Feb 22, 2011 - STINGER WELLHEAD PROTECTION, INC.
An injector spool supports a plurality of ball injector assemblies having respective ball cartridges adapted to load one frac ball at a time into a ball chamber of a ball launcher of the respective ball injector assemblies to provide a horizontal frac ball injector adapted to be connected to a frac head by frac iron.
This invention relates in general to equipment used for the purpose of well completion, re-completion or workover, and, in particular, to frac ball injectors used to inject or drop frac balls into a fluid stream pumped into a subterranean well during well completion, re-completion or workover operations.
The use of frac balls to control fluid flow in a subterranean well is well known. The frac balls are generally dropped or injected into a well stimulation fluid stream being pumped into the well. This can be accomplished manually, but the manual process is time consuming and requires that workmen be in close proximity to highly pressurized frac fluid lines, which is a safety hazard. Consequently, frac ball droppers or injectors have been invented to permit faster and safer operation.
As is well understood in the art, multi-stage well stimulation operations often require that frac balls of different diameters be sequentially injected into the well in a predetermined size order that is graduated from a smallest frac ball to a largest frac ball. While frac ball injectors are available that can be used to inject single frac balls in any size order, such frac ball injectors require that a plurality of injector spools be vertically stacked to provide the required availability of frac balls of different diameters. The stacking of injector spools increases weight on the wellhead and raises working height, both of which are undesirable.
There therefore exists a need for a frac ball injector for use during well completion, re-completion or workover operations that does not raise working height or place extra weight on a wellhead.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a horizontal frac ball injector for use during multi-stage well completion, re-completion or workover operations.
The invention therefore provides a horizontal frac ball injector, comprising: an injector spool having an intake end, a discharge end and an axial passage that extends from the intake end to the discharge end; and at least two independently operated ball injector assemblies respectively connected to a radial port through a sidewall of the injector spool, each ball injector assembly supporting a ball cartridge having a capacity to accommodate a plurality of frac balls, and each ball injector assembly further comprising a ball launcher that is reciprocated by a ball launcher drive from a ball load position in which a ball is loaded from the ball cartridge into a ball chamber of a ball injector, to a ball release position in which the ball is moved out of a side opening of the ball chamber by fluid pumped through the axial passage.
The invention further provides a ball injector assembly of a horizontal frac ball injector, comprising: a ball cartridge that accommodates a plurality of frac balls; a ball launcher having a ball chamber sized to receive a one of the frac balls and a side opening from which the one of the frac balls is released from the ball chamber; and a ball launcher drive that reciprocates the ball launcher from a ball load position in which the one of the frac balls is loaded into the ball chamber to a ball release position in which the one of the frac balls is moved from the ball chamber by fluid pumped through an axial passage of the horizontal frac ball injector.
The invention yet further provides a horizontal frac ball injector adapted to be connected by frac iron to a frac head, comprising a ball injector spool having a plurality of ball injector mechanisms that respectively support a ball cartridge adapted to store a plurality of frac balls, each ball injector mechanism having a ball launcher reciprocated by a ball launcher drive from a ball load position in which a one of the frac balls is loaded from the ball cartridge into a ball chamber of the ball launcher and a ball release position in which the one of the frac balls is released from the ball chamber via a side opening in the ball chamber into an axial passage through the ball injector spool.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the horizontal frac ball injector shown in FIG. 2 connected by frac iron to a frac head set up for a multi-stage well stimulation operation.
The invention provides a horizontal frac ball injector for releasing frac balls of any required diameter into a fluid stream being pumped through the horizontal frac ball injector into a subterranean well. High capacity ball cartridges ensure that an adequate supply of frac balls of any required diameter is available for even the most complex well completion, re-completion or workover project. The horizontal frac ball injector is connected in line with a frac head or a high pressure valve using 1002 or 1502 frac iron. Conveniently, the horizontal frac ball injector can be left on a transport trailer, though it may be placed on the ground or any other appropriate platform prior to making up the frac iron connection. The horizontal frac ball injector is not mounted to the wellhead, so it does not raise working height and does not increase weight or stress on the wellhead.
FIG. 1 is a schematic end elevational view of the horizontal frac ball injector 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The horizontal frac ball injector 10 includes an injector spool 12 that supports a plurality of ball injector assemblies 14. In this embodiment the horizontal frac ball injector includes six ball injector assemblies, 14a-14f, only two of which, 14a and 14d, can be seen in front elevational view. Each ball injector assembly 14 includes a respective cartridge section 16a-16f, only two of which, 16a and 16d, can be seen in front elevational view. The respective cartridge sections 16 support a ball cartridge 18a-18f, seen in side elevation in FIG. 2. Each ball injector assembly 14 further includes a ball launch section 20a-20f, only two of which, 20a and 20d, can be seen; a pressure seal section 22a-22f, only two of which, 22a and 22d, can be seen; and, a drive section 24a-24f, only two of which, 24a and 24d, can be seen. In this embodiment, ball launch drive power is provided by motors, which may be hydraulic, pneumatic or electric motors, as will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 3-5. However, in another embodiment the ball launch drive power is provided by hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, as will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 6-9.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevation view of the horizontal frac ball injector 10 shown from the direction indicated by line 2 of FIG. 1. The injector spool 12 includes a first section 26 with an intake end and a second section 28 with a discharge end. The second section 28 terminates at the discharge end in a wing-half 29 of a threaded union connector, to which an adapter is connected, as will be explained below with reference to FIG. 10. In this embodiment of the injector spool 12, the first section 26 terminates at the intake end in a 1002 or a 1502 union thread-half 34 to permit the connection of 1002 or 1502 frac iron in a manner well known in the art. It should be understood, however, that the first section 26 may terminate in either of a bolted flange a wing-half of a threaded union connector. The connection to the frac iron permits well stimulation fluids to be pumped through the horizontal frac ball injector 10, as will be explained below in more detail with reference to FIG. 10.
The first section 26 and the second section 28 respectively support three ball injector assemblies 14. The ball injector assemblies 14 that handle the larger diameter balls, for example 2¼-4½ inch balls, are mounted to a sidewall of the second section 28 in alignment with radial bores through the sidewall of the second section 28, as will be explained below with reference to FIG. 3. The ball injector assemblies 14 that handle the smaller diameter balls, for example ¾-2 inch balls, are mounted to a sidewall of the first section 26 in alignment with radial bores through the sidewall of the first section 26, as will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 6-9. The three radial bores in the sidewall of the first section 26 and the three radial bores in the sidewall of the second section 28 are axially offset and alternate in opposed radial planes that extend along opposite sides of the injector spool 12. However, the number and the spacing of the ball injector assemblies 14 on the injector spool 12 is a matter of design choice and three injector assemblies 14 on each section 26, 28 is shown by way of example only.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the injector spool 12 and one ball injector assembly 14 of one embodiment of the horizontal frac ball injector 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The cartridge section 16 is welded, or threadedly connected, to the sidewall of the injector spool 12 in alignment with a radial bore 38 that communicates with an axial passage 40 that extends through the injector spool 12. The ball cartridge 18 is threadedly connected to a ball cartridge port 42 in a top of the cartridge section 16. In this embodiment, the ball cartridge port 42 supports the ball cartridge 18 perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the injector spool 12, though this orientation is not essential. Although the perpendicular orientation of the ball cartridge 18 is convenient and practical as a design choice, it is only important that the ball cartridge be oriented so that frac balls 44 are sequentially loaded into a ball chamber 46 in a ball launcher 48 of the ball injector assembly 14. The ball cartridge 18 stores a plurality of commercially available frac balls 44, typically phenolic resin frac balls of a composition known in the art. The frac balls 44 are urged into the ball chamber 46 by a ball chase 50, which applies a gravitational force to the frac balls 44 in the ball cartridge 18. In one embodiment, the ball chase 50 is a bullet-shaped mass made of stainless steel. However, it should be understood that the ball chase 50 may be a compression spring or a mechanical drive that applies a force that urges the frac balls 44 into the ball chamber 46. A ball cartridge cover 52 provided with high pressure seals 54 seals a top end of the ball cartridge 18.
As understood by those skilled in the art, it is advantageous to have confirmation when a frac ball 44 has been released from the ball injector 48. Consequently, it is advantageous to provide a system that displays a relative position of the ball chase 50 within the ball cartridge 18. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the system that displays the relative position of the ball chase 50 within the ball cartridge 18 is a sonic transducer 56, an output of which is used to create a display on a ball injector control console (not shown). The display may provide a simple indication of a distance, for example in inches or centimeters, from a bottom of the sonic transducer to a top of the ball chase 50. Alternatively, a programmable circuit can translate the distance into a number of balls remaining in the ball cartridge using a simple algorithm within the knowledge of one skilled in the art.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the system that displays the relative position of the ball chase 50 within the ball cartridge 18 is a laser range finder 62. In accordance with this embodiment, the ball cartridge 18 is constructed from a high tensile strength nonmagnetic material, such as copper beryllium, or the like. A rare earth magnet pack 58 secured to a top end of the ball chase 50 strongly attracts an external follower sleeve 60 sized so that a bottom edge thereof roughly coincides with the top end of the ball chase 50, though this relationship is a matter of design choice. The external follower sleeve 60 may be a magnetic material, such as steel, and/or contain embedded magnets oriented to be attracted to the magnet pack 58. The laser range finder 62 is mounted to a top of the ball cartridge port 42 and computes a distance to a bottom edge of the external follower sleeve 60. The distance may be displayed as a number of inches or centimeters, or translated into a ball count, that is displayed by on a display (not shown) of a control console, as explained above.
If the sonic transducer 56 is used to track the position of the ball chase 50, the top end of the ball chase 50 may be drilled and tapped with an acme thread, or the like, to accept a compatibly threaded end of a lifter rod (not shown) to permit the ball chase 50 to be removed when there is no fluid pressure on the injector spool 12, so that the ball cartridge 18 can be recharged with frac balls 44. If the magnet pack 58 is secured to the top of the ball chase 50, a magnetic lifting rod (not shown) may be used to lift the ball chase 50 out of the ball cartridge 18 for the same purpose, or a bore may be drilled through the magnet pack 58 to permit a threaded lifting rod to be used, as described above.
The ball launcher 48 is reciprocated from a ball load position shown in FIG. 3 to a ball release position shown in FIG. 5 by a ball launcher drive. In one embodiment the ball launcher drive, as shown in FIG. 3, is a threaded drive rod 64, which extends into an axial bore 66 that is formed from a rear end of the ball launcher 48 to a rear side of the ball chamber 46. A guide key 68 received in a key way 69 that runs a full length of a bottom of the ball launcher 48 (see FIG. 4c) prevents the ball launcher 48 from rotating within a cylindrical bore 70 that extends from an outer end of the ball launch section 20 to an inner end of the cartridge section 16. The guide key 68 is machined into, affixed to, or built up on a bottom of the cylindrical bore 70 in the cartridge section 16.
The threads on the drive rod 64 are engaged by a compatibly threaded drive sleeve 72 immovably captured in a drive sleeve bore 74 in the rear end of the ball launcher 48. Rotation of the drive rod 64 translates to linear movement of the ball launcher 48 due to the compatible threads on the drive sleeve 72. A high pressure seal pack 76 prevents well and stimulation fluid pressure from escaping around the drive rod 64. The drive rod 64 is radially stabilized by a needle bearing 77 and axially stabilized a thrust bearing 78 that rides on a bushing 79 which abuts a step in the drive rod 64, and both axially and radially stabilized by a tapered roller bearing 80 received in a tapered bearing cage 81. A lock nut 90 threadedly engages an outer end of the drive rod 64 and locks the bearings 78, 80 in place. A drive shaft 92 connected to the outer end of the drive rod 64 and an output shaft of a motor 94 rotates the drive rod 64 in a direct relation to rotation of the output shaft of the motor 94. The motor 94 may be a hydraulic, pneumatic or an electric motor. A travel limiter 96 on an inner end of the ball launcher 48 ensures that the drive rod 64 cannot be disengaged from the drive sleeve 72, as will be explained below with reference to FIG. 5. As the ball launcher 48 is moved forward by the motor 94 from the ball load position to the ball release position shown in FIG. 5, a ball shunt ramp 98 forces all other frac balls 44 in the ball cartridge 18 upward to ensure that a frac ball resting on the frac ball 44 in the ball chamber 46 is not damaged as the ball launcher 48 is driven past the ball cartridge 18.
