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German scientists to study mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan
Trend, M. Aliyev, Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.31
German scientists will study mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan.
Researchers from Germany's Kiel University have visited the Institute of Geology of the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences in this regard, the institute told Trend today.
The scientists delivered reports on Egypt's underwater mud volcanoes to a wide audience at the institute. The reports were dedicated to research conducted by Kiel University experts in the delta of the Nile River.
Scientists at the Institute of Geology spoke about ground mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan at the meeting. An excursion to the mud volcanoes was organized for the guests.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at trend@trend.az
Posted by Cempaka at 4:56 PM 0 comments
Labels: Asphalt Volcanoes, Mud Volcano, Science and Research, volcano
Gulf Spill Dispersants Surprisingly Long-lasting
Dispersant impacts on environment a major concern, expert says.
National Geographic News, Brian Handwerk, Jan 27, 2011
A boat cuts through surface oil near the site of the Deepwater Horizon
wellhead (file picture). (Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic)
Massive amounts of chemical dispersants pumped into the Gulf of Mexico to break up the BP oil spill remained deep underwater for months, new research shows.
In an unprecedented tactic, U.S. authorities pumped some 800,000 gallons (3,028,000 liters) of dispersants directly into the flow of oil at the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, at about 4,000 and 5,000 feet (1,200 and 1,500 meters) deep. Most of the dispersant was applied in May and June, and the wellhead was capped in July.
No one knew how effectively the dispersants would work. But a new analysis shows the dispersants lingered for months pretty much right where they were put—trapped in subsurface plumes of oil and gas.
(See "Why the Gulf Oil Spill Isn't Going Away.")
"The dispersants got stuck in deep water layers around 3,000 feet [915 meters] and below," said study leader David Valentine, a microbial geochemist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
"We were seeing it three months after the well had been capped. We found that all of that dispersant added at depth stayed in the deepwater plumes. Not only did it stay, but it didn't get rapidly biodegraded as many people had predicted.
"We don't know where exactly everything has gone since the last study, but dilution is continually decreasing the concentration," he added.
Dispersant Ingredients a Trade Secret
For the study, scientists tracked a key component of dispersant called dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS) as the spill's deepwater plume of oil, natural gas, and dispersant moved southwesterly through the Gulf.
(See "Gulf Oil Spill Fight Turns to Chemicals.")
Some 640,000 pounds (290,000 kilograms) of DOSS was injected between April and July, a huge number made all the more daunting because the chemical comprises only ten percent of the total dispersant volume, according to the study, published online January 26 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Likewise, these figures don't include an additional 1.4 million gallons (5.3 million liters) of dispersant that was dumped onto the ocean surface. Early experiments show, however, that deepwater dispersants never mixed with surface dispersants. In September DOSS was still present in significant concentrations even 200 miles (322 kilometers) from the wellhead.
Not surprisingly, subsurface concentrations of dispersant were highest at the wellhead and gradually declined with time and distance as Gulf waters mixed naturally.
According to Texas Tech University environmental toxicologist Ronald Kendall, the ingredients of the dispersants are trade secrets, so scientists didn't even know what was in the dispersants until after heavy use had begun.
"I think this continues to reveal how little we knew about the dispersants and how limited we were in predicting their fate in the environment," Kendall said.
"And we still have a huge lack of knowledge related to what their ecotoxicological consequences are going to be. This represents a still unfolding ecotoxicological experiment on a huge scale."
Jury Still Out on Dispersant Decision
The new data will also help scientists understand to what extent marine organisms such as coral and tuna were exposed to dispersants. Already, one preliminary study has shown deep-water coral has been severely affected.
(See "Giant Coral Die-Off Found—Gulf Spill 'Smoking Gun?'")
Kendall is concerned about deep-ocean animals. They can often be more sensitive to environmental disturbances, he said, because they've evolved more specialized survival skills.
"These organisms have developed capabilities to live under high pressures, with low oxygen levels, and with no sunlight. It's a more rigorous and perhaps less changing environment, and all of a sudden a wave of chemical dispersants comes by. What does that mean for the environment? I don't know. I really don't. But it concerns me significantly."
Of course oil carries its own environmental consequences, and these are perhaps worse when it's not dispersed.
That's why study leader Valentine called the tough decision to use enormous quantities of chemical dispersants at the wellhead an uncertain choice between "bad" and "worse."
"I think the jury is still out on whether or not it was the best decision," he said.
Labels: Disaster, Disaster Management, Pollution, US
Volcano Lightning Electrifies Japan Eruption
National Geographic, Jan 28, 2011
Electric Tentacle From Kirishima (Photograph from Takaharu/Reuters)
A "tentacle" of lightning stretches over Japan in a long-exposure picture taken Thursday of the ash plume rising from Shinmoedake peak, one of the calderas of the Kirishima volcano complex. Shinmoedake began erupting Wednesday, coating nearby villages and farms with ash and prompting authorities to ask for voluntary evacuations within a 1.2-mile (2-kilometer) radius.
Volcanic lightning is still a mystery, though it may be that electrically charged silica—part of magma—interacts with the atmosphere when it flies out of a volcano, Steve McNutt of the Alaska Volcano Observatory told National Geographic News in February 2010.
Kirishima is a grouping of about 20 volcanic peaks on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu (map). The site featured in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, serving as the secret base of the main villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
Although the complex is often active, Wednesday's eruption is the strongest recorded atKirishima since 1959, ABC News reports.
(Also see pictures of volcanic lightning during a recent eruption of an Iceland volcano.)
Hundreds evacuate as Japan volcano erupts
Japan's Mount Kirishima Volcano Erupts Explosively
Labels: Japan, volcano
UN Head Calls for 'Revolution' to Save Environment
Jakarta Globe, January 28, 2011
Davos, Switzerland. United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday the current economic model is an environmental "global suicide pact" that will result in disaster if it isn't reformed.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday the current
economic model is an environmental "global suicide pact" that
will result in disaster if it isn't reformed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Ban said that political and business leaders need to embrace an economic revolution in order to save the planet.
"We need a revolution," the secretary-general of the UN told a panel at the World Economic Forum on how best to make the global economy sustainable. "Climate change is also showing us that the old model is more than obsolete."
He called the current economic model a recipe for "national disaster" and said: "We are running out of time. Time to tackle climate change, time to ensure sustainable ... growth."
His words received a mixed reception from fellow panelists including Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Walmart CEO Mike Duke and Microsoft's Bill Gates.
Labels: Climate Change, Environment, UN
"Gooey" New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea
Underwater seeps formed new island off Pakistan, satellite shows.
National Geographic News, Victoria Jaggard, January 26, 2011
Satellite pictures of the Pakistani coast in February (left) and November 2010.
(Photographs courtesy Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, EO-1/NASA)
There's a new island in the azure waters off Pakistan, but you might want to hold off on vacation planning: The tiny dot is a mud volcano that will likely disappear before it sees 1,001 Arabian nights.
Pakistani fishers reported the new mud volcano in the Arabian Sea in late November, and NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite snapped a picture of it (right) on January 11. The volcano was not in a satellite picture of the same region taken last February.
According to NASA, mud volcano "islands" have appeared in the Arabian Sea before, and most have washed away within a few months. In fact, the January picture shows tan sediments steaming from the new mud volcano, suggesting it is eroding and will soon vanish.
Mud volcanoes, which can appear on land or underwater, form when underground layers of silt or clay become pressurized either by tectonic activity or by a buildup of hydrocarbon gases.
(Related: "'Mud Volcano' in Indonesia Caused by Gas Exploration, Study Says.")
Pakistan's mud volcanoes are driven by plate tectonics: The Arabian plate is subducting—or diving under—the Eurasian landmass, churning up sediments that form Pakistan's coastal plains and an offshore slope.
Underneath the plains, subduction is also melting rock into magma, which infuses the groundwater with heat and volcanic gases. The resulting acidic brew dissolves the rocks above into a slurry of mud and hydrocarbons, which then seeps through faults in slow eruptions.
Most mud volcanoes stand only a few inches to several feet high, but the land-based ones on Pakistan's plains can rise up to 330 feet (100 meters). Some of these peaks have been known to spew gas plumes that spontaneously combust, sending tongues of fire high into the sky.
At about two miles (three kilometers) offshore, the new mud volcano is probably poking up from water that's about 98 to 197 feet (30 to 60 meters) deep, said James R. Hein, a U.S. Geological Survey senior scientist in Menlo Park, California.
Its surface mud is relatively cool but "is likely water-saturated, so stays gooey to souplike depending on the amount of saturation," Hein said.
Like hydrothermal vents, underwater mud volcanoes—known as cold seeps—can have their own unique ecosystems filled with life-forms that get most of their energy from chemical sources, such as methane, he said. (See pictures of "Medusa" worms found at a mud volcano near Spain.)
It's rare for such mud volcanoes to breach the water's surface, Hein added. The researcher isn't aware of any that have lasted long enough to support island living, although it's possible the mud contains some bacteria that thrive above the waves.
Island of mud appears near Hingol in Pakistan, shows seismicity
Labels: Asphalt Volcanoes, Climate Change, Mud Volcano, volcano, Water Cycle
VW unveils an ultra-efficient car
BBC News, By Jorn Madslien, Business reporter, 25 January 2011
Volkswagen has made a car it says can travel 313 miles on a gallon of diesel, and that emits just 24 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled.
Improved aerodynamics and weight reductions
enable the car to use a smaller engine
The XL1, which seats two adults, combines a 0.8 litre two cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor.
The car is constructed around a carbon fibre reinforced polymer monocoque to reduce the weight to just 795 kilos.
German rival BMW is also making an electric carbon fibre car, while Mercedes is to make carbon fibre parts.
Their efforts show how the motor industry is increasingly working to improve aerodynamics and reduce weight, in order to supplement improvements in cars' engines.
On the engine front, electrification is becoming mainstream even though pure electric cars are expected to remain niche products for decades yet.
Global Car Industry
US Big Three in electric car race
VW revs up for US challenge
US falls back in love with trucks
Detroit auto show hails recovery
Instead, carmakers are increasingly combining conventional solutions, such as petrol or diesel engines, with battery-powered solutions.
"All sorts of mixes will come to the fore," said Jim O'Donnell, BMW North America's chief executive, in an interview with BBC News.
The Volkswagen XL1 is to be formally unveiled at the Qatar motor show on Tuesday night.
The carmaker says it can accelerate from nought to 100 kilometres per hour (60 miles per hour) in 11.9 seconds.
Dutch cycle track to generate electricity
LichtBlick begins installing home combined heat and power plants powered by VW 2.0L EcoBlue gas engine
Labels: Automotive, Environment, Innovation and Clean Technology, Sustainable
Wind chill warnings across Canada
BBC News, 24 January 2011
Wind chill warning are in place across much or east and central Canada as Canadians brave some of the lowest winter temperatures in decades.
There was "sea smoke" off Halifax Nova Scotia, a
phenomena caused by cold air passing over warmer
Quebec City temperatures fell to -25C. Wind chill made it feel more like -40C.
Other parts of east and central Canada are experiencing similar lows and the severe temperatures were set to remain until Tuesday morning.
Despite being a country used to extreme weather, many residents are finding the latest cold snap hard to bear.
Last year's relatively warm winter had raised expectations according to David Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada, who told the BBC: "I think we were seduced into thinking this was what winters were going to be."
Some of mildest weather is currently being seen in the northern Arctic regions.
The city of Whitehorse in Yukon was enjoying a relatively balmy -1C on Monday.
"We often think that winter begins in the north," said Mr Phillips.
"But we have had some very high temperatures. It's almost as if the weather was upside down."
Further south, in Ottawa, the temperature reached -28.6C, the lowest recorded since 1970. Montreal fell to -22C.
"It's freezing," said Louis Thibaut, who runs a winter clothing store in the city.
He noted that locals, caught off guard, had been buying-up heavy duty outdoor wear.
"People spend from $600 to $800 on jackets on goose down jackets which are good to -40 degrees," he said.
Americans are being warned that the cold front is heading their way next.
Residents in the north-eastern states of Maine and Vermont have been warned to expect similar temperatures to those seen in Canada.
Many schools have already been closed, in preparation for expected blizzard conditions.
Four people killed as U.S. east coast shivers in temperatures as low as -50F
"2011 and Beyond" - What you are seeing, and why - Jan 16, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - New
Labels: Arctic, Climate Change, Lightworkers, Water, Water Cycle, Winter
Quantum states last longer in birds' eyes
NewScientist, 20 January 2011 by Rachel Courtland, Magazine issue 2796.
"BIRD brain" is usually an insult, but that may have to change. A light-activated compass at the back of some birds' eyes may preserve electrons in delicate quantum states for longer than the best artificial systems.
There's a compass in my eyes (Image: Kim Taylor/NsaturePL)
Migrating birds navigate by sensing Earth's magnetic field, but the exact mechanisms at work are unclear. Pigeons are thought to rely on bits of magnetite in their beaks. Others, like the European robin (pictured), may rely on light-triggered chemical changes that depend on the bird's orientation relative to Earth's magnetic field.
A process called the radical pair (RP) mechanism is believed to be behind the latter method. In this mechanism, light excites two electrons on one molecule and shunts one of them onto a second molecule. Although the two electrons are separated, their spins are linked through quantum entanglement.
