text:
Q: Tilted head Detection is failed in image but success in live stream I am working on a project where I need to detect face from the image and store it to directory for further use.
I am using openCV (Haar_cascade_classifier)
It is detecting only straight head. for detection of the tilted head.I tried tune version haar_cascade.but the problem it is only detecting face in live video.If I run webcamera and detect using haar_cascade_classifier_atl2.xml file . it detect the tilted head but if If I run loop from my image directory and pass images to detect face it is not detecting the same angle.means It is detecting in video but not from image (same angle)
here is the code
import cv2
from math import sin, cos, radians
import time
import fnmatch
import os

total_number_of_frame = 0
framedirectory = "D:/finalpaper/extractedframes"
number_of_extracted_frames = len(fnmatch.filter(os.listdir('D:/finalpaper/extractedframes'), '*.png'))
print(number_of_extracted_frames)
face = cv2.CascadeClassifier(cv2.data.haarcascades + "haarcascade_frontalface_alt2.xml")

settings = {
    'scaleFactor': 1.3,
    'minNeighbors': 3,
    'minSize': (50, 50)
}

def rotate_image(image, angle):
    if angle == 0: return image
    height, width = image.shape[:2]
    rot_mat = cv2.getRotationMatrix2D((width/2, height/2), angle, 0.9)
    result = cv2.warpAffine(image, rot_mat, (width, height), flags=cv2.INTER_LINEAR)
    return result

def rotate_point(pos, img, angle):
    if angle == 0: return pos
    x = pos[0] - img.shape[1]*0.4
    y = pos[1] - img.shape[0]*0.4
    newx = x*cos(radians(angle)) + y*sin(radians(angle)) + img.shape[1]*0.4
    newy = -x*sin(radians(angle)) + y*cos(radians(angle)) + img.shape[0]*0.4
    return int(newx), int(newy), pos[2], pos[3]

for i in range(number_of_extracted_frames):
    framenumber = str(i)+".png"
    #joining path to directory
    filepath = os.path.join(framedirectory,framenumber)
    frame = cv2.imread(filepath)
    for angle in [0, -25, 25]:
        rimg = rotate_image(frame, angle)
        detected = face.detectMultiScale(rimg, **settings)
        if len(detected):
            detected = [rotate_point(detected[-1], frame, -angle)]
        break

     # Make a copy as we don't want to draw on the original image:
    for x, y, w, h in detected[-1:]:
        cv2.rectangle(frame, (x, y), (x+w, y+h), (255,0,0), 2)

    cv2.imshow("frame",frame)
    cv2.waitKey(700)

If above code I use to run with web camera it detect face but if I am using my loop it is not detecting tilted head.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ohio State has spent nearly $1.5 million in legal fees pertaining to the investigation into former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss, according to invoices obtained by The Lantern.
The three law firms — Carpenter Lipps & Leland, LLP, Perkins Coie, LLP and Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, LLP — have each taken on a different role involving Strauss, in which 145 former students reported firsthand accounts of sexual abuse at the hands of the doctor, who died in 2006.
Perkins Coie received $1,379,966.30, Carpenter Lipps & Leland received $71,129.90 and Porter Wright Morris & Arthur received $30,806.75.
The most recent invoice recorded occurred on Aug. 17 in a $604,290.95 payment to Perkins Coie.
The invoices do not provide a description of how much work has been done by the three law firms, only displaying the invoice date, ID number, firm and payment. A records request by The Lantern for contracts of the three law firms is pending.
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur is a law firm located in Columbus appointed by the Ohio Attorney General to serve as Ohio State's legal counsel.
Columbus-based Carpenter Lipps & Leland has been the legal representative for Ohio State in any lawsuits the university faces as a result of the Strauss investigation.
Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based law firm, was hired by Porter Wright Morris & Arthur to conduct the investigation into Strauss.
Ohio State did not respond to comment by the time of publication.
An investigation was opened in April into allegations that Strauss sexually abused Ohio State students and student-athletes while employed by the university between 1978 and 1998. Strauss was a former team physician and student health services doctor at Ohio State.
Ohio State has filed motions to dismiss three lawsuits it currently faces from accusers on Sept. 7 on statute of limitations grounds.
There are currently two class-action lawsuits and a third lawsuit claiming that then-Ohio State employees knew about the alleged misconduct from Strauss and did nothing to stop it from happening.
The university argued the plaintiffs are claiming remedies under Title IX law, and that Title IX in Ohio has a statute of limitation of two years.
