JBQ creator and BQ legend George Edgerly went home to be with the Lord at 6:05PM CST on May 20, 2016.
In reading posts from his friends and family, I wanted to share two of them with you.
Ending my day reflecting on the life of a true modern-day hero of the faith, George Edgerly. I was so moved today in hearing about the impact that one man's life made on this world. More personally, was the impact that he made on my life.
As a shy, introverted 8th grader, I had never heard of Bible Quiz until the year that Park Crest won the national title. That summer I was invited by my friend Kristi Grabill Loper and was welcomed by George Edgerly to join the Park Crest team. That invitation made more impact on my life than I could have ever dreamed.
George was not only my coach, he was my mentor and my friend. From 1992–1997, I grew and thrived under his leadership. George was not just with us during team practices and meets, he also additionally prepared for our in-depth understanding of the books we studied in our Sunday school class. He taught us how to memorize Scripture. He taught us how to use concordances and commentaries. He walked out truth, passionate knowledge of the Word and humble integrity before us every time we studied under his leadership.
George invited us into his life. He gave us community. He gave us friends. He gave us family. He modeled relationship and mentorship by adding us into whatever he was working on. Whether it was working with him in his print shop, cooking with him, quizzing, or traveling on Bible Quiz trips, George lived life with us. And I cannot even imagine the number of times he probably wanted to turn off our loud DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys and more as our team trekked across the country. He never complained. He would just quietly slip an old time radio cassette in the player of the church van and we would be captivated by the stories.
George valued relationship. I can't even accurately remember the amount of times he would invite other teams to join us during practice or at our summer quiz day camp. He would encourage and train other coaches and quizzers around the country. He invested fully in the lives of the people that God placed in his path.
I have always said that a coach reproduces himself in the lives of his quizzers. George was never building a kingdom for himself. He was building the kingdom of his Lord. Bible Quiz wasn't just about memorizing the Word of God and competing. It wasn't just about winning. It was about living out that Word in forever-lives. I found a quote on pentecostalgold.com that states: "Edgerly has been a first-hand witness of the benefits of Bible Quiz. 'It is the appreciation of quizzers and parents that keeps me going,' Edgerly says, 'I have coached 14 career missionaries plus many pastors and pastors' wives. Quiz has gotten a lot of God's kids into God's Word and lots of God's Word into God's kids!'" How many kids the Word of God has been poured into through the life of this man will be a site to behold in heaven!
I loved how Chad Nelson put it: "A spiritual mentor and hero went to be with Jesus today. One of my favorite stories of George was from these two Bible Quiz National Finals plaques. He would say, 'Those are my trophies, and I'm not talking about the plaques.' Yes I, with hundreds and hundreds of others, am one of George's trophies…" So incredibly thankful that I am one, too.
I was changed by the ministry and mentorship of George Edgerly. After graduating from his quiz ministry I went on to coach teams at both Park Crest and Battlefield Assembly, attended Central Bible College for a season to major in Biblical Studies, was in both lay and occupational youth ministry and later moved on to work at the Teen Bible Quiz office of National Youth Ministries with Pastor Bernie Elliot Jr., using skills and training cultivated by George Edgerly.
Just finishing his first year, my oldest son Brady is now being mentored through the ministry of Junior Bible Quiz. Here comes another generation of trophies for Jesus and for George. So tonight, together as a family, we celebrated the life of my beloved coach in true George Edgerly fashion: with pizza and cinnamon rolls. And for my children's birthday party this weekend, they are being gifted with their first old time radio program. I know they will love it as much as I did.
I love you George. There will never be another like you. From the bottom of my heart, a million thank you's cannot even begin to cover your influence on my life. It changed me and it will continue to change the history of my family.
Brother Edgerly was a mentor to so many of us in the BQ community. I myself learned BQ at his feet. Way back as a youth in the 1970's, we would drive from Wichita, KS to Springfield, MO – bringing our sleeping bags to sleep on the Edgerly's living room floor – then practice with the Springfield teams all day Saturday.
Yet more than anything – his entire life exhibited his deep love for the Word of God. He showed us how powerful the Scripture became in our lives when memorized verbatim and planted so deeply within our hearts and minds.
So like many, many others – my heart aches tonight for my own BQ mentor and teacher. Yet I know that Heaven rejoices – Brother Edgerly is Home.


Whirlwind evening, I'm completely exhausted.
We got to the hall about on time, I threw on some clothes, got presented on stage to the audience of competitors and their support teams, found a reed that would play at 442, heard Alex Klein play a moving and stately Poulenc Sonate and played Britten and Lutoslowski to the audience myself I was desperately tired but the nerves kicked in and woke me up thankfully. There is nothing quite like playing to an audience of young oboists that you are about to judge to get your adrenaline flowing. I tried to make the music the thing as always, and be as absorbed in it as I could.
Its so nice they give you flowers here. I was given lots of them after I played, I felt like a singer! I recently threw some from the stage in Bucharest in a brilliant Festival there-just like Simon Rattle did in Japan.
We had a great dinner after the concert with Laszlo Hadady and Alex Klein, fellow judges. Philip Nodel is the Russian Oboist who has done so much to make us welcome here and sorted out many mess ups with visas and plane tickets. He and his wife Varia are so calm and enthusiastic and lovely, they make a great team and its such a relief they are looking after us. Philip is a Professor at the Conservatoire. There is a very young very brilliant team there, led by Alexei Utkin, our other judge. He is one of the greatest Oboists I have ever heard.
First day of first round is tomorrow, I will report what I can.


Award-winning online training provider, Virtual College, will be showcasing its online safeguarding and compliance training resources at the Academies Show.
Ideal for teaching, support and ancillary staff, these training packages are already being used by large and small academies catering for all age groups throughout the UK.
Virtual College will be joined on their exhibition stand by Wayne Oldfield, the Trust Safeguarding Manager at the Greenwood Academies Trust, who will provide a valuable academy perspective on safeguarding training.
Created with input from subject matter experts from within the education sector, Virtual College's engaging online resources can provide a flexible and economical solution for induction and compliance training.
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Local policies, procedures and internal documents can be also uploaded alongside training, while a simple and easy reporting system provides rapid access to evidence of compliance for internal and external requirements, such as Ofsted.
For larger academy groups, Virtual College has created an online audit tool designed to simplify audits and make the process quicker and easier to manage, administer and report on.
Enable Audit from Virtual College is cloud-based so it can be accessed anywhere. It facilitates easy collection of records from a large number of academy sites who can submit records, evidence and action points which are recorded instantly in the centralised audit tool.
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Clear, concise and self-explanatory, it aims to minimise the stress involved in audits by enabling online access for regular updates throughout the year.
Virtual College will be on stand 862 at the Academies Show which will take place at Excel London on 25th April.
Wayne Oldfield is the Trust Safeguarding Manager at the Greenwood Academies Trust. As such, he's responsible for the strategic leadership of safeguarding across the Trust's 32 open Academies, whilst also providing consultancy and support to other multi-academy trusts. In addition to this, Wayne chairs the education sub-group of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board and is a member of a national Leading Safeguarding in MATs Steering Group.
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Virtual College has now helped over three million learners to develop their potential through online training. In this press release we look at what this amazing milestone means for us and for our learners.


Non-stick pans can give off toxic fumes. Make the switch to safer cookware today. Using non-toxic pans is better for your family and the planet.
Paleo, clean eating, organic, natural, vegan, there are a lot of diets out there making big promises. What we eat has become a big deal and even controversial at times. But one very important step in our diet often seems to be forgotten, what we are cooking in.
Even the healthiest of diets can benefit from the use of safer cookware. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) also known as Teflon, a DuPont brand trademark, has been shown to cause some pretty serious health problems.
"Toxic fumes from the Teflon chemical released from pots and pans at high temperatures may kill pet birds and cause people to develop flu-like symptoms (called "Teflon Flu" or, as scientists describe it, "Polymer fume fever"). Ingesting particles that flake off scratched non-stick cookware isn't toxic because solid PTFE flakes are inert.
If you are still using these non-stick pots and pans don't worry, just start a plan to replace them. You don't have to do it overnight, each switch will make a difference.
There are also somethings you can do to reduce the impacts of your current cookware.
1 ) Never put your Teflon pots and pans in the dishwasher. This can cause the non-stick finish to break down more quickly.
2 ) Always use silicone or wood utensils with Teflon, never use metal! Metal can scratch the finish causing it to flake off.
3 ) Replace the pieces with the most damage first. Damaged products are more likely to cause problems so they should be first on your list to replace.
4 ) Avoid using Teflon products with really high heat. This causes even more issues than lower temperatures.
5 ) If you have pet birds, make sure they are not in the room while you are cooking with Teflon pans.
