What the best time to call?
One of the most experienced Bike fitters in the U.K.
Fitness and Development which contributes to his bike fit training and experience considerably.
Steve is one of our top bike-fit consultants and comes with a vast background in Road, Time Trail and Triathlon.
Steve is a British Cycling Level 3 Road and Time Trial Coach and is also one of the top testers in the Midlands offering a unique understanding of balancing the riders needs to match the events which results in excellent fits offering improved speed, power and efficiency.
James is our bike-fitter who also has the added bonus of vast Physio expertise.
During a Bike-fit our consultants analyse pedal action, foot stability, rider asymmetry, and rider interaction with both the saddle and handlebars.
We help each rider understand their interaction with the bike better and also advise them on where they can find improvements from off the bike activity – conditioning, stretching and core work.
Who is Bike-fit suitable for?
To be brutally honest it is suitable for any level of rider. A poor fitting bike is not the preserve of the new rider. Many very experienced riders have positions that can be improved (sometimes radically). One really interesting fact is that 98% of the Northern European population express Asymmetry (often at the pelvis). Bikes are Symmetrical so our very interaction with the bike is bound to throw up issues. One good way of checking for asymmetry is to look down at your quads/knees when pedalling. Do the legs pass the top tube evenly or is one closer to the top tube than the other? If the answer is yes, one is closer than the other then even if you are not experiencing discomfort when riding a level 2 Bike-fit would open up power that you are currently wasting or not engaging.
Just to let you have a progress report.
After a couple of weeks I'm now used to my new riding position. It's very different I feel much smaller and part of the bike rather than sitting on it. Not done a long ride as yet but am completely comfortable after an hour. I now spend 90% of the time on the drops (20% before the fit) moving the levers has made it possible to change gear and brake without needing to change position.
With less effort I'm faster than before and my journey to work has gone from about 63 mins to around 58 minutes taking my average speed to over 15mph regularly. I've also improved my speed in lots of strava segments.
I'm really pleased with the changes and wish I come in ages ago it's true a good bike fit is a really cost effective way to improve your bike.
Thanks again for your help and expertise will be back in touch after a longer ride. Steve.
Recently popped in to see Ryan, suffering with pain in my feet during cycling.
Ryan suggested a shoe/cleat fitting discussion. Ryan was great to deal with friendly, relaxed, and knowledgeable.
Having suggested and implementing cleat realignment I went away to give the new set up a try.
The difference has been amazing from a pain factor of 8/10 to now a pain factor of 1/10.
Absolutely brilliant Ryan. Many many thanks for your help. Chapeau to you.
I have spent the last few days out on the bike and have no discomfort from the bike, comfortable in both positions and no pain in the lower back.
I will update again as I do longer distances, greatly appreciate your assistance, cheers! Karl.
The ride is much more comfortable … I'm looking forward to racking up the miles.
Thanks for your help, Jackie.
Since the bike fitting I've done nothing but smash PB's and just took 15 minutes off a ride I did from a month back.
Thanks for your help mate. Great service, Adam.
Hi Mike, Can I say a big big thank to you, I went out on the bike today , total transformation, like night & day!!
Cannot believe the difference it has made. The rest of the lads with be contacting you for a bike fit.
Mike you are a magician!
Had a fabulous ride – no shoulder/ neck ache and both my legs are peddling!!!
I went up one of our local hills like a dream – the friend who I was cycling with was really surprised and then I blatted home – ace!
You were a great support, I enjoyed picking your brains being a keen novice unwed to talk to people like you. The ride home on the saddle wasn't so bad a great improvement on previous.
We will catch up soon, Jeff.
Thanks loads for this morning. You're clearly a very experienced bloke in all things cycling and it's great just to talk to someone who knows what they're talking about (I find people like that are few and far between!).
I'll definitely be recommending you to my cycling mates who are needing a professional fit or anything else for that matter.
I have a long ride on Sunday (badly needed day off tomorrow) so will let you know how I get on. Just having inflated tyres will be a bonus!
A big thank you for the bike fit – it feels a lot better in term of the foot position and I could get right down on the drops. I took on board what you said for hills and it really helped today – both the getting up early and in a higher gear to start off with and focussing on different parts of the stroke and then my left leg. We did 45k – one loop of the half ironman we're doing in July and I was 2mph faster than my previous best average.
During all Bike-fits our consultants will offer not only positional expertise but think of your fit as 2,3 or 4 hours with a cycling expert, ask about nutrition, recovery, techniques, pretty much anything we can help you with we will.
Level 1 is ideally suited to sports leisure, challenge events, Sportive and mountain bike riders as well as anyone who wants to be comfortable on a road/mountain bike.
The fit will be with one of our experienced, qualified fit consultants.
Level 2 is suitable for competitive cyclists, long distance riders, those with extreme discomfort, those with multi day events (Lands End to John 'O' Groats, London Paris etc). It is also recommended for riders that have feet or saddle discomfort issues when riding long distances. Often these discomforts are associated with rider asymmetry that involves more investigation or input. Level 2 is our most popular fit as it is extremely comprehensive.
The fit will be with one of our very experienced, qualified Senior Fit consultants.
Level 3 is suitable for anyone undertaking competitive riding on a TT/Tri bike will benefit from this Bike-fit, these bikes are the most rewarding yet least forgiving machines. Alongside this virtually everything that applies to road Bike-fits does not apply to the TT bike, a fact that very few bike fitters understand. We have worked with riders from sub 19minute 10 Mile time trialists to the 1000 mile record holder as well as some of the finest iron man athletes (Male and Female) this country has ever produced. Each rider we work with is unique and we have to build their machines to work with them. On a TT/Tri Bike 5mm can make you or break you.
We will discuss aerodynamics – truth and fiction, power output, including analysis where necessary, cadence and right to left output and try to help you with achieving your ambitions, offering advice on nutrition, preparation, training, and how to approach your event. We truly understand the difference between TT & Tri positions. It is regularly noted by our tri clients that the net effect of our work with them is faster bike splits, faster run splits and a large reduction in niggling injuries that prevent effective, consistent training.
This fit will be with one of our very experienced, qualified Senior Fit consultants.
The purpose of which is to ascertain the level and style of riding undertaken, the current issues involved with riding, including injuries and the ambitions of the rider.
We assess saddle engagement making sure the saddle is supportive, comfortable, the correct width and aligned at the correct height and positioned for your needs.
In which we will assess your current physical ranges of motion, understand further any injury profiles, past or present and how they may impact on your bike position.
When we have you pedalling efficiently and comfortably we will then assess the handlebars, making sure they are the correct width and reach for your range of motion, correctly set-up bars offer you multiple comfortable hand positions allowing you to alleviate any shoulder and neck discomfort.
This is a major part of the Bike-fit, get the power delivery base correct and all else can flow from there.
Where appropriate video analysis will be used to help the rider understand the differences and the improvements.
In our experience rider asymmetry is the causative agent for most saddle discomfort as well as right to left variation in pedal stroke. Asymmetry in the pelvis is prevalent in 98% of us, it is often insignificant in every day activities but fit a symmetrical wedge into the pelvis (saddle) and then the asymmetry comes out in the knee or further down the kinetic chain. In this review we will assess and address these issues. Often this is where the eureka moment happens where suddenly pedalling under load is easy and smooth.
In which we will assess your current physical ranges of motion, understand further any injury profiles, past or present and possibly identify areas where improvements can be made with specific exercises.
This is a major part of the Bike-fit, get the power delivery base correct and all else can flow from there. We will also undertake a comprehensive foot review so as to best understand what is happening inside the shoe when pedalling and where necessary apply insoles/wedging to provide greater support. 'Feet are the least understood and most important part of pedalling'.
When we have you pedalling efficiently and comfortably we will then assess the handlebars, making sure they are the correct width and reach for your range of motion, correctly set-up bars offer you multiple comfortable hand positions allowing you to alleviate any shoulder and neck discomfort. We will position your bars inline with the riding you undertake whether 1 hour circuit races, classic sportives on the cobbles of Belgium, cyclocross, long road races, enduro MTB races or a mixture of all.
In which we will assess your current physical ranges of motion, understand further any injury profiles, past or present and possibly identify areas where improvements can be made with specific exercises. This is critical for improvements in TT/Tri riding.
We assess saddle engagement making sure the saddle is supportive, comfortable, the correct width and aligned at the correct height and positioned for your needs. Keeping your hips open and allowing early engagement of the power in the pedal stroke.
Video analysis will be used to help the rider understand the differences and the improvements as well as allowing us to make small but often significant interventions and assess their effectiveness.
When we have you pedalling efficiently and comfortably we will then assess the handlebars, making sure they are the correct width and reach for your range of motion, correctly set-up bars offer you the ability to maintain an aerodynamic position for sustained periods of time.