Pay cut for the staff to pay for this….no. Of course not, just tack it on to tuition. Nobody will complain.


text:
Recycling Today
January 2020 Scrap Metals Supplement
Gaining ground
Columns - Welcome
Scrap metals prices benefit from a year-end increase.
By DeAnne Toto
After declining throughout much of 2019, ferrous scrap prices increased by about $20 per ton on average in the U.S. in the November buying period and by another $30 per ton in the December buying period. Aluminum and copper scrap also made gains in pricing during December, with one source based in the Midwest saying she feels aluminum scrap pricing "found the bottom in November and started to turn a little" come December.
Metals processors and traders are hoping the pricing momentum carries into 2020.
Minimill steel producers have benefited from the lower ferrous scrap prices seen over the balance of 2019, as the article "The minimill cost advantage" in this issue notes. According to Ryan Smith of CRU Group, "Operating costs for flat-rolled minimill producers dropped in 2019 as weaker steel markets have pulled down metallics prices. This has meant that operating costs for minimills were in line with integrated producers in the United States throughout much of 2019."
Smith does not expect that to remain the case in 2020, however, as he writes, "low scrap prices reduce U.S. domestic scrap supply, and the growing minimill sector has an increasing appetite for scrap."
U.S. scrap yard operators were pointing to less traffic across their scales in the last quarter of 2019. Despite the gains in pricing in the last two months of the year, a shredder operator based in the Southeast says intakes remained low as of December. "We have lost about 35 percent of our volume."
Lower steel prices overall have affected minimills' profitability in the last quarter of 2019. In its earnings guidance for that quarter, Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, says it expects the performance of its steel mills segment to decrease compared with the third quarter of 2019 as lower steel prices at the end of the third quarter affected fourth-quarter results.
"During the fourth quarter, domestic scrap metal prices have risen markedly and our sheet, plate, structural and bar mills have all implemented price increases," the company says. "We believe this reflects healthy underlying demand for our steel mill products. We expect that the performance of our steel mills segment will improve as we head into 2020."
Fort Wayne, Indiana-based electric arc furnace steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc. also predicted lower profitability for the fourth quarter of 2019 relative to its sequential third-quarter results because of two planned outages, seasonally lower shipments and margin compression as average steel prices declined more than scrap costs.
The company adds that underlying domestic steel demand remains principally intact for the primary steel consuming sectors and that customers have been positive concerning the business outlook for 2020.
Scrap recyclers and steel producers are hoping that positivity remains as 2020 progresses.
Poised to purchase
Features - Scrap Metals Supplement
Nations in South and Southeast Asia are ramping up their purchases of ferrous scrap from the United States and elsewhere.
© uwimages / stock.adobe.com
Scrap recyclers rightfully can pat themselves on the back for their abilities to adjust to new circumstances and to seek out new markets when old ones begin to fade. In recent months, ferrous scrap traders have encountered several circumstances that have caused them to deploy these talents.
China's government has severely disrupted global nonferrous scrap trade, in addition to global markets for scrap paper and scrap plastic. Its restrictions on imported scrap include several ferrous grades. This, combined with a massive boost in its own steel scrap reservoir and tariffs, caused its ferrous scrap imports to dwindle in 2019.
Turkish mills—by volume the largest importer of ferrous scrap from the U.S.—have struggled to retain their output, causing them to spend occasional stretches on the scrap purchasing sidelines.
Fortunately for scrap processors in the United States, a life raft full of developing nations has emerged to keep pace with or increase their annual buying volumes, keeping the spigot open for outbound ferrous grades.
A subcontinent's substantial appetite
On the Indian subcontinent, steelmakers in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have added significant new capacity because of an infrastructure-fueled boom. This likely will result in needing more imported scrap as feedstock for the next several years.
Presenters at India-based SteelMint's 4th Steel Scrap, Billet & DRI Trade Summit, held in August 2019 in Bangkok, said foreign direct investment from around the world is boosting the need for steel in those nations, with producers responding by adding capacity. Much of that new capacity, they noted, is coming in the form of scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) or induction furnace production.
Sanjoy Ghosh, senior manager of supply chain management at Bangladesh-based steelmaker BSRM, said the "40 active mills" producing steel in his nation imported 19 percent more ferrous scrap in the first half of 2019 compared with 2018.