The electrons eventually relax, destroying this quantum state. Before this happens, however, Earth's magnetic field can alter the relative alignment of the electrons' spins, which in turn alters the chemical properties of the molecules involved. A bird could then use the concentrations of chemicals at different points on its eye to deduce its orientation.
Intrigued by the idea that, if the RP mechanism is correct, a delicate quantum state can survive a busy place like the back of an eye, Erik Gauger of the University of Oxford and colleagues set out to find out how long the electrons remain entangled.
They turned to results from recent experiments on European robins, in which the captured birds were exposed to flip-flopping magnetic fields of different strengths during their migration season. The tests revealed that a magnetic field of 15 nanoTesla, less than one-thousandth the strength of Earth's magnetic field, was enough to interfere with a bird's sense of direction (Biophysical Journal, DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2008.11.072).
These oscillating magnetic fields will only disrupt the birds' magnetic compass while the electrons remain entangled. As a weaker magnetic field takes longer to alter an electron's spin, the team calculated that for such tiny fields to have such a strong impact on the birds' compasses the electrons must remain entangled for at least 100 microseconds. Their work will appear in Physical Review Letters.
The longest-lived electrons in an artificial quantum system - a cage of carbon atoms with a nitrogen atom at its centre - survived for just 80 microseconds at comparable temperatures, the team points out. "Nature has, for whatever reason, been able to protect quantum coherence better than we can do with molecules that have been specially designed," says team member Simon Benjamin of the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore.
Thorsten Ritz of the University of California, Irvine, who helped perform the robin experiments, cautions that the RP mechanism has yet to be confirmed. But he is excited by the prospect of long-lived quantum states. "Maybe we can learn from nature how to mimic this," he says.
Posted by Cempaka at 11:10 PM 0 comments
Labels: Animals, Birds, Earth Magnetic, Science and Research, Species
Violent Seismic Activity Tearing Africa in Two
Der Spiegel, By Axel Bojanowski, Jan 20, 2011
Northeastern Africa is no longer like it once was. The earth there is in upheaval.
(University of Bristol / Lorraine Field)
The fissures began appearing years ago. But in recent months, seismic activity has accelerated in northeastern Africa as the continent breaks apart in slow motion. Researchers say that lava in the region is consistent with magma normally seen on the sea floor -- and that water will ultimately cover the desert.
Cynthia Ebinger, a geologist from the University of Rochester in New York, could hardly believe what the caller from the deserts of Ethiopia was saying. It was an employee at a mineralogy company -- and he reported that the famous Erta Ale volcano in northeastern Ethiopia was erupting. Ebinger, who has studied the volcano for years, was taken aback. The volcano's crater had always been filled with a bubbling soup of silver-black lava, but it had been decades since its last eruption.
The call came last November. And Ebinger immediately flew to Ethiopia with some fellow researchers. "The volcano was bubbling over; flaming-red lava was shooting up into the sky," Ebinger told SPIEGEL ONLINE.
Afar Triangle (Spiegel Online)
The earth is in upheaval in northeastern Africa, and the region is changing quickly. The desert floor is quaking and splitting open, volcanoes are boiling over, and seawaters are encroaching upon the land. Africa, researchers are certain, is splitting apart at a rate rarely seen in geology.
The first fracture appeared millions of years ago, resulting in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The second fracture, stretching south from Ethiopia to Mozambique, is known as the Great Rift Valley, and it is lined with several volcanoes. Millions of years from now, it too will be filled with seawater.
Could Go Quickly
But in the Danakil Depression, in the northern part of the valley, the ocean could arrive much sooner. There, low, 25 meter (82 foot) hills are the only thing holding back the waters of the Red Sea. The land behind them has already dropped dozens of meters from previous levels and white salt deposits on the desert floor testify to past encroachments of the sea. But lava soon choked off its access.
For now, no one can really say when the sea will finally flood the desert. But when it does, it could go quickly. "The hills could sink in a matter of days," Tim Wright, a fellow at the University of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment, said at a recent conference hosted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco.
In the last five years, the geologic transformation of northeastern Africa has "accelerated dramatically," says Wright. Indeed, the process is going much faster than many had anticipated. In recent years, geologists had measured just a few millimeters of movement each year. "But now the earth is opening up by the meter," says Loraine Field, a scholar at the University of Bristol who also attended the conference.
Earth tremors cause deep fissures to form in the desert floor and the ground in East Africa is shattering like broken glass. Researchers in the Gulf of Tadjoura, which juts into Djibouti from the Gulf of Aden, have recently registered a barrage of seismic shocks. "The quakes are happening on the mid-ocean ridge," Ebinger reports.
Shifting Tectonic Plates
Lava gushes out of fissures in these underwater mountain ranges to constantly create new earth crust -- when it hardens, it becomes part of the sea floor. As the magma surges upward, it spreads the ocean floor on both sides, shifting tectonic plates and causing tremors.
In recent months, the quaking in the Gulf of Tadjoura has been getting closer and closer to the coastline. As Ebinger explains, the splitting of the ocean floor will gradually extend to dry land. This is already the case along some fault lines in the Ethiopian desert, creating a geological spectacle that can otherwise only be witnessed deep below the surface of the ocean.
Even the pattern of earthquakes supports the conclusion that the desert landscape is transforming into a deep seafloor, according to a recent article in the Journal of Geophysical Research published by Zhaohui Yang and Wang-Ping Chen, two geologists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The researchers have recorded several strong earthquakes at a shallow depth in northeastern Africa similar to ones that are otherwise only seen on mid-ocean ridges far out at sea.
In recent months, researchers have also recorded an up-tick in volcanic activity. Indeed, geologists have discovered volcanic eruptions near the earth's surface at 22 places in the Afar Triangle in northeastern Africa. Magma has caused fissures up to eight meters (26 feet) wide to open up in the ground, reports Derek Keir from the University of Leeds. While most of the magma remains beneath the surface, in places like Erta Ale it has made its way above ground.
An Ocean Without Water
Scientists have also noted that the kind of magma bubbling up in the region is the type otherwise only seen spewing forth from mid-ocean ridges deep below the water's surface. One of its signature characteristics is a low proportion of silicic acid. The magma coming out of Erta Ale has the same chemical composition as the kind that emerges from deep-sea volcanoes. The entire region increasingly resembles an ocean floor -- one without water.
The new burst in activity began in 2005, when a 60-kilometer-long fissure suddenly formed in the Afar Depression. Since then, roughly 3.5 cubic kilometers of magma have gushed forth, according to Tim Wright -- enough to cover the entire area of London to an average person's height.
From a geological perspective, the speed with which the magma is pushing forth is astonishing. It has been channeling its way through the rock below the earth's surface at speeds of up to 30 meters per minute, reports Eric Jacques from the Institute of Earth Physics of Paris. Satellite measurements attest to the consequences: In one 200-kilometer stretch welling up with magma, the ground looks like asphalt on a hot summer day. Magma is also pooling up under the Dabbahu Volcano in northern Ethiopia, Lorraine Field reported in San Francisco.
Continuing to Expand
The satellite data has also shown that a much larger area has been scarred by fissures than previously assumed, says Keir. Subterranean currents of magma are also causing ground temperatures to spike in eastern Egypt, a team of geologists from Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics recently reported in Seismological Research Letters. At the AGU conference, Columbia University's James Gaherty reported that magma eruptions have ripped a 17-kilometer gash into the desert floor in the northern part of Malawi and that the lateral pressure they have exerted has even lifted the surrounding earth up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) in places.
The most violent upsurge of magma in recent years, though, happened in an unexpected place. In May 2009, a subterranean volcano erupted in Saudi Arabia. A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 accompanied by tens of thousands of milder tremors forced 30,000 to seek shelter. Magma spewed out of the ground in an area about the size of Berlin and Hamburg combined, Sigurjon Jonsson from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology reported at the AGU meeting. The fact that the eruption took place almost 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from the fault line in North Africa "surprised all of us," says Cynthia Ebinger. And the world's largest geological construction site continues to expand. Loraine Field confirms that more and more magna is pushing its way to the earth's surface, adding that: "The magma chamber is reloading."
Oxford University's David Ferguson predicts a considerable increase in volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the region over the next decade. They will, he says, "become of increasingly large magnitude."
Labels: Climate Change, Earth, Earth Magnetic, Earthquake, Lightworkers, Science and Research, volcano, Water Cycle
Dutch scientist advocates bugs as a green superfood
Dutch scientist Arnold van Huis has advocated bugs as a healthy, green, alternative food, saying it is time to break old eating habits.
The Callis farm in Ermelo supplies
Prof van Huis and Chef van Gurp
with insects
Insect dishes could be the answer to the global food crisis, shrinking land and water resources and climate-changing carbon emissions, he argued.
"Children don't have a problem with eating insects," he told Reuters.
Prof van Huis gives lectures, tastings and cookery classes with a master chef who prepares Dutch-farmed bugs.
The problem for adults is psychological, he said, and "only tasting and experience can make them change their minds".
Insects are a long-established food in some parts of the world such as Mexico and Thailand.
Worm sprinkles
The professor at Wageningen University said insects had more protein than cattle per bite, cost less to raise, consumed less water and did not have much of a carbon footprint.
To encourage bug consumption, the professor has been working with a local cookery school to produce a cookbook and suitable recipes.
Newsround cooks up cricket pasta
Bug munching party game launched
Malaysian TV worm-eating criticized
Chef Henk van Gurp, who created recipes for mealworm quiche and chocolate pralines with buffalo worms, sees no reason to disguise the ingredients.
He sprinkles mealworms on top of his quiche filling and on the chocolate buffalo worms as protein.
"I try to make my food in a way that people can see what they eat," he told Reuters.
"Once international leading chefs begin preparing this food, others will follow."
'Good for the elderly'
Insects are already bred as food for birds, lizards and monkeys at the Callis family's farm near the university, and now the owners are eyeing the human market.
"It is good food, of high nutritional value and very healthy for elderly people," said Margot Callis, adding that she cannot eat insects herself because she is "allergic to them".
One person who attended a food-tasting at the university, 24-year-old IT consultant Duyugu Tatar, was less than enthusiastic about the quiche.
"The taste was not that awful but the idea of eating them horrified me," he said about Mr van Gurp's sprinkles.
"It was crispy. The taste was not like normal food. Not like meat, vegetable, or fruit. Maybe something like cornflakes.
"It took a lot of courage to eat it. I usually smash them [insects] when I see them. I am not used to eating them. I don't know if I would eat it again."
Labels: Animals, Climate Change, Food Systems, Netherlands, Science and Research, Species, Sustainable
200 dead cows found in Wisconsin field
Kare11.com, By The Associated Press , 1/15/2011 12:50:48 PM
TOWN OF STOCKTON, Wis. -- An investigation is under way after 200 dead cows were found in a field in the Town of Stockton.
The Portage County sheriff's office says the owner of the cattle has been working with a local veterinarian and it's believed the animals died from the IBR/BVD virus. The virus can cause respiratory and reproductive problems.
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals.
55 buffalo die mysteriously on southern Cayuga County farm
Authorities seek cause of 200 cow deaths in Portage County
7,000 Buffalo and Cows Freeze To Death in Vietnam
More than 1,000 dead birds fall from sky in Ark
Labels: Animals, Mystery, Species, US
Mysterious sinkhole threatens farmer's house
People's Daily China, 14:57, January 14, 2011
A mysterious sinkhole suddenly appeared at the vegetable garden of Zhang Shiyin, a villager, in his own yard on Jan. 13, Shuangshan Village, Leshan City of Sichuan Province. The diameter of the sinkhole has increased to about 20 meters and it is severely threatening Zhang's house, but it has not resulted in any casualties until now. (Photo by Chinanews/Liu Zhongjun)
Many Sinkhole Pictures from Around the World
Labels: China, Mystery, Sinkhole
Magnetic Polar Caps Shifting - Finally Mainstream Waking Up
The Tampa Tribune, January 5, 2011
TAMPA - Scientists say the magnetic north pole is moving toward Russia and the fallout has reached -- of all places -- Tampa International Airport.
Magnetic north pole is moving toward
The airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to repaint the numeric designators at each end and change taxiway signage to account for the shift in location of the Earth's magnetic north.
The closure of the west parallel runway will result in more activity on the east parallel runway and more noise for residential areas of south Tampa.
The busiest runway will be re-designated 19R/1L on aviation charts. It's been 18R/36L, indicating its alignment along the 180-degree approach from the north and the 360-degree approach from the south.
Later this month, the airport's east parallel runway and the seldom used east-west runway will be closed to change signage to their new designations.
The Federal Aviation Administration required the runway designation change to account for what a National Geographic News report described as a gradual shift of the Earth's magnetic pole at nearly 40 miles a year toward Russia because of magnetic changes in the core of the planet.
North Magnetic Pole Moving Due to Core Flux
NASA Claims Polar Shift Due in 2012
Pole Shift & Pole Reversal in 2012
Kiesha speaks on 2012
Labels: Animals, Climate Change, Cosmos, Earth Magnetic, Polar Shift, Universum
German scientists to study mud volcanoes in Azerba...
UN Head Calls for 'Revolution' to Save Environment...
Dutch scientist advocates bugs as a green superfoo...
Magnetic Polar Caps Shifting - Finally Mainstream ...
Magnificent Aurora in Finland
Katla - earthquakes during the last 48 hours
Scientists Create 52 Artificial Rain Storms in Abu...
Natural disasters 'killed 295,000 in 2010'
More than 1,000 dead birds fall from sky in Ark.


