Constitution, the model of judicial review that the Ecuadorian constituent seems to have adopted is a robust model of judicial review in which constitutional judges have the last word. Several constitutional and legal provisions confirm this, giving rise to a strong commitment to a judicial option, deepening the classic problems of democratic foundation of constitutional control. Notwithstanding what has been said, the current institutional design also opens the possibility, – little studied in the framework of judicial review in Ecuador – to give way to a weak judicial review model where the control body generates spaces for institutional dialogue and social, attenuating the criticism against the majority in its most radical version.
The constitutionality block and the criteria for its incorporation into the ecuadorian constitutional jurisprudence.
This presentation advocate for a necessary dialogue between the Inter-American Human Rights System and the national constitutional courts, to offer creative responses to problems of constitutional relevance that, otherwise, would not obtain a satisfactory solution if the source were exclusively national law.
Constitutional amendments and constitutional control in times of pandemic.
This paper discusses the constitutional amendments processes in the region, which occurred in times of pandemic, and how constitutionality control, in the cases in which it is foreseen, can contribute to adequate public deliberation. In this sense, the document seeks to give an account of how constitutional control can promote participatory processes of constitutional amendments, where the principles and rights that inform the constitutional States of our days are respected.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


DOL Guidance for Hurricane Harvey Victims | Convergent RPS, LLC.
(September 5, 2017) The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued News Release 17-216-NAT which provides guidance for plan fiduciaries, employers, labor organizations, service providers, plan participants and beneficiaries that may encounter issues complying with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) due to Hurricane Harvey. The relief outlined in News Release 17-216-NAT generally applies to entities located in a county identified for individual assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because of Hurricane Harvey.
administrative flexibility concerning blackout notices.
News Release 17-216-NAT also references IRS News Release TX-2017-09 which provides extensions to affected taxpayers for the completion of certain time-sensitive acts including the filing of Form 5500.


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3-week power outage in Newtok leads to spoiled meat in freezers
Greg Kim, KYUK - Bethel
The Ninglik River shoreline is mere feet from houses in Newtok on July 26, 2019. (Katie Basile/KYUK)
People in Newtok have been without power for almost three weeks. Families without personal generators have seen their freezers thaw out, and watched a summer's worth of subsistence harvest go to waste.
When the power went out in Newtok on Aug. 23, many homes flipped on their personal generators. Sandra Ayuluk didn't have one strong enough to power her two freezers. After the outage continued into the third week, Ayuluk opened her freezers and discovered the worst.
"My food in the freezer is ruined," Ayuluk said.
Her husband, Jonah Ayuluk, knew all too well the list of food items that were supposed to last them through the winter.
"Moose meat, salmon fillet, halibut, berries," he listed.
Many of Sandra and Jonah's friends and family, even if they had their own generators, couldn't help. One of the Ayuluk's neighbors, Carolyn George, said that's because it's nearing the end of the summer subsistence season.
"I don't have any room in my freezer," George said. "It's just heartbreaking. All that subsisting they did over the summer. All that hard work, just down the drain."
Carolyn said that even for families that do have their own generators, it can cost $50 a day for fuel to keep them running.
Newtok's electric power system is extremely fragile. The village's power company has two generators, a main and a backup. Tribal Administrator Andrew John said that the main one was almost 30 years old when it broke down permanently a few years ago. Since then, Newtok has relied on the smaller backup generator, which just barely manages to power the whole village and couldn't last forever.
"We knew early on it was just a matter of time," John said. "And unfortunately, that little backup generator finally gave up."
Newtok had a plan for that. The village ordered a backup for the backup, leaving it on the runway this past year, but couldn't move it when they needed it. That's because the village's Bobcat tractor broke down. Andrew said that workers struggled to move the generator parts without the tractor.
"We're talking 800 pounds a piece, and there's two of them," John said.
It's taken almost three weeks, but he said that the workers were able to muscle those parts over to the powerhouse.
"They went to the store and bought a can of mussels, took a big bite, and said, 'Let's go,'" John said.
With the parts now in place, John said that the workers should hopefully finish the installation by the end of the week.
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Running of more than 8000 feet of Cat5/6 ethernet cable. 80+ drops and termination points. Installation of 5 patch panels (24-port) and testing of all lines.
Had no experience going into the project other than basic crimping and termination. Ran into every obstacle you could think of: wiring snags, drop ceiling dangers, ventilation issues, prior material problems. I even fell through the ceiling twice (no severe injuries). It was fun and a huge learning experience. And during testing, I only had a single bad termination!


