text:
Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites
Emeliana Palk, Mark Rehkämper, Rasmus Andreasen, Alison Stunt
School of Earth Sciences
Introduction: The extinct 205Pb-205Tl decay system (t1/2 = 15Myr) features two volatile elements and may hence be useful for studying volatile loss in the early solar system. Analyses of thePb-Tl system are best combined with measurements of Cdisotope compositions to monitor stable isotope fractionations from evaporation and condensation [1,2]. In this study, we measure Pb, Tl and Cd abundances and isotopic compositions inbulk samples of enstatite chondrites. To date, results have been obtained for Indarch (EH4), Abee (EH4), St. Mark's (EH5),MAC 02839 (EL3), PCA 91020 (EL3) and Khairpur (EL6). Data for additional samples will be available at the meeting.Results: The Pb, Tl and Cd abundances of the samples display considerable and systematic variability. In particular, theEL3 and EH4 enstatite chondrites have much higher volatile element contents (of about 40-100 ppb Tl, 300-900 ppb Cd) thanthe EH5 and EL6 samples, which record more intense thermal metamorphism and feature ~5 ppb Tl and ~10-20 ppb Cd. The Pb abundances also show a similar offset between samples ofpetrologic types 3 & 4 vs. 5 & 6, but two of the meteorites (Indarch, St. Mark's) have Pb isotope compositions, which areindicative of pervasive contamination by terrestrial Pb. The most extreme stable isotope fractionations were found intwo EL chondrites (PCA 91020, Khairpur), which are depleted in light Cd isotopes and display ε114/110Cd values of about +70(relative to a bulk silicate Earth with ε114/110Cd ≈ 0). Moderate Cd stable isotope effects with ε114/110Cd values of about +8 were furthermore identified for MAC 02839 and St. Mark's. Only Indarch and Abee feature essentially unfractionated Cd, relative to carbonaceous chondrites, with ε114/110Cd ≈ +3. In contrast, only a single sample (PCA 91020) displays a clearly fractionated Tl isotope composition characterized by ε205Tl ≈ +22, whereas all other meteorites have ε205Tl of between -2.9 and +0.8, similar or identical to the bulk silicate Earth value of -2.0 ± 0.5.Discussion: The data obtained so far indicate that stable isotope fractionations are commonplace for Cd in enstatite chondrites. This is in accord with the results of earlier work [3],which found that Cd isotopes are an excellent monitor of parent body processes that effect the abundances of volatile elements.The only meteorite to display both large Cd and Tl stable isotope effects is the highly shocked (S5) sample PCA 91020 [4], possibly suggesting that Tl may be readily mobilized during shock metamorphism. Due to the presence of stable isotope fractionation for Cd and, at least in some samples, Tl, together with the terrestrial Pb contamination of two meteorites, it will be challenging to construct a 205Pb-205Tl parent body isochron forenstatite chondrites.References: [1] Baker, R. G. A. et al. 2010. Earth andPlanetary Science Letters 291:39-47. [2] Andreasen, R. et al.2009. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73:13 Abstract #A43.[3] Wombacher, F. et al. 2008. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72:646–667. [4] Rubin, A. E. et al. 1997. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 61:847-858.
74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting
Dive into the research topics of 'Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Stable Isotope Earth and Planetary Sciences 100%
Isotope Earth and Planetary Sciences 66%
Sample Earth and Planetary Sciences 44%
Meteorite Earth and Planetary Sciences 44%
Fractionation Earth and Planetary Sciences 27%
Isotope Fractionation Agricultural and Biological Sciences 27%
Abundance Earth and Planetary Sciences 22%
Enstatite Chondrite Earth and Planetary Sciences 22%
Palk, E., Rehkämper, M., Andreasen, R., & Stunt, A. (2011). Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites. In 74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting [#5518 (abstr.)]
Palk, Emeliana ; Rehkämper, Mark ; Andreasen, Rasmus et al. / Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites. 74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting. 2011.
@inproceedings{c8620cd82ece46c49137bf6af215b957,
title = "Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites",
abstract = "Introduction: The extinct 205Pb-205Tl decay system (t1/2 = 15Myr) features two volatile elements and may hence be useful for studying volatile loss in the early solar system. Analyses of thePb-Tl system are best combined with measurements of Cdisotope compositions to monitor stable isotope fractionations from evaporation and condensation [1,2]. In this study, we measure Pb, Tl and Cd abundances and isotopic compositions inbulk samples of enstatite chondrites. To date, results have been obtained for Indarch (EH4), Abee (EH4), St. Mark{\textquoteright}s (EH5),MAC 02839 (EL3), PCA 91020 (EL3) and Khairpur (EL6). Data for additional samples will be available at the meeting.Results: The Pb, Tl and Cd abundances of the samples display considerable and systematic variability. In particular, theEL3 and EH4 enstatite chondrites have much higher volatile element contents (of about 40-100 ppb Tl, 300-900 ppb Cd) thanthe EH5 and EL6 samples, which record more intense thermal metamorphism and feature ~5 ppb Tl and ~10-20 ppb Cd. The Pb abundances also show a similar offset between samples ofpetrologic types 3 & 4 vs. 5 & 6, but two of the meteorites (Indarch, St. Mark{\textquoteright}s) have Pb isotope compositions, which areindicative of pervasive contamination by terrestrial Pb. The most extreme stable isotope fractionations were found intwo EL chondrites (PCA 91020, Khairpur), which are depleted in light Cd isotopes and display ε114/110Cd values of about +70(relative to a bulk silicate Earth with ε114/110Cd ≈ 0). Moderate Cd stable isotope effects with ε114/110Cd values of about +8 were furthermore identified for MAC 02839 and St. Mark{\textquoteright}s. Only Indarch and Abee feature essentially unfractionated Cd, relative to carbonaceous chondrites, with ε114/110Cd ≈ +3. In contrast, only a single sample (PCA 91020) displays a clearly fractionated Tl isotope composition characterized by ε205Tl ≈ +22, whereas all other meteorites have ε205Tl of between -2.9 and +0.8, similar or identical to the bulk silicate Earth value of -2.0 ± 0.5.Discussion: The data obtained so far indicate that stable isotope fractionations are commonplace for Cd in enstatite chondrites. This is in accord with the results of earlier work [3],which found that Cd isotopes are an excellent monitor of parent body processes that effect the abundances of volatile elements.The only meteorite to display both large Cd and Tl stable isotope effects is the highly shocked (S5) sample PCA 91020 [4], possibly suggesting that Tl may be readily mobilized during shock metamorphism. Due to the presence of stable isotope fractionation for Cd and, at least in some samples, Tl, together with the terrestrial Pb contamination of two meteorites, it will be challenging to construct a 205Pb-205Tl parent body isochron forenstatite chondrites.References: [1] Baker, R. G. A. et al. 2010. Earth andPlanetary Science Letters 291:39-47. [2] Andreasen, R. et al.2009. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73:13 Abstract #A43.[3] Wombacher, F. et al. 2008. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72:646–667. [4] Rubin, A. E. et al. 1997. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 61:847-858.",
author = "Emeliana Palk and Mark Rehk{\"a}mper and Rasmus Andreasen and Alison Stunt",
booktitle = "74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting",
Palk, E, Rehkämper, M, Andreasen, R & Stunt, A 2011, Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites. in 74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting., #5518 (abstr.).
Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites. / Palk, Emeliana; Rehkämper, Mark; Andreasen, Rasmus et al.
74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting. 2011. #5518 (abstr.).
T1 - Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites
AU - Palk, Emeliana
AU - Rehkämper, Mark
AU - Andreasen, Rasmus
AU - Stunt, Alison
N2 - Introduction: The extinct 205Pb-205Tl decay system (t1/2 = 15Myr) features two volatile elements and may hence be useful for studying volatile loss in the early solar system. Analyses of thePb-Tl system are best combined with measurements of Cdisotope compositions to monitor stable isotope fractionations from evaporation and condensation [1,2]. In this study, we measure Pb, Tl and Cd abundances and isotopic compositions inbulk samples of enstatite chondrites. To date, results have been obtained for Indarch (EH4), Abee (EH4), St. Mark's (EH5),MAC 02839 (EL3), PCA 91020 (EL3) and Khairpur (EL6). Data for additional samples will be available at the meeting.Results: The Pb, Tl and Cd abundances of the samples display considerable and systematic variability. In particular, theEL3 and EH4 enstatite chondrites have much higher volatile element contents (of about 40-100 ppb Tl, 300-900 ppb Cd) thanthe EH5 and EL6 samples, which record more intense thermal metamorphism and feature ~5 ppb Tl and ~10-20 ppb Cd. The Pb abundances also show a similar offset between samples ofpetrologic types 3 & 4 vs. 5 & 6, but two of the meteorites (Indarch, St. Mark's) have Pb isotope compositions, which areindicative of pervasive contamination by terrestrial Pb. The most extreme stable isotope fractionations were found intwo EL chondrites (PCA 91020, Khairpur), which are depleted in light Cd isotopes and display ε114/110Cd values of about +70(relative to a bulk silicate Earth with ε114/110Cd ≈ 0). Moderate Cd stable isotope effects with ε114/110Cd values of about +8 were furthermore identified for MAC 02839 and St. Mark's. Only Indarch and Abee feature essentially unfractionated Cd, relative to carbonaceous chondrites, with ε114/110Cd ≈ +3. In contrast, only a single sample (PCA 91020) displays a clearly fractionated Tl isotope composition characterized by ε205Tl ≈ +22, whereas all other meteorites have ε205Tl of between -2.9 and +0.8, similar or identical to the bulk silicate Earth value of -2.0 ± 0.5.Discussion: The data obtained so far indicate that stable isotope fractionations are commonplace for Cd in enstatite chondrites. This is in accord with the results of earlier work [3],which found that Cd isotopes are an excellent monitor of parent body processes that effect the abundances of volatile elements.The only meteorite to display both large Cd and Tl stable isotope effects is the highly shocked (S5) sample PCA 91020 [4], possibly suggesting that Tl may be readily mobilized during shock metamorphism. Due to the presence of stable isotope fractionation for Cd and, at least in some samples, Tl, together with the terrestrial Pb contamination of two meteorites, it will be challenging to construct a 205Pb-205Tl parent body isochron forenstatite chondrites.References: [1] Baker, R. G. A. et al. 2010. Earth andPlanetary Science Letters 291:39-47. [2] Andreasen, R. et al.2009. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73:13 Abstract #A43.[3] Wombacher, F. et al. 2008. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72:646–667. [4] Rubin, A. E. et al. 1997. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 61:847-858.
AB - Introduction: The extinct 205Pb-205Tl decay system (t1/2 = 15Myr) features two volatile elements and may hence be useful for studying volatile loss in the early solar system. Analyses of thePb-Tl system are best combined with measurements of Cdisotope compositions to monitor stable isotope fractionations from evaporation and condensation [1,2]. In this study, we measure Pb, Tl and Cd abundances and isotopic compositions inbulk samples of enstatite chondrites. To date, results have been obtained for Indarch (EH4), Abee (EH4), St. Mark's (EH5),MAC 02839 (EL3), PCA 91020 (EL3) and Khairpur (EL6). Data for additional samples will be available at the meeting.Results: The Pb, Tl and Cd abundances of the samples display considerable and systematic variability. In particular, theEL3 and EH4 enstatite chondrites have much higher volatile element contents (of about 40-100 ppb Tl, 300-900 ppb Cd) thanthe EH5 and EL6 samples, which record more intense thermal metamorphism and feature ~5 ppb Tl and ~10-20 ppb Cd. The Pb abundances also show a similar offset between samples ofpetrologic types 3 & 4 vs. 5 & 6, but two of the meteorites (Indarch, St. Mark's) have Pb isotope compositions, which areindicative of pervasive contamination by terrestrial Pb. The most extreme stable isotope fractionations were found intwo EL chondrites (PCA 91020, Khairpur), which are depleted in light Cd isotopes and display ε114/110Cd values of about +70(relative to a bulk silicate Earth with ε114/110Cd ≈ 0). Moderate Cd stable isotope effects with ε114/110Cd values of about +8 were furthermore identified for MAC 02839 and St. Mark's. Only Indarch and Abee feature essentially unfractionated Cd, relative to carbonaceous chondrites, with ε114/110Cd ≈ +3. In contrast, only a single sample (PCA 91020) displays a clearly fractionated Tl isotope composition characterized by ε205Tl ≈ +22, whereas all other meteorites have ε205Tl of between -2.9 and +0.8, similar or identical to the bulk silicate Earth value of -2.0 ± 0.5.Discussion: The data obtained so far indicate that stable isotope fractionations are commonplace for Cd in enstatite chondrites. This is in accord with the results of earlier work [3],which found that Cd isotopes are an excellent monitor of parent body processes that effect the abundances of volatile elements.The only meteorite to display both large Cd and Tl stable isotope effects is the highly shocked (S5) sample PCA 91020 [4], possibly suggesting that Tl may be readily mobilized during shock metamorphism. Due to the presence of stable isotope fractionation for Cd and, at least in some samples, Tl, together with the terrestrial Pb contamination of two meteorites, it will be challenging to construct a 205Pb-205Tl parent body isochron forenstatite chondrites.References: [1] Baker, R. G. A. et al. 2010. Earth andPlanetary Science Letters 291:39-47. [2] Andreasen, R. et al.2009. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73:13 Abstract #A43.[3] Wombacher, F. et al. 2008. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72:646–667. [4] Rubin, A. E. et al. 1997. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 61:847-858.
BT - 74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting
Palk E, Rehkämper M, Andreasen R, Stunt A. Extreme Cadmium and Thallium Isotope Fractionations in Enstatite Chondrites. In 74th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting. 2011. #5518 (abstr.)


