Ernst Bergen (Paraguay) shares about his experience as MWC treasurer after the Executive Committee thanked him for his years of service. Incoming treasurer, Sunoko Lin (Indonesia/USA) looks on. Photo: LIFE TV (Indonesia).
Bogotá, Colombia – Excitement for Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly 2021 was in the air at the MWC Executive Committee annual meeting 12–19 February 2016 in Semarang, Indonesia.
Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI), Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa (GITJ), and Jemaat Kristen Indonesia (JKI), the three MWC member churches (called synods in Indonesia) hosted the gatherings of the MWC Executive Committee and the Young Anabaptists (YABs) committee.
The Indonesian leaders shared how they had been inspired by fellowshipping with each other at the MWC Assembly in Paraguay in 2009. Since that time, they have been meeting regularly as an "Indo-Menno-Leaders" group. Out of this group grew the desire to invite the worldwide Anabaptist community to meet in Indonesia for the next MWC Assembly, Indonesia 2021.
The Executive Committee heard and approved reports from staff and commissions about ongoing projects, membership applications to join MWC and the MWC budget. They thanked Ernst Bergen (Paraguay) for his years of service as the MWC treasurer and welcomed Sunoko Lin (Indonesia/USA) as the new treasurer. The Peace Commission shared updates on the working document Statement on Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. The Faith and Life Commission outlined strategies for networking with Anabaptist education institutions connected to MWC.
Renewal 2027, a celebration from 2017–2027 commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement, was also approved by the Executive Committee. This will include regional celebrations around the world culminating in the MWC Assembly in 2027.
The Executive Committee approved the dates for the next MWC General Council meeting. In 2018, from 9–19 April, the triennial MWC General Council meetings will take place alongside those of the Executive Committee, Commissions, networks including the Global Anabaptist Service Network and the Global Mission Fellowship and the YABs committee.
This was the first gathering of the Executive Committee with the new model of staggered terms. At the July 2015 MWC General Council meeting, to assist with continuity in the work of MWC, some Executive Committee member terms were extended for another three years to serve alongside new appointments on six-year terms.
The new YABs committee had their first meeting with the continental representatives appointed after GYS 2015 and rolled out the new initiative, YABs Fellowship Sunday. This annual celebration to bring Anabaptist young people together in worship around a common theme is planned for June 2016; check the MWC website and social media, and YABs social media, for more information.
MWC Executive Committee, Young Anabaptists Committee, Staff and volunteers at their 2016 meetings in Indonesia. Photo: LIFE TV (Indonesia).
From Left: Regional representatives Cynthia Peacock (South Asia), Henk Stenvers (Europe) and Francisca Ibanda (Central/West Africa) report to the Executive Committee. Photo: LIFE TV (Indonesia).
Click on the photos to see the high resolution version.
Hello! What are the dates and location for the 2021 Assembly in Indonesia?
Greetings, thanks for your interest in our next assembly. We do not have this information yet, but once we do we will announce it on this website and share it online. Thank you.
How far ahead are the dates set for MWC Assembly? Last year it was held in July - is that the month it is typically held in? So excited that 2021 will be in Indonesia!
Greetings, the next Assembly will probably be in July, but we cannot yet confirm the dates for 2021. Once we do we will announce it on this website and share it online. Thank you.


The following individuals serve as the board of directors for the Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification, the organization that administers the CAIP exam.
Submit your electronic application April 1-30, 2019. Good luck on the exam!


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New to motogp.com?Register here
Introducing Joe Roberts: the new American on the block
The LA native makes the move up to the world stage in Moto2™ - bringing the stars and stripes back to the MotoGP™ paddock
Tags Moto2, 2017, MONSTER ENERGY GRAND PRIX ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY, Joe Roberts, AGR Team
From Los Angeles, CA to the 2017 Czech GP is a long way by any standards, and it's even further when that journey takes almost two decades. But Joe Roberts, who steps into the AGR Team in Moto2™ for the remainder of 2017, has made just that journey. Coming from early childhood memories of Flat Track to MotoAmerica and beyond, the Moto2™ World Championship now beckons as he moves up from the FIM CEV Repsol.
motogp.com caught up with the Californian ahead of lights out at the Monster Energy České republiky to get to know him a little better as the stars and stripes returns to the MotoGP™ paddock.
Beginning at the beginning, when did you start riding?
Joe Roberts: "I started riding when I was three, and my dad is the one who got me into it. He was a rider in England at club level and moved over to Los Angeles in 1997, the year I was born. He loved bikes and wanted to keep riding but he had four kids that he had to take care of, so he decided to get us all bikes. We'd go out into the desert and I'd ride in the Hollywood Hills on a little 50cc bike - that's how it started. But ever since I was born I've loved wheels and rolling around on things, so I feel like I was kind of born to do it."
"We'd go out into the desert and I'd ride in the Hollywood Hills on a little 50cc bike - that's how it started"
So when did it change from doing it for enjoyment and realising it could be a profession?
JR20: "At the beginning it was just a fun thing I did with the whole family, and then my dad kind of discovered flat track and he thought it would be a fun thing. We all grew up watching On Any Sunday, and loved flat track. When we found out there was flat track only an hour from my house we decided to go do that and then that's kind of how the whole racing bug hit me. I found I loved racing against riders and being competitive. It blossomed from there and then went towards Supermoto riding. I found I was better on tarmac than dirt, and that's how I got into road racing."
Do you find that experience helps you now?
JR20: "I never got on to big bikes then, but towards the end of 2013 I got a 450 and started doing Flat Track riding and racing, and I found it's pretty beneficial for road racing – one thing it teaches you is really good throttle control. You can't just open the throttle and hammer it out of corners because you've got to find the traction. That's key for different situations on a road race bike. Like with tyres going off towards the end of a race – you've got to be able to manage the throttle."
You've been on the podium already in the FIM CEV Repsol. Has your season exceeded expectations thus far?
JR20: "I didn't know how it was going to go, I've come from MotoAmerica and production racing and I'd never ridden a Moto2 bike before. I didn't know what to expect. The bikes are very different but I just started on a gradual basis to learn all the different techniques, and how to ride these bikes. I found one of the biggest differences is braking and how these riders apply the brakes. You just have to grab them and then trail it off, in such a short period of time. That's something I've had to get used to. I've found myself getting better every time I get on the bike and found I was quite competitive with the guys in the European Championship, getting quicker and quicker, so I'm thrilled with how everything's gone. To get on the podium in the European Championship, which isn't so far off world level – you know, they're no joke, those guys – it's been pretty cool. It's always great to impress people!"
"I figured if I get thrown in with some of the best riders in the world, I'm definitely going to learn something I don't know"
And now you're about to debut in the World Championship! What are you aiming for this weekend? Any expectations?
JR20: "This level is so high, and what these guys are able to do from the first session, the laptimes they're able to get down to right away, is something that will take some adjusting to get used to. I think the main reason I wanted to come and do this Championship right now is that I figured if I get thrown in with some of the best riders in the world, I'm definitely going to learn something I don't know. So I needed to take this step and see where I stack up with these guys. I may surprise myself, and it could be a really good thing…so I'm just going to try and learn as much as I can. This team is a really good team, really professional. They have some really knowledgeable guys and data from really good riders in the past, so I can compare myself to them and see what they're doing. I think that will be really beneficial. And I've raced Brno before in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, and it's the only track I won at in that. I got the lap record on a 125 so I've got great feelings here and I love this place. Me and my dad were talking about how cool it is to come here and debut here – it's probably one of my favourite tracks ever!"
With that as a good omen, Roberts heads out for FP1 with the rest of the Moto2™ grid at 10:55 (GMT +2) on Friday - before his first showdown on the world stage kicks off at 12:20 on Sunday.
Opportunity knocks, Lüthi answers for a stunning sprint win
Swiss rider stages a stunning sprint to victory at Brno to cut the Championship lead in half
Czech Republic, #CzechGP
Moto2™: Warm Up and Sunday Guide
Stats and facts about the fastest - and results from Sunday morning
Pasini bests Oliveira to take first pole since 2007
Veteran Italian lays down a marker and stays ahead in Brno
Dynavolt Intact GP
Vierge joins Dynavolt Intact GP for 2018
Spaniard moves to the German outfit for next season after an impressive first half of 2017
Czech Republic, Xavi Vierge
Alex Marquez leads Morbidelli in FP3
Spaniard fastest in third practice at Brno
Pasini supreme on opening day at Brno
Italian leads rookie compatriot Bagnaia and returning Vierge at the Czech GP
Oliveira outpaces Corsi and Vierge in rain-soaked FP1
Red Bull KTM Ajo rider flies in the wet weather of Friday morning

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


1. Wash the apples, pears and grapes.
2. Remove cores from the apples and pears, peel and deseed the satsumas, and peel the kiwis.
3. Slice the apples, pears, kiwis and satsumas into a bowl.
4. Remove the seeds from the grapes and add the grapes to the fruit mixture.
Add the canned pineapple with its juice, and the orange juice, mix well and chill.


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The 2013 Star World Championships were held in San Diego, United States between August 28 and September 8, 2013.

