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Risk Management »
fraud and identity theft
Iris recognition technology will replace fingerprint authentication: Umesh Panchal, Biomatiques Identification Solutions
In an interview with ETCIO.COM, Umesh panchal, VP- Business Development, Biomatiques Identification Solutions discusses how IRIS recognition technology is gaining prominence in the biometric market.Sneha Jha | ETCIO | February 14, 2017, 12:27 IST
Founded in June 2012, Biomatiques Identification Solutions is a leading Iris recognition technology company. It is the first and only Indian company to receive Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) from Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY) for their patented technology for Iris bio-metric authentication solutions.
The Surat-based company is one of the 13 global players having patented technology in this arena.
Biomatiques offers Iris Recognition Technology at affordable costs compared to other bio-metric solutions in vogue, like fingerprint or facial recognition. Its specialization extends to Access Control, Information Protection, Time & Attendance, Identity & Access Management, Single Sign-On, Enterprise Mobility Management and many more.
In an interview with ETCIO.COM, Umesh Panchal, VP- Business Development, Biomatiques Identification Solutions discusses how IRIS recognition technology is gaining prominence in the biometric market.
When it comes to biometric authentication, fingerprint is the dominant norm. How do you see the IRIS recognition technology gaining a toehold?
True, the dominant biometric in the industry right now is a fingerprint. But it has several performance challenges and discomfort with respect to 70% of our population who belongs to labour class and are involved in manual and labour intensive work. And callused hands make fingerprint recognition difficult. So, getting smooth distribution of government welfare schemes and benefits after due authentication using Aadhaar is a big issue.
The concept of Iris recognition as a method of biometric identification is not new, however, in India, it is still raw. Many of us are not even aware of the fact that there is a difference between Iris and retina identification. Hence apart from creating awareness about the same, making this technology available for the common masses is the need of the hour. It is only a matter of a short time when this technology will be the most accepted method of identification in the country.
Iris recognition is a biometric identification solution which is the most accurate, tamper-proof and integrate-able technology for applications in almost all walks of modern India. Voice, fingerprint and facial recognition methods are easy to fake and have very low accuracy rate compared to Iris recognition technology. Practically no human can have the same Iris pattern what-so-ever. Speaking in terms of the software, false rejection rate (FRR) of the Iris recognition technology is 1:1500000, fingerprint – 1:10000, touchID – 1:50000, which means the chances of error are 1 in 1.5 million.
IRIS recognition devices are cost prohibitive. How is Biomatiques bridging the price gap to boost adoption of this technology?
The single major concern of this technology adapters has been: Prohibitive Costs. When we entered the market, IRIS scanners offered by most players were highly expensive. The USP of our patented technology is easy affordability, thereby removing the barrier of price from the business equation.
Why do you think IRIS recognition is a superior biometric authentication process.?
Iris recognition checks for 240-250 vertices as compare to 40-50 vertices in the fingerprint. FRR of the Iris recognition technology is 1:1500000 which means the chances of error are 1 in 1.5 million as compare to fingerprint – 1:10000. Iris patterns are stable from a tender age and the possibility of two individuals having same iris is virtually zero. Besides, the Iris being contact-less technology, permits-no-traces for duplication as compare to fingerprint
What is innovative about your devices? What have you done differently at the product level to ensure your devices see wider adoption?
Our Iris scanners (readers) are STQC / UIDAI approved and are certified for any applications/services which require authentication using Aadhaar UID. We are a domestic company with local development of hardware & software component. Our devices are made keeping in mind Indian working condition and environment. And we made it affordable, thereby removing the barrier of price. We have no limitation for integrating our technology with any software platform or system or functionalities desirable by our clients.
Which sectors will be the largest adopters of IRIS recognition technology?
Our technology adoption and acceptance began with, State Government of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have already adopted and implemented Iris recognition technology, jointly promoted through Wipro for resident identification. The State Government of Andhra Pradesh has procured 33,130 devices from us. Going forward, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tripura, Haryana, and Telangana are new entrants and are in the process of implementing our technology and the future lies with many Aadhaar enabled Services (AeS) and eGovernance.
There are strong possibilities of our technology adoption for various security applications in BFSI, Realty, Logistics, Airport and Government / Quasi-Government sectors.
Interestingly, automobile sector has expressed interest in using our technology in high-end passenger vehicles. Although the proof-of-concept has been established, it is only a matter of time when the same will be introduced to the market by the concerned auto major.There is no limitation for integrating our technology with any software platform or system or functionalities desirable by our clients."
Tags : Risk Management, fraud and identity theft, Cybersecurity


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Audio books changed my reading
February 15, 2014 By Chris Mundy Leave a Comment
Audio books changed my reading to listening in 2013. Here's how it happened. Being involved in Technology, I subscribe to This Week in Tech Podcasts TWIT Network.
As a regular listener, the range of programs keeps me current with Technology informing me on topical technical issues; real handy when you're involved in technology.
Besides Podcasts, I subscribe to a number of online journals and news feeds which I find beneficial as well.
Podcasts started for me just as I purchased my first iPhone in 2008. I quickly found podcast content that interested me and I was on my way to listening and learning.
I soon found listening to podcasts changed my commute. It's around that time I stopped listening to the local radio. Getting to the client's workplace mentally stimulated me with contextual brain food for the day.
As TWIT relies on advertising revenue, one of the products they advertise is Audible an Amazon company, an Audio book supplier, when an Audible segment was featured, one of the team would share some information on the book they were listening to.
While listening to program every week, I kept saying to myself, "I must read/listen to that book sometime."
The reality was my reading was declining, however, my listening of podcasts increased.
I said to myself, when would I get the chance to listen to any audio books? I was also challenged that I needed to listen to a more broad range of subject matter in particular, biographies and autobiographies.
My first Audio book
My first audio book came when I was given for my birthday in 2011, Steve Job's biography by Walter Isaacson on CD. After converting the CDs to listen to the book on my iPhone, I was taken in by how much I enjoyed listening to audio books.
I found myself arriving home and doing a could laps of the block to finish a chapter of a book. After getting through the book I found myself mentally exhausted but wanting to listen to another book.
The next opportunity to listen to another audio book was a while later when we were en route to a funeral in Armidale NSW.
It was at the end of 2012 I made a commitment, I needed to improve my overall reading. I was starting books but not completing them. Besides listening to Podcasts, I needed another form of mental stimulation and learning, so I purchased my first couple of Audio books.
Audio books are enhanced by using YouTube
With a book like "Steve Jobs" I found a way to bring "reality" to the book. Books have a wonderful way of allowing your mind to make a mental picture based on your understanding, nothing wrong with that, however, to get a feel for the real situation like when Steve Jobs returns to Apple and speaks at the Apple developers conference, you can go on to YouTube and watch the keynote when Steve spoke, nice. In some ways it tempers the biographers view and how he or she conveys the story to the reader.
So with all my Audio books, I now look at the web to watch any supporting media making sure not to spoil the story.
Downloading my first Audio book, "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
I purchased this audio book through the iTunes store. This book was downloaded through iTunes, The narrator was Danny Glover.
Talk about a life challenging read. I learnt so much about Nelson Mandela, his motives his leadership the time he spent in Prison his political rise, and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
The standout for me was the graciousness and forgiveness by Mandela against those who persecuted him.
"What's it all About" by Michael Caine
The second, that book was "What's it all about" the story of Sir Michael Caine the actor. Caine has always been a fan of mine since my early years with a steady diet of the Italian Job and Zulu. I then purchased his second book "the Elephant Hollywood".
The great thing about listening to Sir Michael was his early story of overcoming hardship for several years before any opportunities arose and always being grateful for what he has today.
The other thing that appealed to me listening to his story was that Michael Caine was the narrator making the story more authentic in his east London accent.
Using Audible for Audio books in 2013
With our 2013 travel plans set to visit the Mediterranean in September and October, it was time to commit to an Audible Account, a monthly commitment of $14.95. The monthly Audible membership means they give you a credit to buy any books valued above or below monthly membership fee of $14.95.
Going on a long flight, I wanted to read one book, however, I purchased another for the next read.
Here's what I read while travelling to and from Europe.
One Crowded Hour: Combat Cameraman, Neil Davis
The best-selling biography of one of the world's greatest cine-cameramen and an extraordinary Australian. For over 20 years, journalist Neil Davis covered the conflicts in South East Asia.
Always at the battle front, he brought enduring images of the full horror of modern war to the world. Ironically, in September 1985, having survived so much war, Neil Davis was killed filming an attempted coup in the streets of Bangkok.
As a teenager I remember Neil's footage vividly as he filmed amazing footage of the Indo China in the early 70s and most memorably the tanks entering the old Presidential Palace in Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 when the North captured South Vietnam.
A couple of amazing things happened while reading this book travelling to and from Europe,
The book was that engaging that I only watched two movies on the in-flight entertainment, the rest of the travel time, listening to the audiobook. If you travel lots, get a set of Noise cancelling Headphones, they cut out all the cabin pressurised Air Conditioning noise common with Airplane travel.
When we came back from Europe through Ho Chi Minh city(Saigon) in Vietnam, the leg prior to landing was taken up by me reading about his life around the time of the liberation of South Vietnam by the north and the places where he worked and stayed being the Caravelle Hotel and Majestic Hotel. So to my amazement when I joined the dots and realised we were staying at the Majestic Hotel and we drove past the Caravelle Hotel, that the penny dropped and realised the connection between the previous chapter and our current status in Ho Chi Minh City, wow!
So listening to "One Crowded Hour" by Tim Bowden was amazing, another great thing about the narrative was Tim Bowden the Author was the reader.
Operation Mincemeat: The true spy story that changed the course of World War II
Operation Mincemeat was the most successful wartime deception ever attempted and certainly the strangest.
It hoodwinked the Nazi espionage chiefs, sent German troops hurtling in the wrong direction, and saved thousands of lives by deploying a secret agent who was different in one crucial respect, from any spy before or since: he was dead.
I first read this as the story of the "Man who never was" by Ewen Montagu. The intrigue of this story was the resourcefulness of the British to effectively deceive the Germans through the esiponage and diplomatic channels of the Spanish, Italian and German governments. If you love CSI, love a good war drama, and a spy story, you will love Operation Mincemeat.
My next reads
It was time to change to some stories of human endeavour. I had marked a book to read on my wish list "Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond".
However Audible throw you a curved ball with specials and offer you added reads for prices like $4.95 so I quickly read an overview of one of the books available for $4.95 called "Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games" seems like it would be a good read/listen, unknowably realising it was a game changing book for me.
Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13
Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz saw firsthand the making of history. Kranz was flight director for both Apollo 11, the mission in which Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge, and Apollo 13.
He headed the Tiger Team that had to figure out how to bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth. (In the film Apollo 13, Kranz was played by the actor Ed Harris, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.)
I have my Apollo 11 badge from my boyhood and remember watching Neil Armstrong step onto the moon. After watching Apollo 13 the movie I wanted to find out more. I had worked with a guy who spent time working for NASA on the early space shuttle programmes so I wanted to find out more.
The thing that amazed me was in the beginning there were bunch of very smart people working on space program however, it seems they weren't working together as a team. The book shows of the lows and highs of the teams as they developed into powerhouse to put man on the moon and beyond.
It you love learning about teams, projects and programmes, you soon realise there is a difference between management and leadership and what it takes to accomplish the impossible.
Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Game
Running for My Life is not a story about Africa or track and field athletics. It is about outrunning the devil and achieving the impossible: faith, diligence, and the desire to give back.
Lopez Lomong chronicles his inspiring ascent from a barefoot lost boy of the Sudanese Civil War to a Nike sponsored athlete on the US Olympic Team.
Though most of us fall somewhere between the catastrophic lows and dizzying highs of Lomong's incredible life, every reader will find in his story the human spark to pursue dreams that might seem unthinkable, even from circumstances that might appear hopeless.
The thing I loved about this book was the story of faith in God and hope for the future from a young boy. The bottom line is the the boy should have died several times over, however, overcame the most incredible obstacles to eventually end up at the Olympic games.
You come away shaking your head in amazement to his resilience to life's situation all based on this faith.
This audio book is loaded with surprises.
Where to from here with audio books
Audio books have become a great source of learning for me so I'm going to share any reviews in future posts. Stay tuned.
Benefits of an Audible Audio books Account
If you are reading my post and contemplating listening to Audio books, I would go for the monthly account of $14,95 US per month. Here's why:
Any book just one credit – Your plan gives you one or more credits to spend toward books every month.
Exchange any book* – If a book doesn't meet your expectations just return it, no questions asked
Never pay full price – Save 30% off regular price when you buy books without credits.
Members-only deals – Enjoy discounts and sales offered exclusively to members.
Free audio newspaper – Get a daily subscription to The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times
How to start an Audible Audio books account
Do you have an Amazon account? Your already on your way. Audible is an Amazon Company that specialise in Audio Books.
If you don't have an Amazon Account, go to the link here to find out how to sign up.
I'll only recommend books that I've personally read myself, however the ones that I do recommend I'll provide a link.
Start listening to Audio books today, Chris
Hi I'm Chris Mundy. I'm Digital Business Consultant and a Trainer. Some of my specialites are Online Development, Design and Training. You can read more about me here.
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Q: Excel VBA to copy a row range from one sheet to a particular row in another I have searched extensively for the thing that I need but only found this previous post but does not entirely help me in what I need (it is the closest one though).
I am creating a tracker to keep track of records on my Excel sheet where I get the raw dump of the data from a source.
"Tracker" Sheet
Column A      Column B      Column C        Column D
Ref#          App name      Date            My own Comments
001           Excel         01/01/2015      tracking deployment on 1/1
002           Word          02/02/2015      tracking decom  on 2/2
003           PPT           03/03/2015      tracking upfrade on 3/3