Ghosh said, thanks to its status "among the five fastest growing economies in the world," Bangladesh is likely to see its steel consumption rise from 45 kilograms (99 pounds) per person in 2018 to 73 kilograms (161 pounds) per person in 2022.
Gross domestic product growth of some 8 percent annually has led Bangladesh's steel output to grow 37.5 percent per year recently, he added. Some of the 8 million metric tons of steel produced annually in Bangladesh is heading toward "a lot of infrastructure work," Ghosh said.
Photo courtesy of SteelMint Group
From left: Sanjoy Ghosh of Bangladesh-based steelmaker BSRM and Vijay Arora of Mumbai-based Mahindra Group Accelo
The U.S. is the largest ferrous scrap supplier to Bangladesh, he said, followed by the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Singapore.
Shipbreaking provides another source of ferrous scrap and used steel, Ghosh added, with the number of vessels scrapped in Bangladesh rising 36 percent in the most recent fiscal year (from 196 ships to 255 ships). Singapore, Japan and South Korea are the largest providers of obsolete ships to the nation.
Economic cooperation with China has provided much of the boost in Pakistan, according to a video presentation provided by Fahad Javaid of Pakistan-based Mughal Iron & Steel Industries Ltd. That nation currently has some 350 mills with 6 million tons of annual capacity, with many of these mills of the smaller, scrap-fed induction furnace variety.
Scrap imported to Pakistan "has positive prospects," Javaid said, describing Pakistan's ferrous scrap supplies as "limited." He estimated that 80 percent of the ferrous scrap consumed in the country is imported, with import volumes having risen 24 percent in 2017 and 38 percent in 2018.
Ongoing infrastructure projects stemming from cooperation with China's government, combined with a new housing policy in Pakistan, help provide "the backbone of the country's economy and have increased steel demand" in Pakistan, Javaid said. His message to overseas scrap suppliers was "to keep Pakistan on your radar."
In India, the national Ministry of Steel policy has set ambitious targets for steel production and ferrous scrap recycling activity. Vijay Arora of Mumbai-based Mahindra Group Accelo gave an overview of that company's efforts to collect and recycle end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) to help make progress toward both goals.
Arora said the effort has been challenging in part because older vehicles tend to meet their end not in large cities but scattered widely in the Indian countryside. Mahindra and other companies are being encouraged to build ELV collection centers and shredders in large cities, but even obsolete vehicles there can be difficult to collect, he said, because an unregulated, informal sector can pay more for them.
Oxygen deficiency
Should China tilt away from basic oxygen furnace (BOF) production, it will enhance the growth of scrap-fed steelmaking in the new decade. Scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking is on a growth trajectory around the world, according to presenters at the 4th Steel Scrap, Billet & DRI Trade Summit, hosted by India-based SteelMint in Bangkok in late August 2019.
In the first two decades of this century, China became the world's largest steel producer, relying largely on the iron ore-fed BOF process. Other parts of the world have installed considerable EAF and scrap-fed induction furnace capacity, and now in China a perceptible tilt toward EAF steelmaking is underway.
Li Hongmei of Shanghai-based Mysteel said environmental protection factors are prompting an "old-for-new capacity swap deal" to take place in China's steel sector, with "equal or less capacity for blast furnaces, but more for electric arc furnaces."
Yi Qian of Shanghai-based ICCSINO said, "There is still room for electric steel production capacity growth in China," even though the nation's EAF output declined by about 800,000 metric tons in the first half of 2019 compared with the first half of 2018.
Yi said ICCSINO knows of nearly 40 million metric tons of new EAF capacity being installed in China from 2020 to 2023 by 16 steelmaking firms.
Li Shubin, secretary general of the China Association of Metal Utilization (CAMU), said China is about to enter "a new era for us to use the EAF steelmaking method" thanks to government policies "promoting the development of EAF steelmaking."
Li added, "The development of EAF steelmaking based on steel scrap resources is the fundamental solution for ultra-low emissions [and] the most effective way for the green development of the steel industry so as to [bolster] recycling."
He pointed to a smaller but more scrap-fed steel sector in China's future, saying, "By 2030, China's crude steel output will drop to 700 million tons, and [obsolete ferrous scrap] reserves will reach 13 to 13.5 billion tons, with steel scrap generated each year reaching 300 to 320 million tons."