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Minnesota Corporate Franchise Tax Change for Foreign Disregarded Entities
By Allison Woodbury
The Minnesota Department of Revenue issued its position on foreign disregarded entities of corporate taxpayers on October 4, 2017. In response to the Minnesota Supreme Court decision filed August 2, 2017 in Ashland Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue, the department reversed its policy of excluding foreign disregarded entities from unitary return groups for tax years 1997-2012 as formerly set out under Revenue Notice 98-08. Minnesota had previously not permitted the net income or the apportionment factors of foreign corporations or foreign entities to be included in the combined corporate franchise tax return, even if part of a unitary business.
Corporate franchise taxpayers who filed a Minnesota return for the period at issue may be entitled to a refund, may owe additional tax, or may be required to adjust net operating loss carryforwards. The department will not assess or collect late-payment, late-filing, or substantial understatement penalties on any additional tax owed under this revised position. Corporate franchise taxpayers with disregarded foreign entities for the 1997-2012 tax years should consult with their return preparers to determine if any adjustments are required or refunds are available.
Allison Woodbury

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


As India celebrated Diwali in mid-October this year, the country's young 'uns were busy swiping away on Tinder. You'd think that the festival of lights would be that one day in the year when millennials would pull up their sanskaari socks, put on their ethnic best and counter the big marriage question from every relative within a ten kilometre radius. But instead they were distracted from the celebrations and went online looking for firecrackers of a different kind. According to data provided by the good folks over at Tinder, app usage actually went up during Diwali.
Starting October 8, Indian metros saw a sharp rise in swiping with Pune leading the way. The cultural capital of Maharashtra and one of the state's largest IT hubs saw a 45 per cent increase in Tinder use, followed by Bangalore (35 per cent) and Mumbai (30 per cent). Meanwhile, New Delhi came in fourth with just a 25 per cent rise in swipes. So while their parents probably met each other at a mutual friend's card party on Diwali night, India's Gen Y has found an alternate (and perhaps more convenient) method of arranging their own meet cute.
One can only wonder why Tinder usage went up during Diwali as compared to the rest of the month but if we were to guess, we would pin it on just one thing – time. For both college goers and professionals, Diwali is the big break when you have more time on your hands… leading to more activity on the dating app. Additionally, the festival is also perhaps the only break long enough for you to go home to your family. Could it be that people were specifically searching for partners in their hometowns? One can only wonder but what one does know for a fact is that Tinder users seemed to be far more serious about finding a match between the first (October 17) and last day (October 21) of Diwali, because according to the data provided by the app, it saw 65 per cent more super likes being used during the festive break as compared to other days of the month.
This Indian dude gets 10 times more matches on Tinder than you. Here's how he does it.