As you are ready to make the switch there are some things to look for. Stainless steel is one great option. It's easy to find and to use. If you want a non-stick pan, look for ceramic, Teflon-free pans or try cast iron. Well-seasoned cast iron is a really good and safe non-stick option.
GreenPan is one very popular brand of ceramic non-stick, Telfon-free pans. I've not used them but I know a lot of people that have them and love them.
This is a set from my favorite stainless steel cookware brand, All-Clad, it's similar to the one I have and love.
Teflon isn't only in our cookware, it's in clothing, fast food wrappers, waffle irons, and more. The Environmental Working Group has a great infographic that will help you avoid Teflon.
Have you switched away from Teflon yet? What are your favorite safer products?
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We have tried to switch all our cookware from Teflan. We use stainless steel, but a lot of things stick in that, so we also got a few Green Pans. They say they are safe, but I still try to use non-metal to avoid scraping them, just in case. Thanks for the suggestions.
The only cookware I use and recommend is cast iron and stainless steel. I don't like the newer cast iron like Lodge as it doesn't work well. I have a skillet that is my favorite made by Wagner. Nothing sticks if you care for it. You can buy old cast iron on eBay. Its pricey with shipping, but its worth it.
You can go on the Internet to learn to care for it.
I plan on getting some good cast iron pans when I have a bit more room. I've used to before when I was living with my parents.
The Green Pans will last longer with non-metal utensils so that's a good choice. With stainless you need a bit of fat or water to keep things from sticking but once you get used to it, it's easier.
If you first heat up the cast iron or stainless pan…then add an oil THEN add your food, they are pretty much stick free.
Thanks for this post! I knew some of these things but there are tid bits I learned and am going to try and implement. Have a great day!
Glad you enjoyed it and learned from it!
I wasn't aware of this, thanks for the recommendation, i'll be making the switch as soon as we can!
Glad I could help! If you have any questions be sure to contact me.
I noticed last week that the teflon was starting to peel in one of our pans. I am so excited he bought me a new cook set from Kirkland of stainless steel pots and pans. This is a great post!
It is Amway is it? A lot of my family has Amway sets and they really have held up well.
Excellent advice, Lisa. Thank you very much for bringing up this important topic. I'm especially fond of cast iron and copper cookware myself.
Honestly I haven't tried copper just because it doesn't go with my kitchen. HA! And I've always used stainless so I'm very used to it.
I am still using the stainless steel cookware I received as a wedding gift 34 years ago as well as some cast iron that was my grandfather's. I got rid of the non-stick pans several years ago.
I'm glad I grew up using stainless and never had to learn to use it after using non-stick.
I am using the stainless steel cookware for years. Thank you for the recommendation. I must know this set is safe for my family's health.
i've tried lots of different types of cookware, and my absolute favorite is Chantal – steel with ceramic lining, and they are fantastic. They are healthy to use, super easy to clean, and cook evenly.


Well I'd like to welcome everyone to Monday's solar webinar series. Good morning everyone or good afternoon where ever you are in the country. Today I'd like to talk about Combi System designs. The Combi Systems are becoming more and more popular these days. Especially when the quality of the collector increases such that you can really harness a considerable amount of energy in the winter time.
So again I'd like to welcome everybody and remind you if you have any questions please feel free to type them in the chat box there. I'll try my best to get to them. I actually have a lot to talk about today. Any of you that know me realize there's always a lot to talk about in solar. So I'll try to keep it to thirty minutes. This is really just an ongoing conversation and this thirty minutes is devoted to Combi System design.
Without further adieu…Over the years these are a few things that we've realized are most important to consider. In terms of the solar fraction often a higher solar fraction of the Combi Systems and the end result is a much longer payback. So thirty to sixty percent…And sixty is a really high solar fraction for Combi System. Generally the solar fractions that are working the best are in the neighborhood of thirty to forty percent are usually the greatest return. As you may know the reason for that is you produce a considerable amount of Btu's in the summer time that you can not use. So now that thirty to sixty percent is pretty typical. You can get a higher solar fraction. But there really needs to be a way for you to utilize rather than just dump. But utilize that extra energy that you produce in the summer time. So right off the bat you should always realize and consider that a Combi System is a supplement. It's just a solar supplementation to your existing fuel source. It supplements it usually in the neighborhood at thirty and at the very high end sixty percent.
Another very important consideration is that there has to be a heat dump or a way to get rid of the excess energy. And I know that many of you know this already. Yet there's still some systems that are over heating. Although you've installed a heat dump has it been designed properly? Is it capable of dissipating the appropriate amount of heat? Fluctuating production levels in some cases I know for New York State for example. We might be producing four times or five times the amount of energy in June then we do in December. So it's very important that we look at the production not the average production or year round production but the production during the summer months.
Also roof size is usually the limiting factor for heating systems. So when you're talking to clients about designing a supplementation solar system. You really have to understand how much solar potential they have on the roof because often for residential systems the roof size is the limiting factor. When you design these systems or choose from some existing designs the ones that are giving us the highest utilization, greatest solar gain are the ones that eliminate as many heat exchanges as possible. I'm going to go through several different design strategies in just a few minutes. And you'll realize that every time we have a heat exchanger we suffer a performance penalty.
Storage volume is probably one of the most important things that you need to properly design. Although your storage is just going to store Btu's that you can dump into your house. It's not as straight forward as that because in many different temperature. Ambient temperatures require different quality Btu's in order to heat your house. So what we're really after is a balance between creating that quality Btu that you need for your heat dissipaters. But also being able to maximize collector efficiency.
So traditionally what happens is the higher the quality the lower the collector efficiencies. So we want to try to identify exactly what that quality Btu is. When I say quality I'm referring to the temperature of the water. Also heat exchangers it can be….You try to design a very simple Combi System using one of the SunMaxx tanks or another type of tank. And you think well I can just add a three way valve and dump it into the house. But the fact is that many heat exchangers inside the storage tanks aren't necessarily large enough to maintain a temperature in your house. Because the Btu load in your house is greater than the heat exchange capacity of that coil. So you have to understand what the heat exchange capacity is and also the flow rate.
I just realized I've been talking for five minutes and haven't had any confirmation. Would somebody please just confirm that they can hear me talk?
Now another consideration is the angle…Okay good. Thanks Jamie. Now when you install the collectors you can fluctuate the performance directly by changing the angle. But unlike PV we typically set the angle once at a fixed angle. So you have to realize what it is that you're trying to do. If you're trying to create heat in the winter time then you really should set your angle at latitude plus fifteen degrees. The difference in performance although it's relatively small every little bit helps. So for example if I have a angle my roof at forty five degrees and I want a nice flush mount for aesthetic appeal versus a fifty seven degree pitch. I can expect to lose less than ten percent performance. Probably even closer to five percent loss. But five percent loss might mean several hundred dollars a year. So you have to consider the aesthetic appeal but also the losses in efficiency. And your sales rep can help you determine what those losses will be. And exactly how many Btu's are you sacrificing for the aesthetic appeal.
Lastly and probably the thing that's going to thread this entire next twenty three minutes together is that low temperature systems have the highest solar yield. Hands down. So there's a few things that you can do to lower that temperature requirement beyond replacing your entire heating system. But whenever you have the situation that requires low temperature you can get in the neighborhood of forty to fifty percent more energy out of you collectors over the course of the winter with such a system.
Okay just to do a quick little review the types of heating systems. You have radiant, the forced hot air and radiant base board. Radiant in floor heat is the lowest temperature of those three. So we see a higher utilization from our solar collectors when we have in floor radiant or sub floor radiant. I'll talk about that in a few minutes too. Sub floor and in floor are both low temperature. In some cases with a concrete floor we can do ninety to ninety five degrees perhaps even less in the floor to maintain temperature. Where as radiant baseboard often needs one hundred forty and one hundred sixty degree temperature and even higher. So radiant baseboard although very popular in the US and relatively efficient becomes one of the least heating systems for solar tie in.
Forced hot air works well although it's a very inefficient way to heat your house because of the expansion and contraction of the air inside the house. It does have a quick recovery rate so the furnace turns on and the house can heat up in five minutes. Well what happens there is the house will expand. Then as it cools off it's going to contract and naturally contraction is going to create a low pressure and it's going to pull cold air in from the environment. Which causes the furnace to kick back on. One good thing about forced hot air with solar is that if you can adjust the fan speed it gives us a much larger degree of temperature range that we can tie into. We can blow a hundred degree air on the house as long as it's not going to high above the speed. So that gives a lower temperature which means higher utilization on the solar.
Just real quick as far as storage capacity. Okay just to throw it out there some of you maybe familiar already. But we typically size up our storage volume anywhere from one to three gallons per foot squared. But in order to determine what ratio we're shooting for we have to know what the temperature requirement is. So storage capacity is completely dependent on first the temperature requirement. Secondly it's dependent on the size of the collector array. So for high temperature also means high quality Btu we tend to be on the low end of that ratio. And lower temperature on the higher end.
