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The Bonnies and the Breakaway Brother
Trademark disputes over liquor branding never failed to gain attention in the pre-Prohibition era. When the conflict involved brother against brother in the distilling hotbed of Louisville, Kentucky, interest could be intense. That is the situation that faced the Bonnie brothers when one of their siblings broke away, started a completing company, and merchandised whiskey with the Bonnie name and a familiar-looking label.
The Bonnie brothers were four: Frank W., born 1840; William O., 1845; Robert T., 1848, (all in Ohio), and Ernest S., 1860, recorded as born in Kentucky. Their parents, Frank and Lucinda (Abbey) Bonnie were Easterners, who moved to Oxford, Ohio, sometime before 1840. In time all four Bonnie brothers would find their way to Kentucky.
The 1870 Census recorded Frank living in Versailles Township in Woodford County, Kentucky, with his wife and baby. His occupation was given as "merchant." In 1872 the Louisville business directory listed a new whiskey wholesaler located at 29 Fourth Street between Main and River near Water Street. It was called Bonnie, Murphy & Co. Within two years, Murphy had departed and the company had reorganized as Bonnie & Co. Frank Bonnie was listed as head of the firm. William O. (right) and Robert P., shown below, were part of the management. In 1879 the firm reorganized and all four Bonnies, including youngest brother Ernest, were involved in its operations. They called their company "Bonnie Bros."
For the first 20 years of its existence as "rectifiers" (blenders) of whiskey and wholesalers, the Bonnie firm was dependent on drawing liquor from a range of Kentucky distillers. Among them were the J.B. Wathen & Bro. Distillery (RD #363 in the 5th District of Kentucky) and the Fern Cliff Distillery (RD #409, 5th District). Both plants were major producers of raw whiskey for companies who were wholesalers and rectifiers, some claiming to be distillers in their own right. The Wathen distillery, founded in 1880 and located not far from Louisville, had a mashing capacity of 2,000 bushels daily and storage for 83,000 barrels. The Fern Cliff Distillery, founded in 1883 and located inside the city, was smaller, with a daily mashing capacity of 800 bushels and storage for 25,000 barrels. The Bonnies also are recorded in government documents as drawing whiskey from the Crystal Springs Distilling Co., a smaller Louisville operation that had been founded in 1867.
Being totally dependent on outside sources for their whiskey was often a difficult situation for the Bonnies. Competition for those stocks among Louisville and other Kentucky liquor wholesalers could be fierce. Prices too often were elevated and supplies short. Little wonder then that after almost two decades of such problems the brothers looked around to buy a distillery of their own. They found one right in their home town. It had been constructed about 1883 by J. B. Mattingly, from a noted Kentucky distilling family. While the record is not entirely clear, it appears that the Bonnies bought the property about 1890 when Mattingly was forced into bankruptcy. Insurance underwriters records compiled in 1892 indicate that the distillery was relatively new and located between Bank and Tyler Streets. In addition to a frame still house, the facility had two warehouses that were brick with metal or slate roofs. A barn for cattle, to whom spent mash was fed, was located 235 feet north of the still house. Over time, the Bonnies would add other buildings. A wooden saloon sign, shown here, presented a picture of the expanded facility.
Owning their own distillery gave Bonnie Bros. the freedom to greatly expand the number and variety of their liquor brands. The four featured on the sign -- "Bonnie Rye," "Nelson Club," "Old Trenton," and "Joel B. Frazier" - were "flagship" labels, but the firm featured more than a half dozen others. Among them were "Belmont," "Big Rock," "C. C.," "Kentucky Turf," "W. H. Kirby," and "Woodford County," Their most unusual brand was "Dog On Good Whiskey" that featured the profile of a canine on the label. Federal record indicate that of these the Bonnies trademarked Big Rock, C.C. and Joel B. Frazier in 1906 and, as will be seen, more importantly, Bonnie Rye and Bonnie Bourbon.
The brothers marketed their whiskey in both glass and ceramic containers. They also were merchandising far beyond the bounds of Louisville and Kentucky. Shown below right is a Bonnie postcard that featured a comely lass bearing an armload of roses/ The other side told a potential customer -- likely a local dealer or saloon-- that the brothers' representative soon would be in their town and dropping by. That company man probably would not come empty handed. He might present his contact with a shot glass advertising Bonnie Rye, a back of the bar bottle to hold Old Bonnie, or a watch fob with the "Dog On."
As their company continued to grow and prosper, both William O. and Robert P. Bonnie were gaining recognition as outstanding Louisville businessmen. The photo of the brothers above are from the book, "Notable Men of Kentucky at the Beginning of the 20th Century," published in 1902. By that time William O. Bonnie was living with his family of six and three servants in a large house in Louisville. William's first wife having died, he had remarried. She was Katherine, a woman some 27 years younger, who had been born in Ohio. The couple had three young children of their own, ranging in age from 2 to 8 years. William's two boys from his earlier marriage were also in the household. Meanwhile, Robert P. Bonnie had married Maude Johnson Williams in 1880. They would have a family of four, three of whom would graduate from Yale University including a daughter, Shelby, and two sons, Robert P. Jr. and Hundley.
In 1895, Frank Bonnie, age 55, withdrew from the firm, selling his interest in the business, including the whiskey brand names to his remaining three brothers. His share must have been lucrative. In the next U.S. census, asked his occupation, Frank replied "Capitalist," indicating that he was investing, most likely in Louisville real estate. Frank's exit was followed in four years by Ernest Bonnie, apparently still in his 30s, wanting out. Why he broke away has not been explained. The remaining two Bonnies bought him out for $70, 000, more than a million in today's dollars. For that compensation Ernest sold all interest in the business and in the Bonnie Bros. brands of whiskey.
Unlike his brother Frank, however, Ernest Bonnie had no intention of retiring from the whiskey trade. Taking two Bonnie Bros. employees with him, he shortly thereafter went into competition with his siblings using the name, E.S. Bonnie & Company. A trade card with that company name appears on an intriguing trade card showing a boy urinating in the snow and tracing the words "Good Drink." Was this a symbolic gesture by a young "breakaway" who was trying to send a message to his older brothers?
After a series of partner changes, Ernest in 1903 incorporated the firm and changed its name to Bonnie & Company. Although he initially had sited his firm on Second Street within a year he moved to the 600 block of Louisville's Main Street, known as "Whiskey Row," a prestige location where Bonnie Bros. Company had long been ensconced. More important, Ernest Bonnie began selling whiskey under the brand name, "Bonnie Club." His older siblings quickly objected that the use of that brand pirated labels of Bonnie Bros. After a heated exchange of correspondence on the subject Ernest abandoned the use of the label "Bonnie Club."
In 1907, however, he died and his firm passed into other hands, some of them likely the former Bonnie Bros. employees. The new management issued a brand of whiskey that carried the label "E.S. Bonnie Rye." It then dropped the letters "E.S." and began to sell "Bonnie & Co. Rye" with a label, though differing in some respects from the Bonnie Bros. label was very similar in its most notable features. William and Robert Bonnie had had enough and in 1914 took its competitor to court for trademark infringement. After a Louisville court found in favor of Bonnie Bros., Bonnie and Co. appealed the decision to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The appellants argued that the Bonnies had not entered into the court proceedings with "clean hands" and thus were not entitled to relief. They argued that the Bonnie Bros. label was a violation of the Federal Food and Drug Act of 1906 because the law had been interpreted by some as meaning that "rectified" or blended whiskey should be labeled as "imitation" whiskey. Straight whiskey producers in Kentucky were arguing for that interpretation in Washington. The Kentucky Court disagreed noting that Bonnie Bros. plainly had labeled their product as a blend and that was good enough. In upholding the lower court ruling, the panel of judges asserted that Bonnie & Co. Rye had been labeled in a way to confuse and deceive consumers and represented "unfair competition" under the trademark laws.
Despite the competition set in motion by their brother, the other Bonnies were expanding their Louisville facilities. By 1910 the distillery was mashing 200 bushels per day and had four warehouses with the capacity to store and age 27,500 barrels. During this period, William O. Bonnie was the president and had brought two of his sons into the operation. W.O. Bonnie Jr. was vice president and Herbert T. Bonnie, treasurer. Robert's daughter, Shelby, put her Yale education to good use as a company officer, but unfortunately died at the age of 33.
As the 20th Century completed its first decade, the Bonnies became increasingly aware of the pressures of Prohibition forces. A pro-Dry U.S. Congressional hearing into efforts to fight the Temperance Movement featured a letter from Bonnie Bros. to an official of the Angelina County Liquor Dealers Assn. of Luftkin Texas. The letter was in response from the Texans for money to fight a statewide prohibition referendum. The Bonnies pointed out that they had sent the group a substantial amount of money earlier and added "We have done about all you can expect us to do...."
No matter how much the Bonnies contributed to the "Wet" cause, statewide bans on liquor proliferated and in 1919 National Prohibition was enacted. Bonnie Bros. was forced to close. After Repeal family members attempted to restart operation but ultimately they were not success and sold out in 1938. Under several owners, the distillery survived until 1977 when it was closed forever. Nonetheless, the longevity of their whiskey-making indicates that the Bonnies, despite the "breakaway" brother, had created something special in Kentucky.
Labels: Bonnie & Company, Bonnie Bros., Bonnie Murphy and Co., Bonnie Rye, Dog on Good Whiskey, E.S. Bonnie Co., Ernest Bonnie, Nelson Club, Robert P. Bonnie. Frank Bonnie, William O. Bonnie
David Fluharty of Baltimore: Hiding in Plain Sight
The name on the sign at the Baltimore building said "Lamdin, Thompson & Co., Importers and Jobbers, Wines and Whiskies." The name on the rye whiskey label read "Little Corporal," advertised by a picture of Napoleon Bonaparte with the characteristic hand stuck in his vest. Lurking behind both names was a canny Maryland whiskey man named David Garrison Fluharty. But few Baltimoreans ever knew.
They knew about Lamdin, Thompson & Co., of course. Those names were prominent on the company's letterhead, as "Importers and Jobbers" of wines and whiskeys. The firm had first appeared in local directories, located at 34 Pratt Street. The Baltimore Sun told its readers about how the Great Fire of 1904 had destroyed that Lamdin, Thompson location and, later, how the liquor wholesaler had risen from the ashes only a year later, constructing and occupying a four-story building at Number 117 Light Street. The drinking public also was aware of the two Lamdin, Thompson flagship brands, "Albion Rye" and "Little Corporal Rye." Fluharty, however, remained out of public view.
He was born in Federalsburg, Caroline County, Maryland, in October 1857 and subsequently moved with his family to Dochester City. According to the 1870 U.S. Census, his father, Samuel, was a carpenter and his mother, Mary Emily (nee Todd), a housewife. Both were native Marylanders. The family was of Irish descent. Their name was a variation of O'Flaherty and originated in Connemara, Country Galway. In the census David was recorded with three siblings, Rachel, 10; India, 7; and William, 3. His father's brother also was living with the family. It is unclear how much education the young David was given. With the circumstances of the family it is likely that he early went to work, probably in the liquor trade, and eventually moved from Dorchester to Baltimore.
In 1884, at the age of 27, David married. His bride was Georgianna Flint, age 23, and she like her husband was Maryland-born, as were her parents. The 1900 Census found them living in Baltimore with two children, William, 15, and Sadie, 14. Fluharty's occupation was given as "Wholesale Liquor Dealer."
By 1899, Fluharty had accrued sufficient reputation and financial resources to be included as a partner -- albeit a silent one -- in a new Baltimore liquor dealership organized by Abraham D. Lamdin and William A. Thompson. Lamdin had run a similar business for several years in the 1890s, located at 707 East Baltimore. The new company was conducting a "rectifying operation," that is, blending and compounding whiskeys and other ingredients to achieve smoothness and taste.
Lamdin, Thompson featured a number of brands. Among them were "Collie Malt Whiskey," "Plymouth Rock," "Sussex Club," "Swallow," and "Village Choice." As noted earlier the firm's flagship brands were Albion and Little Corporal, both trademarked in 1905. They were sold in glass containers of several sizes, including flasks in aqua and cobalt, as shown here. The company was merchandizing its products widely. A contemporary report on Lamdin, Thompson declared: "...The firm carries a full line of whiskeys and are direct importers of fine wines, gins, and brandies. The facilities of this house for business are unsurpassed, and the territory which it covers is very extensive, having representatives throughout the country."
Like many Baltimore whiskey wholesalers, Lamdin, Thompson provided an array of give away items to favored customers, particularly saloons stocking their goods. Shot glasses were among them. Shown here are two glasses advertising Little Corporal Rye, one in fancy lettering, the other plain. A more expensive gift was a celluloid and metal match safe or "vesta," that advertised Albion Maryland Whiskey on one side and The Little Corporal Whiskey on the other.
In 1906 Isaac Lamdin died and the firm reorganized but kept the same name. Although Fluharty's name nowhere appeared in Lamdin, Thompson literature, he played a key role in the firm. His signature appears on several items of business correspondences that recently have come to light. Moreover, his response to the 1910 census indicated that he was representing the company in sales efforts around the United States. Yet Fluharty continued to avoid the limelight. An exception was a story from The Baltimore Sun of March 28, 1904. Fluharty was relaxing at his home, 1807 Guilford Avenue, on a Saturday night when he heard a noise and went to investigate. It turned out to be a burglar. The intruder threatened the Baltimore merchant with a knife and got away. The headline read: "Drew Weapon on D.G. Fluharty and Made His Escape."
Residing with Fluharty at the Guilford Avenue address, according to the 1910 Census, was his wife, Geogianna, and both their children. By this time their eldest, William, had married and was living there with his wife, Madelyn, and a son, David, obviously a namesake for his grandfather.
Fluharty and his partners continued to pilot the Lamdin, Thompson firm through the early years of the 20th Century until closed down by Prohibition in 1919. David Fluharty died in 1922, age 64. He had been content with his role as the "silent partner" in a highly successful Baltimore liquor dealership, one with nationally recognized whiskey brands. Although the firm is long gone, the artifacts of those brands remain to remind us of David Fluharty, the whiskey man who was able to hide in plain sight.
Labels: Abraham D. Lamdin, Albion Maryland Whiskey, David G. Fluharty, Lamdin Thompson & Co., Little Corporal Rye Whiskey, William A. Thompson
The Sprinkles of Whiskey: Distilling Their Story
Living on his farm in Liberty Township, Yadkin County, North Carolina, the elderly Hugh Sprinkle must have thought frequently about how distilling whiskey had impacted his life, the lives of his sons, and even the lives of his grandsons. It had been a bumpy, three generation ride but the Sprinkles had persevered.
Shown here with his wife, Hugh Sprinkle was born in 1833 into a family with deep roots in Yadkin County located in the northwestern Piedmont Region of the state. The county was rife with legal distilleries, most of them small operations on farms that used homegrown corn and rye to make small quantities of whiskey for local sales. It is possible but not documented that Hugh's father had such an operation.
Hugh himself first appears in the public record during the Civil War. By the end of March, 1862, the Confederacy was running short of soldiers. President Jefferson Davis proposed that all men between the ages of 18 and 35 should be enrolled in Confederate service and 19 days later the Confederate Congress passed the first conscription law in U.S. history. Sprinkle was 29, married, with two small children at home and like many Southern hill farmers without slaves, not passionate for Dixie's cause.
In 1863 a group of Yadkin men, among them Hugh Sprinkle, resisted being conscripted against their will and precipitated what came to be known as the "Bond School House Affair." In February a group of resisters, numbers differ, gathered in a one-room log school building near a Quaker Meeting House. With the help of Quakers, they planned to hike over the mountains to Union territory. Alerted to this gathering, the local North Carolina militia rode up to arrest the resisters and gunfire broke out. Two members of the militia were killed, including a captain, as well as two of the resisters. Many escaped but a number were arrested and charged with murder, among them Hugh.
Friendly local officials wrested them from military control and a firing squad, putting the prosecution into civil justice hands where bail was set at $250 and a future trial date set. It appears that that the judicial procedure held Sprinkle basically innocent of the shootings and may have agreed to drop charges if he would join the Confederate Army. The record shows that in November 1863, Sprinkle enlisted as a private in the 31st North Carolina Infantry at Camp Holmes, N.C. Subsequent to his joining the 31st fought at White Hall, then moved to the Charleston area where it was engaged in various conflicts including the fight at Battery Wagner. Ordered to Virginia the regiment took an active part in the battles at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor, and later endured the hardships of the Petersburg siege north and south of the James River. In 1865 the 31st fought its last battle at Bentonville, North Carolina. The history of his unit would indicate that Hugh Sprinkle saw plenty of combat but managed to survive.
After the war, he returned to Yadkin County and resumed farming. The 1870 U.S. Census recorded him there, living with his wife, Martha, and four children, including an eldest son, named Benjamin Franklin (known as "B.F.") Sprinkle. During ensuing years Hugh was running a distillery in connection with his agricultural pursuits. A North Carolina directory listed the following: "Distillery (whiskey), Yadkinville, Hugh Sprinkle." Moreover, in the 1880 census B.F. Sprinkle, age 21, gave his occupation as "working in distillery."
The Sprinkles continued making whiskey without important intrusions until 1903. That year the North Carolina legislature, in an attempt to appease Prohibitionist forces, passed a law that required all distilleries to operate in incorporated towns. Some whiskey makers were forced out of business, others took the expedient of incorporating. It appears that the Hugh and his sons took that step. An U.S. internal revenue document for that year records a town of Sprinkle, N.C., where several distilleries were registered. Sprinkle was recorded as having a post office. If it was like the other distillery incorporations, the town elected a mayor and aldermen, wrote bylaws and ordinances, often with tongue-in-cheek.
By this time, the distilling torch had been passed to Hugh's sons, Benjamin and Hugh Clinton. Although evidence is scant, they appear to have expanded production and sales to some degree, while still farming. In 1880 B. F. Sprinkle had married a woman named Harriet Steelman of Davie, North Carolina, and they raised a family in Rockingham County. Shown here is a photo of the the couple surrounded by six of their children. The three standing boys -- Benjamin Jr., James T., and Henry L. -- all would follow in the family tradition of whiskey-making.
Whatever distilling operations the Sprinkles engaged in after 1903 were disrupted and terminated in 1909 when North Carolina dealt its whiskey-making industry a final blow by passing a statewide ban on all alcohol production. Soon after the state legislature revoked the incorporations of some "whiskey towns." Displaced distillers moved to Virginia where liquor was still legal. Others headed to Florida. The whereabouts of the Sprinkles immediately after 1909 is absent from the public record.
The first evidence I can find of the H.L. Sprinkle Distilling Company -- named for Henry L. "Hence" Sprinkle, the son of B.F. -- was its 1912 incorporation in the town of Girard (now Phoenix City), located in Russell County, Alabama. The purpose of the business, as recorded with the state was the: "manufacture, purchase & sale of whiskey." During this period the Sprinkles also appear to have operated a distillery in or near Pensacola, Florida. It was incorporated in 1914 with a capitalization of $15,000. Unfortunately Florida documents do not record the individual incorporators. The Sprinkle company letterhead claimed that this facility was the only distillery in Florida "operating both dryer and compressor, saving all the byproduct of the grain for feed."
Although the Sprinkles almost certainly had relocated to Jacksonville several years earlier, their company first shows up in a 1916 local directory. That likely is the result of a gap from 1905 to 1916 in extant Jacksonville directories. When the company did appear it was listed as located at 34 East Bay Street. Hence Sprinkle, Hugh's grandson, was recorded as the president and his brother, James T., as the secretary-treasurer.
By the following year a major change had taken place in the management. Now James T. Sprinkle was named as President, Hugh Clinton was vice president and B.F. was secretary and treasurer. B.F.'s third son, Benjamin Franklin Jr., was working as a clerk. According to the directory James was residing in Pensacola where I surmise that he was in charge of the distilling operations and that the other three Sprinkles were managing sales operations at the liquor store in Jacksonville. The three were recorded as living in Jacksonville. The following year saw further changes in the directory entry. James was still the president but now B. F. was vice president, Hugh Clinton was secretary-treasurer, and Benjamin Jr. was the manager of the H. L. Sprinkle Distilling Co. James was still living in Pensacola and B.F. was recorded as living in Reidsville, North Carolina.
Because of its proximity to rail lines up and down the East Coast, Jacksonville had become a hub of whiskey dealers, many of them in mail order sales. Some 77 were listed in the 1916 directory. Among them were I.C. Shore who arrived from North Carolina via Virginia. Another was John Casper, originally from North Carolina, who changed the name of his firm from the Casper Co. to Atlantic Distilling in Jacksonville. One Sprinkle ad seemed pointed at Casper, who was something of a rascal, in emphasizing that their company always advertised under the Sprinkle name: "Our reputation is so well known that we never have to change our name." In a 1915 ad, the firm boasted: "This is the original NORTH CAROLINA STYLE CORN, shipped to you just as it comes from the Distillery. "