"Raw Data" Sheet
Column A        Column B    Column C
Ref#            App name    Date
001             Excel       01/02/2015
002             Word        02/03/2015
003             PPT         03/04/2015

I need a macro to copy row range A1 to C1 from Raw Data to Tracker without overwriting my Column D .  Also need the macro to paste that only on the row where the reference is already existing so my comments are valid. For example, it will look at ref 001 from Raw Data and look that up in Tracker, if it exists, then copy on that same row.  Else, create a new row with that information.  The dates changes every now and then based on the raw data and I want to be able to track those changes based on the tracker column d's cells for reporting.
Please let me know if this is workable in Macro as installing a 3rd party software in my PC may not be an option.

A: Dim dataSheet As Worksheet
Dim copyToSheet As Worksheet

Set dataSheet = Sheets("Raw Data")
Set copyToSheet = Sheets("Tracker")

'Unhide the sheet to dump data on
copyToSheet.Visible = True

dataSheet.Activate

sheet1LastRow = dataSheet.Cells.Find("*", SearchOrder:=xlByRows, SearchDirection:=xlPrevious).Row

dataSheet.Range("A1:C" & sheet1LastRow).Copy
copyToSheet.Range("A1").PasteSpecial xlPasteValues

This should do what you want. You may have to change the sheet names at the top if I have put them in incorrectly :)
Also you can change ".PasteSpecial xlPasteValues" to ".Paste" instead if you want to do the equivalent of hitting Ctrl+V instead of Pasting only Values.