FIGS. 4a-4d are schematic diagrams of the ball launcher 48 of the injector assembly 14 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4a is a side elevational view of the ball launcher 48. As can be seen, the ball chamber 46 is a circular bore that extends downwardly through an inner end of the ball launcher 48, but does not extend completely through the ball launcher 48. The circular bore pierces longitudinal flats 71 on each side of the ball launcher 48, which forms a crescent-shaped opening 47 in one side of the ball chamber 46. The opposite side wall of the ball chamber 46 is machined away to form a side opening 49 through which the frac balls 44 are released from the ball chamber 46, as will be explained below with reference to FIG. 5. The ball shunt ramp 98 is only machined on the top side of the ball launcher 48, as can also be seen in FIG. 4b which is a top plan view of the ball launcher 48. FIG. 4c is a rear end view of the ball launcher 48 and FIG. 4d is a front end view of the ball launcher 48. As seen in FIG. 4c, the axial bore 66 and the drive sleeve bore 74 are concentric. As seen in FIGS. 4c and 4d, the key way 69 extends a full length of the ball launcher 48. The longitudinal flats 71 milled on each side of the key way 69 provide fluid passages to permit well stimulation fluid to flow around the ball launcher 48 as it is reciprocated from the ball load position to the ball release position. As also seen in FIG. 4d, in this embodiment the travel limiter 96 is a cylindrical boss having a front face that is contoured to mate with an inner wall of the axial passage 40 of the injector spool 12 shown in FIG. 3. However, the shape of the travel limiter 96 is a matter of design choice.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the injector spool 12 and the injector assembly 14 shown in FIG. 3 in the process of releasing a frac ball 44 into a fluid stream pumped through the axial passage 40 of the injector spool 12. As shown in FIG. 5, when the ball launcher 48 enters the axial passage 40 of the injector spool 12 a proportion of the fluid stream flows over the top wall of the ball chamber 46 and a proportion of the fluid flows through the crescent-shaped opening 47 in the ball chamber 46. This applies fluid pressure on the frac ball 44 to push the frac ball 44 through the side opening 49 of the ball chamber 46. As soon as the ball launcher 48 has moved far enough into the axial passage 40, the frac ball 44 is released from the ball chamber 46. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, when the travel limiter 96 contacts the sidewall of the axial passage 40 a resulting resistance to further rotation of the drive shaft 64 causes a resistance-activated switch (not shown) to automatically reverse the motor 94, which retracts the ball launcher 48 to the ball load position shown in FIG. 3. In the ball load position, a next ball 44 in the ball cartridge 18 is urged into the ball chamber 46 by the ball chase 50. The same resistance-activated switch stops the motor 94 when the ball launcher 48 has returned to the ball load position. Of course the motor 94 can also be controlled manually by monitoring a resistance gauge that indicates a drive resistance of the motor 94, for example, a hydraulic or pneumatic pressure gauge or a voltmeter. The position of the ball chase 50, determined using one of the apparatus described above with reference to FIG. 3, gives a positive indication of whether the ball launcher 48 has been returned to the ball load position after a ball has been successfully released into the axial passage 40.
FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the injector spool 12 and one injector assembly 14f in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. The injector assembly 14f is identical to the injector assembly 14 described above with reference to FIG. 3 with the exceptions of the drive unit and minor differences in a ball launcher 102. The ball launcher 102 is reciprocated from the ball load to the ball release position by a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 104. The hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 104 has an inner end 106 connected to the cartridge section 16 by a wing nut 108. O-ring seals 110 inhibit well stimulation fluid from escaping to atmosphere around the inner end 106. A high pressure seal pack 112 inhibits well pressure from entering the cylinder 104, and prevents leakage around a piston rod 114 that is affixed to a rear end of the ball launcher 102. In this embodiment, the piston rod 114 threadedly engages a threaded bore 116 in a rear end of the ball launcher 102. A piston 118 is reciprocated within the cylinder 104 by fluid injected (and drained, as appropriate) through respective ports 120, 122. A cylinder position indicator rod 124 connected to a rear side of the piston 118 provides a visual indication of a position of the piston 118. The cylinder position indicator rod 124 extends through fluid seals (not shown) supported by a cylinder end cap 126.
FIGS. 7a-7d are schematic diagrams of the ball launcher 102 of the injector assembly 14f shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 7a is a side elevational view of the ball launcher 102. As can be seen, the ball chamber 46 is a circular bore that extends downwardly through the ball launcher 102, but does not extend all the way through the ball launcher 102. The circular bore pierces the sidewalls of the ball launcher 102 near a bottom of the bore and creates a crescent-shaped opening 147. The opposite sidewall is machined away to create an open side 149 in the ball launcher 102. The ball shunt ramp 98 is only machined into the top side of the ball launcher 48, as can also be seen in FIG. 7b which is a top plan view of the ball launcher 102. FIG. 7c is a rear end view of the ball launcher 102 and FIG. 7d is a front end view of the ball launcher 102. The threaded bore 116 that accepts the piston rod 114 (FIG. 6) can be seen in FIG. 7c. As seen in FIGS. 7c and 7d, the key way 69 extends a full length of the ball launcher 102. Longitudinal flats 73 milled on each side of the key way 69 provide fluid passages to permit well stimulation fluid to flow around the ball launcher 102 as it is reciprocated from the ball load position to the ball release position.
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the injector spool 12 and the ball launcher 102 shown in FIG. 6 in the process of releasing a frac ball 44 into a fluid stream pumped through the axial passage 40 of the injector spool 12. When the piston 118 is at the end of its stroke as shown, the piston rod 114 is fully extended and the ball chamber 46 in the ball launcher 102 is inside the axial passage 40 of the injector spool 12. Consequently, as explained above with reference to FIGS. 4a-4d, a proportion of the fluid stream flows over the top wall of the ball chamber 46 and a proportion of the fluid stream flows through the crescent-shaped opening 147 in the bottom of the ball chamber 46, which urges the frac ball 44 through the open side 149 of the ball chamber 46 and into the axial passage 40. The cylinder position indicator rod 124 visually indicates that the ball launcher 102 is in the ball release position.
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the injector spool 12 and one injector assembly 14j in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention. The injector assembly 14j is identical to the injector assembly 14f described above with reference to FIGS. 6-8, with an exception that a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 132 of the injector assembly 14j does not include the cylinder position indicator rod 124 described above. Rather, the cylinder 132 of the injector assembly 14j has a non-magnetic cylinder wall 133, made from an aluminum alloy, or the like. A cylinder cap 134 on an outer end of the cylinder 132 includes a fluid injection port 136 through which fluid is injected, or drained, as required using a fluid line (not shown). A magnet or magnet assembly 138 is affixed to an outer end of the cylinder 118. A position indicator sleeve 140 has an inner diameter that permits the position indicator sleeve 140 to be easily reciprocated over the cylinder wall 133. The position indicator sleeve 140 is magnetically captured by the magnet 138. Consequently, the position indicator sleeve 140 continuously follows any movement of the piston 118, and provides a visual indication of a position of the piston 118, to permit an operator to visually follow movement of the piston 118.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the horizontal frac ball injector 10 shown in FIG. 2 connected by frac iron to a frac head 150 set up for a multi-stage well stimulation operation. The frac head 150, which may be a frac head of any known design or configuration, is mounted, for example, to a wellhead with a master control valve 180 in a manner known in the art. Frac irons 182, which are 1502 or 1002 frac iron, for example, are connected to well stimulation fluid injection ports 184 of the frac head. In this example, two well stimulation fluid injection ports 184 are shown for the sake of illustration. However, many frac heads are equipped with at least 4 well stimulation fluid injection ports 184. 1502 or 1002 frac iron 186 is also connected to a top port 190 of the frac head 150. The frac irons 186 are connected to an adapter 30 connected to the wing-half 29 of the threaded union (see FIG. 1) of the horizontal frac ball injector 10. The length and arrangement of the frac irons 186 is dictated by the well site, available space, and design choice, as understood by those skilled in the art. The connections shown are illustrative only. A wing-half 32 of a frac iron 188 is connected to the thread-half 34 of the horizontal frac ball injector 10 (see FIG. 1) to connect the horizontal frac ball injector 10 to a high pressure well stimulation fluid manifold (not shown) in a manner known in the art. During a well completion, re-completion or workover project, well stimulation fluid is pumped by high pressure pumps (not shown) through the manifold and the 1502 or 1002 frac irons 182 and 186 using procedures well known in the art. The frac balls 44 released into the fluid stream pumped through the horizontal frac ball injector 10 are carried by the fluid stream through the frac irons 186 and the frac head 150 into the well. It should be understood that the frac irons 186 may be custom built frac irons having an internal diameter of 5″-5.25″ to permit large diameter balls to be injected for multi-stage well stimulations.
As seen in FIG. 10, the horizontal frac ball injector 10 may be hauled between job sites on a trailer 200 of any suitable design. The horizontal frac ball injector 10 is secured to the trailer 200 using appropriate blocking and straps, chains or the like (not shown) in a manner well known in the art. As a matter of convenience, the horizontal frac ball injector 10 may be left on the trailer 200 during the well stimulation procedure if space is available. Otherwise, the horizontal frac ball injector 10 may be removed from the trailer 200 and placed on the ground or any suitable skid or platform. Since the horizontal frac ball injector 10 is never mounted to the frac head 150, setup time is reduced, working height is lowered and no extra weight or stress is added to the wellhead.
The embodiments of the invention described above are only intended to be exemplary of the horizontal frac ball injector 10 in accordance with the invention, and not a complete description of every possible configuration. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.
at least two independently operated ball injector assemblies respectively connected to a radial port through a sidewall of the injector spool, each ball injector assembly supporting a ball cartridge having a capacity to accommodate a plurality of frac balls, and each ball injector assembly further comprising a ball launcher that is reciprocated by a ball launcher drive from a ball load position in which a ball is loaded from the ball cartridge into a ball chamber of a ball injector, to a ball release position in which the ball is moved out of a side opening of the ball chamber by fluid pumped through the axial passage.
2. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ball launcher drive comprises a motor that rotates a threaded drive rod which extends into an axial bore in the ball launcher.
3. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 2 wherein the threaded drive rod threadedly engages a threaded drive sleeve immovably affixed within the axial bore.
4. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ball launcher drive comprises one of a hydraulic and a pneumatic cylinder having a piston with a piston rod affixed to a rear end of the ball launcher.
5. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 4 wherein the ball launcher drive further comprises a cylinder position indicator rod connected to a rear side of the piston and extending through a rear end of the cylinder to provide a visual indication of a position of the piston within the cylinder.
6. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 4 wherein the cylinder comprises a cylinder wall of a non-magnetic alloy and further comprises a magnet affixed to a rear side of the piston and a magnetic position indicator sleeve that has an inner diameter that permits the magnetic position indicator sleeve to be reciprocated over the cylinder wall in alignment with the magnet as the piston is reciprocated within the cylinder, to provide a visual indication of a position of the piston within the cylinder.
7. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ball cartridge comprises a ball chase that urges the frac balls into the ball chamber of the ball launcher.
8. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 6 wherein the ball cartridge comprises a cylinder of non-magnetic alloy with a high tensile strength.
9. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 8 wherein the ball cartridge further comprises a magnet pack secured to a top end of the ball chase and a magnetic external follower sleeve that slides over an exterior of the cylinder in alignment with the magnet pack as the ball chase is displaced within the ball cartridge.
10. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 9 further comprising a system that displays a relative position of the ball chase within the ball cartridge.
a ball launcher drive that reciprocates the ball launcher from a ball load position in which the one of the frac balls is loaded into the ball chamber to a ball release position in which the one of the frac balls is moved from the ball chamber by fluid pumped through an axial passage of the horizontal frac ball injector.
12. The ball injector assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the ball launcher drive comprises a motor that rotates a threaded drive rod that threadedly engages a drive sleeve affixed in an axial bore through a rear end of the ball launcher.
13. The ball injector assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the ball launcher drive comprises one of a hydraulic and a pneumatic cylinder having a piston with a piston rod affixed to a rear end of the ball launcher.
14. The ball injector assembly as claimed in claim 13 wherein the ball launcher drive further comprises a position indicator rod that is connected to a rear side of the piston and extends through a rear end cap of the cylinder to provide a visual indication of a location of the piston within the cylinder.
15. The ball injector assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the ball cartridge comprises a ball chase that urges the frac balls into the ball chamber.
16. The ball injector assembly as claimed in claim 15 wherein the ball cartridge comprises a cylinder of non-magnetic material and the ball chase further comprises a magnet that strongly attracts an external follower sleeve which is slidably supported by the magnet on an outer side of the ball cartridge to provide a visual indication of a position of the ball chase within the ball cartridge.
17. The ball injector assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the ball chamber is a cylindrical bore with a side opening through which a frac ball is released from the ball chamber, and a top side of the ball launcher comprises a ball shunt ramp that forces any other frac balls in the ball cartridge upwardly as the ball launcher is moved from the ball load position to the ball release position, to ensure that a frac ball resting on the frac ball in the ball chamber is not damaged as the ball launcher is moved from the ball load position to the ball release position.
18. A horizontal frac ball injector adapted to be connected by frac iron to a frac head, comprising a ball injector spool having a plurality of ball injector mechanisms that respectively support a ball cartridge adapted to store a plurality of frac balls, each ball injector mechanism having a ball launcher reciprocated by a ball launcher drive from a ball load position in which a one of the frac balls is loaded from the ball cartridge into a ball chamber of the ball launcher and a ball release position in which the one of the frac balls is released from the ball chamber via a side opening in the ball chamber into an axial passage through the ball injector spool.
19. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 18 wherein the ball launcher drive comprises a motor that turns a threaded drive rod which engages a threaded drive sleeve affixed in an axial bore in a rear end of the ball launcher.
20. The horizontal frac ball injector as claimed in claim 18 wherein the ball launcher drive comprises one of a hydraulic and a pneumatic cylinder having a piston with a piston rod affixed to a rear end of the ball launcher.


