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OSA Publishing > Optics Express > Volume 10 > Issue 18 > Page 960
James Leger, Editor-in-Chief
Feature Issues
Neutron and gamma radiation effects in proton exchanged optical waveguides
Vittorio M. N. Passaro and Mario N. Armenise
Optoelectronics Laboratory, Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica Politecnico di Bari, Via Edoardo Orabona 4 – 70125 Bari, Italy
V Passaro
M Armenise
•https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.10.000960
Vittorio M. N. Passaro and Mario N. Armenise, "Neutron and gamma radiation effects in proton exchanged optical waveguides," Opt. Express 10, 960-964 (2002)
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Proton and gamma radiation tests on nonlinear crystals (AO)
Characterization of α-phase soft proton-exchanged LiNbO3 optical waveguides (JOSAA)
Anisotropic model for the fabrication of annealed and reverse proton exchanged waveguides in congruent lithium niobate (OE)
Table of Contents Category
Acoustooptic modulators
Planar waveguides
Spatial light modulators
Lithium niobate (130.3730)
Waveguides, planar (230.7390)
Radiation (350.5610)
Original Manuscript: July 31, 2002
Revised Manuscript: September 2, 2002
2. Experiments
The effect of neutron and gamma ray irradiations on the optical properties of proton exchanged Z-cut lithium niobate optical planar waveguides were investigated. The damage thresholds were found by optical characterization for waveguides exchanged either in pure or diluted proton source.
©2002 Optical Society of America
For a number of years, lithium niobate (LiNbO3)–based technology was largely used for fabricating integrated optical devices on an industrial scale for telecommunications and sensing applications, including electrooptic and acoustooptic modulators, filters and multiplexers for dense WDM systems, guided-wave sensors and so on. Increasing interest was also devoted to the applications of photonic technologies to space, including velocity sensors for gyroscope systems, spatial light modulators, acousto-optic Bragg cells [1] and semiconductor lasers [2], or high energy particle environments, where the experimental investigations were mainly applied to optical fibre components [3] or nonlinear crystals [4]. However, little effort was spent on the influence of irradiation particles on the optical characteristics of planar waveguides, which support a number of guided-wave optical devices. For these reasons, in this paper we investigate the sensitivity of lithium niobate planar waveguides to ionizing particles and establish their damage threshold.
Planar optical waveguides were fabricated by proton exchange on Z-cut lithium niobate samples. The beaker with pure or diluted (with lithium benzoate) benzoic acid was immersed in an oil bath at different temperatures (200-235 °C, ± 0.1°C). A slow cooling procedure (25 °C/min) of the samples was followed after the proton exchange, in order to avoid any crystal thermal shock.
Optical characterization was carried out by He-Ne laser at λ = 632.8 nm by rutile prism coupling. Index profile reconstruction for the multi-mode waveguides was obtained by the inverse WKB (IWKB) method by using a generalized Gaussian function for interpolation purposes, as:
(1)Δn=Δnsexp[−(x/d)α]
where Δns (surface index change), d (waveguide thickness) and α (Gaussian function exponent) are parameters to be simultaneously extracted. The accuracy of this procedure was verified. In fact, the reconstructed profile was used to numerically evaluate the waveguide effective indices by the transfer matrix method and compare them with the experimental ones, their difference being always less than 0.3%. All the waveguides fabricated in pure benzoic acid showed four modes, while those obtained by diluted sources were single-mode, as it can be seen in Table I. Measurements of in-plane scattering levels (defined as the variation of scattered power at 1°/centre spot power ratio measured into free space along the m-line of fundamental mode versus the distance between the input and output coupling prisms) were performed on all the samples by an experimental set-up including lock-in amplifier, photodiode, data acquisition card and PC (standard deviation < 0.025 dB).
Table I. Optical waveguide fabrication conditions.
View Table | View all tables in this article
As a first step, 1 MeV neutron radiations were applied by the Prospero Reactor at CERN to the samples B3, B5, B6 and BD4 (I irradiation), changing the experimental parameters (see Table II). The total dose of 2∙1011 n/cm2 corresponds to 10 years of radiation at Large Hadron Collider (LHC), 2∙1012 n/cm2 to 100 years [5]. After that, the samples were again optically characterized. The comparison of optical measurements before and after the neutron irradiation is given in Table III, showing a slight effective index change, the in-plane scattering remaining of the same order of magnitude with a moderate improvement (from 0.49 to 0.26 dB/cm) only for the B5 sample. In this last case, the stronger neutron radiation induces a moderate local annealing, which probably contributes to the homogeneous distribution of substitutional protons inside the waveguide. On the contrary, the increase of in-plane scattering loss in the other cases should be related to the harmful migration of interstitial protons, which act as scattering centres [6].
As a second step, the same samples B3, B5 and B6 were radiated by 1 MeV gamma rays with dose rate of 8.57 rad/h and total doses as in Table II.
Table II. Radiation experimental parameters.
Then, the waveguides were again characterized (see Table III) and their index profile parameters (Δns, d and α) summarized as in Table IV. Results shown in Table IV and Fig. 1 for the B5 sample clearly show a more gradual index profile as an effect of both the waveguide radiations. However, this low-energy (1 MeV) gamma irradiation was not strong enough to change the surface refraction index, i.e. the sample crystallographic phase, and the only remarkable radiation effect was given by the change of α values, depending on the graduality of the proton distribution between the exchanged and pure crystal regions. In fact, we can notice from Table IV that the α value was almost unchanged for the sample B6 after the first neutron radiation, while the other two samples exhibited a strong reduction (from about 30 to 13).
Table III. Optical characterization results for samples as-exchanged, after neutron radiation and after gamma following neutron radiation.
Table IV. Index profile reconstruction parameters.
Similarly, a comparison between the last two columns of Table IV shows that the gamma radiation induced a significant effect on α for doses ≥ 50 rad, the B3 sample remaining practically unchanged and the sample B5 showing a stronger decrease of α (-41%) with respect to B6 (-35%), although it was radiated with lower energy (50 instead of 57.1 rad). This effect is due to the neutron-gamma combined irradiation, which tends to increase the damage induced over a waveguide, when it is already significantly damaged. In-plane scattering levels obtained after the gamma radiation showed the same order of magnitude than before it, namely 0.88 dB/cm (B3), 0.32 dB/cm (B5) and 0.42 dB/cm (B6).
To investigate the influence of the proton source dilution, another set of samples exchanged in diluted acid was radiated according to Table II (samples BD4: II irradiation, B6, B7, B7bis and B7tris, all subjected to 20 MeV neutron dose of 3.1∙1012 n/cm2 in the High Energy Collider at Louvain, Belgium). The optical characterization results are given in Table III.
Fig. 1. Index profiles of B5 sample as-exchanged, after 1 MeV neutron (2∙1011 n/cm2) and after 1 MeV gamma (50 rad) following neutron radiation.
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From this Table we can see that neutron radiations for times < 6 h did not significantly influence the optical characteristics of diluted waveguides. For radiation times > 6.5 h, an increasing influence on the guiding parameters was obtained, as in the sample BD7bis where the effective index decreased, due to less optical confinement. Sample BD7tris, radiated for more than 7.5 h, exhibited the maximum damage, since it supported four modes after the radiation, with a like-step index profile having d=1.63 μm and α = 14. This circumstance demonstrates that the radiation step significantly modified the crystallographic structure of the exchanged region, causing a strong penetration of the protons inside the waveguide and increasing the depth from 0.55 to 1.63 μm. From Table III we can see that the in-plane scattering levels after the radiation increased in any case, still remaining of the same order of magnitude. Finally, it is important to consider the significant difference found in the sample behaviour when the radiation was carried out in successive cycles or in a single one. In fact, the sample BD4 radiated for 8 h in two different cycles (I and II, 4 h each) was practically unchanged, while the sample BD7tris radiated for 7.5 h in one single cycle was strongly damaged, i.e. in the former the effect was largely reversible and in the latter fully irreversible.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated the following: For waveguides exchanged in pure benzoic acid:
Damage threshold using 1 MeV neutron radiation at a dose of 5∙1010 n/cm2;
Damage threshold using 1 MeV gamma radiation at 50 rad.
In both cases a progressive increase of index profile graduality was observed.
For waveguides exchanged in diluted benzoic acid:
Damage threshold using 20 MeV neutron radiation at 3.1∙1012 n/cm2 for times ≥ 6.5 h (increasing number of modes).
Reversible effect of neutron radiation applied in successive cycles (4 h each, > 7 h in total), and fully irreversible effect obtained after a single long cycle (> 7 h).
The work was supported by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy, under the frame of OPTEL Research Project.
1. E. W. Taylor, "Advancement of radiation effects research in photonic technologies: application to space platforms and systems," in Advancement of Photonics for Space, SPIE Critical Reviews CR-66, 58–82 (1997).
2. H. Schone, R. F. Carson, A. H. Paxton, and E. W. Taylor, "AlGaAs Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Responses to 4.5-MeV Proton Irradiation," IEEE Photon. Tech. Lett. 9, 1552–1554 (1997). [CrossRef]
3. T. S. Rose, D. Gunn, and G. C. Valley, "Gamma and Proton Radiation Effects in Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers: Active and Passive Measurements," J. Lightwave Technol. 19, 1918–1923 (2001). [CrossRef]
4. U. Roth, M. Trobs, T. Graf, J. E. Balmer, and H. P. Weber, "Proton and gamma radiation tests on nonlinear crystals," Appl. Opt. 41, 464–469 (2002). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
5. http://lhc-new-homepage.web.cern.ch/lhc-new-homepage.
6. V. M. N. Passaro, M. N. Armenise, D. Nesheva, I. Savatinova, and E. Y. Pun, "LiNbO3 Optical Waveguides Formed in a New Proton Source," J. Lightwave Technol. 20, 71–77 (2002). [CrossRef]
Article Order
E. W. Taylor, "Advancement of radiation effects research in photonic technologies: application to space platforms and systems," in Advancement of Photonics for Space, SPIE Critical Reviews CR-66, 58–82 (1997).
H. Schone, R. F. Carson, A. H. Paxton, and E. W. Taylor, "AlGaAs Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Responses to 4.5-MeV Proton Irradiation," IEEE Photon. Tech. Lett. 9, 1552–1554 (1997).
T. S. Rose, D. Gunn, and G. C. Valley, "Gamma and Proton Radiation Effects in Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers: Active and Passive Measurements," J. Lightwave Technol. 19, 1918–1923 (2001).
U. Roth, M. Trobs, T. Graf, J. E. Balmer, and H. P. Weber, "Proton and gamma radiation tests on nonlinear crystals," Appl. Opt. 41, 464–469 (2002).
[Crossref] [PubMed]
http://lhc-new-homepage.web.cern.ch/lhc-new-homepage.
V. M. N. Passaro, M. N. Armenise, D. Nesheva, I. Savatinova, and E. Y. Pun, "LiNbO3 Optical Waveguides Formed in a New Proton Source," J. Lightwave Technol. 20, 71–77 (2002).
Armenise, M. N.
Balmer, J. E.
Carson, R. F.
Graf, T.
Gunn, D.
Nesheva, D.
Passaro, V. M. N.
Paxton, A. H.
Pun, E. Y.
Rose, T. S.
Roth, U.
Savatinova, I.
Schone, H.
Taylor, E. W.
Trobs, M.
Valley, G. C.
Weber, H. P.
Appl. Opt. (1)
IEEE Photon. Tech. Lett. (1)
J. Lightwave Technol. (2)
SPIE Critical Reviews (1)
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Well-BeingMedical Advances
More and more conservative media leaders are dying from COVID-19 after advocating against vaccines
Most recently, Marcus Lamb, co-founder of Christian TV network Daystar, died of COVID-19 after his network aired a segment that falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines are, "killing your immune system."
Shirin Ali | Dec. 2, 2021
Multiple members of conservative-leaning media have contracted and died of COVID-19 in recent months after pushing anti-vaccine rhetoric.
Marcus Lamb, 64, most recently died of the virus this week.
The White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local agencies have all been trying to address vaccine hesitancy and pushback on anti-vaccine messaging.
Another leader in the conservative media space has died from COVID-19 and his death marks a growing trend of like-minded anti-vaccine advocates that have themselves succumbed to the virus.
Marcus Lamb, the 64-year-old co-founder of Christian TV network Daystar, died this week after contracting COVID-19 in November. The conservative broadcast network questioned the safety of vaccines and aired a segment that falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines are, "killing your immune system," according to The New York Times.
Lamb's death comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared omicron a new variant of concern, and urged that vaccination efforts be "intensified" for all eligible populations. The continued use of masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing was also recommended as variants continue to emerge throughout the pandemic.
Lamb joins a number of other conservative media leaders who caught COVID-19 and eventually died from the virus after refusing to take a vaccine and flouted anti-vaccine rhetoric.
A conservative radio host from Tennessee, Phil Valentine, also died of COVID-19 in August. Valentine was an outspoken critic of the vaccine and even released a parody song that mocked it. However, in July he confirmed he had contracted the virus. By August local Nashville radio station WTN, where Valentine was a host, released a statement that denied Valentine was an "anti-vaxxer" but that, "he regrets not being more vehemently 'pro-vaccine.'"
Our country is in a historic fight against the coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
The list goes on, with Florida talk radio host Dick Farrel, who also served as an anchor on right-wing TV network Newsmax, publicly sharing his criticism for the COVID-19 vaccine. Farrel called the vaccine bogus and called Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a, "power tripping lying freak."
Farrel died from complications from COVID-19 in August. In a Facebook post, Amy Leigh Hair, a friend of Farrel, said the conservative talk show host texted her while battling the virus encouraging her to get vaccinated. "He is the reason I took the shot! He texted me and told me to 'get it!' He told me that this virus is no joke and he said: 'I wish I had gotten it!'"
Another Florida-based talk radio host Marc Brenier died of the virus after pushing anti-vaccine views on his show.
According to The New York Times, Brenier said on his show in June that he was unvaccinated. "I'm one of them. Judge me if you want." Then in July, he cited an unfounded claim that "45,000 people have died from taking the vaccine." Later Bernier accused the government of "acting like Nazis" for encouraging COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 vaccines have taken a definitive political divide, with a Kaiser Family Foundation poll revealing that 86 percent of Democrats had received at least one dose of a vaccine, while only 54 percent of Republicans had.
Pushing back on and finding a solution to anti-vaccine rhetoric has been a challenge throughout the pandemic, as skeptics continue to publicly criticize the science.
Joe Rogan, host of the podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" and who himself contracted COVID-19, has consistently made controversial comments about the pandemic and vaccines. The White House ultimately got involved and communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN, "I guess my first question would be, did Joe Rogan become a medical doctor while we weren't looking? I'm not sure that taking scientific and medical advice from Joe Rogan is perhaps the most productive way for people to get their information."
The White House, CDC and state and local agencies have been attempting to overcome people's vaccine hesitancy, as roughly 74 percent of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC says that side effects after taking a COVID-19 vaccine are normal and temporary and getting the shot outweighs the known risks, which are rare.
BREAKING NEWS ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
MODERNA CHIEF PREDICTS VACCINES COULD STRUGGLE AGAINST OMICRON
TRUMP'S WHITE HOUSE DOCTOR CALLS OMICRON A MIDTERM ELECTIONS TRICK
DOCTOR WHO DISCOVERED OMICRON EXPLAINS THE SYMPTOMS TO WATCH OUT FOR
EXPERTS PREDICT AN ALARMING SURGE OF US COVID-19 CASES THIS WINTER
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black churches get $20M donation
Four SeaWorld manatees flown to Ohio for treatment
Apple now mandating boosters for some employees
'Huge, huge numbers:' insurance group sees death rates up 40 percent over pre-pandemic levels | TheH
Art history student's fore-edge book paintings go viral on TikTok
"The study opens a new paradigm for a possible HIV cure in the future," the study's lead author said.
Stanford scientists complete fastest DNA sequencing technique in the world
"It was just one of those amazing moments where the right people suddenly came together to achieve something amazing. It really felt like we were approaching a new frontier," said Euan Ashley, professor of medicine, genetics and biomedical data science at Stanford.
New study investigates early claims of COVID-19 'infodemic'
"When you compare it to what was going on before the pandemic, you start to see that health misinformation was already widespread."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Even when your home would not seem like a "trendy" house from the surface, the inside format of fashionable house plans makes it worthwhile to take a look at them. Even if you don't wish to go all the best way with an ultra-fashionable home plan, there are a lot of fashionable-impressed house plans that aren't too excessive of their appearance. In the realm of 3D rendering and drawing targeted on home designs, you've got skilled home design software which might be both powerful and person-friendly sufficient to be used by homeowners. Finding fashionable house plans is usually a bit difficult because of the free definition of the term, however after a number of preliminary searches you need to get a feel for which sites have higher choices than others. That said, wanting by a large site's assortment of house plans may be a fast and environment friendly method to refine your ideas for what you search in a modern plan.
Modern house plans provide an important alternative to the more conventional types. There are specialist designers focusing on modern plans, who could give you more attention-grabbing and particular person designs and smarter service. Personally, I'm a giant fan of modern house plans, as a result of they tend to have bigger home windows and open floor plans, which provide a versatile and spacious living expertise. One synonym that is typically used for modern house plans is "contemporary house plans." While technically a subcategory of fashionable house plans, contemporary house plans seem to describe greatest what most individuals would intuitively describe as "fashionable". Modern house plans embody a spread of types, starting from the stereotypical "concrete, steel, and glass" look to subtle or exaggerated variations of historically older house plan styles. Historians of structure and house plan sellers often use considerably completely different definitions of styles, especially in the more fragmented fashionable house plans class. Since your home will probably be facing east, you may be getting essentially the most from the beneficial morning sun. It is not that easily noticed, and if it is brilliant individuals will choose up in your look quicker than ever.
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Norman Nato joins Racing Engineering for second GP2 season
By Luke SmithFeb 4, 2016, 4:00 PM EST
© GP2 Series
Norman Nato will remain in the GP2 Series for 2016 with Racing Engineering.
Nato made his GP2 debut in 2015 with Arden and recorded a best finish of sixth en route to 18th place overall in the final championship standings.
The Frenchman will spend 2016 with Racing Engineering after a successful test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season.
"I am really pleased to join Racing Engineering this season for the GP2 Series championship," Nato said.
"It is a very experienced team that has already won the GP2 championship twice. The Abu Dhabi post-season test went well and it was a logical decision to keep working together for the 2016 season.
"After a first season to discover and learn about the GP2 series in 2015, my aim is now to be a front runner in every race meeting in order to fight for the title."
Nato will join Jordan King at Racing Engineering, with the Briton confirming last month that he would be staying with the Spanish team for a second season.
Follow @LukeSmithF1