EAF and induction steelmaking also is growing in the Indian subcontinent. Satadri Chanda of India-based induction furnace equipment maker EMT Megatherm described scrap-fed induction furnaces as a "growing phenomenon globally." Chanda said in India steelmaking via the induction furnace route "has increased from 20 percent to over 40 percent [of market share] in the past two decades." He said such furnaces are being installed in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and are almost the "exclusive" steelmaking method in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
All this activity is good for members of the U.K.-based International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA), said John Atherton, who serves as secretary general of the organization.
Atherton said ore-based metallics "are not scrap substitutes, they are supplements" that provide "greater value than their iron content."
He listed pig iron, hot-briquetted iron (HBI), direct-reduced iron (DRI) and granulated pig iron (GPI) as the main types of OBMs.
Atherton characterized Russia as the global leader in exported pig iron, with Bahrain, Venezuela and India among other producers. In the HBI sector, a major development is the pending startup of what Atherton called a 1.9 million tons per year plant in Toledo, Ohio, in the United States by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
Efforts to recycle more ELVs tie into a need for more scrap, with India having consumed some 16.8 million metric tons of ferrous scrap in 2017. That figure is expected to rise to 22.3 million metric tons in 2023 and (if Ministry of Steel goals are met) to some 40 million metric tons by 2030.
Arora said about 4.38 million metric tons of ferrous scrap were imported into India in 2017, with that figure potentially rising to 7.23 million metric tons by 2023. India's Ministry of Steel, however, has stated it would like India to be self-sufficient for ferrous scrap by 2030, despite the fast-rising need.
An analysis by Kedar Joshi of SteelMint showed that 54 percent of India's 112 million metric tons of current annual steel output is produced by basic oxygen furnaces, but scrap-fed electric arc furnaces (24 percent) and induction furnaces (22 percent) combined produce nearly half of that amount.
The United Arab Emirates, the leading ferrous scrap supplier to India, sends only containerized shipments. However, the United States, India's second-largest supplier, sends 48 percent of the bulk ferrous scrap shipments booked into India. Also supplying scrap to the nation are the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands.
Uneven prospects in the ASEAN region
At the same event, insight into the growing steel industry and ferrous scrap trade in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region revealed that some Southeast Asian nations, such as Vietnam, are adding scrap-melting capacity, while other nations in the region are importing more finished steel. The ASEAN region consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Pichsini Tepa-Apirak of Malaysia-based South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute (SEAISI) said Vietnam has been the rising steel consumption and production star in that region. The nation was the sixth-largest per capita consumer of steel in the ASEAN region in the 1990s but now ranks first.
As of 2018, Vietnam produces 45 percent of the steel made in the ASEAN region, far ahead of Thailand (19 percent) and Indonesia (18 percent). The remainder of crude steel or foundry iron produced comes from Malaysia (12 percent), the Philippines (4 percent) and Singapore (2 percent).
EAFs provide much of the region's steelmaking capacity, with Tepa-Apirak referring to such production as "mostly scrap-based." SEAISI estimated the region's domestic ferrous scrap supply at 20.3 million metric tons in 2018, prompting ASEAN steelmakers to import some 10.4 million metric tons of scrap that year.
Vietnam and Indonesia are the largest scrap importers, with the United States and Japan acting as the largest scrap suppliers to the ASEAN region, he said.
While additional steelmaking capacity is being added throughout the region, particularly in Vietnam and Indonesia, Tepa-Apirak said several other ASEAN nations (including Thailand and the Philippines) seem content to import sizable amounts of finished steel and semifinished billets.
Rajiv Mangal, president and CEO of Tata Steel Thailand, said that nation has banned the installation of new steel rebar production capacity for the next five years, in part because its current mills are struggling with low capacity utilization.
The demand for steel in construction applications in Thailand dropped by 9 percent in the first half of 2019, Mangal said, but momentum could shift if several planned infrastructure projects begin in 2020. "I feel past 2020, we should see a boost in steel demand from Thailand," he said.
R.S. (Raj) Vaidhyanathan of the United Arab Emirates-based scrap trading firm Indicaa Group Ltd. said the growing flow of ferrous scrap into the ASEAN region and the Indian subcontinent is prompting the question of when and how a new benchmark ferrous scrap export price would be established. Currently, prices to the largest global scrap importer, Turkey, most often serve as the benchmark prices.
Vaidhyanathan said Asian nations combined are now involved in 33.1 million metric tons of ferrous scrap trading, surpassing Turkey's 20.7 million metric tons of activity.
However, that 33 million metric tons of trading is divided among several nations, including Vietnam in the ASEAN region as well as India and Pakistan on the Indian subcontinent and South Korea and Japan in East Asia.