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I never really know what to expect when someone offers me a chocolate cake. My idea of a chocolate cake could be someone else's brownie, a bakery's flourless chocolate cake, or still another home baker's sponge cake.
I've tasted many chocolate cakes that would be more correctly described as sponge cakes, soufflés, thick mousse with icing, and pudding in cake form. I have nothing against any of these, but they don't fit my definition of what a chocolate cake should be.
For me, a chocolate cake has to have structure "" it shouldn't be one big fudgy brownie slathered in icing. The cake should have "bite," and a consistent crumb. The cake should be moist, an indication that it was mixed well, baked properly, and most importantly, not a week old. I'm not fond of eating cakes that are so dry it feels like my throat is being scrubbed with every swallow. Lastly, a good chocolate cake should have enough icing: ganache, marshmallow frosting, 7-minute icing, or simply the instant stuff from a can "" whatever it may be, there should be enough of it. A cake that lacks icing is like eating kare-kare without bagoong or peanut butter without bread. Sure, it tastes good enough, but why settle for good enough?
As long as it's a chocolate cake that I find difficult to stop eating, it doesn't matter to me what sort of "secret" ingredients go into it. I've seen recipes that call for really strange stuff like sauerkraut, beets, and even beer. Hey, if it rocks, then more power to the baker.
This little store in Quezon City is perhaps the best-kept secret of hard-core chocoholics. Called Chocolat: the Chocolate Baker's Store, it's a tiny place that sells a mishmash of baking equipment and surprisingly, wines too. There appears to be no order to the clutter here, which gives the place a somewhat homey feel that I like.
All is forgotten however, once I lay eyes on the two chillers displaying the chocolate cakes. Obviously the star of the store, these are simple cakes, wet in their chocolate magnificence and enrobed in glistening fudge frosting. There are four kinds available, each differentiated by various sprinklings (chocolate chips, nuts, etc.): Classic, Kahlua, Irish, and Bailey's. You can buy the cakes in slices, six-inch and nine-inch rounds (P250-P360).
When I visited Chocolat, a woman was sitting at the lone table in the room generously icing individual cake slices, an enormous pot of ganache sitting beside her. So deep and inviting was this ganache that I had to physically restrain myself from dipping my finger into the pot while the girl's back was turned.
Despite the cakes' alcoholic names, the alcohol is barely detectable, so have no worries about feeding these chocolate delights to children or non-drinkers like me. Frankly, it's difficult to imagine a more honestly rendered chocolate cake.
Alright, laugh if you must, but I unabashedly declare that Starbucks has some very good pastries, two of them being the butterscotch fudge bar and this chocolate cake.
What I like most about this cake — aside from its dense yet soft crumb, velvety icing, and intoxicating chocolate fragrance — is that I can have it any time I want since Starbucks is literally, everywhere. This is the cake I send my Bin out to get when everything else is closed and I have a cake craving that won't let me sleep.
Available at all Starbucks outlets.
I've recently waxed romantic about this cake — a cake that I nibbled and savored, the silky Callebaut chocolate filling smoldering my tongue. This cake defines my mouth's imagination at work.
Dulcelin also offers a simpler chocolate cake, the chocolate decadent cake with caramel sauce (P360/P650). A shinier, denser frosting playfully topped with whole walnuts is the perfect accent to the caramel sauce that you can serve on the side or as I do, douse on the cake.
I first saw this cake (P550 / 9") on Anton's website almost two months ago but only got to try it last night for my sister's birthday. The cake's frosting is visually arresting, a design piped on by an intricate leaf tip "" veritable eye candy.
As for the cake, I might as well say, "Hit me!" It packs a macho chocolate punch, all that's missing is the leather get-up and the crack of a whip. Wah-pak! The crumb is soft, almost too soft. Completely immersed in its moistness, it has just enough structure to escape being categorized as pudding. An uninterrupted adoration at the temple of chocolate, this cake is whole and independent in its devotion.
Unassuming in its blue and white striped box, this is a cake that sneaks up from behind and consumes you. Nestled beneath the glimmering icing is a feathery crumb and a cache of yema filling. Yema is egg yolks and milk cooked with sugar until thick, and formed into a ball. Here, it's the piece de resistance, the showpiece if you will, of the cake. Sweet and thick, it adds an unexpected flavor to the cake, and of course that delightful burst of yellow when you cut into the first slice.
This is the cake that I brought to my family's Thanksgiving dinner. Defined by its understated deliciousness and simplicity, this cake is a winner on all counts, including its price "" (P260/P375 "" 7"/9").
Ohmigod what a fantastic post. The thing with "Top 5" and "Best of" lists is that I feel strangely compelled to get everything on the lists at the same time!
I'm so deliriously happy that three of them are within my whim radius! (Shoppersville, Chocolat & of course, Starbucks). The bakeshop at Shoppersville has always been our dependable source of birthday cakes and little thematic cupcakes as well.
OMG, I agree with wysgal, buy all the cakes and try a slice each. And don't share! Actually, eating a good chocolate cake is better when eating with likeminded chocoholics.
I just had my first Starbucks oatmeal cookie and was pleasantly surprised at how chewy it was. Found a new addiction.
lor, my current favorite chocolate cake is from the lobby cafe of richmonde hotel in ortigas center. each unassuming square slice is wrapped in cellophane and goes for ~Php30 a pop. very moist. just the right balance of sweet and bitter.
hi lori, i couldn't stop smiling when i read your incisive analysis about what a chocolate cake should and shouldn't be – i couldn't agree more!
Chocolat chocolate cake is the best one I've tried!! It lives up to its name, deep dark chocolate cake!! It's oh-so-moist, and the classic chocolate fudge icing is so sinful yet not too sweet that it makes you want to eat another slice!
Lori, I have no words, I am totally speechless. My dreams of chocolate cakes have finally come true. I am still staring at my monitor in a dazed thinking what to say but all I can think of are the cakes….Will I ever recover?
p.s. I gained 10 lbs just looking at the photos. 10k here we come!!
When will I learn? After breakfast!
Chocolate cake is my top favorite dessert. Thanks for giving me ideas.
hi lori, you HAVE to try Mrs. Garilao's chocolate cake too. I strongly believe it should be included in your list. It's sold at Green Spark Convenience Store along Connecticut St. in Greenhills and Shell Magallanes. It's also known as Polly's.
I've already featured Mrs. Garilao's chocolate cake. That post is here. I wanted to feature chocolate cakes that aren't as well-known.
I've only been going through your blog for the last few months. A good friend sent me the link, and I am very thankful that she did.
This latest post practically satellite maps it for me. Thanks.
I live in the area, so I was out on an after dinner walk, a self-contradictory walk as I was searching for Vanilla Bean. I had no luck finding it, so I went for RR, but darn, no apple or banoffee. Choco cake was so-so.
I'm just curious 'coz i am planning to apply in purple oven. What happened? What were your grounds for claiming that they're not humanly?
Starbucks and Karen Young's chocolate cakes are really good although I prefer Karen Young's because it's not too sweet. Now, I have to taste the other 3 in the magic 5. Hehe parang basketball.
yay for shoppersville! 😀 i grew up on that chocolate cake 🙂 nice to see it getting some props online!
Last week I got the banana dream (so-so) and the key lime pie (good call!) at Cakes2Go for an office party. Later I'll pick up an eight-incher (chocolate cake, that is) from Karen Young for my hubby's birthday.
Yaiks, I'm starting to sound like a food blog stalker!
Hi Lori- I tried 2 out of the 5 chocolate cakes that you featured. The one fron Karen Young was really moist and good I actually like it very much. The one from starbucks was very simple but really good as well. I was able to try the chocolate blackout cake from Divine Desserts and it was really good. Its quite different from the other chocolate cakes, it was topped with chocolate ganache, chocolate fudge, caramel, walnuts and brownie chunks. The chocolate cake of Cheesecake Melliza called Wet Dreams was ok too as well as the Decadence of Pastry Passion.
hi dols, im interested in getting cakes from STARBUCKS chocolate cake supplier, can u post their contact no.? i so love their chocolate cake!!
Hi! I went to Chocolat last weekend and picked up two 9″ cakes – one to give and one to eat. It's got to have one of the best icings around, really deep dark delicious. Great price too at P350 for a chocolate packed cake, very dense and moist. By the way, Chocolat also has a lovely rum butter cake – moist and rum-my -that comes in mini bundts at P42 a piece. I've been searching for a really good rum cake and this one was an unexpected find!
I just tried the 4 different flavors of chocolate cake from Chocolat. The cake base was no doubt very moist and dense, but for me its pretty bland. I can only taste the sweetness and I hardly taste the liqeuer nor the chocolate flavor. Though the cakes are very reasonable!
All the Chocolat cakes looked so yummy that I bought all the 4 chocolate flavors so that my girlfriend and I could gorge on them. We're planning a chocolate cake and tea party real soon. And, of course, for that occasion, we'll buy the bigger sizes.
Thanks again for this wonderful post. And it will be my yummy mission to get my hands on the rest of these fabulous chocolate desserts.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Chocolate Cake! For those who live in the SOUTH, I highly recommend trying the super moist, super rich, super yummy Chocolate Decadent Cake (with caramel sauce on the side) of Mrs Evelyn Umali from Alabang Hills. Tel no. is 842-9406. You won't regret it!
Can you pls send me the number of Starbucks supplier of Chocolat Cake?
Hi! Love your blog. I tried 3 of the cakes (shoppersville, karen young's, starbucks) in your top 5 list and I gotta say I love Karen Young's the best. The cake has everything I look for in a chocolate cake.
BUT still, my great love is Claudette's Dolly Sin. My first bite of it evoked so many different feelings…one of which is, I felt I was in heaven for a minute. I'm still looking for a chocolate cake (locally) that will match my favorite Dolly Sin.
pano pumunta sa CHOCOLAT? from KATIPUNAN LRT station, how do i go to chocolat?
just looking at the pictures makes my mouth water!
… have you tried the chocolate cake from marshal's in valle verde .. it's super yummmy!
i would love to try karen young's cake!
my first time to try these kahlua chocolate cake from Chocolat i told my partner…we've just found a perfect home for chocoholics like us!
Hi Joey, Dols & Nel! Please post the number of the Starbucks supplier. I'm dying to order their chocolate cake. Thanks in advance!
anonymous, if I were you I would not care about Purple Oven… their workplace is dirty and not hygienic.
there is a great place off dela rosa street, on perea, called indulgence cafe. their chocolate cakes are to die for! i'd recommend trying the indulgence torte, or the death by chocolate, or the irish torte, or the bomb, or the amaretto chocolate cake. they've got a lot more, but you need to be there to really appreciate po.
hi lori, would you know where i can find Daniel (or danielle) and Lazlo? if it still exists that is…my aunt bought me chocolate cake from there maybe five years ago and it's still the best chocolate cake i've ever had, and in my opinion ten times better than polly's or any chocolate cake anyone's offered me declaring it's the most scrumptious in existence. it just kills me that i can't find it anymore.
Purpleoven ang supplier ng Starbucks dati. Di ko lang alam kung hanggang ngayon sila pa rin.
I've tried purple oven's dome cake, brownies and ensaymada. They are really good. I also tried shoppersville's chocolate cake and was a bit disappointed. It was quite dry. I was expecting it to be moist. But I love chocolat's ! It's a good thing that they now have a branch at SM North Edsa's the block. I will next try Karen Young's.
Thanks so much for featuring an article on the best chocolate cakes .
hi guys. id like to take this opportunity to introduce my products. for more than three years, i've been making specialty desserts. chocolate cake included. although i am just a home-based manufacturer. as of now, i have 4 variants of cheesecakes, 3 variants for cakes, and fudge brownies and choc chip cookies. i can say my chocolate cake can compete with those more well known brands in the market today. i believe there are lots of underdogs out there like me who are just waiting to be discovered. thank you very much. please email me back for your comment.
I love your site and I couln't help but share with you my latest food escapades… and it's not just any ordinary food but … CHOCOLATE CAKES.
At Salcedo Community Bazaar (this is a new cakeshop, i think they just started this year…), you can find this cake shop called SYMPHONY SWEETS and to tell you honestly, ive tried almost all the cakes you have on your top 5 list but theirs is the best so far…. You should try their STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE TRIFLE (a bit frozen) and their ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE (its so scrumptious with the heavenly raspberry after-taste). It is to die for….
i just want to share that there's a very yummy cake in Laguna. You can buy it in UP Los Banos and they have an outlet in South Supermarket in Los Banos as well. The name is Mer Nel's!!!!!
The icing is so good. Its worth traveling from Manila to Laguna!!!!
By the way, I love your site… I'm a chocolate lover as well!!!
Haven't tried the ones you mentioned but am chalking trip time to Katips to look up those bakeshops.
Purple Oven is located # 63 Saint Peter Street, Oranbo, Pasig. Near the Valle Verde Country Club. You can call them at 6314221.
my daughter and i are chocolate lovers… this definitely helps narrow down the search for best of the best…. we've tried cakes and pastries from Starbucks & i simply couldn't agree more from all the heavenly comments it has bagged! We're looking forward to have a taste of these other treats you've featured!
I agree with Starbucks and Shoppersville. To die for!
I sooo love chocolates so just want to share this with other avid chocolate fans!!
would anyone know where to find the supplier of Alex III chocolate cakes? I wonder why that cake never made it to the list, even in other sites that i found. It is definitely sinful! but they dont sell it anymore, I think because it lacked that much marketing within the resto, if anyone of you knows the supplier, please let me know! daianne_eight@yahoo.com. Thanks!
im sooooo inspired to eat those sinful chocolate cakes and other flavored cakes that all of you are suggesting.
there is this chocolate cake that i would like to share with you- Risa Perez's chocolate cake located at the main road of BF Homez, Quezon City. You can do walk-in's (it's her house) and the maids will gladly sell you their yummy chocolate cake. Her house is infront of a picket-fenced house. the security guards at the guard house can guide you.
after reading this, i just had to order karen young's cake again! the pictures and the nicely detailed posts ogt me all excited!!!! I also got extra caramel sauce (on the side) for an additional P50, which i think is worth it. will try dulcelin next. thanks for the great tips!
oh shoot!! im now craving for chocolate cakes!!!
mukhang taga QC ka a talaga a! 🙂 ntry mo na yun sa UP? Choco Kiss I think? 😛 yum rin don!! i should go try mga ibang suggestions mo… looks soo nice!!!
here in Makati.. Secret Recipe sa The Fort… yun Choco Mud Cake and Chocobanana cake should definitely be part of your list… iba cya e.. hindi nakaka-umay.. and just the right taste of chocolate!!
i love the pictures!!! it makes me hungry!
Thanks for posting this. I could rant on about how helpful it's been, but you may have had enough of that.
Oh, there's also a place that sells chocoate truffles and whatnot called Cacao, for people who may have lost their spark for chocolate…If you want to be re-enchanted, visit that place and be wow-ed by the array of sweets they've displayed… Looking at so many gorgeous chocolate pieces in one place would make you want to try everything; you'd be compelled to collect 'em all. Just make sure to bring money as their prices are a tad expensive.
Good luck to us all guys. Let's hope diabetes won't defeat our bodies in the end, although death by chocolate seems interesting (and tempting) enough. Ms. Lori, keep blogging; many appreciate and support, if not rely on, your work.
hi nel! may i have the number of the starbucks cake supplier? thanks!
please try "choco supreme" or "choco velvet". i"ve been a great fan for the past 28 years. the place – aristocat bakeshop along roxas blvd., mla!!! i'm soO sure u'll enjoy these cakes as much as we do.
Try Chocolate Amaretto Cake of Rustan's Le Gourmet, I swear its heavenly!
Chocolat's deep dark classic and Becky's Kitchen's swiss choco cake & choco fudge cake are sooooo good! also, Chocolate Kiss' devil's Food Cake!!
Totally outrageous! This is the best chocolate color I have ever seen! I hope I can make some tonight, for Christmas.
We share the same sentiments when it comes to "how" a chocolate cake should be. I've tried countless recipes, each saying they were the best chocolate cake, only to end up with a product that has me asking whether I did something wrong or that the best chocolate cake to the recipe's author was a brownie with melted chocolate slathered on top. Enjoyed it very much and will be trying your suggestions.
PS: I do agree that Starbucks has good pastries, especially the chocolate cake. I, however, did not particularly enjoy their crepe cake.
i love Deep Dark Chocolate of Chocolat!! they have one in MOA.
I've heard about Poco Deli and have been told about that deliciousness of theirs called the Blackout Chocolate Cake. Thanks for the tip. I will be headed there soon.
Wish that there would be a cake shop in Los Angeles that served this.
For years I have been on search of a recipe for a cookie monster chocolate cake much like the cake you brought for your thanksgiving celebration. If you have a recipe available, would you kindly share?
I've never been able to duplicate the way my aunt made it, brings back fantastic memories.
A real good place to find Chocolate fondant & Chocolate Ganache is NACI COMFORT FOOD & DESSERT BAR in Connecticut St., Greenhills. Even their other food (non dessert items) are really good. They also have a facebook fan page. Check them out.
does Callebaut Chocolate Ganache Cake from Dulcelin taste good?
Chocolate Caramel of Cravings is one of the best cakes I ever tasted: Rich and dense chocolate cake with homestyle caramel frosting. It is Cravings' bestseller, true enough it deserves to be its bestseller.
the shoppersville cake was a disappointment! 🙁 the only thing i love about it is the icing.
Ohhh this post brings back memories of the chocolate cake from Cookie Monster so moist, chocolatey, with a yummy caramel filling in the middle.
Thnks for all the Insider Tips, a grand worthy minutes of reading here, Merci!!
hi!,I love your writing so a lot! share we be in contact extra approximately your post on AOL? I require a specialist on this space to resolve my problem. May be that's you! Having a look forward to see you.
Just tried a chocolate cake by Sweet Obsession Cakes. It was very moist and topped by a really gooey icing. Does anyone know how to contact Sweet Obssession. The chocolate cake was worth putting on your list of best chocolate cakes.
Would you also have the new contact information for Carla and Elaine? They have moved out of their San Juan branch store.
Ms. Polly's , Karen's Kitchen and Cravings offer some of the best chocolate cakes I've tried, moist with just the right amount of sweetness. Chocolat ones are good(moist) but I found the icing on some too sweet.