This 3-D display uses hand painted models to explain the dangers of obesity.
The popular "Consequences of Obesity" 3D Display features handpainted, 3-D models, and informative text to demonstrate and explain health-related conditions associated with being overweight.
The display helps bring home the effect of obesity on the body, from "minor" problems, such as sleep apnea, to life-threatening conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It leaves little doubt that with obesity there's much more at stake than just self-image.
The display is contained within its own portable carrying case from which the display can be mounted in seconds. A great tool for health education classes and events.
The Consequences of Obesity 3-D Display has a rating of 0/5 based on 0 reviews.


Another iPad mount? Really? Well, one can hardly fault companies for cashing in on the iPad's market saturation. When it comes to Home Automation, the iPad's low price, high build quality, and ever-expanding App Store make it ideal for the industry. The problem, however, is how to turn what is a traditional tablet into a cost-effective, yet powerful, dedicated touchscreen controller; this is where the mount becomes essential. Recently VidaBox announced their own iPad wall mount, hoping to satistfy the needs of both Home Automation professionals and enthusiasts alike. Have they succeeded in this task? Check past the break for a full hands-on review.
One of my personal issues with UPB has been the lack of an Ethernet compatible programming interface. PCS recently released the NDS-1111-PW, a pretty impressive piece of hardware which allows you to do exactly this and more, and Web Mountain just released their own product, the Web Mountain Remote UPB Controller (RUC), allowing you to interface your UPB network via IP. Web Mountain was kind enough to send me a unit, which will go on sale (and ship) next week, October 22. Keep on reading for the rest of the review.
EXCLUSIVE: CocoonTech Members can buy this unit for $209.95 ($90 off MSRP) when using coupon RUC001. Offer expires 12/15/2010, dealers can request a discount as well!
Over the last five or six months I have been testing some SUPerB™ (UPB™) hardware which may have not even been considered by some CocoonTech members.
This hardware is made by SmartHome Ltd., located in Israel. They make both 50 and 60 Hz versions, which can support 120VAC or 230VAC. Based on the product which I received and the feedback I assume their market was initially intended for 230 VAC/50 Hz as they only have the European style plugs on the Powerline interface, but I was told they would be getting in US style hardware "soon". In my case I used an adapter.
Over the last few months I have been testing some SUPerB™ (UPB™) hardware which may have not even been considered by some Cocoontech members.
This hardware is made by SmartHome Ltd.in Israel (http://www.shlhitech.com). They make both 50 and 60 Hz versions, which can support 120VAC or 230VAC. Based on the product which I received and the feedback I assume their market was initially intended for 230 VAC/50 Hz as they only have the European style plugs on the Powerline interface, but I was told they would be getting in US style hardware "soon". In my case I used an adapter.
* The ( is a box module that can be fixed on-the-wall.
* The (I) is an insert (plug-in) module.
* The (D) is a DIN Rail module.
The SUPerB™ product line implements GEN II UPB™ technology.
Because the SHOCM and the SHLM1 units I received were DIN rail mount units they had screw terminals for both power and output connections. I found, these easy to work with and a short "inside use" extension cord cut in half worked good for making my power and output connections.
Once I got the hardware wired for testing I proceeded to open the UPStart version I had from SAI, I figured UPB is UPB right? Wrong. I could see the hardware but not control the device, and the only tabs visible, was the basic programming information and the communication test tab. After talking with SmartHome Ltd. They informed me I needed to use their "SUPerBuilder" software which is downloadable from their website. So I proceeded to download and install it. I performed an export from UPStart, and imported it into SUPerBuilder. My devices showed up programmed as expected. Basically SUPerBuilder is a complete rewrite of UPStart by SmartHome Ltd.'s programmers. To make it easier to translate to other languages and a few other reasons. Once the devices are programmed they are like any other UPB device and you communicate with Device ID's and Link numbers.
Because the SHPIM I received required an adapter, I only performed limited testing on this unit. I was able to send and receive UPB commands with all devices on my network. In my network I have hardware from other UPB manufactures (SAI and HAL) I was originally concerned with interoperability. Once I connected the PIM to my computer and loaded their software (see more information below), and imported my UPB export file from UPSTART I was able to communicate with all devices.
The SHOCM device is a dual channel Output Control Module. I used this device to perform resets on my wireless router and firewall during recent internet problems I have had. Basically the SHOCM has two relays which are controlled by the UPB signals. So I connected these in series with the power wires connecting to the two devices I was having problems with and could turn them on and off with a simple UPB command. This next year I think I will test these with my Halloween decorations, and pop-up's.
The Third Device which I tested was a single channel lamp module, this device did not get extensive testing, but was connected for a few weeks in place of my normal HAL plug in module I use to control my outside Christmas lightning. There was no missed ON or OFF, commands and it performed flawlessly until it was time to put away the decorations until next year.
The Programming button on these devices are not recessed and is easier to press then most UPB devices. With the DIN mount and Box style units I can see users placing them into plastic electrical box and for multiple purposes ex. Irrigation control (SHOCM), outdoor lighting control of multiple branches(SHLM), and other holiday decoration.) There is no "derating" information provided for multiple devices ganged in one box, but the SHLM1 is a 1000 W unit and the SHLM2 can also only control a combined 1000 W between the two channels.
The only down side(s) I see to these devices is that they are not compatible with UPStart versions which we may already be using for our other devices, but I was told a new version of SUPerBuilder is n the works that can be used to program all UPB devices, and would be much more user friendly. And that they did not have US style devices, and I needed to use an adapter for the PIM, I believe this would also be the case of any of the plug-in style devices, on both the plug and receptacle. But when I received my unit I was told that the US 110 VAC style would be available soon.
The HomeTroller Series 2 is the new version of the original HomeTroller. The new HomeTroller looks great, it looks like a real appliance, compared with the 'desktop' look of the previous version. It's so small, it could actually be mounted into a typical structured wiring enclosure. It is also touted to be more energy efficient than the previous platform, consuming about 12 Watts of power (nominal). Dimenions have changed as well, the old HomeTroller measured 11.5" W x 2.5" H x 10.5" D, while the new unit measures 9.25" W x 2" H x 7" D.
I was surprised that there was no Ethernet cable included, since it is a network based appliance after all. I was also hoping to see some sort of recovery disk, allowing you to restore the unit in case of major trouble, but it looks like this isn't the case. They do sell a $39.95 System Restore flash drive, which is bootable. The flash drive will reformat the Disk-On-Module drive and reinstall the operating system + software to get you back up and running. I highly recommend you take a snapshot of the system using something like Acronis True Image, and a bootable CD/DVD-ROM drive, before you start configuring the system, and another backup once you have everything up and running.
Simply Automated has recently released their popular US2-40 switch in a dual output version. The model # for this new version is US22-40.
Dwayne Domi of RedRadio (now TouchTronix) demoed his new 12.1 inch LCD touch monitor product called RelayTouch-UTMA which is scheduled to debut on RedRadios web site soon.
This unit consists of a nice 12.1 inch TFT touch screen display, but its interface is via UTMA technology from NComputing rather than requiring a stand alone unit (i.e. separate PC to operate) or a traditional imbedded thin client unit.
UTMA stands for Ultra Thin Multi Access and is the terminology describing NComputings products because they are Ultra Thin compared to traditional thin client terminals and do not require a CPU, hard-drive, or CD-ROM, yet executes as if it is an ordinary Windows PC (provides an instance of the operating system from a host computer).
Dwayne worked with NComputing to imbed an interface with their hardware/firmware so it can be used with his touch screen display! The PC board circuitry easily mounts on the back of the touch screen display. Since there are no moving parts or CPU, heat build up inside a wall or case is not an issue.
I was lucky enough to win one of these guys and here is my review of the MicroFlow 2000 automated Ceiling/Wall mount HVAC registers. Although I do not yet have this bad boy mounted in anywhere, I wanted to post what I found out in figuring out how it was going to work. Also wanted to get enough information out there for you guys to make informed decisions on the product as it may be a bit before I get it installed.
When I entered the contest it was unclear exactly what I won other than I would receive the register. Turns out Martin sent everything I would need to make this little bugger work in conjunction with my Elk M1.
As part of the MicroFlow 2000 there were also 2 "interconnect" cables and a signal splitter. I'll go into more details on these later.
I am sure that most of you by now are familiar with the X-10 Maxi Controller, a device designed to provide you with control of your X-10 based home automation equipment, and doesn't require a transceiver or RF receiver. While it did the job, the looks of the device are pretty outdated and the device is pretty big for what it does. Many of us have been hoping that someone would come out with a device which offers similar functionality, and who's looks don't force you to hide the unit when you have guests over. It looks like SmartHome has stepped up to the plate, and have released their ControLinc Maxi X-10 controller.
They always say that the first impression is the most important one, and I am happy to report that the ControLinc Maxi generates many positive first ones. This greatly differs from the X10 Maxi Controller in that you can now control ANY X-10 house/unit code with the touch of a button, without having to get your screwdriver out and rotate a dial or having to move a slider switch.
This controller has two modes of operation: Cover Closed, and Cover Open (refer to the pictures at the beginning of this article to see the difference). When the cover is open (the unit knows if the cover is closed or not, so you don't have to push any buttons to switch modes), you can access every single button; but, the device really shines when you use it in "Cover Closed" mode. This mode allows you to access 5 pairs of buttons (one pair has 1 on and 1 off button) which can be assigned to control up to 5 devices, or you can assign them (each on and off button) individually, allowing you to control up to 10 devices. Additionally, you can customize the "All lights On/Off" buttons to only send that command to certain house codes, and there is a Dim/Bright set of buttons as well.
That's it! The great part is that the controller will provide audio (beeps) and visual feedback (LED) letting you know what's going on, including any potential screw ups.
The ControLinc Maxi also allows you to manage your Scenes, providing you have SmartHome switches which support this. You could also use this device to trigger events in other devices, such as the Ocelot, Elk M1, PC, and it also makes a great backup in case the RF interface goes down, and your palmpads become useless. The ControLinc also allows you to configure some of its on-board options such as the status LED, audible sounder and the 'polite mode' feature. The polite mode feature forces the ControLinc to wait until the line is clear of other X-10 traffic. Unfortunately, in certain conditions, line noise could be interpreted as X-10 traffic, and thus would cause some problems. Turning this feature off would prevent such an issue, and is strongly recommended if you have a noisy electrical system. You can use the status LED light to find out if you have this problem. If it blinks continuously, you have noise problems and should turn this feature off.
Last, but not least, I have to mention how SmartHome made it easy to print out new labels. Since the label isn't rectangular, I was trying to figure out how to print a nice label instead of writing the label by hand, until I found a link to SmartHome's label software on their product page. Simply download the installer, execute it, and a shortcut will be placed on your desktop. Double click the shortcut, and the software starts up, allowing you to select the ControLinc template. The interface is very simple, and is WYSIWYG based. The software is free, and definitely a nice touch.
The only thing I didn't like about this controller is that the 5 pairs of buttons are not backlit, making it pretty hard to find them in the dark; but, I consider this a minor issue. I would definitely recommend this controller to anyone who is tired of replacing the batteries in their palmpads, or likes the idea of access to all house & unit codes (even for testing purposes) in one controller, without having to get your screwdriver out of your toolbox.
SmartHome really tried to think of everything, the controller even has an adjustable stand, and can be wall mounted with a special wall mount that SmartHome.com sells. The wall mount replaces the base of this unit, providing for a clean installation.
I would also like to note how the manual is very detailed, and easy to understand (especially if you are used to the "manual/cliff notes" which X10 provides with their products).
WGL Designs has a new product that will let you switch eight single pole double throw relays using X-10 power line commands! This latest product is named the Relay 8. This unit can respond to X10 ON, OFF, ALL OFF and status request commands.
Each of the 8 independent relays is equipped with a form C contact that is brought out to two plug-in, detachable terminal strips.
Relay Contacts are designed for low current applications as well as power switching.


text:
Virtual Lunch & Learn: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in R&D
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in R&D, or… How to Solve Big Problems Fast and Cheap.
Here's the question: Would you rather be like the Wright Brothers, who cracked the code of flight in three years for $3000, or Langley, head of the Smithsonian, who spent 25 times more and launched an airplane with great fanfare straight into the Potomac? Years ago I wanted to know what led the Wright Brothers to their success, and it turns out it's not because they are geniuses, and not because it was inevitable with the advent of motors, but because they had developed a methodology that was a radical shift from what came before.
The 19th century method was to rely on the power of one's mind to divine a solution. It is slow, expensive, and only sporadically yields results. The Wright methodology dependably, and in a finite amount of time for as little money as is possible, yields seemingly amazing results. Rather, the results are amazing, but it tends to appear that the inventor is amazing. The methodology allows results to emerge naturally. In its essence, the method presumes an answer exists, and serves as a navigational aide to get through the uncharted waters of from here to there.
In this talk I will outline the 7 habits that lead to solving big problems fast and cheap.
Dr. Grupp—or "Cosmo" as he is universally known as—is a successful entrepreneur and inventor. He has a PhD in nanotechnology physics from U. Penn, and applies those skills to medical devices. He is three-for-three in inventions he has worked on in startups that have come to market. While he was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford, he started a company whose transistor is now in the iPhone. He invented Procept Biorobotics' tissue resection method that is now used clinically for BPH with near-zero risk of nerve damage. Locally, he was the first employee and VP of R&D at Hemex Health, an OTRADI startup. He developed Hemex's malaria diagnostic which is now on the market in India and is poised to save millions of kids' lives. Currently, he runs Grupp Works, a medical device innovation consultancy, where he has spun off LifeAir, which has developed the first ventilator that eliminates the risk of patient-patient viral transmission. He has two sons still in grade school, who he helped develop and produce their first product for their own company Two Brothers Toys, which sold out at Oodles in Sellwood.
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Today is #InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay
It was on this day, January 27, in 1945 that Auschwitz-Berkenau concentration camp in Poland was liberated.
To learn more about this day of remembrance and honor the victims, please visit: https://buff.ly/2RvBKbe
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Vir Biotechnology @vir_biotech ·
Legendary biotech leader George Scangos, PhD, today announced his retirement after a storied career delivering impactful medicines to patients worldwide. With his support, Vir's BOD unanimously appointed Marianne De Backer, MSc, PhD, MBA, as his successor. http://bit.ly/3J94z8u