That division makes finding an individual nation to replace Turkey as a "benchmark setter" difficult, Vaidhyanathan said. However, he pointed to Bangladesh and to Vietnam—which accept break-bulk and containerized scrap cargoes—as nations to watch.
No matter where the index setters look for guidance, the overall trend of ferrous scrap heading into Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent in South Asia seems poised to last for several more years.
The author is senior editor with the Recycling Today Media Group and can be contacted at btaylor@gie.net.
trading/brokering
Electric arc furnace/EAF
Purity at a premium
As purity standards increase, recyclers are looking to produce single-metal fractions with the help of sensor-based sorting systems.
Rick Zettler
Photos: Tomra Sorting Inc.
Today's scrap metal recycling facilities face multiple headwinds along the road to profitability. Market closures because of tightening purity standards plus underdeveloped domestic recycling infrastructure have led to an abundance of scrap metal remaining in processors' yards.
Material surpluses have driven down prices for scrap metals. Since China implemented National Sword, "prices for general mixed metal products like zorba have fallen," says Eric Thurston, sales manager, metals, for Tomra Sorting Inc., with North American operations headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Brian Gist, global sales director for Tomra Sorting, adds, "As a result, we are seeing a trend toward recycling facilities using advanced sorting techniques with sensor-based sorting to separate mixed materials into monofractions."
While the headwinds are strong, some recycling companies see the new stringent quality standards as a way to separate themselves from other suppliers. This will, however, require upgrades to processing equipment.
"Some customers are telling us that market conditions are right to upgrade their plants for processing the abundance of scrap metal available in North America to higher purity standards," says Carlos Manchado Atienza, Americas regional director for Tomra Sorting.
When it comes to sorting metal fractions, a company can select from wet or dry sorting technology.
Density sorting
Dense media, or wet sorting, has been used by the scrap industry for decades to sort heavy metal fractions, such as copper, zinc and stainless steel, from light metal fractions, such as aluminum. The process is a carryover from the mining industry, where it was used to recover precious metals and coal fractions from tailings. At the surface, using water and a flocculant to float/sink the materials seems simple enough.
Initial capital outlays to build a wet plant can be attractive to some scrap metal companies. A wet plant costs less to start up compared with a dry sorting plant. However, this upfront savings can come at a long-term price. "Ferrosilicon costs can vary, ranging from $1,600 to $1,900 per ton at any given time," Thurston says.
Gist, who spent years operating a dense media plant, says a well-run plant uses ferrosilicon at a rate of approximately 5.5 to 6.5 pounds per ton of metal sorted. "However, the average plant uses roughly 17.5 to 20 pounds per ton of fine metals fraction separated," he says.
Ferrosilicon creates the specific gravity (SG) ranges needed to sort metals into light and heavy products. The goal is to maintain an SG ranging from 1.8 to 2.2 for floating light material and an SG ranging from 2.8 to 3.4 for the heavy product. Multiple factors influence the targeted SG values, including the material being processed and the water quality. "Stability is a constant battle in running a dense media plant, making it difficult to obtain stability and repeatability in sorting," Gist says. "As material is floated, fine material settles in the water, and the dirtier the water, the more ferrosilicon required to get the correct specific gravity for sorting the light or heavy package."
Thurston and Gist caution scrap metal recycling facilities that are considering investing in a wet plant to remember the sorting limitations, especially in today's market. Floatation will produce only light (aluminum) and heavy packages. Unless combined with a dry sorting circuit, wet plants cannot further sort the heavy metals into monofractions of copper, zinc, stainless steel or lead, which limits the plant's flexibility to adapt to market conditions.
The average dense media plant is configured to process up to 20 tons per hour (tph) of metal. SG stability and recycled particle size affect this rate. As SG instability occurs and particle sizes get smaller, production rates can slow, often to as low as 7 tph.
Dirt caught in the pores of scrap metal mixes with ferrosilicon and settles in the tanks, on the screens and in lines and pumps. This filter cake must be cleared from the system, and depending on the plant's geographic location, it could be classified as hazardous waste, which makes disposal more difficult and costlier. These items, plus the need to keep the tanks and lines from freezing during the winter in many regions, can result in continuous care and significant long-term operating costs for dense media plants. Operations must figure these costs into the equation when considering the type of sorting process they will employ to separate metal fractions.