Results

External links
Official website
Results

Star World Championships
Star World Championships
Star World Championships in the United States
Star World

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Updates the specified firewall rule.
Name of the Firewall resource to update. Example: apps/myapp/firewall/ingressRules/100.
Standard field mask for the set of fields to be updated.
The request body contains an instance of FirewallRule.
If successful, the response body contains an instance of FirewallRule.


Favorite skimmers? Brandon Rothe, Grady Archbold, Brandon Sears, Blair Conklin, Sammy Stinnett, Paulo Prietto, Brad Evers, Jeff Gomez, Weber, Noogie, Gerardo and Yahir, Kuda G, Jovanni. I could go on and on but everyone is my favorite. Anyone who keeps me guessing and watching in awe.
Goals? Enjoy life to its fullest, every way shape and form. One day I will beat Sammy in a contest. I want to travel to Sri Lanka and beyond. Beat Bobby Flay.
Who do you skim with? The SLG crew thru and thru. Anyone who lifts you up when you need a hand, anyone who pushes you forward to test your limits, and that has good positive vibes.
Play other sports? Name it, I'll play it.
Hobbies? Woodworking, skating, surfing, biking, photography and film, chilling, cruising, chess, I love everything. Try anything once.
Fun fact? if you type "do a barrel roll" in the Google search bar, the screen will do a barrel roll.


wondering if my reply post need to be approved.
I see it just fine and it's not asking me to approve it.
Usually when we look at approving posts, we expect an actual post, something that will indicate the user is legitimate. We've had a bad problem in the past with spam.
@Admin, After how many posts do new users get the privilege of posting without approval? May be you could consider a stronger captcha for account creation and banning ip/email which creates spam? Right now, it looks like a 1 day delay for posts to be approved.


The 43-year-old father of two was deported in May 2012 from the U.S. to his Caribbean homeland because he was convicted of a marijuana-related felony drug charge in 1997 — despite the four years he served in the Navy, including a few months on a supply ship during the first Gulf War.
Weighed down by worry and bone-deep weariness, he wants to get back to his family and the future he thought he was building in Virginia. Bailey was a teenager when he and his siblings followed their mother to New York City as green card holders, and he long considered the United States his home.
"It's so hard," Bailey said, gesturing at a few rough-hewn pigpens and yam vines climbing up bamboo sticks. "I went from owning a successful trucking business and two homes in the U.S., paying my taxes, raising two beautiful children with a beautiful wife to, well, what you see here."
Bailey's case has drawn the attention of immigration lawyers and media because his crime seems relatively minor and the punishment extreme. But he's not unique: Thousands of non-citizens who served in the U.S. military have been deported to countries around the globe in recent years, immigrant advocates estimate. The precise number is unknown because the U.S. government does not track deportees by veteran status.
Some say the deportees deserve special consideration because of their military service. "We treated you as a national when you wore the uniform, we should treat you as one when it comes off," said Pennsylvania immigration attorney Craig Shagin, who assists a group for deportees called Banished Veterans.
If legal permanent residents die while serving in the U.S. military, they are granted a military funeral and citizenship. But if they finish their service without becoming nationalized and are later arrested, as Bailey was, they are subject to immigration laws passed in 1994 and 1996 that expanded the list of deportable offenses.
It's an uphill battle to return a deportee in Bailey's position to the U.S., said Alisa Wellek, who is assisting him as co-executive director of the New York-based Immigrant Defense Project. She said a legal advocacy project at Boston College has agreed to file a motion to reopen Bailey's immigration case so a judge can determine whether he deserves to stay in the U.S. as a green card holder, or legal resident. But the Department of Homeland Security will ultimately decide if the case is reopened.
U.S. government officials would not discuss specifics of Bailey's situation, citing privacy rules. Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency "exercises prosecutorial discretion for members of the armed forces who have honorably served our country on a case-by-case basis when appropriate."
Not everyone sympathizes with foreign-born U.S. military veterans who have been convicted of felonies in civilian life.
"Military service does not in itself absolve anyone - citizens and immigrants alike - from the consequences of their actions," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform.
In Jamaica, Bailey mulls over his "stupid mistake" and worries about his teenage children, a boy and girl living in Virginia. Once strong students, they are struggling in school.
Following his honorable discharge, Bailey, a communications specialist while in the Navy, was studying to become a dental assistant and living near Norfolk Naval Station when he was arrested in 1995. He was convicted in August 1997 of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Bailey said he was duped into the crime by a fellow Jamaican who was serving in the Navy at the time. Hanging out near the Norfolk base, they bonded over music and he didn't think twice when his new buddy asked him to sign for a couple of packages at his home. But the parcels contained marijuana and was being tracked by law enforcement.
Two years later, Baily followed his lawyer's advice and took a plea deal in Virginia Beach Circuit Court and admitted to a felony possession charge rather than risk a harsher penalty by going to trial. He served 15 months in a Virginia lockup and thought that was the end of it.
But when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 2005, immigration authorities were flagged by the conviction. Bailey was locked up in immigration detention centers for two years until 2012, when he boarded a plane with 70 other shackled Jamaicans and flown to the island's capital on a monthly U.S. flight nicknamed "Con Air."
Bailey shares his story with few people in Jamaica, where stigma against deportees is high and many peoplestruggle to find work. His mother and siblings wire him money because he doesn't make nearly enough to support himself by raising just over a dozen pigs.
He's still flabbergasted he had to leave the country he vowed to defend. His situation keeps him up at night, especially his inability to provide for his two children. His wife has left him and his marriage is over.
"I made a stupid decision in 1995, I paid for it, and then I picked myself up," Bailey said, his voice thick with emotion as he sat outside a tiny clapboard church across the road from his pigpens. "But this has been like an everlasting punishment."
Get ready for the BET Experience, featuring Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Jill Scott, A$AP Rocky, RickRossand many more. Click here for more details and info on how to purchase tickets.


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Bring it on: League championships should be epic battles
6yDavid Schoenfield
Real or Not? Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut
Real or Not? Red Sox bullpen's tightrope act will wear thin
Real or not? Gerrit Cole's approach bringing Cy Young results
Real or not? No-hitter the latest feat in James Paxton's rise
Deal ends Matt Harvey's roller-coaster ride with Mets
Sizing up potential trade fits for Manny Machado
Real or Not? The AL East is setting up as a race for the ages
Albert Pujols' push for 3,000 powered by dominant decade
'Ich-i-ro! Ich-i-ro!' Farewell to a Mariners legend
Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup?
Real or Not? Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again
Real or Not? The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule
Real or Not? Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers
Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink
4yBradford Doolittle
Olney likes Royals over Blue Jays (0:44)
ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney analyzes why he likes the Royals to beat the Blue Jays in the ALCS. (0:44)
David SchoenfieldESPN Senior Writer
Covers MLB for ESPN.com
Former deputy editor of Page 2
Been with ESPN.com since 1995
When the St. Louis Cardinals became the first team eliminated in the Division Series, we knew somebody's fan base was going to be deliriously happy at the conclusion of this postseason: None of the remaining seven teams had won a World Series in the wild-card era dating back to 1995.
Or, in the case of the Chicago Cubs, in the division era ... or the expansion era ... or the post-integration era ... or, heck, since they banned the spitball way back after the 1920 season. The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, beating Ty Cobb's Tigers in five games. Their best pitcher was Three Finger Brown, they played at a wooden structure named West Side Park built in 1893, and the club hit 19 home runs all season. I'll venture that none of those 19 traveled as far as the one Kyle Schwarber hit Tuesday night at Wrigley Field that helped clinch the series win over the Cardinals and is now temporarily memorialized.
The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, two expansion franchises born in the early 1960s (the Rangers originally as the second version of the Washington Senators), remain without World Series titles, their underrated histories of postseason heartache receiving new chapters.
The Los Angeles Dodgers? It's hard to believe they haven't been to a World Series since Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser led the team to victory in 1988, but that's the case. The team with baseball's highest payroll lost 3-2 to the Mets on Thursday, as the offensive shriveled up after the first inning, and now we're done with the wonderful Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke for 2015 (well, at least until Greinke opts out of his contract this offseason).
What we're not done with is amazing stories. As Doug Kern of ESPN Stats & Information points out, if you add up the World Series droughts of the four remaining teams, we get 188 years of starvation. Only 2003 -- when the Cubs and Red Sox were still alive -- had more titleless years, 189. If the New York Mets beat the Cubs, we'll also have the first World Series ever between two expansion teams.
It's not just the years without a title that make this final four so intriguing, but where these clubs have been. The Cubs were 73-89 last season, last place in the National League Central, the same record as the Phillies. The Phillies. A year later, the Cubs were 34 games better than the Phillies, winning 97 games for their first winning season since 2009. With their dynamic group of rookies and the one-two punch of Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester, the Cubbies grew up in a hurry under manager Joe Maddon. They're going to scare the crap out of the rest of the National League for a long time. Maybe they make their first World Series since 1945; if not, they'll be favorites to do so in 2016 ... and 2017 ... and 2018 ...
The NLDS presents a tantalizing matchup between the Cubs' young power bats vs. the Mets' young power arms. USA TODAY Sports
The Mets? The big-market Mets, whose penny-pinching ownership had driven fans into disgust? They won 79 games last year, their sixth consecutive losing season. Back in 2008, the team's last winning season, fans had packed Shea Stadium to over 4 million, the best attendance in the league. In 2014, the team barely drew 2 million and ranked 13th in the NL. But GM Sandy Alderson had a plan built around power arms and it all came together as Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard threw laser beams past hitters all season. The trade deadline brought in Yoenis Cespedes and more roster depth and suddenly the lineup looks nearly as strong as the rotation. The Mets last reached the World Series in 2000 -- Clemens! Piazza! -- but haven't won since 1986.
The Toronto Blue Jays ended the longest playoff drought in the majors (congrats, Seattle, that now belongs to you) with a superlative offense built around longtime slugger Jose Bautista and trade acquisition and likely MVP Josh Donaldson. Then they picked up David Price, a deal reminiscent of 1992, when they got David Cone to help them to the first of their back-to-back World Series titles. Unlike the other three teams left, the Jays never hit rock bottom; they just couldn't break that Yankees-Red Sox (and sometimes Rays and Orioles) stranglehold on the AL East. This is a team that plays with an edge and an attitude, flips bats and punishes mistakes. You may not love them, but Canada does.
Sure, the Kansas City Royals reached the World Series last year, but they haven't won it since 1985. Many said the Royals were a fluke and would finish under .500 this year. They didn't; they got better. They put the ball in the play, they play that wonderful defense, they have a deep bullpen and everything Ned Yost does in October is magical.
All this is good for baseball, this new blood. The highest remaining payroll is Toronto, No. 10 in the majors. It's more difficult than ever to buy your way to a pennant. Attendance was up slightly from 2014. Local TV ratings were high in many markets; the Royals, in fact, just had the highest local rating by a regional network for any team since 2002. Perennial losers such as the Royals and Pirates are now perennial winners. The Cubs and Astros are on their way to becoming perennial powerhouses. Since 2010, 25 of the 30 teams have reached the postseason. The game is abundant with personable, exciting young stars. There is hope for everyone.
These two league championships feature four excellent teams. We'll get the power bats of the Cubs squaring off against all those power arms on the Mets. How far will Schwarber or Kris Bryant hit one if they connect with one of those Syndergaard 100 mph fastballs? When the Royals won their only World Series in 1985, they beat the Blue Jays in the ALCS. That was a terrific seven-game affair and hopefully we'll get another one. We'll definitely have the potential for some fireworks and not the kind that light up in the sky. These teams had a little bench-clearing incident in August, after which Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez called Donaldson "a little baby."
The Giants' run of three titles in five years was absolutely amazing, given the parity in today's game and the difficulty and randomness of postseason baseball. The Cardinals' consistent success year after year is to be admired. But it will be nice for a different team to pig pile on the pitcher's mound: It's been 22 years for the Blue Jays, 29 years for the Mets, 30 years for the Royals.
And 107 years for the Cubs, if you're counting.
So enjoy the baseball. I know Tinker, Evers and Chance will.