Most salespeople employ a presentation style as opposed to a consultative style. What is the difference? In a presentation style, the seller tells the buyer all about the products, services or capabilities. In a consultative style, the seller asks the buyer about their wants and needs. In a presentation style, the seller is saying, "Here is what I think you need to know, now please make a decision." In a consultative style, the seller is saying, "By asking the right questions and providing you with specific answers, I think I can help you make the best possible decision." Which of these selling styles would you rather be on the buying side of?
There is more to this than just style. The more one person talks in any selling conversation, the less the other person is likely to listen. Think back on the last time your customer dominated any part of the conversation. Did you really listen to everything that was said, or were you thinking more about what you wanted to say?
OK, I know I covered this issue in the first instalment, Too much talk, not enough listen, but it is important enough that I think it needs repeating.
Even in a consultative style, there comes a point where the seller must present a proposal. There is a difference though, between starting with a presentation and finishing with one.
Here is where the storytelling comes in. With all due respect to the Star Trek franchise, very few humans really want to go where no one has gone before. We do not want to take chances, we prefer the tried and true. I will grant you that many of us will take chances personally in search of recreation or entertainment, which can be anything from trying out a new restaurant to skydiving. I hope you will grant me, though, that buying printing has very little thrill potential attached to it. Print buyers want to make safe choices.
So how do you convince a buyer that you and your company are a safe choice? The salesperson who called me this morning told me his company has been in business for 35 years. He also told me they invest heavily in new manufacturing technology. He then hit several more bullet points before asking me if I would meet with him.
Yes, ultimately this is a sales pitch — a set of words used by a salesperson to get someone to buy something. So maybe the question is this, does the storytelling element make it a better pitch, one more likely to get the desired result? Obviously I think so, and I hope you will start thinking about incorporating storytelling into your own selling.


MYFB — Ep 24: Can break-even be your worst case scenario?
If when you think of risk in farming you think only of uncontrollable things, like the weather and global trade, or only crop price slides, you've likely missed an opportunity to take a more proactive approach to risk management.
While it's easy to get overwhelmed by 'what if' scenarios and all the different forms of risk, in this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, Kristjan Hebert, of Hebert Grain Ventures, keeps the plan for risk management tangible and achievable.
Instead of worrying about swings in crop price dollars and cents, sit down and determine — realistically — how much money your farm can actually afford to lose in a year and keep farming. From there, he says, you can start to build a real-world risk management approach that includes things you're likely already doing, such as hedging or insuring.
Some sectors in agriculture — such as feedlots or hog enterprises — are all too familiar with this type of risk management, and there's much the crop and livestock industries can learn from them, Hebert says.


