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Pest Control:
What is eating my plants and how can I stop them?
Click on any image to enlarge.
Images courtesy NaturesControl.com.
Spider Mite Damage Spider Mite Adult Spider Mite
Fall & Winter Coloring
You'll first suspect spider mites when your plants start showing up with little yellow speckle marks, right on the leaf surface. (Also see thrips.) When you turn the leaf over, tiny, oval shaped mites are seen scurrying around, about pin-head in size. Their eggs, best seen with a magnifier, will be scattered around at random (perfectly round, all the same size, color ranging from clear to tan). With larger infestations, a fine webbing can be seen covering the plant tops (crawling with mites), and leaves will be browning and dying. Spider mites seem about the most common pest to show up in a greenhouse or indoors. They're best controlled with spider mite predators, similar sized mites that eat them. A few gardeners report success with pirate bugs or ladybugs.
Spider mites take about 2 weeks per generation at 70 F. (from egg to adult). At low temperatures below about 50'F. they become dormant, and at higher temperatures above 86 F., their life cycle is sped up to about double. They prefer lower humidity levels, so raising the humidity helps control them.
The most common mite species by far is the "two-spot: spider mite. They're usually yellow/tan/greenish in color, and have two dark spots on their shoulders, one on each side. How large these spots get depends on the age of the mite; they get larger as the mite gets older. These two spots are also varied according to how much chlorophyll is in the plant being reared; some crops produce mites colored much darker than others.
Strangely, spider mites have the ability to go dormant in winter, and then return when it warms up again. Triggered mostly by the daylight getting shorter in the fall, some or most of the mites turn red in color, stop feeding and egg laying, and then crawl off to protected nooks and crannies to hide through the winter. A warm, heated greenhouse can counteract these impulses to hibernate, but some probably will anyway, so it's easy to see why spider mites tend to keep coming back - season after season. Spider mites can also float along with wind currents, or be carried by pets or clothing. The common two-spot spider mite is found throughout the world, it's so widespread.
GOOD BUGS TO THE RESCUE!
Feeding only on spider mites (and their eggs), spider mite predators also breed twice as fast, making them our most popular mite control. Actually carnivorous mites, each predator feeds on about 5 spider mites a day, or 20 of their eggs. Used as directed, predators should gain control within 4 weeks, and then continue until the spider mites are nearly or completely wiped out later. Predators disappear when the mites are gone.
Surprisingly, spider mite predators are this effective even through they're no larger than the spider mites, and sometimes smaller. Shaped a little more streamlined, they have longer legs which let them run faster, too. Attacking from the side, they suck the juices out of their spider mite prey.
For best results, start with at least 1 predator for every 25 spider mites. (1 to 15 for ornamentals, where appearance is important.) No, you don't have to count every mite! Count the mites on just a leaf or two, on perhaps every 10th plant, Average them out, estimate the garden population, and divide this by 25 for the number of predators to use. If this sounds too complicated, start with 2 predators per leaf, or perhaps 30-50 per plant. Using more predators gives faster control.
We have 3 kinds of predator mites, that can all be used together or separately. Their different temperature and humidity preferences are listed on the chart. They all like higher humidities (70-90%) ; you'll note that tolerance for lower humidity varies. Cool temperatures in the low 50's tend to make them go dormant, but they'll actually survive short periods down almost to freezing. Upper temperature limits vary according to species. They're all priced the same, and you can order any combination at no extra cost. If you don't specify, we'll send a mix of all 3 kinds.
Whiteflies Whitefly Parasites
Suspect whiteflies when you start seeing small (1/12"), pure white "moths" that are mostly resting on the plant leaves. When disturbed, all rush out in the air, hesitate a while, then fly back into the foliage. Looking closer, the plants might appear shiny with honeydew. With a magnifier, small clear-white "scales" (the pupa) are seen on the lower, underneath sides of the plants. All stages suck on plant juices, and heavily infested plants will yellow and grow poorly.
There are at least 2 whitefly species now causing distress for gardeners, greenhouse whitefly and sweet-potato whitefly. For greenhouse whiteflies use whitefly parasites. Whitefly parasites work against sweet-potato whiteflies, too, but not as well. For these we suggest you also use whitefly predators, and possibly also green lacewings. (It's difficult to tell whitefly species apart, but one chart appears below. We suggest you check with your county agent to be sure - you can have both.) You can also use yellow sticky traps - seriously, whiteflies are attracted to the color yellow. Our yellow whitefly traps are coated with a long lasting sticky substance (Stickem-Special), and the whiteflies fly right to them. (Don't wear yellow clothing around whiteflies - you'll just carry them from plant to plant!) Some gardeners use a vacuum cleaner - one person rustles the plant leaves to stir up the whiteflies, the other sucks them out of the air (paint the inlet bright yellow for extra attraction). Make a game of it!
What finally kills plants off with a heavy whitefly infestation isn't usually whiteflies themselves, but a black sooty mold that grows on accumulated honeydew. By the time plants get to this stage, there'll be clouds of whiteflies, and no mistaking this pest. If you're at that point, rinse the shiny coating off the plants with a strong water or soapy water spray, so the mold can't grow on it. Rinsing off excess honeydew helps your beneficial insects, too.
Whitefly Parasites (Encarsia formosa)
Tiny whitefly parasites lay their eggs inside developing whitefly pupa, so one of their babies hatches out instead of the whitefly! So small their flights are measured in inches, not feet, you'll probably not even see whitefly parasites (except with magnification), but they spell death for whiteflies. For fastest control, make 4 releases of parasites, spaced 2 weeks apart for greenhouse whitefly. If you have sweet-potato whitefly, continue with releases every 2 weeks until control is reached. 1000 whitefly parasites is enough for a 1000 square foot greenhouse with a low-level infestation (a few whiteflies per plant).
Encarsia formosa come packaged ready to hatch, glued to small cards. The perforated cards are hung from plant foliage, and parasites emerge as adults within 2 weeks. Then they fly off, and begin looking for more whitefly pupa to parasitize. Since they're so tiny, how do you know they're working? With greenhouse whitefly, within 10 days the parasitized pupa turns totally jet-black in color, instead of its normal clearish- green color. With sweet-potato whitefly the pupa turns only slightly yellowish, but after 2 or 3 weeks the "emergence hole" can be seen in both cases when the adult parasite chews his way out (16X magnifier required). Parasites work best when temperatures average at least 68'F. (add daytime + nighttime temperatures, divide by 2), Lower temperatures than these will require more frequent releases, at least monthly.
Aphids Ladybug Eating Aphid
What you notice first with aphids is leaves that are curled, puckered, and discolored. Looking closer, dense colonies of tiny (1/32"-1/8"), soft bodied, pear shaped insects are seen, especially on tender growing tips and underneath sides. Young aphids look like miniature adults, and the whole family will be found feeding together. Even when disturbed, aphids move quite slowly, compared to most other insects.
Coming in almost every color, aphids can be green, yellow, pink, brown, or black, or any shade in between, for that matter. To make a final diagnosis of aphids, with a magnifier, find the pair of tiny "dual exhaust pipes" coming out of their rear end, called "cornicles" - aphids are the only insects that have these. Aphids all feed by sucking on plant juices, which is damaging enough, but their most serious damage is the plant diseases they carry - that's what causes the leaf distortions so often seen with aphids. They produce shiny honeydew, too, and when enough of this builds up a choking mold starts growing that can quickly kill plants. (Keep this mold hosed off.) Combine these problems along with aphids unusual breeding abilities - they're born already pregnant (in fact, there are miniature embryos inside of other embryos!), they're all female, and they reach adulthood in one week - and you see why aphids can be such a rapidly devastating pest. There are lots of aphid species, too, with enough variety that just about every plant has at least one species that really likes it.
Ladybugs are the classic aphid eaters, and are known for sometimes dramatically fast cures. They're economical, and can be stored in the refrigerator, often making ladybugs the first choice for aphid control. Long-term control is sometimes better with aphid predators, larvae that devour aphid colonies, and breed from there. Green lacewings are also effective against aphids. Our newest control is aphid parasites. Between these choices, greenhouse aphid control is usually quite successful. These same aphid controls are effective in the outdoor garden, too, with regular releases.
Everyone loves ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens), it seems. Maybe it's that childhood nursery rhyme. Happily, they're good for your garden, too. Ladybugs eat over 5000 aphids (or other soft bodied pests) during their lifetime (about one year). Many gardeners look on them as kind of a good-luck charm. Ladybugs don't always provide the pest control expected, but we hear enough rave-success stories to make them worth trying . Besides that, they're fun "garden pets" to have around. Ladybugs are one of the few beneficial insects that can be stored in the refrigerator, dormant. (Well, maybe not in everyone's refrigerator...) They store up enough food to last several weeks, so long as they don't freeze or dry out. You can then let a few out every week or so, as needed. If ladybugs tend to fly away, you can spray their backs with a soda pop/water spray (instructions included) - it "glues" their wings shut so they can't fly! (After a week or so it wears off.) p 1,500 ladybugs is enough for a small garden, a quart (18,000) covers a large garden (or perhaps makes several releases), while a gallon (72,000) covers 1-10 acres. We hope they bring you good luck, too.
Aphid predators(Aphidoletes aphidimyza)
Aphid Preditors lay their eggs near aphid colonies, which soon hatch and begin feeding on aphids. To reach full development takes at least 10 aphids, but when aphid populations are high, many more are destroyed - first paralyzed with a poison, then sucked dry. Killed aphids remain attached to plant leaves, and eventually dry up. Are these guys bad, or what? Aphid predators have worked so well in many greenhouses, that by summer aphids may be hard to even find. And they usually set up breeding populations from a single release. 250 is enough to handle a small greenhouse, while 1000 covers a larger greenhouse. Commercial greenhouses have used 3000- 4000 per acre, repeated weekly during the aphid season until control. (Regular releases get them going faster.) Aphid predators come as cocoons waiting to hatch, packaged in bottles. Spread the contents on the soil or leaves, and they'll do the rest.
Aphid Parasites
(A. matricariae) are our newest tool in the battle against aphids, They lay their egg inside the aphid, which then develops into a parasite larva. Before finishing development inside the aphid egg, the larva spins a cocoon, turning the unfortunate aphid into a leathery "mummy". The adult parasite then flies out from a circular hole cut in the mummy. For preventative control small releases will get these established, repeat regularly through the season. These are used in European greenhouses, but are new here. Supplied near hatching, or as adults (no choice).
Green Lacewings(Chrysopa rufllabris)