For the sake of its survey, the IW Economic Institute compared the developments of median wages with rent rates in all of the 401 counties and corporate cities. Assuming you are an employee spending 26 percent of your net income on your net rent—which would equal the German mean—then you would be able to afford a larger home in most regions of Germany than you did five years ago.
These findings apply not just to rural areas or small towns, but even to some of the metropolises. Employees in Hamburg, for example, were able to afford an average of 55.5 square metres in residential accommodation in 2017, up from 53.1 square metres in 2013 or an increase by 4.6 percent. Analogously, the affordable residential footprint increased by 2.0 percent in Frankfurt am Main, by 1.4 percent in Cologne and by 1.2 percent in Düsseldorf. In Munich, by contrast, the costs of renting your home increased 6.1 percent faster than the income trend. Affordability also declined in Berlin, but only marginally so. The average apartment size that employees can afford in the German capital dropped from 59.5 square metres in 2013 down to just 59 square metres by 2017.
But generally speaking, the survey findings are at odds with the widespread opinion that the affordability of housing in Germany is steadily deteriorating and rents in conurbations in particular have become intolerably high. Although it is true that rents went up over the past five years, the income trend stayed abreast of their growth, to say the least.
Even now, it is safe to say that 2018 saw brisk rent growth in the metro regions. An analysis of the Immowelt.de real estate portal revealed, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, that asking rents in Berlin climbed by twelve percent during the first nine months, compared to the period year period. Asking rents also rose in the country's other metropolises by at least three percent, according to the analysis.
While tenants will take a bleak view of the development, buy-to-let investors will consider the upward trend good news along with the prospective growth upside generated by the increased affordability. In other words, owners of residential property may keep looking forward to a robust rate of return and a stable price trend.