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Home Food Eat & Drink Oola Bowls: The Acai Masters
Oola Bowls: The Acai Masters
The story behind the acai masters
by Kaylee Rex, Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
Like true entrepreneurs, Brock Snider and Joe Ferderbar have hundreds of business ideas floating around their minds. Cigar tourism, virtual assistants, graphic design niches–they can go on for hours.
Their most fruitful business idea so far, though, is their health food stand, Oola Bowls, an idea that came to both Brock and Joe separately within the span of two weeks. The duo was vacationing on opposite sides of the country a few years ago when they experienced something that would change their lives.
Joe was in California looking for some breakfast when a friend recommended trying an açai bowl.
Brock, on the other side of the country in Delaware, was met with the same suggestion from his friends.
Both, with low expectations, decided to give the bowls a shot and were blown out of the water with how something so healthy could taste so good. It was while on these separate trips that they knew they had to bring açai bowls to Lancaster.
"Lancaster seems to be picking up on a lot of trendier food things and—knowing that açai bowls can be gluten-free, dairy-free—it really perked my interest a lot," says Joe.
Brock always found it hard to come by fast, healthy foods in downtown Lancaster, where he was working at the time. "For a quick meal, where you could get in and out in fifteen minutes, there weren't any healthy options," says Brock.
Açai berries, pronounced ah-sah-EE, are a superfood containing amino acids which help to promote muscle performance, energy production, endurance, and strength, according to Oola Bowls' founders.
"There's a million business ideas, but it's something that we both feel that we can support and get behind long-term," says Joe.
"It's something we believe in," Brock adds.
The berries, similar in appearance to grapes, are harvested from açai palm trees in South American rainforests.
Brock and Joe spent countless nights trying to perfect the açai base for their Oola Bowls. Their winning concoction was a thick, sorbet-like blend. To top the açai base, you can pick from a variety of fresh fruits, seeds, and other toppings like homemade granola and peanut butter.
Their eponymous Oola Bowl starts with the thick açai base, then adds a layer of Grandma's Granola; a drizzle of peanut butter; and a colorful spread of bananas, strawberries and blueberries. It is topped off with a sprinkle of coconut flakes and chia seeds.
Brock admits that the names of the superfoods on their menu can be intimidating, with ingredients like pitaya, paçoca, and of course açai. When titling the business, the duo wanted to make sure the name was simple and could be used interchangeably with the hard-to-pronounce words. Brock stumbled upon the word "oola" after hearing it on the street. After some research, he found that it means "awesomeness," and their name was born.
Both Joe and Brock agree that the most rewarding part of starting their business is the people they've been able to work with along the way. "We've been blessed to have a lot of good help," Brock says.
Brock's grandma makes the granola and his dad builds all of their stands. Joe's wife manages Oola's social media and his dad is their business mentor. Some of Brock's childhood friends have become full-time employees at the company.
"You spend the majority of your life at work," says Brock, "and it's pretty cool to be able to work with people you've grown up with and friends that you are going to be friends with regardless."
Oola Bowls has checked off many bucket list items for Joe and Brock, like starting a business from scratch and getting approved for a stand at the Lancaster Central Market, which catapulted them to where they are now.
"We were both giddy when we got a stand in Central Market. We just thought it was the coolest thing ever," Joe remembers. Now, Oola Bowls has three market locations in the Lancaster Central Market, Lancaster Marketplace, and the Market at The Wilbur.
"I think it's fun to meet all these small business owners. It's one of my favorite parts about being at market...all of the small business community and just trying to help each other get going," Brock says.
The team hopes to keep expanding, but without ever leaving their roots in Lancaster County markets. One day, they even hope to franchise.
"What's better than starting your own business? Being able to help others start their own business," Joe says.
Oola Bowls
Lancaster Marketplace 2084 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA
Lancaster Central Market 23 N. Market Street, Lancaster, PA
Market at the Wilbur 48 PA-501, Lititz, PA
oolabowls.com
Susquehanna Style
202 Butler Avenue


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Home Global Village PIA deliberately kept in compromised state by Air Blue owner, PM Abbasi
PIA deliberately kept in compromised state by Air Blue owner, PM Abbasi
News Analysis |
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has summoned the heads of all Pakistani airlines including the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi — the head of Airblue – who is to appear in the next hearing. The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar was heading a three-member bench while hearing a case pertaining to fake degrees of the given airline's pilots.
The CJP issued the notices to the heads of all Pakistani airline as the matter has been pending for the last four months and reports, in this regard, had still not been submitted as yet. In January, Justice Nisar issued directives to the CAA director general Karachi to produce the record of the movement of private aircraft on all airports during the last 15 days.
Justice Nisar also directed the official to submit the inquiry report pertaining to appointments of the pilots on the basis of fake degrees or certificates. On Thursday, the CJP further directed the heads of Pakistan International Airlines, Airblue Limited, Serene Air and Shaheen Air International to appear before the bench.
It is pertinent to determine whether PIA under the premiership of Abbasi – the owner of Airblue – has deliberately been kept in a compromised state or were there some other factors which damaged the airline?
The court was informed by the Civil Aviation Authority Director Nasir Ali Shah, who stated that the authority received reports on the pilots' degrees from Shaheen International Airline and Serene Air today in Karachi, while the report from Airblue was received on Wednesday. Moreover, while talking about PIA, Mr. Ali Shah said that the degrees of 1,972 people were verified while 24 pilots were found to be holding fake degrees.
Read more: PM's Air Blue gets the lion's share in the Hajj quota
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as the head of Airblue: "clash of interests?"
During the hearing, when the CJP has stated that PM Abbasi is the head of Airblue, the court asked; "Isn't it a matter of clash of interests?" It is a matter of a great concern that a sitting PM of a country has a setup of an airline, which according to reports is "the country's most successful private airline and a competitor to PIA."
The CJP has, however, further clarified the matter announcing that PM Abbasi won't be appearing before the court as the premier, rather he will appear before the court as the head of his airline, Airblue. "Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will have to appear in the capacity of a chief executive officer and not a premier," said the court.
Profitable routes being given to Airblue?
On March 1, the CJP Mian Saqib Nisar had taken a suo motu notice of the profitable routes allegedly being taken away from PIA and being given to private carriers. Profitable routes were especially being given to Air Blue, an airline owned by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Justice Nisar issued directives to the CAA director general Karachi to produce the record of the movement of private aircraft on all airports during the last 15 days. Justice Nisar also directed the official to submit the inquiry report pertaining to appointments of the pilots on the basis of fake degrees or certificates.
The present government made a lot of effort to privatize PIA but due to the opposition from other political parties and the airline's staff plans, PIA's privatization remained incomplete. According to a Reuters report, PIA was among the 68 state-owned companies earmarked for privatization in return for a $6.7 billion International Monetary Fund package, that helped the government stave off a default in 2013, when it came to power.
Read more: Pilgrims fainted on Karachi-bound flight of Saudi Airline
Though there was some success, the protests by the PIA staff and the government passing certain laws, it was effectively made impossible to privatize the airline and the process stalled in 2016. Interestingly, in Pakistan, analysts and experts talk about the deterioration of PIA and people generally prefer to use other airlines.
Therefore, an airline owned by the Prime Minister is making remarkable success and money. This is genuinely a matter of conflict of interest and the apex court needs to look into the matter. It is pertinent to determine whether PIA under the premiership of Abbasi – the owner of Airblue – has deliberately been kept in a compromised state or were there some other factors which damaged the airline?
Indian Air Force lost 27 aircraft in crashes since 2016
Popcorn seller who built a small aircraft given recognition by Pakistan Air Force
Search for bodies, clues after Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crash
Supreme Court orders prompt decision on Axact cases
Pakistan issues visa on arrival to tourists from 'friendly' countries
Silencing critics: Chief Justice turns judicial jet towards KPK
PML-N : A Private Limited Company or a Political Party ?