Now with baseboards the efficiency of the baseboard makes all the difference in the world. You can get some standard thin copper but what happens with this is it works very well at high temperatures but it doesn't work well at all at low temperature. In fact if I send a hundred and twenty degrees through my thin copper. I'm only going to be able to dump thirty percent of the Btu's into my house then I would if I was sending two hundred degree Fahrenheit water through the thin copper. This is a standard single thin copper run. There's several different styles of baseboard and obviously the style that works the best with the solar is the one that operates at a lower temperature. You can see the Btu output of per foot with a sixty five degree air temperature. As the temperature increases we get exponential increase in our Btu output.
One thing that you can do with regard to an existing non-modulating boiler is you can add…For example Techmar makes an outdoor ambient reset boiler control 256. What this is going to do is compare the outdoor ambient temperature relative to the necessary temperature indoors. And it's going to re-adjust through some logarithms the necessary temperature of the fluid in the heat dissipaters. So as temperature decreases outdoors the solar utilization increases. And conversely as temperature decreases outdoor the solar utilization decreases.
So what this will do is look and see outdoors if the temperature is say forty degrees well if a boiler is normally set at a hundred and seventy degrees. Then the boiler's going to kick on at a hundred and seventy regardless of the outdoor temperature. An outdoor ambient reset is going to allow you to utilize your solar field for a much longer period of time. Especially during those shoulder seasons at the end of fall and the beginning of spring. Because without a modulating boiler or without an outdoor ambient reset the solar will not work unless it meets the set point of the boiler. What this does is it automatically adjusts the set point of the boiler relative to outdoor air temperature.
So this is one of those holistic approaches to reducing and conserving your energy load. This is one of those components that can really save a homeowner the payback on one of these the installation might be one winter season. So it not only does it by itself independently reduce their fuel bill. But it also in conjunction with the solar field it increases utilization. So you get a positive feedback mechanism with an outdoor ambient reset. There's a lot more I can go into it but I'm really just trying to shoot for a half hour discussion.
Just to remind you if you have any questions I'm happy to help you out afterwards or point you in the right direction for some more resources.
Heat emitters most radiant heat emitters operate at low temperature. Relatively low temperatures especially the newer ones. The ones we're bringing over from Germany and Austria. They've been operating at lower temperatures for quite some time. They tend to be a bit more expensive. In floor heated slab with a low resistant covering or no covering at all is going to give you the lowest temperature. So you get the same amount of heat delivered into the house at a lower temperature. So the low quality Btu is less expensive. A thin slab on a floor is the next second best thing.
I'm getting a message that the video is frozen. I can't really….I'm going to have to continue because I don't know if that is the case for everybody. But if for some of you that have technical difficulties this is being recorded so you can always access it again as it is being presented now.
One thing we discovered is when it comes to in floor radiant systems. For example concrete the concrete is your thermal mass. And it's your battery in a sense. So a six inch slab of concrete compared to water it takes about seven square feet. Seven square feet of six inch concrete to store the same amount of energy as six gallons of water. So if we're designing a heating system and I look at the storage volume. Say I have a storage volume of four hundred gallons. Well four hundred gallons what that really means is that same amount of energy can be stored in seven hundred square feet of concrete slab. Which is a pretty small space. In that same line of thinking we realize that with concrete radiant floor the storage tank really only serves as a buffer. It doesn't do much for storing energy because all the energy we produce can be stored directly in the floor. So often in knowing that you can get a higher utilization from your collectors with low temperature heat emitters. And some cases it may make sense to replace or supplement your existing heat emitters with low temperature heat emitters. And when done in conjunction with a solar array there's other tax breaks that you maybe eligible for as well by replacing your heat emitters.
Let's take a look at a couple of examples of Combi System design. This first one is forced hot air. Most people maybe not you folks that are listening now. But most people don't realize that we can take solar energy in liquid form off of the roof and dump it in through the air with a forced hot air furnace. Now one important note is that on the return plenum or the cold air return comes into the furnace is open and in this case we put the hydronic coil on the supply plenum. You can also put the hydronic coil on the return plenum. Some people have their cooling coil or their AC coil that's taking up the space. So if you need to this hydronic coil can also go on the return. The only drawback is you're going to be running hot air across your fan. There's some speculation as to the longevity of your fan as it relates to having hot air rather than cold air move across it.
Just looking at this real quick what we have is two heat exchangers on that solar tank. One heat exchanger on the bottom solar loop then the top coil is tied into the hydronic coil. That circulator between the tank and the hydronic coil will only activate when the set point. The set point of our…This thermostat right here if you can see this top thermistor on the solar tank. When that registers a temperature above the set point of the blower. Then this circulator will kick on if there's a load. So all we have to do is re-wire the contacts in the furnace. So that when the thermostat calls for heat this takes priority. The solar tank takes priority and the circulator kicks on. When this circulator is on then the fan is one. So the fan actually receives a current from two relays. One relay is in parallel with this pump so that when the pump is one then the fan is on. The second relay is the same relay that fires the furnace. So when the solar tank is not up to temperature the circulator is off which causes the burner to kick on. Which will in turn cause the blower to kick on.
Notice where you're also using the storage tank as a hot and cold water. So the cold water comes into the bottom and as it passes through here to the diverting valve. This is an on demand modulating water heater. As the water passes into this diverting valve if the water is up to temperature already then the water continues on its normal path up to the load. As it reaches the diverting valve and it's less than desired temperature then the hot water is diverted up into this on demand modulating boiler. Which picks up the slack and then dumps it out to the load. So from a single storage tank we're tying in a furnace and a modulating boiler.
I do realize that I'm going to go through these diagrams pretty quickly. Please remember to always access these they're available to you and we can help you afterwards.
Here's another example where we have some space heating circuits that are zoned off. There's a manifold valve actuators on each of the zones. In this case we brought the exchanger outside…External heat exchangers do have a higher efficiency of heat transfer then internal heat exchangers. The drawback is that they do require a second pump.
Now there is occasionally some mineralization in on demand and other types of heat sources. So if you have a particularly hard water one of the first things if you haven't done already is you want to try to treat that water. Many people for example Peter uses a primary secondary piping to prevent mineralization of the on demand. Now that's a whole other topic all together. Perhaps I can do a webinar on secondary primary piping to avoid mineralization.
I want to get through this real quick. Now this external heat exchanger requires that second pump. This is pump is going to be tied in parallel with this pump. So when this pump is on P1 then P3 is going to be on pulling heat out of the top of the tank through the heat exchanger. Just like the diverting valve in the previous diagram. As the return passes through this heat exchanger to the diverting valve if it's up to temperature then its gong to send the flow back out to the zones. Okay which is going to be delivered by this pressure regulating circulator and these actuators will open to their corresponding zones. If the temperature at this point after the heat exchanger is not up to temp it's going to run up into the boiler. Where the boiler will pick up the slack and then dump it out. Notice the close spaced tees. These basically promotes a hydraulic separation as it appears this pump one and pump two appear to be in series. But they don't work against each other nor do they work with each other. Because of these closely spaced tees separate hydraulically these two pumps.
So one of the common things that you're going to see in all of these are a three way diverting valve. Three way diverting valves are easy to use. They run off a simple relay in most of the controllers. Certainly the controllers that SunMaxx offers.
Now this next diagram is similar to the one I just showed you. The only difference is if we go back real quickly. In this case we're using a heat exchanger between our solar tank and our heat zones. In this picture in this diagram we're using a heat exchanger between our domestic hot water and a solar tank. Now this is very effective way to tie your domestic hot water into a storage tank. This storage tank contains the fluid that's being delivered to the heat zones. Okay in this case we're using low temperature panel radiators with thermostatic mixing valves in each room. So the difference just to repeat myself is that in the previous slide we have a heat exchanger externally that separates the heat load with the solar tank. In this diagram we're using the entire volume of fluid in the tank being delivered to the heat load.
Basically you suffer less performance penalty because the differential between the heat load and the solar tank is much less then the differential between the cold water supply and the solar tank. So in a sense you get a better heat transfer through this heat exchanger on the domestic side then you do in this previous picture using the brace plate to separate the solar and the heat.
Now this diagram is probably the single best way because we see one heat exchanger here and that's for your domestic supply. This is a drain back system. Yes, in the previous slide Don just to go back real quick. This heat exchanger is used for the domestic supply. One thing I didn't mention is there needs to be a flow switch if you're going to use a heat exchanger on the domestic side. Because this flow switch will activate the circulator that's going to pull this circulator here…Pulls out of the storage tank under two conditions. One if there's a load and the tank is up to temperature. The second condition is when there's flow on this cold water side as indicated by the flow switch.