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Q: SqlDataAdapter.SelectCommand not returning the right result I am just facing a problem with my code.
I want to select some data from a database using the SqlDataAdapter SelectCommand property.
My code looks like:
static SqlConnection sqlConnection;
static SqlDataAdapter daDBData = new SqlDataAdapter();
static SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand();
static DataSet dsDBData = new DataSet("DBData");
static DataTable tblDBData;
static DataRow drCurrent;

public static DataTable dbDataGet(string tabname, string where)
{
    sqlConnection = dbConnect();    //sqlConnection setup working fine, defined in another method
    string helper = "SELECT * FROM " + tabname + where;
    command = new SqlCommand(helper, sqlConnection);
    daDBData.SelectCommand = command;

    daDBData.MissingSchemaAction = MissingSchemaAction.AddWithKey;
    daDBData.Fill(dsDBData, tabname);

    tblDBData = dsDBData.Tables[tabname];
    return tblDBData;
}

My problem is, that in tblDBData all existing rows of my database table will be returned.
What I miss here?

A: As far as blocks of code go, it's probably fair to say that that one needs a lot of work. Nearly every line has something that could use some improvement but the whole concept that it embodies is fairly objectionable because it is inherently a massive security risk. Here's a minorly improved version:
//Don't need any of those static variables. Stop making everything static..
//In a properly structured C# program almost NOTHING should be declared as static

        //Method names in C# use PascalCase convention, not camelCase
        public DataTable DbDataGet(string tableName, string whereClause)
        {

            //this could be a massive security risk if there is any way at all that the
            //user can influence the contents of the whereClause. DON'T DO IT if they can
            SqlDataAdapter da = new SqlDataAdapter(
              $"SELECT * FROM {tableName} WHERE {whereClause}",
              GetConnectionString() //in this simplistic context, get a string, not a SqlConnection, then you don't handle disposal
            );

            DataTable dt = new DataTable();

            da.Fill(dt);

            return dt;
        }

Yep; all that code you wrote boils down to just 4 lines. It's still a massive problem that you're just tossing a string with a where clause around. The only way you could get away from that with this approach is to start breaking your where string into a set of predicate classes, sql injection protected at the column and operator level, and adding the values to a SqlParameterCollection - it's essentially rolling your own data access library and isn't worth the bother given that many tens of people have already done it (including microsoft)
Consider instead getting away from this awful rabbithole by NOT doing your data access this way at all. Toss it all in the trash and use Dapper instead. It's not a huge learning curve from where you are now, and will do everything in a safer, more secure and easier to use fashion

