text:
+ 9 - 11 | § ¶Click to Watch a Train Wreck
This might be the same video that Dave Statter has linked in his video round-up, just longer and with audio. Three minutes of riding the rails, then an open switch sends the coal train plowing into freight cars on a spur track. Occurred in Cactus, TX, on October 9, 2006.Two crewmen injured, 26 cars and 2 locomotives derailed, and damages greater than a million dollars. As the saying goes, it's hard to turn away from watching a train wreck.
+ 13 - 10 | § ¶2008 World Burn Congress in Raleigh, October 1-4
One of the first events for the new Raleigh Convention Center is the 2008 World Burn Congress, scheduled for the first four days of October. Conducted by the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors and hosted by the UNC Jaycee Burn Center and the OSFM, the annual international conference brings together more than 650 burn survivors, their families, caregivers, burn care professionals, and firefighters. The event is a forum for sharing stories, healing together, and learning about the latest developments in burn care. For more information, see the event web site.
16:29 | three comments
+ 11 - 11 | § ¶New Doors for Station 17
Higher doors have been installed in the bays at Station 17 on Pleasant Valley Road. The doors were raised to allow future accomodation of an aerial apparatus.
08/30/08 15:47 | eleven comments
+ 12 - 14 | § ¶Stop!
Here's an image from last week's house movings on North Blount Street, as shot by myself. More pics coming. See Lee's photos. Or read the N&O story. Click to enlarge:
+ 10 - 10 | § ¶Waistlines
Let's talk about a big topic. Let's talk about big bellies. Gather enough firemen in a single spot and you'll observe expanded waistlines. I've seen it in Baltimore. I saw it in Winston-Salem. I see it when I look in the mirror. Big belly. Forget weight, forget cholesterol. The latest word is waist size. That's what they say is the single best indicator of "at risk." Riding without a seat belt? That's at risk. Standing in traffic without a vest? That's at risk. Working a fire without PPE? That's at risk.
If you, or your bud, or your team member, or your family member has a big belly, they're at risk. Plain, simple, maybe brutal, maybe embarrassing. Many factors conspire to aid the expansion of waistlines. From our genes to our appetites, there are many reasons for girth growth. Regrettably, there's rarely a quick fix. It's lifestyle changes, maybe drastic, maybe small steps. But all pointing in the direction of better health.
Where should we go with this topic? Don't know. Seems worthy to raise. Firefighter, rescue thyself. Mike, get healthier. I'm interested in lengthening the likelihood of my time on this planet. Hope you are too.
14:48 | thirteen comments
+ 10 - 8 | § ¶Closed / Merged Fire Departments in North Carolina?
Thinking cap time. Research for a future FireNews article and probably web site, as dreaded up between Jeff H and myself at his NCSFA booth. What departments in North Carolina have closed, or renamed due to mergers? Names, year started, year closed, station locations, and any other info. is great. Quick names, off the top of our heads:
09:23 | 41 comments
+ 12 - 7 | § ¶The Troublemaker
Here's an interesting blog from the Triad area, found while browsing for something else. Called the Troublemaker. Looks like a combination police beat and local government watchdog. Postings back to 2006.
+ 8 - 9 | § ¶Plaque Unveiling At Keeter Training Center Smokehouse, Tuesday, Sept. 9
The City of Raleigh Fire Department is placing a bronze plaque on the Smokehouse at the Keeter Training Center. The plaque commemorates the history of the Smokehouse, the oldest facility on the grounds of the training center.The plaque will be formally unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. The Keeter Training Center is located at 105 Keeter Center Drive, just south of downtown. Read entire press release. Or learn more about the history of the smokehouse .
+ 10 - 11 | § ¶Firefox 3, Firefox 2, Location Bar
Firefox 3 has been released. The web browser upgrades the location bar with a different look and feel. To restore the Firefox 2 location bar that you know and love, install this add-on. Other good add-ons, while we're on the subject? Yours Truly uses NoScript to block JavaScript by default. Thus no annoying actions on page loading. Since most pages also use JavaScript for navigation, it adds an extra step or two for first-time visits to site. Another good add-on is Ad Block Plus, which does what it says. Blocks ads. Then weigh the ethical issue, since blocking ads can prevent your favorite web sites from making money, which may fund the very web site you're viewing!
+ 13 - 9 | § ¶Maybe Digital Radios Aren't the Problem
Found on the Carolinas Fire Page mailing list, here's an interesting article about digital radio communications on the fireground. The gist is that tests suggest that firefighters need better training on operating radios in high-noise environments. That is, before discounting the technology outright. Read the article.
+ 9 - 13 | § ¶Steam Fire Engine Books on CD
Question: How do you operate a steam fire engine? Answer: Very carefully. Have you been looking for a copy of Stephen Roper's Handbook of Modern Steam Fire Engines, published in 1889? The 400-page guide to the running, care, and management of steam engines and fire pumps? Yeah, common request, that one. The book is available on CD, along with two other vintage volumes at SharingHistory.com. Pretty cool service, and a pretty cool CD for history buffs. Nothing like old drawings! And if you're curious how many steamers served in North Carolina, here's an excellent resource. Raleigh had a couple.
+ 11 - 10 | § ¶See You in Winston-Salem
Yours Truly will be wandering around Winston-Salem on Friday and Saturday at the State Fireman's Convention, or as it's known now, the South Atlantic Fire Expo. 'Tis the second year for the convention in the Twin City, then they're coming to Raleigh! We'll have to treat 'em right in 2009. Look for Hawaiian Shirt Guy on the exhibit floor as usual, or scaring people away from the FireNews.net booth. When was the first annual convention? That one's easy, in 1889 in Raleigh. When was the first gathering of firemen from around the state? In the late 1860s and early 1870s, fire companies visited one another. In 1870, the State Fair included contests for steam and hand engines. Unknown if other towns than Raleigh participated. In 1873, a convention of colored firefighters was held in Raleigh. Companies came from Fayetteville, New Bern, and Wilmington.
+ 9 - 11 | § ¶Caught in the Act
Noticed by a reader, here's Google's view of Fire Station 2 on Pecan Road. The satellite captured Engine 2 backing into the station. The Street View shows them in quarters, expectedly.
+ 10 - 11 | § ¶This Morning's Tanker Fire
Updated again. Fully loaded gas tanker overturned on inner loop of Beltline just before Rock Quarry Road. Exiting from I-40, rig reportedly lost control, rolled, and caught fire. Driver ejected, then pulled to safety by passers-by. Transported to WakeMed, then transferred to UNC burn center. Garner initially dispatched, then Raleigh E10. Also dispatched as house fire at the end of Rose Lane. Alarm time about 12:34 a.m. Engine 10 first on scene. Units included Raleigh E10, E12, E2, E7 (off Rose Lane), B2, C5, Garner E1, T_, B1, plus tankers from Eastern Wake, New Hope, Swift Creek, and Western Wake. Tanker shuttle operated from water point on Rock Quarry Road. Beltline closed as fire burned itself out. EMS with two units, supervisor, and Truck 1. Crews cleared by 5:35 a.m., and lanes opened at that time. Earlier tanker fires on Beltline include December 18, 1998 (driver killed after striking abandoned car on shoulder at Capital Boulevard) and August 6, 1977 (tanker rolls on ramp at New Bern Avenue). Photos from Lee Wilson forthcoming.
News & Observer Photo
+ 11 - 12 | § ¶Redesigned Beltline Signs
As today's News & Observer notes, the DOT is fulfilling their promise to pull the "Inner Beltline" and "Outline Beltine" signs they say have bothered people for too long. The southern 8 miles, from Exit 293 (US 1/US 64) to Exit 301 (the I-40 split) will be known exclusively as I-40. The northern 16 miles, passing Crabtree, North Hills, and New Bern Avenue, will be known only as I-440. The inner lanes called East, the outer lanes called West. Got it? For those still confused, Yours Truly has a navigation aid at the ready. This guide to Getting Around Raleigh was drawn around 1990. Eh, it works.
08/24/08 12:27 | fourteen comments
+ 10 - 10 | § ¶SCBAs For Sale
The Wake-New Hope Fire Department has the following items for sale:
(14) SCOTT AP-50 SCBAs. Meet 1997 NFPA Standard. All packs contain integrated PASS. Included with each SCBA will be (2) 60 minute 4500 psi Carbon Fiber Bottles, (2) AV-2000 Facemasks w/voice amp clip, and (1) SCOTT Voice amplifier. The equipment is in good working order and full maintainance records will be included in sale. Every pack flow tested annually. READ MORE
+ 12 - 8 | § ¶ECC Employee Elected To N.C. NENA Hall Of Fame
Jesse Creech, a supervisor in the Raleigh-Wake County Emergency Communications Center, has been selected as one of the first inductees into the Hall of Fame of the North Carolina chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). Read the entire press release. Congratulations, Jesse!
+ 9 - 10 | § ¶LAFD Alert Example
Here's what a Los Angeles Fire Department mail alert looks like, as forwarded from a reader:
From: LAFD_ALERT@googlegroups.com [mailto:LAFD_ALERT@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of [LAFD ALERT]
To: lafdlistmaster@lacity.org
Subject: [LAFD ALERT] Structure Fire 8/23/2008
*Structure Fire* 17834 W. Tarzana St.; MAP 561-B3; FS 83; Fire in attached
garage of a SFD.  No injuires reported @ this time.; Ch:8,17 @ -d'Lisa
Davies###
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
LAFD_ALERT messages are *not* official instructions or authorization to take
action. We do not guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of LAFD_ALERTs.
Do not reply to this message. After-action reports of significant incidents
can be found at:  http://lafd.org/blog
For further information - or to join LAFD_ALERT:  http://lafd.org/alert
To unsubscribe from LAFD_ALERT, send email to:
LAFD_ALERT-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
+ 10 - 10 | § ¶Typo Vigilantes Banned From National Parks
Read enough e-mail or discussion board postings and you'll soon encounter the Grammar Police. Or perhaps you've been a member. It's a tempting compulsion, calling attention to bad words and wrong sentences. Taken to the extreme and you can really get in trouble. This CNN story reports on a pair of "self-styled vigilantes on typos" who defaced a 60 year-old, hand-painted sign at the Grand Canyon National Park. They were sentenced to probation, banned from national parks for a year, and ordered to pay a fine.
+ 12 - 7 | § ¶LAFD a Twitter Over Twitter
Neat article from PC World about the Los Angeles Fire Department and how it uses Twitter to post information about fires and other incidents. The resources for the service? Their PIO and another FD spokesperson work 12-hour shifts updating the blog, sending twitters, and doing other duties. Dream job, eh? Thanks to the Missus for finding this one.
+ 12 - 12 | § ¶Could it Happen Here?
From a reader, this is last weeks' Conshohocken fire before the exposures got going. Eight alarms at a condo complex outside Philly. 300+ firefighters and over 5.5 hours to control. Could it happen here? Last year's conflagration off Capital Boulevard-- multiple structures, versus one mammoth building-- was affected by a number of unique circumstances. Wind, fuel, exposures, etc. What conditions could lead to a "big one" like this one, albeit probably once in a lifetime.
WPVI-TV Photo
+ 13 - 9 | § ¶Collapsed Like a Wet Taco
From CNN, here's stunning footage of a historic firehouse collapse. The 1890 structure in Peeksill, NY, was being moved from its location under a metal bridge. The building had been vacant for 20+ years, and the plans were to move and convert the structure into a museum. Here's an earlier New York Times article about the building. For extra credit, name the 1979 comedy film that features the "wet taco" phrase?
New York Times Photo
+ 10 - 11 | § ¶Firefighter Dies at Polk County Waterfall
FireNews has details on the death of a forest service firefighter who died Thursday after a fall from a waterfall near Saluda in Polk County. Curtis Jessen, 32, was critically injured after falling from Big Bradley Falls. He died a short time later. The site was the location of a quarter-acre wildfire. The accident occurred about 11 a.m. The retrieval of Jessen from the bottom of the falls and out of the wooded area took over five hours. Several agencies participated in the rescue attempt, including Saluda Fire and Rescue, Polk County EMS, Polk Rescue, the N.C. Forestry Division, Green River Fire and Rescue, Henderson County Rescue Squad, and the Valley Hill Fire Department.
+ 10 - 10 | § ¶Great Old Video
Surfaced by Dave Statter, here's the Jericho Fire Department in Nassau County on Long Island. Love those old educational films. Watch all five parts on Dave's site.
+ 14 - 9 | § ¶Second Wake County Fire Commission Vacancy Filled
The Wake County Board of Commissioners on Monday night filled a second vacant citizen seat on the Wake County Fire Commission. They appointed Robert Stagg, a Raleigh resident with experience in security, business continuity, management relations, and conflict resolution. (To quote his resume.) You can watch this appointment process on the web. Starting watching the August 18 meeting at 3:27:51. Mr. Stagg is appointed over two other nominations. Supplementary documents are available on the agenda item page. And, as last time, there's quite a bit of laughter during the thing.
+ 11 - 11 | § ¶New Fire Stations and Nifty Features