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Archive for December 21st, 2018
Bob Baldwin – Welcome To The Games (Remixed Version)
His internet-only release City Sketches – a disc privately released commemorating the 1996 Olympics – is a musical portrait of the city of Atlanta celebrating the city's unique history. Violinist Regina Carter so loved "Downtown Underground" that she in turn recorded it on her CD, Something for Grace. Baldwin performed for the athletes at Atlanta's Olympic Games and shared the stage with Roy Ayers and Chuck Loeb at the Club Benson and Hedges Music Festival. Then in 2000, he traveled to South Africa with Marion Meadows for a historical concert.
Welcome To The Games (Remixed Version) is an Atlanta-based homegrown remix of a project Bob Baldwin did years ago in 1996, and it is Funky! This album contains three new tracks and with 3 bonus tracks "For My Baby", "Thought It Was You", and "Funkin' For Jamaica" (instrumental), all partially recorded in the late 1990's.
You get this album exclusively on Bob's website.
Bob Baldwin
Welcome To The Games (Remixed Version)


Retraite Artiste idyllique - sur l'océan - Promenade à la rose trémière !!!
Situé au sein d'une courte distance de marche de la rose trémière Retreat Center sur la magnifique île de Cortes dans les îles Discovery de la Colombie-Britannique, cette cabane est une escapade idyllique pour un couple, artiste, écrivain, ou ceux qui cherchent la solitude et la retraite - donnant sur le détroit de Géorgie, Desolation Sound, et les sommets enneigés éloignées de la Colombie-Britannique.
5) Dormir loft avec lit queen - couette et les oreillers!
Ardoise gris foncé. Double baignoire pour deux. Douche séparée.
Immense baignoire pour deux personnes dans une salle de bains, douche séparée, bois sauna dans le jardin, vue imprenable sur Desolation Sound, distance de marche de la rose trémière.
My wife and I spent a blissful 5 days here in late August. It was everything we could have wanted...real privacy, great view, charming inside with lots of artistic finishes, hot tub on the deck, short walk to Hollyhock. Look forward to staying again!
Our jaws dropped the moment we pulled in. What a gem of a place, it just kept on giving.
What a special place! Had there not been an active fire ban, we maybe would have never left. We will daydream of this trip for months to come. Thank you for making this cabin so cozy.
Our only wish was to have slightly more time on our last morning before checkout, but everything else was perfect.
Beautiful views, great cabin, and a great week of R&R.
This is the second time I have stayed at this property. Much enjoyed my experience.
Peaceful, spacious, so west coast....steps away is a plethora of blackberries and ocean views. Clean, quaint and welcoming. I highly recommend and look forward to staying at this property again.
Perfect! Peaceful! Beautiful! Just what we needed. A bit of paradise. Recommend swimming in the lake and massages at Hollyhock.
Just the sanctuary I needed.
Every once in awhile you come across a place that feels so magical it's as though time stops and serenity begins. Ashley and Parker's cozy retreat is like that, only better. Ocean views, a wooden hot tub, wood fired sauna, 2 minutes from Hollyhock, trails abound, bikes to ride, and total privacy with one of the best views of Desolation Sound you could imagine.
Seriously - can't wait to go back!!
As is the case with all VRBO rentals - all bookings are made via credit card in U.S. DOLLARS.


Ocado saw its EBITDA fall by 20.7% to £59.5 million in the year to 2 December as the company invested in a new distribution centre and technology.
Group revenue increased by 12.3% to £1.59 billion as the number of orders per week climbed by 12% to 296,000. There was also an uplift in the number of active customers which rose by 11.8% to 721,000.
During the year, Ocado secured international partnerships with Sobeys, ICA and Kroger to supply them with its online shopping and delivery technology. The company said it is preparing the business to open 23 customer fulfilment centres for its solutions partners in the coming years.
Ocado has also opened a fourth UK customer fulfilment centre in Erith in south London. At full capacity of £1.2 billion, the company said it will be the largest automated grocery fulfilment centre in the world.
Looking ahead, Steiner said: "Our transformation journey is well under way with increased cash fees earned and greater investment as we execute on behalf of our partners. Creating future value now will involve us continuing to scale the business, enhancing our platform, enabling our UK retail business to take advantage of all its opportunities for growth, and innovating for the future. We look forward to fulfilling these opportunities with excitement and determination."


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Stay connected using LINE
Posted On October 16, 2014 By eccentricyethappy
I've been an online messaging user for quite some time. Being stay connected with my friends helps me a lot whenever I'm wired at work.
In an increasingly digital world, Filipinos are always searching for new and innovative platforms that integrate and conveniently connect their lives to the digital world.
Bearing this in mind, LINE, the world's leading mobile platform with 560 million users, launched a fresh roster of products and services during the LINE Tokyo Conference held yesterday at Japan's Maihama Amphitheatre.
LINE has a growing community of over 560 million registered users and 170 million monthly active users. The next challenge for LINE is to enhance its users' communication experience which starts with creating more vibrant features and upgraded services.
Building a lifestyle platform
Themed 'Life,' the conference aims to build LINE as an integral platform for daily life by bridging the gap between online and offline with new products, services, and ideas.
This year's conference introduced LINE Pay, LINE GAME expansions, and announced new partnerships and future prospects.
With LINE Pay, users can enjoy a more affordable shared payment system that lets them link credit cards to the LINE app installed on Androids or iPhones. Payment is made by linking credit cards to the apps. This payment system also enables users to split purchase price with their friends after transacting in associated stores and selected web services. Ultimately, this offers them twice the experience for half the price.
The service will be protected by three security measures: primary and secondary passwords, fingerprint verification (for iPhone only), and smartphone verification.
The feature is planned for a late 2014 release and payment options will be available first for LINE and related web services and apps with further expansion into offline shops planned in the future.
For Filipinos, having a payment system that helps them settle their bills in just a few clicks can make them save time.
LINE GAME, on the other hand, will be expanding with new titles—including Pop 2, Puzzle Trio, Paper Dash World, Chronicles of Albion, and Legion of Heroes.
In an effort to bring the Japanese gaming experience to players around the world, LINE is setting the groundwork for the establishment of two new companies through separate partnerships with Gree Inc. and Cyber Agent Inc.
Meanwhile, the global messaging and call app has also partnered with Translimit Inc., a well-known Japanese gaming company that has released its products in over 150 countries (including the Philippines and the United States). Translimit is most recognized as the developer of Brain Wars.
What's next in LINE?
LINE is all about exploring possibilities that led them to create enhanced services to its users. With its continuous development in the online and offline spheres, LINE has gone beyond bringing meaningful conversations to Filipinos.
Now, LINE is exploring new possibilities in integrating taxi services (LINE TAXI), food-service companies (LINE WOW), navigation (LINE Maps for Indoor), and music (LINE Music) to its collection. They will also open opportunities for small businesses ([email protected]), bloggers (LINE Official Blogs), and artists and celebrities (LINE Paid Official Accounts) to reach out to their audience. These services will start in Japan and will soon enter the Philippine market.
Tagged: LINE LINE Music
Globe, Disney partner to support HERO Foundation
PSBank | Tips in purchasing pre-owned homes
Defend your home against underground termites
Posted On : August 1, 2014
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Malaysia Airlines MH370: Why US Navy\'s Black Box Locator Is a Game Changer
By Akash KJ
Following a cluster of debris being sighted, the US Navy has dispatched is high tech black box locators to an area of the southern Indian Ocean which is being searched for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370.
"If debris is found we will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited," Commander Chris Budde, US Seventh Fleet Operations Officer, said in an emailed statement.
How Does a Plane's Black Box Work?
Commercial airplanes and jets are equipped with a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder, two separate pieces of equipment which are jointly referred to as a 'Black Box'. In the event of a plane crash at sea, each recorder has a piece of equipment fitted to it called an Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB). The device is activated upon contact with water and can transmit from a depths as low as 14,000 feet (4267m).
What is a Black Box Tracker?
The tracker is reffered to as a "Towed Pinger Locator 25". It is a hyper-sensitive hydrophone that can locate black boxes on commercial aircraft to depths as low as 6000 metres (19685ft). The technology can play a pivotal role in the search for the Boeing 777's black box before its signal dies.
"The system consists of the tow fish, tow cable, winch, hydraulic power unit, generator, and topside control console", according to the US Navy Fact File. "The tow fish carries a passive listening device for detecting pingers that automatically transmit an acoustic pulse. Commercial aircraft pingers are mounted directly on the flight recorder, the recovery of which is critical to an accident investigation."
"The Pinger Locator is towed behind a ship at slow speeds, generally from 1 - 5 knots depending on the depth. The received acoustic signal of the pinger is transmitted up the cable and is presented audibly, and can be output to either a Oscilloscope, or Signal Processing Computer. The operator monitors the greatest signal strength and records the navigation coordinates. This procedure is repeated on multiple track lines until the final position is triangulated."
The search operation is a race against time since the signal of the black box is expected to last only for 30 days. The Malaysia Airlines MH370 went down on March 8, meaning that it has been over 15 days since the time of crash.
Sighting Offers Optimism
On Sunday, the sighting of a wooden pallet and other debris that could be linked to the Malaysian MH370 jet served as an indication that the hunt was finally on the right track. The development comes following over two weeks of false leads and dead ends in the search for the missing passenger jet.
Australian officials said the pallet, along with belts, was spotted on the weekend in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean. Since then, it that has become the focus of the search. The location of the area happens to be around 2,500 kilometres southwest of Perth.