In the areas of trading, finance, and distribution, Indore stands a notable position in Madhya Pradesh. Indore is also the largest economy in central India and is the business and trading capital of M.P. Also, the economy of Indore is expanding in all directions from traditional agro-industries to IT companies. Hence, it a place full of opportunities for both salaried and business class. Indore is the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh and holds a population of great businessmen as well as salaried people. Indore is connected by road with an exceptional transport that operates using a public-private partnership model. Being one of the busiest cities of Madhya Pradesh, Indore is the economic hub of the state.
Like any other city, Indore is also moving ahead on a fast pace with young working professionals. If you are also living or working in Indore and the public transport is not your cup of tea, you can apply for a car loan. Having said that, almost all the top banks in India offer car loans in Indore with affordable loan scheme. In Indore, the demand for an auto or a car loan is increasing day by day. So, choose the best car loan option as per your eligibility and enjoy the benefits of owning a car.


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Das Denkmal für die Truppe im Brezovica-Wald, auch Brezovica-Gedenkpark (serbokroatisch Spomen-park Brezovica), ist eine Gedenkstätte für die am 22. Juni 1941 unter einer Ulme gegründete Sisaker Partisanenabteilung, die erste bewaffnete antifaschistische Partisanengruppe im besetzten Jugoslawien. Der Gedenkpark liegt im Brezovica-Wald im Gemeindegebiet von Hrastelnica, einem Dorf bei Sisak in Kroatien.

Beschreibung

Gesamtanlage mit Denkmal
Das Denkmal befindet sich etwa drei Kilometer östlich des Dorfes Hrastelnica, auf dessen Gemeindegebiet es liegt. Erschlossen wird es allerdings durch von der nur etwa einen Kilometer südwestlich befindlichen Ortschaft Novo Selo Palanječko, von der eine Straße zur Anlage führt.

Die Anlage ist eine kleine parkähnlich gestaltete Lichtung in einem Nadelwald. In der Achse der zur Anlage führenden Straße liegt am nordöstlichen Ende der Lichtung das zentrale Denkmal, dem ein Platz mit einer mittigen angelegten Grünfläche vorgelagert ist. Der trapezförmige Platz liegt leicht östlich versetzt von der Straßenachse. Der Platz ist mit unregelmäßig geformten Natursteinen gepflastert und an den Ecken und zur mittigen Grünfläche hin abgerundet.

Das zentrale Denkmal besteht aus zehn, unterschiedlich hohen kreisförmig angeordneten Stahlbetonpfeilern mit rechteckigem Grundriss. Die nach außen zeigende Seite der Pfeiler verjüngt sich allerdings von der Basis aus bevor sie an ihrem oberen Ende nach außen bogenförmig abknicken. Sie erwecken damit den Eindruck eines einzelnen, durchbrochenen Pfeilers mit verdickter Basis und einer runden, fast kügelförmigen Bekrönung. Mindestens zwei der Pfeiler haben zudem aufgesetzt erscheinen kreissegmentförmige Verdickungen an ihrer Außenseite. Zwischen den Pfeilern gibt es mehrere Treppen, die ermöglichen, dass Denkmal von Innen zu betrachten. Über den Treppen sind die Pfeiler mit Segmentbögen verbunden, so dass Eingänge entstehen.