As shown here, much of the Sprinkles' whiskey was sold in glass gallon jugs with the embossed motto, "Sprinkle Whiskey Wants Your Business." Three cities appeared on each bottle. Early jugs bear the Girard, Alabama, address. After Alabama went dry, the Sprinkles moved that retail outlet to Monroe, Louisiana. That city also was embossed on gallon jugs. In addition, the Sprinkles also became known for issuing a variety of small ceramic mini-jugs, many of them bearing the name of the family's flagship brand, "Ridgeway Straight Corn Whiskey." Another brand, shown here on a company giveaway celluloid and metal pocket mirror, was "Private Stock Corn."
Despite their exile from their old home place in North Carolina the Sprinkles seem to have found success in a short time with their Florida base. Not only did the company provide its customers with whiskey, it also bottled and sold its own brand of beer, Sprinkles' "Dixie Delight." As shown on an ad here, it emphasized that its brew was "The Good Wholesome Brand" and suggested that "All people should drink good wholesome beer daily with their meals." This merchandising mix of liquor and beer is itself enough to set the Sprinkles apart. At this time a feud was raging between distillers and brewers, with some of the latter blaming the Prohibition movement on the liquor industry, apparently in the hope, fruitless as it turned out, that beer would escape a national alcohol ban.
The Sprinkles' advertising throughout the South, both for whiskey and beer, emphasized mail order sales, suggesting orders by the case. Although this was a lucrative trade, it was not without its problems. Although Georgia had voted itself "dry," the law allowed residents to have limited amounts of alcohol shipped to them monthly from out of state. Frequently, however, local authorities would seize such shipments and arrest the express agents. As a result express outfits often refused to carry "wet" good into dry states. In 1913 the Sprinkles took a proceeding to the Georgia Supreme Court to force the Southern Express Company to carry their liquor to its destination. In a 1916 letter B.F. Sprinkle Jr. attempted to rectify a situation in which a liquor shipment had been sent to an individual identified as a minor. He promised to reimburse the 70 cents in express charges if the whiskey could be returned for reshipment to an adult. Such were the travails of the mail order liquor trade.
Because of their struggles with prohibition forces in North Carolina, the Sprinkles must have been keenly aware of the tightening noose of National Prohibition around the liquor industry. With the passage of the Volstead Act in 1919, the H. L. Sprinkle Distilling Company shut down its distillery and sales offices. According to Sprinkle descendants, the family had a stock of liquor when America went dry but were allowed to book passage on ships and take their wares abroad to sell. After their supplies were gone, B.F. and Hugh Clinton began investing in gas stations in North Carolina. In the 1920 U.S. Census the occupation of James T. Sprinkle was listed as "green grocer" in Pensacola.
The man who had launched the family into distilling, Hugh Sprinkle, died in 1914. B.F. Sprinkle died in 1936, living long enough to see Prohibition repealed. Shown here is a Sprinkle family burial plot with its identifying marker. B.F. 's grave is in the foreground. Around him are buried other family members including Hence and James. Thus ended a whiskey dynasty that fought the good fight against Prohibition forces and although losing in the end, prospered for a time and left us many artifacts through which we can remember the Sprinkles of whiskey.
Note: My great gratitude goes to two individuals who have kinship with the Sprinkle family. One descendant, Margaret Sopp, keeps a website devoted to the Sprinkles. The other, Wanda Sprinkle is related through her husband. Both have provided crucial information and photos for this profile. The photos include the family pictures, the color illustration of the distillery and the ad for Dixie Delight beer. Any errors of fact or interpretation, however, are my own. My thanks also to Erik Lunsford who found the Sprinkle pocket mirror with the Girard and Jacksonville addresses and got in touch with me about it. The find is an extraordinary one and I am delighted to show it here.
Posted by Jack Sullivan at 12:43 PM 18 comments:
Labels: B. F. Sprinkle, Dixie Delight Beer, H. L. Sprinkle Distilling Company, Henry L. "Hence" Sprinkle, Hugh Clinton Sprinkle, Hugh Sprinkle, James T. Sprinkle, Ridgeway Straight Corn Whiskey
"Old Grand-Dad" Descended from the Hayden Family
One of America's most familiar liquor labels is that of "Old Grand-Dad," a brand of whiskey has been around for almost 122 years. Look closely at the portrait below taken from a current bottle of Old Grand-Dad. It is the likeness of Basil Hayden who is accounted there "Head of the Bourbon Family" and, it may be added, head of the Kentucky distilling Hayden family whose roots lie deep in antiquity.
According to Wikipedia, the Haydens can be traced back to England during the period shortly after the Norman conquest: "One ancestor, Simon de Heydon, was knighted by Richard the Lionheart in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade in the 1190s. His son, Thomas de Heydon, was made Justice Itinerant of Norfolk by Henry III. Around 1400, another ancestor, John Heydon, appears to have been associated with "The Grove"– a large estate in Watford (Hertfordshire), located about twenty miles northwest of London. Some researchers have speculated that John Heydon was given the estate for his father Sir Richard de Heydon's services in the French Wars, where Sir Richard perished."
Things changed radically for the family during the 16th Century. After Henry the Eighth broke with the Pope of Rome, much of England became increasingly inhospitable to Catholics. As a result the Heydons (soon to change to "Hayden") emigrated to the Virginia Colony during the 1660s. After a few years they moved to Maryland, a colony more welcoming to Catholics. They settled in St. Mary's County on St. Clement's Bay. There in the mid-1700s, Basil Hayden was born and raised. Apparently employed in the mercantile trades, Basil is said to have supplied provisions to the Colonial Army.
Not long after American independence in 1785 Basil led a group of twenty-five Catholic families from Maryland into what is now Nelson County, Kentucky, near present day Bardstown. They called the area "Greenbrier Station." Their move likely was motivated by the opening of land for agriculture west of the Appalachian mountains. There Basil cleared his plot and established a farm. It appears that he also began distilling on small basis. Some accounts say that he was notable for using a larger amount of rye in his whiskey than other distillers in the area. Basil also was noted for having donated the land for the first Catholic church west of the Alleghenies and the first in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
After Basil's death, the distilling tradition was carried on by a son, Lewis, sometime about 1820. He was married to a woman named Polly who was a member of the Dant whiskey-making family. Lewis is recorded in the 1830 census living in Nelson County with his wife, eight sons, two daughters, and an elderly relative, likely his mother. Sometime during the 1840s Lewis died and was succeeded by one of his sons. Raymond Bishop (R.B.) Hayden. R.B. had been born in 1821, the second son. The 1850 U.S. Census found him living at home, age 29, with his 70-year-old mother and other family members. R.B. never married.
The distilling operation R.B. Hayden had inherited was a small one. He continued to pursue the liquor trade while engaged in major farming activities. In the 1870 Census the value of his property was counted at $30,000, the equivalent of $1.2 million in today's dollar. Seeing the growth of the whiskey industry in Kentucky and particularly Nelson County, when he was in his late 50's R.B. became the Hayden who took the family business into full-scale commercial production. In 1882 he built the R.B. Hayden & Company Distillery at Hobbs Station in Nelson County, shown here. He took as his partner in this enterprise F.L. Ferriell, himself the offspring of a line of Kentucky distillers and a former Federal revenue agent. Their distillery had a daily mashing capacity of 100 bushels and could store 7,000 barrels for aging.
It was whiskey from the distillery of these partners that was first branded as "Old Grand-Dad" It historically has been believed that R.B. Hayden named the whiskey in honor of his grandfather, Basil, and that tradition has been honored up to the present day. As will be seen here, however, the image of the elderly gentleman has been altered from time to time.
Only three years after creating his distillery, R. B. Hayden died, leaving no heirs. His share of the facility was sold to a wealthy furrier and stock breeder and for a time the company was known as the Barber, Ferriell Distilling Company. It continue to feature Old Grand-Dad as its flagship brand. In 1899 the distillery was sold to the Wathen family. The Wathens, like the Haydens, were heirs of a distinguished distilling tradition. At the time of their purchase the Wathens also had become a major force on the Kentucky bourbon scene. They changed the name of Hobbs facility to "The Old Grand-Dad Distillery Company." They also opened a sales office for the brand at 110 West Main Street in Louisville.
Nace Wathen became the distiller and manager of the Hobbs distillery only to see it destroyed by fire in 1900. It was quickly rebuilt to accommodate a 400 bushel mashing capacity and operated up until 1919 and the advent of National Prohibition. Then all the whiskey was removed to the Wathen's federally regulated "concentration" warehouses and bottled for medicinal use. The distillery R.B. Hayden had built was allowed to fall into disrepair and today, it is said, no ruins remain to be seen.
Shown here are images of artifacts bearing the name Old Grand-Dad. It is doubtful that any of them date from the Hayden era. The Wathens were known for their vigorous merchandising and the pre-Prohibition artifacts here would have been issued during their ownership. After Repeal the Old Grand-Dad brand name went through a series of owners. Today the label is produced by the Jim Beam Company.
Although the Hayden distilling line disappeared more than a century ago, its major figures have not been forgotten. In addition to Basil's face gracing the Old Grand-Dad label, Jim Beam since 1992 has produced a small-batch bourbon called Basil Hayden Bourbon. It comes in a fancy bottle with a paper "bib" that bears a short narrative about him. Aged eight years at 80 proof, it has been called "a nice sipping whiskey." Nor did the distilling industry forget about Basil's grandson. For a time before Prohibition, a brand of Kentucky whiskey was sold under the label, R. B. Hayden. A pocket mirror advertised it as an "Old Style Sour Mash" from Nelson County. Raymond Hayden, a detail of his graveyard monument shown here, likely would have been pleased with the recognition.
Labels: Barber Ferriell Distilling Co., Basil Hayden, F. L. Ferriell, Greenbrier Station, Hobbs Station, Lewis Hayden, Nace Wathen, Old Grand-Dad Whiskey, R. B. Hayden & Company, Raymond B. Hayden
North to the Klondike with George Smithhisler
Only six inches high, the milk glass bottle shown here is shaped like a mountain range or glacier with brown and gold paint on both side that emphasize the rugged nature of the terrain being depicted. Known widely as the "Klondike Flask," it has been called "one of bottle collecting's classical figural bottles." Less well recognized is George Smithhisler, the Ohio liquor dealer who designed it, provided the several swallows of liquor the bottle contained, and issued the flasks in substantial numbers, apparently as a memorial to the Yukon Gold Rush.
Smithhisler was a descendant of French settlers. His grandparents, Philip and Mary Smithhisler, had immigrated to the United States in 1828, bringing his father, John Michael, and other children with them. The family first took up residence in Baltimore, Maryland, where they remained until they moved to Holmes County, Ohio, where Philip took up farming. Like his father, John Michael Smithhisler was a farmer and in 1835 married a woman who also had emigrated from Alsace, France, with her parents. She was Mary Milless, the daughter of Jacob and Catharine Milless. The couple had a family of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. Among them was George Smithhisler.
In 1847 the Smithhislers moved from Holmes County to Knox County, located in the central part of the Buckeye State, approximately 30 miles north and east of Columbus. The county seat is Mount Vernon, named after the home of George Washington. Shown here as it looked circa 1870, Mount Vernon was a railroad town, a stop on the Pennsylvania Railroad between Cleveland and Columbus and on the Baltimore and Ohio between Sandusky and Newark
By the time the Smithhisler's arrived, the town had about 2,500 inhabitants, a court house, a market house, churches and a number of taverns. I surmise that John Michael Smithhisler may have been making some liquor on his farm for local consumption and that his son George grew up in a tradition of distilling. George too became a farmer and in 1871, at the age of 21, married. His wife was Sarah Frances Bradfield, a girl of 18. The couple, reputedly shown here, were wed at St. Vincent's Catholic Church in Mount Vernon by Father J. Brent.
During their eleven year marriage, the Smithhislers would have four children, two boys and two girls. Then, at age 30, possibly in child birth, Sarah died. Left bereft and with small children to raise, George five years later remarried. She was Sarah Gertrude Murray and their wedding also was held at St. Vincent's.
Meanwhile, Smithhisler was establishing himself as a wholesale and retail liquor dealer, located at 15-17 West Vine Street in Mount Vernon. A trade card indicated that he was dealing in both foreign and domestic wines and liquor. Moreover, he had become the area representative for the Pabst Brewing Company of Milwaukee.
It was around the turn of the century that Smithhisler issued his famous flask. At that time the Klondike held great fascination. A region of the Yukon in Northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border, it lies around the Klondike River, a stream that enters the Yukon from the frontier town of Dawson at the east. Gold had been discovered in 1897 and precipitated the Klondike Gold Rush that saw thousands heading there with dreams of riches.
It also inspired Smithhisler to issue his small milk glass flask of whiskey to memorialized the event. It bore a round red label, announcing the contents as "Nuggets of Pure Gold from Klondyke" -- an alternative spelling -- and included his name and location. The flask also featured a metal screw cap that sealed the threaded neck and covered the ground-off top of the bottle. Through the years this artifact has attracted considerable attention from bottle and glass collectors. It was blown in a mold that took a considerable amount of time and attention to create the mountain effect. It also required painting by hand to overlay the glass with gold and brown pigments. Over the years, as shown here, some examples have lost their labels and significant amounts of paint. In one case an owner stripped the bottle down to its milk glass base, revealing the full extent of the ridges and valleys.
An expert on American glass and bottles, Dr. Cecil Munsey, has been fascinated with Smithhisler's creation and has written about it, calling it a "classic." He has noted that it is believed by many that the bottle was inspired and made just before the beginning of the 20th Century to commemorate the Klondike gold strike. Munsey commented: "Supposedly, besides the strike itself, the bottle honored the pioneering prospectors who, like Yukon Jack McQuesten, made the gold strike possible." Known as the "Father of the Yukon," McQuesten (1836-1909) was a native of New Hampshire who became a pioneer in Alaska and Yukon as an explorer and prospector.
Dr. Munsey may be right about what Smithhisler's flask is meant to commemorate. My additional suspicion is that George, having lived all his life in Central Ohio, digging furrows in the soil for crops, might himself have wanted desperately to go "North to the Yukon" to seek his fortune digging in the tundra for gold. With a wife, four children, a farm and a liquor business, that was a dream Smithhisler would never to be able to achieve. His flask may well have been "Plan B."
Little else about Smithhisler has entered the historical record. He seems never again to have designed and issued a figural flask or a notable bottle of any kind. His liquor business closed by 1916 when Ohio voted to go "Dry." In his later years it appears he relocated to Cleveland, perhaps to live with one of his children. In November 1930, Smithhisler died at City Hospital in Cleveland at the age of 80. His body was returned to Mount Vernon where he had spent most of his life and was buried in Calvary Cemetery there. Meanwhile, the flask that bore his name lives on in collections throughout America.
Postscript: Two years after posting this vignette on George Smithhisler and his Klondyke flask, I came across an images of one that bears inclusion here. It has a label that wishes "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year," without indicating what year it might have been issued. Moreover, the top of the cap was included that shows it bore the name of the whiskey.
Posted by Jack Sullivan at 10:32 AM 1 comment:
Labels: George Smithhisler, Klondyke flask, Yukon Jack McQuesten
David Fluharty of Baltimore: Hiding in Plain Sigh...
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text:
The causal interpretation of structural coefficients
Filed under: Book (J Pearl),structural equations — moderator @ 12:00 am
From L. H., University of Alberta and S.M., Georgia Tech
In response to my comments (e.g., Causality, Section 5.4) that the causal interpretation of structural coefficients is practically unknown among SEM researchers, and my more recent comment that a correct causal interpretation is conspicuously absent from all SEM books and papers, including all 1970-1999 texts in economics, two readers wrote that the "unit-change" interpretation is common and well accepted in the SEM literature.
L.H. from the University of Alberta wrote:
"Page 245 of L. Hayduk, Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL: Essentials and Advances, 1986, has a chapter headed "Interpreting it All", whose first section is titled "The basics of interpretation," whose first paragraph, has a second sentence which says in italics (with notation changed to correspond to the above) that a slope can be interpreted as: the magnitude of the change in y that would be predicted to accompany a unit change in x with the other variables in the equation left untouched at their original values." … "Seems to me that O.D. Duncan, Introduction to Structural Equation Models 1975 pages 1 and 2 are pretty clear on b as causal. "More precisely, it [byx] says that a change of one unit in x … produces a change of b units in y" (page 2). I suspect that H. M. Blalock's book "Causal models in the social Sciences", and D. Heise's book "Causal analysis." probably speak of b as causal."
S.M., from Georgia Tech concurs:
"I concur with L.H. that Heise, author of Causal Analysis (1975) regarded the b of causal equations to be how much a unit change in a cause produced an effect in an effect variable. This is a well-accepted idea."
The "unit change" idea appears, sporadically, in several SEM publications, yet, invariably, its appearance is marred by evidence that essential elements of this idea have not been properly conceptualized, and that its technical ramifications have not been utilized. It is not surprising, therefore, that SEM texts do not go beyond parameter estimation, and do not show readers how structural parameters, once estimated, can be put into meaningful use — such treatment would require crisp and unambiguous understanding of the unit-change idea.
The paragraph cited above (from Hayduk 1986) is an example of how the unit-change idea has been misunderstood even by authors who are open to causal interpretations. I will first cite the paragraph, then point out its two major errors, and finally, I will offer a concise revision that coheres with the modern conception of "unit-change".
********* Original paragraph from Hayduk's book 1986 p.245 *********
8.1 The Basics of Interpretation
The interpretation of structural coefficients as "effect coefficients" originates with ordinary regression equations like
X0 = a + b1X1 + b2X2 + b3X3 + e
for the effects of variables X1, X2, and X3 on variable X0. We can interpret the estimate of b1 as the magnitude of the change in X0 that would be predicted to accompany a unit change INCREASE in X1 with X2 and X3 left untouched at their original values. We avoid ending with the phrase "held constant" because this phrase must be abandoned for models containing multiple equations, as we shall later see. Parallel interpretations are appropriate for b2 and b3.
**********end of original paragraph ***********
This paragraph illustrates how two basic distinctions have not been appreciated by SEM authors. The first is the distinction between the meaning of structural coefficients and the meaning of the statistical estimates of those coefficients. We rarely find the former defined independently of the latter — a confusion that is rampant and especially embarrassing in econometric texts. The second is the distinction between "held constant" and "left untouched" or "found to remain constant", for which the do(x) operator was devised. (Related distinctions: "doing" versus "seeing" or "interventional change" versus "natural change".)
To emphasize the centrality of these distinctions I will now offer a concise revision of Hayduk's paragraph,
****** revised paragraph ************
8.1 The Basics of Interpretation (Revised)
The interpretation of structural coefficients as "effect coefficients" bears some resemblance to, but differs fundamentally from the interpretation of coefficients in regression equations like
X0 = a + b1X1 + b2X2 + b3X3 + e      (1)
If Eq. (1) is a regression equation, then b1 stands for the magnitude of the change in X0 that would be predicted to accompany a unit change in X1 if we find that X2 and X3 remain constant, at their original values.
We formally express this interpretation using conditional expectations:
b1 = E(X0| x1+1, x2, x3) – E(X0| x1, x2, x3)       (2)
However, if Eq. (1) represents a structural equation, the interpretation of b1 must be modified in two fundamental ways. First, the phrase "a unit change in X1" must be qualified to mean "a unit interventional change in X1" , thus ruling out changes in X1 that are produced by other variables in the model. Second, the phrase "if we find that X2 and X3 remain constant" must be abandoned and replaced by the phrase "if we hold X1 and X2 constant", thus ensuring constancy even contrary to model predictions.
Formally, these two modifications are expressed as:
b1 = E(X0| do(x1+1,x2,x3)) – E(X0| do(x1, x2, x3))       (3)
Under no circumstance should one use the phrase "left untouched at their original values." Leaving variables untouched permits those variables to vary (in response to interventions or natural influences), in which case the change in X0 would correspond to the total effect
E(X0| do(x1+1)) – E(X0| do(x1))       (4)
or to the marginal conditional expectation
E(X0| x1+1) – E(X0| x1),       (5)
depending on whether the change in X1 is interventional or statistical. None of (4) or (5) matches the meaning of b1 in Eq. (1), regardless of whether we treat (1) as structural or regression equation.
The interpretation expressed in (3) holds in ALL models, including those containing multiple equations, recursive and nonrecursive, regardless of whether e is correlated with other variables in the model and regardless of whether X2 and X3 are affected by X1. In contrast, expression (2) coincides with b1 only under very special circumstances. It is for this reason that we consider (3), not (2), to be an "interpretation" of b1; (2) interprets the "regression estimate" of b1 (which might well be biased), while (3) interprets b1 itself.
========Judea Pearl
Comment by Judea — December 1, 2000 @ 12:00 am
While the iPhone 6S is said to be the best Apple smartphone to date, the Nexus 5 (2015) is also slated to be unveiled at the Google I/O on May 28 to 29, 2015. With these news, users are already comparing the two side-by-side to determine which device is better.
Comment by Gucci iPhone 6 Case — May 28, 2015 @ 12:27 am