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Antiwords, Protest
Vaclav Havel – The power of words
September 9, 2013 HannaB_home
Eliza Anna Falk: Vaclav Havel (1936 – 2011) – The power of words
"At the beginning of everything is the word (…). It is a miracle to which we owe the fact that we are human (…). The same word can, at one moment, radiate great hope; at another, it can emit lethal rays (…) true at one moment and false the next (…) worst of all, at times they can be one or the other. They can even be both at once" (Havel 1).
The family bookworm
Already as a child Vaclav preferred written words to outdoor pastimes. His mother Bozena, daughter of a journalist, diplomat and art lover and herself academically gifted and multilingual, imparted her high educational standards onto both of her sons. However it was Vaclav, the older sibling, who took intellectual interests to the extreme. The boy quickly became the family bookworm spending most of his free time indoors reading philosophy, poetry and literature or looking through foreign language magazines. Vaclav was very fond of poetry as a child; reading it, reciting and eventually writing his own at the age of ten (Keane: 85). "I've been writing since I was about six, or rather since I first learned the alphabet" he once wrote to his wife Olga. He stressed that writing was not the only outlet for his burning desire to create and say something about the world (Havel 2:131), which may explain his interest in other media, such as theatre.
As was expected of a well-to-do,' bourgeoisie' family, eleven years old Vaclav was placed in a private boarding school near Prague, where fellow students included future prominent individuals including filmmakers, politicians and entrepreneurs. After only two and a half years the Communist coup of 1948 put an end to private education, and Havel, now officially a member of a privileged 'bourgeoisie', was forced to commence state schooling. Discouraged and resentful, he did not take communist curriculum seriously and after attending several institutions passed his matriculation exams in night school, while working as an apprentice laboratory assistant. His tertiary education was equally inadequate, as he had no choice but to study urban transport after being denied entry into Charles University to pursue a humanities program.
While the state schools served as means to remain outside the communist radar, it was the after- school activities, which held the true importance in the intellectual development of the teenager. Conversations about philosophy and politics with likeminded high school peers paired with private philosophy classes with family friend J.L. Fischer kept developing his interests and sharpened his mind. Discussions continued at Havel's home and soon a group of art-loving, free spirited and talented 'bourgeoisie' youth started regular meetings, with Vaclav naturally emerging as a convener. Apart from discussions, photography and poetry competitions, the group self-named 'Thirty-sixters' (as most were born the same year), made visits to prominent cultural figures of 1950s Prague's art and literary scene (Keane: 104-108). Throughout this time Havel continued his intellectual pursuits, shaping his future as a poet, playwright, essayist, speech writer, philosopher and a politician.
Words to look at – Anticodes
In 1956, aged 20 and a member of young Czech and Slovak Writers' Group, Havel wrote poetry and critical essays and wanted to study dramaturgy. Formal studies did not eventuate; instead he landed a job in a theatre and soon started co-writing plays whilst continuing his poetic endeavors. His first book of experimental, typographic poems Anticodes was written in 1964 and continued in 1964-69; 1970-1989 and after 1989. Anticodes contained visual, thought-provoking poems which captured Havel's humor and imagination, restlessness in search for expression and importance of a dialog with his audience. Although they "were originally written to amuse himself and friends" according to Carol Rocamora (author of Acts of Courage: Vaclav Havel's Life in the Theatre) and were called by Joseph Hirsal, a Czech experimental poet, "engaged articulations of absurdity" (Danaher: 4-5), there was much more to them than just language games and visual effects.
The early poetry not only heralded Havel's fixation with words and his love of the visual and the absurd, but also his rebellion against dehumanizing and destructive effects of totalitarianism and its absurd messages. Drawing on modernist art forms and techniques, such as pop-art and collage, became Havel's trademark and allowed him to play with absurd reality of his times by deconstructing and re-arranging it in order to reach his audiences with important messages. Both the readers and spectators were being encouraged by Havel to interpret the often puzzling messages and language games in his poems and plays in the context of their own experiences. The author's goal was to stimulate and provoke them to self-reflect and to realize that they had the power to deconstruct and reconstruct their own reality despite the totalitarian regime's agenda to prevent them from living independent and meaningful lives (Keane: 329).
A Czech theatre director Brano Mazuch, one of the creators of a multimedia production of Anticodes, honored Havel's mission to engage audiences when he staged the event at the Czech National Theatre in Prague on 21 March 2013. He and his collaborators approached Havel's experimental poetry and its intelligent humor as a vehicle providing spectators with an opportunity to reflect on the society and themselves via allusions and triggers put in place to stimulate self-examination (Mazuch).
Mirenka Cechova and Sivan Eldar from the Spitfire Company also reached for the visual power of Anticodes while developing the concept for their performance Antiwords, based primarily on Havel's play Audience and its film adaptation. The creators of Antiwords, which premiered at the 2013 Zero Point Festival at the Celetna Theatre, abandoned the play's dialog and conventional acting and transformed the play into a physical spectacle with the help of music, dance, silence and puppetry-like props. The Spitfire Company's radical and challenging interpretation of Audience received critical acclaim with Marie Resslova suggesting in her review that the authors of the spectacle "found an inkling of Samuel Beckett in Vaclav Havel". "How do you dance Havel?" she asks and answers that the creators of Antiwords rework the words of Audience "into knots and translate them into dance" and "beyond words, they uncover existential anxiety sublimated into the rituals of beer culture…" and convey the play "accurately and with perhaps greater urgency than would be feasible by means of words" (Resslova).
Havel's Audience and its audience
Audience, as well as, The Garden Party (1963), Memorandum (1965), The Vanek Trilogy (1975-78)) and Largo Desolato (1984,) are Havel's political plays written in the convention of the absurdist theatre of "appeals" (Keane: 157) and are his best known. Through satire and irony and often taking the boundaries of theatrical forms and language to the extreme, the plays reveal the evil of communism and alert the audiences to the damage being done to them by the regime. Havel's ultimate goal as a playwright was to appeal to the spectators (initially listeners of illegal recordings as the plays had been banned) and to their sense of truth and responsibility, by encouraging them to overcome fear and to resist de-humanization. Havel truly believed that "those that say that individuals are not capable of changing anything are only looking for excuses" (Havel 4) and that "the salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility" (Havel 5).
Audience, written in 1975 belongs to The Vanek Trilogy, three partly autobiographical one-act plays (also including A Private View or Unveiling and Protest) created after 1968 Soviet clampdown in Czechoslovakia. The plays' binding element is a character of Havel's alter-ego Ferdinand Vanek, a dissident writer and intellectual, and his struggles with pressures of life in the oppressive state. In the Audience Vanek, just like Havel in real life, is forced to work at a brewery, rolling barrels. The absurd starts when his boss, the brew master and avid beer drinker who earns brownie points with authorities by reporting on his dissident subordinates, offers him a better job in return for inventing and admitting to political activities. Vanek refuses to participate in "something I have always found repugnant" (Havel 6: 208) and asserts his identity and values despite all odds.
The play is one of many satirical works in which Havel examines the psychology of totalitarianism and reveals damages it causes to human relationships by exposing people to hypocrisies and power games based on fear and blackmail. Its time-transcending message about the importance of remaining responsible, honest and true to one-self in the face of oppression, was at its strongest and most needed in the communist Czechoslovakia when citizens were paralyzed by fear and where resistance struggled to spread. Despite the fear, hearts and minds of Czechs and Slovaks were hungry for inspiration and support. Havel became the nation's voice of freedom and free expression. His plays were recorded privately and unofficially circulated across the country. Such was the appeal of Audience, recorded in Prague in 1978 and published in Sweden, that many Czechs knew parts of it by heart and recited it in private as a gesture of defiance and contempt for the oppressors.
The value of words – Letters to Olga
The strongest and most desperate need for words, as well as the harshest test of Havel's identity and values, came with his imprisonment in June 1979, and lasted until his release in January 1984. The strictness of prison correspondence's rules imposed on Havel was crushing: "No more than one four-page letter a week. No copies of the letters to be retained. No letters to anybody but immediate family. No mention of prison conditions, or politics. No underlining. No scratching our or correction. No illegible handwriting. No quotation marks. No foreign words or expressions. No humour" (Keane: 293). Forced into isolation and quasi silence Havel clanged to the letters with desperation as they were his only means of expression and contact with the outside world. He later wrote that he had become "more and more wrapped up in them" and that he " depended on them to the point where almost nothing else mattered" not only because they were his life line and but also because letter writing served as means to review his fundamental attitudes and the way he looked at himself (Havel 2: 8).
Although addressed only to his wife Olga, an art-loving actress from a working class background, whom he met when seventeen and married 11 years later, the 144 letters Havel wrote during his five year incarceration were also meant to reach his family, friends and others close to him, of both sexes. Despite hardship, separation and Havel's closeness to other women, Olga remained his wife and closest friend, anchor and point of stability until her death in 1996. She was the first to open the letters and acted as a link between Havel and his circle. After his release from prison Havel said: "It's true that you won't find many heartfelt, personal passages specifically addressed to my wife in my prison letters. Even so, I think that Olga is their main hero, though admittedly hidden. That is why I put her name in the title of the book" (…) "We both feel that we are probably inseparable" (Havel 2: 10).
The letters allowed Havel to feel human and however restricted in frequency and content, were priceless and life sustaining. They also forced him to use his creative imagination and mastery with words. With so many limitations imposed by prison rules he had no choice but to repeat the same themes and use only his wife as an addressee. At the same time, however, he had to think of brilliant language tricks to allow him to hide messages amongst apparently routine sentences for Olga and others to decode: "The letters, in fact, are endless spirals in which I've tried to enclose something (…) which is why the letters are full of (…) the complicated ways of saying things (Havel 2: 9).
Words and politics
Correctly described as "the master juggler of words" (Keane: 148), Havel was a restless and versatile writer testing the boundaries of language, form and meaning, and employing a range of literary genres to examine vital issues and carry his messages across. His awareness of the power of words combined with talent and passion for writing and the extraordinary way with words were priceless in his roles as a dissident playwright and a political prisoner. When deprived of his right to write the truth and not wanting his writings to be confiscated, he was forced to reach for the world of language games, coded messages and clever 'double-meanings' both in his plays and letters from prison. Importance of reaching his intended audience required him to stretch the boundaries of language, to use puzzles and repetitions to emphasize messages and accentuate absurd situations.
When the time came to use words as weapons in an open battle with the communist government, Havel did just that. In 1976 he co-created and co-wrote the ground-breaking Charter 77, which openly criticized the regime for failing to implement basic human rights, and as a result exposed its creators and signatories to harassment and punishment. Despite the Charter being banned and its creators labeled traitors and persecuted, the impact of the document could not be reversed and its growing influence halted. "I really do inhabit a system in which words are capable of shaking the entire structure of government, where words can prove mightier than ten military divisions" said Havel in October 1989 while accepting a peace prize.
The cost of Havel's association with the Charter 77 was five years of his freedom. Little did he know spending time in prison, that one day he will be asked to assume yet another role, that of a politician and a head of state, which will avail him of new opportunities to exercise the power of words, this time without any limitations and restrictions. His political and philosophical essays, acceptance and other speeches created during his political career are numerous and their profound messages are quoted frequently. The common threads binding them are Havel's concern for human identity in the modern world and his belief in the importance of truth, responsibility and hope. "Truth and love will overcome lies and hatred" is one of his most famous quotes (Havel 7).
Havel's legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher and a politician lives on. As for his plays, Milan Kundera's words have become prophetic: "If there are any theatres left that base work entirely on the writer's text, theatres that value the development of poetry in drama, then Havel's plays will never be out of the repertoire" (Havel 6).
Danaher, David S. The restlessness of transcendence: Vaclav Havel's genres. Web. 19 August 2013 <cokdybysme.net/pdfs/genrepaper.pdf>
Havel, Vaclav. (1). A Word about Words. Web. 19 August 2013
<www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1990/jan/18/word-on-words/?pagination=false>
Havel, Vaclav. (2.) Letters to Olga. June 1979 – September 1982. Alfred. A. Knopf, 1988. Print
Havel, Vaclav. (3). Antikody. Web. 19 August 2013
<Beldar.cz/myf/txt/Havel_-_antikody.html>
Havel, Vaclav. (4). Vaclav Havel Quotes. Web. 19 August 2013
<izquotes.com/quote/235446/author/Vaclav-havel>
Havel, Vaclav. (5). Vaclav Havel Quotes. Web. 19 August 2013.
<www.izquotes.com/quote/81012/author/Vaclav-Havel>
Havel, Vaclav. (6). The Garden Party and Other Plays. Grove Press, New York, 1993. Print
Havel, Vaclav. (7). Quotes. Web. 20 August 2013.
<www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/71441.V_clav_Have>l
<en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vaclav_Havel>
Keane, John. Vaclav Havel – A Political Tragedy in Six Acts. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1999.
Mazuch, Bran. Interview with Bran Mazuch on the Production of Anticodes. Web. 19 August 2013
<tanecniaktuality.cz/en/interview-with-bran-mazuch-on-the-production-anticodes>
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DLA – Distance Learning Association – Who are we and what do we do?
The DLA is a small international distance learning enterprise which provides a web-based platform for professionals in various academic fields to offer tutoring services to clients, mainly in the UK. Our services are based on Edexcel's newly implemented 2017 specifications and dedicated to providing A-level, AS and A2 guidance. This comes in the form of specifically written materials (matching materials you would get in the classroom) as well as the marking mock exam-type questions (based on those you will write if you are planning to take the official Edexcel exams). Sometimes, depending on the tutor, this may also include SKYPE tutorial sessions. This is all done in an effort to help our clients achieve their academic goals. We help them realise where they stand (compared to other students), how they're doing (in terms of understanding of and engagement with typical Pearson/Edexcel course expectations), help them revise for re-sitting exams, and we advise them what topics they'll need to concentrate upon in their further efforts.
Although our preferred method is to dispatch your course materials in the form of PDFs, printed material can be made available as an option. The Director of the Association is Andrew Allan Chibi, Ph.D., who can be contacted by email, phone or letter – see contact details on the right of this page.
All courses are offered with 12 months' service – presumable leading up to your exam date.
The DLA is a signatory to the ABCC Code of Ethics. For pre-enrolment advice, contact Dr Chibi, who will be happy to advise you.
If you are thinking of a home study course there is no better time to start than NOW – don't wait until you get around to it someday.
Call us on 0114 2326279 or visit our website by clicking the button below.