These are another of the walking "garbage disposal" appetites of the insect world - if it's an insect or egg that fits in their mouth, they'll eat it. That's why green lacewings are suggested for control of many pests, both outdoors and in the greenhouse, when there's nothing more specific available. Lacewings immediately begin eating pests after hatching. Looking like miniature "alligators", they grow to almost 1/2" long over 3 or 4 weeks, consuming 400+ aphids or other pests in the process. After that, they pupate into a beautiful adult insect, feeding only on nectar and pollen from flowers. Unless adults find nectar and pollen sources, they won't lay more eggs, so you may need to reapply them for good pest control. We suggest using 4000 eggs per backyard or 5000-50,000 acre (depending on infestation), repeat every 2 weeks through the pest season.
Green lacewings are now available in their most effective predator stage, as just-hatched larvae. These are the same efficient predator as above, but pre-fed and ready to use immediately. Several studies have shown pre-hatched, pre-fed larvae to be far more effective than lacewing eggs, plus they go to work faster. You get more actual larvae to use, because they aren't cannibalizing each other (something lacewing larvae are notorious for) right after hatching.
1000 pre-hatched larvae is enough for an average back yard or small greenhouse. For best results, repeat every two weeks whenever target pests are present. Allow one week for delivery, as these are custom produced for each order.
Thrips Pirate Bug Eating Thrip Thrip Predatory Mite Predatory Nematode
Tiny, slender thrips feed by scraping and rasping at tender leaf surfaces. First symptoms are usually leaves that appear finely speckled with yellow spots. Later, a silvery-metallic looking sheen may cover leaf surfaces (not with all thrips, though), and black specks (thrips fecal material) may be scattered about. Only after close inspection is the real pest found. About 1/10" long, thrips can move quite quickly for their size. To the bare eye, many gardeners report thrips as a small "worm" with legs. Both larvae and adults look similar, except adults have wings and can fly. In small numbers, thrips may not do much damage. However, with larger populations, they can be quite damaging.
There are hundreds of varieties of thrips, coming in many colors, but they all feed and damage plants similarly. For control purposes, the main difference is where they pupate as youngsters. Most pest thrips move down into the soil (they'll also use rockwool or other synthetic media) to pupate, as part of their lifecycle, where they can be controlled by predator nematodes. This is the easiest stage to kill. It does take 2 or 3 applications before good control is seen, however, because only the immature thrips are killed, and not the adults. These adults can be controlled with Safers Soap, if necessary, and after 2 months regular applications of predator nematodes alone usually gives good control. A few other thrips species pupate directly inside leaf tissue.(notably the species greenhouse thrips), where the nematodes are not as effective. You can tell if thrips are using the leaf to pupate, because when they are, the hatching thrip causes a small eruption on the leaf surface - it looks something like a tiny pimple, or a little volcano complete with crater. Unhatched eggs look like a little dab of Elmers glue. If you see these signs, thrips parasites are a good control. (Other thrips species that pupate in the soil are not controlled by these.)
Other natural thrip controls include thrips predatory mites (see right) which work well in greenhouses with higher humidity levels, green lacewings,, and pirate bugs. A few gardeners report success with ladybugs too.
Cool temperatures help control thrips, too - they seem most damaging in hot greenhouses with temperatures 90 and higher. Thrips also prefer lower humidity levels, and higher humidities help slow them down.
Thrips predator mites (Arnblyseiu's cucumeris)
These are effective thrip feeders under high humidity (70-85%) growing conditions, against all species of thrips. They also will eat an occasional spider-mite and other small pests. However, reports have been poor with lower humidity environments, so these are most useful for greenhouses and other locations with high humidity levels. Often, Predator Nematodes alone will contain thrips, so we recommend them first for most thrips control. But in some gardens thrips predator mites have been an excellent control. Use 100-500 per plant, reapply as needed. Thrips parasites (Thripobius semileutius) are a good control for thrips that pupate in leaf tissue, as opposed to the soil (like most do). How can you tell? When you examine leaves closely, if you see little eruptions on the leaf itself (these are caused by the thrip hatching, and look like miniature "volcanoes", somewhat like a pimple with a crater in the middle, and are very obvious under magnification), then thrips parasites will be effective. Otherwise, use another control. (It's normal for many thrips species to leave black fecal specks on leaves, along with a "silvery" film, but these look nothing like the "craters" that leaf-pupating thrips cause when hatching.
Pirate bugs
Pirate bugs (Orius tristicolor) also eat spider mites and aphids. Only 1/20" long, adults eat up to 20 thrips larvae a day. Both nymphs and adults use a piercing-sucking beak to pierce a hole and suck victims dry. Shipped as nymphs near hatching. These are too new to have established release rates, but in Europe they've been effective greenhouse controls when others alone were not. 500 covers a 1000' greenhouse, they'll breed from there. Repeat as needed.
Images courtesy NaturesControl.com and Texas A&M University.
Fungus Gnat Predatory Nematode
Fungus Gnats & Fleas
When you see small, dingy-gray flies flying around aimlessly, or seeming to come out of the soil, you've probably got fungus gnats. Adults look very similar in size and appearance to fruit flies, and don't feed on plants in any way. Their larvae, a small worm that lives in the top inch or two of the soil, feeds mostly on organic debris, fungus, algae, etc. While they're doing this, however, they can nibble on the roots of young seedlings, too. Plants usually outgrow them rapidly, though, so they're often more of a nuisance than a real pest.
Fungus gnats can be told apart from whiteflies, a much more serious pest, because fungus gnats are a dingy gray instead of pure white, and they don't spend much time resting on the leaves like whiteflies do.
If fungus gnats seem to be causing harm or becoming a nuisance, the adults can be quickly trapped out with yellow sticky traps. Long term control has been best with predator nematodes, applied to the soil every 4-6 weeks. Between the two, fungus gnats are soon a forgotten problem.
Just about everyone with dogs or cats is familiar with fleas. Not only do fleas cause our pets true misery, but many humans are severely bothered as well. Fleas bite because they need blood meals to complete their lifecycle. Flea saliva secreted while feeding causes many common allergic reactions, on both people and pets. Pets can't help carrying around fleas and their eggs wherever they go. Those fleas and eggs are constantly dropping off, in sleeping areas, rooms pets have access to, and outside. Thorough vacuuming (including crevices) every 3 days controls house fleas. However, for fleas in the yard, new research shows that Predator Nematodes sprayed outside where pets have access to, especially during moist periods, greatly reduces flea populations, before they even crawl on your pets in the first place.
Predator Nematodes
Predator Nematodes are some of the most useful pest controls to come along in years, because if an insect spends part of its life cycle in the soil (lots of them do), predator nematodes want to kill them - it's as simple as that. Looking like microscopic worms, predator nematodes attack and kill more than 250 different insects, including fleas, thrips, fungus gnats, even ones as large as cutworms. After invading the insect body (through mouth or anal openings), they go on to reproduce on the remains, migrating back to the soil when nothing but a shell is left. Predator nematodes attack only insects, too - never plants, earthworms, or other soil creatures, and they're unrelated to pest nematodes. But if it's an insect spending time in the soil, they zoom in for the kill.
Predator nematodes are so small and economical that they're sold by the package of one million, which treats up to 3000 square feet of growing area (24 million per acre). Nematodes come packaged on a small piece of sponge that's rinsed out in water, then watered into the soil using a watering can, sprayed on with a garden sprayer (no, the pressure doesn't hurt them - they go through the nozzles fine), fertilizer-injector or siphon feeder - it doesn't matter. Nematodes live and reproduce in any moist soil media, including rockwool, as long as they find insects to feed on. Although predator nematodes live for a few months, for best results make repeat applications every 4-6 weeks throughout the period when your target pest(s) are present to keep a high concentration in the soil. (Every 2 weeks for rockwool and other artificial soil media.) Nematodes will store dormant in the refrigerator 2-3 months before use, so it's easy to keep some on hand. Soil temperatures below the low 50's bring on dormancy, too, so a soil thermometer is useful for timing outdoor applications.
Not all predator nematodes are alike - ours are live-reared on live wax-moth larvae, so they come out actively feeding, breeding, and very vigorous. Some other nematodes are raised on artificial diet, or even dehydrated for long storage, and these are not nearly as active, vigorous, or effective as our live-reared nematodes. We have a mix of 2 kinds, heterorhabditis and steinernema species, for control at different depths in the soil.
We've had great results with predator nematodes, and find regular application controls (prevents) a wide variety of insect problems before they ever occur.
Mealybugs Mealybug Destroyers
Another insect that sucks on plant juices, mealybugs cause damage similar to aphids - leaves will be distorted, plants are weakened, covered with shiny honeydew, and finally a sooty mold grows, killing the plant. However, when a search is made for the cause, they don't look much like insects. Clusters of mealybugs look more like some kind of cottony mass instead of pests. It's only on close examination that they're seen to be individual, soft bodied, very slow moving insects.
Coated with a fluffy, waxy coating, mealybugs tend to gather quietly together in groups, often at a crotch or joint in the plant. But don't let this innocent looking crew fool you. Even though mealybugs breed somewhat slower than other insects (each generation takes about a month), they can build up to quite damaging populations. Fortunately, we have mealybug destroyers that like to feed on them. Green lacewings feed on mealybugs too, but need to be released regularly. And be sure to keep that honeydew rinsed off the plants as much as possible, with a water or soapy water spray, to keep mold from growing. Between these measures, you should get good control.
Images courtesy NaturesControl.com and Rutgers University.
Scales Mealybug Destroyers
Related to mealybugs, scales don't look much like insects, either - they look more like little oyster shells attached to the stems and leaves. Active only as babies, they soon lose their legs, grow a hard outer shell, and settle in for a quiet life of sucking on plant juices. Often, the first symptom noticed is shiny honeydew covering the leaves. (Not all scales produce this.) Looking closer, especially on the undersides of leaves and stems, the scales are visible, singly or in clusters. Shaped circular to slightly oval, they readily scrape off with a fingernail. Plants may be stunted, yellowed, and distorted, damage similar to that of other sap-sucking insects.
There are many varieties of scales, both hard and soft, coming in many colors, but all feed and damage similarly. Mealybug destroyers also feed on scales when mealybugs run low, and green lacewings feed on the crawler stage, giving some control. Scale control with natural predators has been variable, and we continue to search for improved controls. Many gardeners resort to spraying or dabbing alcohol, light oil, soapy sprays, or mixtures of the above for scale control. Test a small area for toxicity from any of t hese products first.
GOOD BUGS TO THE RESCUE
Tiny (1/8") black ladybugs, mealybug destroyers (Cryptolaemus ontmuzieri) are originally from Australia; and are some of the oldest, most successful biological controls. Back in the early 1900's they were credited with saving the Southern California citrus crop from mealybugs. They're still used today for the same purpose. As you can imagine, they work well under greenhouses conditions, too. Mealybugs are their main diet, but they eat scales and aphids, too, when other food gets scarce. Mealybug destroyers have large appetites for such a small insect, so a few go a long way - we suggest 2-5 per infested plant, or 1 for every 2 feet of planted area. They'll set up breeding populations from there. Repeat as necessary.