Here are pics of our Twin Cities airport fire station tour. Built in 2001, the immense facility has a number of nifty features, such as telephone rooms for private conversations. You know that kind of phone call. There's a captain's office and working area that overlooks the runway. There's a hose tower that doubles as an all-weather training tower. And some interesting public-facing space, including a waiting area and a conference/presentation room. What are some of your favorite features appearing in new stations these days?
07:39 | four comments
+ 10 - 6 | § ¶Holly Springs Car 2
New vehicle for Holly Springs Car 2, as photographed by Lee Wilson at Station 3. Click to enlarge:
Lee Wilson photo
+ 12 - 13 | § ¶Holly Springs Station 3 / Wake Forest Station 3
Lee Wilson has photographed both Holly Springs Station 3 at 4112 Friendship Road (note corrected address) and Wake Forest Station 3 at 1412 Forestville Road. Both are temporary facilities. View the photos.
Lee Wilson photos
+ 11 - 10 | § ¶Bloggers, Bans, and Other Consequences
Firegeezer and Dave Statter are reporting on a Roanoke firefighting blog that's been banned from city computers. 'Geezer describes the site as a "city-wide coffee table where all things RFD are discussed" [such as] "recent fires, recreational activities, members' welfare and scuttlebutt." Some days ago, FossilMedic on Firegeezer blogged about a blogger and a bombing blog. Specifically, the cautionary tale featured a volunteer firefighter, his personal expression on the Internet, and the collision course he appeared to be on, with his fire department. If you've seen the site, you know how it ends. Two stories, two blogs. It's a great thing, the freedom to speak our minds. But the people listening are people. They have feelings. They respond and react. They make decisions and take actions. And, at times, against the speaker(s). What's your take on free speech, and consequences therein?
+ 13 - 10 | § ¶New Numbering Scheme for Wake Forest Fire
As you've likely noticed if listening, the Wake Forest Fire Department has adopted a new numbering scheme for their units. This replaces the 600 series scheme in fall 2007. Listed below are old unit and new unit numbers. Dead horse watchers, commence precautionary alerts...
+ 9 - 12 | § ¶Ask Anything of Cary EMS Chief Steve Cohen, The Responses
Here are the answers to 10 questions posted by WRAL to Cary EMS Chief Steve Cohen. The questions range from billing to hiring to the prospects of consolidation. Neat feature. Maybe we'll see some fire chiefs some time.
WRAL photo
+ 8 - 13 | § ¶Duluth Former Firehouses
One of our (meaning my) favorite vacation activities is finding former firehouses in whatever city we're in. During 24 hours in Duluth, MN, these historic structures were found and photographed. Most are retired. Chief sources were phone calls to fire stations, and a DFD history book browsed at Station 1. (Thanks for the help, guys! Thanks also to the Minnesota Fire/EMS/Safety Center library.) Left to right are Old 1 on E. 2nd Street (1871), Old 2 on W. 1st Street (1889), Old 1/Old 3 on E. 3rd Street (1890), Old 7 on 7th Avenue E. (1913), Old 8 on Central Avenue (1894), Old 8 #2 on Central Avenue (1916), Hall 5 on Minnesota Avenue (1931), Hall 6 on 51st Avenue E. (1911), Hall 10 on Commenwealth Avenue (1928), and Hall 11 on Woodland Road (1922). Oh, and the North Shore scenery was great, too.
+ 8 - 10 | § ¶Pouring Bronze
Here's something you don't see every day. Monday morning we watched my cousin Nick, a sculptor, pour bronze. The metal is heated to around 1,600 degrees, then poured into plaster molds resting in a sand pit. Though (probably) a day in the park for seasoned pros, 'twas a high pucker factor for Yours Truly. Just being in the same room was tough. High UV output as well.
+ 9 - 12 | § ¶Stony Hill Fire Department Celebrates 50 Years of Service
This week's Wake Weekly has a nice feature on the 50th anniversary ceremony conducted last week at Stony Hill Fire Department. The ceremony recognized charter members, retired and current personnel, junior firefighters, and auxiliary members. Speakers included Fire Chiefs A.C. Rich, Bill Bailey, and Novlen Perry, and Board President Wayne Woodlief. Congratulations Stony Hill, for a half-century of valued service. See photos from Legeros and Wilson.
+ 10 - 10 | § ¶Red Wing Mystery Building
But then there's this building, located beside the Goodhue County Museum on Oak Street, in Red Wing, MN. At first glance, it looks like an early 1900s town hall structure, with a fire station and bell tower on the left side. The neighbors say its associated with the city's first hospital, however. Perhaps it had its own fire brigade? Checking the RWFD history page, they note "The Champion Extinguisher Company #1 had quarters on the campus of the Red Wing Seminary on College Hill. The company [...] provided fire protection for the campus." Oak Street is on College Hill, it seems. Does that make it a match? Who knows. Maybe a future Googler will enlighten this blogger suffering from engine houses on the brain. Click to enlarge:
+ 9 - 11 | § ¶Red Wing Fire Stations
Research enough fire departments and every other old building begins looking like a former fire station. We happened upon three such structures while touring Red Wing, MN. The top two pictured below are located in residential areas. The white building is a confirmed former fire station, built in the 1880s. The brick structure is probably one as well. The City Hall building, built 1909, was also easy to identify, with former bay doors on the east side of the structure. The final image is the present fire station, built 1983. Click to enlarge. Or read more about the history of the Red Wing Fire Department.
+ 9 - 10 | § ¶Hot Pepto-Bismol Pink
Seen south of the Twin Cities on Highway 52, how's this for a future fire apparatus color? Or maybe just on chevrons? Call it... hot Pepto-Bismol pink. Guaranteed to get attention. Click to enlarge after donning protective eyewear1.
1To protect our underage readers, the exact nature of this establishment has been concealed. Let's just say it's a custom service for lightening the wallets of passing male travelers.
+ 7 - 9 | § ¶Hot Line for Chest Pain: A Dangerous Idea?
Found this in yesterday's Star-Tribune1, about a University of Minnesota Medical Center chest pain hot line. Not sure if you should call 911? Call the hot line and talk to a nurse. They're there 24/7. Launched on July 1, the concept is questioned by experts. Will it cause delays in treatment, diluting the "hard-won public health message" to dial 911 in such situations? Is it just a marketing tool? There are also a couple dozen reader comments at the above link. Is this a window into the future of emergency response? A sort of consultative, pre-response? Can't imagine this hasn't been tried before.
1Read the physical edition, no less, while enduring the cacophonous din of diners at a restaurant in Bloomington, MN. Nothing like a Saturday morning trip to Perkins to stimulate the senses. For added effect, be seated beside the restroom door.
+ 13 - 8 | § ¶Minneapolis Bridge Collapse One Year Later
Reporting from the Land of Lakes. One year after the catastrophic collapse of the St. Anthony Falls bridge in Minneapolis, here's what the site looks like one year later. Click to enlarge. Some facts: 15 months from start to finish; 100 years minimum expected life; 504 foot length of main span; 650 people building the thing; 1,000 miles of post-tensioning steel holding concrete segements together; 1,223 foot length of finished bridge; 48,700 cubic yards of ready-mix concrete; 141,000 cars crossed old bridge daily; 17 million pounds of reinforcing steel, roughly equivalent fo one KIDD-Class Navy destroyer. Read more about the bridge from the Wikipedia page.
+ 10 - 8 | § ¶History Bits
Night watch was discontinued in the Raleigh Fire Department on September 5, 1944 at 6:00 p.m., as ordered by Chief Butts. That is, "overnight" night watch was discontinued. The new schedule for keeping watch was 7:55 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. each day, with one person on the engine room floor at all times between 7:55 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. During that same year, one person was assigned boiler duty per day during winter months. At Station 5, for example, the boiler was operated from October 30, 1944 to March 17, 1945. Also during these years, personnel were detailed to entertainment events to perform fire watch. Such as State College to work a basketball game on February 18, 1947. Or for assorted events at Memorial Auditorium. Some of the service calls answered during the decade included replacing light bulbs. In 1949, for example, Truck 6 was sent to State College as well as at a church or two. The logs from that year also note that Engine 6 had a windshield installed on October 26, 1949. The work was done at the shop at Station 2, at Memorial Auditorium. They operated a 1926 American LaFrance Type 75 pumper.
+ 4 - 12 | § ¶Firefighters Around the World
What do firefighters look like around the world, both past and present? Del Prado produced a collection of lead firefighter figures a few years ago, and I've compiled pictures of most of them into a pair of PDF documents. One is sorted by country, the other by issue number. One is for buffs, the other for collectors. There are probably web sites with photos (and drawings) of real people, but this is pretty cool comparative survey. The photos are from a DP product site found some months back. There are a few images missing, alas.
+ 10 - 11 | § ¶Temporary Fire Stations
Holly Springs has opened a temporary Station 3. They've leased a house at 41014112 Friendship Road, and placed Engine 3 in service there. Operational as of August 1, the station has a metal shelter for storing the apparatus. It's protecting new annexation areas until a permanent facility is erected just down the road on Friendship Road. (Updated 8/20)
Wake Forest is also operating a temporary Station 3. Located at a house at 1412 Forestville Road, the station has housed a day-time engine since some time last year. The town plans to construct a permanent facility on that site in the future.
What other temporary stations have been used around Wake County, in years or eras past?
+ 13 - 11 | § ¶Daylight and Color
Bright colors, you seek? Try shooting in direct sunlight. Though the shadows may be harsh, the colors will be rich, as evident in this photo from today on Lumley Road, with Engine 24, EMS 123, and EMS 1280. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, 1/200 shutter, F10 aperature, 100 ISO, 32mm focal length, auto white balance, RAW format, landscape picture style in post-processing. Of course, having colorful objects in front of the camera helps too! Click to enlarge:
+ 10 - 9 | § ¶Toronto Propane Explosion
Found on Firegeezer, here's a stunning shot from the propane facility explosion in Toronto that's killed one firefighter. The identity of the 25-year veteran has yet to be released. Joseph Rowland took the photo that's surfaced on the Channel 24 site. There's a full story at that same link. What's the size of that fireball? Holy cow.
Joseph Rowland/Channel 24
+ 13 - 10 | § ¶New Hope Car 20
New for New Hope, as photographed by Lee last week. Click to enlarge:
+ 12 - 8 | § ¶Holly Springs Fire Hydrant
This ornamental fire hydrant is in front of Holly Springs Station 2. There's another in front of Station 1. Very cute.
+ 12 - 9 | § ¶Civil Defense Site Hidden Near Cameron Village
Today's News & Observer has a couple stories about Cold War-era sites around the Triangle, including a bunker beneath 401 Oberlin Road and the facility in Chatham County on Big Hole Road. Seems the latter has been vacated by AT&T. As the story goes, says the article, a department stor-size bunker was built and buried in the 1960s. The communications facility was designed to survive a nearby nuclear explosion. The Cameron Village facility, notes the N&O, would have housed local federal officials in the event of an atomic attack, and was equipped with comm gear, a giant generator, a big decon shower, and the requisite stores of food and water. What other relics are around here?
+ 9 - 9 | § ¶"Traffic" by Tom Vanderbilt
Haven't read the book, but have read the New York Times book review. Sounds like a must read, Traffic, Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us), by Tom Vanderbilt. Click that link to Amazon to also read an interview the author. Mary Roach's book review quotes a number of fascinating observations by Vanderbilt. Modern collisions are caused-- well, one of the reasons-- because people judge their driving skills based on the number of crashes they've experienced, versus those they've narrowly avoided. Thus, everyone thinks they're a better driver than they really are. Then there's the problem, Ms. Roach notes of Mr. Vanderbilt, that driving rarely commands 100 percent of our attention, so everyone does something else while driving1. Thus the reason so many accidents happen, writes Vanderbilt, on dry roads, on clear, sunny days, to sober drivers." Feeling safe kills, as the reviewer writes. Ditto, she adds, why Vanderbilt writes about SUVs being that much more dangerous than cars, as drivers feel that much safer, which begets more careless behavior. Fascinating stuff, just from the review! Can't wait to read the book.
1Who wants to be first, and admit some of their regular behind-the-wheel activites that do not involve steering, speed control, or watching for other idiots?
+ 8 - 11 | § ¶State Issues Fines After Salisbury Millwork Fire
Turning to serious matters, the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the state Department of Labor fined Salisbury and Locke Towneship fire departments this week, after investigating the fatal Salisbury Millwork fire on March 7. Salisbury firefighters Justin Monroe and Victor Isler were killed. Though the story was well-covered, from FireNews to Firehouse to Statter911, discussion on the topic has been harder to track down. Firegeezer has offered some preliminary thoughts. Readers of the Salisbury Post have generated a couple dozen comments, as did a handful of WRAL readers. What are your reactions to the labor department's actions?