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Only Shaka Toney Until Penn State Football
We're down to 18 more days until the Nittany Lions take the field!
By Jared Slanina Oct 6, 2020, 8:24am EDT
Share All sharing options for: Only Shaka Toney Until Penn State Football
When Shaka Toney announced he would return for his senior year, he never could have imagined the bumps in the road as he prepares for his last season as a Nittany Lion. However, what once looked to be a lost cause is now on the horizon - the start of the 2020 Penn State Football season.
Toney returns as the elder statesmen of the Nittany Lion defensive line, entering his fourth season as a regular at defensive end. The Philadelphia product is coming off his most productive season in Happy Valley, contributing 6.5 sacks, 8 TFLs, 40 total tackles and a fumble recovery. Toney's ability to disrupt the offense were easily apparent to coaches throughout the Big Ten, who named him as an all-conference second-team pick in 2019, with many outlets naming him as a first-team preseason selection heading into the fall.
Toney arrived in State College as a raw, undersized speed rusher. Through his dedication and work ethic, he will leave Penn State as one of the all-around best defensive linemen in the conference with a bright future of playing on Sundays. But first - go make those Big Ten quarterbacks suffer this fall, Shaka.
Only 18 more days.


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Mary Anne Trump (nombre de nacimiento MacLeod; Tong, Reino Unido;10 de mayo de 1912-New Hyde Park, Estados Unidos; 7 de agosto de 2000) fue una filántropa estadounidense, conocida por ser la madre de Donald Trump, el 45.° presidente de los Estados Unidos de América y esposa del empresario de bienes raíces Fred Trump. Nacida en las islas Hébridas, emigró a los Estados Unidos en 1930 y obtuvo la nacionalidad en 1942. Tuvo 5 hijos con su esposo y llevó a cabo actividades filantrópicas en la zona de Nueva York.

Primeros años

Mary Anne MacLeod nació en una casa rural de la villa de Tong, en la isla de Lewis, en Escocia. Los historiadores locales describen las casas de la zona en aquella época como muy sucias, dando fe de las condiciones de miseria de la época. El estallido de la primera guerra mundial debilitó la economía y diezmó la población masculina del lugar, al igual que lo hizo en muchas otras zonas.

Criada en un ambiente en que se hablaba gaélico escocés, Mary era la segunda de 10 hijos de Malcolm MacLeod (1866-1954) y Mary MacLeod (nacida Smith, 1867-1963). Su padre era arrendatario, pescador y oficial en la escuela de Mary. El inglés fue su segunda lengua, el cual aprendió en la escuela a la que asistió hasta octavo grado.

Sus abuelos paternos fueron Alexander MacLeod y Ann MacLeod, siendo sus abuelos maternos Donald Smith y Mary MacAulay. Procedían de Vatisker y la zona de los Lochs del sur de la isla de Lewis, habiendo sufrido algunas generaciones la expulsión de ocupantes de los Highlands por parte de los propietarios, hecho ocurrido principalmente en los siglos XVIII y XIX.

Emigración a los Estados Unidos

Teniendo ya varias hermanas que vivían allí, Mary Anne MacLeod podría haber visitado los Estados Unidos durante una corta estancia en diciembre de 1929. Posteriormente, de acuerdo al periódico The National, MacLeod consiguió un visado de inmigración con número 26698 el 17 de febrero de 1930. El 2 de mayo de 1930, MacLeod partió de Glasgow a bordo del RMS Transylvania llegando a Nueva York el 11 de mayo de 1930, un día después de su 18 cumpleaños, declarando querer adquirir la ciudadanía estadounidense y residir permanentemente en América. Al hacerlo de este modo se convirtió en lo que posteriormente se conocería como inmigrante económica, una de las decenas de miles de escoceses que abandonaron Escocia durante este periodo para vivir en los Estados Unidos o Canadá, debido a las consecuencias de la primera guerra mundial y a las expulsiones que sufrieron los escoceses por parte de los propietarios de las tierras donde vivían. La lista de pasajeros del Transylvania, del 2 de mayo de 1930, incluye datos como su altura (5 pies y 8 pulgadas, es decir 172 centímetros), ojos azules y como ocupación empleada del hogar.

Llegó a los Estados Unidos con 50 dólares (unos 734 dólares ajustados a 2017), residiendo con su hermana mayor Christina Matheson en Long Island y trabajando de sirvienta del hogar durante un mínimo de 4 años. Uno de estos trabajos parece ser que fue el de niñera/cuidadora de una opulenta familia de Nueva York, trabajo que perdió debido a los problemas causados por la Gran Depresión. Se podría decir pues que comenzó su vida en América como una pobre sirvienta, escapando de una mayor pobreza en su país natal.

El censo de 1940 la refleja, tanto a ella como a Fred Trump, como una ciudadana naturalizada, si bien su naturalización no tuvo lugar hasta el 10 de marzo de 1942. A pesar de ello no hay ninguna evidencia que indique que se haya producido la violación de ninguna ley antes de producirse su naturalización en 1942, puesto que de forma frecuente hacia viajes internacionales y fue capaz de volver a entrar en el país sin problemas.

MacLeod volvió a su localidad natal a menudo durante su vida, siendo capaz de hablar gaélico cuando lo hacía.

Matrimonio, familia y otras actividades

A principios de los años 30, MacLeod conoció a Fred Trump en un baile, en donde se enamoraron. Se casaron en la iglesia presbiteriana de Madison Avenue en enero de 1936, oficiando la ceremonia George Arthur Buttrick. El convite de la boda se llevó a cabo en el hotel Carlyle de Manhattan. El 5 de abril de 1937 dio a luz a su primera hija, Maryanne Trump Barry, siguiéndole Frederick Christ Trump (1938-1981), Elizabeth Trump Grau (1942), Donald Trump (1946) y Robert Trump (1948–2020). El último nacimiento se complicó, obligando a realizar una histerectomía, a la que pudo sobrevivir.