The Erpet Bohemia Crystal specialized glass store is situated right in the heart of Europe, at the center of the capital city of Prague just opposite the famous Old Town Astronomical Clock.
Thanks to its position and the great breadth of the offered assortment, this glass store has occupied a special position among other glass shops and is maintaining its great popularity not only among Czech purchasers but - thanks to the growth of tourism - mainly among foreign visitors. Here purchasers can find products for useful purposes as well as just for pleasure.


That's enough baseball for tonight, thanks.
Honestly, it was kind of funny.
Your recapper was three seats behind the left-field fence for the worst loss — mathematically speaking — in franchise history, and can report that it really wasn't that bad.


Ali Gorji was born in 1978 in Tehran. His Increasing interest in classical music supported by his piano teacher Farimah Ghavamsadri led him to study music theory, harmony and counterpoint under the guidence of Alireza Mashayeki. From 1996 he received lessons in composition from Mashayeki. As interpreter and composer he was an active member of Tehran Music Group, which was established by both his teachers.
Since 2001 he has been living in Germany, where he studied composition at the University of the Arts in Bremen. Trained under Younghi Pagh-Paan he graduated in 2008. He has also received lessons in electronic music and analysis from Kilian Schwoon and Andreas Dohmen respectively. In 2006 he was awarded a scholarship by Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland and ZKM. In 2012 he was a scholarship holder at Akademie der Künste in Berlin. Ali Gorji teaches composition at the institute of music of University of Applied Sciences in Osnabrueck and lives as a freelance composer in Berlin.
علی گرجی، متولد ۱۳۵۷ در تهران، فراگیری پیانو را در سن دوازده سالگی نزد فریماه قوام صدری آغاز کرد. او پس از شرکت در کلاسهای تئوری موسیقی و علوم مقدماتی آهنگسازی علیرضا مشایخی، نزد وی به آموختن آهنگسازی پرداخت. در این مدت وی به عنوان عضو فعال گروه موسیقی تهران در برنامه های متعددی به عنوان نوازنده و آهنگساز شرکت داشته است. او در سال ۱۳۸۰ آغاز به تحصیل در رشته‌ی آهنگسازی در دانشگاه موسیقی برمن آلمان نزد پرفسور یونگی پاگ-پان نمود و پس از اخذ مدرک دیپلم به تحصیلات تکمیلی در رشته‌ی تئوری موسیقی پرداخت. علی گرجی در حال حاضر ساکن شهر برلین است و در کنار فعالیتش به عنوان آهنگساز، در مؤسسه‌ی موسیقی دانشگاه اسنابروک به تدریس آهنگسازی، ارکستراسیون و آنالیز می‌پردازد.


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Q: Basic Javascript HTML form - OnClick not working (I'm sure it's something obvious?) Here's the JSFiddle link: http://jsfiddle.net/rTJw2/1/
Here's the HTML:
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="genderS" id="g1" value="male" checked="checked">Male</input>
<input type="radio" name="genderS" id="g2" value="female" >Female</input>

<input name="submit" type="submit" value="Select" onclick="scriptResult();"/>

I'm sure it's something obvious. I'm just starting to learn how to implement javascript on pages, and I just want to run the function when the submit button is pressed.
Any ideas?

A: Run this with developer tools on in your browser, and you'll see the syntax error on var gender === "male"; and var gender === "female";.
=== is for comparing equality, not for assigning a value. A single = is for assigning a value.

A: Updated JSFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/b59vR/
Multiple problems:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


One of the dads in our group of friends is a former professional footballer, and he has been coaching for years kids and young adults of all ages. Since he has a kid in the age that a lot of people start putting kids in football class (16 months, same age as the little guy), he offered to have a football class for our friend group free of charge.
So, off we went to the football class, not knowing what to really expect. I mean, how much can a small group of 16-21 month-old kids really do/learn in 1 hour? Turns out, quite a lot! There is a lot of discipline in all sports, and I think most athletes would agree that having discipline at the core of it all is essential. So you would not be surprised to hear that the coach took charge of these little people, with the parents backing him up, and by the end, even the wildest of the kids was paying attention and only moving when told to.
Most of this revolved around a simple concept: the line is where you hang out during class, and you get off the line to do an activity, and then you go back there. So, the coach had all these fun little activities that he would first show them how to do, and then they would follow those instructions while the parents came along and cheered them on. And then, they went back to the line and sat down. Activity after activity, the routine was the same, until they just knew that this is what you had to do.
All-in-all I think it was a really great time had by all – parents and children alike. There was a lot of fun stuff that the kids did that I am interested to see if they will remember next time, and I am also curious to see if they will remember that the line is where you sit and pay attention. Super interesting to say the least. And I must say, the little guy was the best one on the field (surely I'm not biased 😉 ).


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Cutler and Gross 1388 Limited Edition - Grace White
Brand Cutler and Gross 1388 Limited Edition - Grace White
Color White Acetate / Brown Gradient lenses (01)
The 1388 Limited Edition sunglass is a modern take on one of Tony's Gross's favourite frames, the 0864 which was inspired by the streetwear styles he encountered on his frequent trips to New York in the late 70's and early 80s. The details on 1388 include the gold plated bullion rivet and groove wire core celebrating Tony's love of the metal gold, which is showcased beautifully in the Limited Edition colour Grace White on Crystal Acetate of which only 250 units be available and will be uniquely numbered.


-With a natural bamboo Finish.
-3-tier shelves that can hold up to 9 pairs of shoes.
-Stylish curved frame that can be stacked with another rack to double capacity.
-Easy to assemble includes all necessary hardware.


The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has called on the Acting Inspector General of Police (IG) Abubakar Adamu to institute a probe into the alleged involvement of the Commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the state, Akin Fakorede, and operatives of the squad in the killing and harassment of agents of the party during the suspended governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.
This is as it commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, for instituting a panel to probe the alleged invasion of polling units and collation centres by soldiers during the suspended gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in the state and plot to assassinate the state Governor Nyesom Wike.
The Rivers State Chairman of PDP Felix Obuah, while addressing journalists Sunday in Port Harcourt, said one of the victims of the alleged attack by SARS operatives, Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, has died while several others who were critically wounded are battling for their lives in hospitals.
"We therefore urge INEC to follow its guidelines to fill the missing gap, if any, in the collation process for the remaining five local government areas by generating the full results from the unit results already in its custody and declare our candidates the clear and unassailable winners of the 9th March 2019 governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.