Now back to the drain back system. If you notice the fluid that we're sending through the collectors in this schematic is being delivered to the house. So the energy that we make is being swept away through the heat transfer fluid. Being stored temporarily in a buffer tank. Then being delivered to the zones. This situation is very similar to what I showed you before. We're pulling off the top of the tank using a three way diverter valve. If the temperature meets the requirement then the flow continues out to the zones and is delivered by this pressure regulator circulator. If the temperature is not up to the set point then the three way valve will send the return up into the boiler. The boiler being modulating will pick up what it needs to and dump ten, twelve, twenty degrees back into the loop. Then it will send if off into the zones.
Well I just had a comment regarding air pads. So regarding this particular set up here perhaps you could elaborate the…I'm not familiar with an air pad. But what we do have here is the drainage of this because of this air pressure control valve. So when these circulators shut off the air is going to rise up the small narrow diameter tube into the collectors. Which is going to cause all the fluid to drain into this pressurized storage tank. Now the coil inside the storage tank is transferring the heat into the domestic supply. So just based on flow no need for a flow switch. As the fluid enters the coils it's being delivered right out of the tanks. So the only exchange that we have in this setup is the coil.
Yeah, I just did have a note regarding air pads. So if anybody would like to comment on an air pad. More than happy to take a moment. Otherwise we're going to keep on moving forward here.
Now heat dumps you definitely need to have some type of a heat dump. If you have a pool you're in good shape. Good so this air will not leak out of the drain back system. This is a closed loop drain back. There's no where for air to escape. This bubble of air right here is essentially going to be nitrogen. If it is nitrogen then we know we have a closed loop drain back. The reason its nitrogen is because any of the oxygen that's been in the system will be oxidized and the remainder of that air will be nitrogen. So with a closed loop system this air bubble is trapped by the force of those pumps right there. Those pumps are trapping the air in here. Once those pumps shut off then the air can escape back up into the collectors. But there's no where for the air to go. This air is going to be in the tank or it's going to be in the collectors.
PSI is entirely dependent on the head that you have in the system. It's dependent on the flow. It's dependent on the pressure drop. PSI is not to exceed ninety. In a situation like this you're going to need at least one atmosphere. So anywhere to fifteen to ninety PSI.
In the event that leaks occur somewhere and you have some problem. Then hopefully this little air release will allow for any of the extra air that was…Eventually when the air comes into the system it's going to work its way into this bubble. This bubble will displace any of the fluid that's left up in the collectors as long as they've been pitched properly. But that's a whole other discussion. In fact I think we're going to do a drain back webinar soon. So I'm definitely going to make note of that and discuss the air elimination strategy.
Now sizing heat dump real quick. You have to understand what the maximum production is going to be. The magic number for maximum production per square foot of standard thermal collectors both flat plates and evacuated tubes is 300 Btu's per hour. So knowing that I have three hundred Btu's per hour maximum production in June. You size up a heat dump relative to the square footage of your collector. For example if I have a hundred and twenty square feet times three hundred Btu's an hour I need a heat dump that's capable of the thirty six thousand Btu's an hour. Now that's not a very big heat dump. Most heat dumps in standard hydronic coils like this are going to be good for. Even a small one is forty to fifty thousand Btu's an hour.
I want to show you the picture maybe you're familiar with a butler max over temperature unit. These are not recommended for Combi Systems as they aren't as much a heat dump as they are a heat dissipater. Now let me just clarify the difference. A heat dump is something that's going to actively dump excessive amount of energy out of the loop. These are a very effective insurance in any event that your pump shuts off and it protects your glycol from burning and turning acidic. But it's not an operational component you should rely on to dump excessive amounts of energy out of your system.
Now here's another example of a heat dump the swimming pool. As you notice on this diagram we're using again a three way diverting valve. Now this three way diverting valve is going to be drawn off of a relay from the controller. And it essentially heat exchanger is in parallel with your solar storage tank. So when your solar storage tank is up to temperature as indicated by the differential controller. The three way valve will automatically open. Now many of your controllers have thermostatic functions as well as differential functions. So in this case you're going to use your differential controller's thermostatic function. That is once this sensor at the top of the tank reaches one hundred and seventy five degrees. Whether the solar loop is running or not it's automatically going to send voltage to this valve. Which is going to open it towards the shallow tube heat exchanger side. What that's going to do if your solar circulator is still running. Your supply side of the collector is going to pass through the shallow tube and you're going to bypass the storage tank. Now pools take a tremendous amount of Btu's. So rarely is a pool unable to handle the Btu load produced. But to play it safe you should still understand the maximum production.
Another way to size up a pool in terms of a heat dump is you want a one square foot of pool for every square foot of collector. If you're less than that then you're good to go. If you're more than that then you should consider an extra heat dump. So one square foot of surface area to one square foot of area for the pool collector to pool 1:1 you should be good or less.
Now in terms of storage tank. One thing I want you to notice here is that the solar fraction begins to drop off as you increase your storage tank size. So the recommendations that we make in terms of storage tank size relative to your collector field. Is completely dependent on your temperature requirement. As I mentioned before the lower the temperature requirement the larger the storage tank volume. But you reach a point where the storage tank volume becomes a hindrance to your total system efficiency because of all the losses. The thermal losses through conduction and radiation out of your storage tank become a hindrance to your total system efficiency.
Although there's a lot of different ideas and schools of thought in terms of storage tank. One thing's for sure as you approach four to five gallons of storage per square foot of collector. The system efficiency will begin to drop. Solar fraction will also drop. It won't continue to increase like this and you do see the relationship. So what you need to do is try to find and pinpoint where that intercept is. And that intercept is dependent on your temperature requirement.
Another consideration is that your storage capacity can fluctuate. So we try to design systems that have fluctuating storage capacities whether we use two tanks or we maximize the stratification of one tank. And play with the stratifications so that in a sense we can have two storage tanks inside one storage. Because your production changes all the time as does your consumption. It's not as straight forward relationship. So most heat exchangers are going to operate at about fifty percent for external heat exchangers and internal heat exchangers often times or even less than that.
So here's an example where you can design a system with two storage tanks to fluctuate the volume. These are in parallel off of the same solar loop. With a Combi System controller you have the ability to not only energize your solar loop and your re-circulation loop and have a high temperature shut off. You can have freeze protection and a Btu meter and variable speed drive. But you also want to be able to control your diverting valves. Those diverting valves not only tie into heating systems effectively but they can also be tied to multiple tanks. So whether you do multiple tanks in series or in parallel as shown here. So we have tank prioritization going on where the domestic hot water is taken care of for. The tank to your left or anatomical right is the domestic hot water tank. Once that tank is up to temperature the diverting valve will automatically send the solar fluid into the bottom coil of the second tank. Any surplus energy is then used to tie into heating system using the conventional method that I showed you before.
The controllers that are used for Combi Systems are slightly more complex then your standard domestic hot water controller. Well, Don this would be an example where you're not using glycol. Some systems are just using water and they're circulating from the storage tank up to the roof at night when the temperature drops below thirty five. Its sacrifices estimated of ten to fifteen percent of your annual production. But some places some clients don't want to use glycol at all. That gives you an ability to do that.
The IntellaMaxx Combi Plus has twelve sensors. It allows you to tie into nine different. I has nine different functionalities. So it has pump logic and also valve logic. So we can control several different heating system, domestic hot water system, pumps and dump loops.
So here's an example I know you can't see this. I took it right out of the manual for the IntellaMaxx Combi Plus. Just to point out though the important take away here is there's several different arrays that you choose from. When you're designing your Combi System try to stick with what we know works. So you might download our Combi Plus manual just to get an idea of what types of strategies you can use for a heating system. So I think that's an important point and I'm going to repeat it. If you go to sunmaxxsolar.com you can find this manual. Download the Combi Plus manual just to see what the possibilities are so you have a framework that you're working within. And try to design systems based on what works and what already works. I know many of you like to think out of the box which is a great thing. If you do come up with a great idea that you want to try out. Please consult one of your SunMaxx representatives or our engineering design team. Just to get a feel for how well we think it's going to work and if there's any drawbacks to it.
So basically for Combi System you want to pick one of these arrays that seems to represent what you're trying to do. It can be tweaked and modified a little bit. But you want to stick with… These systems have been proven and tested for many years in Europe. That's how the controllers have been designed around systems that were working properly. So the functionality of the Combi Plus represents tried and true methods of Combi System layouts in Europe. I want to leave you with this website if you download the pdf it's hyperlinked. The website is solarage. It's www/solarage.com. What solarage is it's basically case studies of European Combi Systems and there are hundreds of large scale, small scale, residential and commercial Combi System designs. Solar fractions detailed at post installation analysis and a lot of software was used to describe the performance of these. Your clients might want to see it as well. So I strongly encourage you to check out solarge if you are inclined for some case studies, analysis of these systems having been installed and maintained in Europe for a long time.