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Wireless Concrete Sensors
SmartRock®Concrete temperature and strength monitoring
SmartRock® ProSelf-calibrating concrete strength sensor
SmartHub™Remote Monitoring Device for SmartRock®
SmartHub Long-RangeLong Range Remote Monitoring Device
SmartMix™AI-based concrete mix optimization
Giatec 360™Dashboard for monitoring concrete pours
Ready-Mix Solutions
SmartRock® PlusA value-added solution for ready-mix concrete producers
Rebar Corrosion NDT
iCOR®NDT device for testing the rate of corrosion
XCell™NDT device for half-cell corrosion mapping
Perma™Laboratory device for testing chloride permeability
RCON™NDT device for measuring electrical bulk resistivity
Surf™Laboratory device for testing surface electrical resistivity
Thermal Control Plan
Mass Concrete
Strength & Maturity
Concrete Temperature
Low Breaks
Cold Weather Concreting
Concrete Hub
Concrete Terminology
Construction Revolution Podcast
Net Zero Construction Conference
Concrete Maturity Tool
About Giatec
An Overview of the Concrete Maturity Method
Measuring the early-age strength of concrete is an important step in discerning its strength. The challenge lies in finding a way to obtain concrete strength data in a simple, yet fast, and efficient manner. With sensors, measuring concrete strength, also referred to as "maturity", is a non-destructive method that can greatly optimize your jobsite schedule.
Download Maturity eBook
What is Concrete Maturity?
Maturity is a non-destructive approach to testing concrete that allows you to estimate the early-age and compressive strength of in-place concrete in real-time. Adopting the maturity approach in your jobsite eliminates the need for concrete cylinder break tests, allowing you to greatly optimize your schedule.
ASTMC1074, the standard practice for maturity, defines the method as "a technique for estimating concrete strength that is based on the assumption that samples of a given concrete mixture attain equal strengths if they attain equal values of the maturity index."
In other words, maturity is a value that represents the progression of concrete curing. The maturity index value considers concrete temperature and curing time. As a result, mix calibration is required to implement this concept in a project. The goal of the calibration is to determine a relationship between maturity and strength for a specific mix.
Using a concrete maturity sensor allows you to collect such data. The sensor works by measuring the temperature of the concrete and then calculates the concrete's strength/maturity through the calibration data previously inputted by the user.  Doing so replaces the need for break tests. These wireless maturity sensors, like SmartRock®, eliminate the use of cumbersome wires. Furthermore, it can connect to any smart mobile device and transmit data instantly without the use of a data logger, which is often expensive.
The Maturity Method
Calibrating Your Concrete Mix for Maturity
The goal of the maturity calibration is to determine a relationship between maturity and strength for a specific mix. This calibration can be used to determine the in-place strength of the concrete and evidently replace the need for field-cured cylinders. To perform a maturity calibration, the ASTM C1074 standard must be followed.
5 Steps to Mix Calibration:
Make a minimum of 17 cylinders; 2 will be used for temperature monitoring while the other specimens will be used for compressive strength breaks. All cylinders must be cured together in a moist environment (ASTM C511).
Select a minimum of 5 break times, for example, 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 days. For each day, obtain the compressive strength of two cylinders, break the third cylinder if the results vary more than 10% from the average. Note the time of the breaks.
At the time of the break, obtain the maturity value from the two cylinders that were used for temperature monitoring and make an average of the maturity.
You now have a set of at least 5 data points each with a strength associated to a maturity value. Plotting those data points allows you to obtain a curve with a logarithm equation.
Validate your calibration curve by making a couple of additional cylinders on your next pour, compare the calculated strength obtained from the maturity value to the compressive strength obtained in the lab. Up to a 10% difference is acceptable.
Strength=a+b LOG (maturity)
Eq.1: Formula for calculating the maturity value of concrete
Ready-mix customers can save even more time on their job site by purchasing SmartRock® Plus sensors. Contractors benefit from SmartRock® Plus because the mix is pre-calibrated by the concrete producer, saving them significant time by having calibration data readily available via their iOS or Android app.
Break Test vs. Maturity Test
Structural integrity is at risk when strength measurement data is inaccurate. This shortens the life cycle and decreases the strength of the mass concrete element. That is why receiving accurate and timely data that allow construction workers to move forward with form removal and
post-tensioning is crucial. Although the use of break tests has been common practice in the construction industry for decades, it does not mean that this is the most accurate and reliable method in obtaining strength data.
Lack of an accurate estimation of strength at early ages of construction is twofold:
Contractors either wait too long for stripping formwork, which is mostly due to delays in completing the project, or
They act prematurely which could cause the concrete structure to crack – this leads to future durability and performance issues – or even structural collapse.
In adopting the use of wireless sensors on-site, contractors can collect more accurate data and ensure the safety, efficiency, and reliability of their structure.
Monitor Your Concrete Slab with the Push of a Button! Learn More!
Information is gathered through the casting of cylinders taken from the pour and crushed in a compression machine. Information is gathered by embedded sensors recording temperature and strength in real-time. Results may be affected by improperly prepared, handled, and/or tested cylinders. The data is logged without interruption, so the results are generally more consistent. It takes time to send samples to the lab and retrieve results, causing delays onsite. Strength results are collected in real-time. Technician costs to cast, collect, deliver, and test results, then repeat the process. Up to 50% in direct test cost savings for determination of in-place strength of concrete done by on-site team members.
It takes time to send samples to the lab and retrieve results, causing delays onsite. Strength results are collected in real-time. Additional labor costs due to uncertainty in project scheduling resulting from delays in receiving lab reports. Up to $10,000 in labor savings as a result of more accurate job-site planning for each floor of a high-rise building.
Break Test
(Destructive Test)
(Non-Destructive Test)
Information is gathered through the casting of cylinders taken from the pour and crushed in a compression machine. Information is gathered by embedded sensors recording temperature and strength.
Testing time could be too early or too late. Data is logged and/or retrieved by an external wireless device in real-time.
ASTM C39 ASTM C1074
Results may be affected by improperly prepared, handled, and/or tested cylinders. The data is logged without interruption, so the results are generally more consistent.
Cylinders have small volumes but large surface areas, so
they retain less heat which results in low breaks. The maturity method predicts the actual in-place strength of concrete.
Temperature history for cylinders may differ due to curing conditions causing a different rate of strength gain which results in low or high breaks. Maturity shows local variation in strength for different structural locations.
Takes time to send samples to the lab and delay to receive results from the lab. Strength results are collected in real time.
Technician costs to cast, collect, deliver, and test results, then repeat the process. Up to 50% in direct test cost savings for determination of in-place strength of concrete done by on-site team members.
Additional labor costs due to uncertainty in project scheduling resulted from delays in getting the lab report. Up to $10,000 labor saving as a result of more accurate job-site planning for each floor of a high-rise building.
Extra financial costs due to late completion time in projects. Significant financial savings as a result of early completion of the project. (Actual savings vary depending on the size of the project).
Download Table PDF Here
The Benefits of Concrete Maturity
While on a jobsite, engineers want to know as much information as possible to help guide their decision-making throughout the duration of a project. In most construction sites, field-cured concrete samples are tested for strength at various ages during the first week to decide when formwork should be removed. ASTM C31 section 10.2 defines field curing as a condition that "involves subjecting the specimens to the temperature and humidity that the actual structure experiences." Usually, if the break tests show that the concrete reaches 75% of its designed strength, the structural engineers allow for the stripping of forms to take place, and the project can go on to the next steps.
One of the problems, however, is that cylinders that undergo a break test have a much smaller volume, but a larger surface area, compared to the in-place structure or slab. As a result, less moisture is retained than the actual structural element, making the specimen not necessarily representative of the in-place strength, often causing low breaks.  Additionally, as the specimens for the break tests are being transported to the third-party lab, the construction crew remains on the jobsite awaiting data results, adding unnecessary labor costs.
Comparatively, as a non-destructive testing technique, the maturity concept is a reliable practice that can eliminate guesswork. Other onsite non-destructive methodologies in use to measure strength, such as the Schmidt Hammer or Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity techniques, are often less exact than maturity. The maturity equation is able to more accurately estimate the compressive strength of the entire structure in an objective and quantitative measurement, once the maturity curve is calculated through calibration of the concrete mix.
Optimize Your Jobsite With the Maturity Method
For jobsites to operate smoothly they need to have the right tools. Maturity sensors, like SmartRock, greatly benefit engineers, project managers, and field personnel in numerous ways.
Maturity sensors can provide engineers with real-time data that can be accessed on any mobile device and distributed to all team members through the cloud. The ability for the sensors to provide fast results allows for well-informed and quick decision-making onsite.
When compared to break tests, the maturity method provides more accurate and reliable results, effectively avoiding inaccuracies associated with lab tests. Furthermore, continuous logging of concrete temperature and strength allows contractors to reduce the possibility of liability in case of structural failure.