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PSLV Crash -Failure Analysis
Business India, January 17-30, 1994
The Failure Analysis Committee's report
The Failure Analysis Committee headed by N. Pant, to probe the failure of the PSL V -Dl flight launched from Shriharikota, on 20 September 1993, has submitted its report. Three factors have been identified as having caused the failure.
First is the time gap between switching off the second stage engine and switching the third stage engine. Second, some retro-rockets failed to get fired after the second stage separated from the third stage, leading to an imbalance. And third, there was an error in the control software. How these three factors combined to plunge the Rs.45crore PSLV D1 into the Bay of Bengal is a revealing tale of the technological complexities of such a mission.
Theorising, modelling, and simulating possible scenarios started in ISRO in earnest right after the mission failed. Simultaneously, the Space Commission launched an independent probe, through the Failure Analysis Committee, ploughing through the 100,000 pages of telemetric data from the launch vehicle.
To understand what went wrong it is essential to understand how the vehicle is controlled. The rocket is under control only when the main thrust motors are firing. Any deviations from the flight path due to disturbances in the pitch, yaw or roll of the vehicle, are then set right by firing the control systems.
In the period between one stage being shut down and another being ignited there is no control. This gap is unavoidable due to the number of operations required for a clean separation of the stages.
The second and third stages are separated by exploding a ring of explosive embedded in the casing that shears the aluminium alloy. At that time, though separated, the second and third stages will still be moving with more or less the same velocity. If there is even a small imbalance in velocities, the jettisoned second state can hit the third stage.
To prevent such a mishap retro-rockets are fitted to the jettisoned part and are fired along with the separation explosion so that the jettisoned part is slowed down slightly. It is in order to complete these operations smoothly, that a small gap is kept between shutting one stage's engine and firing the next. If liquid propellants are used, the engine can get hiccups when the fuel is over. So it is advisable to shut it off before the fuel gets exhausted.
Earlier ground simulations had given ISRO grounds to believe that if there was a three-second gap between the separation of stage two and three, nothing drastic would happen. But now, in the light of PSLV-Dl having failed, it is felt that the three-second gap may have been too large, allowing errors to multiply dangerously. Hence, the committee suggests this gap should be reduced.
The second flaw was that all the retro-rockets did not ignite to slow down the jettisoned stage. This caused a slight imbalance in the jettisoned stage, and could have hit the third stage before ignition. It is conjectured that the firing circuits of the two retro-rockets got so disturbed by the explosive separation that they did not fire. Hence, further isolation and protection of these circuits from the shearing explosion has been recommended.
Error compounded
The third problem with PSLV-D1 was a software error caused by the 'overflow' in a control parameter. What it means is that the control software in the mother console was designed to handle variations in a particular parameter, between, let us say, plus (+) or minus (-) 99.99. Now when that parameter crosses, say, -99.99 and reaches -100.00, the seven characters in 100.00 could not be recognised and so the software ignores the bit representing the '-' (minus) sign. The result was that in the flight a control command geared to correct a parameter of say -99.99 was suddenly changed by default to that required for + 100.00, while the system was actually suffering from a deviation of -100.00.
Thus the control command from the computer instead of correcting an error, actually compounded it. ISRO is debugging the control software to remove any other such glitches. Some believe that despite the problems created by the retrorockets, etc, the vehicle could still have been controlled if the correct command had reached the control systems. (Incidentally, such software errors are not unusual. NASA's space shuttle mission had to be grounded in 1988 when similar software errors were found and all the five on-board computers had to be debugged.)
The rocket motors for the second flight, PSLV-D2, in 1994, are under construction. The corrections required will not lead to any major design changes. In fact, but for this mishap in the separation of stage two and three, all other systems (including many new technologies) have worked remarkably well. Thus, despite the truism in space flights anything less than 100 per cent success is a failure', the PSLV-D1 flight is considered a 90 per cent success.
Posted by Shivanand Kanavi at 2:42 PM 1 comment:
PSLV Success
Business India, October 24-November 6, 1994
The successful launch of the PSLV puts India's satellite launch capacity on a firmer footing
The countdown started at 10:02, thirty minutes prior to launch (T-30:00). As the minutes ticked away, each of the hundreds of scientists and engineers manning different stations reported to the mission control about the health of the sub-system he was monitoring.
Suddenly, as the launch sequence was being initiated, at T -14:50, the Precision Coherent Monopulsed C band (PCMC) Radar that would track the launch reported 'carrier loss' - it was not receiving signals from the C band transponder placed in the PSLV. The countdown was immediately stopped, raising the spectre of an aborted launch.
The tension in the mission control centre, and even in the press room 7 kill away from the launch pad, was palpable. Three minutes passed in attempts to restore the connection; then, the mission director Madhavan Nair gave the go ahead for the launch, despite the problem. In a complex space mission, the risk of mission failure due to malfunction of a single component or subsystem is extremely high; hence there is redundancy built in, so that if something fails, then its back up can take over. And that is exactly what happened . Another channel was switched on, the mission director saw that minimum configuration was achieved and gave the all important go ahead.
The countdown was, resumed and, step by step, the rocket was detached from the launch pad as the internal systems took over. The power was cut from the ground and the internal batteries switched on. Twelve minutes before launch the automatic launch sequence was initiated and the onboard computers took charge.
At 10:35 precisely, amidst billowing clouds of smoke, the first stage assisted by two strap-on boosters appeared to a novice's eye to be struggling to lift the mammoth 300-tonne rocket and start it on an accelerating trajectory that would achieve speeds up to 25,000 km per hour before injection into orbit. Then, with an ear-splitting roar, it roared up and as the ignition, separation and success of each stage was announced, cheering broke out in the control room .
But it was clearly still too early for self-congratulations. The mission would not be complete till the injection of the satellite into its designated orbit nearly 17 minutes after lift off. The grim memories, of the first developmental fligt of PSLV plunging into the Bay of Bengal into the Bay of Bengal a few minute after lift-off in last September, were too fresh. It was only when the on-line data showed that the fourth stage had separated from the satellite and steered itself out of orbit, that the tension gave way to elation and an overwhelmed Kasturi Rangan, chairman of the Space Commission, hugged his colleagues.
Later, when a galaxy of space scientists including Kasturi Rangan, Satish Dhawan, Yash Pal, Abdul Kalam, S.C. Gupta, N.S. Pant, Deekshithalu, P. Kale and Madhavan Nair addressed thousands of ISRO scientists and technicians in an open air auditorium, words seemed superfluous. Twelve years of toil had finally paid off and the bitter disappointment of a failed launch was overcome. Every one to a man had a proud smile on his face.
The drama of the PSLV's successful launch is worth recording at some length. Mere description of the payload, orbital characteristics, thrusts generated by different stages and myriad other details do not bring out a living picture of our space programme or the significance of the PSLV. After the failure of PSLV D-1. ISRO personnel and the fault analysis committee had ploughed through 100,000 pages of data, to discover an overflow error in the control software. Instead of correcting a deviation in the course caused by the failure of retro rockets during the separation of second and third stages, this overflow aggravated the tilt, which made the rocket tumble uncontrollably into a suborbital flight and plunge into the Bay of Bengal.
In PSLV D-2, this overflow error was corrected, the positioning of the actuator for the flex nozzle of stage three was altered, and the time gap between the burn-out of the second stage and ignition of the third stage, during which the rocket coasts along without control, was cut down. Even after all these improvements, if the desired 817 km-radius, sun-sychronous, circular-polar orbit was not achieved then a fall-back programme on the onboard computer would allow the satellite to be injected into a lower, 770 km orbit. No wonder, some ISRO top guns were so sure of success that one of them, who could not be present at the launch; left a post-dated congratulatory message! ,
The remote sensing satellite IRS P-2 that was launched had also undergone some improvements. It carries two Linear Imaging Self Scanner-II (LISS-II) cameras connected to a single optical unit, thus saving on costs and weight. In satellite technology, anything that saves weight of the payload is a most welcome development, since each kg added to the payload requires tones of added thrust at the lower stages. That is why multistage rocket design, where each stage provides a certain thrust and falls off, is so popular. Once the fuel is exhausted, the empty motors and casing need not be carried along into orbit.