A 14-year-old's thought-provoking talk on discrimination was the pick of the bunch at a borough-wide public speaking event at Queen's Park Community School on Friday.
Ark Elvin Academy's Aisha Abdirahman – with a speech called 'apologies' – scooped the top prize of a £100 gift certificate and the chance to go through to the grand final of the Jack Petchey 'speak out challenge' at the Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden in July.
Second Place went to Tykalyla De-Gale, 15, from Capital City Academy with her speech 'gone too soon', closely followed by 15-year-old Kaliyl Morris, 15, from Queen's Park Community School with his talk on 'black history month'.
More than 750 Year 10 students in Brent's state secondary schools received a one-day public speaking and communications training workshop.
During the course, students were given the skills and the confidence to develop and deliver a competition speech on a topic that is important to them.
The Mayor of Brent, Cllr Bhagwanji Chohan, presented the awards and said: "I am very proud to have such wonderful young people in my borough.
The challenge is the world's largest youth speaking event in the world, with more than 19,000 students in London and Essex taking part. It is funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation and designed and delivered by public speaking charity, Speakers Trust.
The judging panel at the event included: Tara Furlong, consultant, Designing Futures Ltd; Andy Hunter, managing director, Print House; Insp Rob Webb, Partnership and Schools, London MET Police; Cllr James Denselow, Queen's Park ward councillor; Maneet Relom, community youth programmes co-ordinator, Brent Mind; Najib Rahman, chair of Brent youth parliament, London Borough of Brent; prof Michael Preston-Shoot, independent chair, Brent Safeguarding adults board and Connie Freedman, runner-up of the Jack Petchey 'speak out challenge' regional final from last year.
In Brent, the overall increase in student confidence – the results of which were calculated by a survey with students taking part – due to the training was recorded at 61per cent.


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Home Sun Dog: Vertigo Rush
Vertigo Rush is a Single Player racing game inspired by F-Zero and Redout. The game offers 6 different tracks, 3 different Vehicles and supports X-box controls. Unlike other racing games the speed is extremely fast and all tracks go wild in loops, upside down, rolls and are set in the sky.
Track Design and creation
Vertigo Rush is a fast paced racing game with Redout and F-zero as reference games. The project theme was about 3D space, making our own game engine and being able to move in all 3 directions, Y, X and Z.
Our initial idea and design (like most others) was to create a space shooter but as we had some trouble picking our reference game and that was when we started to look into racing games.
As Level Designers, our first task was to draw a fetch sketches of tracks and ideas we had. As we worked we made sure to keep the Graphical artists and Programmers updated to check what pieces we could create to limit the work and what the engine could handle.
A few of my tasks during the project was to record "ghost" enemies which the player then would race against, create test tracks, find suitable sounds, place assets and details around the map and the creation of 2/6 main tracks.


This latest survey by the Schar School at George Mason University has the Democrats on 50% to the Republicans on 46%. In UK terms that represents quite some swing.
This sounds similar to the ComRes polling of groups of marginals at GE2015 which proved to be just about the most predictive polling of the campaign.
In the betting the Democrats are a 63% chance to take the House with the Republicans on 37%. This has remained fairly stable although the Senate betting has seen a GOP majority harden up to a 69% chance.
Voting is four weeks tomorrow.


New drug trafficking routes into the United States may now intersect more with tourist areas such as Falcon Lake.
Escorted by Texas Parks and Wildlife, Tiffany Hartley, center, and family members, lay a wreath near the site where her husband, David, who was shot last week, Wednesday, Oct. 6, on Falcon Lake in Zapata, Texas. Hartman was shot by Mexican pirates on Falcon Lake last week as they were returning to the United States on Jet Skis.
The attack that allegedly killed the missing American tourist David Hartley on Sept. 30 while he was jet-skiing with his wife was not the first such incident on the 60-mile-long body of water straddling the United States and Mexico.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, gunmen armed with AK-47s and AR-15 rifles have attacked US tourists on Lake Falcon in a string of robberies in recent months. Using Argos-type fishing boats, some attackers are dressed as Mexican police, while others have used crude duct-taped signs to disguise their boats as Texas Parks and Wildlife vessels, according to victims' reports.
Since April 30, five incidents of armed robberies or attempted theft have been reported on Falcon Lake: one in April, two in May, and one in August. The fifth ambush allegedly ended in gunfire last week with the possible death of Mr. Hartley.
"This is a new situation where [drug-trafficking] groups feel they own public spaces," says Humberto Palomares, a security expert at the Tamaulipas campus of the Colegio de Frontera Norte (COLEF).
Targeting US tourists on an international reservoir is just another sign that the cartels feel more in control of swaths of Mexican territory and don't have to hide in wait for moments to strike, Mr. Palomares says.
So dangerous is Lake Falcon, in fact, that Mexican law enforcement refuses to patrol it at night.
Mexican authorities have been searching Falcon Lake since Thursday for the body of Mr. Hartley. Their search is hampered in part by the danger of the lake, says Juan Antonio Jara, a Tamaulipas state prosecutor in the Miguel Aleman municipality office.
Once it starts getting dark, he says, police and investigators must return to shore because "it's a high risk area due to [lack of] security."
Some report that the bandits attacking tourists and fishermen on Lake Falcon have been brandishing "Z" tattoos, for the ruthless Zetas drug-trafficking group.
But questions have emerged over why a well-funded crime syndicate would bother harassing US fishermen for a few hundred dollars, and whether there is only one gang involved.
While the Zetas are the most powerful drug cartel in Tamaulipas, the state bordering Falcon Lake, small organizations associated with the Zetas may also be engaging in acts of piracy, says Jose Maria Ramos, a border relations expert at the Tijuana campus of COLEF.
Lack of extensive law enforcement on both sides of the border only helps breed insecurity, Mr. Ramos adds.
Security forces say cartels such as the Zetas are being forced to diversify into theft and piracy as the drug war chokes off trafficking profits, although not all experts buy that explanation. Instead, says Ramos, cartels are constantly establishing new drug trafficking routes into the United States that at times follow immigrant and even tourist paths.
These inevitably lead to conflict.
Before the Hartley case there seemed to have been little or no action taken by Mexican authorities on the robberies, and even less coordination with local US law enforcement. There had never before been reports of robberies on Falcon Lake or security concerns voiced by US law enforcement to local Mexican officials, according to the Tamaulipas prosecutor's office.
The Mexico City headquarters of the Federal Attorney General's Office said it has not been involved in any Falcon Lake cases as robbery and murder are state crimes.
The US Department of Homeland Security says it is in touch with Mexican authorities about Hartley. "We understand that Mexican authorities are engaging in the search effort and the US government has offered our assistance in that search," spokesman Matt Chandler said in a statement.