Im Inneren des Monuments, wo eine etwa drei Meter hohe Betonwand die Pfeiler verbindet, befand sich eine große stilisierte Bronzefaust, sowie elf faustförmige Platten mit den Namen der Kämpfer der Sisak-Befreiungseinheit. Im Inneren befand sich zudem die Inschrift "Von der Wahrheit der Menschen kommen wir, für die Wahrheit der Menschen leben wir.", die aus einem Gedicht von Jure Kaštelan (1919–1990) stammte.

Südwestlich vor dem zentralen Denkmal befindet sich eine etwa zweieinhalb Meter hohe Betonstele mit polygonalem Grundriss, auf der die zwölf Namen der Gründer der Sisaker Partisanenabteilung stehen. Nordwestlich des Denkmals existiert noch ein flacher Stein, auf dem sich ein Mosaik mit dem Plan der Umgebung befindet.

Skulptur "Aufstand"
Nicht Teil der ursprünglichen Anlage, sondern später ergänzt und mittlerweile wieder verschwunden ist die Bronzeskulptur "Austand", die sich westlich vom Platz aus der Wiese befand. Die Skulptur zeigt vier hintereinander gestaffelt angeordnete Figuren, von denen die vorderste eine Flagge in der linken Hand hält. Die männliche Figur steht breitbeinig mit den Händen erhoben, wodurch ihre sich öffnende Jacke den Blick auf seine gespannte Brust freigibt. Ihr Mund ist offen und der Blick geradeaus. Links hinter ihr eine sich etwas duckende männliche Figur mit der linken Hand zur Faust geballt und in der rechten ein Gewehr haltend. Ihr Blick ist in dieselbe Richtung wie der vorderen Figur fokussiert. Direkt hinter ihm eine dritte männliche Figur. Sie streckt die linke Hand aus, der Daumen, Zeige- und Mittelfinger zeigt in die Blickrichtung der anderen männlichen Figuren. Der Mund ist geöffnet und der Blick leicht nach unten gesenkt. Rechts hinter der vordersten Figur mit Flagge befindet sich die einzige weibliche Figur. Wie alle Figuren ist ihr Körper nach vorne ausgerichtet, ähnlich der hinteren männlichen Figur ist allerdings ihr Kopf leicht nach hinten verdreht.

Geschichte
Bereits 1959 wurde ein kleines Denkmal errichtet und an dem angeblich exakten Gründungsort der Einheit eine Ulme gepflanzt. Nach dem Fall der Ulme Ende der 1970er Jahre wurde der Ruf nach einem dauerhafteren Denkmal laut. Das Denkmal wurde 1981 vom jugoslawischen Bildhauer Želimir Janeš (1916–1996) entworfen und am 22. Juni 1981 enthüllt.

Zu einem unbekannten Zeitpunkt, vielleicht während der Jugoslawienkriege, wurde die Bronzefaust und die Bronzetafeln im Inneren des Denkmals entfernt, sowie die Inschrift zerstört.

Seit 1991 befand sich auf dem Gelände die Bronzeskulptur "Aufstand" des jugoslawischen Künstler Frano Kršinić von 1955. Sie befand sich ursprünglich im Stadtzentrum von Sisak und wurde 1991 zu der Gedenkstätte gebracht. Zwischen 2008 und 2014 wurde die Bronze immer wieder beschädigt und Teile davon abgetrennt. Im Mai 2014 wurden die übergebliebenen Elemente schließlich in mehrere Stücke zerschlagen und ganz gestohlen. Einige Monate später konnte die Polizei die Bruchstücke finden. Eine Restaurierung ist geplant, wurde aber bisher nicht vorgenommen (Stand: 2016).