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Astronomers Discover Rocky Planet Orbiting Nearest Star, Proxima Centauri
An international team of astronomers including Michael Endl of The University of Texas at Austin have found clear evidence of a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. The long-sought new world, called Proxima b, orbits its cool red parent star every 11 days and has a temperature suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface. This rocky world is a little more massive than Earth and is the closest known exoplanet to us — and may be the closest possible abode for life outside our solar system. The research will be published in the journal Nature on Aug 25.
"We are all convinced that this is a planet," Endl said, "especially because there's such a long timeline of data." Endl researched the star from 2000 to 2008 with Martin Kuerster, now of the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany. Their data, combined with more recent efforts, created a 16-year study of Proxima Centauri's behavior.
Proxima Centauri is a cool red dwarf star located just over four light-years from the Sun, in the constellation of Centaurus. Too faint to be seen with the unaided eye, Proxima lies near the much brighter binary star system Alpha Centauri.
For the first half of 2016, telescopes around the world monitored Proxima Centauri in a coordinated effort called the Pale Red Dot campaign. Led by Guillem Anglada-Escudé from Queen Mary University of London, the astronomers were looking for the tiny back and forth wobble of the star that would be caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet.
The Pale Red Dot campaign data comes from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope in Chile and other telescopes around the world. This new data was combined with Endl and Kuerster's earlier study, and others, to reveal a clear signal: At times Proxima Centauri is approaching Earth at about 3 miles per hour (5 kph) — normal human walking pace — and at times receding at the same speed. This regular pattern repeats with a period of 11.2 days.
Careful analysis of this motion indicates the presence of a planet with a mass at least 1.3 times that of the Earth, orbiting about 4.4 million miles (7 million km) from Proxima Centauri — only 5 percent of the Earth-Sun distance.
Red dwarfs such as Proxima Centauri are active stars and can vary in ways that would mimic the presence of a planet. To exclude this possibility, the team also carefully monitored the changing brightness of the star during the campaign using the ASH2 telescope at the San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations Observatory in Chile and the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope network. Data taken when the star was flaring were excluded from the final analysis.
Although Proxima b orbits much closer to its star than Mercury does to the Sun, the star itself is far fainter than the Sun. As a result, Proxima b has an estimated temperature that would allow the presence of liquid surface water and it lies well within the habitable zone around the star.
Despite the temperate orbit of Proxima b, the conditions on the surface may be strongly affected by the ultraviolet and X-ray flares from the star — far more intense than the Earth experiences from the Sun.
Endl suggested that if Proxima b is found to transit across the face of its star, he would like to study it in the near future with the Giant Magellan Telescope, which may be able to tease out the composition of the planet's atmosphere. The University of Texas at Austin is a founding partner of the collaboration building the Giant Magellan Telescope.
Notes for Editors: Additional images and video, as well as links to the research paper and other resources, are available from the European Southern Observatory: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1629/
Science Contacts
Dr. Micheal Endl, Research Scientist
Dr. Guillem Anglada-Escudé
Richard Hook, PIO
Surface of Proxima b (Artist's Impression)
Proxima b orbiting Proxima Centauri (Artist's Impression)
Proxima b Infographic
Motions of Proxima Centauri due to Orbiting Planet