An adjustable ring featuring a silver metal bumble bee on a gun metal band.
These super cute bumble bee rings come in black, purple or teal.
Other backgrounds colors available if requested.
The ring is adjustable so no worrying about ordering the correct size.


Council's final decisions are expected in April or May 2019.
A unique partnership project aimed at improving water quality in the Northern Wairoa River and its tributaries.
A project to restore water quality and protect biodiversity in Northland's fragile dune lakes.
Help us plan for a thriving Northland with our Long Term Plan 2018-2028.
Northland councils are working together to deliver better outcomes for Northland and its people.
The new Regional Policy Statement for Northland, mapping methodologies, worksheets and maps.


22 Aug 2014 . While 1080p is certainly the target resolution for games in this newest console generation, hitting . For what it's worth, I loved The Witcher 2.. For The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on the PC, a GameFAQs message . with the Xbox in mind so I would guess they're either 1280x720 or 1920x1080. . I hope they make them high quality that arena intro was terrible.. 4 Jun 2013 - 4 min - Uploaded by poeserDaddlerWitcher2 Intro by CDProjektRED in 1080p. . Game. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings .. 28 fev. 2018 . Entre os jogos do console veterano que ganharo um visual mais bonito no Xbox One X est "The Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings", jogo que.. 11 Feb 2013 - 4 min - Uploaded by Whitespider GamingI would like to say this video is scaled up to 1080. I recorded it while playing in 1080. Sory for the .. 14 Apr 2012 . Best of all, The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 is no straightforward port. . running at a higher resolution on PC - not so with the Witcher 2 which boasts . far seamlessly into the narrative, spoiling us with a nice new intro and adding new .. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline that defines a new standard for realistic,non-linear game narration.. 17 May 2011 - 9 min - Uploaded by Hope AshmoreThe Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings S1 E3 The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings - The Witcher 2 .. 27 Apr 2016 . The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition CG Intro 1 - Yeah, though next time pls share the video from their official channel ;-) All cinematics were great.. 23 Apr 2015 . The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition. All Discussions . Settings are at medium running 1920x1080 using a 4k monitor. . It always at 60fps, except for every once and a while itll hit 59 when opening a door.. 30 Sep 2018 . The No Intro Videos Mod skips all intro videos except the logo by CDProjekt. . The Witcher 2 Savegame manager allows for the easy backup, management, and removal .. 22 May 2014 . The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition . to my main monitor resolution which is 1920x1080, but it keeps opening on my second.. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings system requirements, The Witcher 2: . Nvidia GeForce 260, 1 GB memory / Radeon HD 4850 with 1 GB memory . and a Half Trailer The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings - Official Hope Launch Trailer [HD] . myb i could run this game on lowest with tweak for 640x480 resolution (ye ugly as.. 2. avatar. Sance231: My question is in the title. I've been searching for a way to . Have you tried - . You wont get any 4k resolution anywhere, not even in the game itself as . For example I have the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer in true 1080p HD and it.. 17 May 2011 . #2 Posted by Vitor (3088 posts) - 7 years, 4 months ago . 1920x1080 . Also I've only been going on the intro cutscene and the first 5 min of the . As for The Witcher 2 I'm running it on ultra with 30-60FPS (always over 40.. How does Xbox One X's 4K-enhanced Witcher 2 compare with PC? . original hold up running at an equivalent ultra HD resolution, almost seven years on from its initial release? . The Witcher 3 s Intro Cutscene Has All The Special Effects.. 20 Feb 2017 - 23 sec - Uploaded by Linnet's How ToLinnet's How To The Witcher 2 Remember to like and subscribe See all my videoes in .. 17 May 2011 . (Extremely minor game opening spoilers below) I just started playing, somewhat . I wonder how this game will run at say 1920x1080? Agree 0Disagree 1 . The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Wiki/Guide - PC The Witcher 2:.. Going from 1080p60hz to 1440p120hz ultrawide was awesome! . I found witcher 2 worked best with widescreen fixer as opposed to flawless to . Yeah I got it working after setting the aspect ratio & horizontal resolution manually. . the hotkey three times in game for it to work, not at the intro sequence.. 20 Mar 2015 - 4 min - Uploaded by HIGH Res GamingThe Witcher 2 Intro . HIGH Res Gaming . Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 S1 E10 Call of Duty .


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


This looks fantastic Lucy - well done, it's really good to see SpetsesDirect looking so wonderful.
Love the new updated website. Love Spetses. Keep coming back year after year. Love the Spetses Bar it is unique, the best music and g & t's in the world for me. Kastro. Apartments are ace.
trouble is on our lousy pension where do we stay that is as nice but loads cheaper. I love Island Hopping as we did it in our student days. Nice to read the log but sorry about the November mud.
Well done Lucy.The editorial on the Spetathlon and car ralley is excellent.The whole site is so good now.
Palio Limain OLD BAR for Frank. TROCADERO restaraunt .. KARNAYO disco.... And more.
or someone in our family did. Please feel free to join us!


text:
OBC bill: BJP flays Opposition parties for being 'anti-backward castes' at Odisha meet
BJP on Sunday hit out at opposition parties, including the Congress, for stalling a "historic" bill granting constitutional status to the OBC Commission.
india Updated: Jun 01, 2017 11:10 IST
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being greeted by BJP MP Pritam Munde at a function organised at Parliament in New Delhi on Wednesday to thank him for passage of the OBC bill in Lok Sabha which accords constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBCs). (PTI)
Playing the OBC card, the BJP on Sunday hit out at opposition parties, including the Congress, for stalling a "historic" bill granting constitutional status to the OBC Commission and asserted that the Modi government is firm on its resolve to ensure justice to backward castes.
Seeking to consolidate its support among the other backward classes (OBC), it passed a separate resolution at its national executive meeting hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who comes from an OBC caste, for the legislation and condemning rivals for blocking it in the Rajya Sabha.
It accused the Congress and other rival parties of being "anti-backward castes".
The OBCs, comprising over 52% of population, are vital to BJP's fortunes and a large chunk of them had remained indifferent to it before its concerted bid to woo them bore fruits under Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and then in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
"It is a must to grant the OBC Commission constitutional status. It will give them justice and help create an equal society. The Congress and other parties have proved that they may preach social justice but practise only vote bank politics. The Congress did not do justice to them when it was in power and continues to do so now," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.
He was briefing them on the resolution passed by the national executive.
The present commission is "powerless" and cannot do justice to the OBCs, he said, asserting that the central government is firm on the bill's passage. It will give the commission powers similar to the SCs and the STs commissions.
He said the OBC MPs belonging to all parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, had met Modi recently to press for such a bill but opposition parties stalled it when it was brought.
The Lok Sabha, where the government enjoys a big majority, passed the constitutional amendment bill during the recent Budget Session but the Rajya Sabha, where it is short of a simple majority, stalled it and sent to a parliamentary committee for review and recommendations.
Slamming the Congress, the resolution said opposing a decision aimed at improving the living conditions of backward people cannot be termed right and the people sidelined for long should now get their due in the society.
It is not right to oppose such decision only for politics, it said.
It is yet another pro-poor move by the government, the minister said, adding that various bodies, including the Mandal commission, had made such a suggestion.
The resolution moved by Hukumdev Narayan Yadav and seconded by the party's senior OBC leaders, including Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raghubar Das, said it is after 70 years of Independence, a government has taken this "historic" decision.
"This is fulfillment of the long-pending demand of providing social justice to the backward classes of our society... This step reflects the strong resolve of Modi to bring equality in the society where nobody is treated badly because of their caste or educational backwardness. Justice needs to be delivered to every citizen without any bias or prejudice," it said.
Javadekar said the OBC commission will help people irrespective of religions as socially and educationally backward groups of minorities also fall in the OBC category. PTI KR GVS

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text:
Q: Prove that if the induced homomorphism $M/\mathfrak aM \to N/\mathfrak aN$ is surjective, then $f$ it's surjective. This problem is from Atiyah and Macdonald, Introduction to Commutative Algebra, Exercise 10, Chapter 2.