Weblinks

 Denkmal für die Truppe im Brezovica-Wald in der Spomenik Database

Gedenkstätte für den Widerstand im Zweiten Weltkrieg
Bauwerk in Sisak
Jugoslawische Partisanen
Denkmal in Kroatien
Skulptur (1981)
Betonskulptur
Skulptur (1955)
Erbaut in den 1980er Jahren
Zerstört in den 2010er Jahren

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Are there many good reasons to change from Data Protector on Unix to a different operating system? I do not know many… However, there are customers required to do this step and to migrate to Windows or Linux; often combined with a upgrade to the current version of Data Protector. And here the story starts: there is no path for migration available. The reason is simple, the DCBF folders are not compatible between Unix and Windows nor is there a chance to do an export and import of the internal database. The DCBF folders on HP-UX are stored in big-endian format and on Linux in little-endian format and there is no tool for translation available. What the difference is can be search at your favorite search engine.
The article is somehow larger than usual, you'll need 30 minutes to work through, the article is addressed to experts. At the end of this article you'll find the link to the export and import scripts.
Because of the problems described above the migration from HP-UX Cell to windows is limited to copy the folder /etc/opt/omni (backup jobs, schedules, …). To allow a easy migration for the rest of your Data Protector environment I show the steps I did for migration from HP-UX 11.11 – DP 6.11 to Windows 2008 R2 – DP 6.2. The most important part during the migration is to import your old media into the new cell. I have customers with 500 and up to 2000 media to be imported into the new environment. With the import of your media only you recreate your history (restore chain), as during the import the DCBF folders will fill up and the filename versions are imported. Many customers do eschew to import media as they do not know that a command is available since Data Protector 6.11 was introduced. This command allows you to export the catalog to a file.
In this article the migration is shown for a migration from HP-UX 11.23 to Windows 2008 R2; the steps enable you to do a successful migration. The documented steps are one of many ways to do a migration. Please refer to the requirements at the end of this article otherwise your migration might fail.
6 If you own additional installation servers and you need the servers in the new cell, export these installation servers with omnicc -export_is (save the output for the import process).
7 Import the clients into the new cell, the host names are still known from the export. The used command is omnicc -import_host , for the import the same rules apply as during the export.
8 Import the additional installation servers into the new cell with the command omnicc -import_is . If you need to upgrade your installation server, the installation is done manually and locally on the system. Important: Do not forget to apply the patches if there are any. If you need a new installation server in the new cell for distribution of Linux/Unix clients, a RedHat or SLES (64 Bit) system is installed very fast in VMware, the installation of Data Protector is done within minutes.
9 Upgrade your clients to the current Data Protector version using the GUI distribution mechanism (Important: If you still use Windows 2000, do not try to upgrade these clients and keep the old version as DP 6.2 does not support Windows 2000 clients any longer; however staying with the old version is supported for all the functions from the old version. You might need to have a DP 6.11 GUI for the import of your Windows 2000 clients into the new cell.). Please keep in mind that it might be necessary to create a SSH Key on the installation server and to distribute the key to your Linux/Unix clients.
10.1 In small enviroments the libraries, drives and pools can be created by hand. In this case you could eliminate dozens of "historical" pools, in midsize enviroments 10 pools are enough and may fit all your needs. The same is true for drives, you might want to change from blocksize 64k to the higher value 256k or 512k (depending on the used controller and drives).
omnimm -create_pool "Filesystem" "LTO-Ultrium" -free_pool "FreePool"
omnimm -create_pool "Database" "LTO-Ultrium" -free_pool "FreePool"
12.1 Use the "Auto configure" function within Data Protector.
12.2 Use the tool sanconf, documentation can be found in the Client Reference Guide.
12.3 Download your libraries and drives using the command omnidownload on the old cell server, modify the files (change the cell servername), copy the files to the new cell server, create the librares and drives using the command omniupload on the new cell server.
12.4 Use the tool savedevices (search for it at www.data-protector.org), current version can be used for migrations from Windows to Windows only, for Unix/Linux it must be modified.
omnidbutil -writedb -mmdb / – transfer the flder to the new cell server, i.e. to c:\temp.
From userlist migrate your own users only. The first 3-4 lines on the new cell server were created during the installation, overwriting this file might lead to "denied access" messages on the new cell server or even worse the services might not start anymore.
So, the preparing work has been done and the new cell server is ready, next step is to get the catalog information from the old media and the import of these media into the new cell server. At the top of this article I already said that no media needs to be moved physically as with Data Protector 6.11 a command was introduced for that. The commands I used in my scripts, the exportcatalog.pl and the importcatalog.pl Perl script; on demand modify it according your requirements. To get these scripts working, I again refer to the requirements at the end of this article. During the export of the catalog on the Unix system the Data Protector daemons are restarted after each export. The reason is the high memory consumption of the RDS daemon, which might crash the RDS daemon. If you do not need that simple comment it out. In addition in file .omnirc I added the parameter _M_ARENA with value 1:32 and in file rdmserver.ini I limited the threads to 32. If you need additional information on these settings drop a comment or send me a mail.
1 The script is started using the command perl exportcatalog.pl, you do not need to install perl, the perl modules from Data Protector should be sufficient.
2 The script was written to be used on Unix using perl and system calls. On request (donation?) it will be written as shell script.
1 The script is started using the command perl importcatalog.pl, you do not need to install perl, the perl modules from Data Protector should be sufficient.
2 To have a ongong import of exported media you could add a scheduled task on the new cell server till the migration has been finished.
3 All other stuff is documented in the script.
1 The old cell server stays alive during the migration and till all media are imported.
2 The cell server name and the IP address are kept on the old cell server. It would be possible to change that on the old cell server, however in this case you'll need emergency licenses or EVAL licenses – please ask yor HP partner, HP Partner Account Manager or HP Sales/Presales.
3 The licenses are migrated to the new IP address using HP webware site.
4 The licenses will be imported on the new cell server when the export of the media on the old cell server has been finished – till this time the new cell server stays with the 60 days, so called Instant On Licenses.
5 Once the licenses are migrated to the new cell server the old cell server must be deactivated otherwise you violate the license agreement.
6 On the old cell server current patches are installed, otherwise the export of the media might fail. Information: withhin the patches from may 2011 a problem with option "Log Files, Log Directories, Log Folder, Log All" was fixed when exporting and importing media.
7 In file global the variable EnableMCFCompression=1 is activated. The variable will be used for the copy catalog session, the generated catalog file will be compressed.
8 There is sufficient disk space available for the migration.
9 The media are labled with barcode lable, if not using barcode you need to modify the script to get the right medium ID.
10 On the old and the new cell server perl must be installed, a simple check with perl -v shows the installed version.
This great document can be found at www.data-protector.org only, so to all consultants and customers: if this article was helpful for you and you are able to profit in your projects, I would be glad when you honor this work with a donation (donation button on the upper right site).
If there is a Cell Manager 7.03 in HPUX and i want to migrate to a Windows Cell Manager 8.11, i think that i first need migrate between the same version in the Windows and after i can run a upgrade to a 8.11 locally in a Windows, right ? I think that there are no ways to a direct migrate do a 8.11.
About the session messages, there is a method to migrate the sessions in a HPUX CM to a Windows CM ?
yes, you need to migrate with same version, after that you can run the upgrade to 8.11. For the session messages there is no way to migrate it. When doing the migration using the MCF export/import, the session message cannot be imported.
Not tested, but worth to try: When doing the upgrade to 8.11 on the HP-UX CM, you should be able to just copy all stuff you need to the Windows system. Of course, you have to modify the dpidb.dat and some other Settings.
I need to migrate DP 7.01 from HP-UX 11.31 to another server that is also HP-UX 11.31. The catch is that the old server is PA-RISC 9000/800 and new server is Itanium ia64.
Can this be done using write/readdb or I have to follow some of the steps in this article?
to be honest, not 100% sure, as never migrated from PA-RISC to IA. You could open a support request and ask for it. However, the article you mentioned will work anyway.
I'm in the middle of consolidation of DP 7 cell managers. Source side has HP-UX 11.31, Linux and Windows 2008 R2 to RedHat Linux. Good thing is that I do not need the session messages. Restore functionality on the consolidated Cell manager is all I need.
yes, the procedure works as well for HP-UX to Linux.