I've gone over a little bit. But I would like to thank you for your attention. I want to remind you to visit solarwebinars.com for any archives. I did go a little bit fast. This Combi System is really a day or two or three days of discussion and training. The solar webinar series is designed to really just help you out and answer some questions that you have. To stimulate thought and really get you thinking. Really bring everyone together on the same page and be a resource for everyone. I'm always open for future suggestions for future webinars.
I'm doing one today on drain back systems. So thanks Pete for those recommendations. I'm interested to learn more from you about the side arm heat analysis. So thanks again everyone I hope you have a great solar day. The weather is turning a little bit maybe that's the best for some of you. But here in upstate New York it typically means low solar production and cold weather. So I'm trying to make the most of it. Have a great solar day everyone. Take care.


The buzzwords and catchy phrases such as "informed consent" are nothing more than deception, as still give lobotomies. See more detailed opinions by reading what Senator From Kentucky offers on the topic.. In one case, they did so without informing the person who just died in 2005. Mark Francis Mondimore writes a book called "Depression, the Mood Disease 'updated in 1993 by the Johns Hopkins University presented the lies of this machine that Ivan Illich (in' limits of medicine ') identified as" mechanical and over-professionalization "in the 70s.Here half century is the exaggeration of his lapel:" The new version of 'The depression, mood disease "tells readers exactly what you need to know about the causes, symptoms and treatment of depression: antidepressant medications * How it was discovered, how they work, and what side effects. (I'm biting my tongue!) * What Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and panic attacks, and how they are treated. * How to electro-convulsive therapy has changed for the better – and why now works for a maximum of 90% of patients.
(and all the professions involved in continuing to provide this terrible horror to be repeated, as he continues frying brain cells. Now, at random, due to the combination of medication, so that the libido of people and burn the skin too much.) * How are the specific problems of depression in children and the elderly. * How to deal with a depressed friend or family member. * How to disorders such as hormonal imbalance, and even lead poisoning can "mimic" the symptoms of depression. * Why depression is sometimes misdiagnosed as "premenstrual syndrome, drug abuse, or Alzheimer's disease …" (2) The future holds plenty of promise and terror in the implementation of "easy" answers as drugs developed for specific genetic and nano-ups to monitor and manage targeted drugs or shock to the system so that we behave as we should.


Molds are essential in an eco-system because they help in breaking down organic matter. However, they are awful to human beings; molds like brown mold, Pink Mold, and Black Mold are ugly. Besides, allowing molds to grow in your house has significant health impacts. Molds trigger asthma attacks, headaches, rashes, and allergies. Molds can also lead to blood poisoning and brain infections.
Irrespective of the color, molds should be removed as soon as they are visible. Just like fungi, molds grow in damp conditions. The spores thrive in moist surfaces; they can grow on any organic surface as long as it is wet.
Brown mold is a combination of mold species that grow on wood, walls, and tiles. Brown molds can be a sign of leakage and water problems. It is important to note specific features of brown mold and its effects.
If you have dark patches on hard surfaces appearing in clusters around your house, you are likely a victim of brown mold infestation. The mold looks fuzzy with minute fungal growths but may not be always brown. Depending on the type of brown mold in your house, the color may range from tan, dark yellow, to black.
Most of the common brown mold species are blackish but the intensity of the color varies with the surface they grow on. For example, when they grow on a dark background, they appear black but under a microscope, they are brown in color. It would be impossible to classify the type of mold invading your house just by looking at them. You need lab analysis to determine theexact type.However, it is more important to get rid of any type of mold you find instead of testing.
All types of brown mold have an unmistakable unique musty smell. They also release small but visible spores to the air.
The most common types include;Taeoniella, Pithomyces, Chartarum, and aureobasidium pullulans. Stemonitis is the most common type of brown mold found in the bathroom.
Experts discourage spending time learning about the different species. There are an excess of 1.5 million mold species anyway. The most important thing to do is find the leakages or other causes of moisture and safely rid your house of the harmful fungi.
Brown mold is common in bathrooms because of moisture. It might also be because of leakage problems in a bathroom. The mold often looks like small blobs. While the only way to be certain with the type is by lab testing, brown mold is easily identified with fuzzy growth.
Brown mold originates from wood. Therefore, you may not find it on the surface of your ceramic or tiles in a bathroom. Usually, it originates between tiles, corners, windowsills, and floorboards. Some bathroom carpets also create a good ground for growth of brown mold.
Wood is the perfect environment for growth of brown mold. In moist conditions, wood tends to become soft. The damp environment, especially in dark areas of the house guarantees growth of mold. It doesn't matter whether the wood is indoors or outside a building. Whenever wood is exposed to water, there is a high likelihood of brown mold growth.
Wood in bathroom, in the kitchen, in your backyard are common brown mold locations. Also, if you have wooden poultry house, you are likely to find brown mold on the edges.
Walls are known habitats for brown mold. While it is common on the outside walls, brown mold can also be inside the house. Typically, basement and ceilings are dark and damp. This is enough for growth of molds. Actually, brown molds start on the inside walls and grow spreading to the outside. If you do not check the corners of your walls regularly, you will only notice the discoloring on your outside wall.
Usually, brown mold appears as dark spots. However, the appearance depends with maturity level. At advanced stages, you may witness mushroom-like growths on your wall.
Mold on walls is common in buildings with poor lighting and leakage problems. Molds are also common in old properties. If a house has been vacant for a long time, the walls are bound to grow mold. This is because of exposure to weather elements as well as poor lighting.
Ceilings are common locations of brown mold. Typically, ceilings are dark and often damp. While ceilings heat up during summer, this is only few months that cannot hinder existence of mold. Besides, the ceiling will still be dark.
How many times do you check/clean your ceiling? Probably you have never checked on your ceiling since ducts and the roof were installed. You will be surprised with the life in your home.
Just like all other mold colors brown molds have significant effects on your health, especially if you expose your body to the conditions for a long time. The answer to your allergies and irritation might be in the ceiling.
Seal any roof leakages to reduce growth of brown mold in the ceiling. Of course, you cannot light up the ceiling meaning you cannot completely get rid of mold. The only solution is regular cleaning.
Getting rid of brown mold (also another mold like Yellow Mold or Orange Mold) involves similar steps as other types of mold. They all grow with spores in similar conditions. After noticing dark spots and fuzzy growth on your wall, ceiling, or wooden surfaces you need to ascertain they are mold before embarking on the removal process.
Also, the extent of growth determine removal techniques. When brown mold matures and spreads, you might need to consult with experts on suitable removal procedures. In this case, contact a mold remediation service.
Large-scale brown mold infestation can be difficult to handle hence need of special equipment and detergents. Check with your insurance if it covers mold cleaning. You might need to find a temporary place of stay during the cleaning process.
• Wear disposable mask and gloves. If possible, get a goggle.
• Remove carpets and any materials that absorb water.
• Mix a bottle cap of bleach and detergent in three containers of water. Scrub the mold infested area vigorously and let it dry. Repeat the process three times.
• Add hydrogen peroxide or vinegar to water and vigorously scrub the mold surfaces. Repeat the process at least three times. Let the surface dry between scrubbing intervals.
• Be sure to collect all brown molds in double bags and dispose them as far as possible from the house.
• Avoid these removal techniques if you have asthma or allergy.
Molds are bound to come by if your house is poorly lit and damp. If you are moving to a new house, you had better learn of some mitigation practices to avoid unnecessary allergies and irritation. If you've had experience with molds and successfully removed, you know the hassle. It is better to prevent than wait for removal, which costs you time, money, and exposes you to health risks.
Increase the number of ventilations in your bathroom and kitchen. Any areas that are exposed to high moisture level should be well ventilated. Proper air circulation decreases risks of brown mold growth. Fresh air replaces too much moisture, which is a condition for mold growth.
Check and fix any leakage problems around the house. Some cracks on walls and ducts maybe hidden and would require an expert for proper diagnosis. Also, check on any plumbing malfunctions.
If you at the construction stage, position the windows strategically to ensure all corners of the house are well lit. While you can compensate with artificial light, nothing beats sunlight in fighting molds. Proper lighting guarantees you a mold free environment.
Some areas have high humidity levels. If you are living in such conditions, the least you can do is installing a humidifier. High humidity creates a favorable condition for brown mold growth.
Of course, brown mold is ugly and smelly. The dark brown species is often mistaken for the toxic black mold. Brown mold is not harmful. The magnified fear of this mold in homes is unnecessary. Brown mold just like other types of mold can damage structures and devalue property. This does not amount to it being toxic.
However, living in a mold-infested house for a prolonged period exposes you tohealth risks. Brown mold releases spores, which are related to allergies and irritation, especially for asthmatic people.