08/08/08 22:14 | six comments
+ 14 - 11 | § ¶Photographer in Action
I'm Mike Legeros and I approved this self-parody. Click to enlarge:
+ 11 - 11 | § ¶Fire Protection During Beijing Olympics
Has anyone happened across articles describing what's happening in Beijing with regard to fire protection during the Olympics? Searching the official site finds this China Daily article from last year, noting 2,220 new members and 120 new fire engines were planned. The city's force of firefighters was expected to reach 6,725 this month, with temporary fire stations at each games venue. This CRI English article has additional details about BFD's expanded capabilities. Here's a blog posting with the sound of a Beijing fire engine.
+ 15 - 9 | § ¶Flickr Photo Group Pools
I also have a Flickr photo site, which serves as a permanent archive of pictures. My photo sets include fire and EMS, obviously, some travel photography, and the occasional "other" category. Some of the pictures draw draw from other Flickr members, who ask if the pics can be displayed in pools for their Flickr groups. Pretty cool concept, collectively sharing images of similiar themes. Here are three Flickr group pools with quite a few cool photos:
Baltimore City Fire Department
Oshkosh Fire Apparatus
Unique Colored Fire Apparatus
What group pools of note have you found, fellow Flickr users?
+ 9 - 10 | § ¶Interesting Graphics
From a reader and speaking of Texas1, here's an interesting and newly adopted graphics scheme in Austin-Travis County. Observe the chevron stripe extending to the body, and cab. See more ATC EMS photos from Seth Granville's site.
Seth Granville Photo
1Almost made it through two postings about Texas before that scene from director Tim Burton's first feature film played in my head. "The stars at night, are big and bright..." Name the movie for extra credit.
+ 12 - 10 | § ¶South Salisbury Street
Here's how it's lookin' in front of the nearly completed convention center on South Salisbury Street. Road's still closed, though the odd pedistrian was seen passing through. Click to enlarge.
+ 11 - 10 | § ¶Cramping Cheerleaders
Would you believe 26 cheerleaders crammed into a single elevator car? That's what Austin firefighters faced on Tuesday night, when a gaggle of teens at the University of Texas commenced conducting an experiment in mass, weight, and the mechanical capabilities of a dormitory elevator. Once stuck, cell phones were wiggled free and used to summon emergency officials. Extrication took 25 minutes, once a repairman was on scene. One subject fainted and was transported; two others were treaded on scene. Unknown if pom poms were also present at the confined space rescue. Story details from the Associated Press. Sardonic wit or attempts thereof from Yours Truly.
+ 8 - 11 | § ¶Wake County Fire Commission Vacancy Update
The Wake County Board of Commissioners last night appointed Barbara Poole to fill the vacant citizen seat on the Wake County Fire Commission. Ms. Poole is a former member of the Eastern Wake Fire Department board. You can watch this decision on the web. Starting watching the August 4 meeting at 4:30:37. Nearly 20 people applied, believe it or not, including some of our blog readers. The names of applicants and their resumes were are available on the meeting item agenda, but appear to have been since removed. The meeting includes a discussion of geographic representation of the Fire Commission, and notably the preponderance of members from the eastern side of the county. There was also a lot of laughter during the voting, which took a couple iterations until one nominee received a majority vote.
+ 11 - 11 | § ¶Wake County Fire Academy Update
The Wake County Fire-Rescue Division has concluded the application acceptance process for the first Wake County Fire Academy. They had a total of 29 individuals that requested applications, and they accepted 18. The participating departments:
Garner - 1
Apex - 2
Durham Highway - 2
Morrisville - 2
Holly Springs - 6
Western Wake - 1
Summerville - 2
The academy starts September 8 and ends around January 16, 2009. See the bottom of this PDF flyer for contact information, to learn more.
+ 12 - 11 | § ¶Restoring Engine 11 to Honor Charleston Firefighters
Firefighter Hourly blogged about this last month, a project to restore Charleston Fire Department Engine 11, a 1961 Model C85 Mack1 that served from 1960 to 1991. The engine is planned for restoration and future use for public fire education and as an event and parade piece to honor both the Charleston 9 and all current and retired Charleston firefighters. Read more about it.
Old Engine 11
1 How many Model C engines served in North Carolina? Any? Many?
+ 11 - 12 | § ¶Civil War Cave off Airline Drive
Anyone know anything about a cave off Airline Drive that purportedly was used during the Civil War? It's relatively easy to find. Take Airline Drive to the end, turn right on Sandra Drive. Look for a creek on the right that passes behind houses. Walk the creek for some 200 yards. The cave is on the left. Crouch to enter, but you can stand once inside. It's maybe 20 feet deep. Though there's too much foilage to see the area using Google maps, Wake County's aerial photography has photos from the winter months. As for the Civil War stories, I've heard that ammunition was hidden there. Perhaps during Raleigh's occupation.
+ 12 - 12 | § ¶Trapped or Entrapped?
Is someone trapped in a car, or entrapped in a car? Merriam-Webster defines the transitive verb1 "trap" as "as 1 a: to catch or take in or as if in a trap : entrap b: to place in a restricted position : confine <trapped in the burning wreck>." They define the transitive verb "entrap" as "1 : to catch in or as if in a trap." Okay, sounds like the same word. However, there's no inflected form2 of "entrap." Ergo, "trapped" is a word, but "entrapped" is not a word. But wait, Batman! This site cites "entrapped" in a 1913 edition of Webster's. So, it was a word, but now it isn't a word? There's even a web site named entrapped.com. I wonder if they know? Definitely requires further research... not!
1What the heck is a transitive verb? Don't know, was never good at grammar. That's why we have Google.
2See #1.
+ 13 - 13 | § ¶Stats, You Say?
Haven't looked at the logs in a while. In July, this blog received 11,205 visits from 3,022 unique visitors, with an average of 361.45 per day. Visitors spent an average of 2:13 minutes on the site. They came from 33 countries/territories, with 10,972 visits from the United States, then 26 from Germany, 13 from Canada, etc. The most popular blog entry, viewed 805 times, concerned the graduation of Raleigh's latest recruit academy. The entire Raleigh/Wake FF site received 21,847 visits, while legeros.com received 27,235 visits. Unknown if the dapper home page portrait has increased traffic. Data from Google Analytics.
+ 12 - 10 | § ¶Eastern War Time
Was looking through some logs from the Forties and saw a reference to "Eastern War Time." Huh? Says the Wikepedia entry, it replaced Eastern Standard Time during World War II. From February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945, it was the equivalent of year-round EST. Interesting.
+ 9 - 9 | § ¶Ticket Scalping Now Legal on Web
Lest we fail to cover a broad range of non-fire service related topics, the Gov1 has signed a temporary law into effect allowing online scalping of event tickets. Here's today's AP/N&O story. Gentlemen, start your eBay engines.
D. Duck, esq.
1Unknown if those letters are on the back of Easley's coats, a la Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles. I didn't get a harumph out of that guy...
+ 11 - 11 | § ¶Big Orange / Cary EMS
Speaking of Cary EMS, took delivery of their first commercial truck-chassis ambulance some weeks ago. I believe it's dubbed "Big Orange." That, or I am simply remembering a line from Andy Griffith's classic comedy routine1 "What It Was Was Football." Lee Wilson took the below photo of EMS 54, as well as picture of their cool new District Chief vehicle. Memories of Emergency! and the LACoFD return yet again. See more photos.
1Well, I says "I believe I will have another big Orange." More about WIWWF. And check out this Capital Records compilation from 1993 for Griffith's best comedy routines, as well as a few fun songs.
+ 11 - 9 | § ¶Another Church Fire Photo
This time in Massachutsetts and featured in the Boston Herald. Three alarms after a lightning strike to a historic 1867 structure in Lynn. Angela Rowlings took this amazing photo:
Angela Howard / Boston Herald photo
+ 9 - 8 | § ¶Ask Anything of Cary EMS Chief Steve Cohen
WRAL is featuring Cary EMS Chief Steve Cohen as a future Newsmaker of the Week. They invite readers to submit questions. The answers will be posted August 19. Learn more about Cary EMS.
+ 16 - 6 | § ¶Hot, Hot, Hot
Here's what was left of the abandoned house off Southall Road that burned this afternoon, and caught the surrounding woods on fire. Several Raleigh and New Hope fire units were on scene, plus a number of Wake EMS and Eastern Wake EMS units for aggressive rehab. Great work as always, guys and gals.
+ 11 - 9 | § ¶Raleigh Fire Department Company Histories
For your enjoyment, here's a newly updated historical list of companies and special units of the Raleigh Fire Department . The PDF document replaces a prior, simpler version on the RFD history site. There are still gaps, however. Comments, corrections, debate, and discussion welcome. Hope to the have the thing completed after another year or two. Still more research to do. Always more research to do. Thanks for any help.
+ 12 - 10 | § ¶Sticks Ahoy!
Found on Firegeezer, here's a strong photo of a church fire from the Baltimore Sun. Nice composition, with the camera low to the ground. Elizabeth Malby took the Saturday shot, when fire destroyed the 130-year-old Mount Vernon United Methodist Church in Hampden. Click the below photo to see more. Or read the story.
Elizabeth Malby / Baltimore Sun photo
+ 8 - 9 | § ¶Adventures in Navigation
Eight months after a purchasing a GPS navigation unit, I finally took the thing on a trip. The Garmin StreetPilot c330-- since discontinued and supplanted by smaller, snazzier models-- has two modes of navigation: shorter time or shorter distance. Mine was set on shorter time, as the unit was used for finding fire scenes. The first thing I learned? Change the setting to shorter distance, or be directed onto smaller roads instead of the major roads listed on my trusty AAA TripTik.1
+ 7 - 10 | § ¶Discussing Rules For Probies
There's a good discussion going on Firefighter Hourly, on the subject of rules for probies. The context is a list of rules posted by the blogger, e.g. shut up, arrive early, grab a mop, etc. The comments discuss and debate the rules and the reasons behind them. One reader posted the FDNY probie rules. Another posted a compelling "contract of expectations" utilized by their department. The readers also present a range of challenges to probationary members and the fire service, from the "me generation" to the dwindling number of working fires faced by many departments.
+ 8 - 8 | § ¶Photography Puzzle
While shooting at the airport fire station this morning, the combination of blue sky, fluffy clouds, and staggered trucks seemed the perfect picture. Here's what my eye saw, as best recalled and created as a composite using PhotoShop:
Here's what the camera saw. Either the sky looked right, or the trucks looked right, but not both. Click to enlarge:
Fellow photographers, what's happening here? The camera is a Canon Rebel XT. The mode was Program Shift. The settings were ISO 100, shutter 1/200, aperature f10, metering evaluative, auto white balance, no flash, no exposure compensation, AI focus AF, and 17mm focal length. Your input is greatly appreciated in helping solve this puzzle.
+ 13 - 11 | § ¶Snorkel in Operation
Old Truck 1 was operating this afternoon on New Hope Road, working to extinguish a debris fire at the city yard waste center. Presently named Ladder 210, the 1988 Pierce Arrow 85-foot articulating platform was delivered around August 31, 1988. It cost $396,325, and was placed in service as Truck 1 on September 21, 1988. It was subsquently placed in service at Station 15 (19961999), Station 22 (2001), and Station 26 (2005). Read more about it. Ladder 210 is one of only two to serve in this area. Durham had a Hi-Ranger, back in the day.
+ 14 - 7 | § ¶How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Thus ends the Great American Road Trip. The last stop isn't home, work, or returning to blogging. It's the pictures. When the last photos have been posted, the trip is finally over. 'Twas six days of shore leave, NC to MD and with assorted stops in-between. Roadside attractions included tall ships, wide vistas, and a giant elephant with a window in its butt. Total mileage? A hair over 1,500. Total cost? Unspecified, though the cheapest gas was $3.79 somewhere in Virginia. Consumed 3.75 audio books, including the splendid The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. World's fair + serial killer. Driving was relaxing, at times engaging, and entirely a pain. Maybe next year I'll fly. Said that last year. And the year before.
As always, the exhibit floor was the reason for season. More small, specialized vehicles this year, including a couple amphibious all-terrain types. Greater EMS presence. Lots of LEDs. Code 3 Collectibles was back with a booth. See this forum for heated discussions by obsessive collectors (redundant phraseology there!). Fewer people, it seemed. Flea market vendors were fewer, too. Most interesting product? Scene dots. Instant chevrons, just add diamond plate. Coolest rig? Gettysburg's soft-yellow ladder looked nice. What did I buy? One book on the history of the Baltimore Fire Department. Well, plus one or two things for the Missus that I picked up in College Park, MD. Wandered to IKEA one night. Click to see summer vacation photos:


This Dr. Praeger's Spinach Cakes and Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash recipe is an easy, gluten free meal vegetarians will love.
Carefully cut butternut squash lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard.
Drizzle butternut squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Place cut side down on parchment paper lined baking tray. Use a sharp knife to prick the skin of the squash 2-3 times. Bake squash 20-25 minutes, or until tender.
While butternut squash cooks, cook Dr. Praeger's spinach cakes for 6 minutes, flip, and cook another 6 minutes. Remove from oven.
Add remaining olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add in garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until aromatic. Stir in carrots and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in kale and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Drizzle with lemon juice and season with oregano, salt, and pepper.
Cut spinach cakes into quarters and add to quinoa mixture.
Carefully spoon quinoa mixture into butternut squash. Enjoy!


-January 17, 2019- Congratulations to Dr. Patrick Saris on finishing his PhD.
If you want to use equipment in the Thompson Research Group, the Equipment Training Form must be filled out prior to the equipment use. The form must be filled out by you (i.e. the user), your advisor and Dr. Mark Thompson.


text:
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Paretic dementia can be confounded with neurasthenia, the mental changes produced by chronic alcoholism, plumbism, multiple sclerosis, etc., etc: baratos.
On the one hand, the contraction presses blood out of the spleen, while on the other hand the removal of this force allows the blood to accumulate in barato the spleen. I consider that your daughter is over-bred "vuelos" and over-educated.
Lotions containing tar, salicylic acid, carbolic acid, and boric acid (often in saturated solution) meet the For the purpose of stimulating or otherwise dressing mucous patches and indolent ulcers, solutions of the nitrate of silver, five grains to a drachm to the ounce used; or even the strong caustic solutions, e.g., of the hydrate of potassium twenty to sixty grains to the ounce creosote, and solutions of the permanganate of potassium and resorcin, one to five percent., are also useful in many cases; the first two for destructive effects, the last asantiseptic dressings: mas. Tlie reticulum de tibrils are very extensible as well as elastic. If blood follows its withdrawal, enough fluid has not been injected and madrid the needle should be re-inserted and more injected. Had he been an ordinary quack mere money-making and popularity would have satisfied him, but the student was not lost in the la popular doctor. He was thin, somewhat avion pale and worn looking. Ida - but let him endorse a note that goes to protest, drive fast horses, embark in various kinds of business, or speculative enterprises, and then look at Bradstreet's or Dun's Agency Reports and see the effect on his rating. The most t loublesome complilation is abscess, iiliout fifty per cent (desde). It has been remarked that poisonous symptoms are much more fi'ciiucnt in The fatal cases that have been reported were due to overdoses or to the iirolongcd use of the drug: quito. The toxical properties of pus, supposing that they are dependent upon the phenomenon of oxidation, are thus very variable; but I have never yet met with any, even when it has been collected free from the contact of air, which has net contained hydrogen, and which was, therefore, capable of producing decomposition of the animal matters which enter into its composition: copacabana. We also provide occasional concerts when there are no cases that would hotel be disturbed by the music. Abscesses pasajes in connection with the lower bicuspids usually open on the buccal side of the alveolus, though jaw. Let us now inquire for a moment into their moral and political effects, for it is with regard to these that the Acts have been chiefly combated; and here we cannot do better than quote two of the sections of the report, which are well worth general attention as indicating the grounds of opposition taken" Among the papers referred to this Commission by yo-jr Majesty's Government, and which we print in the precios Appendix, is a memorial to the Secretary of State,' adopted at a conference of delegates from associates and committees foi-med in various towns for promoting the repeal of the Contagious do not propose to criticise this paper at length, nor should wo have thought it fair to notice it at all, as representing the views of the opponents of the Acts, had it come before us under less respectable credentials. All the right facial those of cancun the left side; the galvanic reactions were also normal. The time has come to give up the vain chase of the disease through buenos its consequences, and to apply our attention directly to the organs which are obviously at fault. After a thorough evacuation of the bowels, and douching of the rectum with a teaspoonful of boracic acid in a pint of warm water, the patient is ready for cuba the treatment.
In this way, he has been able student and general practitioner the book contains all that will be required for the final barcelona examination, and in the everyday calls of the busy doctor.
Last week there were fifty-seven small-pox patients in the Union Hospital, an increase of ten on the previous week: vuelta. The thread aires is ready for use as soon as it is determined that it is securely anchored by pulling back on the end attached to the spool.
Nasonex Allergy Counter
Eldepryl Dosage Forms