As a note on the WHERE clause you're saying in the comments that you're using:
WHERE DATEDIFF(day, sale_date, GetDate()) >= 365 AND available=1

Don't do this either. Here you carry out a function operation on an entry of data in the table. If your table has a million dates in, that function will need to be called a million times. It's slow as heck, uses a huge amount of resources and cripples the use of indexes. And it's completely unnecessary. You're looking for all products sold more than a year ago? Calculate ONE DATE of what date it was a year ago and use the SALE_DATE from th tale without any alteration in comparison to it:
-- in your sql
WHERE sale_date < @someDate and available = 1

//in your c#
mySqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@someDate", DateTime.UtcNow.AddYears(-1));

See the difference? Here the c# calculates the date once, and provides it as a constant value parameter to the query. In a table of a million dates, only one simple compare is performed. We dont' caluclate how many days ago a million different dates were and then select only those diffs > 365

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Mixx Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn
Somali man to facing 30 years in prison for piracy
By the CNN Wire Staff
A burned-out pirate skiff sits near the USS Ashland in the Gulf of Aden on April 10.
NEW: A Somali man is sentenced to 30 years in prison in high-seas piracy attempt
Jama Idle Ibrahim is one of a group of would-be pirates who were captured
He has admitted to trying to seize a U.S. merchant vessel and hold it for ransom
Until this year, the last piracy-related conviction in the United States was in 1861
(CNN) -- A federal court on Monday sentenced a Somali man to 30 years in prison for acts related to high-seas piracy, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
"Today marks the first sentencing in Norfolk for acts of piracy in more than 150 years," U.S. Attorney MacBride said in the statement. "Piracy is a growing threat throughout the world, and today's sentence ... demonstrates that the United States will hold modern-day pirates accountable in U.S. courtrooms."
Jama Idle Ibrahim pleaded guilty in federal court in August, admitting he had intended to seize a U.S. merchant vessel on April 10 and hold it for ransom.
Ibrahim and five other would-be pirates learned too late that they had instead pulled alongside a U.S. Naval vessel, the USS Ashland.
They were captured after firing at those on board, according to the statement.
The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Until this year, there had not been a piracy-related conviction in the United States since 1861, during the Civil War, officials said.
In May, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, who was accused of leading the attack on the Maersk Alabama in April 2009, pleaded guilty to felony counts of hijacking maritime vessels, kidnapping and hostage taking.
CNN's Terry Frieden contributed to this report
NewsPulse
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Explore the news with NewsPulse »

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


By Kathy S. Lawrence, Ph.D.
Summary: Nematodes have become an increasingly important disease issue in cotton production will likely increase in the future. This presentation will help consultants, county agents, growers, and other practitioners in the Southern U.S. cotton-producing states to understand more about plant parasitic nematodes, resistant cultivars, nematicides, rotations, and cover crops, which are widely used in cotton production. Specifically in this presentation, practitioners will learn: how much cotton yield loss is due to Root-knot and Reniform nematodes; the benefit of adding nematicides to high yielding cotton cultivars; and the advantages of crop rotations to reduce nematode population densities. By the end of this presentation, the practitioner should know more about the general use of nematicides, cultivar selections, and crop rotations and how to utilize them to achieve optimal cotton yields.


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Judge Jeanine Sounds Off - Reveals Who She Thinks Is Really Running The Biden White House – Rob Maness
Judge Jeanine Sounds Off – Reveals Who She Thinks Is Really Running The Biden White House
We know who isn't in charge - Joe Biden
Judge Jeanine Pirro spoke out on her show over the weekend to reveal who she thinks is really in charge of the White House right now, and it isn't Joe Biden.
Millions of Americans see Biden as a puppet, and have long speculated that someone else entirely is running the show in his White House.
"In case you didn't know it, Joe Biden is the president of the United States in name only. Someone else is running the White House," Pirro said on her Fox News show. "Barack Obama, maybe? Come along with me and see if what I say makes sense. Now, from the beginning of his campaign, we knew he wasn't right. We kept asking ourselves what was wrong with him. He was clearly confused, saying crazy things."
"We couldn't ask questions, because they kept pulling him back behind the COVID curtain as if they were hiding something," she added. "At the same time that President Trump was campaigning around the clock, Joe Biden was hunkered down under the COVID storm, at least until the inquiries passed. But even then, he was often unaware of where he was, or where he was going."
Not stopping there, Pirro proceeded to double down.
"No President in United States history has ever spoken like this," she said. "What are we supposed to conclude when the most powerful man in the free world says someone will reprimand him if he doesn't do what they tell him to do. Is someone else in charge?"
Do you think President Biden should be impeached for the crisis in Afghanistan and loss of American lives?
No, it wasn't his fault.
Pirro then noted that Biden's presidency has effectively been a third term for Obama in terms of his agenda.
"By the way, have you noticed Joe Biden is carrying out the same policies Barack Obama had?" she said. "Open borders, trashing the police, saying he's with an 'international community' when such is not the case…And by the way, how is it that Kamala Harris, who is Joe Biden's choice for vice president, was even given that opportunity given the fact that she called him out on his racist beliefs?"
"And why would someone as clueless as cackler Kamala, who had to drop out of a presidential primary because she couldn't get 1%, how is it that she's now the vice president of the United States?" Pirro concluded. "Think back to Barack Obama's affection for Kamala Harris."
Millions of Americans would agree with Pirro that someone else is running the show in Biden's White House. It continues to be a national embarrassment that someone like him is our president.
Check out Pirro's full segment on this below.
More from robmaness.com
How Bad Can Biden Do In Office? Ask Obama.
2024 Presidential Campaign Is On
The Media Continues To Commit Journalistic Malpractice By Not Asking Biden Pressing Questions


Leo: Seashore's Prince is the first red Special Hero in Fire Emblem Heroes.
Leo: Seashore's Prince is the third unit in the game whose stats have been fully powercrept. His stats were powercrept by Julius: Scion of Darkness.
Leo: Seashore's Prince is one of only three Special Heroes to maintain the same weapon type as his original version. The others are Tharja: "Normal Girl" and Hector: Just Here to Fight.


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Q: Connection String MVC 5 I am using ASP .NET MVC 5 and I want: when I am running the app it should automatically create SQL Data base. That is why, I am using Catalog=CodeFirstMyDB;  But it giving me connection String Error. Please help me fix it. Here is some screens...
CustomerRepository class
And this is web.config

A: Provided web.config file contains new line between "Initial" and "Catalog" in the connection string. SqlConnection constructor will fail with ArgumentException with message "Keyword not supported" in this case.


I wanted to make a fairy ring.
One problem was that I couldn't get the floor under the toadstools to turn grass green, even after several tweaks. Is there a way to do this? I thought KFEAT / KMONS would be able to do it.
I'd love to be able to use a specific statue tile, for example. 'G' seems to spawn a random one, so if I want to use four of the same statue in a vault, it's not too helpful.
Is there a certain type of vault the devs are most in need of at the moment? Or should I just stick to making arrival vaults for now.
Thanks to some help from ##crawl-dev, the fairy ring looks better now. The toadstools are on grass!
Still don't know how to make those special spriggans, though.
Actually, I heard that monsters can't be in LOS at the start of the game. Is this true? And if so, how does it work when an arrival vault has a monster deliberately placed within the player's LOS? Is it forcibly despawned or something?
What would happen if the troll is shuffled into the [ or ] positions?
Regarding different statue tiles, it's not possible. The game picks one randomly.
1. For features, the text in the third field of structures in the feature-data.h file are what you could use in KFEAT lines (this is documented in the feature_def struct).
2. For enchantments, I believe the list used is defined as enchant_names in mon-ench.cc. The order matches the order in enchant-type.h.
For feedback on your arrival vaults, they look good! Some advanced players complain about arrival vaults that don't have a door / chokepoint, since they make it harder to streak if you get unlucky spawns at the start. But I wouldn't worry about it, as so many existing arrival vaults are like this and there's no real desire to change them.
wb_arrival_undead_gaol seems very similar to existing vaults (I know past arrival vaults have been rejected for copying the "monster zoo" gimmick without adding anything new).
Thanks, chequers! You've been a big help!
Btw, the floor coloring thing is messing with me again.
I've tried several different tweaks, but I can't get the gravestone to sit on floor_grass. Like it's being overwritten.
Do you happen to know what I'm doing wrong?
Sorry for the never-ending string of questions.
That arrival vault with gold shouldn't have gold. A spoiled player would want to avoid letting the gold into LOS until they find a Gozag or Zin altar, then come back to pick up the gold.
Also can we just remove runed doors, since only like 2% of vaults use them properly?
You're right that I wasn't using the runed doors properly.
I also reduced the gold in the dragon lair vault with "KITEM: $ = q:3 gold". Hopefully that lessens the problem you mentioned?
As soon as I can figure out what's wrong with the gravestone and floor_grass in the peaceful grave vault, I think I'll try submitting my stuff.
It's going to have the problem no matter how little or how much gold you put in it. Put nothing there or put stones or clubs there or something, gold is literally the only item that has this problem. (You should avoid putting anything good enough to encourage startscumming, of course).
chequers wrote: Regarding different statue tiles, it's not possible.
This will make all "G"s use the elephant statue tile. Replace "dngn_statue_elephant" with whatever tile you want to use. I don't know the other statue tile names off the top of my head; the elephant one was just easy to find because it's used in the Jungle Book Lair end.
I tried out a couple (naga & angel) and they worked! I'll make good use of this in the future.
Update: I fixed those issues I was having and submitted the vaults. Thank you to everyone who helped!
I might use this thread again when I get around to making another batch (assuming I come across more problems).