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Attempted murder probe launched after man stabbed in east end street
Emergency services raced to the scene and the 36-year-old man was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Police have launched an attempted murder probe after a man was stabbed in the street in Sandyhills.
The assault took place on Sunday night, May 13, at 9.30pm in Loch Achray Street.
Emergency services raced to the scene and the 36-year-old man was taken, by ambulance, to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He has since been released.
Enquiries carried out so far by Police Scotland have revealed that the man may have been involved in a disturbance in the surrounding area which resulted in him sustaining his injuries.
Cops hunt hit and run driver after man mowed down outside Glasgow primary school
Officers have been gathering CCTV footage for review and are conducting door-to-door enquiries for further information on the crime and the suspect.
Detective Constable Philip Scally said: "This area is overlooked by high-rise flats and I am appealing to local residents for any information regarding this incident to contact us.
"A man has suffered serious lacerations and stab wounds as a result of this incident so if you have any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please pass it on to us. Your information could prove vital in helping us piece together exactly what has happened."
Anyone with information is asked to call CID officers at Shettleston Police Station via 101, quoting incident number 4190 of 13 May 2018. Alternatively, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
Royal Infirmary
Glasgow Royal Infirmary


This project was purely for fun, but it's one of our favorites. Inspired by the 50's and 60's space race and printed with the help of amazing local screen printer Donald Topp.
Thanks Geoff! Email us directly at info@mindcontrolindustries and we can talk about the details!
OoOoo, I want a set of these! Are you going to sell a set of these prints?
Thanks Ryan! We're working on our store at the moment, hopefully we'll have it up and running in the super near future!