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


That night, the sounds that came from the metal stamping plant of Weedham Industries, Incorporated, might have been prophetic of the immediate and ugly future, for they were like the rattle of machine guns. But Joseph, keeper of the south gate, was blissfully ignorant of a Thompson gun and its deadly chatter, so that he drew no such comparison. His only worry at the time lay in the dark sky above and the blue-white stabs of lightning that promised an electrical storm.
He hated storms. Probably he hated the idea of being murdered, or would have if it ever occurred to him. But then he didn't know that he was going to be murdered, and he did know it was going to storm. The thunder was the tocsin of the storm, but those who came to rob and kill moved unheralded in swift silence.
The night shift had clocked in over an hour ago, and there should be no passing through the gate for at least six hours. Joseph tilted his chair back against the steel fence and kindled his cob pipe. The air was hot and still so that blobs of pipe smoke clung like earth-bound ghosts about him. In spite of the impending storm, Joseph was happy. In his mind was a kindly thought for William "Old Bill" Weedham, principal owner of Weedham Industries. That was because of the bonus Joseph was anticipating.
Within the next twenty-four hours, Joseph knew, seventy-five thousand dollars would be distributed in cash bonuses to the employees of the metal stamping division. Joseph had mentally spent his tiny fraction of the money a dozen times or more. He did a lot of dreaming, Joseph did. But about pleasant things. He had never dreamed of those who rob and kill.
A low slung maroon roadster came down the street and nosed into the mouth of the tarvia drive at Joseph's gate. Joseph eased his chair forward, stood up, approached the car, his faded eyes squinted against the glare of the floodlights mounted on top of the high fence. The car looked like the one young Jeff Weedham drove. Jeff Weedham was "Old Bill" Weedham's son. He took no interest in his father's business or in anything else unless it was that newspaper business which the elder Weedham had purchased for him.
Yes, that was Jeff Weedham at the wheel, and beside him were two other young people — a girl and a redheaded man. Joseph took off his cap and a grin cracked his weathered face.
"Hi," Jeff Weedham said. He was a narrow-headed man with frail-looking sloped shoulders and a thin triangle of face. He had an engaging, careless grin, and light brown eyes that laughed. He had a marked tendency to stutter.
Joseph sent a shy glance toward the other occupants of the car. The girl instantly reminded him of honey and violets. Hers was one of those clear, golden complexions, and there was a certain unspoiled sweetness about her mouth. It must have been her eyes that recalled violets.
The man on the girl's right seemed to overlap her possessively which could have been accounted for by the width of his shoulders. His red hair bristled in defiance to any comb. His nose looked as though it had been hit a few times in its owner's lifetime. The greenish suit he wore was filled to capacity with overly developed muscles. A leather cased camera was suspended from his bull neck by means of a strap. He had a flashlight gun in his right hand, and a photographer's tripod was propped upright between his knees.
The Daily Opinion was the newspaper which Bill Weedham had bought for his son, Joseph recalled.
Joseph bowed to Barbara Sutton.
"You folks can go right in, just as soon as you sign the book." He went back to his post and returned with a ledger. He turned pages with a moistened thumb, took a pencil out of his pocket, passed both to the passengers of the roadster. Barbara Sutton and Joe Strong signed.
"Looks like it's kicking up a storm," Joseph said.
The thunder rolled ominous reply to his remark. Then Joseph went to the gate, opened it, and the roadster rolled up the drive toward the stamping mill.
Joseph went back to his chair and rekindled his pipe. He smiled at the memory of Barbara Sutton. He didn't know when he had seen a prettier girl. There must be an awful lot of young fellows who thought the same thing.
"And if I was twenty years younger I guess I'd try to give them a lot of competition!" he said aloud and chuckled.
His chuckle stopped as lightning flare threw the shadow of a man across the ground at Joseph's feet. He looked up, startled. The man faced Joseph silently. He was slight, wore a workman's overall suit, and he had a lunch box under his arm. His face, what could be seen of it beneath the low drawn hat, was one of starved cheeks, lipless mouth, pinched nose, and a chin that seemed to dangle.
Joseph at first thought the man was one of the mill hands who had arrived late for work.
The slight man laughed unpleasantly.
Something with the glint of bright steel flashed from the lunch box under the man's arm. Instantly Joseph's mind connected this with the seventy-five thousand dollars in small bills that was to come in on the bank express truck in a few minutes.
Stick-up! Joseph's brain shrieked the alarm. He tried to get out of his chair, but a knife blade that was like a sliver of light was driven into Joseph's throat, sliding through flesh and muscle, torturing every pain nerve in his body, driving relentlessly until the point of it wedged into the wood back of the gate keeper's chair.
The chair creaked and groaned beneath Josephs' writhings. But the knife and the thin, dirty fingers of the killer did not permit his body to alter its position. And then the pain nerves died. Joseph's brain emptied, fortunately; a man would not want to know that he was tacked to a chair, bleeding to death.
The killer released Joseph. A little of the spurting blood had got on his dirty fingers, and he wiped his hands on the seat of his trousers. Then he removed the keys from the gate keeper's pocket. He went to the gate, unlocked it, and opened it wide.
There were great overgrown shrubs on either side of the gate just outside the factory grounds. The killer walked to the bushes at the west side of the gate, parted the branches with his dirty fingers.
"And when we do — " the killer drew a line across his throat with his forefinger. Then he turned and walked away from the bushes.
Delancy's moon face disappeared in the foliage. Only his hard little eyes glittered in the shadows. Beside him, patiently silent, was Squid Murphy. Murphy was motionless except for his twitching left eyelid. Murphy was manning the Colt Monitor rifle, the kind of gun the G-men used to death-drill the armor plate cars the mobsters sometimes used. Tonight the weapon was in other hands.
Delaney watched the lean figure of the knifeman ambling leisurely up the road toward where the get-away car was parked, lights out. Shiv wasn't nervous. Neither was Murphy, in spite of his twitching eyelid. There was nothing to be nervous about since they had hooked up with this new boss — this guy Delaney had never seen; this guy who knew all the answers. No, there was nothing to worry about as long as that relentless hunter of criminals known as the Black Hood kept off their tail.
Delaney wasn't nervous even when the blunt gray snout of the bank express truck turned into the mouth of the drive and slowed up before the open gate. He just took a firmer grip on his automatic and waited.
The driver of the bank trunk yelled at the motionless figure of Joseph. And when Joseph didn't answer, the driver nudged the guard who rode beside him.
Delaney heard that. His little eyes saw the guard get out of the cab. He saw that the back door of the armored truck was opening and another guard was getting out.
Delaney thought, What a break this is!
And then he shot the driver in the back.
The guard who had ridden up in front snatched at his shoulder holster as he turned in the direction of Delaney's fire. On the other side of the drive, two more of Delaney's boys opened up with automatics, so that by the time the guard had decided he was facing death, death spoke from behind him. Two slugs ripped into him. His own gun jumped twice, the first shot coming dangerously close to Delaney's head, while the second was an unaimed thing caused by the convulsive jerk of the guard's trigger finger as he spilled forward on his face.
The man who had got out of the rear of the truck saw a glimpse of the hell that had spouted from the shrubbery and tried to duck for cover behind the truck. And beside Delaney, the Monitor gun came to life. It talked fast in a language that was all its own. It got the retreating guard twice, the heavy, bone-shattering slugs knocking the man first one way and then another as he fell crazily to the ground.
There were two guards inside the truck. Their guns roared from the ports in the armored walls. But the Monitor rifle was a can opener. Crouching beside Squid Murphy, Delaney felt the heat of its barrel and saw the black periods that were bullet holes speckling the gray steel sides of the truck. Now only one of the gun ports in the truck was active.
The barrel of the Monitor swung and the hot steel barrel burned Delaney's arm.
He said, "Hell!" hoarsely and jumped out of the bushes, automatic in hand.
Delaney dropped flat and heard the sound of a bullet whining by. And then the Monitor's deafening hammer sounded again, and after that, silence.
Delaney picked himself up, ran, his thick, toadlike body silhouetted by the truck lights. Gun smoke lay in placidly moving layers of gray before the light beams. Delaney ducked through the open door of the truck. One of his own men was already inside, and he tossed a money bag to Delaney. Delaney caught it with one arm and a belly and passed it back through the door to Squid Murphy who was standing just outside.
Delaney said, "Cut it, Murphy!" Because Squid Murphy was giggling. Murphy was kill-crazy, and tonight the Monitor rifle in his hands had made him feel like a god. His giggling rasped on Delaney's nerves.
Delaney picked up another money bag, and then told his boys they'd have to get going. He didn't know why he felt as though they ought to get away in a hurry. Surely no one inside the Weedham plant could have heard the gun fire above the racket the machines were making. Also, the neighborhood about the factory was thinly populated.
But something he couldn't put his finger on was spurring Delaney to get clear of the scene of the crime as soon as possible. Maybe it was the lightning that flashed with ever increasing frequency. Or maybe it was the ghastly tableau the body of Joseph, the watchman, made, sitting in that chair, pinned there like a butterfly by Shiv's knife.
A big gray sedan stood in the middle of the road, the motor idling. Shiv the knifeman slouched indolently behind the wheel. Murphy and the other two gunmen were already getting into the rear seat, and Delaney went cold with the sudden fear that his pals might run out on him. As fast as his short bowed legs would carry him, he ran to the car and piled in beside Shiv. The knifeman looked at Delaney and snickered.
Now that Shiv had mentioned it, Delaney recognized the fear that plagued him. It was fear of the Black Hood. The Black Hood wasn't like the cops at all. He didn't trail a man with screaming sirens and blasting whistles. He hunted like a panther in the night, alone and silent. And you never knew just when the shadow of this master manhunter was to fall across your path.
The story continues … buy it today and find out if Black Hood can uncover the man who is called the Eye!