Let $A$ be a commutative ring with $1 \ne 0$ and let $\mathfrak a$ be an ideal of $A$ contained in the Jacobson radical. Let $M$ be an $A$-module and $N$ a finitely generated $A$-module and let $f: M\to N$ be a homomorphism. If the induced homomorphism $M/\mathfrak aM \to N/\mathfrak aN$ is surjective, then $f$ it's surjective.

I think that I have to consider the isomorphism
$M/aM \cong A/a \otimes_A M $
$N/aN \cong A/a \otimes_A N $
And induce $f$ in this way. But I'm not sure how to proceed.

A: $\DeclareMathOperator{\coker}{coker}$$\DeclareMathOperator{\im}{im}$Let $f : M \to N$. Since tensoring preserves cokernels (by right exactness), $(\coker f) \otimes_A A/a \cong \coker(f \otimes A/a) = \coker(M/aM \to N/aN) = 0$, so $\coker f = a(\coker f)$. Since $\coker f$ is f.g. (being a quotient of $N$ which is f.g.), Nakayama's Lemma gives $\coker f = 0$, i.e. $f$ is surjective.
By the way, the corresponding statement for injectivity is not true - significantly more assumptions are needed (e.g. $M$ Noetherian, $\im(f)$ flat).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I've seen paper mache numbers and letters on many party tables. Each always has a unique twist, that when it came to my own version of this project, I found it hard to choose a creative direction to go in. From mod podged paper, wrapped ribbon, glitter, and cupcake liners, none of this project ideas captured the natural feel I wanted my numbers to add to the table. Then, I discovered moss sheets. This natural moss material is sold in craft and floral stores. It was a perfect way to give my "90" moss covered numbers a natural look for the garden party.
Messy Alert: I recommend completing this project on a well covered surface, preferably outside. Moss sheets fall apart easily and we spent a lot of time cleaning up remnants of moss for many days. It was also hard with Little Bug around. No matter how much we vacuumed, we kept finding little pieces of green fuzz on her.
1. Lay out your moss sheet. Place a paper mache number on the sheet, positioned on the left or right side. One sheet of moss should be enough to cover one number if it is positioned correctly. You will be folding over the moss, so play around with the arrangement to find the best location.
Use a pencil to trace the cut-out areas of the number.
2. Remove the number and cut out the traced areas with a razor blade. Watch your fingers!
Carefully, pull away the cut out areas. Save these scraps for fill in at the end. Repeat these steps with the other side of the number.
3. Hot glue one side of the number and line it up with the moss using the traced areas as your guide. Be sure to move quickly because the hot glue dries very fast. Add more hot glue to any areas that need to stick more.
5. Add glue to the other side of the number and fold the moss sheet over. Add glue to the side of the number and press the folded moss down. Trim any excess moss to give the number a clean finish.
6. Measure the inside areas and cut strips of moss that will fit. Glue on the strips of moss.
Press down the moss so that it sticks on securely.
7. Look over your number for any bald spots. I found that as I covered the number, lots of pieces of moss fell off. If you notice areas that are thinning, use your scraps to cover them.
8. Repeat this process with the other number to make a set.
These moss covered numbers can also be used to decorate a dinner tablescape, anniversary celebration or home decor. Don't have a reason to use numbers? Covering paper mache letters would be just as easy. Maybe next year I'll get really ambitious and spell out SPRING.
Ivy Cottage Blog – Tuesdays Cowgirl Up!
Really cute idea. I think the moss is perfect for a garden party. Will tuck this one away in the old memory bank for future use!


design is very attractive and it is steps display way on both side , kiosk front have a mini fridge , broadsize have a hide 3 compartment sink , the kiosk also with roof with tv display .
body of kiosk we put customer logo and attractive posters , inside of kiosk for shelves storages , door is for sliding , do you like this candy kiosk design ?
Preparing sturdy wooden carton ,the thickness of wood is min 9 mm .
Adopting foam packing and soft EPE protection .
Foam between the product and wooden carton .
Thickness 12 mm X 100 mm width frame for each sides of carton .
All wooden cartons can't move casually in the container when transportation .
Process Shipping Information of jewelry kiosk .
Thank you for your time , if you are interested in our candy kiosk design , welcome contact us for more details and custom new kiosk for you .


text:
Baby and toddler books New baby and Christening presents
Illustrated alphabet
Series: Alphabet books
By Felicity Brooks
Clothbound hardback with slipcase
A rollicking romp through the alphabet with the animals at the zoo, and a different letter and animal on each beautifully illustrated page. With animals from furious foxes to wild wombats to help children remember letter shapes and sounds. A luxurious cloth-bound hardback book presented in a beautifully decorated slipcase, this is a wonderful gift.
A2N79
Felicity Brooks is an Editorial Director and writer at Usborne Publishing. She studied English and Drama at Exeter University and worked as an actor, teacher and lexicographer before starting work in children's publishing in the late 1980s. She has written and edited hundreds of children's titles, including stories and novelty books for pre-schoolers and books about history, geography, languages, science, maths, nature and the arts. Her books have won the TES Senior Information Book Award, the Aventis Science Books Prize, the SLA Information Book Award, the Sheffield Baby Books Award and Practical Pre-school Gold and Silver Awards.
Read more about Felicity Brooks
Get ready for school alphabet sticker book
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I've been to London to visit the queen.