text:
JOE SATRIANI To Perform National Anthem At Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix
Manos Spanos July 9, 2013
As Joe Satriani finishes up his hugely successful two-month European tour, the critical praise is overwhelming. Hitting seventeen countries in all, the tour has played to sold-out venues throughout the continent and the Euro press response has been spectacular. Satriani has been an unstoppable force on the music scene for over 27 years. Now, the San Francisco guitarist sets his sights on North America for an extensive U.S. tour, and first-ever cross-Canada trek, supporting his latest album, "Unstoppable Momentum". The tour is set to launch on August 29 in San Diego, California before crisscrossing its way across the U.S., in addition to a trans-Canadian tour where Satriani will be hitting many Canadian cities for the very first time. The North American tour will end with a show on October 26 in Oakland, California. JoiningSatriani on the road are veteran bandmate Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa,Steve Vai) on keyboards, along with an entirely new rhythm section, featuring bassist Bryan Beller (DETHKLOK, Dweezil Zappa) and drummer Marco Minnemann (Adrian Belew, Steve Wilson).


How many seminars? How do I register for a seminar? How much does it cost? How long is a seminar?
Registration for the seminar is via our e-shop (please note you cannot order your seat for the seminar without having first ordered an e-pass), or at the show, subject to availability. The seminar fee is 45 €.
For Japanese visitors, a seminar (provided in French and translated into Japanese only) is offered at the show. Next date: Wednesday, 13 February 2019 at 3 pm, room 503. At the close of the presentation, a memo in Japanese summarising the presentation is given to each participant. The fee for the seminar is 130 € including VAT.
What publications are available? How can I order them?
Please see the products available for sale in our e-shop.
There are 2 available colour ranges.
Important information: The colour ranges ordered are not delivered/sent. You can purchase your colour range in advance but you will have to pick it up directly at the next Première Vision Paris show, between 12th to 14th February 2019 at the dedicated collection point(s).
Are the colour ranges available at the shows?
The color ranges available through our online boutique can also be purchased at the shows in every sales points of sale, one in each hall and also at the entrances, at the same time as the purchase of a pass for our visitors preferring to buy their badge on site.


So tomorrow marks the official end of summer for teachers in my division with the arrival of students back at school. The week long formal preparation has come to an end. Most teachers have been prepping on some level since school got out in June but day 1 sneaks up quickly and you must manage the butterflies and find ways to serve your future students. This year with 1 to 1 rolling out at our school there has been a bit more preparing than normal, but preparing is a rite of passage for teachers in August.
As I did prepare I was making a few copies in our new "Paper-Lite"(buzzword anyone?) technology blended workplace, I overheard a younger teacher ask a much more seasoned teacher if they were ready for school to start. The reply fit the moment.
"You are never really ready...You just go."
That statement epitomizes my feelings exactly. And tomorrow is go time. I could spend a whole month getting ready for the arrival of students and still find in many ways I still eel unprepared.Truth is I hate Pre-school week as I spend the majority of it in meetings or engaged in Organized Procrastination ( We can all get a little blue from the start of school). Yep...some might say I seem intent on rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic instead of getting down to preparing in ways that really matter. I focus a lot on my room. Learning spaces are important...and recent trends to continue to place focus on shiny new spaces. So I spent much of this week removing dated furniture, storing rarely used texts and finding a way to open things up a little by removing the clutter. Hopefully it will be an improvement. But we are still in a basement you know.
Another reason I don't enjoy this week is that there are no students in the building. If the school building is the body, the staff is the skeleton that holds it together and the students are the blood in the veins. The place lacks life without them. Save the occasional visit from those getting a head start and mapping out their travel plan or those fixing scheduling issues its been just us teachers. As energetic as we've been we can't replicate the buzz created by the young folks when they fill the building. This year especially they will really FILL our building but until tomorrow it has just seems stale and empty. At least when they are there going crazy there's some energy in the place.
So no I am not complaining about being back at work, quite the contrary. My sister who teaches in Southwest VA has been back for 2 weeks already so I count my blessings for a little extra time with the family. Sure I'd need my head examined if I didn't secretly wish for a few more days(or weeks) of summer. But it is go time. Time to get back to the routines, the normalcy, the unpredictable chaos. Schools in our area will fill with the young and the not so young but the mission is the same. Help them grow, learn, think, engage, understand, cope, create, discover and do our best to educate them to the best of our ability.
Students, parents and teachers alike will lay our heads down tonight with a curious blend of anticipation, anxiety, excitement, and even dread. In the months ahead we will will journey together with all of life's little adventures. It will take time to learn each others stories and there is so much to do but at 8:55 tomorrow we get down to it. Best of luck to all those who will greet the new and old faces and wishing everyone the best for a safe, successful and memorable school year!
I'm pretty sure it was the largest class to ever graduate from Jack Jouett Middle School. Somewhere close to two-hundred and fifty eighth graders. So large, they moved the graduation down the road to Albemarle High School. It worked out well for me, that's where I teach. I wouldn't even have to take leave to slide down to the auditorium for a short middle school graduation.
My wife and I found good seats in the standing room only crowd. Like most graduations, we were there to watch our son walk across the stage, literally, from one stage of life to the next. But I missed it, and all I got instead was this lousy picture.
Bearing my name, I knew he'd be in the second half of the second half of the alphabet. I patiently waited for the "S's" to remove my phone from my pocket to ready the camera. I tried out the angles and settings as the first "T" was called and sat prepared to capture my son's milestone.
They called his name. As he walked up the steps I snapped a shot and inspected. "Too soon, that's no good, I've got time for another." So I tried again. "Too far away, I need more zoom." By now he's reaching for his certificate. "Last chance, better make it good." As I inspected the picture above, he started down the aisle, walking toward the back of the room and I realized, "I didn't even see him graduate."
I'd gotten so concerned about documenting and preserving the experience that in the end, I missed out and all I've got to show for it is a poor quality picture. That image would mean so much more if I'd paused to savor the moment, paid attention to what was happening, and allowed that memory to process for me to hold in my mind forever.
But I've learned a valuable lesson moving forward into this school year. The moment is so much more important than the documentation. We've become a culture that values the proof more than the experience. It's not enough to do. There has to be evidence that it's been done.
This is true of our vacations that we document on social media and it's true of our classrooms where the shiny project for display takes precedence over learning.
I'm not missing out this year, and I'm not going to let my students miss out. I'll still snap pictures when something cool is happening, I'll still have students produce projects to complement their learning. But I'm not going to waste so much time "trying to take the picture" that I miss out on the important things that are going on.
4) The student work is displayed to demonstrate the creativity of the teacher instead of reinforcing the effort of the student.
I'm sure there's more. But I think all of it is solved by committing to be fully present to our students and their needs in every interaction we have with them.


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Plenty of fishing available right now in the Taupo area. The heavy rain and flooding in some cases did the fishery very good and pushed fish in all those smaller rivers. The Tongariro was the one which really needed cleaning out and that certainly has happened with a good amount of the river turned over creating new water for fish to lie but also plenty of food. I think most anglers expected the fishing to be red hot on the Tongariro after the high water and recreational releases but actually the smaller rivers have been better. The Tongariro was just short of amazing prior to that, it couldn't have got much better.
I have been out only twice this week and totally cleaned up on the Hine. This river again received a good pulse of fresh silver fish which added variety to the catch bag with the darker fish which were already up there. There is plenty of fish in here and you can expect to be seeing fish in every suitable run, this fishery has been outstanding this past winter season. The Hine had a good amount of flow in it for quite a few days but didn't become un fishable with all that rain-just enough for near perfect conditions.
The TT finally had some good water down it and it sure pushed a lot of trout up the river when the water was high. The high water rang alarm bells with avid TT anglers and they turned up in their droves and raced to the best water which they knew. When the water is up in here and fish are moving some of the best water can be found right at the car park, but don't tell them that.
I think we are in for some good runs over the next couple of weeks especially in the Tongariro. The Delta fisherman have again been doing very well which means the fish are still wanting to enter the river and run to spawning water. We are again due plenty of rain over the next few days and if we get it I would say next week might be very good again. The fish are right through the river now but extra water and overcast conditions just make them slightly easier for most to catch-experienced anglers with plenty of fitness have enjoyed good fishing all week again. I have been fishing glo bugs with high coloured water but it has been hard to go past flashy natural patterns lately. Trout are seeing plenty of food at the moment with extra flow dislodging thousands of Caddis, this should be a go to fly!!
I have had a couple of days away from the river recently so I have been pursuing my other love which is hunting. I do offer guided hunts for clients on private land so if you want a safe hunt with no fear of other hunters let me know and we can get you out. I really enjoy a change of scenery and being in the hills alone, supplying my family with meat is important to me and leading into summer will be much appreciated. I was lucky enough to take this Red Stag during the week, took quite some time and sweat to lug back to the truck but that never hurt anyone!
Hope to hear from you this week, any questions or advise I'm always happy to help please just make contact and say hello.