text:
/**
 *
 *
 * @class doc_xml_encoding
 *
 * @par The @em encoding is indicated by the xml declaration at the
 * beginning of an XML document or data stream.  The form of this declaration
 * is
 * @verbatim
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
@endverbatim
 * Note that the SBML specifications require the use of UTF-8 encoding, so
 * for SBML documents, the value returned by this method will always be
 * the string "UTF-8".
 *
 *
 * @class doc_xml_version
 *
 * @par The @em version is indicated by the xml declaration at the
 * beginning of an XML document or data stream.  The form of this declaration
 * is
 * @verbatim
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
@endverbatim
 * Note that the SBML specifications require the use of version 1.0, so
 * for SBML documents, the value returned by this method will always be
 * the string "1.0".
 */

#ifndef XMLInputStream_h
#define XMLInputStream_h

#include <sbml/xml/XMLExtern.h>
#include <sbml/xml/XMLToken.h>
#include <sbml/common/sbmlfwd.h>
#include <sbml/common/operationReturnValues.h>
#include <sbml/SBMLNamespaces.h>

#ifdef __cplusplus

#include <string>

#include <sbml/xml/XMLTokenizer.h>

LIBSBML_CPP_NAMESPACE_BEGIN

class XMLErrorLog;
class XMLParser;

class LIBLAX_EXTERN XMLInputStream
{
public:

  /**
   * Creates a new XMLInputStream.
   *
   * @param content the source of the stream.
   *
   * @param isFile a boolean flag to indicate whether @p content is a file
   * name.  If @c true, @p content is assumed to be the file from which the
   * XML content is to be read.  If @c false, @p content is taken to be a
   * string that @em is the content to be read.
   *
   * @param library the name of the parser library to use.
   *
   * @param errorLog the XMLErrorLog object to use.
   *
   * @ifnot hasDefaultArgs @htmlinclude warn-default-args-in-docs.html @endif@~
   */
  XMLInputStream (  const char*        content
                  , bool               isFile   = true
                  , const std::string  library  = ""
                  , XMLErrorLog*       errorLog = NULL );

  /**
   * Destroys this XMLInputStream.
   */
  virtual ~XMLInputStream ();

  /**
   * Returns the encoding of the XML stream.
   *
   * @copydetails doc_xml_encoding
   *
   * @return the encoding of the XML stream.
   *
   * @see getVersion()
   */
  const std::string& getEncoding ();

  /**
   * Returns the version of the XML stream.
   *
   * @copydetails doc_xml_version
   *
   * @return the version of the XML stream.
   *
   * @see getEncoding()
   */
  const std::string& getVersion ();

  /**
   * Returns the XMLErrorLog used to log parsing problems.
   *
   * @return the XMLErrorLog used to log XML parse errors and other
   * validation errors (and messages).
   */
  XMLErrorLog* getErrorLog ();

  /**
   * Returns @c true if end of file (stream) has been reached.
   *
   * @return @c true if end of file (stream) has been reached, @c false
   * otherwise.
   */
  bool isEOF () const;

  /**
   * Returns @c true if a fatal error occurred while reading from this
   * stream.
   *
   * @return @c true if a fatal error occurred while reading from this
   * stream.
   */
  bool isError () const;

  /**
   * Returns @c true if the stream is in a good state.
   *
   * The definition of "good state" is that isEOF() and isError() both return
   * @c false.
   *
   * @return @c true if the stream is in a good state, @c false otherwise.
   */
  bool isGood () const;

  /**
   * Returns the next token on this XML input stream.
   *
   * The token is consumed in the process.
   *
   * @return the next XMLToken, or an EOF token (i.e.,
   * XMLToken.isEOF() == true).
   *
   * @see peek()
   */
  XMLToken next ();

  /**
   * Returns the next token @em without consuming it.
   *
   * A subsequent call to either peek() or next() will return the same token.
   *
   * @return the next XMLToken or EOF (XMLToken.isEOF() == true).
   *
   * @see next()
   */
  const XMLToken& peek ();

  /**
   * Consume zero or more tokens up to and including the corresponding end
   * element or EOF.
   *
   * @param element the element whose end will be sought in the input stream.
   */
  void skipPastEnd (const XMLToken& element);

  /**
   * Consume zero or more tokens up to but not including the next XML element
   * or EOF.
   */
  void skipText ();

  /**
   * Sets the XMLErrorLog this stream will use to log errors.
   *
   * @copydetails doc_returns_success_code
   * @li @sbmlconstant{LIBSBML_OPERATION_SUCCESS, OperationReturnValues_t}
   * @li @sbmlconstant{LIBSBML_OPERATION_FAILED, OperationReturnValues_t}
   */
  int setErrorLog (XMLErrorLog* log);

  /**
   * Prints a string representation of the underlying token stream.
   *
   * @return a string representing the underlying XML token stream.
   *
   * @note This method is intended for debugging purposes.
   */
  std::string toString ();

  /**
   * Returns the SBMLNamespaces object attached to this XMLInputStream.
   *
   * @return the SBMLNamespaces object or @c NULL if none has been set.
   */
  SBMLNamespaces * getSBMLNamespaces();

  /**
   * Sets the SBML namespaces associated with this XML input stream.
   *
   * This allows this stream to reference the available SBML namespaces being
   * read.
   *
   * @param sbmlns the list of namespaces to use.
   */
   void setSBMLNamespaces(SBMLNamespaces * sbmlns);

  /**
   * Returns the number of child tokens of the given element in this stream.
   *
   * This method allows information from the input stream to be determined
   * without the need to actually read and consume the tokens in the stream.
   * It returns the number of child elements of the element represented by
   * the @p elementName, i.e., the number of child elements encountered
   * before the closing tag for the @p elementName supplied.
   *
   * If no @p elementName is supplied or it is an empty string, then as a
   * special case, this method assumes the element is a MathML
   * apply element followed by a function name.
   *
   * @param elementName a string representing the name of the element for
   * which the number of children are to be determined.
   *
   * @return an unsigned int giving the number of children of the @p
   * elementName specified.
   *
   * @note This method assumes the stream has been read up to and including
   * the element @p elementName.
   *
   * @ifnot hasDefaultArgs @htmlinclude warn-default-args-in-docs.html @endif@~
   */
  unsigned int determineNumberChildren(const std::string& elementName = "");

  /**
   * Returns the number of child tokens of the specified type within a
   * given container element.
   *
   * This method allows information from the input stream to be determined
   * without the need to actually read and consume the tokens in the stream.
   * It returns the number of child elements of the @p childName element
   * within the element specified by @p container.  In other words, it counts
   * the number of @p childName elements encountered before the closing tag
   * for the @p container supplied.
   *
   * @param childName a string representing the name of the child
   * element whose number is to be determined.
   *
   * @param container a string representing the name of the element
   * for which the number of children are to be determined.
   *
   * @return an unsigned int giving the number of children of type @p
   * childName within the @p container element.
   *
   * @note This method assumes the stream has been read up to and including
   * the element @p container.
   */
  unsigned int determineNumSpecificChildren(const std::string& childName,
                                            const std::string& container);

  /**
   * Predicate returning @c true if a child token of the specified type occurs
   * within a given container element.
   *
   * This method allows information from the input stream to be determined
   * without the need to actually read and consume the tokens in the stream.
   * It returns @c true if the @p childName element occurs at any point
   * within the element specified by @p container.
   *
   * @param childName a string representing the name of the child
   * element whose presence is to be determined.
   *
   * @param container a string representing the name of the element
   * for which the presence of the child element is to be determined.
   *
   * @return boolean @c true if a child of type @p childName occurs within
   * the @p container element, @c false otherwise.
   *
   * @note This method assumes the stream has been read up to and including
   * the element @p container.
   */
  bool containsChild(const std::string& childName,
                                            const std::string& container);

private:
  /** @cond doxygenLibsbmlInternal */
  /**
   * Copy Constructor, made private so as to notify users, that copying an
   * input stream is not supported.
   */
  XMLInputStream (const XMLInputStream& other);

  /**
   * Assignment operator, made private so as to notify users, that copying an
   * input stream is not supported.
   */
  XMLInputStream& operator=(const XMLInputStream& other);

  /** @endcond */

protected:
  /** @cond doxygenLibsbmlInternal */
  /**
   * Unitialized XMLInputStreams may only be created by subclasses.
   */
  XMLInputStream ();

  /**
   * Runs mParser until mTokenizer is ready to deliver at least one
   * XMLToken or a fatal error occurs.
   */
  void queueToken ();
  bool requeueToken ();

  bool mIsError;

  XMLToken     mEOF;
  XMLTokenizer mTokenizer;
  XMLParser*   mParser;

  SBMLNamespaces* mSBMLns;

  /** @endcond */
};

LIBSBML_CPP_NAMESPACE_END

#endif  /* __cplusplus */

#ifndef SWIG

LIBSBML_CPP_NAMESPACE_BEGIN

BEGIN_C_DECLS

/**
 * Creates a new empty XMLInputStream_t structure and returns a pointer to
 * it.
 *
 * @param content the source of the stream.
 *
 * @param isFile a boolean flag to indicate whether @p content is a file
 * name.  If @c true, @p content is assumed to be the file from which the
 * XML content is to be read.  If @c false, @p content is taken to be a
 * string that @em is the content to be read.
 *
 * @param library the name of the parser library to use.
 *
 * @return pointer to the XMLInputStream_t structure created.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
XMLInputStream_t *
XMLInputStream_create (const char* content, int isFile, const char *library);