The PSLV incorporates a number of new technologies, as compared to the earlier SLV and ASLV. It is the first rocket in Indian space programme, where liquid fuelled engines have been used for primary propulsion. The first stage comprises third largest solid-fuelled booster in the world, after the American space shuttle and the Titan boosters. New technologies include the gimbaled motors for the liquid-fuelled second and fourth. stage, flex nozzle for the solid fuelled third stage, the Redundant Strap- down Inertial Navigation System, and the heat shield, which protects the satellite and the fourth stage from the atmosphere and opens at an altitude of about 120 km.
A number of new materials like the super alloy maraging steel for the giant first stage casings, new propellants for all stages and Kevlar and Titanium alloy for the third and fourth stages, were also developed. In short, PSLV was ten times more complex than the earlier generation ASLV.
Though ISRO has a vast network of centres in Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Sriharikota and Ahmedabad, it has constantly endeavoured to transfer technology to industry and involve them as suppliers. Thus Larsen & Toubro and Walchandnagar Industries precision- machined the motor casings made of maraging steel for PSLV stage one. NOCIL manufactured hundreds of tonnes of Hydroxyl Terminated Poly Butadiene, the high powered solid propellant for the main booster rocket. The liquid-fuelled engine for the second stage named Vikas was an engineering marvel jointly manufactured and assembled by Hyderabad based MTAR and Godrej. When PSLV: D-1 failed, ISRO'S 150-odd vendors were naturally concerned that the systems supplied by them had been the cause. They heaved a collective sigh of relief when the software error was detected.
But does the successful launch mean we are ready to offer PSLV as a commercial vehicle to launch remote sensing satellites in polar orbits? The answer is: not yet. The next developmental, flight of PSLV is sometime next year and a new series of three more flights are being planned. Work has already started in ISRO to increase the payload to reach the magic figure of one tonne so that large remote sensing satellites like the coming IRS 1-D can be launched indigenously. So far, IRS 1-A and 1-B have been launched from the Russian cosmodrome at Baikanour, as will 1-C be in late 1995.
Interestingly, the existing rocket can launch a payload weighing a little over one and a half tonnes into a polar sun-synchronous orbit. But as the trajectory from Sriharikota crosses Sri Lanka" and no country allows a rocket to over fly its territory, the rocket has to accomplish a complicated yaw manoeuvre, before it reaches the desired orbit. This limits the weight of the payload.
It is important to note that India's most ambitious space programme yet, the GSLV, which can provide it capabilities to launch -2.5 tonne communication satellites, is largely made up of stage one and two of PSLV. Only a third cryogenic stage needs to be developed. A few cryogenic engines have been bought from the Russians to start the programme. By building on its own INSAT 2-A and 2-B, India has already demonstrated its ability to build world class communication satellites. Thus, in a real sense, PSLV's success is a stepping stone to the ambitious GSLV.
Can the PSLV be used to launch Motorola's Iridium network, the global cellular phone network based on 77 low earth orbiting satellites? The answer is 'yes' but again 'not yet'. Iridium consists of a large number of polar satellites weighing around 400 to 600 kg and orbiting at about 600 km. Thus, once the technology to launch independently targeted multiple satellites is mastered then PSLV can launch a cluster of 3-4 low earth communication satellites for Iridium type of projects. Since there are not enough launch vehicles in the world to launch 77 satellites in quick succession, one can, expect PSLV to play a role in this.
Another question normally asked is whether the PSLV can be use to launch reconnaissance satellites. Technically, the answer is 'yes'. After all, they are small satellites orbiting at an altitude of around 300 km altitude. They need to orbit at low altitudes to get good resolution, that is the ability to discern small objects. However, due to friction with rarefied atmosphere, their life is shortened.
Can PSLV technology be used for developing inter-continental ballistic missiles? Technically, "yes'. In fact, the Americans were barking up the, wrong tree when they twisted Russian arms to renege on the cryogenic deal. Cryogenic engines cannot be used for missiles of any kind, as it will take months to prepare them for flight and great expense to maintain them in readiness. There is no single missile in the world in which cryogenic engines are being used. The most popular rocket is a solid-fuelled "booster. Although ISRO is not involved in military applications, DRDO is. Technically India can build ICBMS. It is a different issue that India can, ill afford to misspend vast resources in militarisation.
The timing of the flight and the unprecedented invitation to the press to witness the, flight seems to have been a decision originating in PMO - the obvious reasons being India's pitch in the UN to be made a permanent member of the Security Council and secondly, the need to redeem ourselves in international eyes after the ignominy of the recent 'plague' outbreak. As a scribe exclaimed after the launch, "If we were Chinese, we would call 1994 the Year of the Prithvi, Plague and the PSLV!"
ISRO men in global space industry
Business India, February 8-21, 1999
Career launchpad
ISRO has launched the career of many a senior executive in the global satellite industry
If one were to organise an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) alumni reunion, it could easily be mistaken for a conference of the global satellite industry. There would be high-level executives from Inmarsat, PanAmSat, World Space, Agrani, ICO Global, Lockheed Martin, Matra Marconi, and Loral, in essence, every player that counts in the bird business (see table).
"We are proud that a single Indian organisation has contributed so much talent to the global satellite industry. It is an acknowledgement of ISRO'S talent pool and capabilities," says Dr Kasturirangan, chairman, ISRO. He maintains that the talent flight has not affected the organisation. "While we do regret losing such highly trained and capable people, we cannot stop this. We have enough depth to replace such people; hence overall the space programme does not suffer."
ISRO alumni in the global satellite industry
Inmarsat: D V Ramana
ICO-Global: P Ramachandran, Y N Bhushan
Agrani: Jai P Singh, K Narayanan
World Space: M G Chandrasekhar, D Venugopal
Matra Marconi: Mrinal Saha
MTSat: K P M Bhat
Loral: P Damodaran, Devendra Verma
Intelsat: S Manoharan,
Discovery: Kiran Karnik
Every year ISRO loses about 150 people, mainly to the software industry. Besides new recruits, people who have been with ISRO for 10 years and who have taken on independent responsibilities also start looking for opportunities outside.
"We continue to recruit from regional engineering colleges and other good colleges. It depends on the projects on hand, but about 300-350 scientists and engineers are recruited every year," says Kasturirangan. ISRO is increasingly targeting MTechs rather than BTechs as many private sector companies are doing, and encourages them to do an in-house PhD as well in a specialised field.
Nonetheless, thanks to the Fifth Pay Commission, ISRO'S packages at the entry level are now as good as in the private sector, except probably for software. A new recruit gets above Rs.15,000 on a monthly cost-to-company basis, though at the senior level people do not find it very attractive monetarily. For example, the chairman himself gets a pay package of around Rs30,000 and a few perks like housing and car.
Jai Singh, CEO of Agrani Satellite Communications and an ISRO alumnus, concurs that the organisation has very good depth in its management ranks. Singh left ISRO in 1988 after a 15-year stint. Says he: "The work, albeit hi-tech, was getting a bit routine. I had no other problems at ISRO. It was for personal reasons- I wanted my family to get an international environment and so on -that I took on the Inmarsat assignment."
K. Narayanan, who was Insat programme director and director of satellite communications at the Department of Space and is now executive vice-president at Agrani, suggests: "ISRO people should be allowed to work in Indian industry for a couple of years and join back. That will help both sides. The hi-tech developed within ISRO will get transferred to industry and they will bring back industry practices in cost-cutting, customer service, and so on."
Kasturirangan is all for lateral movement of professionals into ISRO. "Already an MS or PhD from a decent university abroad with some experience is taken in directly. They can send in their CVs any time. Professionals working in India are also taken in through advertisements."
Some engineers feel ISRO restricts their career mobility. Being a government organisation, it discourages
employees with over 10 years of service from taking voluntary retirement and joining the private sector, by stipulating a two-year 'cooling off' period. Such a rule makes sense in cases where, for example, a bureaucrat might award a government contract to a private sector company and then leave to join the same company as a quid pro quo. But engineers today would turn down any company that restricts their mobility.
ISRO is an organisation with over 18,000 personnel and has been successful in a hi-tech area on a shoestring budget. Naturally it has become a favourite for headhunters. It should be given a free hand by the government to formulate a liberal HRD policy which takes cognisance of market realities. However, ISRO would benefit by networking the wider ISRO parivar. Almost all of them hold fond memories, and would help ISRO gain an entry into the $60-billion global space industry.