La familia vivió en Queens (Nueva York), en el barrio de Jamaica y más tarde en Jamaica Estates. Al principio ambos residían en la casa de la madre de Fred aunque posteriormente, hacia 1940, adquirieron su propio hogar. Mary tenía el rol de ama de casa, ayudando esporádicamente a su marido en sus negocios, por ejemplo en la recogida de monedas de las máquinas de lavandería en los distintos edificios. En su momento Mary condujo un automóvil Rolls Royce con las placas de matrícula rezando "MNT".

Otras tareas que llevó a cabo fueron las de voluntaria en un hospital así como en actividades escolares y actos de caridad. Muchas de estas acciones buscaban la mejora en la calidad de vida de aquellos con parálisis cerebral y de aquellos disminuidos psíquicos. Entre otros, los Trump ayudaron a organizaciones como Salvation Army, Boy Scouts o Lighthouse of the Blind (faro de los ciegos). Mary Anne tuvo un rol importante en el hospital de mujeres de Jamaica así como en la guardería, ambas situadas en el barrio de Queens en Nueva York. Ella y su marido destinaron tiempo y esfuerzos y en su momento donaron propiedades para la mejora de la sanidad en la zona de Nueva York. Más aún, el pabellón de hospital Jamaica, con 228 camas, lleva su nombre en su honor. Aparte de ello perteneció a distintos clubes sociales.

Como madre su carácter era más reservado que el de su marido. Amigos de sus hijos tuvieron poca interacción con ella, al contrario que con su marido. Aparentemente su físico era de complexión delgada pero sin embargo tenía un estilo de peinado muy elaborado, del que se dijo que era un remolino anaranjado. Esta forma de peinarse sin duda tuvo un impacto en su hijo Donald, que escribió en su momento "mirando hacia el pasado, me doy cuenta de que parte de mi exhibicionismo viene por parte de mi madre".

Últimos años y muerte

Con el paso de los años Mary Anne contrajo osteoporosis. El 31 de octubre de 1991, sufrió un atraco mientras estaba comprando cerca de Union Turnpike, muy cerca de su casa. Cayó en la acera después de que su agresor le robase el bolso con 14 dólares. A causa de ello sufrió rotura de costillas, hematomas en la cara así como varias fracturas, hemorragia cerebral y daño permanente en la vista y el oído. Su agresor, de 16 años, fue alcanzado y detenido por el conductor de camión Lawrence Herbert, lo cual le supuso una recompensa por parte de Donald Trump, lo que le permitió evitar ser desahuciado.

Su marido Fred murió a la edad de 93 años en junio de 1999. MacLeod murió un año después, el 7 de agosto del año 2000 en el centro médico judío de Long Island, en Nueva York, a la edad de 88 años. El funeral tuvo lugar en la iglesia colegial de Manhattan, siendo enterrada junto a su marido e hijo (Fred jr.) en el cementerio luterano de Middle Village, en Queens. Un artículo de su muerte en el periódico de su localidad natal en Escocia, el Stornoway Gazette, rezaba "Descanse en paz, en nueva York el 7 de agosto, Mary Ann Trump, 88 años. Hija del fallecido Malcolm y de Mary MacLeod, 5 Tong. Hasta siempre".

Referencias

Familia Trump
Emigrantes escoceses hacia Estados Unidos
Fallecidos en Nueva York (estado)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Thai boys lost in the Tham Luang Nan Non cave system have been found alive - but getting them out could take months
The all-boys socker team disappeared into a cave nine days ago. Now the twelve boys and their coaches have been found - alive in the cave.
Now it still remains to bring the team back into safety, which is still a difficult task.
- Our operation is not over yet. We will need to pump out all the water from the cave, "says the governor of the region, Narongsak Osottanakorn.
The Thai boys may be forced to stay in the mine for months before they can be saved from there.
The boys get food for four months - have to learn to dive
The Thai boy football team were stuck in a cave for nine days. During Monday they were miraculously rescued after a major search effort. But it is expected to take time before the boys can be taken out of the cave - they now have food that will last for four months.
Shortly after the boys found it was found that the rescue effort was still far from over. Fetching the boys who are stuck in the Thai cave can be complicated.
"Involves great risks"
"Helping them in place can pose a risk, depending on how difficult the dive is, but trying to catch people who are inexperienced divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous things you can do," said Anmar Mirza, an expert in situations like this, in an email to the AP news agency on Monday evening.
She continued:
"If the dives are difficult, it will be difficult to get supplies to the boys, but trying to fetch them can pose even greater risks."
Her fears turned out to be true. Thai Authorities are now preparing for a long rescue effort. During the night to Tuesday, Central European Time, the message was that the boys now get food that will last for four months. At the same time, the boys will learn to dive.
"We prepare for delivery of more food, enough for at least four months, and will train all 13 in diving while we try to get rid of the water," said Anand Surawan, Marine Commissioner, according to TT.
On Monday it had been nine days since the Thai socker team disappeared into the Tham Luang Nan Non cave, whose openings were blocked by a monsoon rain.
Now they have been found alive, reports the BBC.
The task is confirmed by the local governor Narongsak Osottanakorn:
- We have found them and they are in safety.
The boys should have been found by a marine special task force, the BBC said.
Over 1,000 people have participated in the extensive search effort after 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach. In addition to Thai rescue workers and attack dive groups, experts from, among others, China, Australia, Japan, the United States and Britain have been called in, CNN writes.
According to the Thai Navy, Swedish divers will have participated in the effort during the day, says the radio station Ekot.
Right now the boys are still in the cave.
- Our operation is not over yet. We will pump out all the water from the cave and then we will take out all thirteen people from there. We are now planning to send down nurses and doctors in the cave to investigate their health. We will work all night, "said Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn, according to CNN.
Huge parkade fire stopped air traffic at Norwegian airport
The entire parkade risks collapsing and could destroy 3000 cars. The fire likely starte...
Six dead when freight train transporting beer hit passanger train in Denmark
Controversy over who is to blame for the California wildfires
Death toll rising in Genua bridge collaps: 39 dead and hundreds evacuated near the bridge
"We all knew this bridge was broken. We have known for a long time that it was in ...


Foreign-trained doctors, nurses and medical technicians may help fill the gap between the number of health care professionals working in the United States today and the larger number expected to be needed when the federal Affordable Care Act goes into effect on January 1, 2014.
Welcome Back Centers at Grossmont College and eight other locations around the United States help to coordinate local efforts to prepare the foreign medical professionals for their American licensing examinations.
As project manager of Grossmont College's Welcome Back Center, Gail Patterson, PhD., counsels the health care professionals about what they will have to do in the United States to resume the careers that they had to give up when they immigrated here.
Almost before they do anything else, she said, many health care professionals need to improve their ability to communicate in English. To do that, they can take courses in English as a Second Language (ESL) and Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) in which they learn English-language medical terminology.
Improved English skills also helps the medical professionals do better on the written examinations they must take to qualify for licenses here, Patterson noted in an interview.
For those with a knack for sales interested in joining the emerging green workforce, Cuyamaca College is offering a free course on selling solar energy systems.
The class will meet from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 5, 6, 7 and 9 and from 1-5 p.m. Aug. 8 at Cuyamaca College and will provide the skills and knowledge to sell solar photovoltaic energy systems, including information on the latest financing and incentive programs.
Additionally, students will gain the basic technical know-how to design residential and small commercial systems to best advise potential clients. They will also become familiar with industry tools for performing calculations on return on investment, cost analysis and sales proposals.
Holocaust survivors Max and Rose Schindler related to a group of incoming freshmen at Grossmont College on Monday, July 22, that after enduring such horrors as the death of family members, near starvation, and constant humiliation at the hands of the Nazis, they finally were liberated from separate Nazi concentration camps in 1945, when they were still younger than the students in their audience are today.
Now both in their 80s, the Schindlers were not yet 16 when Russian troops liberated the former Rose Schwartz of Seredne, Czechoslovakia, and Max Schindler of Cottbus, Germany. Students in the Grossmont College audience, who had read Night by Elie Wiesel as part of their Summer Institute Program and will be traveling this week to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, crowded around the couple to see the numbered tattoo that Rose had received at Auschwitz and the KL (for Konzentrationslager, or "Concentration Camp.") that had been tattooed on Max's arm.
Rose said that when the tattoo was administered to her, two people had to hold her down, because she fought so hard against it. She said it was very painful.
A contract with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to provide law enforcement for the Grossmont and Cuyamaca college campuses has been unanimously approved by the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board.
The Governing Board ratified the $1.4 million contract with the Sheriff's Department Tuesday night to take over the police functions now provided by the district's Public Safety Department. Sheriff's deputies will begin their duties at the two East County college campuses on August 19.
Look! Up in the sky! It's an exhaust fan!
A malfunctioning exhaust fan on the roof of Grossmont College's science building was replaced by flying in a new unit via helicopter. Four new components were attached to the helicopter, which used the parking lot north of the science building as its staging area, and dropped onto the roof for installation in four trips. The work took approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Sheriff's deputies and officers from other law enforcement agencies around San Diego County practiced at Grossmont College on Tuesday what they would do in the event of an emergency situation on the campus.
As news media and college officials watched, the deputies practiced what they would do in an active shooter situation, how they would respond if students were taken hostage, and what measures they would take if an officer were wounded and on the ground.
The three scenarios unfolded one right after another, simulating the confusion and tumult that might occur if the horrible situations had been real. Grossmont College students had been alerted in advance to not be alarmed by the law enforcement drill, and also to keep their distance so as not to interfere with it. In the simulation, teenagers from the sheriff's Explorer's unit played the role of frightened students who suddenly were confronted by a gunman in their classroom.
The drills began shortly after 2 p.m. when a deputy involved in the scenario began firing blank rounds from a mock firearm. Alerted to the gunman's whereabouts, a team of deputies in protective formation advanced toward the gunman, who fled. The deputies followed and confronted him.
The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District is gearing up work on the Proposition V bond program, with selection of a program manager and preparations for the first round of bond sales next month.
The $398 million Proposition V bond measure was passed by East County voters in November 2012 to provide capital improvements, renovations, repairs and upgrades on the district's two campuses, Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College. Proposition V was the result of a comprehensive planning process, which culminated in a master plan identifying extensive facility needs, retrofitting and infrastructure upgrades.
The 2013 Facilities Master Plan, adopted in March 2013, defines Proposition V efforts and builds upon work that began with the $207 million Proposition R approved by voters in 2002. Along with $68 million in state matching funds, Proposition R constructed or renovated 13 major projects on the two campuses. Work on those projects will near completion this fall. A bond sale for Proposition V is scheduled for August 2013.
The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District is negotiating a contract with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to provide police services at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, a move that will improve coverage on the two East County campuses and provide access to the department's specialized units.
The contract is expected to be brought to the district's Governing Board when it meets at 6:30 p.m. July 23 at the Cuyamaca College Student Center. If approved, a sheriff's sergeant will be stationed at the district, along with a team of deputies dedicated to each of the two campuses. Additional assistance will be provided by other sheriff's deputies and specialists as needed.
Picture Schroeder hunched over his toy piano, playing Beethoven's Ninth and you have a pretty accurate image of jazz pianist Chase Morrin as an 8-year-old teaching himself how to compose music on the toy keyboard he got from his parents for Christmas.
A little more than a decade and numerous music awards later, Morrin is now home from college for the summer and will be performing 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 10, at Cuyamaca College. Now 19, the former child prodigy is an accomplished musician, composer and band leader, and has gone on to win prestigious accolades, including four ASCAP Young Jazz Composer awards, the 2013 Artist Development Fellowship from Harvard and his 2011 selection as the pianist of the Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Last December, he performed at Lincoln Center, where he received the ASCAP Henry Van Heusen award recognizing promising composers.
The day before she was to meet the Grossmont College search committee that would interview her for the job as vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Katrina VanderWoude, vice provost at Rochester College in Michigan, decided to do some interviewing of her own. Visiting the Grossmont College campus incognito, she struck up conversations with students over lunch in Griffin Center, and elsewhere on the campus, to see if she could get a feel for the place at which she later accepted the job.
"I'm big on cultural diversity of all types, and what I was intrigued by most was that nobody asked me if I was somebody's mother," Dr. VanderWoude recalled in a telephone interview from Michigan. "That told me that Grossmont College is used to a diverse student population. It was assumed that I was there as a potential student, and in fact students were telling me who I needed to talk to, and I was really appreciative of that. I was very impressed by the openness of the students."