An Open Letter to Those Colleges and Universities that have Assigned Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as the "Common" Freshmen Reading for the Class of 2016 | Brown Town.
What makes the racism of Skloot's account all the more insidious is that she could have foreclosed my accusation that she was unquestioningly appropriating Henrietta Lacks's body by admitting that Henrietta's self-touching was, indeed, a fabrication, a "it-could-have-happened-like-this" situation. She could have admitted the unreliability of her narration. Instead of self-reflecting, Skloot turns the criticism outward, recounting in great detail how difficult it was for her to get Henrietta's story. As a result, the black characters in her story are racialized but she is not. They have the problem with racial difference, not her. She has less to get over than them; she comes in earnestness; she can be trusted. So she says. And so we believe. We learn so much about the fears and hesitations of the Lacks's family toward this white writer but nevertheless come to trust Skloot more than the Lackses; she is the voice of reason. And so we come to suspend our disbelief and go on thinking that it is fine and ethical for her to rewrite Henrietta Lacks's body in an intimate moment that may not, in fact, even have happened. Yet the proclamation of the book's truth content begs an analysis of Skloot. What feelings of privilege and authority over another's body must a writer possess in order to rewrite an already exploited body and call it "non-fiction"?
~ by Tichaona Munhamo on August 29, 2012.


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Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Warns Americans About Fake News and Taking Democracy for Granted
By Shane Croucher On 1/1/20 at 11:12 AM EST
U.S. Supreme Court Fake news
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts warned that Americans are taking democracy for granted and said they must learn how the government works amid the proliferation of disinformation on the internet.
Roberts made the remarks in his annual report for 2019 as he prepares to preside over a Senate trial of President Donald Trump, who was impeached by the House shortly before Christmas.
The most senior judge in the federal judiciary used a story about a rumor from the late 18th century to illustrate his point about the pernicious effect of gossip and disinformation.
Reports that medical students in New York were robbing graves sparked outrage and sparked a riot when one specific rumor claimed they had taken the corpse of a schoolboy's mother to use for dissection. The rioters stormed the hospital and the students sought shelter in a nearby jail.
Conspiracy Theories Are Underpinned by the 'Overcoming the Monster' Story
Fox Anchor Confronts Pence Aide Over Trump Belief in Ukraine Interference
Twitter Founder Backs Social Media Overhaul to Stop Disinformation
One of the people that sought to break up the rioters was the founding father John Jay, who lived close to the scene, but he was hit by a rock and injured.
"It is sadly ironic that John Jay's efforts to educate his fellow citizens about the Framers' plan of government fell victim to a rock thrown by a rioter motivated by a rumor," Roberts wrote in his report.
"Happily, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay ultimately succeeded in convincing the public of the virtues of the principles embodied in the Constitution. Those principles leave no place for mob violence.
"But in the ensuing years, we have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside.
"In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public's need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital."
The American intelligence community is expecting Russia to step up its efforts to sow disinformation and exacerbate divisions in U.S. society during the 2020 election, a repeat of its cyberwarfare activity in 2016.
A study on fake news published in a 2018 edition of the journal Science found that it "took the truth about six times as long as falsehood to reach 1,500 people."
"False political news traveled deeper and more broadly, reached more people, and was more viral than any other category of false information," the study said.
"False political news also diffused deeper more quickly and reached more than 20,000 people nearly three times faster than all other types of false news reached 10,000 people."
Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts waits to administer the oath of office for the new Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the U.S. Treasury Building, July 10, 2006 in Washington DC. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Warns Americans About Fake News and Taking Democracy for Granted | U.S.


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Emiliano Sala's father
Emiliano Sala's Father Dies, Three Months After Son's Death
Emiliano Sala's father has died, three months after the death of his footballer son in a plane crash in the English Channel.
Horacio Sala, 58, died after suffering a heart attack in the early hours of Friday morning at his home in Progreso in Argentina's Santa Fe province.
Progreso mayor, Julio Muller, in a statement issued to local radio station La Red, said: "2019 doesn't let up in shocking us with news in this town.
"At five o'clock in the morning, the lady, his wife, rang me and she was very upset. The doctors were there but when I arrived at their home, he had already died."
"He could never get over Emi's death," Muller said, citing "a heart problem" as the cause of the father's death.
Horacio's 28-year-old son, Emiliano, tragically lost his life along with pilot, David Ibbotson, in a plane crash along the English channel in January, while traveling from Nantes to Cardiff.
The Argentine footballer's body was recovered on 6 February after a private search, but 59-year-old Ibbotson's body was never found.
Five Things You Didn't Know About Emiliano Sala
Cardiff CityEmiliano Sala


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Last look at Memorial Day 2013
When we think of heroes, what comes to mind? Some fictional good guy flying around in the latest big-screen comic-book adventure? Perhaps, but with the arrival of another Memorial Day, I'd like to suggest someone more fitting: a U.S. Navy SEAL named Mike Monsoor.
As former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reminds us in his new book, "Rumsfeld's Rules," the SEALs go through the toughest training of any military unit in the world. It shows. Consider what happened with Mike.
Mike hailed from a family that knew a thing or two about service. His father was a Marine, and his mother was a social worker. He grew up fighting asthma, but persevered in high school to make the football team and become a superb athlete.
In March 2001, Mike made the courageous decision that millions of men and women, his father included, have made: to serve our country. He enlisted in the Navy.
Three years later, he passed the rigorous training that less than one-third of his fellow trainees finish to become a Navy SEAL. He was now a frogman, one of the members of the Navy's elite forces. In spring 2006, he was deployed to Ramadi, Iraq, where he served as a machine-gunner and a communications operator in military operations against insurgents.
Through 35 heated firefights, his SEAL team remained undeterred by the enemy. On Sept. 29, 2006, Mike was providing security at a sniper lookout post with some other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers. As Mike and his team scanned the area for the enemy, an insurgent threw a fragmentation grenade at the team's position.
The grenade hit Mike in the chest before falling to the ground. In an instant every man on that roof could have died. But Mike would not let that happen.
President George W. Bush described this SEAL's act of courage at Mike's Medal of Honor ceremony:
"Mike had a clear chance to escape, but he realized that the other two SEALs did not. In that terrible moment, he had two options — to save himself or to save his friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself onto the grenade and absorbed the blast with his body. One of the survivors put it this way: 'Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, you cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'"
Mike died 30 minutes later from wounds sustained from the blast. He'd saved the lives of his two teammates and the Iraqi army soldiers on that roof. This courage was not lost on his SEAL brethren. Mike's funeral is thought to be the largest public gathering of SEALs in the history of the United States.
As the casket was taken from the hearse to the grave site, SEALs lined the path and slapped their Tridents, a pin with the official symbol of having completed SEAL training, onto the top of Mike's coffin. Mr. Bush said, "The procession went on nearly half an hour, and when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten."
No one really understands how the bold colors of a hero's soul are formed, but we do know that without heroes, our nation would not endure.
Americans are courageous in many ways.
Few of us have that level of courage. Yet we demonstrate it in different ways. We say what we think, and we stand up for our beliefs.
Ed Feulner is the founder of the Heritage Foundation.
David Specht


I found the owner very rude, as did the rest of our group !
The two female owners are very rude & one told me that the other doesn't like teenage boys. They stalled my sons always looking for them to do something wrong. Then they would come over to the site & complain, then the other owner would apologize for the other owner telling me she doesn't like kids. Definitely NOT a family friendly campground!! Would never recommend this place EVER!!!! Going back to Acres of Wildlife which is so very kid friendly!!!
When entering the campground from the east, the signs are not very noticeable. In addition, if you have a large trailer or fifth wheel, you will need to take up both lanes of traffic due to the sharp turn and guard rail. Since there was traffic coming from the west, we could not make the turn and had to back up on the road (luckily the traffic behind us either knew or was accommodating) and drive past and find a place to turn around. Much easier entering from the west.
We have been staying at this campground for the last 9 years and just love it. The service is great and they have a very clean facility. Great location.
I can't say enough good things about the Beaver Dam Campground. The cleanliness, the sites that aren't crammed onto cement pads, the friendly owners and quiet quaint setting. I love going here in September when it is a little quieter then during the height of summer. Have been coming here for 5 years to compete in a local triathlon and have enjoyed every year.
The campground was a place my husband knew as a fishing spot with his dad over60 years ago.after finding no hotel availability in area for his 50th hs reunion he recalled this place and we booked. The site was waterfront and very private .the lovely woman running the office/ store was very helpful. The only weird thing was we found almost no one outside of their rvs , only one or two two tents while we were there in our little Scotty retro camper . Maybe because it was late sept? We enjoyed having our space nevertheless . Bathrooms were spotless .
We have been vacationing for the past few years at Beaver Dam Campground we love it I can't think of anything negative about the place. We will be continuing to vacation here for years to come.
The campground is spotless, beautiful and very quiet. It is small but has everything that you need. My family prefers the small atmosphere as opposed to the large, crowded campgrounds.
This was the worst time I have ever spent at a campground. Please this place is in terrible condition first. The sewer connections were broken, rusty nails at the mine area, snakes at the beach, old watercraft, all the tree roots are above ground, the parking area could call it a boulder area. There are hidden fees, The (Owner)has a nasty attitude. I have never been treated like that anywhere. She wanted to charge my guests 6.00 dollars a piece to come in to the campground. She expected them to walk through the campground with no lights a very long distance from the rock filled parking lot to my site. Only one vehicle at the site. I was stuck in between three other campers who constantly complained to the owner when there was a car parked near me, when my two year old grand nieces giggles were to loud, when I had a campfire. The game room is in a garage, there were old peddle cars in the movie garage space, the office was in terrible condition and has never been cleaned. Over all the worse time I have ever had. Please do not go there and waste your money and be treated like that.
Lovely peaceful stay, staff very pleasent. met other like minded campers.will stay again.
© Copyright 2013-2019 Leisure Interactive, LLC.