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Nathaniel White named director of equine medical center /
Current page: Nathaniel White named director of equine medical center
Nathaniel White named director of equine medical center
Nathaniel White of Hamilton, Va., the Theodora Ayer Randolph Professor of Equine Surgery at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) at Virginia Tech, has also been named director of the college's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va.
White has been serving as interim director of the center since April 1, 2003, and assumes permanent leadership as the top candidate to emerge from a comprehensive national search conducted by VMRCVM and Virginia Tech.
"I'm very pleased and honored by this appointment," said White. "The Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center is a big part of the veterinary college and Virginia Tech's commitment to the regional equine community. I think the center has established a lot of momentum and has very exciting prospects for the future."
White joined the center as assistant director in 1985 and was appointed the Theodora Ayer Randolph Professor of Equine Surgery in 1987. White will retain the Randolph professorship until late August, when, pending action by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, he will be named the Jean Ellen duPont Shehan
"Dr. White is a scholar and clinician of the highest order," said Dr. Gerhardt Schurig, dean of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. "Over the past year of his interim administration he has demonstrated many aspects of leadership excellence. Dr. White has a strong sense of our history and our capabilities, and he is also very committed to helping the college and Virginia Tech grow and develop our research enterprise."
White earned his DVM degree from Cornell University in 1971 and completed an internship and residency program in equine surgery at the University of California at Davis. He also earned a M.S. degree in pathology from Kansas State University. He is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgery (ACVS) and he has served as Chairman of the Board of Regents of the ACVS and President of the ACVS Research and Education Foundation.
White currently serves as director of the ACVS Veterinary Symposium, a major international veterinary continuing education event. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Maryland at College Park.
White has published 139 publications in refereed academic journals and has authored several textbooks, including The Acute Equine Abdomen, Current Techniques in Equine Surgery and Lameness, and the Handbook of Equine Colic.
As assistant director for clinical services at the center prior to his appointment as interim director, White supervised all aspects of clinical care at the advanced equine referral center which treats about 2400 horses a year with a full-time staff of 60 employees.
He has also worked closely with the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center Council, an advisory organization that develops private support and provides operational guidance for the center that has become an integral part of the regional horse industry.
The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine is a two-state, three-campus professional school operated by the land-grant universities of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and the University of Maryland at College Park. Its flagship facilities, based at Virginia Tech, include the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which treats more than 40,000 animals annually. Other campuses include the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va., and the Avrum Gudelsky Veterinary Center at College Park, home of the Center for Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. The VMRCVM annually enrolls approximately 500 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and graduate students, is a leading biomedical and clinical research center, and provides professional continuing education services for veterinarians practicing throughout the two states.
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top 30 research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.
Jeffrey S. Douglas


TV commercials, better known as ad films, are short, interesting, revenue generating visual messages which are paid for by large corporate companies or organizations. Advertising is a powerful mass media tool, which helps to create a sense of awareness of a particular product or a service among the masses. The present day commercials are shot like mini movies. Most commercials which last for less than a minute, are visual masterpieces which try to carve a permanent niche in the psyche of the TV audiences. The most expensive commercial in the world was conceived for a popular perfume brand, and cost a whopping USD 33 million. To know more about the most expensive commercials in the world, click on the link that is given below.