Dr. Scott Wolfe is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Certified Gottman Method Couples Therapist, Trainer and Consultant. Dr. Wolfe has specialized in individual and couples counseling for over twenty-five years and has helped hundreds of couples and individuals struggle through their darkest times to find their full potential. Dr. Wolfe has trained with leading family therapists at his predoctoral internship with The University of California, San Francisco- Fresno Medical Education Program and at the California School of Professional Psychology-Fresno (APA Fully Approved) where he completed his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. Later he was on the Adjunct Faculty there and taught Marital and Family Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on the graduate level.
Articles by Scott Wolfe Ph.D.


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Metal-rich star formation
While discussing star formation on cosmological scales with some classmates, we mentioned the breakdown between the different stellar populations via metallicity:
Population III: $Z = [{\rm Fe/H}] \lesssim -5$
Population II: $Z = [{\rm Fe/H}] \sim -1$
Population I: $Z = [{\rm Fe/H}] \sim 0$
where $[{\rm Fe/H}]=\log_{10}\left[({\rm Fe/H})/({\rm Fe/H})_\odot\right]$ (the logarithm of the ratio of iron abundance to hydrogen abundance versus solar composition).
We wondered if there was a known maximum (analytical or computational) of metallicity in which stars can form. Binney & Merrifield's Galactic Astronomy briefly touches on the effect of low metallicity in star formation (see Section 5.1.5 of the text), but does not mention the other end of the spectrum.
There have been papers discussing the evolution of massive stars with high metallicity (e.g., Meynet, Mowlavi, & Maeder (2006) consider the case1 of $Z\sim1$). We also know that the metallicity will continue to increase (though Pop I stars are still at a low ~2% metals by mass, even after a few billion years of evolution), but I have not seen any mentioning of the effects of forming stars with the increased metallicity.
So my question is, is there such a maximum metallicity at which stars can no longer form?
1 They use the $X+Y+Z=1.0$ to define $Z$, with $X$ and $Y$ denoting the mass fractions of hydrogen & helium respectively (a fairly common definition). To convert to the definition I use above, use $[{\rm Fe/H}]\sim\log_{10}(Z/X)-\log_{10}(Z_\odot/X_\odot)$
astrophysics stars metallicity
Kyle KanosKyle Kanos
$\begingroup$ It's pretty standard notation for astronomers. $\endgroup$ – pela Mar 5 '15 at 12:40
$\begingroup$ I'm looking forward to a good answer on this, but the answer must be 'yes'. Firstly, the more metals, the harder it becomes for the star to assemble, since more metals means more transitions, so radiation pressure counteracts the collapse. Secondly, in the limit of 100% metals, there isn't really any fuel for the star. I guess there are many stellar models available out there where you can punch your favorite values in and get masses, temperatures, and surface gravities, but they may have difficulties with "unrealistic" metallicities. $\endgroup$ – pela Mar 6 '15 at 8:21
$\begingroup$ @Thriveth: Radiation pressure necessitates interaction of the radiation with the gas. If the blackbody radiation is surrounded by metal-free gas, there are only a few lines to absorb the spectrum, so most radiation (below the hydrogen ionization threshold) escapes. If it's full of metals, the gas creates a wall of lines, absorbing at all sorts of wavelengths (re-emitting in the IR). Wrt. a full metal jac… I mean star, you may be right. I assumed you needed hydrogen, but maybe not… $\endgroup$ – pela Jan 14 '16 at 21:22
$\begingroup$ @pela Good point on the transitions. I wonder if that would prevent collapse, or simply slow it down and give stronger line emission and fainter continuum? I also don't know if hydrogen is actually needed, but carbon burning requires no H or He (actually produces a little bit), and same seems to be the case for Oxygen burning, and they are the dominant metals - and AFAIK, it is gravitational contraction that creates the temperatures needed to ignite it. $\endgroup$ – Thriveth Jan 15 '16 at 1:56
$\begingroup$ @honeste: iron can fuse with helium (producing unstable Ni56), but I don't think there is a Fe+Fe process, so *pure * iron wouldn't work. AFAIK, one needs lighter elements for fusion to occur, but I'm not sure what the largest metal content would be while still able to form stars. $\endgroup$ – Kyle Kanos Jan 15 '16 at 19:33
I would say the answer depends on what you mean by a star. A lot of places require that there be fusion in there somewhere to call it a star, but this is a bit tricky because we still call things stars that are either pre-fusion, or post-fusion. What's more, all but the highest mass stars are finished any process we might want to call "star formation" long before they ever start fusing anything, and we might even say the star formation process is totally independent from the fusion process. So I think we have two rather separate issues where, one is, how does metallicity affect star "formation", and the other is, whether or not what is "forming" ever ends up fusing much. The answer to the first question is, metallicity only affects the scales on which the star formation occurs-- how long it takes, how much mass and angular momentum ends up in the star, and what is the status of binarity, it doesn't change the inevitability of the star-forming process which is really just a story of gravity and heat loss. The answer to the second question deals more with how fusion works, and the important fact that iron cannot be fused into anything that releases heat, but fusion can be made to occur by the energy release of gravitational collapse. So I would tend to divorce the complex fusion issues from the simple "formation" issues, and answer that metallicity alters the formation process, moreso than it allows or prevents it.
Ken GKen G
$\begingroup$ You are inventing a new question ("what is a star") that I didn't ask, then answering that question and haphazardly ignoring the actual question I asked. Your last half of a sentence is the closest you come to answering my actual question, but you basically state what I've given evidence for in my question. $\endgroup$ – Kyle Kanos Sep 3 '16 at 16:35
$\begingroup$ Apparently you feel it is possible to ask when a star can form, without saying what you mean by a star. What I was trying to point you to is the difference between the questions "what physical processes led to the generation of an object in our solar system that contained a solar mass of gas", and "what physical processes had to occur such that fusion could originate in that solar mass of gas." If you see that those are two quite different questions, then you will see what I was saying. If you cannot, then you won't. $\endgroup$ – Ken G Sep 3 '16 at 17:52
$\begingroup$ Actually, if you read the actual question I posed, I am not at all asking about when a star can form. My question is seeking the maximum metallicity of a material (i.e., gas cloud) that can form a star (which does have a more definite definition than you seem to suggest it does have). $\endgroup$ – Kyle Kanos Sep 3 '16 at 18:30
$\begingroup$ If you look at the literature of "star formation" in astronomy, you will find no mention of fusion physics anywhere. Yet some answers you have received have mentioned fusion, because the definition of "what is a star" often includes fusion somewhere. So are you asking about metallicity effects on fusion physics (like, what is the minimum mass a star needs in order to ever accomplish fusion, which does depend on metallicity but has nothing to do with "star formation" physics), or about the metallicity effects of forming large bright balls of hot gas, which has nothing to do with fusion? $\endgroup$ – Ken G Sep 3 '16 at 19:42
$\begingroup$ That depends on your answer to this: if a ball of gas forms that is as bright as the Sun, but is made of metals that never produce fusion, would you say that a star has formed, or would you say that a star has not formed? Until you clarify that, no one can know how to answer your question. $\endgroup$ – Ken G Sep 3 '16 at 20:04
No, I don't believe there is. Or, describing the scope of my answer, there is no maximum "metallicity" (for any normal mixture of metals) that could prevent a collapsing protostar becoming hot enough in its core to initiate nuclear fusion. (If your question is about the Jeans mass and metallicity, then you could clarify).
What determines whether fusion will ever commence is whether the contraction of the protostar is halted by electron degeneracy pressure before reaching a temperature sufficient for nuclear ignition.
For a solar composition protostar, the critical mass is about $0.08M_{\odot}$. Below this, the core does not attain a temperature of $\sim 5\times 10^{6}$ K that are required for nuclear fusion.
The calculation of this minimum mass depends on $\mu_e$, the number of mass units per electron in the core (which governs electron degeneracy pressure), and on $\mu$, the number of mass units per particle in the core (which governs perfect gas pressure). However, these dependencies are not extreme. In the core of the protosun, $\mu_e \sim 1.2$ and $\mu \sim 0.6$. If we made a metal rich star that had very little hydrogen by number and the rest say oxygen (a.k.a. a star made of water), then $\mu_e \sim 1.8$ and $\mu \sim 1.6$. The minimum mass for hydrogen fusion is given approximately by $$ M_{\rm min} \simeq 0.08 \left( \frac{\mu}{0.5} \right)^{-3/2} \left(\frac{\mu_e}{1.2}\right)^{-1/2}$$
These different parameters would be enough to change the minimum mass (downwards actually) for hydrogen fusion to around $0.012 M_{\odot}$.
We could of course hypothesise a star that was wholly made of metals. A convenient estimate of the minimum mass for carbon fusion is already supplied by stellar evolution models. A $>8M_{\odot}$ star with a carbon core will initiate carbon fusion before it becomes degenerate. The mass is much higher than for H fusion because of the increased coulomb barrier between carbon nuclei. Of course the star also has a hydrogen/helium envelope, but if you replaced this with carbon, then the result will be little changed. Thus you could have a population of lower mass objects that do not become stable "stars". Those with masses of $1.4 < M/M_{\odot} < 8$ would presumably end up detonating as some kind of type Ia supernovae, because they will achieve a density/temperature combination where C can fuse, but in highly degenerate conditions. Lower than that and it becomes a stable white dwarf.
Of course your metal rich "star" could just be a ball of iron, in which case nuclear fusion isn't going to happen and if it is more than $\sim 1.2M_{\odot}$ it will collapse directly to a neutron star or black hole, possibly via some sort of supernova. Lower than that and it becomes a stable iron white dwarf.
It makes sense that there would be a maximum metallicity for fusion. At high enough metallicity, hydrogen atoms are separated mostly from each other by metal atoms, stopping fusion and causing collapse until fusion occurs OR degeneracy pressure supports the star. So if the metallicity is very high, the way I see it, fusion cannot occur due the low concentration of reactant.
Temsia-CarrollaTemsia-Carrolla
$\begingroup$ Do you have any references or calculations to back this up? Otherwise, this isn't that much different from pela's comment (third comment to the question). $\endgroup$ – Kyle Kanos Aug 16 '16 at 11:50
$\begingroup$ Yes, I do have more reasoning. The temperature at which fusion can occur is determined by the frequency of the quantum tunnelling reaction which causes it, which decreases very rapidly with increasing tunneling distance. So fusion would require a fairly high density of reactant, otherwise the reaction would not occur, the core would collapse and it would heat up, lowering the density required. If the temperature reached the point of iron fusion, then the metal would become unstable and photodisintegrate in the temperature, causing collapse. $\endgroup$ – Temsia-Carrolla Aug 16 '16 at 12:35
$\begingroup$ Again, that's basically the same thing as what Pela's comment says. Have you a real computation (not intuition) or a resource that does the computation? $\endgroup$ – Kyle Kanos Aug 16 '16 at 13:02
Technically, the tempretures necessary for star formation is directly proportional to the general heaviness of the atoms in the gas cloud forming it. in other words, stars can be formed out of any kind of atom, notwithstanding how metallic it is, as long as They can reach the high enough temperatures necessary to begin fusion. As we know that stars form when a gas cloud collapses under its own gravity, and the atoms heat up due to friction. Hence, it is theoretically possible for the temperature to keep increasing as the cloud contracts. I do not know if there is a limit to the radius a gas cloud is able to shrink to, but the limit that is necessary here is on temperature. The temperature at which the laws of physics as we know it, begin to break down is the Planck temperature. so, since the general heaviness of the atoms in a forming star is directly proportioinal to the temperature needed to begin fusion, the maximum temperature attainable within the laws of physics must set a limit on the heaviest atom that can be fused in a star. So, yes, there is a limit. What, i do not know.
answered Jan 16 at 6:34
Tac GenisTac Genis
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged astrophysics stars metallicity or ask your own question.
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Can a gas cloud of pure helium collapse and ignite into a star?