The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 has awarded £100 000 for research into design in business – its first ever research fellowship dedicated to design.
A £60 000 award has been given to Professor Tom Barker, of the Royal College of Art, for a joint project with London School of Economics research fellow Garrick Jones. They will create a system of learning games that demonstrate the importance of design to the efficiency of businesses. The project – Introducing Businesses to the Value of Design through Learning Games – will produce educational and training aids for design in business.
A second, special award of £30 000 has been given to Joanna Shaw, manager of the Parliamentary Design Group, to undertake a one-year project looking at the relationship between the design industry, parliament and the Government.
She claims that it is the first time 'extensive' design research has been carried out in parliament.
Working in partnership with the Design Business Association, Shaw will interview the association's member consultancies to learn about their relationship with parliament, asking how they access Government ministers.
She will also interview parliamentarians and civil servants to understand their views of the design industry.
The research will culminate in a series of workshops towards the end of the year and Shaw intends to report back to the Royal Commission at the start of 2008.
Although the project is a personal undertaking by Shaw, findings from the study will be fed back to the DBA and the PDG.


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Pope to Pelosi: Catholics Can't Support Abortion
Published February 18, 2009 • Updated on February 18, 2009 at 11:16 am
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday told U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who supports abortion rights, that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development."
Pelosi is the first top Democrat to meet with Benedict since the election of Barack Obama, who won a majority of the American Catholic vote despite differences with the Vatican on abortion.
The Vatican released the pope's remarks to Pelosi, saying Benedict spoke of the church's teaching "on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death." That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.
Benedict said all Catholics — especially legislators, jurists and political leaders — should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
In an e-mail issued by her office, Pelosi did not mention the allusion to abortion.
She said it was with "great joy" that she and her husband, Paul, met with Benedict.
"In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church's leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming, as well as the Holy Father's dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel," she said.
The 15-minute meeting was closed to reporters and photographers. The two met in a small room off a Vatican auditorium after the pope's weekly public audience.
The Vatican said it was not issuing a photo of the meeting — as it usually does when the pope meets world leaders — saying the encounter was private. The statement said the pope "briefly greeted" Pelosi and did not mention any other subject they may have discussed.
A number of the bishops in the United States have questioned Pelosi's stance on abortion, particularly her theological defense of her support for abortion rights.
Benedict has cautiously welcomed Obama's new Democratic administration, although several American cardinals have sharply criticized its support for abortion rights. The new stance is a sharp break from government policy under former President George W. Bush.
Pelosi had meetings with Italian leaders in the past few days, including Premier Silvio Berlusconi.


Spokane, the largest city east of the Cascade Mountian range in Washington State, has a very lively bar scene. With Gonzaga, Whitworth, Eastern Washington and Washington State University campuses all around the town, the downtown bar strip is always alive with partying crowds. Even on the weekdays you can find live bands playing at each of the different venues and cocktails flowing aplenty.
Right in the heart of downtown Spokane, Zola is one of the hottest bars in town, drawing in crowds even on the weekdays. The ambient atmosphere is very warm and inviting; perfect for chatting with friends. Every night at around 9pm they have live entertainment from local singers and bands. The upstairs is a quaint area with a comfy couch and a couple of booth-style tables only meant to fit two or three people. This cocktail bar also has an extensive kitchen to quench those late-night or early evening cravings.
This is a fairly small hole-in-the-wall cocktail bar in the Spokane area but with great cocktail concoctions. It's named after the National Prohibition Act from the '20s, which explains its rather unknown and hidden location. They specialize in unique cocktail making, using atypical liqueurs, syrups and garnishes. Volstead Act is also the self-proclaimed ome to the best crafted cocktails in Spokane. Happy hour is from 3-7pm everyday, 12 to close Friday to Saturday and a whopping all day on Sunday!
This is a fun bar in downtown Spokane to hangout at with friends. It's got loud music and delicious cocktails to help dance the night away. Blind Buck usually gets super-packed and is a more of a club-type bar catering to the college scene. It's right next to The Globe and many other bars downtown so perfect for a bit of bar-hopping.
This place has a cool oval bar as the centerpiece of its layout. The Globe has 12 60″ inch TV's with a constant variety of sport games on-screen and music every weekend. Along with making delicious cocktails, the bar doubles up as a gourmet food spot for anyone hoping for a late night meal.
On the bottom floor of the Historic Davenport Hotel, The Peacock Lounge is an elegant spot known for its fine-dining and award-winning double martinis. The ceiling has a 5,000 pieced stained-glass decoration that gives off a jazzy and sophisticated ambiance. It's located in the heart of downtown, around Spokane's major concert venues and theaters, so you can grab a drink before or after that evening show.


If you are facing drug charges, there may be a lot at stake. Criminal convictions for drug offenses may follow you for the rest of your life, hindering your ability to get a job and harming your reputation. If you have been arrested for or accused of a drug crime, you should speak to a qualified and knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer. I am Detroit drug crime attorney Jonathan Jones, and I have over 20 years of experience helping people like you. I recognize the seriousness of the charges that you are facing and the stress that you are undergoing, and I can take immediate action to defend your rights. I take pride in keeping an open line of communication with each and every one of my clients. When you call or text me, you will be able to speak to me directly about your needs and concerns.
I can help you develop a strong defense against any type of drug charge, such as those related to drug possession, the illegal possession or sale of prescription drugs, prescription fraud, drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, or the use of medical marijuana.
The penalties for drug crimes will vary depending on the specific situation. For example, the most serious drug charges in Michigan may lead to life imprisonment and up to $1 million in fines. Even the possession of small amounts of controlled substances with the intent to sell could send you to prison for up to four years. Other life-altering consequences of a drug crime conviction may include losing your privilege to drive and having a professional license suspended or revoked. This makes it critical to do everything that you can to minimize or avoid the consequences of a charge.
Searches by law enforcement and the collection of evidence often play a key role in drug crime cases under state or federal laws. If an unlawful police search or seizure led to the criminal charges against you, your attorney may be able to expose this misconduct and file a motion to suppress the evidence that was collected during the search. Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizens have a right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement. This right applies to your home, vehicle, and person, as well as any areas in which you would have a reasonable expectation of privacy. In order to conduct a lawful search, police generally must have a valid search warrant supported by "probable cause," which is a reason to believe that criminal activity is taking place. There are a few exceptions to this requirement, but they apply only in limited sets of circumstances.
When drugs or other evidence are seized during an unlawful search, they should not be admitted in court. If the evidence is not allowed to be considered, this often leads to the prosecutor reducing or dismissing the charges altogether. As a result, I will carefully assess the circumstances of how the evidence against you was obtained to determine whether its introduction may be challenged on constitutional grounds. This is just one example of the many ways that I may be able to help you fight a drug charge.
If you or someone close to you has been charged with an offense involving controlled substances, it is vital to speak to a capable Detroit drug crime lawyer. Regardless of the circumstances of your case, I can develop a personalized strategy for you and make sure that you understand the full range of your options. I represent defendants throughout Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties. You can call or text me at (248) 310-3399 or contact us online for a free consultation. I am also available for you if you need a domestic violence attorney or assistance in fighting charges of weapons offenses, violent crimes, or other offenses under Michigan or federal laws.
In life sometimes good people do or experience bad things. These people should be as lucky as I have been to be represented by Jonathan Jones. Mary P.
Thank you again you are a excellent lawyer I wish you many more of those outcomes throughout your career as a dedicated lawyer. Rick R.
Thanks for your professional representation on my recent case. I was arrested when driving through Detroit and, being from out of state, had no idea on how to proceed in responding to the charges. Andy D.
Jonathan, You advocated my position with the utmost professionalism and clarity. Thank you for your fine representation. Don M.
We serve clients throughout Michigan including those in the following localities: Wayne County including Dearborn, Detroit, Grosse Pointe, Livonia, and Taylor; Oakland County including Farmington, Pontiac, Rochester, Royal Oak, Troy, and Waterford; Monroe County including Carleton, Monroe, and Temperance; and Macomb County including Macomb, Mount Clemens, New Baltimore, Sterling Heights, and Warren.