As a non-destructive approach, project managers value concrete maturity meters due to their ability to collect data measurements on their own. Knowing the information that is collected from these sensors is accurate, project managers can make decisions immediately.
Not having to wait for results of cylinder break tests also drastically reduces the costs associated with labor and equipment. This also eliminates the need to employ a third-party testing lab.
Field Personnel
Forget having to untangle, cut, or fuss with wires. With concrete maturity sensors, wires are a thing of the past. Having wireless sensors also means no longer having to rely on break tests to measure the strength of your concrete, saving hours, even days, on your projects' schedule.
Real-time monitoring of early-age concrete strength allows contractors to proceed with critical operations like formwork removal, post-tensioning, and shore stripping much sooner than if they were relying on laboratory break tests. Ultimately, this cuts days, even weeks, off project schedules. In addition to that, sensors are fully embedded in the concrete, and easy to install. Simply label the sensor, install it onto the rebar and pour your concrete.
Curious How Flood Testing Laboratories Inc. Saved Costs? Learn More!
Different Types of Maturity Meters
When it comes to the choice of maturity meter, or concrete temperature or maturity measurement sensors and equipment, contractor have many options to select based on the cost, accuracy, and ease of use, and of course how all these considerations would fit their project needs and budget. The measurement systems available in the market are categorized as follows:
Concrete Thermocouples
Wired Temperature and Maturity Loggers
Wired Concrete Sensors with External Wireless Transmitter
Fully Embedded Wireless Concrete Sensors
A concrete thermocouple consists of two wires of different metals connected and twisted together at one end to form an electrical junction. There is a temperature-dependent voltage that is produced and measured by external equipment and is then used to estimate the concrete temperature.
Although thermocouples are relatively inexpensive, they have several disadvantages that make them not suitable for use, such as:
Very low measurement accuracy
Time consuming process (wire cutting, attaching to plug, installing in the field)
Thermocouple wires are prone to cuts and damages, leading to measurement errors
Wires need to be protected throughout the entire temperature measurement period
To address some of the deficiencies in thermocouple-based systems, wired temperature and maturity loggers were developed. These loggers and meters have an electronic circuit board that contains a coin-size battery with an onboard thermistor (typically an NTC type sensor) for temperature measurement. The measurements are recorded and stored on this circuit board at pre-defined intervals. The whole circuit board is completely sealed with a connector wire coming out to download the measurements using an external device as needed unlike the thermocouple-based sensors that need to always be connected to external data recording equipment.
The wires used for these types of temperature/maturity loggers are more rugged compared to thermocouples which makes them less prone to damages on the jobsite. The external unit is also not exposed to potential damages in a constriction environment as it is used only when downloading the data. External devices can offer various types of data analysis in the field. But, for full analysis and report generation, the data needs to be downloaded later on to a computer.
Even with some improvements from thermocouples, wires temperature and maturity loggers do present some disadvantages such as:
No electrical switch and are always turned on, resulting in a limited shelf-life
Industrial-grade connector cable makes the sensors bulky and difficult to install
Wires need to be labeled for identification after pouring and has to be protected on the jobsite
It is challenging to find the cable lead during the first few days of pouring
Using wired temperature and strength sensors requires expensive data loggers to retrieve this data. An individual must find each wire connected to a sensor and retrieve the measurements with the loggers. As a result, wires are often damaged or cut. Furthermore, the loggers are required to stay on-site where they can easily get damaged with exposure to humidity. When monitoring temperature at various spots for one concrete pour, the wires are accumulated in one location for ease of access. However, this can create a hassle of identifying and labeling them.
Moreover, the assembly of thermocouples requires some attention to detail! If not conducted properly, wires can cross over in the plug and cause reading errors. Once the data is logged, this information must be synced to a device, such as a laptop or desktop, where it must be analyzed by an experienced individual. That can take significant labor hours, depending on experience.
With a wireless maturity sensor, the device is fully embedded on the rebar before pouring. The installation is simple and hassle-free with no protruding wires. Data is collected via Bluetooth on a mobile device or tablet. This eliminates the need for a data logger. With SmartRock, the data collected by the sensors is updated every 15 minutes and uploaded to the iOS or Android app. This data, as well as measurements provided during mix calibration, is used to determine the maturity/ strength of the in-situ concrete in real-time. With the SmartRock app, this data can also be easily shared with team members.
Therefore, no additional labor is needed to calculate when further steps can be taken. In this way, non-destructive wireless concrete temperature sensors and maturity meters, such as SmartRock, have been developed for the concrete industry to reduce labor costs. These wireless systems can therefore significantly improve the efficiency required in fast-paced construction projects.
Learn More About Wireless vs. Wired Sensors Here
Choosing the Right Maturity Meter for Your Jobsite
There are several options for purchasing a concrete temperature/maturity sensor for monitoring the concrete curing and hardening in your concrete project. This gives contractors a wide range of options for selecting maturity meter based on cost, accuracy, and ease of use. Check out this blog to view a list of various commercially available concrete sensors, temperature loggers, and maturity meters.
As the leaves start to change, and the temperature starts to drop, construction companies and ready-mix producers are gearing up for the colder weather. To avoid lag time or facing issues such as freezing of concrete at an early age, lack of required strength, improper curing, rapid temperature changes, and improper protection of structures, contractors must plan, plan, plan. This entails using the right protection and tools to aid in creating durable concrete during cold weather concreting.
"Cold weather," is defined in ACI 306R-16 as follows, "When air temperature has fallen to or is expected to fall below, 40°F (4°C) during the protection period." ACI refers to the protection period as "the time recommended to prevent concrete from being adversely affected by exposure to cold weather during construction." Contractors must prepare long before the weather changes to adequately protect fresh concrete. Having the right equipment ready to use at the jobsite, such as tarps and blankets, can help avoid extraneous delays and unsafe concrete development.
To ensure proper strength development in these ambient conditions, some placement specifications include;
Concrete temperatures must be maintained higher than 40°F (4°C) for 48 hours after a pour.
All concrete surfaces must be protected within the first 24 hours after being placed to prevent freeze damage.
Concrete temperature cannot reach freezing levels before reaching a specific strength (3.5 MPa/500 psi) or the overall structure will have a reduced strength.
If these practices are not followed, any concrete construction project is subject to various risks. These include cracking, rapid temperature changes, and loss of durability.
Controlling the Temperature of Your Concrete During Cold Weather
The most common method for monitoring the strength of in-situ concrete is the use of field-cured cylinders. These samples are cast and cured according to ASTM C31, before being tested for compressive strength at various stages, usually by a third-party lab. Typically, if the slab has reached 75% of its designed strength, engineers will give the 'go-ahead' to their team to move on to the next steps in the construction process.
However, when pouring in cold weather, ACI 306 specifically recommends not using this method as field-cured cylinders "can cause confusion and unnecessary delays in construction". This is largely because cold weather makes it difficult to maintain the cylinders in the same conditions as your structure.
It is, therefore, recommended that other in-place testing methods, like maturity testing, be used for monitoring concrete strength.
SmartRock can be highly beneficial on a jobsite when monitoring concrete during cold weather. When you use SmartRock on your jobsite, you get temperature and strength data uploaded to your mobile device every 15 minutes. This is done using a wireless signal, which means that you have to be onsite to collect this information. However, it is much easier than having to search for wires under blankets to collect data with a logger, if you were to use wired sensors. This also improves safety standards on your site, as there are no wires to get in the way of other operations. Further, these embedded sensors provide temperature and strength measurements within ± 0.1°C accuracy. This allows for close monitoring during cold weather, serving as a reminder to contractors when their concrete gets too cold and strength gain slows down. Equipped with real-time results, contractors can improve the heating process, decrease energy costs, and save time in their project schedule by knowing when to move on to subsequent construction operations, such as formwork removal or post-tensioning.
SmartHubTM is a remote monitoring system that allows you to access your SmartRock data at anytime, from anywhere. These user-friendly sensors are easily installed in the concrete formwork (on the rebar) before pouring to monitor your concrete's in-situ temperature and strength in real-time. The Hub automatically collects this data recorded by the SmartRock sensors and uploads it to the Giatec 360TM cloud dashboard via LTE where it is synced to your team's mobile devices in the SmartRock app. The Giatec 360 alert system sends smart notifications to let you know when your concrete reaches specific thresholds.
Avoid Unnecessary Costs and Delays During Cold Weather Concreting. Learn More Here!
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Weezer Puts A Twist On Their Old Style On "OK Human"
Weezer, despite being on a bit of a losing streak, seem to have put out one of their best and most theatrical projects in a long time.