text:
/Application
/2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
"After preliminary testing of our vehicle, and the subsequent breaking of a couple of welds, we've come to a few conclusions. First, our steering actuator has a lot more power than we really need! Second, we never should have attempted to test the steering system without the use of the encoder feedback. And third, we really need to add a couple of over-travel limit-switches to the steering system."
This excerpt is just one sample of various e-mails exchanged by AutomationDirect and Team Buffalo over the last several months. Team Buffalo is a pair of engineers from Buffalo, NY, who constructed an entry for the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge.
DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 is a field test of robotic ground vehicles for the purpose of advancing autonomous vehicle technology. The vehicles must travel approximately 150 miles over rugged desert roads using only onboard sensors and navigation equipment to find and follow a designated route while avoiding obstacles. After the October 8, 2005 event, DARPA will award $2 million to the team whose autonomous vehicle successfully completes the route the fastest, within a 10-hour period. All vehicles must be developed without government funding.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DARPA's mission is to "manage and direct selected basic and applied research and development projects for the DoD, and pursue research and technology where risk and payoff are both very high, and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions." DARPA was founded in response to the surprise Sputnik launch in 1958, and it's been Uncle Sam's hope that DARPA would help the U.S. avoid technological "surprises" created by other countries since then. Among other notable achievements, DARPA even helped to father the Internet along the way.
This is the second time DARPA has held the Grand Challenge. In 2004, none of the 15 teams entered was able to complete the course successfully. Some entries failed spectacularly, and others failed on the starting line, making no progress whatsoever. The two most successful teams managed to travel just 7 of the 142 prescribed miles.
The stated purpose of the Grand Challenge is "to accelerate development of autonomous vehicle technologies that will save lives on the battlefield." Although there was no winner at the Grand Challenge 2004, DARPA obtained a number of important ideas that may lead to promising developments and is certain that important research progress will also be made leading up to the 2005 event, regardless of the outcome.
Team Buffalo is a two-man partnership lead by Mark Schwartz, a software engineer and a licensed master electrician specializing in systems integration, process controls and automation. He has over 20 years of experience designing and developing automation systems. Past projects include an emergency shutdown system designed for a multi-national chemical producer, and a satellite-based automatic dispatch system implemented for a national utility company. Schwartz has extensive software experience at both the embedded and applications levels, and enjoys developing practical solutions to real-world problems.
Joining Mark is Team Manager and Senior Engineer Brad Burzynski. Brad is a PLC programmer, systems integrator, and electrical engineer with over 10 years of field experience. Brad's repertoire includes designing controls for an automated assembly line at one of the big three automotive manufacturers, and designing quality-control vision systems for a pharmaceutical giant.
Team Buffalo was formed in late 2004, and immediately began to design its vehicle and search for sponsors. While talking to AutomationDirect about a sponsorship, Team Buffalo lined up a number of other sponsors, according to their Web site. By the middle of January 2005, Team Buffalo had comfirmed sponsorships from an engineering software company, a local plastics thermoforming outfit, and most importantly, a catering service!
On February 1, Team Buffalo announced that a sponsorship agreement had been reached with AutomationDirect. According to Schwartz, Team Buffalo had been in discussions with several other international PLC manufacturers; however, AutomationDirect was the only PLC manufacturer willing to make a firm commitment and provide a concrete ship date. "They had everything we needed right in stock and were ready to ship overnight. Quality, service, and availability. What more could we ask for?" Schwartz said. On February 9, all requested PLC components were in-hand and Team Buffalo began to assemble its control system.
Team Buffalo decided early on to use an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) as its "motion" platform. The combination of low-cost and go-anywhere design were compelling attributes. Modifications to enable autonomous control and the guidance system were begun only after an extensive test-driving and break-in period. Burzynski was eager to gain in-depth knowledge of the vehicle's handling capabilities. He said, "I need to know the vehicle's limitations and handling characteristics so I can program the PLC to those limitations." The vehicle was dubbed the ANT: Autonomous Non-Manned Transport.
Team Buffalo's approach to the navigation and control system was fairly straightforward: a pair of commercially available GPS systems that acquire position data, and a "heading" (direction of travel) from geo-synchronous satellites. This navigational information is transferred to a Pentium-class single-board computer via an RS-232 serial link. The PC is used to preprocess and filter the navigational information before sending it to an AutomationDirect DL205 PLC. The PLC controls servo actuators for steering and throttle control, and a linear actuator for "shifting" the transmission. The PLC also accepts inputs from seven ultrasonic "obstacle avoidance" sensors, and plots the actual course of the ANT. To quote Schwartz, "In essence, the single-board computer tells the PLC where we are now, where we want to go, and our current heading. The PLC then uses that information, along with the obstacle and collision avoidance information, to steer the vehicle toward our desired destination."
With a vehicle procured, sponsorships lined up, and a control system design in hand, Team Buffalo worked day and night—seven days a week—to modify the ATV, fabricate the control system, and program the PC and PLC. As part of the formal application process to DARPA, the team was required to submit a 5-minute video, detailing and demonstrating the vehicle, by March 11.
There were some hurdles, as Schwartz explains: "At first, we had some minor difficulty programming the analog inputs and outputs on the DL205 PLC. However, one quick call to AutomationDirect's support line and we were back on track in no time at all. In fact, I was truly amazed at how fast we were able to get through to a knowledgeable support engineer. We had the answers and information needed to configure the analog inputs and outputs in less time than we typically spend on hold with some of the other PLC manufacturers."
As detailed in the opening e-mail excerpt, Team Buffalo also learned a hard lesson about encoder feedback and limit switches for servo systems, but were up to that challenge as well. The two soon announced that they were one of 136 teams that had successfully completed the application process.
The Team continued working feverishly to complete and refine their design. On April 11, they were notified by DARPA that a formal site visit was being planned by the DARPA officials during the month of May. DARPA initially scheduled the visit for May 3. The team respectfully asked for more time, and DARPA denied the request. Then, lo and behold, DARPA decided to reschedule the visit for May 2!
The Grand Challenge rules stipulate that during the site visit, the team will have 3 hours to demonstrate the vehicle. The team is responsible for setting up a 200-meter course with at least two turns. Team Buffalo selected a 15-acre site of woods and fields behind several acres of lush lawn in a rural area of western New York. They had planned to set up the course in the woods. However, the wooded area was deemed too wet, so instead, a course was configured on the rain-soaked lawn between the road and the woods.
The weather did not cooperate before or during the site visit, as Schwartz describes in his report. "The day started with the weather being just cold and windy. However, before the site visit was over, I think we had experienced every kind of precipitation known to man – rain, snow, sleet and hail."
The DARPA officials were patient and encouraging as the team spent 2-1/2 hours troubleshooting a loose pin in the cable connection to the PC. With only 30 minutes left in the visit, Team Buffalo put the ANT on the starting line, crossed their fingers and pushed the GO button.
Mark describes the moment: "We quickly moved the vehicle back to the starting line. After a brief safety orientation for all, we placed the vehicle back into Auto mode and stepped back to wait for our hard-coded time delay to kick in before the vehicle moved. Shortly after the mandatory 5-second audible alarm (horn) sounded, the vehicle gradually accelerated down the course. At first, everything looked great. But then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, the vehicle stopped abruptly. As we watched anxiously, we could see the linear actuators on the transmission shift the vehicle into reverse. Brad and I looked at each other with stunned faces. We knew the vehicle's onboard collision avoidance system had just kicked in, but neither of us knew why. Once the actuators stopped, the vehicle started to move again; but of course, it was going in reverse. We had hoped it would travel just a short distance in reverse. We assumed that once it cleared whatever obstacle it thought was there, it would automatically shift itself back into forward gear. Unfortunately, it continued in reverse, running over one of the orange safety cones on the left lateral boundary, and headed off toward the woods."
Unfortunately for Team Buffalo, the remaining attempts proved to be equally disappointing. Weather conditions grew noticeably worse, with driving hail and sleet that made troubleshooting almost impossible. In the end they were unable to successfully navigate the course, but the DARPA officials were still encouraging and very interested in the vehicle and design approach. The Team was left to wait until June for a final decision from DARPA.
On June 6, DARPA released the names of the 40 teams that made the final cut, and Team Buffalo was not among them. The Team is disappointed, but hasn't given up. They plan to continue work on the ANT, and unless one of the other teams wins the prize at this year's contest in October, Team Buffalo will re-enter the contest in 2006.
You can follow the Team's hard work and efforts at www.TeamBuffalo.org. Find out more about the DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 at www.darpa.mil. And finally, check out more pictures and a video of the ANT at the Automation Notebook website:
www.AutomationNotebook.com. (Search for "Team Buffalo" to see the latest entries.)
Originally Published: Sept. 1, 2005
Product Snapshots – Issue 5, 2005 →← EN418 Directive
Do-more H2 or Do-more T1H: How to choose
Improving Factory Workers' Efficiency is All in a Name
Processor Power and Efficiency | White Paper
Systems Integrator Brings Automation Into Skydiving