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You are here: Home / blog / Pop Culture / Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Edition : A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America
Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Edition : A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America
March 14, 2014 /in Pop Culture, Travel /by Santa Monica Press
Title: Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Edition : A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America
Author: James Teitelbaum foreword by Sven A. Kirsten & cover Art by Shag
Artwork: Hundreds of Black-and-White Photos
Category: Travel, Pop Culture
ISBN: 209781595800190
Binding: Trade Paper
Exotic Natives, Passionate Potions, & Pagan Idols Await!
The 2nd edition of Tiki Road Trip has been completely updated, expanded, and globalized. The best—and only—guide to Polynesian Pop culture, written by Tiki expert and urban archaeologist James Teitelbaum, now contains even more listings and reviews of Tiki bars and Polynesian restaurants, even more photographs, and even more drink recipes. The International listings have been expanded as well, and the Hawaiian glossary is much more comprehensive. All in all, the second edition ofTiki Road Trip is a superior refinement of what was already an indispensable book for followers of the ever-growing Tiki movement.
From Tiki godfathers Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic to classic Exotica favorites Martin Denny and Les Baxter to contemporary Tiki artists Shag and Bosko, this resource covers everything Tiki in prose that is witty, entertaining, and essential for anyone who has ever stepped up to a bar, glanced up at the pufferfish hanging from the ceiling, and ordered a Singapore Sling.
In addition to the exhaustive listings, recipes for classic Tiki cocktails, a glossary of Tiki terms, and resources for buying Tiki goods and artifacts are also included. Reminiscences of famous points of interest that have closed are provided for the completist, for historical perspective, and for those seeking information on the current status of a favorite Tiki site which may have closed.
So slip on your grass skirt or Aloha shirt, because Tiki Road Trip is going to take you on a tour of the Tiki universe that will make waves from the shores of Rapa Nui to the beaches of Oahu!
Click below to purchase this book:
Mai-Kai, 3599 N. U.S. 1, Fort Lauderdale, FL (305) 947-9052
Mai-Kai is not only Florida's most spectacular destination for Tiki lovers, but is perhaps the last remaining establishment of its kind anywhere. No other Tiki restaurant can boast of the sheer size of Mai-Kai, the quality of the floor show, or the spectacular collection of Oceanic artifacts, many of which were actually collected in the Pacific islands. The list of places that can provide cocktails of similar caliber is a short one. Certainly there are few places as beloved by the Tiki community. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006, Mai-Kai seems ready and willing to remain Polynesian Pop's flagship location for another half-century.
The Mai-Kai story began in the early 1950s, with Chicago brothers Robert and Jack Thornton. After leaving the armed forces, they traveled the country working as bartenders in all of the major Poly Pop hot spots of the era. They eventually selected Fort Lauderdale—then a sparsely populated blip on the road to Miami—as the location for their own house of Tiki. In 1956, the Thornton Brothers began construction of Mai-Kai at a cost of nearly one million dollars. With a mixology assist from Mariano Licudine (Donn Beach's former right-hand man), the first version of Mai-Kai consisted of a small bar and four dining rooms that collectively held 225 people.
Four years later, Bob met the lovely Tahitian-born Mirielle, who had been recruited as a Mai-Kai Islanders Revue dancer. In 1961, she became part of what is now the longest running Polynesian show in the United States. Five years after meeting, romance blossomed between Bob and Mirielle, and after an 11-year courtship, they were married. Mirielle became Mai-Kai's costume designer, choreographer, and talent scout.
The business was expanded in the 1960s by the renowned team of architect George Nakashima and designer Florian Gabriel. The original designer could not be hired back, since he had vanished without a trace while flying a small plane over the Bermuda Triangle (really!). The revamped Mai-Kai seats 489 people in seven rooms (named Samoa, Lana'i, Tahiti, Tonga, Hawai'i, New Guinea, and Moorea) and another 150 in the vintage 1970s Molokai Bar.
The Thornton brothers have passed on, but Mirielle and her kids Kulani and David still run Mai-Kai. Other key staff members include general manager Kern Mattei (the son of the previous manager) and 16-year (as of this writing) Mai-Kai veteran Pia Dahlquist. The entire staff are like family, and include the suave maitre d' Patrick, the charming Hazel in the gift shop, terrific dancers such as Amber and Glenda, the ultrasmooth emcee Sonny, and (ending a 25-year run in 2006) the musical stylings of the great Mua in the Molokai Bar.
The restaurant is a vintage-style supper club, with two shows per night. If you arrive early, you'll wait in the Molokai Bar for the next seating. The bar is designed to look like the lower deck of a ship. Gas lamps, rope, nets, the bust of a mermaid—all the things you might expect to find on an old galleon. A sprinkler system provides a continual "rainstorm" cascading down the windows, partially obscuring the gardens that in turn block any view of the real world outside. If the decor is awesome, the girls tending bar are more so. All dressed in bikini tops and matching mini-mini-mini sarongs, these lovelies take your drink orders and deliver them to the master mixologists secretly concealed in a back room. There isn't a bottle in sight. After a short wait, the potions are delivered to you, as if out of nowhere.
The drinks are categorically arranged as "mild," "medium," or "strong." The S.O.S. and the similar Mai-Kai Swizzle are good; the S.O.S. has a hint of what might be mango and their house Falernum. Even better are favorites like the K.O. Cooler, Zombie, Jet Pilot, Shrunken Skull, Yeoman's Grog, and Barrel O' Rum. Also sampled by our expert team were the sour Shark Bite, Cobra Kiss, the strawberry yogurty Tahitian Paradise, a yellow-brown Mai Tai, the delightful Black Magic, and the similar Mutiny, which both have a coffee flavor (but are not coffee drinks, per se). Along with the Tiki Ti in Los Angeles, and any Trader Vic's location, the Mai-Kai has a permanent place in a holy trio of old-school holdouts dedicated to the careful construction of their libations. Just imagine the freshly squeezed fruit juices, the quality liquors, the careful mixology, and yes, you can still keep the Tiki mug if you order the Mara Amu. Do I hear a hallelujah from the congregation? Show up at happy hour and your second drink is on the house. The gauntlet is thrown: let's see Trader Vic's top that!
The chow menu is exhaustive, and will likely cater to almost any taste. Thai and sushi have replaced Cantonese and Szechuan as the exotic food of choice for many Americans, and Mai-Kai has updated the menu to reflect this. There are also plenty of American and Polynesian selections. The food here is expensive and the broad selection of dishes on the menu does vary in quality. Not that you'll really notice, because . . .
The Mai-Kai Islanders Revue is outstanding. A team of wonderful male and female dancers, costumed and choreographed by Mrs. Thornton and backed by a six-piece band, perform an array of traditional island dances. Sonny is as laid-back as can be, announcing the dances while the musicians alternate between favorite Hawaiian songs and thundering Polynesian drums. The nifo'afi (fire knife dance!) is exciting, the hulas are spellbinding, the slap dance is always entertaining (you'll be attempting it yourself later that night after a few K.O. Coolers, guaranteed), and the Tahitian wedding dance is purdy. You will be billed $9.95 per person for the show, and you'll want more when it is over.
After the show, stroll through the gardens. On the way, you will pass two large black velvet paintings by Leeteg. Outside, a series of paths wind through a tall, dense, and lush garden, filled with exotic trees, plants, flowers, fountains, streams, and bridges. The gardens also are festooned with Tikis of all shapes, sizes, and origins, from three-story-tall monsters that have survived 50 years of Florida sun (and several recent hurricanes), to vintage creations by the likes of Barney West, to modern works by noted carvers such as Dave "Basement Kahuna" Wolfe. The hundreds of Oceanic artifacts on display inside the Mai-Kai were collected during the Thornton brothers' travels; familiar Oceanic Arts carvings fill in the gaps. And as it turns out, the castrated Tiki in the gardens was not an act of censorship, but an act of vandalism. You just don't do that sort of thing to a Tiki. Memo to the vandal: please return the purloined member at once.
The gift shop looks like the interior of a Balinese temple. Added in the late 1960s, the decor was apparently scavenged from an unidentified movie set. There is quite a selection of stuff to be found within the shop. Look for a T-shirt with the drink menu on it, aloha shirts, Tiki Farm mugs, the occasional vintage calendar or other bit of ephemera, and costumes identical to those of the waitresses in the bar. Anyone who can pull off wearing this outfit is strongly encouraged to do so. One person who does wear it well is the Mystery Girl, but we'll leave her as a mystery to be discovered on your next voyage to the Mai-Kai. A pilgrimage to this gem in Fort Lauderdale is a rite of passage required for admission into the Polynesian Pop cool kids club. Go there, now!
James Teitelbaum
has been a leading figure in the Tiki revival since the early 1990s. He launched the venerable Tiki Bar Review Pages web site early in 1995, wrote the book Tiki Road Trip (Santa Monica Press, 2003), and has been the been involved in the production (to varying degrees) of Tiki events such as Exotica 2000, Exotica 2003, Tabu Tiki Nights (monthly in 2004 and 2005), and Hukilau 2005 and 2006. He lives in Chicago, where he works in the music industry, writes, and teaches.
"Whether you're the weathered Tiki crawler or the bright-eyed Tiki novice, this guide book is a really great tool to help you find your ideal tropical oasis. Whether you're in the heart of a major city or in middle of podunk nowhere, James Teitelbaum's Tiki Road Trip: A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America is a must-own for anyone looking for an expertly-guided nostalgic taste of the past."
—MouseInfo.com
"The end result is nothing short of fantastic: it's virtually a treasure map for Tiki lovers. I'm sure as the result of this book, many of these long lost Tiki Bars will get renewed interest from Tiki travelers. I know from now on I'm checking this book whenever I head out of town."
—Tikiroom.com
"Tiki Road Trip is a cover-to-cover delight, and I will never again be able to drive past a bar with an outrigger canoe without wanting to go inside. Wow. That means this is a book that changes lives."
—RoadTrip America
"Whether you're a Tikiphile looking to explore new locations or you're just planning a unique road trip this summer, this book will help you map out a bangin' itinerary."
—Boston's Weekly Dig
"A good manual for hipsters and other cultural sponges to take along on road trips . . . So lay down some swingin' Les Baxter tunes, break out the DaGa mugs, brew up a pitcher of Planter's Punch and roll out the maps. It's time to trip."
—Atomic Magazine
"Tiki Road Trip makes for an entertaining and definitive guide. It's a good read even if you're not going anywhere. But it's better yet with, ahhh, a Mai Tai in hand (virgin, if you're driving) and a thatched roof above your head."
—Kim Roth, By the Way Magazine
http://santamonicapress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tiki_2nd.jpg 360 240 Santa Monica Press http://santamonicapress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SMP-Logo-Color-Side-1.png Santa Monica Press2014-03-14 00:00:002019-05-09 03:41:57Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Edition : A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America
Tower Stories : An Oral History of 9/11 The Three Stooges : Hollywood Filming Locations