It is common for people living in mold-infested environments to experience consistent sneezing, coughing, sore throat, runny nose, and wheezing breath among other asthma signs. Babies are also predisposed to major health risks in houses with brown mold infestation.
The elderly and people with immunity challenges should avoid such environments.
Most likely, you have come across mold in your shower curtains, bathroom floor, or basement. You have certainly heard of harmful effects of mold and relating health risks. By now, you know that mold thrives in dark and humid conditions. But do you know it takes less than 2 days for mold to grow? There are probably many things you do not know about molds; it is important to familiarize with some facts about molds to create a pleasant and healthy living environment.
Here are some things you need to know.
1. Brown mold growth is a sign of plumbing problem. Spores only develop in excessive moisture; once you notice molds in your house, there must be water problems and you need an expert.
2. Mold remains hidden for a long time. In dark and high humid environments, molds can grow within 24 hours. However, the dark spots will be seen several days later after the spores have matured. It is important to be keen on details of your wall like musty odor and mysterious wall damage and act fast on the mold.
3. Mold requires organic food and moisture. Probably you have an idea of where brown mold develops. It decomposes organic material and uses it as food for growth of spores. Organic material in a home includes carpet, wood, fabric, paper, leather, upholstery, drywall, and paint. Any excess moisture on any of these surfaces triggers growth and spread of brown mold. Steam from shower, leaking pipes or roofs are some of the moisture sources that cause mold growth.
4. Some home insurance plans exclude mold cover. While most of home insurance plans take care of mold removal, the service conspicuously misses in some. Be sure to check on your insurance plan. Besides, some insurance companies only cover depending on cause of the mold.
5. Getting rid of brown mold, White Mold, Red Mold, Green Mold or other kind of mold is difficult. Most removal techniques are temporal; you might need to replace the affected surfaces for complete removal of brown mold.
6. You can prevent mold growth. Proper air circulation and proper lighting decrease risk of brown mold growth.
7. Mold is useful. Itis used in manufacture of drugs like Penicillin; it also helps with recycling organic matter into the environment.


I was searching for a Property and found this listing (MLS® #19453224PS). Please send me more information regarding 1970 S Joshua Tree Pl, Palm Springs, CA, 92264. Thank you!
I'd like to request a showing of 1970 S Joshua Tree Pl, Palm Springs, CA, 92264 (MLS® #19453224PS). Thank you!


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Region IV Director
Dr. Kimberly R. Lane
Senior Director for Magnet and Curriculum Enhancement Programs | Wake County Public School System
Dr. Kimberly R. Lane currently serves as the Senior Director for Magnet Curriculum Enhancement Programs in Wake County Public School System (NC). Previously, Dr. Lane worked as the Director of Advanced Academics & Magnet Programs in Durham (NC) Public Schools (2018-2020) and Program Manager of Magnet Schools & Gifted Education in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (2012-2018). Dr. Lane also worked in school administration at the high school and elementary levels, taught middle school Language Arts/Social Studies, and was a Career and Technical Education high school teacher. She even tutored 3rd – 5th grade students while staying at home with her young children. Dr. Lane is a mother to three adult children and grandmother to a new granddaughter.
Dr. Lane began working with magnet schools over ten years ago as an Early College High School principal (NC), and has extensive experience working with Magnet Schools of America in public school districts across her region. This is her second term as MSA Region IV Director. Kimberly has written, received, and implemented several state and national grants, as well as served as an MSA Merit Award reader and the U.S. Department of Education Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant reviewer.
Dr. Lane spent more than a decade in training and development in the corporate world prior to joining the educational community. During her tenure in education, she has presented at national and regional conferences including the MSA and the National School Boards' Association national conferences; consulted with Brown University, New England Equity Assistance Center; served as a panelist for the Congressional Briefing, Teacher Quality Partnership Grant; was part of a core pilot team for creating the NC STEM school recognition; explored educational experiences in Finland and Estonia, N.C. State Graduate Program; and, received the Wilcox-Hodnett Doctoral Fellowship in Educational Leadership at N.C. State University. Dr. Lane researched strategic visioning for magnet programs as part of her doctoral program.
Dr. Lane holds the Education Specialist license from N.C. State University; a Masters in School Administration from Appalachian State University; and, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Journalism from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She received her Teacher Licensure Education, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and received her doctorate at N.C. State University.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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First 5 LA - Parents Sound Off on Governor's Budget
Home » Programs & Resources » Resources » First 5 LA - Parents Sound Off on Governor's Budget
When Michelle Catalan moved from Los Angeles to Orange County, she discovered that the nearby preschool had an impossibly long waiting list for her then 4-year-old daughter, Evana. Nor were there any preschool slots available near her work as a cashier. After a couple of months searching for early education, the 21-year-old mother made a choice.
"I didn't want my daughter to be out of school," she recalled, "so I gave up my job and moved back to L.A. where I was able to place her in preschool."
Meanwhile, Jovita Garcia was riding four buses back and forth through Los Angeles just to take her 4-year-old daughter to preschool.
"On the days I didn't have money to pay for the bus rides, she didn't attend preschool," Garcia, now 45, recalled. "The administration would call me and say that if she didn't attend I would have to give away her space. I asked them to help me find other options closer to home but they couldn't give me any."
Garcia, a member of Best Start Metro LA, was left with only one choice: rearrange her life so that her daughter could attend preschool from 3:15 to 6:45 p.m. Said Garcia: "I don't like the schedule but it's the only option I have."
With months-long waiting lists and the distance between available preschool slots measured over multiple bus routes, Catalan and Garcia represent many of the L.A. County parents of young children who are stretched to their limits in their search for early care and education.
So when California Gov. Jerry Brown announced in his budget proposal this month that he was suspending a previously promised funding increase in 2017-18 for nearly 3,000 new preschool slots in the state, parents were left feeling like they - and their children - had been slapped with a fiscal "time-out".
"The governor's budget saddens me," said Yanci Panameno, a mother of three and member of Best Start Panorama City & Neighbors. "My son Michael is 2 ½ and I can't find affordable care for him anywhere. Both my husband and I work, but with caring for Michael and our two school-aged other kids, paying full price for quality child care is out of the question. And even if we could, there are only two programs in the area and they are full. It's a real problem, not just for us but for so many families in the community."
Early care educators were also feeling stung by the governor's proposed budget, which also defers increases to child care provider reimbursement rates which he earlier promised through 2020.
"The governor's previous promise of reimbursement and increase of preschool slots really brought a lot of hopes up," said Veronica Montaño Sanchez, a mother, Best Start Panorama City & Neighbors member and head teacher at an early education program. "Now that he is holding that back, it feels like a slap in the face. He is messing with our hugest asset – our children."
First 5 LA leaders have joined such parents, teachers, other child advocates and elected leaders voicing concern over the suspension of early care and education funding, saying that the governor missed an opportunity to build a stronger economy for generations to come.
"The research is clear: if we fail to invest in kids' programs, we stunt future economic growth. Now is the time to make investments that have a demonstrated rate of return," said Kim Belshé, Executive Director of First 5 LA. "By investing in the state's youngest residents we can strengthen our state and build a better economy for generations to come."
According to a new study by Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman and researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Chicago, high-quality early childhood development programs support economic mobility for two generations by freeing working parents to increase wages over time, while their children develop a broad range of foundational skills for lifelong success.
The findings show high-quality early childhood programs deliver an annual return of 13 percent per child on upfront costs through better outcomes in education, health, employment and social behavior in the decades that follow.
California slashed more than $1 billion during the recession for subsidized child care programs for infants and toddlers of low-income working parents and preschool for older children. Those cuts eliminated child care and preschool opportunities for tens of thousands of working families.
If the Brown Administration's budget proposal were to go into effect, it will zero out around $226 million slated for early childhood expansion.
"In real world impacts, it has very immediate implications," Kim Pattillo Brownson, Vice President of Policy and Strategy for First 5 LA, said in an interview on KPCC Radio. "There are about 3,000 young children and their families slated to have early learning opportunities made available to them who now will not."
This sentiment was echoed by other leading children's advocates.
"These investments are essential to children and families, and research clearly shows that early learning programs are some of the most cost effective investments that government can make in the future of our children," said Ted Lempert, President of Children Now, a nonpartisan umbrella research, policy development and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting children's health, education, and well-being in California.
In revealing his fiscal prudence behind his 2017-18 budget proposal, the governor cited a projected $1.6 billion deficit by next summer. For a detailed description of Gov. Brown's budget proposal as it relates to early childhood investments important to First 5 LA, click here.
According to a statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, the overwhelming majority of Californians say attending preschool is very important (68 percent) or somewhat important (21 percent) to student success in elementary and secondary education. At the same time, 67 percent of likely voters say the state government should fund voluntary preschool programs for all 4-year-olds in California.