> > > bugs as soon as somehow an NaN manages to sneak in.
> > > gets values outside the 0-1 range and thus needs to be "protected"
> > > will cause a crash with NaNs.
> > > go through, and casting to int then gives INT_MIN.
> > > to int and then doing FFMIN, except possible overflow issues?
> > > 2) cost calculation in quantize_and_encode_band_cost_template.
> > > If the cost returned is NaN there will be crashes later on.
> > > that can be triggered even without a NaN.
> its floating-point code while still leaving subtle bugs in it.
> as untrusted data, which this code clearly does not.
could be done, would lead to a small slowdown though.


text:
About Luvfooty
luv|footy
paying back a huge chunk of our transfer fee
Written by nearvana November 15, 1998 January 27, 2009
Doctor, the vital signs are good
'Nurse, how are the patients vital signs?'
'They are very weak doctor, I think we're going to lose him….!'
'Wait a second, I've got it…organisation, commitment, self-belief…yes, I think we're going to save him!!!!'
'Doctor Graham, you've staved off disaster! Congratulations…'
Erm, hello?
Ok, so what am I talking about? I'm talking about the ressurrection of Tottenham Hotspur FC. We are currently eight games into the well-dressed Scotsman reign at White Hart Lane and already Spurs fans are talking about the greatest comeback since John Travolta.
The proof of the football is in the results and so far Graham has managed some good ones. Wins in the league have been a bit sparse, only one win over Newcastle since early October, but there have been some impressive performances in draws with Arsenal and Charlton and in defeat against Leicester and Aston Villa. The more exciting thread though has come in the League Cup where Spurs overcame a difficult game away to division two side, Northampton and a comfortable win over fallen legends, Liverpool in the next round. Their path to the semi-finals are blocked by Man United Reserves.
Most fans expected tight rigid 4-4-2 line-ups and plenty of 0-0 and 1-0 results. But Graham has experimented successfully with three at the back, Ramon Vega finally looking more comfortable on the pitch, and Spurs have scored 12 goals in the last 6 games.
Team selection has been limited with some niggling injuries. Ruel Fox and Ramon Vega looked set to be frozen out for good when they were dropped for the game with Charlton, but they wriggled their way back in when injuries hit.
The most impressive performances have come from likely sources, Sol Campbell and Darren Anderton, and unlikely sources, Steve Carr, Allan Nielsen and Steffan Iversen.
Iversen has been leading the line well in the absence of Les Ferdinand and Chris Armstrong while Nielsen has patrolled the midfield with vigour and determination. It could be that the Dane has turned the corner even though his erratic play could persuade Graham to dig into the coffers in the summer. Steve Carr has been one of the most consistent performers this season and although he needs to work on his passing, is fast becoming one of the better full-backs in the Premiership.
The buying has begun and the first signing is a sensible one. Twenty five year old full-back Mauricio Tarrico has been brought from Ipswich for £1.75m. David Pleat raised interest in Tarrico a few months ago and Graham has followed through on the deal. The Argentinean was highly rated at Portman Road and with Justin Edinburgh, Clive Wilson and Paolo Tramezzani all rated from mediocre right down to crap, Tarrico looks set to covet the full-back position.
There is a lot of work to be done at the Lane and no one is in any doubt of that. About 3-4 new players are needed in key positions and Graham will probably bring them in for the start of next season. I personally hopes he goes back to Leeds and gets Lucas Radebe and Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink but with David O'Leary off to a decent start at Elland Road, the stars are likely to stay put for now.
My previous estimation was that Spurs would be in the top half by Christmas but would finish in the bottom half next May. I still go along with that but I do think that Spurs fans will be quite pleased about this season. The basis for a good future has been laid and the finishing position will not be too important once the obvious signs of improvement are there.
Arsenal fans had a good time slating George Graham on his return to Highbury with Spurs. He weathered chants of 'Judas', constant booing and even endured a sign held by 11 people in the stands that read 'J-U-D-A-S G-R-A-H-A-M'. It would be hypocritical of me to criticise the Arsenal fans for this show of 'passion' as I was a bitter and twisted hater of Teddy Sheringham when he returned to White Hart Lane in a Man United jersey.
But this is George Graham. This is the man who one numerous trophies for Arsenal and lifted them out of the doldrums in the 1980s. And it's not like they are unsuccessful now – they've just done the double. They shouldn't be so petulant about George Graham. This is the commercial world of football where rivalry cannot influence the jobs you choose or you will never reach the top. Look at Everton and Liverpool. Players have been moving smoothly between those two clubs for decades.
But that's just a personal hangup I have about the obsessive nature of the North London fan. I think the Arsenal fans stepped over the invisible line of common sense and decency this weekend. The irony is that this has probably further spurred George Graham on to pull one over on his former employers. And I think he will…
Posted in Comment, Football.Tagged George Graham, Mauricio Tarrico, Tottenham.
Striker!
8,099 goals
Mourinho will play that way for ever and a day. The only thing more boring than watching his team is reading tweets about it. 6 days ago
Matt Doherty is going to need a Sissoko-like renaissance after his start at Spurs. Aside from the run and shot that… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 week ago
Well Brentford didn't do a lot. I thought they'd be a lot better. Not that we didn't give them opportunity with our… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 weeks ago
I know us Spurs fans have a fondness for KWP but he's a bit of a messer some times. Needlessly overcarries the ball… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 weeks ago
https://t.co/YNOVEAYBki 2 weeks ago
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text:
David Brown (born 16 September 1965) is a Canadian former ski jumper from Thunder Bay, Ontario who competed in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

He came 51st in the normal-sized-hill jump, and 47th in the large hill jump.

References

1965 births
Living people
Canadian male ski jumpers
Olympic ski jumpers of Canada
Ski jumpers at the 1984 Winter Olympics