Bobby Liming, Sandscript Author
Despite a critical decline in their music since just before the 2010's, Weezer has remained one of the most recognizable artists from the 90's and even early 2000's. And, although they have been receiving mostly mixed reviews as of late (with some exceptions such as the self-titled White Album), this record seems to be the most "Weezer" Weezer has been in years. In fact, I would even go as far to say that we haven't seen an album with this genuine quality from the band since their second record, Pinkerton, an album partially responsible for influencing many of the mainstream emo-pop and pop-punk bands of the time, including the likes of Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack. Despite this, the record OK Human isn't really comparable to many of the other projects that Weezer has done in the past. Instead of their rock-influenced approach that they've been using since really the beginning, this record goes in a very theatrical and even classically influenced direction a-la bands like AJR, only arguably better than its contemporaries.
This new album genuinely sounds like a soundtrack to a play; an aesthetic that is hard to accomplish, but when done correctly, sounds amazing. Some great examples of this include Jukebox the Ghosts' Let Live and Let Ghosts, or even Fiona Apple's Fetch The Bolt Cutters – a record that ended up on the Sandscript's top albums of 2020. The track that, in my opinion, embodies this energy the most on OK Human is the song "Playing My Piano," which is so clearly influenced by songs you might have heard on a classic Disney movie it's almost laughable. If this song is anything, it's theatrical. The track starts off like a play ballad, with soft and cute strings leading into a slightly ominous sounding piano-lead chorus, before another cute sounding verse. The entire track is, as the title suggests, a song about Rivers' love for playing his piano. There are lyrics on this track which come off as somewhat cringe-inducing, but still make sense here due to the very clear influence from play soundtracks ("I haven't washed my hair in three weeks" is actually something Cuomo says on this track, no joke).
Another thing that really stands out on this track as well is its clear references to the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has affected his mental state. There are lines in the lyrics that refer to things like Zoom meetings, which is interesting, considering the creation process of this album. If you're unfamiliar, this album was almost completely done by the time Weezer was asked to go on tour with the bands Fall Out Boy and Green Day for their over-the-top sounding "Hella Mega Tour." Weezer postponed this album, however, as it wasn't really meant to be promoted in the style of a stadium tour, and so they began working on the currently unreleased album Van Weezer, which would then be postponed by the pandemic. Now, this new setting would allow for OK Human to be released. What lines like these would then mean is a possible revision of these tracks in light of the pandemic, and therefore this album could have possibly had an alternate version without the knowledge of the virus – something that would be interesting to see, considering how much influence it takes from it.
This track transitions into what appears to be one of two interludes on this album, "Mirror Image," which has some of Weezer's best and most clever writing in a long time. The track has incredibly grand sounding production which eventually fades into what appears to be a studio recording of Rivers. For this last section, he's singing some incredibly dark and depressing lyrics, especially for Weezer, with lines such as "Heaven can't help this man, Heaven can't save this man…," going on until the track eventually cuts out. In fact, this is the only track on the album that doesn't transition into the next, most likely to make space for a vinyl version of the record to be flipped. Other than this, every single track somehow plays into the next, with some of the transitions being much more memorable than others.
The first track on this second-half of the record, "Screens," is a pretty weird song for Weezer, and not necessarily in a good way. This track is a song that appears to be about people being obsessed with technology, which is already kind of common sense, but is also kind of a bad take considering Weezer is the one talking about it. The band's main success point during their early days was that it coaligned with the increase of usage of computers. Lyrically, early albums like Blue Album and Pinkerton were embracing this nerdy mindset for the time, with clear references to things like Dungeons and Dragons and gaming, which became their main appeal during the 90's. We even get a return to this mindset on this very record in many of the tracks, so for Weezer to seemingly not address this is pretty weird when some of their most successful records wouldn't have become mainstream if it wasn't for the internet.
Speaking of this return to their old sound, the first three tracks really set an old Weezer tone from the very beginning. The opening track, "All My Favorite Songs," has vocal patterns that scream Blue Album, and "Aloo Gobi" has another vocal pattern that comes off as much more awkward, but in the best way possible, selling the old-Weezer vibe that they were rather clearly going for.
What this album's biggest selling point is, for me at least, is the use of ballads throughout its duration. "Numbers," for example, has one of the most lush and gorgeous sounding instrumentals on the record. It starts off with these intense strings similar to the outro to Joji's song "Ew," eventually turning into this stunning chorus that wouldn't sound out of place on any early 2010's feel-good movie soundtrack (seriously, the fact that this song wasn't on the soundtrack for Dolphin Tale or something similar is legitimately shocking). The main other ballad on this record, "Bird With A Broken Wing," is still just as stunning instrumentally, but is kind of lacking on the lyrical side of things. The song is talking from the perspective of, well, its title. The issue here is that it kind of suffers from a very overused style of writing something sad, and starts feeling ingenuine and pretentious almost instantly.
The record starts drifting off for the last two tracks. The first of which is a track titled "Here Comes The Rain," which may or not be a play on the Beatles song "Here Comes The Sun," is a fairly upbeat track, but having followed the really dark sounding song "Dead Roses," it causes this track to lose its happiness, and ends up with it feeling bland. Finally, we get the outro "La Brea Tar Pits," which doesn't really seem to do much that the rest of the album hasn't already done better, and so it doesn't really feel like it lives up to being the final track on the album, as unfortunate as that is.
In spite of the many clear flaws that are on this project, this album comes very close to becoming what might just be the next classic Weezer album. Plus, it's also important to remember that part of Weezer's appeal is their ability to take flaws and make them a key component in what makes the band as unique as they are. Even with these issues that are pretty visible within the album, it doesn't take away from the experience anywhere near as much as it would another artist, which is honestly impressive in and of itself. I feel like what we're seeing here might be the start of another great set of records from Weezer, with more introspection and personality than what we've gotten to see in a long time.
Bobby Liming
OK Human
Bobby Liming, Entertainment Editor
Hello! I'm Bobby, and I am going to be contributing mainly to the entertainment section, as well as editing for it! I'm looking forward to working with...
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California Inmate Claims Prison Ignored His Warning Of Plan To Beat Child Molesters To Death
Inmate Jonathan Watson wrote that he viciously attacked a convicted sex offender after he saw him watching PBS Kids on the television.
By Daniel Egitto
Jonathan Watson Photo: AP
A California inmate who confessed to murdering two child molesters in his prison claims he warned his prison counselor about his intentions hours before the attack.
Jonathan Watson, 41, urged his counselor to transfer him "before I really (expletive) one of these dudes up," he wrote in a letter to the Bay Area News Group. However, the counselor just "scoffed and dismissed me," he claimed.
Watson was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison in 2008 after murdering a marijuana grower, according to the Times-Standard, a California paper.
Seven days before the attacks on Jan. 26, Watson's security class had been lowered from Level III to Level II — prompting a transfer from his single-occupancy unit to a dorm-style cell at Corcoran, a men's state prison in California, according to his letter.
He claimed he repeatedly protested this transfer, calling it a "careless" mistake.
Six days into his time at Corcoran, a man convicted of child molestation was moved into his pod, Watson wrote. The man then began watching PBS Kids in front of the other prisoners — which Watson said he and his fellow inmates saw as a taunt.
That evening, "I could not sleep having not done what every instinct told me I should've done right then and there, so I packed all my things because I knew one way or another the situation would be resolved the following day," he wrote.
After Watson had his exchange with his counselor, he alleged he returned to his pod to find one of the men once again watching PBS Kids.
"But this time," he wrote, "someone said something to the effect of 'Is this guy really going to watch this right in front of us?' and I recall saying, 'I got this.' And I picked up the cane and went to work on him."
After allegedly viciously beating the inmate with a walking cane, Watson said he left his pod to find a guard and turn himself in. On the way, he came across another convicted child rapist, who he allegedly attacked as well.
He was surprised when no guards responded and he had to find one himself, Watson wrote.
"I told him, 'I've got some pretty bad news,' to which he ironically replied, 'You're not going to hit me with that cane are you?'" he wrote. "… I told him what I'd just done, which he also didn't believe until his looked around the corner and saw the mess I'd left in the dorm area."
Watson did not name either of the convicted sex offenders in his letter, but simply referred to them as "Monster #1" and "Monster #2." Authorities identified them as David Bobb, 48, and Graham De Luis-Conti, 62.
Both men were serving life sentences for aggravated assault of a child under 14 years old.
The two men were rushed to a nearby hospital after the beatings. Bobb died en route, while De Luis-Conti died from his injuries three days later, according to a previous Associated Press report.
If taken to court, he will plead guilty to his charges, Watson said in his writing.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation declined to comment, as it is an active investigation.
Man Who Escaped Jail Through A Hole In The Wall Caught
Wedding Bells Ringing For Death Row Inmate