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what is the gut?
Intro to the gut
what is the gut?The gut microbiomewhat influences the gut?the gut through the agesthe gut glossarybullsh!t bin
Gut more about…
the brainthe rest of the bodydisease & immunityhormonesskinsleepexercisealcoholleaky gutgrowing guts
I've Gutta Problem
conditionsallergiesapproaching your GPwho to see about your gut symptomsfurther reading
gut tips
dietsugarfibrehydrationprebiotics & probioticsexercisetuning inmental health & stressalcohol
Recipesfermenting how-tosfermenting FAQs
Gut educated
EventsWorkplace wellness
Written by Dr. Jenna Macciochi
Ask your grandparents. It's likely that when they were children, they had probably never heard of anyone being allergic to milk or to peanuts. In fact, before the 1990s, peanut allergies were so rare that barely any data on them were collected (1). And what about now? One can bet for sure you know people who have (or claim to have) an allergy.
It's clear that the incidence of allergies is now steeply climbing, showing no signs of abating. Worryingly, the UK has among the highest prevalence in Europe with over 20% of the UK population affected by one or more allergic disorders (2, 3). This brings with it a daily fear of a possible asthma attack, the persistent uncomfortable itch to anaphylactic shock from an allergic reaction.
The increasing number of allergy cases is mainly in children making it the most common chronic condition in kids. Childhood allergies that most children normally resolve or 'outgrow' are starting to continue into adulthood, bringing yet another worry to burden parents.
But what exactly is an allergy?
A true allergy is a medical condition that results from your immune system inappropriately reacting to something harmless in our environment called an allergen (4). The immune response, called an allergic reaction, occurs because of this overshooting to something that doesn't actually cause much of a threat. Like pollen in the case of hayfever, or to specific foods such as peanuts. The symptoms of an allergic reaction depend on where in your body it is occurring (for example, skin, lungs or digestive tract). Hay fever, for instance, affects the nose and eyes, while eczema affects the skin. They can range from mild (itchy mouth, a few hives) to severe (throat tightening, difficulty breathing). Other conditions such as asthma, which affects the lungs is closely related to an allergy but with slight differences to the underlying causes.
Food allergies affect the gut, skin, airways, lungs, and sometimes the entire body through the blood vessels. This can lead to anaphylaxis – a serious whole-body allergic reaction that is sudden in onset and can cause death. More than 170 foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions with eight major food allergens – milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and crustacean shellfish – (responsible for most of the serious food allergy reactions) with an allergy to sesame becoming an emerging concern (5).
Whilst we have treatments for the symptoms of allergies, we do not yet have a cure or the ability to prevent them from developing in the first place.
And what isn't an allergy?
It's easy to confuse a food allergy with a much more common reaction known as food intolerance. While bothersome, and despite many shared unpleasant symptoms, food intolerance is a less serious condition that does not involve the immune system. Unlike a food allergy, intolerances generally occur because your body cannot properly break down food or the food irritates your digestive tract. Broadly categorised as physiological (e.g. lactose enzyme deficiency), functional (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome in response to FODMAPs) or pharmacological (e.g. sensitivity to food additives or components of foods, such as sulfites) (8). Intolerances can also be psychological (e.g. eating disorder) or in some cases without a defined cause (idiosyncratic) (6).
Allergic reactions to food can be life-threatening and require a strict exclusion of the offending food. Food intolerances, which can be unpleasant, do not pose the same threats. Complete exclusion might not be the best approach for food intolerances in the long term.
Unlike an allergy, a number of studies have found that having small amounts of offending foods with meals reduces the chances of experiencing symptoms of intolerance after consumption (7). Self-diagnosis of intolerances is extremely common, up to 20% of the UK population is estimated to have altered their diet to exclude foods based on a perceived 'intolerance'. In fact Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is now a clinical condition reflecting the recognition of the growing number of people who exhibit food-avoidant and restrictive eating behaviours (8). It is important to speak with a healthcare professional before removing suspect foods from your diet. 34% of parents reported food allergies in their children but only 5% were found to have a true allergy (9). Implementing these unnecessarily restrictive diets are actually leading to malnutrition in kids (10). Avoiding certain foods in early life actually doesn't pay off in preventing food allergies since early exposure is actually protective (11).
A food allergy is:
an adverse response by your immune system
usually comes on suddenly
triggered by a small amount of food
happens every time you eat the food regardless of how much or how frequently
can be life-threatening
A food intolerance is:
not mediated by your immune system
usually comes on gradually
often relates to the amount of food
often relates to the frequency of eating the food
is not life-threatening
Immunologist Dr. Jenna Macciochi unravels the science underlying strong immunity and teaches us how to be well in a modern world. Currently a lecturer at the University of Sussex, she specialises in understanding how nutrition, lifestyle, and gut health interact with the immune system in health and disease. Jenna is a Brighton (UK) based mum to twins, a perpetual kitchen experimenter with a passion for movement and exercise.
allergies in the modern world
Umasunthar, T., Leonardi-Bee, J., Hodes, M., Turner, P. J., Gore, C., Habibi, P., … Boyle, R. J. (2013). Incidence of fatal food anaphylaxis in people with food allergy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical and Experimental Allergy : Journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 43(12), 1333–1341.https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.12211
Levy, M. L., Price, D., Zheng, X., Simpson, C., Hannaford, P., & Sheikh, A. (2004). Inadequacies in UK primary care allergy services: national survey of current provisions and perceptions of need. Clinical <html_ent Glyph="@amp;" Ascii="&"/> Experimental Allergy, 34(4), 518–519. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2222.2004.1945.x
Gupta, R., Sheikh, A., Strachan, D. P., & Anderson, H. R. (2007, January). Time trends in allergic disorders in the UK. Thorax. https://doi.org/10.1136/thx.2004.038844
Making Sense of Allergies: A guide to what allergies are (and aren't) and the evidence for causes and treatments (2015). Sense About Sciencehttps://senseaboutscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Making-Sense-of-Allergies-1.pdf
'Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel' (2010) Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 126(6 SUPPL.). doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.007.
Zopf, Y. et al. (2009) 'The differential diagnosis of food intolerance.', DeutschesArzteblatt international. Deutscher Arzte-Verlag GmbH, 106(21), pp. 359–69; quiz 369–70; 4 p following 370. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2009.0359.
Savaiano, D. A. et al. (2013) 'Improving lactose digestion and symptoms of lactose intolerance with a novel galacto-oligosaccharide (RP-G28): A randomized, double-blind clinical trial', Nutrition Journal. BioMed Central Ltd., 12(1). doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-12-160.
Thomas, J. J. et al. (2017) 'Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: a Three-Dimensional Model of Neurobiology with Implications for Etiology and Treatment',Current Psychiatry Reports. Current Medicine Group LLC 1. doi: 10.1007/s11920-017-0795-5.
Venter, C. et al. (2008) 'Prevalence and cumulative incidence of food hypersensitivity in the first 3 years of life', Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 63(3), pp. 354–359. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01570.x.
Isolauri, E. et al. (1998) 'Elimination diet in cow's milk allergy: Risk for impaired growth in young children', The Journal of Pediatrics. Mosby, 132(6), pp. 1004–1009. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3476(98)70399-3.
Du Toit, G. et al. (2015) 'Randomized trial of peanut consumption in infants at risk for peanut allergy.', The New England journal of medicine. NIH Public Access, 372(9), pp. 803–13. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1414850.
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Q: How to get the value of a select's option by its text I have a dropdown similar to the following:
<select type="select" id="ddl">
    <option value="0">Select...</option>
    <option value="1">Blue</option>
    <option value="2">Red</option>
    <option value="3">Green</option>
    <option value="4">Yellow</option>
</select>

I need to get the value of an option when I have the text, independent of whether anything is selected or not.
I tried $('#ddl[text=Blue]).value(), but that wouldn't work. I don't know what else to try.
Thanks.
SELECT EXAMPLE FIXED (I copy/pasted the wrong line - sheesh! ;) )

A: There are a few issues with your code:
$('#ddlDirector[text=Blue]).value()

*

*The id is just ddl, not ddlDirector.

*You're trying to apply an attribute-equals selector to that element (when you want to apply it to the <option> elements inside it).

*You're trying to use an attribute-equals selector, but there's no text attribute on the <option> elements.