text:
Anne Elizabeth Copcutt
15 January 1840–22 March 1927 (Age 87)
New York City, New York County, New York, United States
The Life Summary of Anne Elizabeth
When Anne Elizabeth Copcutt was born on 15 January 1840, in New York City, New York County, New York, United States, her father, John Copcutt, was 34 and her mother, Rebecca Medwin Boddington, was 23. She married Peter Low Hyde on 15 June 1863, in Yonkers, Westchester, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. She died on 22 March 1927, in DeLand, Volusia, Florida, United States, at the age of 87, and was buried in Yonkers, Westchester, New York, United States.
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Learn about Anne Elizabeth's homeland.
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Peter Low Hyde
Marriage: 15 June 1863
Rebbeca Medwin Hyde
Marianna Hyde
John Brewster Hyde
Arthur Edward Hyde
William Herbert Hyde
Franklin Phelps "Frank" Hyde
15 June 1863Yonkers, Westchester, New York, United States
+1 More Child
John Copcutt
Rebecca Medwin Boddington
John Crook Copcutt
Thomas Copcutt
Elizabeth Rebecca Copcutt
John Benham "Johnny" Copcutt Jr
U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico.
Historical Boundaries: 1854: Volusia, Florida, United States
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
Copcutt
English: locative name from Cop Court in Aston Rowant (Oxon).
Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland © University of the West of England 2016
Annie Copcutt in entry for Hyde, "New York, Yonkers, Birth and Death Registration and Indexes, 1875-1916"
Annie E Hyde, "United States Census, 1920"
Anna E Copcutt in entry for Franklin P Hyde and Florence E Reeve, "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936"


text:
function [ RAMONOrig ] = unalignRAMONVol( RAMONAligned, Transforms )
%UNALIGNRAMONVOL Undo alignRAMONVol
% RAMONAligned is the aligned RAMONVolume, Transforms is a containers.Map
% object of the transforms that aligned RAMONAligned. RAMONOrig is the
% original RAMONVolume.

tic

% convert from global to local transforms
Transforms.pairwise = global2localmap(Transforms.pairwise);
Transforms.global = global2localmap(Transforms.global);

% unalign already aligned data using inverse transforms
inverse = 1;
[ unaligned ] = constructalignment(RAMONAligned.data, Transforms, inverse);

% store unaligned data as
RAMONOrig = RAMONAligned.clone();
RAMONOrig.setCutout(unaligned);

toc

end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The US Food and Drug Administration has released new guidelines requiring sunscreen manufacturers to label their products in more clear ways, a move which is sure to help parents choose the best sunscreens for their families. Companies have until the summer of 2012 to implement the new labeling rules, which are meant to help consumers understand the difference between protecting themselves from sunburn and staving off premature aging and skin cancer.
Any product that fails the test will have to carry a warning in a "drug facts" box on the back of the bottle stating that "this product has been shown only to prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging." Products with an SPF lower than 15 will also have to carry that warning.
The American Academy of Dermatology applauded the new regulations. "For the first time, the FDA has clearly defined the testing required to make a broad-spectrum protection claim in a sunscreen and indicate which type of sunscreen can reduce skin cancer risk," said Dr. Ronald Moy, a dermatologist and president of the academy.
Products with an SPF of 15 -- which blocks 93 percent of UVB rays -- will have to provide the same proportional protection against UVA rays. "As the SPF number goes up," said Woodcock, "the UVA protection also has to go up." Thus, an SPF 30 product would be expected to provide more broad spectrum protection as well.
Dermatologists continue to recommend that people use products with an SPF of 30 or more because, Moy said, they often don't apply enough sunscreen -- the equivalent of at least a shot glass is recommended -- or reapply it often enough -- every two to three hours is best.
The new regulations don't allow for listing super-high SPFs like 80 or 90. Instead, these products can be described as having an SPF of "50 plus". "We have no evidence to show that going above an SPF 50 provides any additional benefits," [Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research] said.