text:
`hackfest_get_erai_data.ipynb` - function written by Peter Isaac that collects hourly meteorological data for the selected year. Data is saved as netcdf file with name being [year]\_[longitude index]\_[latitude index]
where longitude and latitude indices are calculated as following:

```
fire["lon_index"] = int(((fire["longitude"]-longitude[0])/lon_resolution)+0.5)

fire["lat_index"] = int(((latitude[0]-fire["latitude"])/lat_resolution)+0.5)
```

where latitude[0] and longitude[0] are coordinates of the top left corner of the provided map.

`hackfest_get_data_from_netcdf.ipynb` - function written by Peter Isaac that takes a list of location in csv file and matches them to the meteorological data that is saved in netcdf files

`filter_data.ipynb` - selects fires with intensity over 50 and saves the locations to the csv file
We use fires with intensity over 50 in order to shrink our dataset and make it run faster

`NCtoCSV.ipynb` - converts nc data to a long scv format

### Instalation

```
pip3 install virtualenv           # This may already be installed
virtualenv .env                   # Create a virtual environment
source .env/bin/activate          # Activate the virtual environment
pip3 install -r requirements.txt  # Install dependencies

jupyter notebook                  # Start iPython notebook

deactivate                        # Close session
```

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Color Equalizer creates cycles of light through the execution of programs loaded pre-configured in the middle panel and Ambience. Personalized programs can be downloaded through the Smart Card Color Equalizer Central and while the programs can also be recalled from Color Equalizer Ambience. The Smart Card is not included but can be obtained from the company. Color Equalizer enables the LED driving apparatus is that of fluorescent luminaires. The system is characterized by the programming of 5 bright scenes (Loop 1 … 5) pre-set, retrievable via the control panel. The user has the opportunity to speak on the speed of light sequences at will, with the buttons on "Fast" and "Slow". The "Color", allows you to freeze the machine on a specific color, allowing then to change it at will.
I'm sure you need many inspiration to push your creativity, for it is our article about Lighting Management Systems-Color Equalizer that published on November 16, 2018 in Lighting category related to your needs; , and is the best trying to help you get fresh ideas.


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text:
Q: HTML text-overflow ellipsis detection. Again There is an element that implements Label one line with a specified width. Everything that does not fit in a cropped, and placed at end of line dots.
The sample code: http://jsfiddle.net/raHEb/7/
Actually the problem is to recognize whether the text will fit completely into an element, or be truncated.
This example works fine in IE9, IE8, but not quite give an accurate result in FF, Chrome, Safari, Opera, it can be seen, if the window is an example of gradually begin to narrow, the text will be cut first, and only then will turn red. That is, possible that the text will be truncated, and the function defining it returns false.
The solution given by Christian Varga is not quite correct, seen in: http://jsfiddle.net/cgzW8/20/
Smoothly resize the window, narrowing it. In browsers: Opera, Chrome, Safari, IE7, FF field "text" will be cut immediately, and only then will turn red.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Could El Salvador's bitcoin adoption trigger a domino effect in Latin America?
President Nayib Bukele has made bitcoin a legal tender in El Salvador. Photo: Jose Cabezas/Reuters
Ernest Hemingway said change happens "gradually, then suddenly". Bitcoin advocates have adopted Hemingway's adage to explain how acceptance of the cryptocurrency will gradually accumulate until suddenly the world becomes a very different place. This prospect is beginning to unsettle global financial institutions, with Agustín Carstens, head of the Bank for International Settlements, notifying German media outlet Der Spiegel that "bitcoin is only good for two things, speculation and ransom payments" and Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, threatening a slew of "tough love" regulations.
You will know a bitcoin advocate by the laser eyes motif on their Twitter profile. In early June president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele placed laser beams over his eyes on his Twitter picture. Then, on 9 June the Salvadoran Congress ratified a bill to make bitcoin legal tender, "gradually, then suddenly" the cryptocurrency is changing the world's economic landscape.
The bill makes bitcoin a foreign currency in other countries, and could potentially exempt investors from capital gains tax. El Salvador's move is being hailed as a significant development in the cryptocurrency's 12-year history. However, the Salvadoran decision elicited a cool response from Gerry Rice, spokesperson for the International Monetary Fund, who warned that "adoption of bitcoin as legal tender raises a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require very careful analysis".
But the contagion is out, and bitcoin pioneer Max Keiser claims El Salvador has set a precedent that "challenges global banking institutions", who cannot abide a technology that "separates money from state", and the disruption this would have on global allegiances.
Read more: Bitcoin rises as El Salvador adopts it as legal tender
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Keiser suggested the motive behind president Bukele's legislation was because, "El Slavador, like all its neighbours in the region, has been searching for a way to establish economic self-sovereignty for many decades".
Keiser maintains that "because bitcoin is un-confiscatable and uncensorable, in a way that preserves sovereignty, other countries will follow in El Salvador's footsteps and join the bitcoin revolution". He predicts the next nation to catch the contagion will be Guatemala, home to 37 volcanoes that could harness geothermal energy to power bitcoin mining stations. Guatemala will look with interest at El Salvador's recent drilling of heat-pump boreholes into its volcanoes, which president Bukele tweeted could "offer facilities for bitcoin mining with very cheap… zero-emissions energy".
View of Bitcoin stickers placed at a local business, in Chiltuipan, La Libertad, El Salvador on 6 June. Photo: Camilo Freedman/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty
However, the World Bank is not convinced and has refused a request from El Salvador to assist with implementing bitcoin infrastructure, "given the environmental and transparency shortcomings". According to Professor Thorsten Beck of the University of London, in refusing its support "the World Bank is hoping to deter others from doing the same". Further to this, a JPMorgan client note from 11 June stated that El Salvador's ambitions, "may imperil negotiations with the IMF".
Read more: Bitcoin hovers below $40,000 as World Bank rejects El Salvador request
The next domino to fall could be Panama, with congressman Gabriel Silva hoping to have a bitcoin legal tender bill in the Panamanian National Assembly "within a month". Silva claims the bill will be facilitated by the nation's constitution that "prohibits mandating only certain currencies as legal tender, which could facilitate the incorporation of bitcoin as a currency". Also, on 7 June, national deputy of Paraguay Carlitos Rejala urged his government to embrace bitcoin.
Watch: What is bitcoin?
The contagion is not limited to the Americas, speaking to Yahoo Finance, George Tung from cryptocurrency news platform Cryptosrus suggested that "Tanzania and Nigeria both seem to be following in the same path" because of a need to "improve their financial situation and break free of the threat of currency substitution". These African nations, who in the words of the IMF have "similarly situated" economies to that of El Salvador might circumnavigate the risk of dollarisation and embrace "the bitcoin standard".
President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania has called on the nation's central bank to "start working on the development" of financial infrastructure to make bitcoin legal tender. She has tasked the nation's central bank "to be ready for the changes and not be caught unprepared". Further to this, writing in Bitcoin Magazine, Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein said Ethiopia could become "the Norway of the future" and harness its wind and solar resources to power bitcoin mining.
Read more: New rules could make crypto hugely expensive for banks
But why would El Salvador and similarly positioned nations risk to imperil their relationship with world financial institutions? Keiser argues that "countries like El Salvador are now realising they can challenge the IMF and use bitcoin to achieve monetary sovereignty". Gladstein suggested bitcoin as an alternative to "struggling governments" having to adopt "the petrodollar as legal tender, and becoming a de facto US client state".
El Salvador's "bitcoin revolution" relies on every consumer having an internet-ready mobile phone to run transactions. However, data from Statistas found that only 33.5% of El Salvador's population had access to the internet. There are also questions about what would happen to El Salvador's experiment if bitcoin entered a bear market. Speaking to Yahoo Finance Stephen Kelso, head of markets at ITI Capital, said: "Bitcoin's volatility presents a challenge to merchants and traders as a form of currency for payments." He added that this volatility could deter "governments which utilise such a volatile asset as a primary form of purchasing goods".
With economic woes forecast due to the coronavirus pandemic, governments are considering inflation as the only way to reduce the value of their debts over time. Bitcoin, with its finite supply of 21 million coins, could provide consistent value for consumers.
What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency?
Ethereum Classic Price Prediction: ETC is dead money under $47
John McAfee Dies: Eccentric Entrepreneur, Security Software Inventor And Cryptocurrency Pioneer Was 75