Many elected leaders and children's advocates reflect this public and voter support for ECE in expressing their own reactions to the governor's budget proposal. These include:
The California Legislative Women's Caucus
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty
First 5 California
United Ways of California
The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network
The governor's budget is the first step in the public process to negotiate and finalize a budget agreement with the Legislature. The budget proposal will be heard by various legislative committees, in May the Department of Finance will update revenue projections and modify the budget to reflect more accurate assumptions, and in June the Legislature will submit its final budget to the governor for his signature.
Meanwhile, First 5 LA's Public Policy and Government Affairs Department has been working with the state Early Care and Education budget coalition, a group of ECE advocates and provider groups engaged in state policy, to work with the Legislature and Administration to ensure the governor's promises are kept in the final 2017-18 budget deal. And on January 31, First 5 LA's leadership will participate in the annual First 5 Advocacy Day in Sacramento, one of many opportunities it has to engage with state policymakers throughout the year.
"In the months ahead, we will continue our work with our advocacy partners, the governor, and the Legislature to ensure our state budget better reflects the priorities of Californians," Belshé said. "All children should have access to quality, affordable early care and education - it's the foundation for our state's future prosperity."
If Gov. Brown wants proof, he can just ask Michelle Catalan.
After moving back to Los Angeles from Orange County for her daughter to finish preschool, Catalan's daughter is now in first grade, where she is doing better than many other students in her classroom.
"The teacher says my daughter is a good student," Catalan said. "But there are a lot of kids who did not go to kinder or preschool. Most of them don't know their numbers or how to write their name yet. It's like they say, the first five years is the best time for a kid to learn."
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I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS
May 21, 2015 One Guys Opinion
The popular notion that seventy is the new fifty is operative in "I'll See You in My Dreams," a formulaic but engaging dramedy that has the signal virtue of giving septuagenarian Blythe Danner a role worthy of her (unlike recent supporting turns in junk like "Meet the Fockers" and its sequel)—as well as her character a chance at golden-years romance. Brett Haley's picture won't wow anyone, but older audiences in particular will find it a pleasant way to spend the time, and without the British accents usually heard in such fare.
Danner plays Carol Peterson, a retired teacher whose great solace over many years of widowhood has been her dog. Unfortunately, she has to put the animal down when it falls seriously ill, and all she has left are her card-playing outings at the retirement home where her best friends Rona (Mary Kay Place), Sally (Rhea Perlman) and Georgina (Jane Squibb) all reside. They encourage her to move there as well—and to start dating again (something that leads to a speed-dating sequence that's one of the film's weakest)—but she resists both suggestions.
Nonetheless she'll soon develop very different relationships with two men. One is much younger—Lloyd, the pool guy, played with an amusingly laid-back attitude by Martin Starr. Especially after he helps rid her house of a nasty rat that's been popping up at inconvenient moments and the exterminator hasn't been able to wrangle, she warms to the fellow, and after a few glasses of wine they even make a sort-of date to go out to a karaoke bar, where Carol, a chanteuse many years earlier, astonishes the crowd with her performance of "Cry Me a River."
But there's another suitor on the horizon—Bill (Sam Elliott), a virile, self-confident retiree who might reside at the same home as her friends, but has a carefree lifestyle. The two meet—cute, of course—and quickly find that they enjoy each other's company, overnight as well as during the day (when he takes her for an outing on his boat), and for a moment it appears that they just might become a real item.
It wouldn't be fair to reveal where the script, by Haley and Marc Basch, goes from there, but suffice it to say that it takes a few turns one won't expect. Unfortunately, they're coupled with others that you can see coming a mile away—that speed-dating sequence, for example, or a scene in which the four friends get a mite high and go off to the market for some munchies, predictably running into trouble with the law in the process. Fortunately, Danner, Place, Perlman and Squibb are such canny veterans that they can make even the limper material seem better than it is. And Elliott is equally expert, exuding charisma and easygoing charm.
There's a decorous, old-fashioned feel to "I'll See You in My Dreams"—a bit of daffiness here and a smidgen of naughtiness there—but nothing that will upset its target audience, who should enjoy it as much as, for example, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." The technical package—Robin C. Givens' camerawork in particular—is straightforward and unfussy, and some of the California locations are quite attractive.
In sum, this is a film that isn't far removed from one that might have been made for a Sunday evening showing on network television—as a Hallmark Hall of Fame entry, for instance. But it would have made a pretty good telefilm, and it's an agreeable enough as a theatrical release, too.
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Tag: publication ethics
Vladimir Trajkovski / 24/05/2018 / Editorial
JRTDD is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to supporting ethical research practices. JRTDD is still not a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (http://publicationethics.org/) but we adheres to the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers. We encourage journal editors to follow the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors and to refer reviewers to the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers as appropriate. Allegations of misconduct will be investigated in accordance with the COPE Best Practice Guidelines as far as is practicable. If notified of a potential breach of publication ethics, we encourage journal editors and staff to inform their JRTDD contact as soon as possible. JRTDD staff are trained on how to proceed with investigations into allegations of ethical misconduct and will seek legal counsel when necessary.
We take publication ethics very seriously. Many of the journals we publish have individual ethical policies, and we encourage authors to check the relevant journal website for details prior to submission. JRTDD supports its journal editorial teams and authors providing best practice guidelines in the following key areas:
Fair editing and peer review
Promoting ethical research
JRTDD expects all published articles to contain clear and accurate attribution of authorship. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure that all authors that contributed to the work are fairly acknowledged and that the published author list accurately reflects individual contributions. Where authorship disputes arise, JRTDD encourages journal editorial teams to follow the COPE guidelines detailed here. Where authors employ the services of third party agencies prior to submission, for instance in language editing or manuscript formatting/preparation, they must ensure that all services comply with the following guidelines.
Attribution and acknowledgement
JRTDD supports the ICMJE definitions of authorship as published here. Some journals publish their own definitions of authorship – check the journal submission guidelines or editorial policy for details. Definitions of what constitutes authorship vary by journal, research area, or article type but typically authorship is confined to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Many journals now take the extra step of emailing named authors at the point of submission (usually via the journal submission system) to confirm participation. Some journals may require a short description of each authors' contribution to be included with the submitted files or as part of the acknowledgements section of an article.
Changes in authorship
Requests for changes to authorship must be directed to the journal editor or administrator – check individual journal websites for contact details. Requests should be dealt with fairly and in accordance with the relevant COPE guidelines (detailed below) and/or the published policy of the individual journal. Changes in authorship will only be permitted where valid reasons are provided and all authors are in agreement with the change. Post-publication changes to authorship will typically be made via a published correction.
Request for addition of extra author before publication:
http://publicationethics.org/files/u7140/Authorship%20A_0.pdf
Request removal of author before publication:
http://publicationethics.org/files/u7140/Authorship%20B.pdf
Request for addition of extra author post publication:
http://publicationethics.org/files/u7140/Authorship%20C.pdf
Request for removal of author post-publication:
'Ghost,' 'guest,' or 'gift' authorship
JRTDD considers all forms of ghost, guest, and gift authorship to be unethical and works closely with editors and publishing partners to take a firm stance against such practices. Any allegation of ghost, guest, or gift authorship will be investigated in accordance with the COPE guidelines listed here. Where such practices are identified the authors in question will be removed from an article through a post-publication correction or erratum. In addition the journal may choose to notify the institutional or local ethics committee for the authors in question.
'Ghost' authorship refers to the practice of using a non-named author to write or prepare an article for publication. Ghost authors are typically (but not exclusively) paid sponsors, employees, junior researchers, or external academic affiliates.
'Guest' or 'gift' authorship refers to the practice of naming an individual that made little or no contribution to a study as an author on an article. Gift authors are typically (but not exclusively) senior researchers, affiliated researchers, friends, or colleagues of the principle author. There are also organisations that offer gift authorship for a fee.
JRTDD takes every effort to ensure that editors, peer reviewers, and journal administrators treat all submissions respectfully, in confidence, and in accordance with COPE ethical guidelines. JRTDD expects that all individuals submitting manuscripts to JRTDD-published journal abide by established publishing standards and ethics. In proven cases of misconduct, the action taken will vary by journal and by context, but could result in one or more of the following:
Retraction of published work.
Publication of a correction or statement of concern.
Refusal of future submission.
Notification of misconduct sent to an author's local institution, superior, and/or ethics committee.
Redundant publication (dual submission or publication)
JRTDD-published journal evaluate submissions on the understanding that they have not been previously published in or simultaneously submitted to another journal. We encourage all JRTDD-reviewers to investigate allegations of redundant publication thoroughly and in accordance with COPE guidelines detailed here. We also encourage editors and journal administrators to keep a clear record of all communications between authors, editors, and peer reviewers regarding the submissions they handle. These records are carefully stored and may be used to facilitate investigations into possible cases of misconduct. Where necessary we will contact and/or co-operate with other publishers and journals to identify cases of redundant publication.