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Full System Calibration of the BPMs at ATF2
Origin of the Calibration Constants
A clearer version of the text in this first section is attached here.
Electronics Processing
The monopole signal produced in the reference cavity has a frequency ωR, is independent of beam offset and is used to account for charge and bunch length. It is assumed that the signal is at a maximum at time t=0 and decays exponentially with a decay time τR.
The processing shall be split into three parts: transmission to the mixer (T1), the rest of the electronics (E) and transmission to the digitiser (T2). Each of the two transmission sections has a specific length Δx and an impedance that determines the wave number k. The wave number in T1 will be very different from in T2 because the frequency upstream of the mixer is much larger. The electronics are simplified to a single impedance and an effective length. Therefore, there is a phase advance between the cavity and the digitiser given by
where the superscript R refers to the reference signal and the superscripts denote the hardware section. The mixer uses a local oscillator of amplitude RLO and phase rLO relative to the reference signal to mix down to the intermediate frequency ωR-ωLO. The total gain/attenuation between the cavity and the digitiser arises from the gain of the amplifier and mixer in the electronics, the attenuation arising from the cable losses and any added attenuation. These have been combined in a single factor Rg. The signal at the digitiser is therefore given by
The decay constant has also changed to τdR because of the filters in the electronics.
The dipole signal from the position cavity is linearly dependent on the beam offset x as well as the bunch tilt α and the beam angle θ. The signal also peaks at a time t+Δtbeam that accounts for the difference in the time at which the beam arrives at each cavity.
This signal goes through similar processing but the constants are different because of the frequency differences of the two cavities, the length differences of the cables and manufacturing differences of the electronics. Furthermore, the local oscillator used for mixing down to the intermediate frequency will be at a different amplitude and phase after being transmitted between the two cavities. Amplitude factors and phase changes are therefore written as P and p instead of R and r respectively. The position cavity signal at the digitiser is given by Eq. (5) where the square root in Eq. (4) is replaced by Pa and the arctangent term, that is the phase change due to the tilt signal, by Θ.
The digitiser sampling window opens at a time t0 before the arrival of the position or reference signal. The window start time is adjusted to take Δtbeam into account so that t0 is the same for both position and reference signals. This has the effect of boosting the position signal such that t→ t+Δtbeam which swaps the phase change of ωPΔtbeam to ωLOΔtbeam Both signals are then mixed down to zero frequency using a complex oscillator that starts at the beginning of the sampling window t-t0 at the same frequency as the digitised signal. The high frequency component from the mixing is then removed using a digital filter that again, changes the amplitude by a factor Rf and the decay constant to τ0.
Both signals are then sampled at a time ts and the position signal is divided by the reference signal and the real and imaginary parts are
The IQ rotation angle is given by
This rotates the real and imaginary signals to pure position and angle signals. The position signal I′ is
This is equivalent to substituting t=-Δtbeam into Eq. (4) and multiplying by a constant.
Using both forms in Eq. (4), the position scale is therefore given by
From Eq. (8) and Eq. (11), it is possible to see all the sources of the calibration constants and how they might vary. Besides transmission of electronics, the IQ rotation angle will vary with timing changes. Any change in the trigger timing Δt0 will alter the IQ rotation angle by (ωP-ωR)Δt0. Any change in the frequency of the two cavities will also affect the IQ rotation angle through this term. Δbeam can be the same order of magnitude as t0 but should not cause changes in phase from pulse to pulse barring changes in the frequency of the local oscillator ωLO since it is almost completely accounted for in the digitiser window spacing. Δtbeam itself should be relatively stable since the beam is relativistic and is moving in longitudinally much faster than it is transversely so it's path length will not change by a great deal. It is possible to account for trigger timing variation in the analysis. Frequency changes are possible to measure by phase flattening but this is not possible on a pulse by pulse basis.
Phase changes in transmission may occur with changes in impedance. The effect would be smaller for the C-band cavities than for the S-band cavities since the electronics are much closer to the cavities and so there is less time before down-mixing when the wavenumber is highest and so the phase change is greatest. Changes in the phase of the local oscillator should show up in both rLO and pLO and the two effects should cancel. However, impedance changes in cables could affect the local oscillator at the position cavity only.
The electronic sources that affect the position scale are mostly measurable in a system of the size at ATF2. However, long term stability may be an issue. The coupling of the cavity to the beam is less easy to determine but may be equal between similar cavities so may only need to be measured once The effect of the filters on the decay constants is not so trivial. However, it is not expected to be a large effect and should be similar for each cavity and therefore, predictable.
Phase Determination using Beam Data
Two files were used to determine the effectiveness of determining the phase of a calibration from a single quadrupole/corrector scan. These were:
/home/sboogert/Physics/bpm/atf2/bpmBeamCalibration_20100217_024015.dat
/home/sboogert/Physics/bpm/atf2/bpmAllMoverCalibration_20110215_022335.dat
It was assumed that any changes in I/Q during the scans were due to changes in position. The results were compared with the IQ rotation angles recorded in the next archive file.
Phases determined using a single magnet position scan:
Phases determined using a single corrector scan:
Simulated Full System Calibration
A single, simulated corrector scan was used to calibrate the entire system. The same fits as above were used to determine the phases while the scales were determined by orbit reconstruction from 6 pre-calibrated BPMs. The results are better than with real data because of the unrealistic BPM simulation.
Simulated phases using a single corrector scan:
Simulated scale determination using orbit reconstruction and 6 calibrated BPMs:
Latex rendering error!! dvi file was not created.
This topic: PP/Public > FrancisCullinanSystemCalibration
Topic revision: r4 - 07 Oct 2011 - FrancisCullinan


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Arcadia Data Ranked as Best Big Data Analytics Vendor in Dresner Advisory Services Big Data Analytics Market Study
SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 2, 2019 — Arcadia Data, provider of the first visual analytics software native to Apache Hadoop and the cloud, has announced it is ranked first of 18 big data vendors in Dresner Advisory Services 2018 Big Data Analytics Market Study. The study, as with all Dresner Wisdom of Crowds Market Studies, leverages a community of more than 5,000 organizations for unbiased surveys of the big data analytics landscape.
The research by Dresner Advisory Services highlights the growing importance of big data and the analytics solutions that allow organizations to derive value from that information. Today, big data analytics require business intelligence (BI) tools specifically built for environments that leverage modern data platforms such as Hadoop, Kafka, and the cloud. As organizations assess tools for their analytics use cases, the industry is recognizing the need for a new BI standard for big data and related architectures such as data lakes. Arcadia Enterprise, the flagship platform from Arcadia Data, is designed to work natively in modern analytical environments, delivering advantages around scale, performance, agility, and ease of use to a wide range of BI users.
"The Dresner Wisdom of Crowds series is an objective source of industry research designed to provide readers with key insights into end user trends and software supplier performance," said Howard Dresner, founder and chief research officer of Dresner Advisory Services. "We are seeing an upward trend in adoption of big data analytics, and we'd like to offer our congratulations to Arcadia Data for its placement atop the list of big data analytics vendors in this year's study.
"Arcadia Data is honored to be ranked #1 among other impressive names in this year's Big Data Analytics Market Study," said Sushil Thomas, co-founder and CEO, Arcadia Data. "Dresner recognizes the need to assess BI tools specifically in the context of big data, and the results of this survey validates the Arcadia Data founding vision and approach to solving modern analytics challenges with the right BI architecture for scale and speed."
Arcadia Data has also won a number of recent industry awards, which highlight its momentum as a leading provider of fully featured big data analytics capabilities. Accolades include: Datanami Editors' Choice award for Best Big Data Product and Technology, Data Visualization; the Cloudera Partner Impact Award for Business Excellence; and, Database Trends and Applications Big Data 50, a list of "Companies Driving Innovation in 2018." This widespread recognition is evidence that the latest Arcadia Data innovations, including search-based BI and native visual analytics for real-time streaming data, are in high demand.
Register to get a full copy of the Dresner Advisory Services 2018 Big Data Analytics Market Study.
About Arcadia Data
Arcadia Data provides the first visual analytics and BI platform native to big data that delivers the scale, performance, and agility business users need to discover and productionize real-time insights. Its flagship product, Arcadia Enterprise, was built from inception to run natively within big data platforms, in the cloud and/or on-premises, to streamline the self-service analytics process on data in Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, and Apache Solr. It enables real-time, high-definition insights in use cases like data lakes, cybersecurity, connected IoT devices, and customer intelligence. Arcadia Enterprise is deployed by some of the world's leading brands, including Procter & Gamble, Nokia, Royal Bank of Canada, Kaiser Permanente, HPE, and Neustar.
Source: Arcadia Data


I grew up in Southern California and have lived here since childhood, except for my four years attending college at UC Berkeley. I became a family medicine physician in order to see people of all ages and develop and maintain long-term relationships with my members.
I feel that healthy living and preventive care are the best ways to stay healthy. This includes maintaining an appropriate weight and exercising regularly. I can best keep you healthy when you are actively involved in taking care of your health.
To maintain a healthy and balanced life, I love spending my free time with friends and family, including my two active preschooler twins. I also exercise regularly and have participated in several century bike rides, triathlons, and most recently marathons.