I started off my career as a Further Education lecturer in 1999 in the Sixth Form Centre at Blackburn College; I taught on GCSE programmes, AS/A2 level Sociology, and Adult HE Access Courses in Sociology and Criminology. In 2002 I moved across to the University Centre at Blackburn College, (then the East Lancashire Institute for Higher Education – ELIHE), to teach on and develop the BA (Hons) Social Science, Joint Honours, and Education Studies degree programmes. I gained my PhD in Sociology – from Lancaster University – in 2012; and have since gained recognition as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
I am currently Programme Leader for the BA (hons) Education Studies programme; I am also one of the School of Education 'Teaching and Learning Coordinators', and as part of this role sit on the Faculty Education Committee.
I am an active academic writer and researcher, and regularly present my work at national and international events and conferences. My current writing and research is in the areas of the philosophy of education, political philosophy and education, utopia and pedagogy, pedagogy and democratic learning, Creative Autobiography; Transformative Education; complexity and knowledge; fractals and complex learning; College Based Higher Education. I have written on the use and application of Open Educational Resources (OERs); and I also write in the area of film and philosophy, (and incorporate cinematic and other cultural references into much of my work and teaching). My publication 'Hope, Utopia and Creativity in Higher Education', reappraises ideas and concepts associated with Ernst Bloch, Roland Barthes and Gaston Bachelard, with a view to enhancing the transformative, creative and collaborative potential of education. Much of my work focuses on democratising knowledge and the learning experience.
I welcome informal email enquiries from anyone interested in pursuing PhD studies in any of the above areas.
I am actively involved in the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and co-convene BERAs 'Higher Education' Special Interest Group. As part of this role I lead and coordinate events that explore new ideas and innovative practices on all areas of university and college-based Higher Education. I am part of LJMUs Centre for Educational Research (CERES), I sit on the CERES management group and coordinate the CERES research theme: 'Critical Pedagogies and Theories for Post-compulsory and Informal Education'. I am an editor and events organiser for the Cultural Difference and Social Solidarity (CDSS) network and help organise national and international events at both established and less traditional HE institutions. I am also a Local Authority Governor at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst Green.
Hammond CA. Towards a Neo-Blochian Theory of Complexity, Hope and Cinematic Utopia Gilloch G, Wong YS.


text:
Police: Sex offender said he was living at Pittsburgh homeless shelter that doesn't exist
Investigators say they made the discovery upon arresting the sex offender's girlfriend
Updated: 5:47 AM EDT May 2, 2019
Nick Matoney
DAVID CAPLAN LIVE WITH WHY HIS GIRLFRIEND IS NOW THE ONE FACING CHARGES. >> GOOD MORNING. THIS TERMINAL COMPLAINT CERTAINLY RAISED QUESTIONS IN OUR MINDS ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF ADDRESSES GIVEN BY MEGAN'S LAW OFFENDERS. LETICIA HAS BEEN ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH THREE FELONY COUNTS OF CONDUCT RELATED TO SEX OFFENDERS. POLICE SAY SHE MISLED THEM ABOUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF HER BOYFRIEND WHO IS A REGISTERED MEGAN'S LAW OFFENDER. HERE IS THE MAN. ROGER. HE HAD WARRANTS OUT FOR HIS ARREST. THAT'S WHAT POLICE WERE LOOKING FOR HIM. INDECENT ASSAULT OF SOME LESS THAN 13 BACK IN 2015 AS PART OF MEGAN'S LAW. YOU MUST KEEP A CURRENT ADDRESS. THE ONE LISTED WAS THE SACRED HEART PARISH HOMELESS SHELTER IN SHADYSIDE. WHEN POLICE WENT TO CHECK FOR HIM THERE, THEY ENCOUNTERED A PRIEST WHO TOLD THEM THAT THE CHURCH DOES NOT RUN A HOMELESS PROGRAM. THEY ARE SAYING THAT THEY DON'T OPERATE A SHELTER AND THAT THE PRIEST STATED THAT THERE WAS NEVER A ROGER COIN LIVING THERE, NOR DID ANYONE SEE THEM. EVENTUALLY, POLICE WERE ABLE TO CATCH UP WITH COINS GIRLFRIEND, LETICIA STARK TRACKING THEM TO AN ADDRESS IN MUNHALL WHERE BOTH WERE ARRESTED. ACCORDING TO COURT RECORDS, BOTH STARK AND COIN REMAIN
Police said the arrest of a convicted sex offender's girlfriend led to the discovery that the offender had lied about his address on the sex offender registry, claiming he was staying at a homeless shelter that doesn't exist.Letitia Stark, 36, is charged with three counts of felony conduct related to a sex offender.Police said she deceived them about the whereabouts of her boyfriend, Roger Coyne, 35, who is a registered Megan's Law Offender who pleaded guilty to committing two child sex offenses in 2015, one count of aggravated assault of a victim less than six and one count of indecent assault with a child less than 13.Coyne registered as homeless and living at a shelter at the Sacred Heart Parish in Shadyside.According to a criminal complaint for Stark, when police executing bench warrants went to check for Coyne at the shelter, they encountered a priest who told them, "the church does not run a homeless program."According to that same court paperwork, the priest later stated, "they do not operate a homeless shelter...and he stated that there was never a Roger Coyne living there nor did anyone ever see him."Police said it was through Stark that Coyne was traced to an address in Munhall where he was arrested.Both Stark and Coyne are now being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
PITTSBURGH —
Police said the arrest of a convicted sex offender's girlfriend led to the discovery that the offender had lied about his address on the sex offender registry, claiming he was staying at a homeless shelter that doesn't exist.
Letitia Stark, 36, is charged with three counts of felony conduct related to a sex offender.
Police said she deceived them about the whereabouts of her boyfriend, Roger Coyne, 35, who is a registered Megan's Law Offender who pleaded guilty to committing two child sex offenses in 2015, one count of aggravated assault of a victim less than six and one count of indecent assault with a child less than 13.
Coyne registered as homeless and living at a shelter at the Sacred Heart Parish in Shadyside.
According to a criminal complaint for Stark, when police executing bench warrants went to check for Coyne at the shelter, they encountered a priest who told them, "the church does not run a homeless program."
According to that same court paperwork, the priest later stated, "they do not operate a homeless shelter...and he stated that there was never a Roger Coyne living there nor did anyone ever see him."
Police said it was through Stark that Coyne was traced to an address in Munhall where he was arrested.
Both Stark and Coyne are now being held in the Allegheny County Jail.


Founder of the first Swiss Hyperhidrosis Consultation at the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) und continuation in the Praxis Methininserhof.
Development of the dermatologic tumor surgery, with implementation of aesthetic reconstructive flap surgery techniques. Establishment of a dermatologic surgery consultation.
2nd Professor Hans Storck Scientific Award 1997, with mit C. Akdis et al.
After studying medicine in Basel, Dr. Kreyden obtained his primary and continuing surgical education until, right before obtaining his specialist title, changing to the specialist field of dermatology. During his training as a specialist in dermatology at the University Hospital Zurich, he closely studied the (back then) little-known Botulinum toxin as a method of treating excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis). He founded the first Hyperhidrosis consultation in Switzerland, and directed it for many years.
Upon opening the Praxis Methininserhof near Basel, he increasingly began to apply himself with dermatological subareas of dermatologic surgery and aesthetic dermatology, in addition to classic dermatology. Here, Botulinium toxin is used to smooth expression lines, hyaluronic acid is used as a filler to replace volume in static lines, as well as lasers and skin peels. Dr. Kreyden has published umpteen scientific papers in the field of hyperhidrosis and aesthetic dermatology, is a published author and a regular, sought-after speaker at international conventions for aesthetic dermatology.
He is a regular instructor at workshops and training courses in the field of aesthetic dermatology, both nationally and abroad, and is a member or board member of various international associations. In 2008, he founded the Swiss Group of Esthetic Dermatology and Skincare (SGEDS) und has been president of the association ever since. In 2007, he received the «Who-is-Who»-Award for his scientific work in the field of dermatology and aesthetic medicine, and has been listed ever since.
In 2014, Dr. med. Oliver Ph. Kreyden became Presiden of ESCAD, the largest European association for aesthetic dermatology. Under his chairmanship, the association is being profoundly reorganised and modernised.