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


David Dehlendorf and Friends Attorney Kyle Loring raised a stink about the fact that three Common Sense Alliance (CSA) Board members sit on the Planning Commission. Dehlenloring alleged that it was a conflict of interest since CSA is opposing the County's draft of the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) in court. Loring even said that the conflict was so obvious that it was "Ethics 101." If it is Ethics 101, then Dehlendorf and Loring are late to class.
Unlike the Friends, CSA has never received a penny from the County and never voted to give itself grant funding. Unlike the Friends, CSA is a relative newcomer to County advisory committees. In fact, when Mike Carlson of CSA was appointed to the Planning Commission, he replaced Mike Kaill, former President of the Friends Board. Kaill's tenure on the Planning Commission coincided with the Friends opposition (including lawsuits) of the County's guesthouse legislation. Where were Dehlenloring's concerns about ethics then? Or ... when Susan Dehlendorf took a "straw poll" of Planning Commissioners regarding the CAO last year, where were the concerns about ethics?
Ethics 101? It seems more like Ethics-ish 101. When Dehlenloring are interested in ethics for everybody instead of simply using the name of ethics as a tool to advance their own interests, then we're more likely to pay attention. By the way, our Prosecuting Attorney reviewed the issue and twice produced a written opinion saying there is no conflict. The Planning Commission is only an advisory body to the Council, and as such, no conflict exists.
By now, most people have probably heard that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been armoring the beach at Watmough Bay, one of the most beloved pocket beaches in all the islands ... and certainly one of the most beloved beaches on Lopez Island. There are several incredible ironies about this story, which we will cover in greater detail in an upcoming post. First, the hard armoring isn't even protecting any structures. Second, despite all the meetings with BLM officials over the past few months about local outreach and involvement, apparently no locals knew the hard armoring project was in the works. Third, the BLM produced an Environmental Assessment of the proposed work which led to a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI). Think about that for a moment ... the federal government armored a beach in the National Monument and there are no significant impacts, and yet the Friends oppose nearly every dock and armoring project on the grounds that there are environmental impacts. Fourth, one of the contractors involved in the Watmough Bay project, Coastal Geologic Services, is the Friends "go to" consultant whenever the Friends oppose docks and armoring. It's hard to believe the Friends didn't know about the Watmough Bay project ahead of time ... and yet they said nothing, even as they opposed other armoring projects elsewhere and opposed the expansion of the Islander Resort on Fisherman Bay too. There are more ironies, but ... we'll cover them in the upcoming full post.
Speaking of the Friends, they're at it again. One of the key strategies of the Friends is to take local issues and link them to national and international affairs, so that we become subsumed into a global matrix of restrictions based on the pretense of "local protection." Case in point was Stephanie Buffum signing a treaty to protect the Salish Sea last March. As we've seen, the Friends' megalomania becomes especially virulent when it comes into contact with grant money. Below is an email from ex-CDPD employee Elizabeth Anderson talking to the usual suspects ... Barbara Rosenkotter and Stephanie Buffum ... about (wait for it) a grant to designate our waters a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). I know ... yet another acronym. It never ends. Some of you may remember Elizabeth Anderson, whose employment with CDPD was justified by (you guessed it) a grant, and who was put in charge of writing a County Solid Waste Management Plan during the collapse of the County's solid waste management system. Her time here could not have been more fruitless and pointless.
Now she is touting another "brilliant program."
OOPS! I forgot to copy you on this.
Stephanie - this is a brilliant program with a high degree of probability of success in preventing oil spills. However, it does not fit the NTA where I had notes that you would provide some further milestones. I attach the revised table thus far. The only red letters are under SD 1B, where I thought you had more to add. It may be fine as-is.
Do I need to add anything from yesterday's IC discussion?
The purpose of the Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) for the Salish Sea Feasibility Study is to investigate the possible benefits and costs of enhancing the management regime of the areas surrounding the shipping lanes surrounding the San Juan Island National Monument, through the creation of an internationally mandated Particularly Sensitive Sea Area for the Salish Sea. This potential designation can only be achieved if the area is particularly sensitive (in ecological and cultural terms) and the existing regulatory regime does not adequately protect it. Whilst such PSSA designations have been recognized in other parts of the United States and the international community, they have not been considered in the context of the highly vulnerable Salish Sea.
To communicate to the Salish Sea populace, including organizations, business, Tribes and First Nations and government, what important ecological and cultural values are present in the Salish Sea, their fragility, and how they will be negatively impacted upon if the risk of vessel traffic in this area is not adequately managed, as it is in other part of the United States, and similarly, within the international community. Simply, we wish to show the gaps in our regulatory protection of the Salish Sea, and an existing tool can be applied to fix this problem, to the benefit of both the ecology and the surrounding communities.
1. To provide a principle campaign tool for protecting marine waters.
2. To educate the public about what is at stake if large scale shipping traffic of potentially hazardous cargo, is not adequately regulated.
3. To show how adequate management has been achieved in comparable areas with similar risks to the Salish Sea.
5. To develop "new evidence" to bring to any review process.
6. To provide an Alternative, which has been successfully adopted elsewhere, to reduce the risk of an oil spill in the Salish Sea.
The audience is the general population of the Salish Sea. The request for designation will require Washington State Tribes and Canadian First Nations, federal, provincial, state and local leaders and public officials to support this designation. Key business leaders and ngo organizations in British Columbia and the US, principally within Washington State, will be essential for cultivating support for these two proposals separately in the US and in Canada.
According to State law, our elected Prosecuting Attorney serves as a legal advisor to our Council while also representing the County in all criminal and civil proceedings where the County is a party. Under our Charter, the Council must use resolutions to declare policy or exercise its executive power.
When the County's CAO was appealed to the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB) in June 2013, our Prosecuting Attorney's (PA's) Office defended the ordinance in front of the GMHB. I want readers to take particular note of the date. The GMHB hearings occurred during June 2013 ... after our new three-person Council took office. Our PA's defense of the CAO ostensibly took place under the direction of a different Council from the one that rammed the CAOs down our throats in its waning days last December. Our current Council has not passed any resolutions declaring its policy stance towards the new CAO nor directed the PA to defend any particular position regarding the previous Council's CAO work product.
Then, when the GMHB ruling came down in September 2013, it was the PA who issued a press release declaring the GMHB outcome to be largely a victory for the County. Again, there was no comment or resolution from the County Council.
Even though the GMHB ruling struck down parts of the County's CAO, the County did not file to defend the new CAOs in Superior Court (CSA and the Friends have filed suit with Superior Court). Again, there has been no comment or resolution from the County Council.
Last week, the PA's office opposed a Motion to Stay brought by CSA regarding enactment of the new CAO. CSA seeks to stay the implementation of the new CAO until the legal issues can be fully resolved by the courts. Along with the Friends, our PA's office, on behalf of our County, is opposing the motion. Again, there has been no comment or resolution from the County Council.
New Council takes over in May 2013. What do we hear from our Council about the CAO? ... crickets.
The GMHB hearings occur in June 2013. What do we hear from our Council in terms of coordinating with the PA on a position regarding the CAO? ... crickets.
The GMHB ruling is issued in September 2013. What do we hear from our Council? ... crickets.
CSA and the Friends file to take the GMHB ruling to Superior Court in October 2013. What do we hear from our Council? ... crickets.
Our PA files an opposition to CSA's Motion to Stay in October 2013 ... and so do the Friends. What do we hear from our Council? ... crickets.
No one knows how the new CAOs will affect wildlife in the San Juans, but the crickets are flourishing at the County Council chambers.
With last week's opposition to stay, this Council cannot hide from the CAOs anymore. We already knew of Stephens' advocacy for the CAOs, since he voted for them. Now, we have to put Hughes' and Jarman's names alongside those of Pratt, Miller, Fralick, and Rosenfeld as those who are forcing a dysfunctional CAO upon us. Not even Pratt, Miller, Fralick, and Rosenfeld took court action to have the CAOs enacted, but last week, this Council allowed our PA to do just that. While our Council does nothing, Gaylord is making up County policy out of thin air ... and our Council sits on its hands doing nothing to stop it.
The CAOs have acquired several nicknames over the past few years ... Crazy Asinine Ordinance, Critical Agenda (21) Ordinance, Can't Avoid Obedience ... but under this Council, it might as well stand for "Currently Absent Officials." Despite the fact that the CAOs were a major election issue, this Council has done nothing about them, and in the resulting policy vacuum, our PA has been happy to act in their place.
Who is directing our PA regarding the CAOs? Answer: Not our Council.
One of the common threads in the environmental-ish world is that rules apply only to the non-environmental-ish segment of society. We've seen this at work with the Friends, who have long criticized guesthouses for everyone else, but seem to like them personally. Former Friends Board member, Vivian Burnet, had an illegal guesthouse. Former Friends President, Lynn Bahrych, who started off the whole guesthouse fiasco by filing a guesthouse lawsuit in 1999, had a guesthouse. Friends attorney, Kyle Loring, has a guesthouse. Former Friends President, George Lawson, has a guesthouse ... and there are probably others.
Another common thread in the environmental-ish world is to distort the meaning of "grassroots" and "local." Nowhere is this more apparent than in the oxymoronic title of the organization "ICLEI" ... which stands for the "International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives" with their motto of "Local Action Moves the World." Think about that for a moment ... how can there be an "international" council about "local" initiatives? In the case of ICLEI, the global organization provides a blueprint for local communities to follow ... so that each community fits into ICLEI's overall design in jigsaw-puzzle like fashion. ICLEI isn't a local movement any more than McDonalds is a local diner. However, when we see the golden arches in Lubbock, Texas, or Paris, France, we understand we're seeing corporate McDonalds, not our hometown diner. But, we have not yet trained our eye to recognize that when we see the same environmental-ish battles cropping up in Plumas County, Marin County, Bainbridge Island, or San Juan County, we are seeing the corporate environmental-ish agenda at work, not a local one.
One of our local San Juan County citizens, Kay Kohler, has run into a spot of trouble on her family homestead that she inherited in Snohomish County ... and her situation has lessons for us in San Juan County because, incredibly, it is not an isolated case. In fact, Kay's situation is remarkably similar to the way Rachel Dietzman and our Prosecuting Attorney treated Lopezian Nicholas Padvorac during the Fisherman Bay Road Improvement Project. We will explain that situation in a later post, but the message we want to convey is that you should pay close attention to the way the County interacts with its citizens on Public Works projects ... because this could happen to you. It's part of a developing pattern involving critical areas (in this case, wetlands, but it could just as easily be shorelines or something else), Public Works, stormwater (think Eastsound mosquito hatchery), contractual fine-print, and the legal power of bureaucratic whim.
The five acres that Kay Kohler owns in Snohomish County was bought by Kay's grandfather in 1936. Kay has old photos of the place dating back to that time, showing what it looked like then. When Snohomish County started developing rapidly, the Kohler clan did not sell the farm, which is located just north of Lynwood. They held onto it, and houses sprang up on all sides. In 2007, the County wanted to purchase a portion of Kay's property for a road improvement (stormwater) project, and in 2009, after three separate appraisals, Kay agreed to sell one acre of her property to the County for $404,000. At the time, it seemed like a pretty straightforward deal, and neither Kay nor her (now former) attorney noticed that the fine print of the contract said that the County could change the valuation of her property after the fact through "condemnation" or "some other" method.
In November 2011 ... two years after the sale ... the County hired an "expert" to re-value Kay's land. The new expert valued the 2009 land transaction at just $48,750 because, the expert claimed, Kay's land was covered by wetlands and was hardly worth anything because it was un-developable. Snohomish County then condemned Kay's land for $48,750 and demanded that Kay hand back $355,250. Then, the County began court proceedings to get its money back.
Notwithstanding that Kay has photos stretching back over 70 years showing her land as not being wetlands ... notwithstanding that the County, as development proceeded apace in the 80's and 90's, configured their stormwater system to dump millions of gallons of stormwater on Kay's property without her consent ... notwithstanding that Snohomish County has an NPDES permit that prohibits stormwater discharges that bypass their system ... all that notwithstanding, Kay's legal case was bungled and she lost both her court case and her appeal. Snohomish County is now threatening to freeze Kay's bank accounts in order to get back its $355,250.
Ironically, after declaring Kay's stormwater-flooded property to be "waters of the United States" (i.e., a wetland), Snohomish County then failed to get the required permits from the Corps of Engineers (Section 404 Permit) and the Department of Ecology/EPA (Section 401 Permit) that are necessary for construction projects occurring in wetlands. Is it a wetland only when the County wants to get it for a cheap price, but not a wetland when the County wants to avoid getting the federal and state permits needed to build on it?
And so it goes ... rules only work one way in Snohomish County ... just like they do in San Juan County ... (ethics too, and an upcoming post will examine the controversy currently being manufactured by David Dehlendorf and Kyle Loring about our Planning Commission).
Note: ICLEI has recently changed its name to Local Governments for Sustainability even though it continues to use its original acronym of "ICLEI."