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Romare Bearden: 1911 – 1988
September 2, 2016 By Wendy Campbell
The artist confronts chaos. The whole thing of art is, how do you organize chaos? —Romare Bearden
Born on September 2, 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Romare Bearden was a multi-talented artist and one of America's foremost collagists. Bearden's family moved to New York City in 1914 in an attempt to distance themselves from Jim Crow's "separate but equal" laws.
Bearden initially studied at Lincoln University but transferred to Boston University where he was the art director of Beanpot, a student humour magazine. He then completed his degree in education at New York University. At NYU, Bearden was enrolled in art classes and was a lead cartoonist and art editor for the monthly journal The Medley. During his university years, he published numerous journal covers and wrote many texts on social and artistic issues. Bearden also attended New York's Art Students League, studying under German artist George Grosz. Bearden served in the United States Army between 1942 and 1945. He then returned to Europe in 1950 to study art and philosophy at the Sorbonne with the support of the GI Bill.
From the 1930s to the 1960s Bearden was a social worker with the New York City Department of Social Services and worked on his art in his free time. He had his first successful solo exhibitions in Harlem in 1940 and in Washington DC in 1944. In 1954, he married dancer and choreographer Nanette Rohan, with whom he shared the rest of his life. During this time, Bearden was active in Harlem's art scene and was a member of the Harlem Artists Guild.
Bearden was a prolific artist who experimented with numerous mediums including watercolours, oils, collage, photo montage, prints, and costume and set design. His inspiration was gathered from his lifelong study of art from the Western masters, African art, Byzantine mosaics, Japanese prints, and Chinese landscape paintings. Bearden is best known for his collages which were featured on the covers of Time and Fortune magazines in 1968.
Bearden was active in numerous arts organizations and was a respected writer and spokesperson for the arts and for social causes. In 1964, he was appointed as art director of the African-American advocacy group, the Harlem Cultural Council. He was also involved in the establishment of art venues such as The Studio Museum and the Cinque Gallery that supported young minority artists. Bearden was also a founding member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters and was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1972.
Bearden's work is on display in major museums and galleries in the United States including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Bearden received numerous honorary degrees including doctorates from the Pratt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Davidson College, Atlanta University, and others. He received the 1984 Mayor's Award of Honour for Art and Culture in New York City, and the National Medal of Arts, presented by President Ronald Regan in 1987.
Romare Bearden died in New York on March 12, 1988 from complications of bone cancer. His estate provided for the Romare Bearden Foundation which was established in 1990 and whose purpose is "to preserve and perpetuate" his legacy. The foundation also supports the "creative and educational development of young people and of talented and aspiring artists and scholars".
Romare Bearden - The Calabash 1970
Romare Bearden - Pittsburgh Memory-1964
Romare Bearden - Time Magazine Cover - 1968
Romare Bearden - Narrow Sky Line-1978-79
Romare Bearden - Coras Morning - 1986
Romare Bearden - Fortune Magazine Cover -1968
Romare Bearden Empress of the Blues - 1981
Romare Bearden - One Night Stand-1974
Romare Bearden Empress of the Blues
Sources: Romare Bearden Foundation, National Gallery of Art, Artcyclopedia, New York Times, Wikipedia
Filed Under: ART, Art History, Collage, Mixed Media, Painting Tagged With: African American Art, American Art, Romare Bearden


Our Mexican cookery class will help you learn some of the skills and techniques that make classic Mexican cooking so special. Led by our chef tutors, you'll learn how to create authentic Mexican delights using the best, fresh ingredients to make an authentic Mexican meal that you can recreate again and again. Return home feeling fully inspired to spice up your next meal filled with the vibrant and fresh flavours of Mexico.


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The Beach is partly closed.
July 15, 2022 July 15, 2022 / Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment
The River Meon allowed sea-going vessels to reach the important trading centre of Titchfield with its large Abbey. Titchfield's history stretches back to the 6th century. It operated as an important port and market town during medieval times. Ships entered the river at Hill Head and navigated their way up to Titchfield {about 2 miles inland} until as late as the start of the 17th century when silting started to restrict the passage. As the river continued to silt up the Titchfield Canal was built opening in 1611. It was only the second canal existing in Britain at the time. Soon the canal also suffered from silting and the sea trade moved away from Titchfield to nearby Southampton. At the same time as the canal was constructed, the outfall of the River Meon to the sea was dammed, creating the wetlands that now form the Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve. Around 1900 Hill Head consisted of only a few small cottages and fishermen's wooden sheds located at Titchfield Haven. Over the years a small harbour was constructed for small pleasure boats, where the River Meon continues to flow into Southampton Water. Every few years the mouth of the harbour blocks up with silt and shingle and requires removal to allow its continued use. Over the next few days, the build-up is being removed, and the beach around the spit should be open by early next week.
Cool Mallards
July 15, 2022 July 22, 2022 / Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments
From above!
On the Solent, we have some large clams about the size of a clenched fist. They were introduced from North America where it is known as a Quahog clam into British waters several times since the middle of the nineteenth century. The first live specimen was found in 1864 in the Humber. It was successfully introduced from the USA into Southampton Water in 1925. These are long-lived species a clam dredged from Icelandic waters had lived for 400 years. Is this the longest-lived animal known to science.
An example of a clam from Southampton Water from a past blog to give an overview of their size.
It was about 10 years ago I first spotted Herring Gulls collecting bivalves such as cockles or mussels on the beach taking them to a height of about 30 feet into the air and dropping them, smashing open the shell to eat the prize inside.
Yesterday I watched a Herring Gull pull a Quahog clam from the beach and drop it to smash it. I think this could have been fatal if it had landed on someone's head!
"Gull finds its clam".
Once found it is time to pull it free of the beach.
Once it is extracted a second gull takes an interest in it – not wanting to give up his prize a scrap ensues.
Scrap over now it is time to get the clam into the air.
Once airborne the gull gains height and drops his "bomb".


"Working with P3 for the annual Duty to Warn mailing was a pure pleasure! This was the first time we outsourced it, and can say with 100% certainty we won't ever do it any other way. The process was so easy and much more affordable than I had ever imagined."
"Our company is always looking for best practice. P3 Propane Safety and Duty to Warn are products that meet this criteria. These are polished products with excellent support and value. Thanks to Jerry and his team for providing great products and service! Our insurance company recognized their value as well, and even paid for our Duty to Warn mailing!"
"As the Chairman of State Association Safety Committee for 10+ years, a recipient of the NPGA Individual Safety Award, and an active participant in nation and state-wide propane safety issues, one cannot under estimate the importance of our responsibility to properly inform consumers of the properties of propane and proper documentation.
"We had been sending DTW materials to our customers, but our procedures were lacking the proper documentation and the process required a lot of extra effort. P3 made it easy for us, and now we have a record of every customer who received DTW this year. They provide a great service at a reasonable cost."
"The folks at P3 handled our Duty to Warn requirement with incredible ease to our company. The assurance that our yearly obligation to our customers would be taken care of perfectly, without the time-consuming process being squarely on our shoulders, was worth every dime. Even so, the price for the whole process was pleasantly low and below what I expected. I recommend P3's Duty to Warn service for any size propane company—truly a top-notch service and group to work with."
"The Duty to Warn process was simple and easy for us to implement. And, best of all, the cost was much lower per piece than I would have thought. Great service from P3."
"We really enjoy working with P3 to develop and handle our Duty to Warn mailing each year. They are detail-oriented and a real pleasure to work with. I simply can't understand how anyone would want to perform this vital annual safety task in-house."
"I love this Duty to Warn for propane program. It is so simple for me to just send the customer list and then they do all the work. This keeps us in compliance and keeps our customers informed. Thanks so much for this program."