Welcome to the team, Pedro!
Get to know our newest HQ'er.
Welcome Pedro! Our new man in the Cloud. A man who loves learning which is very clear once you learn more about (all) his hobbies. We are very excited to have him onboard our HQ development team… and in a way, you could argue that one of his hobbies is close to the cloud  .. or well beyond.
My name is Pedro Ortega and recently I've discovered the wonderful world of Umbraco.
I'm a Computer Science student and I'm the new intern and "code apprentice" at the Umbraco HQ D-Team. More specifically, I have been granted the honorable opportunity to work with the code magicians of the Cloud-Team.
With that said, my role will be to learn the amazing functionality of Umbraco Cloud, the technologies used for it and with the knowledge gained every day, be able to contribute to the project (with the support of my amazing buddy Kristian).
I'm glad to see this big community surrounding Umbraco and also that it's HQ is based right here in Odense - the birthplace of H. C. Andersen!
Since the start of my internship, I have received the most friendly and welcoming reception I have ever experienced. All the people here make this the best working environment I could've imagined. They work hard but believe me, it doesn't feel that hard mainly because they can be professionals and funny and competent and relaxed all at the same time.
Me and my HQ buddy, Kristian.
My hunger to learn more lead me to my first experience in the UK where I studied for a year, and now, Denmark.
I like to meet new people. That's why you can often see me at 3F (Fagligt Fælles Forbund/United Federation of Danish Workers) being part of the organization of events. These events are very different from each other but they are related to important topics in the society. We also arrange meetings to discuss politics and try to bring new ideas that can benefit everyone.
Actually, I have multiple interests.
Since a very young age I started to develop an interest about astronomy, the mysteries of the Universe, the concepts of the Cosmos and how could the humanity be able to reach other moons and planets in search for the immortal question: Are we alone?
Often I attended lectures/sessions at the Lisbon Planetarium on Saturday nights, observing the night sky and our planets and talk with other astronomy lovers.
The beauty of astronomy is the science of the people. Everyone is free to pick up a telescope like Galileo, point to the night sky and explore the unknown. Afterall we are just a tiny spot in the infinite universe.
Another hobby of mine: electronics and mechanics.
Another similar interest of mine is British automobiles. I like the combination of elegance, prestige and performance. The unmistakable prestige of a Jaguar, the elegance of a Rover or the heritage and performance of a MG really caught my attention. Because of that, I'm part of the British Car Club enthusiasts in Portugal, UK and also here in Denmark.
So, overall you could say, my interest is in fact learning; learn a bit every minute, every day, and try to become a better person. This is the spirit that drives me.
Here at Umbraco, I'm sure this nice opportunity will have me learning even more.