On 3 February 2013, at around 4 am, twelve police platoons entered Govindpur and Nuagaon villages in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa (present Odisha) and started beating up sleeping women & children, injuring many of them seriously, and arresting people at random. They are demolishing the betel vines in the area – the traditional and one of the most viable local livelihoods.
In this phase there have been many ups and several downs. There have been constant shifts of power with the highest offices of the Government of India intervening so that POSCO's men and machines could find their way into their earmarked project site.
Due to years of protest and other delays, the first set of environmental approvals to POSCO, granted in 2007, lapsed in 2012. These were valid for only five years. During this time local resistance, solidarity, and lack of the final set of permissions under other designated laws disallowed POSCO from starting operations. There were efforts to forcibly enter the area, local clashes, episodes where POSCO's officials were prevented from entering, arrests of protesters and so on.
Now the state moved to take possession of the land forcefully disregarding the constitutional rights of the people and in a gross violation of Forest Rights Act 2006.
All India Forum of Forest Movements (AIFFM) strongly condemn this barbarous attack on people who are resisting forceful acquisition of their lands peacefully and demand immediate withdrawal of police from the area and immediate release of people who have been illegally arrested.


TSI's dedication to excellence has earned the designation of "Factory Authorized" by some of the world's leading manufacturers of Railroad, Industrial and Port material handling equipment. We strive for excellence and have shown why we are considered to be at the top of the industry in both maintenance and distribution of heavy machinery. With years of experience in the railroad, industrial material handling and port equipment maintenance, TSI has the knowledge, experience and resources to keep your equipment operational and your facilities productive.
TSI has over 60 years experience in crane parts distribution and warehousing. We operate four parts distribution centers, along with more than 40 additional satellite locations strategically located throughout the United States to provide quick response to our customer's requirements.
TSI parts representatives are trained, experienced, and qualified to resolve your inquiries regarding performance, parts, and service related issues. Their background consists of training through manufacturing, service, warehousing, and warranty.
TSI's experienced buyers are involved in all stages of manufacturing, engineering, and product performance related issues. Their extensive background ensures the after- market parts meet all OEM standards.
TSI parts representatives are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to meet all of your requirements for parts and service. Our qualified shipping and receiving personnel work around the clock to satisfy your demands.
TSI has established an extensive nationwide parts inventory to ensure parts are available in order to reduce equipment downtime and maximize unit utilization.


The web flew out and floated wide.
Poor lady! I was with her then.
But she could never weave again.
I saw its silver shadows go.
"The curse has come on me!" she cried.
Poor lady! I had told her so.
She was so proud: she would not hide.
She only laughed and tried to sing.
But singing, in her song she died.
She did not profit anything.


Swiss company Zehnder has acquired Netherlands-based Recair, a producer of energy-efficient heat exchangers. The deal was advised on by M&A consultants from three firms: Baker Tilly, Dommerholt Advocaten and De Jong & Laan.
Zehnder Group is one of Europe's larger producers of radiators, cooling systems and ventilation systems for interior spaces. The company serves both the consumer segment – such as apartments and houses – as well as the business segments – including hospitals, offices, schools, sports halls and warehouses.
The Swiss company entered the Dutch market in 2002 when it acquired StorkAir. Now, seventeen years down the line, Zehnder has closed its second acquisition in the Benelux country. With the addition, the manufacturer expands its market share in heat exchangers for the residential market. Recair develops, produces and sells energy-efficient heat exchangers that have been developed primarily for use in ventilation units for residential construction. The company exports its products to more than 25 countries.
With the buyer clearly in sight, Baker Tilly set up the data room to facilitate the due diligence process, after which the firm supported Recair with drafting and negotiating the various contracts. The legal aspects of the transaction were supported by colleagues Marcel Ploegsma and Lex Janssens. Meanwhile, at the other side of the deal table, M&A advisers from Dommerholt Advocaten (Edo Nijdam and Rick van Betten) and De Jong & Laan (Peter Miedema) took responsibility for supporting Zehnder's interests.
As part of the integration, Recair will continue as an independent entity within the Zehnder Group. All employees have transferred to the new owner, with the two founders of the company staying on board.
The market for heat exchangers and other heat systems is currently undergoing strong growth. Due to the growing need for sustainable housing and the focus on more healthy and comfortable working environments in offices, demand for such products and solutions is on the rise. According to a study by a US-based analyst firm, global spending on heating, ventilating and air-conditioning products have grown to over $65 billion. Among the largest players in the segment are companies such as Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Daikin, Lennox, Ingersoll Rand, Samsung Electronics and Siemens Building Technologies.


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text:
Придорожная — название населённых пунктов в России:

 Придорожная — станица в Каневском районе Краснодарского края.
 Придорожная — деревня в Демянском районе Новгородской области.
 Придорожная — деревня в Любытинском районе Новгородской области.
 Придорожная — деревня в Чудовском районе Новгородской области.

См. также
 Придорожная аллея
 Придорожное
 Придорожный

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I would consider myself pretty competent with Scala at this point, but there is still so much I have yet to learn. Something I always used to do in Java was to work my way one class at a time through the JavaDocs of the language I am attempting to do with Scala now as well.
I've just run across the Either class in the ScalaDocs and really like the idea.
I'm not really sure how practical this example I wrote is, but my method "numOrString" takes in a String and attempts to convert it to an Int. If it can return an Int it does so or it returns a String. By use of the Left and Right subclasses of Either you can define which type of result you are sending back. Finally, with Scala's awesome matching you can easily determine which type of result you got.
Probably you are willing to know about a convention, that deals with usage of Left and Right. It advises you to put the expected result (positive case) in the Right, and the other (negative case) in the Left. So your example would need to be changed to follow that convention.
I found out about the convention at one of Scala User Forum pages - first comment of Stefan Langer: "It can be used as a error reporting function like in Haskell with left bearing the error and right bearing the expected value".
Przemek, thanks for that tip. I changed the code to reflect that convention.