You could use the :contains selector:
$('#ddl option:contains("Blue")').val();

If you're going to be using it a lot it may be worth creating a function to do it:
function getValueFromText(selectId, optionText) {
    return $('#' + selectId + ' option:contains("' + optionText + '")').val();
}

Then call it with:
var blueValue = getValueFromText('ddl', 'Blue');

A: I can think of two options:
The first would work if a wildcard search is ok (ex. matches both "Blue" and "Blues"):
$('#ddl option:contains("Blue")').val();

This will find an exact matches only:
$('#ddl option').filter(function() { return $(this).text() == 'Blue'; }).val();

http://jsfiddle.net/TEqef/

A: JSFiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/thfg5/2/
var color = "Red";
alert($('#ddl option:contains("' + color + '")').attr("value"));


I've been looking at the Google Chromebook, and I have to say I am seriously impressed. There's a lot of talk about tablets these days. I myself have promoted the idea of Bring Your Own Technology, which usually means a phone or a tablet. But the Google Chromebook is worthy of consideration, whether for yourself, or whether you're considering taking your school into the mobile future.
In order to thoroughly evaluate the Chromebook from a school perspective, I not only used the device myself, but interviewed Bruno Reddy, Head of Maths at the King Solomon Academy in London, and Jaime Casap, Global Education Evangelist at Google.
I use a keyboard with my iPad, but it's a separate keyboard. I like the fact that the Chromebook's keyboard is built in. I do a lot of writing, and find using an on-screen keyboard uncomfortable, and not as fast.
I'm no weakling, but why lug around a laptop that weighs a lot when you can enjoy pretty much the same functionality without all those extra pounds?
I keep my desktop computer pretty clean. I defrag it every week or so, and run a cleaner on it at least once a day. Even so, my routine now is to switch it on and then go and do something else, like make myself a cup of tea, while it's grinding into life. It's quick once it gets going, but getting going is where it's slow.
The Chromebook, on the other hand, simply springs into life. Apparently, it takes 8 seconds. That's impressive.
The Chromebook uses Google Docs by default, and stores everything in the cloud. Backup is therefore immediate and not even something you need to think about.
You can work offline too, which is handy for when you don't have an internet connection.
I don't think the Chromebook will replace my iPad or desktop. However, when I come to making my next laptop purchasing decision the Chromebook will definitely be a top contender.
But that's just me, and there is a world of difference between what works for an individual, and what works for a school.
As Jaime Casap told me, any mobile solution has to be scaleable, whether you're talking about a single class set of 30, to a major campus of 30,000. The admin side of things is crucial, because teachers do not have the time or the inclination to sort it out. Management of any device has to be seamless and transparent as far as the teacher and pupil are concerned.
Casap informed me that all the admin is done in the cloud – another advantage if you think about it, because it means that the network manager can make changes during the school holidays, say, without even needing to come into school. That kind of facility also works well when severe whether prevents travel.
The network manager can, using domain rules, determine who gets access to what. As Casap says, it's not about the device, it's about the user experience.
From the user's point of view, they have the same experience whether they are in school or at home – or on holiday. From the school's point of view, access can be allowed only via the school's network, thereby according a measure of security.
As for viruses and other malware, that sort of thing is taken care of automatically, and in the background. Even operating system updates, which take place every six weeks, are something that nobody at the school has to worry about.
Well, Jaime would sing its praises, wouldn't he? After all, his job title includes the word "Evangelist". So what is like at the proverbial chalkface?
Bruno Reddy considered other mobile solutions, but has found that the Chromebook has everything he needs from an educational point of view. It has a keyboard, which is good for longer writing pieces, is robust enough to be subject to intensive use, and is easy to manage. Moreover, the battery lasts all day (8 to 10 hours), which is essential in a school setting, and the fast boot-up time means that kids aren't tempted to mess around while they're waiting.
Reddy makes use of all the Google Apps tools available, such as Google Presentation, Blogger, YouTube and others. Furthermore, he never requires technical support.
I realise that this article sounds like an advert for Chromebooks, but having tried it out for myself I think it is definitely worth considering. It does have some disadvantages when compared with a tablet. For example, using the camera facility to make a video on the move is a bit awkward because you have the keyboard part of the device to contend with.
Also, some of the great apps available for tablets aren't available for the Chromebook. Mind you, there are plenty of others, and you may be able to find a substitute that works just as well as any apps you especially like.
As well as the good aspects already noted, though, is the price: on average around £200 for a device which includes access to all the software you'll need.
Of course, there's no law against having a "mixed economy". That is to say, you could have tablets and Chromebooks available for staff and pupils to use, depending on what they want to use them for. But things to bear in mind if that sounds attractive are as follows.
First, how much capacity the technical support person or team has, because they will need to work with two different systems.
Second, where will stuff be saved? It's an important question, because the cloud that, say, the iPad uses, and the one that Google uses, are not the same. It's not an insuperable problem, but you will need protocols or a technical solution or both.
But as far as the device itself is concerned, the Chromebook is ideal for use in schools.
This article was first published in Digital Education.
Read more about it, and subscribe, on the Newsletter page of the ICT in Education website. We use a double opt-in system, and you won't get spammed.


OERTLI manufactures tools for mechanised woodworking and specialises in solid wood. The specialist in system tools for the window and door industry is represented by six subsidiaries and numerous partner companies worldwide. The company employs a total of 240 members of staff and has an annual group turnover of CHF 40 million.
Since 39 years OERTLI is represented with its own subsidiary in Germany with headquarters in Adelmannsfelden.


text:
HomeClub InfoBy The Numbers
By The Numbers	admin	2019-07-08T19:14:25+00:00
Northern Lights undisputedly has had the most competitive club program in the North Country Region, has qualified more teams for the USAV Junior National Championships than any club in Minnesota, is the only club in Minnesota to win USAV National Championships, and is the only club in Minnesota to win AAU Open National Championships. Here is a breakdown of our major successes:
In the last 15 years….
US Junior National Championships
151 teams in attendance
24 medals (16% of all teams)
7 National Championships
5 National Championships in the Open Division
72 All-Tournament players
AAU National Championships
249 All-American players
145 medals (24% of all teams)
51 Championships
Post-Northern Lights
25 players per year (average) go on to compete in college
Approximately 36% have been recruited to NCAA Division I schools