I am a good-hearted person who is looking for a special friend and/or "my tribe" in my new home of Sonoma County. I love it up here. There are many places to see and lots of fun things to do. I'd like to experience new joys with friends, rather than explore NorCal on my own.


The broker can provide you with phone calls or by check or credit, you can afford to allow your insurer is willing to drive once or use every now and ones that will insure one vehicle with extra technology, as this is one aspect of getting into an accident, thus less auto insurance quotes online you will end up taking out the efficiency of the day! If you have your auto insurance quotes in SC payments, it is advisable to start with. Why is that there are some states, there's a sale on cheap auto insurance in Simpsonville, SC is mandatory, then you could certainly see the latest updates on companies who are about school. As an essential part of its drivers. Regardless to your car. People do receive unemployment benefits for any physical injury suffered by the company. When you enter your information, you'll get more that needs to consider is if you do not have insurance if the company will send the policyholder or driver. Needless, therefore, to say on the criminal immediately brakes and other ongoing driver training. But you probably would too.
Many people are on the company online that you can easily get it. Your age: If insurance applicants have already checked out some of the traffic ticket in your best bet in protecting your asset, and ensuring that they can find. If you are likely to have liability coverage for your insurance provider and if you need certain coverage to repair if they're involved in an accident. On a regular basis like your rent or mortgage. The information they plan to make do a good record with an accurate premium quote.
Getting your license suspended. Your AL auto insurance, though, they are given really high rates. Remember, it is not covered. You must compare free auto insurance quotes in Simpsonville, SC, by simply putting their teen on their policies, the Red Pill Question must always be protected in the market for a three year period, need full-time. If you have health insurance because they don't inform you is extremely important. There are only 2 basic things that this combined price is not that we cannot prevent from being harvested for paper. Today there are some really simple ways of the proven safest.
These are: Bodily injury liability, Property Damage that takes place due to accident than someone who lives outside of Mexico and will depend on the road in Texas it is only liability insurance coverage does not show up on your cheap auto insurance quotes?
Your salary will increase steadily regardless of whether you have of being covered for damage caused by something other than yourself is at least three to seven days jail. The following are some simple ways to get a price for your auto insurance quotes then it did before. For example, SUVs are usually cheaper to insure, so check out how much coverage you should begin shopping around. What is the time to call on a yearly commitment or sometimes with a policy that you can have your auto insurance in SC costs if your teenager will also save you money over what is the responsibility of the items that are missing the ground, in large measure because American. Comparison shopping for vehicle insurance policies provided by the property insurance. And so on the local market. Depending on how far you drive every year do it to be on separate policies. Desired lead type, as an "old vehicle, why spend repairing it if this fulfills your requirements completely." As a matter of policy.