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Q: Hex String Replacement Using sed I'm having some trouble getting sed to do a find/replace of some hex characters.  I want to replace all instances within a file of the following hexadecimal string:
0x0D4D5348

with the following hexadecimal string:
0x0D0A4D5348

How can I do that?
EDIT: I'm trying to do a hex find/replace.  The input file does not have the literal value of "0x0D4D5348" in it, but it does have the ASCII representation of that in it.

A: This worked for me on Linux and OSX.
Replacing in-place:
sed -i '.bk' 's'/`printf "\x03"`'/foo/g' index.html

(See @Ernest's comment in the answer by @tolitius)

A: In OS/X system's Bash, You can use command like this:
# this command will crate a variable named a which contains '\r\n' in it
a=`echo -e "hello\r\nworld\r\nthe third line\r\n"`

echo "$a" | sed $'s/\r//g' | od -c

and now you can see the output characters :
0000000    h   e   l   l   o  \n   w   o   r   l   d  \n   t   h   e
0000020    t   h   i   r   d       l   i   n   e  \n
0000033

You should notice the difference between 's/\r//g' and $'s/\r//g'.
Based on the above practices, you can use command like this to replace hex String
echo "$a" | sed $'s/\x0d//g'  | od -c

A: GNU sed v3.02.80, GNU sed v1.03, and HHsed v1.5 by Howard Helman
all support the notation \xNN, where "NN" are two valid hex numbers, 00-FF.
Here is how to replace a HEX sequence in your binary file:
$ sed 's/\x0D\x4D\x53\x48/\x0D\x0A\x4D\x53\x48/g' file > temp; rm file; mv temp file

As @sputnik pointed out, you can use sed's in place functionality. One caveat though, if you use it on OS/X, you'd have to add an empty set of quotes:
$ sed '' 's/\x0D\x4D\x53\x48/\x0D\x0A\x4D\x53\x48/g' file

As sed in place on OS/X takes a parameter to indicate what extension to add to the file name when making a backup, since it does  create a temp file first. But then.. OS/X's sed doesn't support \x.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Monsanto's Hugh Grant, CEO of the Year 2010
Few other companies—not even, say, Google—seem to excite such extreme passions. Depending on whom you're talking to, Monsanto, the agri–biotech company, is either Satan or savior. Not bad for a B–to–B company that, apart from its commercial weed–killer Roundup, is largely unknown to the public. The observation brings a knowing expression to the face of Hugh Grant, a tall, laconic figure who speaks with the soft Glaswegian accent of his native Scotland. Since becoming chairman and CEO in 2003, he has led the $12 billion St. Louis–based company through a series of moves focused on developing products that help farmers grow more crops by using resources more efficiently. Trained as a molecular biologist and agricultural zoologist, Grant and his team have overseen the company double in size. "I seldom see leadership teams that are as collaborative as the one Hugh leads," observes Brett Begemann, the firm's EVP of seeds and traits, who has worked with him the longest. In 2009, the company sold $7.3 billion in seeds, biotech traits within seeds and herbicides—almost double that of its nearest competitor and 15 percent higher than the previous year. Under his leadership, total annual average return to shareholders exceeded 27 percent, with net income CAG reaching 23 percent. During this time, Grant increased the company's R&D investment to more than $2.5 million a day.
When he joined the company 30 years ago, the typical farmer fed just 25 people. Today a farmer feeds about 130 people and in the next 40 years he will need to feed twice as many. Monsanto's business of boosting agricultural productivity is at the center of nearly every major issue that is in the news today: sustainability, energy, climate change, food production, population growth and water usage. One might suppose that a business focused on feeding the world with fewer resources would be championed.
  The criticism Monsanto encountered when it transformed itself from a chemical to a biotechnology company in the late 1980s centers on its strategy of modifying the genes of corn, soybeans and cotton. The fact that civilization has been selecting for genetic traits for 6,000 years was dismissed by critics who argued that genetic modification of plant seeds would lead to "Frankenfood."
Opposition to crop biotech has somewhat abated, as farmers around the world have voted with their plows. It's easy to understand why. The company's seeds contain genes that resist bugs and tolerate weed–killing pesticides. India, Brazil and Argentina have planted millions of acres of cotton and soybeans with enhanced traits. Ag–biotech continues to face resistance in Europe, but 14 million farmers in 25 countries planted 330 million acres in 2009, up 7 percent from 2008. In the U.S., about three–fourths of the corn and soybeans is grown with seeds containing Monsanto's technology.
In fact, Monsanto now has the opposite problem, in that its success in crop biotechnology has drawn the attention of Department of Justice antitrust chief Christine Varney. Nor is the sector short of aggressive competitors such as Syngenta, DuPont, and BASF, among others. (Monsanto broadly licenses its technology, even to competitors.)
The issue of agricultural resource constraints, which promises to become more acute, lies at the core of Grant's strategy. Currently 70 percent of fresh water in the U.S. is used for agriculture, with the rest used for drinking and personal needs. In other regions of the world, such as Africa, that figure rises to 90 to 95 percent. Add to this U.N. population projections that another 9 billion people are expected to show up on this planet over the next 40 years. How will they be fed? And this does not take into consideration that the Chinese, to cite just one group, are rapidly changing their diet to include more meat. Somehow the additional corn needed to feed beef cattle must be grown to make this possible. Recently CE's J.P. Donlon caught up with the 2010 Chief Executive of the Year and his team in St. Louis to explore their focus on sustainable agriculture.
Helping the world feed itself seems innocuous—even admirable—but in our sustainability–obsessed world it's become controversial. When you took this job in 2003, did you understand what you were up against?
Agriculture finds itself in the middle of discussions on global policy issues concerning food, global warming and water, among others. And because Monsanto is in the middle of the agricultural source of all this and has relevance to these larger global concerns, it is at the center of strong visceral reactions. If it were not Monsanto, it would be some other company.
In our lifetime, certainly in your son's lifetime, there will be another three billion people living on the planet—the equivalent of two more Chinas. There's not much argument about this. How will we feed them and how will they have enough water? At the same time farmland is disappearing as urbanization increases. So the challenge is: How do we produce more on fewer acres of arable land?
Improving productivity is the only answer. There are those who argue for keeping everything as it is and hoping for the best, but that is not sustainable. We are among those who see a tremendous opportunity in trying to shift the slope of the productivity curve in increasing yields of key crops. That's what our scientists—about 3,500 researchers, of which one–fourth are PhDs—wake up every morning thinking about.
How will Monsanto's efforts move the needle on a challenge of this magnitude?
We've moved the needle a good bit already. We've improved the base seed itself. Civilization has been improving traits for thousands of years. We're getting there quicker by improving the genetics. It's like breeding Thoroughbred racehorses. We've just advanced the capacity to yieldmore.
We spend $1 billion a year on R&D, and half of that goes to improving the genetics of that seed. For example, we're building genetic street maps of certain seeds that allow one to predict with greater accuracy what the attributes will be. It permits having better–performing, better–quality seed that's more attuned to the environment that it gets planted into.
The other 50 cents of the R&D dollar goes to biotechnology. This may involve, for example, the fight against weeds and bugs. Further into the future, the focus will increasingly be on water usage. In North America, agriculture gargles its way through 70 percent of the area's supply of fresh water. In Africa, that figure rises to 90 percent, and often to 95 percent. So creating crops that require less water to grow and using fertilizer more efficiently will improve yield. That's the next chapter for the company.
So is drought tolerance the equivalent of your Lipitor or Viagra?
It has the capacity to be a blockbuster, to use your pharmaceutical example. We haven't made any projections, but it would be in the $1 billion–plus range.
The learning from the pharmaceutical industry is to work out how to share one's product at the early stage with people who aren't able to pay you for it. Three years ago, we started to work with a team at the University of Nebraska on this. The need for drought–tolerant crops is most acute in sub–Saharan Africa, where the climate is hot and the shortage of water is acute. We donated the technology to an NGO on the ground in Africa that comes out of USAID, that will guide villagers on its use. Both the Gates Foundation and Warren Buffett's son, Howard Buffett, who's a farmer just across the river here, who kicked in $47 million, have helped. A product that will move the needle will be launched, probably in three years, in Africa.
Spending $1 billion on R&D, you have considerable intellectual property to protect, and, considering that you charge a premium for seeds, how do you convince farmers they're worth the extra cost?
Simple. You have to deliver yield on the farm. The sophistication of the grower has increased enormously. The grower is running a combine, a John Deere equipped with a computer with a satellite uplink, through his fields that gives him accurate yield data on every square yard. This is the norm, not the exception. He knows the yield and gross margin right away. If your product can provide an incremental yield improvement, you're invited back next spring. If you don't, then you're not. We sell technology solutions to a grower who grows globally traded commodities. It's absolutely focused on efficiency leverage.
Yes, but as Intel's Andy Grove used to point out, one's technology lead is never permanent. Syngenta, for example, is introducing a drought–tolerant product. How do you maintain a lead and a price premium?
That's the key question, because it's an increasingly crowded and competitive space. That's the nature of this business. Growers are discerning customers, focused on functionality. The way you stay ahead is through the strength of your technology. Hence the 11 biotech advancements in our R&D pipeline. In addition to the drought–tolerant corn, we have drought–tolerant cotton. We're developing insect–protected soybeans, where the protection is within the seed itself. We're working on high–yielding corn aimed at boosting the potential of corn hybrids. Also, we're working on corn that uses nitrogen more efficiently, giving farmers more choices.
Products that deliver consistently on farms will provide the competitive edge. Despite an increasingly crowded field, our products yield better. The increment of yield translates into premium price position. It's that basic.
Speaking of feedback, some analysts contend that due to increasingly aggressive low–cost competition, Monsanto has been unable in recent quarters to increase market share in some of its businesses, forcing a change in core strategy. Explain what has happened recently and what it means for the future.
The strategy's still the same. It's more about how we're executing. We have two challenges right now. One is our Roundup business, which is 35 years old, still important and a nice profit generator, but every year it declines as it's diluted by the growth in our seed business. We're faced with a challenge from Chinese generics, which are about half of the world's supply. We are in the process of skinnying down, revising our cost structure as prices decline.
On the seed side, our product strategy remains exactly the same. We're taking another hard look at how we price. Since themid '90s our pricing approach had been to introduce them at a lower price point, and as they grow and experience with those technologies expands, we would grow our prices within the segment.
But with the newer products that are significant differentiators, we have to position and price them accordingly. For example, yield in soybeans on a yearly basis increases by about a percent a year. So every year, the grower would see about a 1 percent yield improvement, based on genetics.The product that we're rolling out, Roundup Ready 2 Yield, delivers 7 percent to 11 percent more yield— representing a five– or six–year yield advantage in one year. Launching something that represents five years of incremental value in the first year— the technologies are game–changers— presents a positioning challenge.
An asset manager at an investment fund based nearby was horrified to learn that Monsanto was chosen as this year's honoree. She didn't use the word "evil," but it was clear that was what she meant when referring to the company prohibiting farmers from reusing the seeds it sells. Asked about Microsoft or HP penalizing those who violate the terms–of– use of their products, she rejected the analogy, saying that while North American farmers can afford to buy the seed each planting season, South American farmers cannot. To her mind, and to those other highly educated urban professionals we encountered, this practice makes Monsanto yet another example of a heavy–handed U.S. multinational bullying indigent peasants.
The romance with agriculture is directly proportional to the distance that you are from it. I spent five years in Asia and spent a lot of time in rural India building our business there. There is no romance in it. In small landholder farming you get up before the sun comes up, draw water from a well, cook breakfast for your kids and go out and work until it gets dark. And then you collect firewood on the way home. You cook an evening meal for your kids, and you repeat that until you can't do it anymore.
We have more farmers growing our biotech cotton in India than we have in America, including the entire Mississippi delta and all of Texas. The reason is that it works better. It yields more and costs less. Farmers—by the way, most farmers outside North America and Europe are women—are super smart. They figure out what works real fast. In our research talking to women in India about product that kills bugs and worms, they don't talk about bug control. They talk about spending less time in the field. The biggest perceived benefit, they say, is that "I'll get more time withmy family."
Cumulatively, no more than two billion acres of these crops have been planted. The first billion acres took 10 years. The second billion took three years. How is that possible? It's because a big piece of the second billion is smallholder agriculture—the very people your Greenwich fund manager thinks are oppressed. They are rushing towards it. Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are stepping up their use of insect–protected cotton, not because of Monsanto, but because the economics dictate it.
There will always be people who will not be persuaded by the facts, but to the vast middle ground we're seeing a more constructive dialogue. The fact is that farmers are ahead of the critics. They look around and see the reality—that there will be more people on the planet to feed and clothe. They aren't persuaded by some government's ag policy or by any company's clever marketing.
Describe this company five years from now. How will it be different?
I'm always worried about dramatic sharp turns. I call it the Jetsons effect, where it's assumed everyone is traveling in personal spaceships. The nice thing about our business is the investment cycle. You plant a seed, you harvest a handful of seed; you plant a handful of seed, you harvest a truckload. Five years from now, our business will have grown to the mid–teens in revenue, generating well north of $1 billion in cash. It will be a business focused exclusively on biology, sitting comfortably in the Fortune 100.
By 2016, we'll have commercialized our first drought–tolerant products. We'll be seeing the first of those products in the hands of growers in sub–Saharan Africa. And we'll have made significant progress on our yield genes. We will havemade significant progress in the early ramp towards doubling yields in corn, soy and probably cotton. Five years is only four spring plantings from now.