text:
A Tale of Two Dormitories: EVGR-A and Mungerville
Jonah Wu
After a lengthy sixteen-and-a-half months away from campus, I was ecstatic when my friends and I drew into the newly-built and much-lauded housing in Escondido Village. Escondido Village Graduate Residences, EVGR, happens to growl at you every time you utter its name Ev(grrr!). But when I heard about the spacious living areas, where bathrooms are as large as frosh dorms, and refrigerators are supersized, I thought we were finally reaping the rewards for enduring GovCo our junior year. How wrong I was! To the poor frosh in Neighborhood F, avoid EVGR at all costs, it may be the end of your dormitory social life.
EVGR is not without its niceties. Having your own odor-free bathroom, plenty of quiet space within your room to work, and a convenient set of kitchen appliances sounds like a pleasant setup. But as the initial excitement fades, it is becoming abundantly clear that the elements of comfortable living which successfully insulate you from your neighbors also isolate you.
Meanwhile, down the California coast, UCSB has recently drawn ire for its approval of Charlie Munger's plans to build a 11-story structure that would house up to 4,500 students, 94 percent of whom would not have windows in their single-occupancy bedrooms. The eccentric and hard-nosed value investor likes to fund university dorm builds and has a philosophy of nudging students out of their rooms into collaborative common spaces to talk, work, and play. Munger Hall at UCSB brings Charlie's perspective to its conceptual end limit, where students will be placed in windowless pod-like structures. The constricting ambiance means to squeeze even the most asocial of undergrads into the commons. If built, UCSB's Munger Hall would be the 8th densest neighborhood in the world, right after Dhaka, Bangladesh. Enraged, an architect on the UCSB's design committee resigned, claiming the approved housing was inhumane.
While Mungerville might evoke the sentiment of an overcrowded prison, EVGR exudes the air of a comatose psychiatric ward. In contrast to Charlie's philosophy, while Mungerville might be overcrowded, EVGR enforces social distancing! The 10-story building houses multiples fewer undergrads per square foot and lacks any decor or warmth to it. A pasty beige glosses over the entirety of the empty halls. Occupancies are more than six feet apart, hallways are more than six feet wide, pretty much every room is more than six feet apart! With the excessive separation, never-ending halls, and its own blatantly prescription-like medicinal name, it is hard not to wonder whether EVGR is a retro-fitted hospital ward as you meander down to your unit.
Beyond this problem of emptiness and utterly unused space, a host of other details compounds EVGR's bent towards isolation. A single small common room is placed on one extreme of the entire floor rather than at the center. Then comes the aptly named "huddles," where students shelter and shield themselves from their neighbors to work on their problem sets. Automatic locks on every single door, for common rooms, huddles, laundry, even the garbage disposal, further imbue the dormitory with a securitizing aura, chilling opportunities for open doors, spontaneous encounters, and friendly chit-chat. To make matters worse, key cards only work on a student's own floor, shutting down opportunities for cross-floor mingling. Perhaps the saddest of all is that after a full quarter of living in EVGR, we still do not know the names or faces of the people living to our immediate right, left and across. We have never met, talked to, or even gotten to say hi to these ostensibly pleasant human beings. A tragedy of this proportion would have been unthinkable in Cedro, my freshman year dorm.
In contrast, Mungerville's floor plans are far more deliberately designed to foster student engagement and collaboration. Shared workspaces greet students right as they exit their bedrooms. In addition to those spaces, each floor is literally surrounded with attractive common rooms, equipped with an open-aired workspace, kitchen and game room. Incredibly, the top floor has been designed entirely for student recreation - fitted with a fitness center, landscaped courtyard, reading/gaming rooms, and pub!
Mungerville's House Plan, Source: Scoping Hearing Presentation on Munger Hall
In the end, Mungerville and EVGR offer two radically different visions for student-living in Universities, but only one makes a legitimate attempt to address the problem of student alienation, loneliness, and lost sociality. Where Mungerville propels people out of their rooms, EVGR sucks them in. Where Mungerville seeks to centralize the commons, EVGR places them at the extremes. Unfortunately, EVGR only seems to accelerate the modern retreat of the individual to interiority, prioritizing their comfort, security, and self-care over connection with neighbors and the outside world.
Can anything be done to fix this sorry state of affairs? In the short term, It seems little is possible, as isolating liturgies were ingrained into the very structure of EVGR. Only student ingenuity and intentionality may turn the tide against this structural bias. Indeed, just prior to winter break, signs of student culture-making and communion began to sprout. Gentlemen on the first floor opened a fun looking coffee shop. A random flyer titled the "EVGR Beautification Project '' appeared! So with a new year ahead, my friends and I will try to say hi, get to know our neighbors, and find a way to make use of these golf-kartable hallways. I hope a few more of us can do the same.
The Case Against the No First Use Policy
In October of last year, a report surfaced claiming that the White House was considering declaring a No First Use policy (NFU), a doctrine in
"Racist, Triggering, Disrespectful" - Stanford RA slams unmasked white students
Late Sunday night, a Stanford student RA in the EVGR dormitory emailed the building's 2,400 residents to warn against a "gross inequity" that


The way to help you Produce some Exclusive Essay Benefits. A couple of essential tips. In summary. Intimacy. The least difficult strategy in order to be able to write an important your own essay or dissertation is without a doubt for you to make use of any traditional sort conditioned in Make up 101: some sort of starting part followed from about three paragraphs outlining two essential areas and even a good last summarizing passage. along with immediately after a primary regulations with syntax along with makeup.


Experts at the Air Force Research Laboratory continue to expand the scope of their technological expertise, rising above the Earth's surface to meet the power needs of next-generation military spacecraft.
A collaborative effort between the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing and Space Vehicles Directorates, the Space Industrial Base Working Group and SolAero Technologies has resulted in state-of-the-art, multi-junction solar cells destined to reduce costs and increase power efficiency for military space applications.
As both military and civilian populations continue to rely more heavily on space-based applications for GPS, communications and more, satellites carrying these payloads require increased power to deliver additional capabilities. Maximizing power while decreasing mass and reducing cost has been an ongoing manufacturing challenge. In addition, the harsh operating conditions of the space environment, with extremes of heat and cold and high levels of radiation, require materials that can endure the volatility over long-term use.
Silicon solar cells, which are primarily used for terrestrial applications, are inexpensive when it comes to solar cell technologies, however, even the most efficient silicon-based solar panels only convert around 20 to 25 percent of sunlight to electricity. Silicon solar cells are extremely sensitive to radiation in space and experience severe efficiency degradation over time.
By contrast, modern spacecraft favor the use of multi-junction solar cells that take advantage of multiple layers of light-absorbing materials, each of which efficiently converts specific wavelength regions of the solar spectrum into energy. These cells, typically grown on germanium substrates, are more efficient than silicon and much more tolerant of radiation in the space environment. However, despite the increased output enabled by these types of cells, increasing payload power needs and limits in mass and volume of next-generation spacecraft require continued development of more efficient, lighter cells of this kind.
To solve the efficiency and mass needs of the space community, a collaboration between AFRL, the U.S. government and industry were launched and ultimately led to the development and refinement of a new cell architecture that takes advantage of an upside-down growth process to manufacture multi-junction cells. The process results in what is called Inverted Metamorphic Multi-Junction solar cells, which are more efficient and a lighter weight than multi-junction cells currently in use.
The process to grow IMM solar cells begins when thin layers of semiconductor materials are deposited on a growth substrate such as gallium arsenide. The entire device is turned upside-down, and the semiconductor materials are bonded to a mechanical handle. The growth substrate, which is now on top, is removed, and processing on the front-end of the device is then completed.
The new IMM solar cells, said Bennington, are able to achieve a 15 percent increase in power when compared with a same-sized array of standard practice multi-junction cells. This enables engineers to decrease the mass and area of a solar array and still achieve the same power, leaving more space for other applications on a space platform.
The advanced solar cells are undergoing testing and qualification to the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics S-111 standard and are expected to be space qualified this year. Recently, two CubeSats, each with 56 IMM solar cells as their only source of power, were placed on orbit, enabling these cells to gain flight heritage.
"This project shows the benefits and success of collaboration across AFRL, the Air Force, and space industrial base. By working together, we create better technologies and ensure the American manufacturing base for the future," concluded Bennington.


Prompt: This week we'd like you to explore romantic heartbreak. For you fiction writers, here's a chance to really delve into the psyche of your character. For you non-fiction folk, well, maybe it's into your psyche you must delve. We all remember that first love, just like we all remember when our hearts broke for the first time. This is fiction.
There was something on my chest. A gargantuan, invisible demon was standing on my chest, it seemed. I could not even take a shallow breathe; the weight of the words fell on me like body blows.
My focus became pinpointed on the idea that I needed. To. Breathe. I would be okay if I could breathe.
"...and I think that this is something that I need to do, for myself. You just don't fulfill my needs anymore. Candace really gets me. She anticipates my wants and she brings them to me. You won't. I will come back tomorrow to get my things, when you aren't here. I can't even stand to look at you anymore. Candace is waiting for me in the car." Scott looked at me, as if he were expecting something.
That angry demon was reaching into my chest and wrapping their hands around my heart. Squeezing. I could feel claws sinking into me. I could not form a coherent thought, so I simply stared, my eyes wide with shock. My eyes were starting to tear from the pain.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Scott's face took on a familiar sneer. He stepped closer.
"Hello! I am breaking up with you! Don't you get it? Don't you have anything to say?"
The patronizing tone snapped me upright, my shoulders back, my chin high. Difficult to manage with claws deeply embedded in my chest, but I did it. I stood tall, even though I felt like crumpling to the floor.
"Well?" another sneer at me, as if I were too stupid to understand, when I understood all too well.
Demon claws squeezed ever tighter.
I walked to the front door and opened it, pretending calm. I could see Scott's Jeep at the curb, a silhouette sitting in the passenger seat.
I should have been angry. I should have yelled, thrown things, punched someone in the face. Instead, I stood there at the open door and showed no reaction at all. I inclined my head toward the door and tried to keep myself breathing, even as my chest seemed to constrict.
"I am so out of here." Scott walked out of my life, disgusted with my silence. I watched him drive off with a squeal of tires. As I locked the door, I was finally able to take that breath I'd been wanting.
Those waiting claws ripped into my heart with the malice of the past ten minutes. I felt as though my heart had been eviscerated, yet it was still beating. The pain threw me to the floor, and my numbed reactions now came spilling out of me, an avalanche of anger, fear, hurt. As I lay there, crying, I could finally speak, and I just needed to say the words.
Nice! The claws clutching her heart while she kept a brave face on really hit home. I came across one of my favorite quotes while writing a research paper on Charlie Chaplin in high school. "Smile while your heart is breaking." I've been holding on to it ever since.
Ugh. So, so painful. I adore the build up, the repeated text, and the heart-breaking ending? Perfectly done.
What a horroble man. I hate it when someone has no compassion at all as they are tearing another person apart. I'm glad she kept silent til he left. One day she can let him when her heart has mended.
"That angry demon was reaching into my chest and wrapping their hands around my heart. Squeezing. I could feel claws sinking into me."
I felt the pain of loss. Great job!