The concept of black hole has its origin in a solution of Einstein's General Relativity for a spherical object with mass M and radius R. If the mass collapses to a radius less than R = 2GM/c2, where G is the gravitational constant and c is the speed of light, then nothing (including light) can escape from inside this radius. It is called the event horizon or the Schwarzschild radius (named after the astrophysicist who solved the equation). Figure 05-02a shows a schematic diagram of the Schwarzschild geometry.
It is known as the embedding diagram. The two dimensional circles are slices of three dimensional spheres (of the same radius) - the hyperspace. The verticle axis denotes the "stretch" of space in the radial direction. The slope of the curve can be considered as representing the curvature of the space. It is flat (or zero) at the outer edge and becomes infinity at the Schwarzschild radius. This pictorial representation is very similar to a rubber sheet stretched by a rock. The shape of the region inside the horizon is somewhat arbitrary. It is only known that everything plunges inevitably to the central singularity once passing over the horizon. In a more realistic drawing the event horizon would be placed far below the diagram at infinity. The complete Schwarzschild geometry consists of a black hole, a white hole, and two singularities connected at their horizons by a worm hole as shown in Figure 05-02b. A white hole is a black hole running backwards in time. Just as black holes swallow things irretrievably, so do white holes spit them out. White holes cannot exist, since they violate the second law of thermodynamics by allowing some time reversal events such as reassembling a broken glass back to its original whole. The white hole geometry outside the horizon represents another Universe. The worm hole joining the two separate singularities is known as the Einstein-Rosen bridge, but even if it can somehow be generated, it would be unstable and pinch off immediately. Therefore, only the black hole geometry is applicable to the physical world.
It is believed that every quasar, active galactic nucleus, and even normal galactic nucleus contains a black hole with a mass of between ten million to several billion solar masses at its core. The difference in appearance is related to the intensity of the activity. Since galaxies rotate, matter falling toward the central black hole will form a rapidly spinning disk of gas - an accretion disk - rather than falling directly into the hole. Kinetic energy released by in-falling matter, and frictional effects within the accretion disk, raise the temperature of the nner parts of the disk to enormous values and provide plenty of energy to power AGN's on all scales from Seyferts to quasars. By a process that is still not fully understood but seems to be related to rotating black hole, the central engine accelerates streams of charged particles to very high speeds. The inner rim of the accretion disk, together with surrounding gas and magnetic fields, forms a nozzle that confines the outward flow of energetic particles into narrow streams that shoot out perpendicularly to the plane of the disk. Figure 05-02c shows a model of the black hole.
Magnetohydrodynamics is the branch of physics dealing with the behavior of the combined system of magnet field and ionized gas at low density. A popular theoretical scenario applies such formulation to explain the relativistic jet(s) powered by the black hole. The study found that magnetic field lines are twisted into a helix (as shown in Figure 05-02d) by the differential rotation of matter in the accretion disk. Such field provide a force to expel the ionized particles in a collimated jet from the inner circumference of the accretion disk. The energy to maintain the process is derived from the braking action on the rotation of the disk. In this way, matter can slow down and eventually flow inward into the black hole. Figure 05-02e illustrates a mechanism to extract the spinning energy from a rotating black hole, wherein the surrounding ionized gas and the magnetic field act together to set up a voltage difference between the poles. This is similar to a battery driving electric current around to provide another source of energy for the outflowing jet(s).
See more detail in "Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and the Formation of Jet(s)"
much larger warm component (T=320K, red) is well resolved. The arrows indicate the projected orientation of the two interferometer baselines and the angular resolution L/2B, where L is the wavelength and B is the projected baseline. The image shows that the active galactic nuclei are arranged like a thick doughnut. This model requires a continuous injection of kinetic energy to maintain such cloud system. The mechanism is currently unknown; thus a better understanding of the physics of these spectacular objects is needed.
The quasar 3C273 is a 2-billion-solar-mass black hole encircled by a doughnut of gas (accretion disk) and with two gigantic jets shooting out along the spinning axis. The Schwrzschild radius for this object is about 6x109 km. Such supermassive black hole can be created while matter is still at quite low density (~ 10-3 gm/cm3). Since the tidal force at the event horizon of a black hole is inversely proportional to the square of its mass, its effect on a space visitor would be un-noticeable, although he would soon be in dire trouble as he plunges irrevocably toward the central singularity. However for a stationary observer, it takes an infinitely long time for the asronaut to approach the event horizon (due to gravitational time dilation) and the view of the asronaut would gradually disappear (due to gravitational red shift of light). The effect on the astronaut visiting a stellar black hole (mini-quasar) would be more violent due to the drastic increase of the tidal force.
In a November, 2004 announcement by NASA, a black hole catalogued as SDSSp J1306 appears to be about one billion times as massive as the sun. It is 12.7 billion light-years away. A similarly massive and distant black hole was studied in the same year with the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray satellite. The object, SDSSp J1030, is 12.8 billion light-years away. These two results seem to indicate that the way supermassive black holes produce X-rays has remained essentially the same from a very early date in the universe. How such massive and energetic structures formed so quickly (only after one billion years of the big bang) remains a major puzzle for scientists. Mergers of smaller galaxies and their black holes may have played a role. Researchers suspect that black hole formation and galaxy development go largely hand-in-hand, but they cannot say which comes first. Figure 05-02h is an artist's conception of a supermassive black hole with matter swirling into it.
In 2009, radio observations of 4 early galaxies (1 to 2 billion years after the Big Bang) including J1148+5251 shows that the mass ratio of central bulge to black hole is about 10 times smaller than the more recent data indicating the black hole probably came first.
A 2012 update on the supermassive black hole J1148+5251 reveals that while matter swirls inward from the accretion disk toward the black hole, intense radiation creates outflow of gas at the same time. The process is shown schematically in Figure 05-02i. The orange wavy lines represent photons emitted during the accretion process. Most of them escape the galaxy, but some imping on clouds of gas (blue) and the radiation pressure drives the gas out. The stars and dark are too heavy to be affected by the radiation. It is suggested the elliptical galaxies may lost their gas component in this way. The Milky Way has a mild imitation of such process in the form of the 30-kpc arms.
of the source would have to be in contact with others on such a time scale t to coordinate the variations; thus the size r c t. For the most rapid variability of t 100 s, r 3x1012 cm, which is about 50 time bigger than the Sun and about 1/2 the size of Mercury's orbit.
Under the assumption that the central object, i.e., the black hole, dominates the variability, r can be taken as the Schwarzschild radius of the black hole, then its mass M rc2/2G 107 Msun, which is in close agreement with the estimate from the relationship between the black hole mass and galactic bulge luminosity. The unusually high luminosity may be related to the onset of relativistic jet pointing to the direction of observation and moving at a velocity of 99.5% of the speed of light.
different frequencies, from about 200 GHz (more dense) to 5 GHz (less dense); diagram b shows the actual jet obtained with the VLBA at a frequency of 15 GHz (yellow is brightest, blue is faint). The orientation of the disk is vertical in these pictures. This observation is in broad agreement with the magneto-hydrodynamics description in earlier study. The discrepancy is in the distance of 100,000 Schwarzschild radius from the black hole predicted by theory and observed in quasars. One of the explanations ascribes the difference to viewing direction.
dispersion or V-band galactic bulge luminosity Lv. The data points usually fall on (or near) a straight line of a logarithmic plot (see the formula for the solid black line in Figure 05-02l, b). However, the super massive black holes doesn't seem to follow such relationship (Figure 05-02l, a and b). The deviation is explained by proposing that the super massive black hole was formed by merger of black holes while the lighter variety was grown by accretion of cold gas (Figure 05-02m). BTW, the BCG (in Figure 05-02l) is the abbreviation of Brightest Cluster Galaxies, and MW denotes Milky Way.
black hole of stellar mass to grow into billion-sun in 770x106 years (Figure 05-02o,a).
Two different theories has been proposed to resolve the problem. They all try to make the basic component from solar-mass black hole to middleweight one with mass of 105 to 2x106 Msun, i.e., to bump up M0. One theory suggests that black hole at the center of a star cluster could grow quickly enough to middleweight seed hole (Figure 05-02o,b). The other one involves collapse of primordial gas cloud (Figure 05-02o,c). The former scenario predicts more leftover middleweight seed holes to survive into the present age. Since only a few hundred such holes among 2x105 galaxies have been found so far, it seems that the odd is against the bottom-up version at least for now (see also related observation in Baby Galaxy).