JRTDD journals evaluate submissions on the understanding that they are the original work of the author(s). We expect that references made in a manuscript or article to another person's work or idea will be credited appropriately. Equally we expect authors to gain all appropriate permissions prior to publication. Guidelines on when permissions are required and how to seek permissions are available here.
Re-use of text, data, figures, or images without appropriate acknowledgment or permission is considered plagiarism, as is the paraphrasing of text, concepts, and ideas. All allegations of plagiarism are investigated thoroughly and in accordance with COPE guidelines detailed here. Many journals now systematically run submitted papers through plagiarism-detection software to identify possible cases. Journals will typically stipulate how they employ such software – whether systematically or selectively – in their submission guidelines.
Whilst striving to promote freedom of expression wherever possible, JRTDD aims to avoid publishing anything that harms the reputation of an individual, business, or organization unless it can be proven to be true. We take all possible measures to ensure that published work is free of any text that is, or may be considered to be libelous, slanderous, or defamatory.
JRTDD is committed to transparency in areas of potential conflict of interest. We encourage our editors and partner societies to publish and regularly review policies on Conflict of Interest as they relate to authors, editors and peer reviewers.
Conflict of interest exists when an author's private interests might be seen as influencing the objectivity of research or experiment, to the point that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual's behaviour or judgement was motivated by considerations of his or her competing interests. It is the responsibility of a manuscript's corresponding author to confirm if co-authors hold any conflict of interest. The corresponding author may be required to co-ordinate completion of written forms from each co-author and submit these to the editor or journal administrator prior to acceptance. The following should also be declared, either through the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript or at the point of submission:
All sources of research funding, including direct and indirect financial support, supply of equipment, or materials (including specialist statistical or writing assistance).
The role of the research funder(s) or sponsor(s), if any, in the research design execution, analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
Any relevant financial and non-financial interests and relationships that might be considered likely to affect the interpretation of their findings or that editors, reviewers, or readers might reasonably wish to know. These might include, but are not limited to, patent or stock ownership, membership on a company's board of directors, membership of an editorial board or committee for a company, consultancy for a company, or receipt of speaker's fees from a company.
When considering whether to declare a conflicting interest or connection we encourage authors to consider how they would answer the following question: Is there any arrangement that would embarrass you or any of your co-authors if it was to emerge after publication and you had not declared? it?
b. Editors
JRTDD expects its journal editors to declare competing interests at the point of agreeing their position and update them annually. JRTDD's standard editor agreement obliges the editor to declare any potential conflict of interest that might arise during the term of editorship prior to entry into any agreement or position.
Editors are required to recuse themselves from individual manuscripts if they themselves have a potential conflict of interest and to avoid creating potential conflicts of interest through assignment of handling editors or peer reviewers.
We encourage editors and journal administrators to consider potential conflicts of interest when assigning reviewers. Some journals include wording in their invitation to review stating that acceptance of the invitation implies no financial or competing interest. Where a reviewer declares potential conflict of interest the editor should select alternative reviewers. Failure to declare conflict of interest may result in removal of the reviewer from the journal database.
JRTDD encourages all participants in the publishing process to adhere to established principles of ethical publishing. This extends from authors to journal editors, reviewers, journal administrators, and publishing staff.
Editors have full editorial independence. Although JRTDD and any publishing partners may discuss strategy, process, and policy with editors, we will never knowingly exert pressure on editors to accept manuscripts for commercial or political reasons. We do, however, expect and encourage editors to have clearly defined processes and policies for the handling of contributions by the editor or members of the editorial board to ensure that, where appropriate, these submissions receive an equivalent level of peer review to any other submission.
Peer review and reviewer conduct
JRTDD supports and refers its editors to the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. JRTDD support double-blind system of peer review but encourages editors to publish their review procedure as part of their submission guidelines, for instance:
Manuscripts are reviewed by two independent experts in the relevant area. The reviewers make a scientific assessment and a recommendation to the editors. Reviewers remain unknown to authors. The Handling editor considers the manuscript and the reviewers' comments before making a final decision either to accept, accept with revision or to reject a manuscript.
Unless otherwise specified, JRTDD expects editors and reviewers to handle all submissions in confidence. If a reviewer wishes to delegate the review or seek the opinion of a colleague on a specific aspect of the paper, they are expected to clear this with the editor in the first instance.
Any suggestion that an editor or reviewer is appropriating ideas from a manuscript they handled for a journal will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the following COPE guidelines: http://publicationethics.org/files/u7140/Appropriated.pdf
Peer review fraud
Some journals provide the option for submitting authors to suggest preferred reviewers. It is the responsibility of the lead author to ensure that only genuine reviewers and reviewer contact details are put forward. Any suspected or alleged instances of authors submitting fabricated reviewer details will be thoroughly investigated. If such allegations are proven, the article in question will be immediately rejected or, if already published, retracted. The journal would typically notify the authors' institutional or local ethics council and may also impose a ban on further submissions from the author grJRTDD.
JRTDD's mission is to promote the highest standards of research through its publishing activities. Ensuring that the research we publish is conducted in a fair and ethical manner is integral to this. We publish across multiple research areas, many of which have their own standards and methods of governing research practice.
Wherever appropriate, we expect published research based on human subjects to provide the name of the local ethics committee that approved the study (or confirmation that such approval is not needed) and/or to state how the study conforms to recognized standards (e.g. declaration of Helsinki or US Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects). JRTDD encourages handling editors to return any manuscripts describing studies not meeting acceptable criteria.
The following list details JRTDD's approach to the most common areas of research integrity.
Journals publishing studies using human subjects should ensure that a patient's right to privacy has not been infringed without prior consent. We encourage authors to follow the ICMJE guidelines for reporting on human subjects. For publication of material that contains detailed patient information about a living individual, it is compulsory for a signed patient consent to be obtained. Any identifier that might reveal a patient's identity must be removed (i.e., x-rays, MRIs, charts, photographs, etc.). Written informed consent is required from any potentially identifiable patient or legal representative, and should be presented in either the Methods section or the Acknowledgements.
Where animals are used in research we expect them to have been treated in a humane manner and in line with the ARRIVE guidelines. The International Council for Laboratory Animal Science has published guidelines specifically for editors and Reviewers on how to handle submissions involving animal research. JRTDD supports these guidelines and, wherever possible, encourages editors and society partners to adopt them. Authors may be required to provide evidence that they obtained ethical and /or legal approval prior to conducting the research.
All clinical trials should be registered prospectively in publically accessible databases (e.g. www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu) and manuscripts should include registration numbers and the name of the register. Some journals may require clinical trials to be reported according to CONSORT guidelines.
Falsification and fabrication
Submitted papers found to include false or fabricated data prior to publication will be returned to the author immediately with a request for an explanation. If no explanation is received or if the explanation provided is considered unsatisfactory, the journal will notify the authors' institution, local ethical committee, or superior. The journal may also refuse to accept further submissions from the author for a defined period.
Examples of data falsification or fabrication include: image manipulation; cropping of gels/images to change context; omission of selected data; or making-up data sets. Some journals employ image manipulation software to detect evidence of falsification in submitted manuscripts. JRTDD recognizes that falsification is not always deliberate and will encourage its editors to consider each case on its terms.
COPE, journal, publication ethics


Jurgen Klopp will leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the Bundesliga season, the German coach has announced.
The news will have a number of English clubs on high alert, as the much-celebrated coach could be tempted by a move to the Premier League.
Klopp has been made a firm favourite to replace the under pressure Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City and is also seen as a long-term successor to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
I always said in that moment where I believe I am not the perfect coach anymore for this extraordinary club I will say so.
The former Mainz coach denies he will take a sabbatical after departing Signal Iduna Park, so could be tempted to move elsewhere sooner rather than later if the project is right for him.
Under Klopp, Dortmund reached the Champions League final in 2013 and the semi-final last season, but lost to Juventus in the knockout phase this time around.
As a person, I would have liked to see that something so beautiful does not have to come to an end.
As Klopp speaks perfect English he would need minimal adjustment if he were to take a job in the Premier League.
Last year he told BT Sport: "It's the only country, I think, where I should work, really, next to Germany, because it's the only country I know the language a little bit and I need the language for my work.
Klopp has been linked with a number of clubs in the past, but since the rumours of his departure began, he has been made the favourite to take over from Pellegrini at the Etihad.
Manchester City look set to overhaul their squad in the summer, meaning the German would have a clean slate and a fresh set of players to working with, something which could entice him to England.
Where Klopp will end up is unknown, but he won't be short of suitors.