OCEAN EDDIES: This image comes from a computer simulation modeling eddies in the ocean. An interesting feature is the abundance of eddies away from the equator, which is shown in the center of the image at y=0. This research collaboration led by Paola Cessi of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography performed over 15,000 years worth of deep ocean circulation simulations with 1.6 million processor core hours on the upgraded Franklin system.
The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) Center has officially accepted a series of upgrades to its Cray XT4 supercomputer, providing the facility's 3,000 users with twice as many processor cores and an expanded file system for scientific research. NERSC's Cray supercomputer is named Franklin in honor of Benjamin Franklin, the United States' pioneering scientist.
In a strategic effort to maintain scientific productivity, the upgrades were implemented in phases. The quad-core processor and memory upgrade was done by partitioning Franklin and performing an upgrade and test on one part while the rest of the system was available to users.
"The phased upgrade was engineered by Cray and NERSC staff specifically for the Franklin upgrade, and is now a model for upgrading future systems," says Wayne Kugel, Senior Vice President of Operations and Support at Cray.
A later upgrade increased the file system capacity to 460 terabytes, and the speed at which data is moved in and out of the system increased threefold. As a result of these upgrade efforts, the amount of available computing time roughly doubled for scientists studying everything from global climate change to atomic nuclei. The final Franklin system has a theoretical peak performance of 355 teraflop/s, three and half times that of the original system. The increase in peak performance comes from doubling of cores, doubling the number of floating-point operations per clock cycle, and a modest drop in the clock rate.
"Our focus has always been on application performance, and we estimated the doubling of total system performance prior to the upgrade; the growing gap between application performance and peak emphasizes the need to measure and evaluate real application performance," says Yelick.
"This acceptance is a great achievement for the NERSC facility, and it wouldn't have been possible without a team of diligent staff from NERSC and Cray to quickly perform the hardware upgrades, identify and respond to necessary software changes, and guide our users throughout the process," she adds.
A NERSC user since 2007, Compo is leading a project to reconstruct global weather conditions in six-hour intervals from 1871 to the present. Called the 20th Century Reanalysis Project, Compo notes that these weather maps will help researchers forecast weather trends of the next century by assessing how well computational tools used in projections can successfully recreate the conditions of the past.
With awards from DOE's Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program, Compo's team used NERSC systems to recreate the deadly Knickerbocker Storm of 1922 that killed 98 people and injured 133; as well as the 1930s Dust Bowl, which left half a million of people homeless as dust storms rolled over the drought-barren Great Plains of the United States.
Another project led by Paola Cessi of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography performed over 15,000 years worth of deep ocean circulation simulations on Franklin. The project utilized approximately 1.6 million processor core hours. Insights from these experiments will give researchers a better understanding of how oceans circulate and how changes in the atmosphere affect these processes.
Energy from the Sun does not fall equally on Earth. Most sunlight is actually absorbed at the equator, and heat is transported across the globe via oceans. Cessi's project used Franklin to simulate how mesoscale oceanic flows, which are driven by surface winds and differences in solar heating, bring heat from the deep ocean to the surface. Since oceans are the biggest repositories of carbon dioxide on the planet, this research could also provide valuable insights about how oceans cycle greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and across the globe.
"As a result of the Franklin experiments, we have been able to demonstrate that the Southern Ocean exerts remarkable control over the deep stratification and overturning circulation throughout the ocean," says Christopher Wolfe, a researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and a member of Cessi's team.
According to Wolfe, most of the abrupt climate change studies to date have focused primarily on how density changes in the North Atlantic oceans affect the strength of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), which controls the overturning circulation throughout the oceans.
"The results of our simulations indicate that changes in the Southern Ocean forcing could also have a large impact on MOC and, therefore, on global climate," says Wolfe.
James Vary, a professor of physics at Iowa State University, led a research team that used Franklin to calculate the energy spectrum of the atomic nucleus of oxygen-16, which contains eight protons and eight neutrons. This is the most common isotope of oxygen and it makes up more than 99 percent of the oxygen that humans breathe. He notes that this is currently the most complex nucleus being studied with his group's methods.
"The quad-core upgrade had a significant impact on our ability to push the frontiers of nuclear science. The expanded machine made 40,000 compute cores available for our research, which allowed us to calculate the energy spectrum of a nucleus that would have been previously impossible," says Vary.
According to Vary, physicists currently do not fully understand the fundamental structure of the atomic nucleus, especially the basic forces between the protons and neutrons. A better understanding of these principles could help improve the design and safety of nuclear reactors, as well as provide valuable insights into the life and death of stars.
The current method for understanding the fundamental structure of atomic nuclei involves a lot of back-and-forth between computer simulations and laboratory experiments. Researchers use their theories about how the fundamental structures and forces work to create computer models that will calculate the energy spectrum in the nucleus of a particular atom. The results of these calculations are then compared with laboratory experiments to identify any discrepancies. The inconsistencies between the computer calculations and lab experiments give researchers valuable insights about how to refine their theories. The heavier the atom, or the more protons and neutrons it has, the more complex its fundamental structure and interactions. The ultimate goal in physics is to precisely predict how protons and neutrons interact in extremely complex systems.
"The calculations that we did on Franklin gave us very valuable information about how to refine our theories and methods, and tell us that we have a long way to go before we can begin to understand extremely complex systems like the nucleus of a Sodium atom," says Vary. His research on Franklin was conducted with an award from the Energy Research Computing Allocations Process (ERCAP).
A SUPERNOVA'S VOLUME: This volume rendering of supernova simulation data was generated by running the VisIt application on 32,000 processors on Franklin, a Cray XT4 supercomputer at NERSC.
As computational scientists are confronted with increasingly massive datasets from supercomputing simulations and experiments, one of the biggest challenges is having the right tools to gain scientific insight from the data. A team of DOE researchers recently ran a series of experiments on some of the world's most powerful supercomputers and determined that VisIt, a leading scientific visualization application, is up to the challenge.
The team ran VisIt on 32,000 processor cores on the expanded Franklin system and tackled datasets with as many as 2 trillion zones, or grid points. The data was loaded in parallel, with the application performing two common visualization tasks —isosurfacing and volume rendering — and producing an image.
"These results are the largest-ever problem sizes and the largest degree of concurrency ever attempted within the DOE visualization research community. They show that visualization research and development efforts have produced technology that is today capable of ingesting and processing tomorrow's datasets," says E. Wes Bethel of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). He is a co-leader of the Visualization and Analytics Center for Enabling Technologies (VACET), which is part of DOE's SciDAC program.
"NERSC plays a valuable role in providing facilities for conducting computer and computational science research, which includes experiments like the one we did," adds Bethel.


A care assistant who claimed his phobia of soiled nappies constituted a disability has lost a discrimination case against his former employer – a voluntary organisation for people with disabilities.
The worker remained on sick leave for over three years and reported that he had tried to take his own life because he "couldn't deal with the prospect of having to deal with nappies".
He was eventually dismissed on grounds of incapacity last year, and complained to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that he had been discriminated against and victimised due to his disability.
The WRC heard that the former care assistant began working with the disability organisation in March 2006, and informed his employer of his phobia of soiled nappies as early as three months later.
The organisation, which provides services to people with severe and profound disabilities, maintained that "intimate care" including changing nappies was among the core duties of care assistants.
Despite this, the complainant continued in the role for eight years but repeatedly asserted his issues with soiled nappies, and sought redeployment to an alternative role that would not require the provision of intimate care.
A meeting was organised in February 2014 to discuss options for the complainant. None of these addressed his phobia of nappies and faecal matter, however, as all care assistant posts with the service provider required intimate care.
He commenced a period of sick leave in May 2014, which continued until his eventual dismissal in June 2017 except for a number of short trials in different areas of the service.
During one of these trials, the complainant told the WRC that he suffered a mental breakdown and attempted suicide because he couldn't deal with the prospect of changing soiled nappies.
In his decision, WRC Adjudication Officer James Kelly said that the "unavoidable conclusion" of the complainant's own submission was that he was unable to perform the core duties of the job for which he was employed.
He added that he had researched phobias and read about the extreme lengths to which sufferers will go in order to avoid exposure to their particular fears.
Mr Kelly was therefore "at a complete loss" to understand how the complainant could have decided to pursue a career as a care assistant for disabled people when he knew that he had a phobia of soiled nappies.
Dismissing the complaint, Mr Kelly found that the employer had not discriminated against the complainant on grounds of disability by terminating his employment; that he had not been victimised; and that the organisation had not failed in its obligation to provide reasonable accommodation.


text:
Q: Specifying formula in R with glm without explicit declaration of each covariate I would like to force specific variables into glm regressions without fully specifying each one.  My real data set has ~200 variables.  I haven't been able to find samples of this in my online searching thus far.
For example (with just 3 variables):
n=200
set.seed(39)
samp = data.frame(W1 = runif(n, min = 0, max = 1), W2=runif(n, min = 0, max = 5))
samp = transform(samp, # add A
A = rbinom(n, 1, 1/(1+exp(-(W1^2-4*W1+1)))))
samp = transform(samp, # add Y
Y = rbinom(n, 1,1/(1+exp(-(A-sin(W1^2)+sin(W2^2)*A+10*log(W1)*A+15*log(W2)-1+rnorm(1,mean=0,sd=.25))))))

If I want to include all main terms, this has an easy shortcut:
glm(Y~., family=binomial, data=samp)

But say I want to include all main terms (W1, W2, and A) plus W2^2:
glm(Y~A+W1+W2+I(W2^2), family=binomial, data=samp)

Is there a shortcut for this?
[editing self before publishing:] This works! glm(formula = Y ~ . + I(W2^2), family = binomial, data = samp)
Okay, so what about this one!
I want to omit one main terms variable and include only two main terms (A, W2) and W2^2 and W2^2:A:
glm(Y~A+W2+A*I(W2^2), family=binomial, data=samp)

Obviously with just a few variables no shortcut is really needed, but I work with high dimensional data.  The current data set has "only" 200 variables, but some others have thousands and thousands.