/**
 * Destroys this XMLInputStream_t structure.
 *
 * @param stream XMLInputStream_t structure to be freed.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
void
XMLInputStream_free (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns the encoding of the XML stream.
 *
 * @copydetails doc_xml_encoding
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return the encoding of this XMLInputStream_t, as a pointer to a string.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
const char *
XMLInputStream_getEncoding (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns the error log associated with the given stream.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return the XMLErrorLog object for the @p stream.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
XMLErrorLog_t *
XMLInputStream_getErrorLog (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns nonzero if the given stream has reached EOF.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return @c true (nonzero) if this stream is at its end, @c false (zero)
 * otherwise.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
int
XMLInputStream_isEOF (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns nonzero if the stream has experienced a fatal error.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return @c true (nonzero) if a fatal error occurred while reading from
 * this stream, @c false (zero) otherwise.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
int
XMLInputStream_isError (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns nonzero if the given stream is in a good state.
 *
 * The definition of "good state" is that isEOF() and isError() both return
 * @c false.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return @c true (nonzero) if the stream is happy, @c false (zero)
 * otherwise.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
int
XMLInputStream_isGood (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns the next token in the given stream.
 *
 * The token is consumed in the process.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return the token, as an XMLToken_t structure.
 *
 * @see XMLInputStream_peek()
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
XMLToken_t *
XMLInputStream_next (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Returns the next token @em without consuming it.
 *
 * A subsequent call to either peek() or next() will return the same token.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to examine.
 *
 * @return the token, as an XMLToken_t structure.
 *
 * @see XMLInputStream_get()
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
const XMLToken_t *
XMLInputStream_peek (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Consume zero or more tokens up to and including the corresponding end
 * element or EOF.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t to act on.
 *
 * @param element the element whose end will be sought in the input stream.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
void
XMLInputStream_skipPastEnd (XMLInputStream_t *stream,
                            const XMLToken_t *element);

/**
 * Consume zero or more tokens up to but not including the next XML element
 * or EOF.
 *
 * @param stream the XMLInputStream_t structure to act on.
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
void
XMLInputStream_skipText (XMLInputStream_t *stream);

/**
 * Sets the XMLErrorLog this stream will use to log errors.
 *
 * @param stream XMLInputStream_t structure to act on.
 *
 * @param log the XMLErrorLog_t structure to attach to the @p stream.
 *
 * @copydetails doc_returns_success_code
 * @li @sbmlconstant{LIBSBML_OPERATION_SUCCESS, OperationReturnValues_t}
 * @li @sbmlconstant{LIBSBML_OPERATION_FAILED, OperationReturnValues_t}
 *
 * @memberof XMLInputStream_t
 */
LIBLAX_EXTERN
int
XMLInputStream_setErrorLog (XMLInputStream_t *stream, XMLErrorLog_t *log);

END_C_DECLS

LIBSBML_CPP_NAMESPACE_END

#endif  /* !SWIG */
#endif  /* XMLInputStream_h */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bangalore Airport is located in India at the longitude of 77.71 and latitude of 13.2. Tamara Coorg is located in India at the longitude of 75.65 and latitude of 12.23 .
Driving Distance : 302 KM and 451 meters / 187.9 miles.
Straight Line Distance : 248 KM and 200 meters / 154.2 miles.
The total straight line distance between Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg is 248 KM (kilometers) and 200 meters. The miles based distance from Bangalore Airport to Tamara Coorg is 154.2 miles. This is a straight line distance and so most of the time the actual travel distance between Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg may be higher or vary due to curvature of the road .
The driving distance or the travel distance between Bangalore Airport to Tamara Coorg is 302 KM and 451 meters. The mile based, road distance between these two travel point is 187.9 miles.
The sun rise time difference or the actual time difference between Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg is 0 hours , 8 minutes and 13 seconds. Note: Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg time calculation is based on UTC time of the particular city. It may vary from country standard time , local time etc.
Bangalore Airport is located around 248 KM away from Tamara Coorg so if you travel at the consistent speed of 50 KM per hour you can reach Tamara Coorg in 6 hours and 2 minutes. Your Tamara Coorg travel time may vary due to your bus speed, train speed or depending upon the vehicle you use.
Bus timings from Bangalore Airport to Tamara Coorg is around 6 hours and 2 minutes when your bus maintains an average speed of sixty kilometer per hour over the course of your journey. The estimated travel time from Bangalore Airport to Tamara Coorg by bus may vary or it will take more time than the above mentioned time due to the road condition and different travel route. Travel time has been calculated based on crow fly distance so there may not be any road or bus connectivity also.
Mid way point or halfway place is a center point between source and destination location. The mid way point between Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg is situated at the latitude of 12.714556445401 and the longitude of 76.676290679983. If you need refreshment you can stop around this midway place, after checking the safety,feasibility, etc.
Tamara Coorg is located nearly South West side to Bangalore Airport. The bearing degree from Bangalore Airport To Tamara Coorg is 244 ° degree. The given South West direction from Bangalore Airport is only approximate. The given google map shows the direction in which the blue color line indicates road connectivity to Tamara Coorg . In the travel map towards Tamara Coorg you may find en route hotels, tourist spots, picnic spots, petrol pumps and various religious places. The given google map is not comfortable to view all the places as per your expectation then to view street maps, local places see our detailed map here.
The following diriving direction guides you to reach Tamara Coorg from Bangalore Airport. Our straight line distance may vary from google distance.
Travelers and visitors are welcome to write more travel information about Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg.
It can be your previous travel experience between Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg.
Available transport routes to reach Tamara Coorg like train routes, bus routes, air routes and cruise routes.
Tourist places or any other important places on the routes between Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg.
Hotels, restaurant information on the way to Tamara Coorg.
Photos related to Bangalore Airport and Tamara Coorg or en route.


text:
Centre's plea to transfer all CAA petitions to SC
Free Press Journal 8 January 2020
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on Friday the Centre's plea to transfer all petitions filed in different High Court to it challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act to hear them all along with nearly 60 PILs listed by it for hearing on January 22.
The plea came from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, mentioning before the Bench headed by Chief Justice Sharad Bobde, that the different High Courts may take conflicting views on the matter.
The Chief Justice felt it is always good to have the advantage of the views of the High Courts, but the High Courts should not take a view on the matter which is already pending before the Supreme Court.
Mehta stressed the urgency since the law's constitutional validity is slated for hearing in the Karnataka High Court later this week. The case is listed there on Friday, the day the Supreme Court will take a view on whether to transfer all cases related to CAA to it or not.
On December 18, the apex court had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its operation.
The newly amended law seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014
President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act.
The top court had then issued notice to the Centre and sought its response by the second week of January on a batch of pleas challenging the CAA.
Several petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, including by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.
Several other petitioners include Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, CPI, NGOs 'Rihai Manch' and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma, and law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act.
Also Read: Allahabad HC converts Mumbai lawyer's letter as PIL, Yogi Adityanath govt issued notice over Madrassa brutality
Pakistani Hindus living in Jodhpur camps believe Citizenship Act is their passport to future


Reading NCERT text books and watching the Mahabharata, (the fancy war gear, shallow water pools that camfoulaged as well-laid carpets, a palace made of Lac to burn people alive) while growing up, I'd often fancy living in the past. What did the Red Fort look like when it was occupied by the its rightful owners. What Mandu (in Madhya Pradesh) was like when the hamam baths (that are now home to bats), were live and functional. This was the India story or some of it. Cut to the US.
Picture Prohibition era, picture Speakeasies. What plagued the past (remember crime peaked during Prohibition) is being celebrated today. Skeeter was delighted to have been invited to one such party that revisited the past. Sabyasachi Gorai or Chef Saby as he is lovingly called along with his team – chef Dhruv Oberoi (who has returned from his stint with Ferran and Albert Adria on one of their projects), Noor Al Sabah (who comes from Dubai to follow her passion-food), Astha Mittal (who loves to work around food), Harish (at the bar) hosted us.
The Dirty Martini at Olive Qutub, which is a Speakeasy-inspired bar recreated blast from the past. Speakeasies used to be illegal bars that thrived in the US in 1920s when there was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. The entry to these bars was through a lesser known path, often a dirty dingy alley and a clandestine entrance which required passwords to let you in. Since there are no dingy alleys at Olive Qutub, we were led through the kitchen and ushered in through a shabby looking door. A welcome drink called The Chai-Wala (Mulled wine in a mitti ka kulhad), warmed us up to the evening. And as the evening rolled South Side (cocktail made from gin, lemon, sugar, mint) was dished out in intricate tea cups, ideally suited to a High Tea. It was served to keep with the Speakeasy theme of The Dirty Martini. Next up was an excellent Cherry Wood smoked Gin tonic served in a wine glass topped with an Amuse Bouche.
Then came the wicked jello martini shots. Real fruit was scooped out and skins were retained to be filled with jellied martinis. Skeeter is a sucker for gorgeous looking food and always has a hard time thinking of destroying (read eating, okay drinking such glam things). Beer came hidden in brown paper bags and a lovely Sangria made Skeety's evening.
The vegetarian bites that were served with the drinks included Dive bar croistini (Ratatouille and gruyere), Big boss toast (Goat cheese, chilli jam and berries), the Rum runner (Mushroom burger, manchego) and a lovely Sheeben sandwich which was a Harissa spiced artichoke with feta and apricot chutney. It was Skeety's favourite from that night. Godfather's stew was a seven vegetable stew served with country style bread. Vegetables could not get better.
The evening ended with Nutty Auntie, a sublime baked apple and walnut tart with a dash of maple syrup and The Smoked Cigar which was live Churros served in paper cones (A Spanish deep fried party served with molten chocolate). Interestingly, the first time Skeeter tasted Churros happened to be at Olive itself. It may be a breakfast/snack item in Spain, but ended our night on a toothsome note.