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"Stunning Former Pacific Larkspur Sought-After Plan 6 Model Home For Sale, By Pacific Communities Builder Antelope Valley's No. 1 New Home Builder. Final Opportunity! NO HOA! Located in the Desirable West side of Lancaster. 4,163 sq. ft. of living space, Formal Living Room, Dining Room, Den, Large Family Room, and Formal Living Room share a dual sided fireplace. This Beautiful home features Recessed Lighting throughout, Vaulted Ceilings in Living Room, Gourmet Kitchen includes Granite Countertops, Beechwood Espresso Cabinets, G.E. Stainless Steel Appliances, Double Oven, Refrigerator, Kitchen Island, Over-sized Walk-In Pantry with Wok Kitchen, Upper and lower Cabinets, additional Cook-top with hood range and a refrigerator for beverages. Down Stairs Bedroom and Bathroom. Laundry Room conveniently located on the second floor. Spacious Master Bedroom includes a Master Bath has a fabulous soaking tub and Large Walk-In Shower. Upstairs Jack and Jill Bedroom. Large Loft and Open to Below. Lush Landscaping Front and Back, More... Certain items in the Model not included. Please contact the sales office for more information."
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HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) - Federal investigators overstated the scientific case against the late Army researcher blamed for the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people, but the evidence is also consistent with the government's finding that Bruce Ivins was behind the mailings, a panel of scientists said Tuesday.
The National Research Council committee held a briefing in Washington on its 170-page report, which examines the novel microbial forensic techniques used by the FBI to determine that Ivins, a researcher at Maryland's Fort Detrick, acted alone in making and sending the powdered spores.
The panel that conducted the 18-month review faulted government assertions that the mailer must have had a high level of technical skill and that the parent material of the anthrax strain used in the attacks had to have come from a flask that Ivins alone maintained.
"We find the scientific evidence to be consistent with their conclusions but not as definitive as stated," said Lehigh University President Alice P. Gast, who chaired the 16-member panel.
The FBI said in a written statement that its conclusions were based on a traditional investigation as well as scientific findings. The agency said the science provided leads but that science alone rarely solves cases.
"The FBI has long maintained that while science played a significant role, it was the totality of the investigative process that determined the outcome of the anthrax case," the agency said.
Gast declined to comment on the guilt or innocence of Ivins, who died of an apparently intentional Tylenol overdose in 2008 as the U.S. Justice Department prepared to indict him for the attacks. He had denied involvement, and his lawyer and some colleagues have maintained he was an innocent man hounded to self-destruction.
Early last year, the FBI formally closed its investigation into the anthrax letters that unnerved a nation still reeling from the 9/11 attacks, saying it had concluded that Ivins planned and executed the mailings by himself.
Five people died in October and November 2001 from anthrax inhalation or exposure linked to the letters. They were a Florida photo editor, two postal workers in Washington, a hospital employee in New York City and a 94-year-old woman in Oxford, Conn. Seventeen others were sickened.
Postal facilities, U.S. Capitol buildings and private offices were shut for inspection and cleaned by workers in hazardous materials suits from Florida to New York and elsewhere.
Investigators have acknowledged that the case against Ivins, who worked at Fort Detrick in Frederick, is circumstantial. Still, Jeff Taylor, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in 2008 that prosecutors could prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Ivins was responsible for the attacks.
The FBI asked the congressionally chartered council to validate its use of new and emerging science in the investigation.
The panel said the science didn't support the Justice Department's statement in a 2010 report that "the anthrax mailer must have possessed significant technical skill," an assertion that narrowed who could have been responsible.
Various experts told the panel it could have taken anywhere from two days to several months to prepare the spores.
"Given uncertainty about the methods used for preparation of the spore material, the committee could reach no significant conclusions regarding the skill set of the perpetrator," the report states.
The report also challenges investigators' conclusion that the parent material of the Ames strain of anthrax spores used in the attacks came from a flask labeled RMR-1029 that was created and solely maintained by Ivins.
"The scientific link between the letter material and flask number RMR-1029 is not as conclusive as stated" by the Justice Department, the report says.
For example, the scientists found that investigators did not rigorously explore the possibility that certain genetic mutations common to the mailed anthrax and the material in Ivins' flask could have evolved separately in anthrax grown elsewhere.
The lack of certainty bolstered detractors' view that Ivins was unfairly persecuted.
"I believe that this report validates criticism that the FBI was not warranted in their aggressive pressure targeting researchers at America's finest biodefense laboratory," said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., whose district includes Fort Detrick.
Rep. Rush Holt, a New Jersey Democrat whose district includes the Princeton mailbox used in the attacks, has reintroduced a bill that would create a congressional commission to investigate the anthrax attacks.
"The FBI has not proven to me that this is an open-and-shut case. We still badly need a 9/11-style commission to determine how the attacks happened and whether we learned the lessons to prepare for another attack," Holt said.
The report reveals that the FBI pursued a possible al-Qaida link to the mailings by trying without success to grow anthrax from swabs and swipes taken from an unspecified overseas site at which a terrorist group's anthrax program was allegedly located. The samples had tested positive for Ames anthrax - false positives aren't unusual - but wouldn't grow spores, according to sketchy information in a newly declassified document that the FBI gave the committee in December or January.
The committee said the methods used in the inconclusive tests should be explored in more detail.
AP reporters Pete Yost and Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this report.


a- The House of Commons Transport Committee published a report entitled "Road Traffic Law Enforcement - Second Report of Session 2015-16" in March 2016 which contains a section on "How Offences Are Dealt With" contains some useful information although the committee seems to have been misinformed to some extent in that they suggest some of the fees paid are "held by the police to cover the cost of referring the offender to the course". This is inaccurate as we have made clear elsewhere and the evidence is below.
b - In a note published by Norfolk County Council (Agenda for the Road Casualty Reduction Partnership Board dated 11th November 2014), it is stated that "The income received from NDORS/NCC pays for the SafeCam operation and any surplus is identified and held in reserves to be reinvested in road safety". It later says "...the Board also consider reinvesting further in the infrastructure of SafeCam to ensure that it remains operationally effective in promoting road safety". In a letter to Mr Reg Oliver dated 1st February 2016, Norfolk Constabulary also stated that: "All income received from NDORS pays the running costs of the Safety Camera Team and associated costs, for example vehicles/equipment, etc." . These statements make it clear that the monies received from SACs are used to finance all the operations of the Safety Camera Partnership including detection, i.e. not just administration, and are in addition used to fund more equipment such as additional cameras and camera vans.
c - North Yorkshire Police published a notice entitled "10/2016: Expansion of Safety Camera Vehicles to improve road safety and keep rural communities safer". This is a proposal to add 6 new camera vehicles (making 12 in total).
These vehicles and their equipment will be financed out of the surpluses from camera operations. In addition the equipment will include "automatic number plate recognition technology, so they can be used to tackle wider issues of anti-social road use, and cross-border criminality...". This makes it clear that the police are funding more than just road safety related activities from the SAC surpluses but their wider policing activities.
d - In the West Midlands an average speed camera project is to be launched in summer 2016, on roads in Birmingham and Solihull. Ashley Prior, Solihull's Head of Highway Services was quoted in Local Transport Today (LTT) on the 15th April 2016 as saying "It is anticipated that any future expansion of the scheme could be met from any favourable variance in the original budget together with the council's proportion of income generated from the speed awareness course fees". In other words the fees paid to the police not only generate a surplus but are being used directly to finance more cameras.
e - In 2013 Essex County Council responded to a Freedom of Information Act request on the revenue generated from the provision of speed awareness courses. It stated that "During 2012/13, the ECRB allocated two sums of money from the financial surplus that remained at the end of 2011/12. Both sums were awarded to Essex Police; one for approximately £20,000 for the purchase of two hand-held speed detection devices and the other for approximately £70,000 for the purchase of two motorcycles." In addition, it says "Essex Police are able to recover their costs for the detection and processing of offences captured which includes the highway authorities recovering the majority of the costs incurred maintaining the permanent safety camera installations within their area". So again this directly contradicts what NDORS and the Government have been saying.
f - Thames Valley Police have confirmed in a letter dated 4th January 2016 in response to an FOI Act request by solicitors acting for the ABD that "The income received by the Force in relation to AA Drivetech courses (speed awareness, rider improvement, etc) is 'ring fenced' for road safety initiatives and is spent on the following:- Administration of speeding/motor offences (fixed penalty support unit) Including staff costs and premises; Mobile camera vans (safety camera unit) including staff cost and vehicle/equipment purchase/maintenance; Road safety initiatives (staff going to schools, safe drive stay alive etc.)". That certainly makes it clear that they are using income from speed awareness courses not just for administration of those courses, but to finance speed cameras and their operation.
g - Nottinghamshire Police received £1.3 million in 2015 based on the £35 referral fees via NDORS from the fees paid by course attendees. They issued 83,853 NIPs in that year with 39,610 courses attended. They declined to provide information on where that money is spent.
h - South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership had an overall income budget of £1,460,266 in 2013/2014 of which £830,788 came from the "Driver Diversion Course Fees" (Source; South Yorkshire Safety Cameras Operational Plan 2013/14 to 2014/15). The rest came from Local Authorities. The budgets are similar for 2014/2015 although the Local Authority contribution was forecast to fall. When looking at the Expenditure in 2013/2014, which matched the expected income, there is £855,646 on staff costs and £353,000 on Equipment Maintenance Costs.
But when you look at page 36 of that document which gives a detailed organisation structure diagram it is clear that there are 10 staff directly involved in "Enforcement" including Camera Technicians. In other words, a very large proportion of the costs are involved in operating and maintaining speed cameras so it is very clear that the claim that the revenue from speed awareness courses is solely used on administration is nonsense.
In addition South Yorkshire do not appear to even split out administration of speed awareness course invites from other activities, but as they have more staff on "enforcement" than on "administration", and the latter includes other work than administration of speed awareness course invites, plus the "equipment maintenance costs" are clearly not administration costs, it is very obvious that speed awareness course kickbacks via NDORS are funding the installation, maintenance and operation of speed cameras.
"The income from the course fee is split in several ways, including payment to the course provider- £45, payment for administration of the National Driver Offender Re-training (NDORs) scheme nationally - £5 and payment to the PCC of the Force area - £35. The £35 received by the PCC is used to fund the costs to the Force in delivery of this area of work i.e. the team who work in the Camera Enforcement Unit, the team that deal with the tickets in the Central Ticket Office and all of the administration and postage involved in administering the scheme. The £45 course fee is paid over to Hartlepool Council who run and manage the training courses on our behalf. The council use this fee to cover the costs of the training and then return £19 of this £45 to the PCC to invest in Road Safety Initiatives and Schemes.
In addition, a number of initiatives have been funded or currently progressed by this income as follows:- New Camera Equipment - £37,810; Scanner - £72,931; Replacement of camera enforcement vehicles - £59,000 ……".
So it is clear that not only do the fees received finance enforcement activities, but they also fund camera equipment and associated vehicles. Again this destroys the claim that only administration costs are recovered from speed awareness course fees.
j - The former Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Olly Martins (he failed to get re-elected in 2016) was reported in the Daily Telegraph on the 4th November 2015 as planning to switch on speed cameras permanently on the M1 and set them at 70 mph under a "zero tolerance" approach. This was expected to generate "up to a million pounds for his cash strapped force". Mr Martins also spoke to the Commons Home Affairs Committee on "Reform of Police Funding" on the 3rd November 2015 where he said, after complaining about shortages in Police funding, that "I am now looking at things like turning on the HADECS cameras on the M1 and driving revenue from that, looking at sponsorship opportunities: does someone want to sponsor panda cars, our police officers' uniforms, so any...." at which point he was interrupted. But it is clear that he thought financing the police in general from SAC fees was acceptable.
"From the costs of the course a £35 central levy is recovered to cover all enforcement costs for the referring force, there is now an opportunity for NYP to consider introducing a 'local levy' to the cost of the course, something other forces have done for many years."
The above is just a sample of the evidence obtained by the ABD and by others. But the police have consistently evaded responding adequately and promptly to FOI Act requests or to complaints to them or to the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) about police activities in this area.