7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, "The man of God has come here," 8 the king said to Hazael, "Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'" 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camel loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, "Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'" 10 And Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die." 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women." 13 And Hazael said, "What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria." 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he answered, "He told me that you would certainly recover." 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.
7:3And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 7:4If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. 7:5And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. 7:6For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 7:7Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. 7:8And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. 7:9Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household. 7:10So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. 7:11And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within. 7:12And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city. 7:13And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see. 7:14They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. 7:15And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king. 7:16And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. 7:17And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. 7:18And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: 7:19And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 7:20And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
8:1Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.8:2And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.8:3And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.8:4And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.8:5And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.8:6And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.8:7And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.8:8And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?8:9So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?8:10And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath showed me that he shall surely die.8:11And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.8:12And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.8:13And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.8:14So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.8:15And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
What can we learn from today's reading about life's circumstances and how quickly they change?
Why did the lepers hesitate to share the good news with those who were in the city?
Why do people today hesitate to share the good news of Jesus Christ?
Who in your circle of influence needs to hear the good news and be set free?
Don't hold back from sharing the gospel with those who need to hear it.


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Internet sales taxes added to downtown Clarksville events center funding plan
Jimmy Settle
Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle
The revenue streams that Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett's administration has identified to build the downtown Clarksville multipurpose events center, and pay off the bond anticipation note, include a newer one that's been added to the mix: internet sales tax collected in Montgomery County.
Durrett said two state studies have projected what the internet sales tax will generate annually for each county in the state. For Montgomery County, he said it will help schools and help pay off the MPEC in short order.
"The first state study showed about $2.4 million in revenue for Montgomery County. The second one showed $2.1 million in revenue," Durrett said.
"Half of the Internet sales tax revenue is allocated for the (Clarksville-Montgomery County) school system, and the other goes into the general fund for Montgomery County.
"It is a fund we have never received so we can allocate it as needed, and so this is what we have chosen for it," he said. Current projections have the county paying off the MPEC debt in 20 years or less.
Other expected revenue streams for the MPEC include:
The recently increased hotel/motel tax.
A facility seat user fee.
Sales tax generated within the facility.
Funding generated from selling the naming rights to the facility.
A facility tenant fee.
A portion of the payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) that a number of new companies in the area are scheduled to begin paying in the next few years.
These PILOT payments represent the only revenue source where property taxes, in this case from big industry, would come into play as part of the MPEC payoff.
Realizing this, Durrett said he decided to pad the revenue picture with Internet sales taxes to further dilute the dependence on PILOT payments resulting from property taxation.
The Montgomery County Commission will consider this and more related to the MPEC funding picture when it convenes in informal, nonvoting session on Monday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. in Commission chamber on the historic courthouse third floor.
Reach Jimmy Settle at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0247. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.
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