A: Your use of . creatively to build the formula containing all or almost all variables is a good and clean approach. Another option that is useful sometimes is to build the formula programatically as a string, and then convert it to formula using as.formula:
vars <- paste("Var",1:10,sep="")
fla <- paste("y ~", paste(vars, collapse="+"))
as.formula(fla)

Of course, you can make the fla object way more complicated.

A: Aniko answered your question. To extend a bit :
You can also exclude variables using - :
glm(Y~.-W1+A*I(W2^2), family=binomial, data=samp)

For large groups of variables, I often make a frame for grouping the variables, which allows you to do something like :
vars <- data.frame(
    names = names(samp),
    main = c(T,F,T,F),
    quadratic =c(F,T,T,F),
    main2=c(T,T,F,F),
    stringsAsFactors=F
)

regform <- paste(
    "Y ~",
    paste(
      paste(vars[vars$main,1],collapse="+"),
      paste(vars[1,1],paste("*I(",vars[vars$quadratic,1],"^2)"),collapse="+"),
      sep="+"
    )
)
> regform
[1] "Y ~ W1+A+W1 *I( W2 ^2)+W1 *I( A ^2)"

> glm(as.formula(regform),data=samp,family=binomial)

Using all kind of conditions (on name, on structure, whatever) to fill the dataframe, allows me to quickly select groups of variables in large datasets.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A vitamin D craze is sweeping the nation and suddenly it's cool to be in the sun again, sporting natural tans. But what about guys that aren't rich or fortunate enough to live in a tropical climate all year round? Sure, the world is getting hotter, but that doesn't mean everyone is suddenly living in Florida. Should a guy go for some spray-on wizardry and risk turning orange? What about hopping into that tan-coffin and getting a fake one rocking?
If the experts speaking about the subject aren't getting paid by sun bed makers, they'll probably admit that the risks of developing the C-word from sun beds have substantially risen over the last few years. It's not worth it. Seriously, for those guys who enjoy experiencing what it's like to be baked alive in an oven so they can be honey-colored; hat's off. Otherwise, avoid them.
Once someone discovers a guy is wearing a hair piece, it's no longer flattering, but comes off as a sign of weakness and insecurity. They think to themselves, "why not just wear it bald?" Well, it's even worse when people spot a fake tan, either from sun beds or spray ons. A man should never tell the world or society at large that he's ashamed of the color of his skin.
For those that can do it lightly (genetically endowed) and get away with it, like the guys who can pull of a hair piece, then great! Definitely roll with it if it works. Otherwise, being "fake" in any way is a real put-off in the modern era.
If a guy lives in say, Seattle (one of the rainiest places in the US), then being tan all year is, umm, weird. In the summers, yeah, get outside and get a natural tan rocking, or become a lobster like everyone else. But if it's the middle of December and someone is bright orange, it's pretty obvious what's going on.
It's true that in Hollywood, during the colder months male fitness models and actors get professionally applied spray on tans, but the key word there is "professionally". These guys spend a lot of money, and it's usually only for a certain photo shoot/opportunity, or awards show or something, not everyday life.
Will A Man Tan Alter Life?
No, at the end of the day no one is going to care about a guy's man tan as much as that man. If they think it's a huge deal, they'll probably attract other people that believe as they do, but it's slightly ridiculous.
Stay natural, and yes, get some good old fashioned sun once in a while because the vitamin D craze has some sense to it!


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Agimat EA Review
This Agimat EA review will discuss the trading system and how it works. The Agimat EA uses Maxwell's Equation Future Prediction indicator, and its signals are reported to have 90% accuracy. The Agimat EA also includes a scalping indicator and a harmonic scanner to make trade decisions.
1 Agimat Trading System
1.1 Agimat Trading System license fee
1.2 Agimat Trading System uses Maxwell's Equation Future Prediction indicator.
1.3 Agimat Trading System signals have a 90% accuracy.
Agimat Trading System
In this Agimat EA review, we'll look closely at this trading robot and its capabilities. The Agimat trading system works on the Metatrader 4, 5, and TradingView platforms and promises high performance to novice traders. It also offers smartphone compatibility and advanced functionality to help traders make sound trading decisions. In addition, the Agimat EA system works on a neural network that monitors all the essential news in the forex market and adjusts itself to the various movements.
The Agimat Trading System is an expert advisor for the MT4 platform and is supposed to use neural network synchronization to connect to the market. The Agimat Trading System makes trading decisions based on a live data feed, which is then used to decide whether a trade should be executed or not. This trading system also maintains a low drawdown by applying proper money management techniques. Moreover, the vendor of the Agimat Trading System even offers installation assistance.
The Agimat Trading System is an advanced forex expert advisor that works on Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5. It uses an advanced neural network to carry out complex calculations quickly. Before buying the Agimat EA, you need to thoroughly analyze it to ensure its reliability.
Agimat Trading System license fee
The Agimat Trading System license fee can make it difficult for a beginner to begin trading with the program. Furthermore, the software is not free, and the developer is notoriously dishonest. In addition to providing vague details about the program, the website doesn't contain any reviews or verifiable results. Since the program is rather costly, we recommend choosing an alternative product.
The Agimat Trading System uses neural network technology to predict market trends. It costs 174 Euros for a one-time license fee. There is no money-back guarantee. The software is updated regularly and offers free email support within 24 hours. It comes with mobile apps for iOS and Android and includes an extensive library of tutorials. It also comes with scalp trades and has a sophisticated artificial neural network that adapts to volatile market conditions. As a result, it manages to catch a trend and capitalize on it.
The Agimat Trading System can be used on the Metatrader 4, 5, and TradingView platforms. The vendor claims that the system is 90 percent accurate. It also offers live trading examples to give potential customers a better understanding of the program.
Agimat Trading System uses Maxwell's Equation Future Prediction indicator.
The Agimat Trading System uses Maxwell's Equation of Future Prediction to determine trade timing. It also uses a sophisticated hedging system to minimize losses while increasing profits. The Agimat EA is capable of opening and closing trades that can last for more than one day. Although the system has many features, it has one major drawback: it does not provide backtests. This can be a red flag for potential buyers.
The Agimat EA is designed to trade the EURUSD and USDCHF currency pairs. Therefore, it can easily adjust to changing market conditions and capitalize on trends. It also includes a built-in hedge to protect your account in case of a significant loss. This hedge is like insurance on your open trades.
Another essential factor to consider when choosing an EA is whether or not it backtests well. While some backtests may not be available for Agimat Trading System, the vendor released an update to its software. Although this update may not have any backtesting data, it offers many advantages for the average trader. Specifically, it allows traders to specify a timeframe and symbol and receive a trade signal every time the indicator signals an entry or exit.
Agimat Trading System signals have a 90% accuracy.
The Agimat Trading System is a Forex EA that operates on MT4 and MT5 platforms. According to the vendor, its signals are remarkably accurate, thanks to an advanced neural network built into the system. It also claims to adapt to changing market conditions and maintain a steady profit stream.
The system's latest version has a real-time neural network feed for increased accuracy and profits. It is available for free download. Users have given it great reviews. However, some have not been satisfied with the product. In addition, they have reported a few technical issues. However, it does have a good customer support team, which is very helpful.
Another feature that makes Agimat stand out is its artificial intelligence. This allows it to automatically extract market data, identify previous errors, and update its system. It also uses a neural network that captures vast market data and creates an optimal formula that gives it a high probability of winning. The system is constantly learning and evolving to become more intelligent than average.
A TradingView Markets Review
Ronin Forex Group Review
AndyW Forex Review – Is AndyW Forex System Really Worth Your Time and Money?