Join us for an intimate tour of our brewery. There will be a maximum of 8 people on the tour. We will talk you through the brewing process, explain how Wild Card Brewery came about and how we create our signature beers.
After the tour you will be given four half pints of our core range and a tutored tasting. Not only that, but you get a chance to taste some food that we've matched with our beers.
We will also give you a glass and hand-outs explaining: the brewing process, the history of Wild Card Brewery and how to taste beer and pair it with food so you can try it at home.
There will of course be an opportunity to stock up on beers for the rest of the weekend after the tour!
To drink the beer you will need to be 18.
Parking is available outside the brewery.
- Brewery Tour, Tutored Tasting & Food Pairing Eventbrite.


Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) has said that Wapda is ready to support Maldives in development of its infrastructure in power sector.
He was talking to a four-member delegation of Maldives State Electric Company (STELCO), headed by its Chairman Ahmed Aiman. The delegation is on a 6-day state visit to Pakistan to learn from the experience of Wapda and benefit from its technical and human capabilities.
Wapda Chairman briefly apprised the members of Maldive delegation of Wapda's charter of duties, the infrastructure development by Wapda in water and power sectors in Pakistan during the last 60 years, and the portfolio of development projects it is implementing at present. He said that Wapda, being the largest engineering organization in the country, has been playing a pivotal role in economic progress and social uplift in Pakistan by developing unprecedented infrastructure in both water and power sectors.
Cognizant of the significance of trained human resources, Wapda has developed an integrated system to impart training to its employees, so as to enable them to discharge their duties in an efficient manner. We, fortunately, have a pool of knowledge, expertise and training facilities with us and STELCO can make benefit from it.
The Maldivian delegation, thanked Wapda Chairman for arrangement of their visit to Wapda House and its training institutes. The delegation head informed that STELCO is the largest power producing company of Maldives, and is keen to learn from Wapda's experience for development of their power sector infrastructure.


LAUDERDALE - the Allan Bloodlines yearling purchase who won a Gr1 the other day - is one of the three nominees for Equus (National) Champion 2YO Filly of the SA season 2014/15 which finished on 31st July, extended by one day due to weather.
Having bought her on spec we re-offered her through Balmoral Stud at the BSA Ready to Run Sale.
Our "next generation" of reasonably priced Ready to Run offerings will include fillies by COUNT DUBOIS, BLACK MINNALOUSHE and WARM WHITE NIGHT and colts by GITANO HERNANDO, DUPONT, ROCK OF ROCHELLE and ALADO.
They will be there to sell and are, we hope, carefully and economically selected.


Rent contractors who offer ensures of no less than 5 yr on all labor and parts. This will ensure that you could go back to them to repair something that goes unsuitable shortly after your system is installed or repaired. Anyone who does not provide a guarantee won't come back except you pay them once more. A good way to save cash with your air conditioning is by installing a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can prevent as much as ten percent on your cooling and heating prices by simply turning the thermostat back ten to fifteen percent for eight hours a day. Additionally, you'll find a thermostat that is controllable from a computer or sensible telephone.
If the system you're using now isn't working nice, then test the ducts for some leakage. You'll be able to name a utility firm in your space to help you with testing, and that doesn't price much or nothing in any respect usually. Once you fix the leaks, the savings will probably be more than well worth the trouble. Improve the efficiency of your air conditioning by installing ceiling fans. Change the airflow course of the ceiling followers. In the course of the summer, the blades ought to move in a counter-clockwise route. Through the winter, the blades should transfer clockwise to help transfer the hot air within the ceiling down into the room.
It's easy to see that HVAC is not hard to get into in the event you just take your time with it. Ultimately, you won't have an excessive amount of trouble in case you put what you've got learned right here to good use. Do not take our word for it and give it a try yourself earlier than you do anything else! To assist your heating and cooling system run effectively, install a radiant barrier in your attic. It blocks the heat from inside, decreasing how a lot energy you have to settle down your house throughout summer. It will possibly even make your attic a livable space.
For larger efficiency, put a radiant barrier in your attic. This type of barrier will assist to dam warmth, which in flip will assist your system work much less at cooling your own home. You could possibly even use your attic as a part of your dwelling house if it is executed right. Leaves and debris can harm your system. Clear the fan grill typically when leaves are falling. An obstruction, reminiscent of a leaf, prevents the maximum quantity of cool air from getting into the system.
Check for particles when you hear clicking within the HVAC unit.
Be certain that issues don't get too scorching or cold the place your thermostat is. Any electronics or heat sources like lamps or televisions close by can trick the thermostat into thinking the home is warmer than it really is. This just means it runs your air conditioning longer than obligatory, wasting vitality and money. If you want to severely lengthen the life of your HVAC system, as well as lower down your overall power bill, set up ceiling followers in commonly used heat season rooms. Power-star certified ceiling followers can typically cut your HVAC use in half. Nevertheless, you won't physically discover a difference in temperature.
Choose an HVAC contractor who know what he's doing and works rapidly. Reliable firms maintain an in depth eye on their technicians and ensure they honor their appointments. They should be capable of diagnose issues shortly. Once the issue is identified, fixing it ought to be fast and straightforward. Let your friends and family know about the reductions which can be attainable via ENERGY STAR. There's a number of financial savings that may be had here, so why maintain this good news all to your self! You can save these closest to you hundreds of dollars over the course of a yr.
Make sure that you simply clean your condenser when the weather begins to heat. Shut the ability off before you do something. Then take away the grill, take away the blades and clear it from prime to backside gently. An enormous mistake that folks make is chopping the grass next to the outdoor condenser unit and allowing the entire clippings to blow contained in the fan and coil. Get the grass shot away out of your unit. This also applies to leaf blowing and any other yard work that results in particles.
If you don't know who you must contact to do your HVAC maintenance or any installations, look on-line to see if you'll find reviews. There are a number of websites as of late that permit customers talk about their experiences with contractors. That is an superior method to discover contractors to work with. For greater effectivity, put a radiant barrier in your attic. This helps block the heat from outside, and will reduce the vitality needed for cooling your own home in the course of the summer season. You might immediately discover that the attic even appears to be like like an incredible possibility for an additional bed room!
When your contractor comes to repair your unit or set up a new one, he should stroll round your property and investigate what is going on on along with your present set-up.