text:
Нойербург () — средневековый замок в западной части региона Айфель. Комплекс построен в длине реки  над городом Нойербург в районе [Айфель-Битбург-Прюм (район)|Айфель-Битбург-Прюм] в земле Рейнланд-Пфальц, Германия. После реконструкции, которая проводилась во второй половине 1920-х годов, замок используется как особый вид молодёжного хостела ().

История

Ранний период
Первым упоминанием о замке можно считать документ 1132 года. Тогда речь шла о дворянине Теодорихе цу Нойербург и его пожертвованиях церкви. Получается что в 1132 году укрепление Нойербург на высоком холме в долине реки Энц уже существовало.

Следующий документ с упоминанием замка относится уже к 1270 году. Но правители  при этом сообщают, что принадлежащий им как сюзеренам замок Нойербург — очень старая часть их феодальных владений. А также поясняют, что замок получен их предками в дар от графов Люксембурга.

Есть ещё один старинный документ, который иногда считают первым упоминанием Нойербурга. В повествовании о  в 892 есть в числе прочего речь идёт о том, где монахи из аббатства Прюм нашли убежище в недавно построенном замке. Однако допустимо, что это могло быть какое-то другое укреплённое место в регионе Айфель.

Со временем разрослось поселение, возникшее у стен замка. Его также стали называть Нойербург. В 1332 году оно получило права города. В том же году умер Фридрих III фон Нойербург, последний представитель пресёкшегося рода, владевшего замком. В последующие десятилетия крепость несколько раз переходила из рук в руки.

XVI-XVIII века
Значительные работы по расширению и усилению крепости были предприняты между 1513 и 1540 годами по распоряжению графа Дитриха IV фон Мандершайд-Бланкенхаймом, который принадлежал к боковой ветви влиятельного графского рода . Его потомки оставались владельцами Нойербурга вплоть до конца XVIII века. Со временем они превратили замок в роскошную резиденцию.

Особое значение Нойербурга как крепости расположенной в стратегически важном месте стало очевидно в годы Тридцатилетней войны, длившейся с 1618 по 1648 год. Владельцы сумели хорошо подготовиться к боевым действиям. Была отремонтирована система укреплений, а в арсенале накопили большое количество оружия и боеприпасов. Всё это позволило успешно защищаться от шведских, голландских и французских войск. Правда присланные на подмогу люксембургские отряды доставляли больше проблем, чем помогали при обороне. На определённом этапе гарнизон, нанятый графами фон Мандершайд-Бланкенхаймом, должен был защищаться уже от люксембуржцев. С большим трудом удалось предотвратить мародёрство и разграбление замка своими же соотечественниками.

В последующие десятилетия войны вооружённые конфликты случались неоднократно. Самыми крупными стали Война Аугсбургской лиги и Голландская Война. Владельцы Нойербурга смогли провести модернизацию крепости. Гарнизон долгое время успешно защищался. Но в ходе неоднократных осад укреплениям были серьёзно повреждены. Самым тяжёлым стал 1692 год. Французы смогли полностью разрушить часть фортификационных сооружений. Некоторые из них были восстановлены к 1701 году. Но в своём прежнем великолепии Нойребург так и не возродился.

В 1794 году, после начала Великой французской революции регион Айфель был захвачен французами. Новые власти решили использовать Нойербург как важную крепость. Здесь не только разместили французский гарнизон, но и начали реконструкцию прежних фортификационных сооружений. В частности были построены новые бастионы, предназначенные для ведения артиллерийского огня. Особенно примечателен переход от прежних круглых бастионов (юго-западный бастион) к многоугольным бастионам (северный бастион). В ходе этих строительных работ толщина стен была серьёзно увеличена и достигла в некоторых местах 5,5 метра. По сути Нойребург превратился в самую современную для конца XVIII века крепость. Одновременно внутри было построено ещё одно жилое здание.

XIX-XX века

Несмотря на мощные укрепления в ходе Наполеоновских войн замок пришёл в упадок. От былой роскоши не осталось и следа. Дошло до того, что Нойербург решили продать с аукциона. Ещё одним драматическим событием в судьбе замка стал большой городской пожар в 1818 году. После него местные власти решили использовать кирпичи, камни и другие фрагменты крепости как стройматериалы для восстановления жилых зданий. Замок превратился в руины и по факту стал каменоломней.

В середине XIX замок перешел в муниципальную собственность. Его частично отремонтировали и стали использовать в различных утилитарных целях. Здесь размещалась богадельня, архив и тюрьма. После Первой мировой войны замок вновь оказался заброшен.

В 1926 году замок был официально приобретён федеральным правительством Германии. Власти восстановили часть зданий. При этом произошла радикальная реконструкция прежнего здания главной графской резиденции. В частности появился новый этаж между прежним первым и вторым этажами. А вскоре замок Нойербург был преобразован в молодёжное общежитие. Здесь же проходили учебные занятия.

Современное состояние
Замок находится в ведении организации , которая в настоящее время имеет штаб-квартиру в Кёльне. D Нойребурге находится молодёжный хостел. Администрированием занимается семья Крумп. Внутренний двор, часовня и руины прежних бастионов доступны для свободного посещения.

Галерея

Примечания

Литература

Ссылки

 Страница о замке на ms-visucom.de

Замки, построенные в XII веке
Замки Рейнланд-Пфальца


You may or may not have read my post last year about how to use AdWords attribution models, but Google is stepping up their already impressive reporting game and combining their reporting tools to give you one solid platform that incorporates Analytics, AdWords, and DoubleClick.
If you own a PPC strategy for your client or company, chances are you use more than one channel to reach customers online. Google has said they understand this and want to make Google Attribution to be a one-stop shop for evaluating marketing campaigns. "By creating a tight loop between strategy, ad spend and feedback, Google aims to make the tool attractive to marketers that feel last-click models don't sufficiently explain customer behavior," says John Mannes of TechCrunch.
In the real world, most marketers know that conversions should be credited to more than the last touch point. A customer probably saw video ads, banner ads, emails, social ads, and other materials. All of these worked in consonance to drive conversions. Why, with all of the data available would you still attribute the sale to the last ad seen?
"We really focused on simplicity for Google Attribution…you basically connect your accounts, import your data, choose the attribution model that works best, then you can export the results through AdWords. You can immediately optimize your campaigns through the attribution models. Something that took months to do, we've reduced it down to minutes," said Babak Pahlavan, Senior Director of Product Management, Google.
Using Google Attribution allows digital marketers, especially PPC marketers who are looking for ways to simplify their reporting and insights, an easy way to evaluate and make changes faster for clients.
Marketers can easily see the conversion impact of keywords and ads based on multichannel and multi-device conversion paths data. By automatically sending modeled conversion data into AdWords, automated bidding can take upper and mid-funnel contributions into consideration. Again, this obviously has a benefit to Google as well.
One major question to answer is how is this different than what's available now?
Currently, attribution within AdWords doesn't offer any insight into the connection between ads and marketing efforts on other channels. Google Attribution provides the cross-channel context that is missing in AdWords attribution. In Analytics, Google Attributions offers more touch-points and more in-depth analytics.
Currently, Google Attribution is in beta and will be rolled out over the next quarter to accounts in the US. While marketers are waiting, advertisers can look at data-driven attribution modeling in AdWords, if available.
Have more questions? Find me on Twitter @krisvick.