The Emmys have BEGUN and here are the rest of my predictions!
Who Will Win: Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us. Only because he died.
Who Should Win: Jason Bateman, Ozark. My mom likes the show!
Who Will Win: Elisabeth Moss, Handmaid's Tale.
Who Should Win: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black. I met her once and she was nice!
Who Should Win: I don't care. I enjoy Game of Thrones so I'll go with that!
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Abdul Karim Fonti Kabia – Communication Strategist
Abdul Karim Fonti Kabia
Communication Strategist
Abdul Karim Fonti Kabia is a Communication Strategist in the Office of the President, State House, leading communication and public relations drive in education, social development, land, housing and country planning sectors.
The London School of Journalism (LSJ) graduate has worked for various local and international multi-media and civil rights institutions including Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) based in Ghana, Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire, Awareness Times Newspaper, the New People Online Inc., the Blade Newspaper, the Champion Newspaper, the Future Newspaper, the Ariogbo Newspaper and the Fontricia Children's Foundation, over a period spanning 16 years.
Prior to his appointment to the Office of the President, Fonti was Director of Quality Assurance, Communication and Public Relations at Sierra Leone's leading multi-media company, AYV Media Empire.
CONTACT DETAILS – Email: abdulfonti@molhcp.gov.sl Phone: +232 (79) 631 987


Harold H. Kassarjian (1980) ,"Consumer Esthetics: a Commentary", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 07, eds. Jerry C. Olson, Ann Abor, MI : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 127-128.
Broadening the field of consumer behavior to areas other than consumer goods has been attractive for several years. Political marketing and communication, consumer behavior in the service areas, the medical field and education have been examined from time to time. The papers in this session are testimony to the fact that research in consumer behavior may be having some impact in entertainment, the arts and the marketing of esthetic products.
Under a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Belk and Andreasen examined the development of new markets for the theatre and symphony orchestra in an attempt to broaden audience interest, particularly in regions of low penetration. The authors conclude that by offering better known performers and conductors and by offering a discount for couples the generic market for performances can be broadened without losing present audiences.
In a sense they argue for market segmentation and product differentiation in the performing arts--a different offering for the peasants than for the aristocrats--a chauffeured Pinto as well as a Lincoln Continental.
Under a grant from Opera America, this study is basically a descriptive analysis of season ticket subscribers. Using a self-administered questionnaire handed out to Opera audiences the authors had access to data from 2600 subjects. Their basic findings consist of correlation coefficients, significant at the .001 level of confidence, relating opera attendance to other behaviors such as attendance at the ballet, and rock concerts; viewing theatre and symphony concerts on TV; and other such interests and activities.
Of course, correlations that are significantly different from zero at the alpha risk of .001 are not all that rare when the sample size is as large as 2600. And in fact many if not most of their r's ranged from .03 to .19, accounting for perhaps one or two or three percent of the variance in their data. But as consumer researchers we have learned to live with such figures and are able to make interpretations that make some sense.
Using data collected by the National Research Center for the Arts on 30,000 art audience members, Sexton and Britney try to segment the arts market on behavioral criteria. Using factor analysis, clustering algorithms, and other impressive computer software, they conclude that there are four segments in the ballet and opera market to which different marketing mix variables would be effective.
In contrast to the previous papers which depended on the survey method for their data, Huber and Holbrook conducted a laboratory experiment controlling the variables of interest rather than seeking correlations. It is a refreshing approach as experimental studies are rare indeed in the field of consumer esthetics--a field in which any research is rare.
Again using impressive software, multi-dimensional scaling, estimation models, and sophisticated analyses, the authors conclude that simpler, less complex, musical stimuli are preferred to the more complex. They then tie this into earlier research on complex vs. simple stimuli and present a theory adapted from some of Berlyne's work on hedonic value.
Each of these studies is quite interesting and all are well carried out relative to their individual purposes and goals. Personally I did not expect this level of quality in the research on an emerging field. More typically in a new field early research can be characterized either as attempting to crack boulders with tack hammers or pound tacks with sledgehammers. These authors were attacking boulders and properly used sledgehammers.
Even more significant than the data seemed to be the excitement and the interest level in the topic that the various authors emanated. This level of interest is best summarized by Holbrook in his introductory paper: "There may be a need, however, to emphasize the keen sense of excitement with which the authors and the session participants have approached the uncharted by inviting waters of research on consumer esthetics. For the issues raised in this area seem of genuine importance. The potential rewards to marketers appear enormous..."
And it is enormous, for as Holbrook points out, the esthetics industry is a vast economic enterprise with 25 billion dollars of our annual GNP.
But one might ask, why is it all so important and interesting with a "keen sense of excitement." What new theories, concepts, relationships, or other contributions to knowledge or to practice can we expect to emerge from the study of esthetics?
To place this body of research in perspective, let us see what would happen if these same studies and methodologies had been applied to frozen and canned peas instead of the opera and the symphony.
Whereas esthetics involves 25 billion of our Gross National Product in dollars; canned peas--that is, pea consumption--I estimate to be in excess of several trillion units per year. And I estimate that this is a most significant portion of the Gross National Product in units.
Holbrook would have begun the session with a plea that we need a theory of pea consumption. Belk and Andreasen would inform us that perhaps we should have two kinds of peas in our repertoire--one using famous hybrid peas and well known canners and another cheaper variety with discounts for twin-pack purchasers.
Semenik and Young would have done a massive study on the correlates of pea purchase with the purchase of frozen corn and cauliflower and conclude with excitement that they got some significant correlations between peas and cauliflower. Sexton and Britney would have found some multi-variate vectors and Huber and Holbrook would have concluded that complicated pea shapes are less preferred than simple round ones.
So why all the excitement and interest in this field? Certainly arts people, producers and performers, are not all that thrilled about having marketing people and consumer researchers interfering into their territory. As Holbrook has pointed out, the view of arts managers is that they are product oriented and not concerned all that much with consumer needs; that their task is to foster and preserve art; and that research on the marketing concept is irrelevant in their value system. Further, since the arts generally cannot be self-sufficient, government and other support is necessary rather than simply the seeking of market shares and box office success.
The view of marketing and the marketing concept is to sell more to more people. Market segmentation, product differentiation, price, and promotion are called upon to aid in the goal of selling more to more customers. In short, it is not all that clear that the goals are similar or that arts managers want our interference. And it is not all that clear that they are all that wrong. In fact, art has from time to time suffered when businessmen and marketing men have interfered. In the motion picture industry, the hey-day of filmmaking was at a time when producers, directors, artists and moguls ran the industry. By the late 1940's the great studios in Hollywood were taken over by banks, conglomerates, and business concerns and most will agree the art form declined. However profits and the industry were saved from the inroads of television.
Similarly the golden age of television was in the 1950's with live shows and quality drama. Then marketing research, audience analysis, Nielsen and the Audiometer, the ARB and Pulse came in. Needs for audience share and advertising dollars substituted quality programming with "Laverne and Shirley," "Happy Days," and now TV's finest art form, "WKRP in Cincinnati."
If arts management is not all that interested in the marketing concept and audience ratings, why do we see the interest Holbrook talks about in his paper. For one thing there is available some grant money. Almost all the authors had at least partial support from foundations. Research costs money, and if money is available it seems to attract, foster, and instigate research.
But more important than money is that esthetics research is important to the field of consumer behavior if not vice versa. Outside of an interest in art and esthetics, per se, more important is the fact that we in management, marketing and consumer research have often been accused of being instruments of big business and of the peddling of unwanted and unneeded goods. Certainly our research is not as prestigious as research in physics, or mathematics, humanities arts, or the double helical structure of the DNA molecule.
And we have learned well from the torment of the 1960's, turning from canned peas to studies in social responsibility, public policy, consumer protection, and consumer discontent. For here the work somehow appeared to be more significant, more prestigious and more relevant. Now that the word "relevant" is no longer quite as relevant in our society; perhaps, as the Robber Barons learned a near century ago, being a patron of the arts cleanses one's soul. Just perhaps research in esthetics offers a method of gaining legitimacy in a field of research that is not yet all that prestigious. And if nothing else research in esthetics, arts, opera, and symphony performances is prestigious in the ratified atmosphere of academia.
To summarize, these papers make it clear that there may well he quality data consumer researchers can offer the arts industry even if it is not always embraced with tender appreciation. In turn we as researchers are offered legitimacy in our research. And that is more than reason enough for consumer research to make whatever contributions it can in this emerging field.