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Wallingford 01491 824000
Associated London Office 0207 0791440
Email Wallingford
Email Associated London Office
Thame Road, Warborough
Price £1,800 pcm +Info Let
108m²/ 1,163ft²
Set back from the road with a large lawned fenced front garden this four bedroom character cottage has been extended and improved over recent years and has still kept many of the original period features including the latched doors, stonework and open beams. There is a large kitchen/family room with bi-folding doors overlooking the rear garden. Utility area and downstairs cloakroom A living room with open beams and a wood-burner, separate snug/study. Additional reception/family room. Upstairs four bedrooms a master bedroom with an en suite and a family bathroom. The property is double glazed has gas central heating and is unfurnished with some white goods included. The property is managed by Winterbrook in Wallingford.
The property is set back from the road down a long gravelled driveway with parking at the front for a couple of vehicles. Separate brick built garage and out building. The front garden is laid to lawn with a vegetable patch and picket fencing surrounding and is securely fenced and gated from the road. The rear garden has a patio area and is laid to lawn with wooden panelled fencing surrounding and has a view over mature gardens and enjoys a great deal of privacy and is not overlooked.
Warborough is an attractive village with excellent access to London, Oxford and Henley whilst Junction 7 of the M40 is no more than 8 miles away. Didcot provides a main line rail link to London Paddington (approximate journey time 45 minutes) Village amenities include a primary school, a church, village shop, post office and pub. The lovely village green with cricket club is a particular feature and remains one of the most desirable residential locations in the area. The nearby town of Wallingford (4 miles) has a highly regarded secondary school and provides a good range of day-to-day shops including Waitrose.
Council Tax band E
The Energy-Efficiency Rating is a measure of a home's overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be.
The Environmental Impact Rating is a measure of a home's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (C02) emissions - the higher the rating, the less impact it has on the environment.
23 St Martin`s Street, Wallingford, OX10 0AL
Associated London Office
121 Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1K 7AG
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There is hereby created in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the "Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund." The Board will administer the Stabilization Fund as prescribed by section 1789 of this title.
All payments other than administrative payments shall be connected to the conservatorship, liquidation, or threatened conservatorship or liquidation, of a corporate credit union.
report each such certification to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
At the end of any calendar year in which the Stabilization Fund has an outstanding advance from the Treasury, the Insurance Fund is prohibited from making the distribution to insured credit unions described in section 1782(c)(3) of this title. In lieu of the distribution described in that section, the Insurance Fund shall make a distribution to the Stabilization Fund of the maximum amount possible that does not reduce the Insurance Fund's equity ratio below the normal operating level and does not reduce the Insurance Fund's available assets ratio below 1.0 percent.
The Board may request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest such portion of the Stabilization Fund as is not, in the Board's judgment, required to meet the current needs of the Stabilization Fund. Such investments shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury in public debt securities, with maturities suitable to the needs of the Stabilization Fund, as determined by the Board, and bearing interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration current market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturity.
The Board shall submit an annual report to Congress on the financial condition and the results of the operation of the Stabilization Fund. The report is due to Congress within 30 days after each anniversary of the first advance made under subsection (c)(1). Because the Fund will use advances from the Treasury to meet corporate stabilization costs with full repayment of borrowings to Treasury at the Board's discretion not due until 7 years from the initial advance, to the extent operating expenses of the Fund exceed income, the financial condition of the Fund may reflect a deficit. With planned and required future repayments, the Board shall resolve all deficits prior to termination of the Fund.
Within 90 days following the seventh anniversary of the initial Stabilization Fund advance, or earlier at the Board's discretion, the Board shall distribute any funds, property, or other assets remaining in the Stabilization Fund to the Insurance Fund and shall close the Stabilization Fund. If the Board extends the final repayment date as permitted under subsection (c)(3), the mandatory date for closing the Stabilization Fund shall be extended by the same number of days.
2011—Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 111–382, § 1(a), inserted "and any additional advances" before period at end.


FIT FIGURES (Salem, NH) - Melanie McDowell, owner of Fit Figures has been running with Valpak since September 2017. She started to get new clients & build her awareness in the Salem, NH marketplace. When we asked Melanie to tell us how her Valpak programs were working she stated "We saw more response over time & I'm happier with the design format my Valpak Rep suggested. We also take advantage of Valpak's On-Line / Digital services. We have seen about 12+ Sign Ups so far from Valpak. It clearly works! The longer you run in Valpak the better the results become." We then asked Melanie how Valpak compared to other forms of advertising she has done and she went on to say "Valpak is a lot cheaper than using direct mail and Valpak even outperforms the direct mail postcards we have used. I would highly recommend Valpak to every business owner because I always get new customers from it and it more than pays for itself."
SOMERSET SWIM & FITNESS (Nashua, NH) - Matt Chabot advertises his services to build up his profile and awareness within his primary market. Matt is also looking to promote his new specials and to bring in new clients while keeping his regular clients. Matt does other forms of advertising but since partnering with Valpak, he agrees that we outperform them all, stating "I signed up for 4 months and renewed for another 4 months. I went from 19 calls in the first month to 38 calls the next. Valpak pays for itself and I reached prospects that were not reached with other forms of local advertising." Matt would highly recommend Valpak to any business owner, and he is very happy with his Valpak direct mail and digital programs.
AVA NAILS (Nashua, NH) - Andy Ngayen's primary objective when he is advertising Ava Nails is to generate leads. Andy has tried other forms of advertising by Strongly Agrees that VALPAK outperforms them all. Andy states "I Love The Ad. I Love The Customer Service. Valpak Generates A GREAT Response. I'm Very Happy." Andy also takes advantage of Valpak's award winning Digital Programs and states that he see returns from his Digital Ads on a regular basis. Andy highly recommends Valpak to all business owners who are serious about growing sales and their bottom line.


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Q: How can i show and hide a bootstrap spinner with Vue.js? <button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#exampleModal" v-on:click="api">
  ...
</button>

  ...

I want to show the spinner on the button when I click it.
When the api returns the result, then pop up the modal and hide the spinner at the same time.
It seems relatively easy to implement with jQuery, and as a beginner in vue.js, I was at a loss when writing this code

A: This is easy with v-show. This allows you to bind to a variable and control if a tag should be visible or not. If the variable is truthy then the element is shown, if it is falsy then the element is hidden. You can learn more about v-show from the docs.
So in your button we need to create a tag to wrap the button text. In this case we will use . Then we will create a spinner with pure bootstrap with:

    Loading...

Now we create your button
<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#exampleModal" v-on:click="API">
       Button Text

          Loading...

</button>

Next in your code, you need to create a loading variable
data(){
  return{
     ...
     loading:false,
     ...
  }
}

Then when you are handling your request you need to control the loading variable.
methods:{
  API(){
    this.loading = true;
    axios.get("/test").then(({res})=>{
        this.loading=false;
    }).catch((error)=>{
        console.log(error);
        this.loading=false;
    });
  }
}

Code SandBox example

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We are looking for Pickers, Packers and a Line workers for a busy factory in Paignton.
Our client is looking for an outstanding Pickers and Packers who can work in a very fast paced environment.
No previous experience necessary as full training will be given!
This job is a temporary ongoing until the end of the year.
Own transport is an advantage.


The All Progressives Congress (APC), says it has facts on Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers and the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) move to scuttle the Port Harcourt Constituency 3 bye-election.
Mr Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, State Chairman of APC in Rivers also alleged that Wike offered him N200 million bribe to compromise the election, while over time had placed many INEC officials in Port Harcourt on his payroll.
Flag-Amachree stated this at a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Monday.
He claimed that the APC candidate for the bye-election, Chief Dickens Worlu was comfortably leading in most polling units before Gov. Wike mobilised his Chief Security Officer, Mr Promise Nwosu with armed men to invade the units.
He further alleged that the invasion of the polling units with armed men attached to the Rivers Government House was to disrupt the peaceful process and rig the election in favour of the PDP candidate.
"In the process, several shots were fired to intimidate both voters and election officials but most of the voters in the constituency stood their ground and resisted the state of shootings and intimidation.
"Having failed to substantially cow the voters especially APC members, Wike reached me and pleaded to have my cooperation and in return get N200m bribe, which I declined and reported same to the APC leadership.
"In failed mission to bribe me and intimidate voters, Gov. Wike and his CSO became more determined to scuttle the bye-election, decide to undertake smear campaign against me as demonstrated in his broadcast," he alleged.
According to Flag-Amachree, Gov. Wike has all the Electoral Officers (EOs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers on his payroll with the purpose of compromising the 2019 election in advance.
"Wike has been paying a monthly sum between N1m to N3m to various officers depending on rank, and he has penciled down key security agents to compromise elections in the state.
"We are not also surprised that INEC and Gov. Wike are working hand-in-gloves to rig elections in Rivers," he claimed.
The chairman said the APC believes that the recruitment and posting of a confessed PDP apologist and virulent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari's government, Mr Obo Effanga is beyond mere accident.
"The highly convoluted memo suspending the bye-election further attests to the fact of a well-entrenched bias on the part of the INEC REC.
"The following link https://punchng.com/change-government-one-year/, is an op-ed in the Punch Newspaper of May 30, 2016 titled: "The 'Change' government one year after by Mr Obo Effanga before he was mysteriously employed and posted to Rivers," he said.
Flag-Amachree urged INEC in Rivers to immediately conclude the process by announcing the winner of the By-Election without further delay.
He dismissed Gov. Wike's allegations against the Commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), ACP Akin Fakorede of meddling in the by-election.