There's a battle at your local shop that, as a consumer, you probably don't know is happening. It affects the products and options available to you and what you buy. The battle is called retail execution.
Securing shelf space is not cheap and persuading retailers to take your products means convincing them your product is the right choice for their outlet. It's not only your product that you are promoting, but your brand and your customer experience. As a merchandiser, you need an effective toolkit to do that. Historically, the only way to ensure your brand was recognized in the store was on the product packaging itself. With interactive and visual elements becoming commonplace in stores, it is no longer enough to maintain a consistent brand on the packaging alone.
Consumer product companies need to create the right environment in stores, which they do not manage directly, to influence consumers to buy. A big part of this is making sure products look appealing on the shelves. So, the merchandiser has to "sell" the product to the retailer, and then help the retailer to sell the product to the end customer.
As with all advertising, the best way to achieve this is with compelling, rich content that makes products stand out using video, images and graphics played in front of the featured products, and on promotional screens in store. For the retailer, it creates an eye-catching promotional tool which generates more sales; for the consumer product company, it provides an extension of their branding and innovation.
OpenText™ Digital Asset Management for SAP® Solutions is tightly integrated with SAP Sales Cloud – Retail Execution to support the key processes for the sales representative to better sell to retailers and deliver the best retail environment. It supports the sales visits with the right media, synchronized off-line, to deliver a compelling sales message. Key data from the retailer visits is synchronized into the Digital Asset Platform to enable marketing and commerce teams from the consumer product company to review and analyze the material used, inspect views of competitive products at the same location and fine-tune content for innovative new approaches. Behind the scenes, the digital content is fully integrated into creative tools, artificial intelligence tagging engines, collaboration, and distribution tools, to ensure that digital content remains consistent and optimized for each distribution channel.
OpenText Digital Asset Management for SAP Solutions enables business applications, delivering content in context to support better process for marketing, commerce and sales. If you're interested in finding out more, join us at the SAP Customer Experience event from October 9-11 in Barcelona, Spain. We'll be at stand S15.
Jonathan is a Program Manager in Business Transformation and Digital Disruption, particularly interested in how customers are digitally transforming their supplier, customer and business relationships and where OpenText can help. Previously a CEM Architect for 15 years working across a variety of Digital Marketing requirements, helping customers deliver new and innovative online and digital channels.