2019 MARKET UPDATE: DID YOU GET IN? THEN YOU HIT THE BULLSEYE!
Continued interest in this key back issue and the DD TV series has seen the value of higher-grade copies of DD #131 rise this year.
I'd be pretty happy with that outcome if I were you.
While this book might still continue to rise, I would now be tempted to take the profit, but it's your money. As for new investment, it is harder to recommend at this price point.
CGC 9.4 hasn't appreciated as much. It might be worth getting one of those.
The Daredevil TV series has made prices of various key issue DD comics rise.
Elsewhere on this list, you'll find Daredevil #1 and Daredevil #168, but there are few books worth investing in more than the first Bullseye appearance.
Recent sales have set records in high grade, though please note that this book is far from scarce. You can afford to be picky.
Maybe the fuss will die down and this book will fall in value again, but it has shown good resilience lately.
A clean CGC 9.6 copy of DD #131 with white pages will cost you one-third of the price of a 9.8, and still set your investment apart from the crowd.


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Sun shines on nation and state economies, partly cloudy in Four Corners
Bayfield, Colorado
Summary: Possible light rain on Monday through next Thursday, with high temperatures falling to 79° on Monday.
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New Mexico woes partly to blame for lackluster recovery in Southwest Colorado
By Patrick Armijo Herald Staff Writer
Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 1:35 PM
Tim Quinlan, vice president and economist with Wells Fargo Securities, said the current economic expansion is already the second longest on record, but he expects it to continue in 2018. He spoke at the SW 2018 Economic Outlook on Thursday at the Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall.
James McDonald, a Fort Lewis College student, listens during the SW 2018 Economic Outlook on Thursday at the FLC Community Concert Hall.
Robert "Tino" Sonora, professor of economics at Fort Lewis College, left, and Richard Wobbekind, executive director of Business Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, both keynote speakers for the SW 2018 Economic Outlook, listen to fellow speaker Wells Fargo Vice President Tim Quinlan on Thursday at the Community Concert Hall.
A happy and bright economic picture with only a few foreboding shadows was painted for the nation and the state at the 2018 SW Economic Outlook held Thursday at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
However, a more somber view comes into focus when viewing the regional portrait of the Four Corners.
The hit San Juan County, New Mexico, has taken for several years with the drop in price in natural gas and the consequent decrease in employment and economic activity continues to act as a drag on La Plata County's economy, said Robert "Tino" Sonora, an economics professor at FLC.
A crowd of about 200 gathered to hear presentations from Sonora; Richard Wobbekind, executive director of business research at Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado; and Tim Quinlan, vice president and economist at Wells Fargo Securities.
San Juan County was described as the "fastest shrinking county" in New Mexico. And New Mexico itself is not in great shape - only beginning to see population growth in 2017 after its population declined in 2016.
"We are affected by the population drop-off," Sonora said. "There are a lot of economic exchanges between the two areas. People from northwest New Mexico come up to La Plata County. La Plata County residents go to Farmington to shop. There is a symbiotic relationship, and the counties are integrated," he said, calling the two regions a "microplex."
At 2 percent, La Plata County's unemployment rate was below Colorado's 2.9 percent unemployment rate in November 2017. But in San Juan County, New Mexico, the unemployment rate of 6 percent is well above the national average of 4.1 percent and roughly equal to New Mexico's 6.1 percent unemployment rate.
Additionally, Sonora noted the long-trend rate of growth in personal income in San Juan County had been 7 percent or 8 percent. But in the past few years, personal income growth in that county had fallen by 7 percent or 8 percent.
Housing and wages
Housing values in La Plata County have not yet recovered from their peak just before the Great Recession, compared with the Front Range, where the pre-recession peak in home values was surpassed six years ago.
In fact, high home prices along the Front Range are harming the state's economy, Wobbekind said, as they have discouraged business relocations to the Front Range because business owners worry about affordability issues for their workforces.
"We are the most expensive home market in the nation that is not on water along the coasts," Wobbekind said of Front Range home prices. And he said escalating housing costs well beyond the rate of inflation are a concern for the Front Range economy.
Although Wobbekind expects the state's economy to slow a bit in the coming year, it is slowing from a high rate of growth, with Colorado ranking third in overall gross domestic product growth in the past year. In addition, he noted Colorado had the second lowest average unemployment rate in the country in the last year.
Wage growth is one area where La Plata County and the state as a whole have failed to see increases that would be expected given the low unemployment rate, Wobbekind said.
In the last year, Colorado ranked only 35th in the nation in average annual pay growth, he said. One factor cushioning anemic wage growth is the state already ranked 10th in the nation for average annual pay.
Demographics - with lower-paid, less-experienced younger workers replacing higher-paid, more-experienced retiring baby boomers - was cited by Wobbekind as one factor behind the paltry rate of wage growth in Colorado.
In addition, he noted two-thirds of job growth in Colorado comes in relatively low-wage sectors such as tourism-hospitality, health care aides, food service and education, while higher-paid jobs in the oil and gas fields are shrinking.
Visits to public lands in Colorado were up in the past year, but skier visits were down in 2017, and Wobbekind expected the poor snow across the state this year to again lead to a decrease in skier visits in 2018.
How long will expansion last?
The nation is entering its ninth year of expansion - already far longer-lived than the average expansion of just over 56.4 months, said Quinlan, the economist from Wells Fargo. "Gosh, you have to ask yourself, 'How long do these things last?'"
He added: "We're already a few years into overtime. By any reckoning, we're late in the cycle."
And he noted the country is enjoying the second-longest economic expansion on record, and the longest economic expansion, at 10 years, is within sight.
Despite the relative length of the recovery from the Great Recession of 2008, Quinlan said Wells Fargo expects GDP growth of about 2.5 percent to continue for 2018.
Relatively low numbers of people entering the labor force and low productivity growth, Quinlan said, keeps Wells Fargo from predicting economic growth at the 3 percent rate cited by President Donald Trump in the wake of GOP-authored tax cuts and tax reforms.
The tax cuts, which go into effect this year, Quinlan said, present "a mixed bag for the economy."
"The consumer will have more money to spend and changes to depreciation will offer a boost to the economy, but you have to ask yourself at what cost," he said.
The increase in federal government deficit spending stemming from the tax cuts, Quinlan said, will be "pretty severe." He added: "This will, over a long period of time, make our budget deficits worse."
Quinlan said as budget deficits get worse, the interest paid on Treasury bills and bonds are likely to go up, making them a more attractive investments and competing for money that otherwise would go into business investments rather than government bonds.
Eliminating and lowering regulations, Quinlan said, should help economic activity, and he said, "This is one area where the Trump administration has delivered on its promises."
He also noted job openings are currently at an all-time high, and a failure to fill the positions indicates the labor force has a skills mismatch that fails to meet the needs of employers.
In addition, he noted people are quitting their jobs at the highest level since 2001, and this actually indicates confidence in the economy.
"It takes a lot of confidence to leave your job and take your chances elsewhere," he said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
Living rooms become music venues in Bayfield
Gallery: The 416 Fire, one year later
Thanks to plenty of snow over the winter and a wet spring, plants are beginning to cover the burn area of the 416 Fire, north of Durango.
Gallery: ELHI Community Center in Ignacio
The ELHI Community Center that is located in the former Ignacio Elementary School building houses many organizations and growing.
Gallery: Friday reader snow photos
Call it what you will: Snowmageddon, snowpocalypse, snowzilla or just a plain Colorado winter, Southwest Colorado definitely has a lot of snow. Email photos to claws@bcimedia.com
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Town provides $10K for one more Nicol scholar this year
Featured | Front Page | News.
Posted May 31, 2015 : Featured, Front Page, News.
There will be one more Nicol Scholar this year, thanks to Petrolia Town Council.
Town officials have found $10,000 in savings to help bolster the prestigious program at LCCVI.
For the past 28 years, the town has been receiving $20,000 from the same fund which provides $10,000 US scholarships for worthy graduates. The fund was set up by former Petrolia resident Harold Robert Nicol who spent much of his adult life in the States but wanted to give back to his hometown.
Under the plan, the town receives $10,000 for upkeep of Victoria Hall and another $10,000 for the upkeep of the Petrolia Library which is now named after the family. Over the life of the scholarship, the town has received about $500,000.
Recently the fund has fallen on hard times. Mayor John McCharles, who is part of the committee which awards the bursary, says this year "a lot fewer recipients this year than in the past years."
In 2014, there were six scholars. There have been as many as 25 students receive scholarships from the interest from the fund.
McCharles asked council to consider giving up this year's cash to bolster the number of scholarships available. Staff found $10,000 to allow the town's portion of the fund to be given to a student. "So there will be one more scholarship this year and then we'll look at next year, next year," says McCharles.
Councillor Tim Brown was pleased the town would be able to ensure another student would be helped. He says students come to LCCVI knowing about the Nicol Scholarship and work hard for four years to be able to obtain it. "This age group never anticipated this and that's hard to watch."
Councillor Joel Field agreed. "It's a shame to see the numbers dwindle."
But McCharles is hopeful things can be turned around. He says the trustees of the fund have been given some ideas to help improve the finances including looking for donations from former recipients.
Councillor Mary-Pat Gleeson says Nicol Scholars have been "asked politely" to contribute before, but none came forward. She hopes to be part of a "more formal" campaign to solicit funds from past winners so the scholarships which reward strong academics and community service continue.
"This school ranks as one of the top schools year after year and I'm sure this is part of the reason," she says.
The scholarships will be given out at the end of June.
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500 Women File Sex Discrimination Claims Against Walmart
Attorneys for women suing Walmart on sex discrimination charges said more than 500 current and former female Walmart employees had filed claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by Jan. 27, which was the deadline for women in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Georgia to do so, Bloomberg reported. Women in other states can file until May 25, attorneys Joseph Sellers and Brad Seligman said in a statement. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a class-action sex discrimination suit against the retailer, saying the complaints were individual in nature and therefore the suit didn't fit class-action standards.
H-E-B has Texas-sized digital aspirations
RILA gives peek at future of retail
A frictionless future
Why is Walmart dropping Scan and Go?