One of the absolute highlights of Vermont for me was Dog Mountain in Saint Johnsbury. At first, since it was a bit out of our way and would have added 3 plus hours onto our trip back home, we didn't think we could pay it a visit, but Katie had the sneaky plan of us following her car (she had the GPS, after all) and surprising me.
Passing a sign that read "DOG CHAPEL" on a dirt road tipped me off and I became a little emotional. You see, some people call Dog Mountain one of the most sacred places in Vermont and I'd have to agree. The property has rolling hills for dogs to run around on, a man made pond for them to take a swim in, statues of stoic looking pugs and schnazuzers looked out into the misty distance from their posts, and most importantly of all, their very own Dog Chapel.
What's a dog chapel, you ask? A tiny little chapel, or a place of worship for our four legged friends. When I walked through the front doors (Willie and Marzipan went through the doggy door of course) I was greeted with thousands of little notes tacked up onto the chapel walls in memories of best friends who have passed. Some notes were sad "I think about you every day, I miss you all the time" and some were comical "We miss you even though you never went pee outside when it was snowing or raining". Some notes were accompanied with pictures, a bulldog dozing away on the couch, a golden retriever in a lake carrying a big stick, a brown toy poodle sitting in someone's living room. It was so beautiful.
Stained glass of dogs being pet or given ice cream glowed from all corners. Little pews with carved labs and golden retrievers on the ends welcomed you to sit and take it all in. A basket sat on the chapel floor, right in the front, bearing more notes and trinkets of dogs loved before, decorated with little ornaments of Terriers and Dalmatians with angel wings. I could feel the overwhelming love and care owners had taken to write heartfelt notes, jokes and tack up funny pictures. My eyes watered and my voice broke many times while visiting the chapel. I left behind one of my beloved dog Murphy's old toys. A stuffed beaten up old squirrel now sits in a shrine on a mighty mountain that many dogs must think of as paradise.
I've never not had a dog, I was lucky enough to grow up with one, a lovely, loyal schnauzer named Sophie and I've had great company ever since with Harley, Dylan, Murphy and now my little pomapoo named Willie ( my husband named him after Willie Nelson). They are such an important part of my life and I couldn't imagine not taking care of one, or rushing home after work to be greeted with a happy doggy dance. I feel like they are such gifts from the universe and that we could learn so much from their constant unconditional love and living in the moment. I get such joy from hiking with them or cuddling up to sleep at night with their little heartbeat at my feet. To me, it's an honour to live amongst these creatures so the visit to the Mecca for dogs was so welcomed.
You're able to buy charming prints of the artist's work (including my favourite of a golden lab flying into heaven with a man's shoe in his mouth that reads "Dogs Have a Soul") or Christmas tree ornaments, t-shirts, books and calendars, you name it. They were simple yet beautiful and captured the love of a dog perfectly. "Life is a Ball" one painting reads, showing a black lab in a lake swimming after a bright read floating ball. "Love is Give and Take" reads another, two dogs playing tug of war with a rope. I walked away with some greeting cards and a calendar.
Willie and Marzipan had a blast running around the mountain on our short visit. They barked at dog statues, sniffed around the gallery, probably catching the scent of thousands of other dogs that have visited before. Willie even walked cautiously around the pond, he hates water. By the time we were packing up the car again to leave, Willie pretty much fell into his bed in the back seat, soggy legs and all and dozed for a few hours. Maybe we'll be back one day and maybe we won't, but I won't soon forget the way I felt visiting the mountain and if you want to plan a visit of your own and see what fun events are coming up, visit their website at www.dogmt.com, its open to the public Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm. Don't miss the magic of Dog Mountain.
Ohh so you're a pet lover too? Yeah, I'm a pet lover and me and my labrador named bless had travelled across 3 countries. It was most adventurous part of my life, i must say. I just love to bring him with me on my hiking and travelling adventures. Thanks.
This was the first time travelling with my dog and it was fantastic! Must be wonderful having your lab Chum along on your trips !
Hey! I'm Sarah! A 30 something living in downtown Toronto with a great guy and an OK dog. I love seeing what my city has to offer and try to hit up as many fun events or attractions as I can! I haven't slept since 2004.


Residencies are powerful opportunities to engage intellectually, emotionally and socially. Goddard's unique learning model emphasizes three domains: Being, Knowing and Doing. All three are important to a successful residency experience. Coming to residency means being outside of your normal routine beginning with sleeping and eating in an unfamiliar place. For some this is a welcome and exciting opportunity. For others this can create challenges that deserve advance attention.
Being, Knowing and Doing: be mindful, know what your resources are and do what you can to take care of yourself.
You are encouraged to come well rested and prepared with strategies for supporting your own well-being. If you have a mindfulness or other spiritual practice, enjoy physical exercise, need quiet time to re-charge each day – make sure you have a plan in place. Our Access and Disability Support Office is prepared to help you anticipate what you will need to support your plan for a successful residency experience.
The residency is supported by a variety of people whose purpose it is to provide assistance to the students and faculty toward a productive and positive residency experience. We are further supported by the Goddard's Community Life Agreements that express our values as a living-learning community, as well as our behavioral norms and expectations.
Residency Support includes the Help Desk, Housing and Dining Services, Housekeeping, Facilities, and Campus Safety. Additionally Goddard provides emotional health and well-being support and access and disability support consultation.


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PDF2 PDF |Add To My Favorites |Track Bill | Version: 04/30/21 - Chaptered 04/27/21 - Enrolled 03/08/21 - Introduced
SCR-20 Women and Girls in STEM Week.(2021-2022)
SCR20:v97#DOCUMENT
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 20
Relative to Women and Girls in STEM Week.
[ Filed with Secretary of State April 30, 2021. ]
SCR 20, Ochoa Bogh. Women and Girls in STEM Week.
This measure would designate April 4, 2021, to April 10, 2021, inclusive, as Women and Girls in STEM Week and would encourage all citizens and community organizations to support the observance of California's Women and Girls in STEM Week by encouraging and celebrating women in the STEM fields.
Fiscal Committee: NO
WHEREAS, Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are critical fields for the success of California's economy; and
WHEREAS, Many of the fastest growing occupations in the United States require some form of expertise in the areas of STEM; and
WHEREAS, STEM careers represent some of the highest paying positions in any field, thereby providing desirable career opportunities and real pathways out of poverty; and
WHEREAS, Preparing students for the STEM workforce is essential to fulfilling the demands of our 21st century, innovation-focused economy; and
WHEREAS, A significant gender gap exists in the participation of STEM disciplines and the STEM workforce; and
WHEREAS, Women earn nearly 60 percent of bachelor's degrees, but are underrepresented in STEM-related college degrees, especially in the computer sciences and engineering fields; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, while women make up nearly one-half of the working population, they only represent 26 percent of the STEM workforce; and
WHEREAS, Women represented 34 percent of computer occupations in 1990, but that number declined to 27 percent by 2011; and
WHEREAS, Women in STEM professions earn one-third more than women in non-STEM-related occupations; and
WHEREAS, In California, the gender disparities among STEM fields are similar if not more pronounced. Only 15 percent of engineering graduates in California are women and only 15 percent of engineers in the workforce are women; and
WHEREAS, Despite underrepresentation in the STEM fields, there are many California female leaders who represent the STEM community and serve as role models for young girls preparing for STEM careers; and
WHEREAS, Today's women leaders in STEM stand on the shoulders of innovators that came before them, such as Grace Murray Hopper, a pioneer in her field who is credited for inventing the first computer language compiler; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature encourages all citizens and community organizations to support the observance of California's Women and Girls in STEM Week by encouraging and celebrating women in the STEM fields; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature declares April 4, 2021, to April 10, 2021, inclusive, as Women and Girls in STEM Week; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.


We arrived in Punta Arenas last night around 10 p.m. local time. Carola, a representative from the support group, AGUNSA, met us at the airport and arranged transportation to a local hotel. It was good to finally take a break from traveling. We had about 28 hours of airports and airplanes since leaving Denver, and we were ready for a little sleep.
This morning we walked through town on our way to the AGUNSA warehouse at the seaport. We made sure to pay homage to the statue of Ferdinand Magellan. For good luck in Antarctica, you must rub the brass toe of one of the figures on the Magellan statue. If you travel through Christchurch, New Zealand, you have to go find the statue of the famous polar explorer Roald Amundsen and rub his nose. That statue of Amundsen has what is possibly the shiniest nose of any you'll see!
Further on, at the warehouse, the equipment manager, Octavio, outfitted us for the wilds of the Antarctic Peninsula. Many thanks, Octavio!
After gathering various odds and ends, we strolled down the pier for a spur of the moment visit to the British Research vessel RRS James Cook, one of the newest research ships on the sea. Built in Norway, the James Cook operates worldwide, from the tropics to the edge of the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, enabling cutting edge multidisciplinary research. The Chief Officer, Richard, showed us around the very modern vessel, pointing out the research facilities and the impressive engineering spaces.
Later this afternoon, we'll be out gathering last minute equipment for the field (a pair of field glasses or binoculars and some treats from the local market).