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Spirit Beat New Jersey to Remain Tied for NWSL Lead
In an odd Sunday morning game, the Washington Spirit avenged last week's road loss to Sky Blue FCin New Jersey with a 3-1 victory to keep the Spirit tied for the top spot in the National Women's Soccer League with one game in-hand.
The game had to be rescheduled from its original time at 7:00 pm on Saturday, July 30 due to rain and lightning from the storms which blew through the Germantown area. The game was postponed until 11:00 am on Sunday. Despite the change in time, the Spirit still drew almost 3,000 fans, coming just short with 2,930 heading to Maryland SoccerPlex on a sunny Sunday morning to watch the final match of the season against the Spirit's regional rival.
The Spirit got goals from one likely and two unlikely sources as they beat New Jersey 3-1. Argentinian midfielder Estefania Banini got the scoring started in the 27th minute. The goal was set up when midfielder Joanna Lohman took a pass from forward Katie Stengel in the box and flicked the ball with the outside of her foot for Banini, who ripped a shot from the top of the box past the diving Sky Blue FC goalkeeper, Caroline Casey. Banini now leads the team with five goals in 2016.
A water break due to the high heat and mid-morning sunshine allowed Sky Blue to regroup and they came out and earned an equalizing goal from forward Tasha Kai in the 33rd minute to tie the game a one goal apiece.
Spirit rookie forward Cheyna Williams put the Spirit back on top in the 39th minute. She controlled a cross from Caprice Dydasco and put a shot to the far post which finished in the goal. The goal is the first professional goal for Williams who was drafted by the Spirit out of Florida State University with the seventh overall pick in the first round.
Spirit goalie Kelsey Wys made two big saves midway through the second half to keep the score at 2-1. Sky Blue forward Maya Hayes played Kai a through ball into the box, where Kai shot to Wys's right. Wys had already dived to her left but was able to get a foot on the ball and kick it clear. Moments later Wys stopped Kai again, this time from point-blank range at the penalty spot.
Substitute defender Alyssa Kleiner put the game out of reach in stoppage time with her first career goal. After a scramble in front of the net, the ball fell to the feet of Kleiner at the top of the box, and she hit a half-volley to the top right corner.
Washington and Sky Blue split the season series, with each side winning twice. The Spirit's 29 points keep the team tied atop the National Women's Soccer League table with the Portland Thorns. The Spirit has played one less match this season than its Pacific Northwest rival.
After a two-week break for the Olympics, the Spirit returns to action Aug. 18, playing a make-up game with the Houston Dash on the road. The Spirit have another road game against the Orlando Pride on Friday, Aug. 26. The Spirit return to Germantown to host the Western New York Flash at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Top: Spirit forward Katie Stengel (12) heads a ball away from Sky Blue FC's Nikki Stanton (7) during Sunday morning's game.
Video: Highlights of the Spirit v Sky Blue FC game. Courtesy NWSL.
Next: Spirit teammates gather around Cheyna Williams, in the pink headband, after the rookie scored her first NWSL goal to give the Spirit a 2-1 lead.
Next: Spirit midfielder Tori Huster (23) hugs defender Alyssa Kleiner (22) after Kleiner scored her first NWSL goal to put the game out of reach in stoppage time.
Photos courtesy Washington Spirit Fan Facebook Page
#germantown #Spirit #WashingtonSpirit #Sports #sports