text:
WND Columnist Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory Du Jour
Over the past few years, first, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned about a pandemic that would happen in "President Trump's first term," then Bill Gates parroted the coming of "Disease X" throughout 2018. Finally, the World Health Organization (WHO) sold pandemic bonds last year. The most conspicuous type of predictive programming, however, came from the WHO's newly formed Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB). Last September, months before the first people showed up sick with the strange pneumonia in Wuhan hospitals, the GPMB published its first annual report, "A World At Risk."
In the lead-up to the actual coronavirus epidemic emanating out of Wuhan, China, the pandemic players worked overtime to condition the public about the near future outbreak. Another finding in the Rockefeller Foundation report pointed to people surrendering rights in exchange for public safety, even when some states enacted strict draconian measures.
Today, with the novel virus waning, with herd immunity established in parts of Europe, New York and California, among other places, talks of lockdowns continue to populate the news. Why? It makes little sense in light of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revising its data on deaths due to COVID alone, down to 6%, or roughly 10,000 deaths in the past six months. Add the much-maligned and misused PCR-test, in which 90% of the "positive cases" either picked up low viral loads that can't be transmitted or different strains of other viruses. Death counts and cases need to be revised downward.
In effect, the pandemic is over.
Then why do Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, the CDC and the WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom continue to predict a more virulent second wave of COVID coming this fall?
Then there are rumors about brucellosis poisoning the food supply from at least two different sources – with no evidence. If the brucella bacteria were used as a bioweapon, several questions are raised. How would it be deployed? Who would be the target? What would be the desired outcome the terrorists want to achieve?
If they use a bioweapon in the weeks running up to the volatile election, it would be an ideal time to launch such a stealth attack. With the news media and people's attention glued to the riots, fires and looting, delivering a Trojan horse aimed at children and young adults – the main demographics left untouched by COVID – would create instant chaos and confusion, and a perfect smokescreen for a coup.
Today, with CRISPR snipping technology, with Dr. Anthony Fauci offshoring gain-of-function research to the Wuhan Bioweapons Lab in China, among other Southeast Asian nations, brucellosis could be weaponized. Imagine inserting Bat-SARS strands, GP-120 spike proteins and HIV elements, while reducing the lab-modified germ's incubation period to a few days. Aerosolized, the corona-brucella bioweapon could be exported to the United States and, in a relatively straightforward step, be sprayed onto foods in unprotected production plants before being frozen or blended with dairy products.
With all of the focus on vote-by-mail fraud post-election, suddenly, thousands of people who want to vote in person on Election Day are discouraged from doing so, scared away, quarantined, or caught up in the new rounds of lockdowns.
In this war game scenario, a coup to steal the election wouldn't occur after Election Day, but many weeks prior. By using a Trojan horse to carry the food-borne attack, no one would know what hit them. At least, not until well after the election. By then, it might be too late to overturn results.
Naturally, such an event would give Fauci, Gates and Tedros ammunition to boast that they warned America about the return of a devastating second wave of COVID. Like 9/11, in the aftermath of a brucella attack more civil rights would be lost and stolen.
Thus, the first tell that a war game is on would be when clusters of children fall ill.
This fall, keep your eyes open.
-- James Grundvig, Sept. 11 WorldNetDaily column
MRC's Graham Demands False Equivalence On Fact-Checking
The Media Research Center's Tim Graham keeps trying to dunk on fact-checkers, and he continues to fail. He ranted in a Sept. 4 column:
Apparently, the proper role of the "independent fact-checker" during today's presidential campaign is to present the consistent opinion that Joe Biden is a force for truth and light, and President Donald Trump is a rampaging liar who never says anything true.
No one should suggest that these "fact-checker" groups need to parcel their rulings out in a completely even fashion so everyone gets a participation trophy for being half-right. But the dramatic tilt in these "fact-checkers" betrays an obvious partisan bias.
Just look at PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter rulings for Biden for the month of August: Mostly True, Mostly True, Mostly True, Mostly True, Mostly True and Half True.
Now let's compare that to Trump's August Truth-O-Meter rulings: one Half True, two Mostly False, 11 False and four Pants on Fire.
Overall, from the start of 2019 through August 2020, Trump has gotten 197 Truth-O-Meter ratings, and Biden has only gotten 64. Trump rated Mostly False or worse in 156 of them (79 percent). He was only Mostly True or True in 17 ratings (8.6 percent). By contrast, Biden rated Mostly True or True in more than half: 33 of 64 (52 percent), and then there are 29 Mostly False or worse (45 percent).
Does anyone less partisan than Brian Stelter think these "fact-checkers" should boast of their "independence"?
As usually happens when he makes this complaint, Graham offers no evidence that Biden tells falsehoods at the same rate as Trump, or that there's any reason to fact-check Biden at the same rate as Trump other than his demand for false equivalence. Nevertheless, he continued:
Some might suggest this is just about a serious aversion to Trump's casual relationship with the truth. So let's take a broader view. Take the dates of the party conventions, from the start of the Democratic one, on Aug. 17, to the aftermath of the Republican one, on Aug. 28. Over those 12 days, PolitiFact checked Republicans and their affiliated PACs and pundits 32 times and only checked Democrats and their equivalents 11 times. The disparity of checks alone implies a partisan tilt.
Again, Graham offered no evidence that Democrats told falsehoods at an equivalent rate to Republicans. The only thing being "implied" here is that Graham cannot be bothered to do even the most basic research to lend any kind of factual basis to his biased, partisan rantings.
Desperate to spin away any suggestion, no matter how well documented, that Trump is an inveterate liar, Graham spent a Sept. 13 MRC post whining that Trump's claims of mail-in voting being massively fraudulent were being fact-checked. In devising a new spin on Trump falsehoods, he insulted a Washington Post fact-checker as not smart enough to tell the difference between a fact, and a prediction," going on to huff: "This is one of the most annoying dirty tricks of the 'fact checking' trade. Smear your target as a 'liar' because you don't like the predictions they're making."
There is a long history of mail-in voting not being fraudulent, but Graham doesn't want to talk about that. He still in campaign-style spin mode as befits the MRC's status as themedia arm for the Trump campaign:
That's not to say that everything Trump says about mail-in voting is impeccable. Constantly predicting the election will be "rigged" or fraudulent is inflammatory, but it's in the future, so it's not factual/unfactual. Rizzo and his bosses don't care. They want the "fusillades of falsehood" headline and all the clicks that come from the trash talk.
The Post and other Democrat-helper media outlets have an emotional investment in crushing anyone claiming mail-in voting could be problematic.
Graham clearly has an emotional investment in trying to discredit fact-checkers because they threaten Trump's re-election by telling the truth about the president.
Graham managed to appear even more desperate in a Sept. 17 appearance on the right-wing safe space that is Newsmax TV:
NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham appeared on Newsmax on Wednesday night to hammer the liberal media for fake and misleading fact checking. Talking about the grilling Donald Trump endured during his Tuesday night town hall on ABC, Graham dismissed the efforts of host George Stephanopoulos as "I'm a Democrat. I'm going to stick up for the Democrats."
He zinged, "It's not fact checking. It's just playing the Democratic Party rebuttal."
That's not a "zing" -- that's flailing spin from someone who might as well be on the Trump campaign payroll (if he isn't already).
CNS Is So Pro-Trump, It Won't Even Bash His Pro-Gay Leanings
How extreme is the pro-Trump bias at CNSNews.com? Its resident gay-hater can't even be bothered to criticize a Trump endorsement from a gay politician.
Managing editor Michael W. Chapman is virulently anti-LGBT, to the point that until now, his pro-Trump agenda stopped only when Trump didn't hate gays to his satisfaction. But the current CNS policy is publish no negative Trump coverage whatsoever, so when former German ambassador and former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell -- who, when he was appointed to the DNI position earlier this year, CNS made sure (via anonymously written articles) grumbled that he was "a gay man with a same-sex partner" and that he claimed "you can be gay and be a Christian" -- issued a full-throated endorsement of Trump last month, Chapman didn't seem to know what to make of it and, surprisingly, just repeated what Grenell said (presumably through clenched teeth):
In a video distributed by the Log Cabin Republicans, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell states that Trump is the "most pro-gay president in American history." In a Twitter response to the video, Trump declared, "My great honor!!!"
Grenell, who is gay, served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany (2018-20) and as Acting Director of National Intelligence (2/20/20 - 5/26/20) under President Trump. The Log Cabin Republicans "is the nation's largest Republican organization dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives and allies," according to its website.
"I know firsthand that President Trump is the strongest ally that gay Americans have ever had in the White House. Donald Trump is the first president in American history to be pro-gay marriage from his first day in office. ..."
In response to the video in an Aug. 20 re-tweet, President Trump said, "My great honor!!!"
It's telling that Chapman spends about half this article bashing and lecturing Joe Biden -- and not Trump -- over his evolving stance on gay rights. He fleshed out Grenell's statement that "Joe Biden said gay people couldn't receive security clearances because we would be a security risk" by admitting Biden said it in 1973 -- nearly 50 years ago, though it's likely that Trump had that same stance at that time -- then huffed that Biden's views have "evolved" and that he now "supports the LGBT agenda and even officiated at a gay 'wedding' at his home in August 2016," adding that "Biden's support (and votes) for homosexual behavior and so-called gay marriage are in direct conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church, of which he is a member."
But a week later, when the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce endorsed Biden, Chapman was back to his usual gay-bashing ways, devoting three paragraphs to complaining that "Biden would mandate that biological males who identify as females would be allowed to compete in real women's sports and use facilities created for real females." And he complained again that "Biden, a pro-LGBT Catholic, officiated a gay 'marriage' at his home in 2016." Chapman did not mention Trump at all in this article, let alone Grenell's endorsement of Trump.
The same day, CNS published an anonymously written article uncritically touting how "President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has posted a background paper arguing that Joe Biden's record on LGBT issues is 'nothing to be proud of' because Biden, in the past, was often not an aggressive champion of the LBGT cause."
That's the power of CNS' pro-Trump stenography right now.
Updated: Sunday, September 27, 2020 11:33 AM EDT
MRC Mad GOP Congressman Got Caught Editing A Video (Not At The Edit)
In addition to defending the worst people in the name of "free speech," the Media Research Center gets mad when their fellow conservatives get busted messing with video clips, apparently believing that the right to manipulation is "free speech" as well. Kayla Sargent complained in an Aug. 31 post:
Twitter has, once again, bowed to pressure from the left to silence conservatives.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) reportedly removed a video from his Twitter account on Sunday after the platform flagged the video as having been "manipulated."
The video featured Ady Barkan, a man with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), in an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden discussing police reform. Barkan speaks with the help of computerized voice assistance.
In the original video, Biden discussed his plans for police reform, and Barkin asked "But do we agree that we can redirect some of the funding?" Biden then replied, "Yes, absolutely."
The Scalise video had reportedly added the words "for police" to the end of Barkin's question, according to Fox News. As Fox reported, "The context of the original exchange made clear that Barkan was talking about redirecting police funding, but the edit drew strong criticism nevertheless."
No, Twitter is not trying to "silence conservatives"; it's trying to shut down manipulated images and videos. If Scalise had not manipulated the video, this would not be an issue. Sargent and the MRC are simply mad that Scalise got caught doing it -- and to someone it had dismissed as a "radical-left activist" just a month earlier and as a "far-left activist" a couple weeks earlier when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention. (No explanation, of course, of what exactly makes Barkan "radical" or "far-left"; he must be demonized no matter what).
The MRC, meanwhile, is certainly not going to tell readers what Barkan had to say a couple days later about conservative media outlets like the MRC who bolstered Scalise's misleading video:
Scalise has since conceded the video "shouldn't have been edited" in an interview on Fox News — even as he attempted to claim there was an underlying truthfulness to the message. That isn't the same as an apology to me, or, more important, the more than 2 million people in this country who communicate using assistive technology like I do.
It's specifically insulting to witness actors with the worst intentions hijack the technology that has allowed me to speak to try to speak for me, but this duplicity also exposes the broader information crisis in our society. When President Trump claimed, as he did in the run-up to the 2018 election, that a "migrant caravan" threatened the safety of the United States, he was bolstered by a vast conservative media that runs coverage amplifying his claims from morning to midnight. The inauguration crowd size, the repeated lies about voter fraud, claims about wiretapping, all of it is part of an attempt to shear one half of America away from the other by creating an alternate reality for Trump's supporters.
In that context, "deepfakes" such as the one Scalise posted aren't missteps. They're disinformation test balloons that should put every single one of us on alert. If they can without consequence make it seem as though I said something I didn't, what else can they do? What else will they do? What fearmongering words can they put in Biden's mouth in a video doctored to tip the election?
Nope, the MRC definitely does not want to have that conversation.


University of Florida senior Frank Cabrera wrote an op/ed piece titled "Immigration Reform and Regional Security". Cabrera is one of many young people who are members of MATT's "Student Voices" website.
Adam J. Segal reports on NAFTA from the nation's capital in this video titled "N. America wants more cooperation, not integration".


Extract of sample "The Case of Biogenetic Engineering: What are the potential Environmental Implications"
Download file to see previous pages Scientists and researchers introduced the genetically modified organisms and foods. These foods have changed the world by ensuring food security. However, the scientists failed to verify some things, they thought could be issues in the future for instance allergic reactions. These issues have emerged through studies and research, causing many concerns on these life-changing organisms. In addition, the fact that large biotechnology companies conceal the information on the genetically modified organisms fuels these concerns. Closer studies and research on genetically modified foods indicate that these organisms are not sustainable. Genetically modified organisms do not align with the conservation of matter principle because of the genetic alterations. The potential ecological, social, and environmental impacts of the genetically modified organisms ascertain the concerns.
Labeling the genetically modified foods in the North America, European Commission and in other countries has elicited a never-ending debate. Experts argue that it is necessary for the consumers to make a choice on whether to take genetically modified foods or not (Davison, 2010). Labeling foods containing genetically modified organisms varies among countries. In some countries, it is mandatory to label all foods containing genetically modified organisms while in some it is voluntary. This causes a conflict of interest for the businesspersons involved in selling genetically modified foods internationally (Davison, 2010).
The Case of Biogenetic Engineering: What Are the Potential Essay. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1629954-the-case-of-biogenetic-engineering-what-are-the-potential-environmental-implications.
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