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Check out our slideshow of the last Texans home game for the regular season.
The narratives for the first two Texan losses wrote themselves, even if they weren't completely accurate. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are Hall of Fame quarterbacks and played extremely well. The Texans (12-3) had a few unlucky bounces on offense. The team didn't desperately need either game.
None applied to Sunday's embarrassment by Christian Ponder and the Vikings (9-6). In a game where the Texans had everything to gain -- most notably, the number one seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs -- the star-studded offense didn't show up.
"We just didn't make plays," Andre Johnson said after the game. "We played horrible as an offense. That's pretty much it."
Going back to the second half of the Tennessee game, Houston's first-team offense has been dreadful for five of its last seven halves of football. It's a concerning trend as the team heads to January.
The Vikings and Patriots have capable defenses, but these aren't the 2001 Baltimore Ravens. They shouldn't hold a team led by Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and Johnson to 187 total yards and six points in a full football game. That type of outing has now happened twice in three weeks.
Every aspect of the team failed. The offensive front was largely obliterated by Jared Allen and Minnesota's defensive line, two weeks after a similar outing against Vince Wilfork. Several receivers -- notably, Owen Daniels and DeVier Posey -- dropped multiple passes.
Schaub didn't always have time. But when he did, he still appeared to be jittery. In one example, on a critical third down in the third quarter, Schaub settled for a two-yard dumpoff to Ben Tate and a punt even though he seemingly had several more seconds to let downfield routes develop. In other instances, wide-open deep patterns to Daniels and Andre Johnson were overthrown.
"It's a huge, huge disappointment," said Kubiak. "One that we've got to get over real quick. Offensively, that was probably about as bad as we've played."
Everything about the offense -- from the players down to the scheme -- has Kubiak's fingerprints all over it. When it fails, he fails.
If it were just an issue of personnel failures, the head coach might be excused for part of the blame. But in Houston's case, the individual failures are matched by incoherent and deeply flawed strategic thinking.
Trailing 16-3 to open the second half, the Texans began with back-to-back Foster runs -- even though Foster was a non-factor in the first half with 12 yards on nine carries. It left them with a third-and-long, which they failed to convert, leading to a three and out.
Should the Texans have completely abandoned the running game? That's up for debate. But there should at least be a consistent and understandable philosophy.
Flash forward two drives, and the Texans found themselves with a first and goal inside the Minnesota one-yard line. They opted for pass plays on two of three downs and settled for a field goal. The same offense that minutes earlier trusted its run blocking enough to hand it to Foster on second and long -- down 13 -- suddenly didn't believe it could pick up a foot.
"I don't know what was going on," said Daniels. "You want some type of rhythm. We couldn't find that all day."
Another troubling trend is the reluctance of the Houston staff to take any sort of risk. In less-than-a-yard scenarios, the most efficient play by far is the quarterback sneak. But after Schaub's foot injury on a sneak in Tampa Bay last year (more accurately, an Albert Haynesworth bellyflop), the Texans have almost entirely avoided the play this year.
On Sunday, the Texans had three chances from the Minnesota one on which a single yard or less would have brought them within six points. They didn't sneak it a single time. Against playoff-caliber defenses, this is incomprehensible. It gives very good linemen and linebackers one less option to think about and forces the Texans to take the ball behind the line of scrimmage. On two of the three plays Sunday, the Texans lost yardage.
The most sensible option would be to accept that Schaub's incident was a freak injury and unlikely to be repeated. Don't believe that? Fine. Consider building an extreme "goal-line package" around T.J. Yates. Denver has a similar package with backup quarterback Brock Osweiler in very limited circumstances.
But to almost remove the QB sneak from the playbook is not a logical choice.
Another bizarre decision came midway through the fourth quarter, with the Texans opting to punt on fourth-and-a-foot despite trailing by 10. Yes, the ball was on Houston's own 11. But what matters most is that at that point in the game, there was not a reasonable path to winning that involved a punt on that drive. Whatever the odds of converting the fourth down were, they were a lot better than the Texans expeditiously stopping the Vikings and then scoring twice, all in the last 10 minutes.
Appropriately, the Vikings immediately marched down the field for the game-clinching touchdown.
Nothing has been done that can't be undone, of course. The Texans still control their own destiny for the number one overall seed, needing only to win at Indianapolis -- a team the Texans throttled a week ago in Houston and one that will likely rest a few regulars with its number five playoff seed locked in.
Lose, though, and the Texans will complete one of the biggest collapses in Houston football history, having needed only one win against middling Minnesota and Indianapolis to clinch homefield.
If the Texans blow a gift-wrapped scenario like this one and ultimately lose in the AFC playoffs, how can anyone reasonably expect the Kubiak-Schaub regime to ever win a Super Bowl?
Kubiak wouldn't actually be fired, of course. Owner Bob McNair loves him, plus the back-to-back division titles will keep fans flowing into Reliant Stadium and merchandise flying off the shelves.
But for the end game of a Super Bowl? If the Texans can't get this done -- especially if the offense, which doesn't have the excuse of losing Brian Cushing, is to blame -- it's very hard to envision when they can.
In six days, we'll arrive at what finally and truly is the "biggest game in franchise history."


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Brave little Izzy is walking after SDR
Brave little Izzy Pearce from Newquay is walking after having her life-changing operation in the USA
A six-year-old girl with cerebral palsy is now walking after successfully undergoing a life-changing operation in the United States.
In January 2016 her parents, Ursula and Mike, launched a successful online fundraising appeal called Help Izzy Walk in order to help pay for a surgical procedure in the United States, which costs upwards of £80,000.
The procedure, known as selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), is unavailable through the NHS, but in only eight months Izzy's parents smashed through their target.
After flying to the United States earlier this month, Izzy underwent an operation at the St Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, which the family hope will change Izzy's life and enable her to walk properly.
The operation was a success, and Izzy is now up and walking and working hard in her daily physiotherapy sessions as she embarks on her long journey to recovery.
Read more Cornwall Live