Designing for the users: It is observed and experienced that a successful system can be able to meet the business objectives when it becomes user centered and also task oriented. So it is important to bear in mind the characteristics of the typical user population and also their tasks or working environment.
Keeping consistency: It is important to keep a particular level of consistency in the field of designing with the other components of the computer system. It helps the users to save his time and also make the process easier.
Reducing the users' unnecessary mental efforts: It is experimented that if the users involve in unnecessary mental efforts, it will affect their concentration and they are distracted away from their actual tasks. Thus, their performances will be less efficient and more errors will be occurred during their program. So it is really so much important to concentrate on the frequent tasks and also simplify them as much as they are possible. They should avoid unnecessary information of the systems.
Providing adequate feedback: There should have some kind of feedback methods to be able to realize the completion of the transactions from some distinct changes. These changes should appear on the window after the completion of the transaction. Feedback can be provided at the different important levels of the transaction or the whole interaction process. For example, when the users will operate a control successfully, they should receive some confirmation messages or indications. Again, when some longer sequence of particular operations will take place, the users can also get some confirmation. But it is also important for the users not getting irrelevant or unnecessary information regarding the different internal status of the system. It is necessary to incorporate the user feedback for the purpose of refining design requirements.
Providing adequate navigation mechanisms: This process can be achieved with the application of a consistent and meaningful mechanism. It can also be achieved by using other mechanisms like use of location or user indicators, providing navigation map and providing the history of areas visited.
Reducing errors: It is important to reduce errors of the users to accomplish the goal. The error messages should be plane in language. There should not be any use of codes in the error messages. These messages should indicate the problem precisely and after analyzing the whole thing, it should suggest some solution.
Clear presentation of the information: The users should not be given more irrelevant and unnecessary information as it might make the users perplexed and he might not be able to perform his task appropriately. Rather proper, present, valid, relevant and necessary information should be provided to the users in some consistent manner. Clear presentation of the information will help the users to make a better performance.
Usage of natural and simple dialogue: The dialogue used between the users and the system should be easy and simple. It should also follow some natural sequence according to the task. All instructions should be in plain English and there should be a proper use of vocabulary. There should be definition of the terminology. It will help to keep the same meaning of the same terms.


text:
STEM Outreach
HomeSTEMNews
BSc Physics (1) Apply BSc Physics filter
Inspiring talk sees Georgia explore new areas of Physics
Organising webinars in her spare time inspired a Physics student at the University of Chester to discover a new passion which has led to her first job in this field.
BSc Physics
Engineering graduate set to design the industrial infrastructure of the future.
One of the first students to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Chester's Thornton Science Park has graduated with a First Class MEng degree.
Supercapacitors turbocharged by laxatives
An international team of scientists, including a lecturer of Natural Sciences from the University of Chester, has devised a method to improve energy storage devices called supercapacitors, by designing a new class of detergents that are chemically similar to laxatives.
School pupils discover the 'magic of chemistry'
Primary and secondary school pupils in the region are being inspired to discover the 'magic' of chemistry, thanks to an outreach programme run by the University of Chester's Faculty of Science and Engineering.
Undergraduate's research explores possibility of improving turbocharger systems
An undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Chester has come up with a research model which could see surge limits on turbochargers becoming a thing of the past, making them more efficient and cost effective.
University of Chester research team named among Nation's Lifesavers
A research team from the University of Chester has today been recognised for their exceptional contribution to keeping the UK healthy.
Chinese engineering students visit Thornton Science Park
Engineering students from two Chinese universities are taking part in a three-month lab-based research programme at the University of Chester's Thornton Science Park.
Thornton lecture inspires next generation of female scientists
Female pupils at a Wrexham secondary school, who attended an International Women's Day event at the University of Chester's Thornton Science Park, have spoken of how the lecture has 'inspired them' to see the 'eye opening opportunities' available for women in science.
University students 'speed network' to secure industrial placements
Science and Engineering students at the University of Chester's Thornton Science Park had the opportunity to network with local companies and Thornton commercial tenants during the annual Speed Networking event organised by the Faculty.
Partnership offers UK's first chemical engineering degree apprenticeships
The Faculty of Science and Engineering and major employers in the region have partnered to offer the first degree apprenticeship in the UK based upon an IChemE accredited chemical engineering degree.


text:
Works of the Late Dr. Benjamin Franklin: Consisting of His Life, Written by ...
作者:Benjamin Franklin
AMONG WHICH ARE SEVERAL NOT INSERTED IN ANY AMERICAN
PHILADELPHIA:
PUBLISHED BY DAVID ABBOTT.
William Brown, Printer.
HE volume that is here presented to the Public, consists of two parts; the Life of Dr. Franklin ; and a Collection of Miscellaneous Essays, the work of that Author.
It is already known to many, that Dr. Franklin amused himself, towards the close of his life, with writing memoirs of his own history. These memoirs were brought down to the year 1757. Together with some other scripts they were left behind him at his death, and were considered as a part of his posthumous property. It is a little extraordinary that, under these circumstances, interesting as they are, from the celebrity of the character of which they treat, and from the critical situation of the present times, they should so long have been with-held from the Public. A translation of them appeared in France near two years ago, coming down to the year 1731. There can be no sufficient reason, that what has been submit. ted to the perusal of Europe, should not be made accessible to those to whom Dr. Franklin's language is native. The first part of the history of his life is translated from that publication.
The style of these memoirs is uncommonly pleasing. The story is told with the most un. reserved sincerity, and without any false colouring or ornament. We see, in every page, that the author examined his subjects with the eye of a master, and related no incidents, the springs and origin of which he did not perfectly understand. It is this that gives such exquisite and uncommon perspicuity to the detail and delight in the review. The translator has endeavoured, as he went along, to conceive the probable manner in which Dr. Franklin expressed his ideas in his English manuscript, and he hopes to be forgiven if this enquiry shall occasionlly have subjected him to the charge of a style in any respect bald or low; to imitate the admirable simplicity of the author, is no easy task.
The Essays, which are now for the first time, brought together from various resources, will be found to be more miscellaneous than any of Dr. Franklin's that have formerly been collected, and will therefore be more generally amusing. Dr. Franklin tells us, in his Life, that he was an assiduous imitator of Addison; and from some of these papers it will be admitted he was not an unhappy one. The public will be amused with following a great philosopher in his relaxation, and observe in what respects philosophy tends to elucidate and improve the most common subject. The editor has purposely avoided such papers, as by their scientifical


On February 5, 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly in order to describe in detail the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein was supposedly developing in Iraq. This speech is now infamous, and the the inaccurate statements about Iraq's nuclear and chemical weapons within it are a matter of public record. In that same speech, Secretary Powell made the remarkable assertion that Iraq was developing sophisticated drones to deliver these weapons of mass destruction.
These public claims were based, according to U.S. officials, on intelligence analysis conducted by various agencies. A 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq's weapons arsenal was partly declassified in July 2003 in response to growing accusations that U.S. government claims about Iraq's WMDs had been fabricated. The NIE notes that Baghdad had "exceeded U.N. range limits of 150 km with its ballistic missiles and is working with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which allow for a more lethal means to deliver biological and, less likely, chemical warfare agents." The report was referring to intelligence collected in June, 2002, that appeared to show that Iraq had exceeded a self-imposed range limit for one of its prototype drones during testing. An October 2002 report by the Director of Central Intelligence reiterated these claims.
During inspections of Iraq's military systems, the U.N.'s Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission did indeed scrutinize the Iraqi drone program, and concurred with the U.S. assessment that the unmanned aircraft might prove to be an effective delivery system for chemical weapons. A March 6, 2003 report by UNMOVIC, Unresolved Disarmament Issues: Iraq's Proscribed Weapons Programmes, noted that drones "are of particular interest to UNMOVIC because of their potential to deliver a weapon to a remote target. Even though some UAVs are small and can only carry a few tens of kilogrammes as payload, this could be significant if that payload is a BW agent such as anthrax. Indeed, Iraq has declared that in 1988 it considered RPVs [remotely piloted vehicles] as a delivery vehicle to spray BW [biological warfare] agents, but said that it rejected the idea as the aircraft possessed at that time were too small." The U.N. report focused on the L-29, a manned fighter jet that the Iraqi military had converted into an unmanned aircraft. Iraq had claimed that it had a range of only 30 km. and was designed for training purposes (not unlike the U.S. QF-16, which is also used for training), claims that UNMOVIC did not trust.
The prospect of Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicles spraying chemical and biological agents over densely populated areas over the United States was widely reported in the media. But soon after the invasion of Iraq, as the tall stories of Iraq's WMD arsenal began to fall apart, Powell's and Bush's claims about the scale and sophistication of Iraq's drone program proved to be wildly exaggerated. In their speeches, Powell and Bush had neglected to mention that the capabilities of Iraqi drones had been a matter of debate in U.S. intelligence circles, according to the Associated Press. The Air Force, it was later revealed, had maintained that Iraqi drones were not capable of posing any real threat to the U.S., or even to the countries bordering Iraq. "We didn't see there was a very large chance they [UAVs] would be used to attack the continental United States," Bob Boyd, director of the Air Force Intelligence Analysis Agency, told the Associated Press, also noting that it was unlikely that Iraq was planning to use its drones to deliver chemical weapons, since there was little crossover between the two programs.
The L-29, meanwhile, was also found to be far less capable and reliable than originally thought. According to Globalsecurity.org, in a test at an advanced development stage in June 1997, the aircraft lost its communications link with ground crew and crashed. Engineers tried to solve the problem by bolting on to the drone a stabilization system from a Chinese cruise missile. This fix did not work. It also appears that the program could only have ever developed a handful of L-29 drones, since only a couple of dozen of the manned aircraft that it was based on were still in service in 2002. Furthermore, engineers had been unable to fly the aircraft more than 70 km. from the ground station (in the test in which the range limit of 150 km. was exceeded, the aircraft flew in circles over within a 70 km. range; the exceed "range" referred to by U.S. officials was therefore misleading).
Until recently, this anecdote from the leadup to the Iraq War was treated more as a curious sideshow to the more significant discussions around Iraq's supposed nuclear program. But recently, it has taken on renewed relevance. After a U.S. spy drunkenly crashed his hobby drone into a White House lawn, many revisited the idea that even a rudimentary drone could be turned into an effective weapon. In theory, such a drone carrying a small amount of explosives could serve as an effective DIY precision-guided ordinance. The threat is being taken seriously. On March 18, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency will hold a hearing on this very issue. The Secret Service has announced that it will conduct a series of late night tests in order to figure out how to bring down small drones using signal jammers.
But just as in 2003, when it comes to drones, there is still sometimes a gulf between fiction and reality, especially when it comes to indigenous military drone programs. The ongoing war in Syria has become a proving ground for various Iranian drones, the capabilities of which–just as with Iraq's drones–are disputed. When Hamas announced that in July of last year that it had sent several drones into Israel for surveillance missions, the story grabbed headlines, but experts were quick to point out that, though they might sound impressive, Hamas drones were likely not much of a threat to the IDF. When countries like Nigeria and Ecuador claim to have developed capable military drones, it is worth pausing to consider whether or not such systems match both our expectations, as well as the claims that are being made about them.
While some commentators have warned that the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles could pose a serious threat to international security, others have pointed out that the technical challenges are such that drones with anything approaching the capability of an armed U.S. Reaper drone, for example, are beyond the reach of all but a few of the wealthiest and most advanced militaries (satellites and other complex communications infrastructures are required to enable larger drone operations). The cost of entry into drone warfare will someday drop to the point that a country with relatively few resources may indeed be able to develop drones that pose the kind of threat that Powell warned of in the General Assembly, but in the meantime, we might look back at Iraq's foil-clad drones and the excitement and anxiety they provoked as a cautionary tale: just because a country has drones, it doesn't mean those drones are worth starting a war over.