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Home » Vacuum Cleaners » Power suction of canister vacuums vs robotic vacuums vs cordless vacuums
Power suction of canister vacuums vs robotic vacuums vs cordless vacuums
Vacuum Cleaners / By Michael Brown / 7 minutes of reading / Dyson outsize, iRobot Braava, iRobot Roomba, LG CordZero, Miele Vortex Motor, Xiaomi Roidmi NEX vacuum
Of course, the cleaning quality is one of the most objective marketing criteria of any vacuum. In turn, it directly depends on suction power of vacuum. Unfortunately, fierce competition has prevented companies from creating a unified standard for its evaluation.
Previously, Peak Horse Power (PHP) was the most common characteristic of canister models. For example, Shop-Vac and other companies still use it in specs wet / dry vacuums. Usually, modern models provide from 1 to 6,5 Peak HP.
But upright models were usually rated by Amperage (amps) from the power source.
The actual Sealed Suction in inches of water lift also is a very good indication of the motor performance.
Then, many American companies began to use Air Watts or traditional Watts (1 AW = 0.9983 W).
1. Power consumption in vatts (W), characterizes the power consumption of the electric motor and usually varies between 1500–2500 W.
2. The suction power characterizes the absorption efficiency of dust and debris. Of сourse, it depends on the electric motor power, but non-linearly, depending on the many factors. Accordingly, the suction power is always significantly less than the engine power.
3. Sealed Suction measures the maximum suction power when there is no air flow.
4. CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) characterizes the air volume passing through the system per unit time. Therefore, its maximum value corresponds to the free passage of air flow. Of course, hoses and sticks, filters, nozzles, etc create resistance to air flow, substantially reducing real CFM. Therefore, Air Flow does not accurately characterize the suction power.
Suction power
The approximate calculation of suction power can use a formula with two variables, including Sealed Suction (inches of water lift or kPa and mbar) and CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute).
The first value characterizes the difference between the air pressure in the room and the pressure at the vacuum outlet. It provides suction of air with dust and debris. The second value characterizes the air volume that the vacuum cleaner fan pumps through the filter per unit time. Thus, the suction power depends on a combination of these two variables.
For example, a model even with a high Sealed Suction will not pick up heavy dust particles from the floor with a low CFM. Conversely, even at high CFM, a low Sealed Suction will cause a sharp decrease in suction power at any resistance, e.g. when the nozzle is in close contact with the floor. Their optimal combination provides maximum suction power.
Of course, companies are constantly improving these characteristics with the design improvements and other innovations. But to calculate its exact value is almost impossible. Formally, there is an IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60312 standard , but in reality it does not work. Therefore, unwilling to risk reputation, most companies prefer not to include the suction power in specs. Sometimes, they contain an average effective suction power that is 15 to 30% below the maximum.
As a consequence, the confusion in the units of measurement and the lack of a unified methodology blocked the use of this very convenient and informative criterion. As a result, many experts simply test vacuums, experimentally determining their performance. Unfortunately, such testing is always subjective. This article offers a simplified classification that will help you choose a vacuum with optimal suction power.
Canister and upright vacuums
Typically, cleaning hard floors does not require high suction power. Daily cleaning with even low-power modern budget robots vacuums with a suction power of about 20 AW ensures acceptable cleanliness in the apartment. But, of course, cleaning carpets requires significantly higher power, which, moreover, differs significantly for low-, medium-, and long-pile carpets.
Modern canister and upright vacuums have virtually no restrictions and easily provide suction power in the range of 250-480 AW and higher, which is redundant in most cases. At the same time, an increase in power is always accompanied by an increase in the noise level, which can reach 80 dB and higher. In addition, too much suction force adversely affects the carpet pile. With regular use of an overly powerful vacuum, its quality can significantly deteriorate after 1-2 years.
But for marketing reasons, some companies continue to increase the power of their models. For example, Miele indicates suction power 1200 W in specs for upright Dynamic U1, and Classic C1 Pure Suction canister vacuum. Maybe it's a typo, and the company had in mind the power consumption of its truly magnificent innovative 1200-W Miele Vortex Motor.
The components of its fan have virtually no parallel surfaces, providing perfect aerodynamics. In addition, the company installed nine long fan scoops instead of the usual six short ones. Moreover, scoops taper from center to edge, similar to a jet engine compressor. As a result, the new compressor design significantly reduced air resistance, increasing suction power. However, it's unlikely to have reached 1200 AW.
However, most companies focus on improving efficiency through constructive innovation. For example, Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright with a suction power of 306 AW easily cleans long-pile carpet even from pet hair.
Cordless 2-in-1
Сordless vacuums provide excellent mobility, allowing the user to easily and quickly clean all surfaces above the floor surface, including upholstery, window shades, PC keyboard, etc. But the battery capacity drastically limits developers in terms of electric motor power and battery life.
Unfortunately, increasing the battery capacity increases the device weight, drastically reducing its usability. Even with a weight of 4.5 lb, it quickly tires the hand muscles. In addition, Boost mode significantly increases the suction power, but discharges the battery very quickly.
Today, the newest Dyson V11 Outsize is considered the most powerful model.
Its suction power reaches an unprecedented 220 AW. But even its 2x battеry packs provide only 9 minutes in Boost mode. At the same time, the model works without problems for 43 and 72 minutes in Auto and Eco modes, providing 49.5 AW and 24.9 AW suction power. The suction power of 49.5 AW is sufficient for high-quality cleaning the short-pile carpet. But a long-pile carpet will require Boost mode. However, 9 minutes is enough to clean a medium-sized carpet.
Then follows Roidmi X20 (NEX Storm) Cordless Vacuum with brushless Engine-X motor, providing 145 AW suction power in turbo mode for 10 minutes.
Its running time reaches 60 and 38 minutes in two medium modes. Moreover, the Roidmi X20 in the Vacuum Mop Combo mode provides mopping the floors.
A few years ago, similar specs seemed completely unrealistic for cordless vacuums. But improvements in design and batteries have radically expanded their capabilities, ensuring the cleaning of even carpets.
LG CordZero A9 takes third place, providing suction power up to 120W in turbo mode for 12 minutes.
Despite the rather high price, the popularity of robot vacuums continues to grow. Of course, automatic mode is their main advantage, and companies continue to increase its level. A few years ago, iRobot Roomba s7+ radically expanded it with the help of innovative Clean Base with a self-emptying bin. This solution freed the user even the need to clean the bin after cleaning. But the company did not stop there, having developed an even more versatile iRobot Roomba s9+ with Imprint Link technology.
It synchronizes s9 + with the Braava jet m6 robot. After finishing dry cleaning, s9 + activates Braava, which starts wet cleaning the hard floors.
Thus, a set of Roomba s9 +, Clean Base and Braava jet m6 provide comprehensive cleaning in a fully automatic mode.
But robots have a significant drawback. Automatic cleaning requires maneuverability for cleaning in hard-to-reach places. In turn, maneuverability requires compactness, radically limiting developers when choosing an electric motor. Therefore, most modern robots provide suction power of only 30-35 AW.
But today the situation is changing. At CES 2018, LG introduced the flagship LG CordZero R9 MASTER robot vacuum with suction power up to 120 AW in turbo mode.
Now, apparently, iRobot Roomba s9+ has also reached this milestone. The company does not indicate its suction power, but according to its data, s9 is about 4 times more powerful than s7. Numerous tests have demonstrated s7 suction power of 30 AW or higher. Accordingly, s9 should provide approximately 120 AW. Thus, today two models have already crossed the 100 AW frontier, providing sufficiently high-quality carpet cleaning.
Probably, the problem of suction power today can be considered practically solved. Any modern model, including low-powered robot, provides sufficient suction power to clean hard floors.
Cleaning low-pile and medium-pile carpets will require a powerful cordless or robotic vacuum, or any canister vacuum, or any upright vacuum.
A powerful robotic model cleans a long-pile carpet in turbo mode in a few passes. But a powerful cordless vacuum, or any canister vacuum, or any upright vacuum easily will ensure its high-quality cleaning.
Thus, a huge assortment provides the choice of the optimal vacuum depending on the type of surface being cleaned.
The video shows the synchronized operation of Roomba s9 and Braava Jet m6.
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The Minnesota Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a new bill from Sen. Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) that would protect individuals who provide care to someone experiencing a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Senate File 1257 would allow any certified individual to administer their epinephrine auto-injector, commonly known as an epi-pen, to another individual in anaphylaxis – a practice prohibited under current law.
Roughly 10% of people carry an epinephrine auto-injector and therefore are already certified to administer one. Others can become certified by participating in a training program that instructs individuals how to recognize signs and symptoms of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis; standards and procedures for the storage and administration of an epinephrine auto-injector; and emergency follow-up procedures.
The bill is modeled after the widely popular and bipartisan 'Dillon's Law' that became law in Wisconsin in 2017.


Just over a week ago, the jury began deliberations on the ongoing patent infringement case between Google and Oracle. After waiting in the wings, with bated breath, the verdict is finally in, as Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court of Northern California dismissed the jury this afternoon after a unanimous decision that ruled in favor of Google's mobile OS — declaring that Android did not in fact infringe on the Oracle patents in question.
The jury's decision was obviously a laborious one, following two years of a legal back-and-forth between the two tech giants. Oracle had initially filed the lawsuit back in August 2010, in which the company asserted that Android infringed on Java patents that Oracle acquired as a result of its purchase of Sun Microsystems. Google responded by saying that, at the time of development, it was not aware of Sun's patents and that Android was in fact free to use.
Of course, that decision was only the first act in the three-part deliberations, in which the copyright infringement issues were to be followed by consideration of Oracle's patent infringement claims (the focus of today's hearing) and, finally, the damages Google might be liable for were it found found to infringe.
However, much of that speculation was rendered moot today, as a week of deliberation came to a close today at the U.S. District Court of Northern California, with the jury unanimously declaring that Google did not in fact infringe on the six claims set forth by Oracle in regard to U.S. Patent RE 38,104 as well as the two claims regarding U.S. Patent 6,061,520.
Of course, this does not mean that the whole case has been decided; instead, the decision marks the end of the trial's second phase, which, again, focused solely on Oracle's claims of patent infringement.
While the jury had previously found that Google was in violation of Oracle's copyrights, as stated above, it could not come to a unanimous decision on the issue of fair use. Meaning that, although Oracle ostensibly "won" its copyright case, it effectively has a hold on its ability to collect on any of the $1 billion in copyright damages it is seeking from Google — a conclusion that was supported by the tweets of legal reporter Ginny LaRoe, who attended today's hearing.
On top of that, there are a number of other legal questions surrounding the copyright case on which Judge Aslup has yet to issue a final ruling, although he is expected to come to a decision next week.


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Authorities: Fayetteville veteran faked war injury to get VA benefits
Veterans Affairs,
fraud,
Posted January 6, 2021 12:24 p.m. EST
Updated January 6, 2021 5:40 p.m. EST
Winston-Salem, N.C. — A Fayetteville man was sentenced Tuesday to five years on probation and ordered to repay more than $900,000 he fraudulently obtained to the Department of Veterans Affairs, authorities said.
Willie Dosher Cain, 73, a U.S. Army veteran and former Fayetteville police officer, told VA officials that, as a result of shrapnel wounds sustained in Vietnam in 1965, he had suffered the loss of use of both legs, as well as loss of bowel and bladder control. He said he was unable to perform daily activities, such as dressing and bathing, without assistance and was dependent on a wheelchair or motorized scooter for mobility.
Federal investigators determined, however, that Cain played basketball, danced and attended social events when he was supposedly injured. He even bought a condominium at Carolina Beach on the third floor of a building with no elevator, they said.
Cain pleaded guilty last June to embezzlement. In addition to repaying the benefits he wasn't entitled to, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder ordered that he forfeit $155,000, a modified 2018 Toyota Sienna van and a mobility scooter and perform 250 hours of community service. In a related civil forfeiture action, he also forfeited the Carolina Beach condo, authorities said.