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$105 million goes to computing center
Stanford Report, April 25, 2007
BY DAVID ORENSTEIN
The U.S. Army has awarded a $105 million, five-year grant to a multi-institution consortium led by Stanford University to build a new home for the Army High-Performance Computing Research Center. The facility will enable advanced simulations to develop new materials for military vehicles and equipment, improve wireless battlefield communication, advance detection of biological or chemical attacks and stimulate innovations in supercomputing itself. The research may spawn civilian innovations as well.
"Modeling and simulation today play an equal role to theory and physical experimentation in discovery-driven engineering research," says Charbel Farhat, a professor of mechanical engineering and expert on supercomputer simulation who is also a member of the Stanford School of Engineering's Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering. "Using the most advanced high-performance computing resources, a research center of this magnitude has great potential for innovating technology and reducing design-cycle time."
Farhat will direct the multidisciplinary research center, which includes teams of engineers and scientists at Morgan State University in Maryland, New Mexico State University at Las Cruces, the University of Texas at El Paso and NASA. A private firm, High Performance Technologies Inc., based in Reston, Va., will provide technical expertise and staffing and other administrative support.
The grant will fund the development, equipping and staffing of a new center on the grounds of NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. It also will enable programs in basic research and fund collaboration, technology transfer and scientific training for the Army. Part of the center's mission, for example, will include hosting visiting scholars from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
A budget of $1.5 million a year will fund another substantial component of the project: an educational outreach program for middle- and high-school students. The center's participating institutions will work with nearby school teachers to augment their efforts to teach math, science, engineering and computing. The center will work closely with Stanford's Education Program for Gifted Youth, a distance-learning program that has served 50,000 talented students in 35 countries.
After five years, the grant includes an optional renewal for another five years and $105 million of funding. The Army began the high-performance computing research center program in 1989. The inaugural host institution was the University of Minnesota.
Key areas of research
One of the research areas the center participants will tackle is the development and testing of lighter materials that would enhance the agility of Army vehicles and infantry alike. Farhat will direct the center's efforts to simulate the strength and other properties of structures made from promising materials. Applications could range from better body armor to reconnaissance drones that a soldier could literally carry and launch from his or her uniform.
"Soldiers carry a lot of things: ammunition, batteries for radios and so on. Could we make these lighter?" Farhat asks. "Also, for example, could we build plastic tanks?"
A second focus area, led by Stanford chemical engineering and mechanical engineering Professor Eric Shaqfeh, is application of the center's computing power to problems in nanotechnology and biology.
The nanotechnology investigations will look at how to engineer novel materials starting from structures on the scale of atoms. Studies in biology will look at computationally intensive problems such as designing sensors and systems that can rapidly detect biological attacks with agents such as anthrax on the scale of individual rooms and entire cities.
Work on wireless communications, led by Stanford mathematics Professor George C. Papanicolaou, will attempt to improve how commanders and soldiers make use of the myriad streams of information coming in from sources including reconnaissance airplanes, submarines, sensor arrays and soldiers in the field.
The fourth area will focus on advancing computation itself through better hardware and algorithm designs. Pat Hanrahan, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering, will lead this research.
Broad benefits
Farhat points out that while the center will focus on technology questions of intensive interest to the Army, the research will likely produce tangible benefits for society more broadly. Lightweight materials developed for armored vehicles might find their way into cars and trucks, making them much more fuel efficient, for example.
"A lot of things that have been developed for the military in the past are used today for civilian needs," Farhat says. "Penetration mechanics modeling and simulation codes, for example, are used today to simulate the crash of cars."
The center's focus on developing improved hardware and software for supercomputing also could yield benefits for the diverse research efforts that depend on the technology, such as climate modeling and aircraft design.
David Orenstein is the communications and public relations manager at the School of Engineering.
http://www.supercomputingonline.com/article.php?sid=13582
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/28/BAGC0PHBUL1.DTL
http://www.psc.edu/science/Farhat/flutter_in_the_sky.html
© Farhat Research Group. All Rights Reserved. Stanford, CA 94305. (650) 723-2300


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Q: How Do I Disable IIS Error Pages And Handle Errors In Global.asax? I've been trying to disable IIS error handling so I can capture all errors in Global.asax.
I am running Windows 2012 with IIS version 6.2.
For example, when I navigate to a missing image file such as:
www.mysite.com/thisimagesdoesntexist.jpg
I get the IIS error page and my Global.asax does not capture the error.
I tried adding to my web.config:
<system.webServer>
<httpErrors existingResponse="Passthrough" />
</system.webServer>

And also, in Global.asax:
Server.ClearError()
Response.TrySkipIisCustomErrors = True

However, the missing image error still is handled by IIS. Here is the code of my web.config and my Global.asax routine:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
  <appSettings>
    <!--Unobtrusive validation used JQuery-->
    <add key="ValidationSettings:UnobtrusiveValidationMode" value="WebForms" />
  </appSettings>
  <system.web>
    <httpRuntime targetFramework="4.6.1" />
    <!--Enable Sessions and don't scroll a form when doing a postback-->
    <!-- clientIDMode="Static" ensures the ASP.net controls have the exact name specified in their ID tags
         This is important so CSS targets the correct IDs for styling. -->
    <pages enableSessionState="true" controlRenderingCompatibilityVersion="3.5" clientIDMode="Static" maintainScrollPositionOnPostBack="true" />
    <!--Use cookies if enabled; use querystring if disabled-->
    <!--<sessionState mode="InProc" cookieless="AutoDetect" timeout="20" />-->
    <!-- cookieless="AutoDetect" is adding a cookie parameter to the URL that was causing FastSpring posts to fail -->
    <sessionState mode="InProc" timeout="20" />
    <!--Show detailed errors on the website while developing-->
    <customErrors mode="Off" />
    <compilation debug="true" targetFramework="4.6.1" />
    <!--Use Tracing-->
    <trace enabled="true" pageOutput="false" requestLimit="40" localOnly="false" />
    <globalization fileEncoding="utf-8" requestEncoding="utf-8" responseEncoding="utf-8" culture="auto" uiCulture="auto" />
  </system.web>
  <!--
  <system.webServer>
    <httpErrors errorMode="Detailed" />
  </system.webServer>
  -->
  <system.webServer>
    <httpErrors existingResponse="Passthrough" />
  </system.webServer>
  <system.codedom>
    <compilers>
      <compiler extension=".cs" language="c#;cs;csharp" warningLevel="4" compilerOptions="/langversion:7.0 /nowarn:1659;1699;1701;612;618" type="Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform.CSharpCodeProvider, Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform, Version=3.6.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" />
      <compiler extension=".vb" language="vb;vbs;visualbasic;vbscript" warningLevel="4" compilerOptions="/langversion:default /nowarn:41008,40000,40008 /define:_MYTYPE=\"Web\" /optionInfer+" type="Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform.VBCodeProvider, Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform, Version=3.6.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" />
    </compilers>
  </system.codedom>
</configuration>

Sub Application_Error(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

  Dim Uri As Uri = New Uri(Request.Url.AbsoluteUri)

  Dim ex As HttpException = CType(Server.GetLastError(), HttpException)
  Dim httpCode As Integer = ex.GetHttpCode()
  Dim strErrorDescription As String = ex.Message.ToString

  Server.ClearError()
  Response.TrySkipIisCustomErrors = True

  If httpCode = 500 Then
    Response.Redirect("~/error.aspx?type=globalerror&errdescription=" & HttpUtility.UrlEncode(strErrorDescription) & "&url=" & HttpUtility.UrlEncode(Uri.ToString))
  ElseIf httpCode = 404 Then
    Response.Redirect("~/404.aspx?type=globalhttp&errdescription=" & HttpUtility.UrlEncode(strErrorDescription) & "&url=" & HttpUtility.UrlEncode(Uri.ToString))
  Else
    'Let's see what other errors are picked up and logged. Perhaps we log these to a separate table?
    Response.Redirect("~/error.aspx?type=globalhttp&errdescription=" & HttpUtility.UrlEncode(strErrorDescription) & "&url=" & HttpUtility.UrlEncode(Uri.ToString))
  End If

End Sub


The world's top mountain bikers have arrived in the Koue Bokkeveld for South Africa's premier four-day stage race, the Momentum Health Tankwa Trek presented by Biogen. The 2019 event was more eagerly anticipated than ever. A ground-breaking live streaming component, as well as a brand new opening stage, has had mountain bike fanatics licking their lips for months now.
Fans will also be eager to see if the Cannondale team will be able to maintain their intensity. Avancini seems to be throwing caution to the wind this year, however, and clearly has a point to prove, a scary prospect for the chasing pack.
Just over halfway in, an issue with Last's seat forced her to briefly stop. Ironically, it was Ghost Factory Racing's Anne Terpstra and Barbara Benko who seized the opportunity and slipped by - a team that had only entered the event at the last minute.
Friend doing it solo says he sufferd badly in the heat yesterday, as did his rear brake which tried to stop his forward motion on its own. Apparently his wasnt the only one. Shimano XT in his case I believe.
On the bright side, at least it wasn't his front brake that decided to suddenly stop his forward motion.
Yes indeed did hear a coupla stories of brake issues, not surprising in that extreme heat. Stand to be corrected but the primary cause would be to much fluid in the brake line which then expands in the heat and causes them to bind to rotor. I can imagine different braking systems, type of fluid used and type of housing could make things more or less susceptible to change though. Only solution (given temperature stays the same) would then be to bleed some out.
All the best to your friend!
My XT's performed flawlessly all weekend.