Advanced sensor-based sorting
While newer to the market than wet sorting, metal recycling facilities have used dry sensor-based sorting for nearly three decades. "We began selling our optical sorting equipment in North America in the early 1990s," says Manchado Atienza.
In addition to optical sorters, the metal recycling industry also employs X-ray, electromagnetic and laser technologies to sort impurities from ferrous and nonferrous metal fractions. Rather than water, short bursts of air are used to either eject detected impurities, dropping the desired product in a negative sort, or eject the product and drop the impurities in a positive sort.
Whereas wet sorting provides simply a light or heavy product package, a dry system takes the sorting process a step further, producing monofractions. "Advanced optical sorting further separates the copper, nickel, stainless steel, lead and other metals from mixed metals, like zorba, to deliver a higher quality aluminum product as well as other monofractional products," Manchado Atienza says.
With a surplus of scrap metal leading to falling prices for general mixed metals, recycling facilities are looking to create monofractions.
In a market where mixed metals are selling at a low price, dry sorting gives companies the flexibility to adapt to market conditions, changing their sorting processes to separate the more valuable fractions to meet market demands.
Changes to the sorting circuit are made through the equipment's control software package. Tomra recently introduced its ACT operating system that allows operators to make product package sorting adjustments using a touch screen. "It takes an operator less than two weeks to learn how to run a dry plant," Thurston says, "but running a wet plant is more of an art form and can take up to 18 months for an operator to run it at peak efficiency."
Gist explains it's a struggle to learn how to optimize SG in a wet plant to achieve maximum product recovery at a low flocculant usage rate. "If you have a good operator of a dense media plant, you need to retain him as he will save the company on operating costs," he says. "Whereas with optical sorters, the software program offers consistent and repeatable results at the touch of the screen, so it's easier for the operator to learn and run."
Gist adds that wet plant operators often are tied to the facility to keep a close eye on the floatation process. New technology available to the market for dry sorting systems uses the cloud to report critical operating data to companies using optical sorters, so the sorting circuit can be operated remotely, if desired.
Some metal recycling facilities point to the higher initial capital expenditure as a disadvantage of the dry sorting process. Thurston says long-term operating costs for running optical sorters are substantially less than operating dense media.
"Operating costs are up to 90 percent lower with dry sorting," he says, "and that's one reason why a large Midwest metal recycling operation sold off its dense media plant in favor of a dry process. Plus, the uptime availability for optical sorters is around 95 percent verses approximately 75 percent with a dense media plant."
Historically, sorting fine metal fractions of less than 0.4 inches is where wet separation held a distinct advantage because the resolution of optical sorting equipment was effective for fractions sized 0.4 inches and larger. Recent advancements in technology have led to the introduction of the Tomra X-tract X6 Fines package for its X-ray sorting technology.
"This package now allows us to effectively detect and sort fine metal fractions about 50 percent smaller than what was previously available to the market while offering recovery rates of 95 percent and higher," Thurston says.
The right mix
Thurston offers a suggestion to companies that operate dense media plants that want the flexibility of separating heavy mixed metals into monofractions: adding sensor- based sorting. Different types of dry sorting technologies can be added to the density sorting process—either before or after the wet sort.
"Unlike a wet plant, dry sorting technology is scalable to meet the operation's needs," Thurston says. "A dry sorting line can be cost effectively added to the back end of the process to sort monofractions, allowing a company to take advantage of market conditions."
Whether employing wet or dry separation for metal fractions, Gist says final product purity must be paramount. "China's implementation of National Sword and the many Southeast Asian markets following suit is an indicator that purity standards will only get more stringent. Therefore, a recycling operation must choose the right technology that will offer not only the product the company needs to sell to the market but also at the right purity levels."
Rick Zettler is the owner of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based marketing communications firm Z-Comm and can be contacted at zcomm@mchsi.com. He submitted this article on behalf of Tomra Sorting Inc., with North American operations headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. More information is available at www.tomra.com/en/sorting/recycling.
Optical/sensor sorters
Mixed Metals Sorting
Electrically exciting sorting
A team of researchers has developed a new eddy current separator designed to improve nonferrous sorting.
© vector_v / stock.adobe.com
Changes to China's scrap import policies have reduced outlets for zorba, leading auto shredder operators in the U.S. to look for alternative options for the zorba they generate. For some, that has meant investing in equipment to further sort this material. Although traditional eddy current separators are effective at sorting nonferrous metals from nonmetallic materials, these machines fall short when trying to sort nonferrous metals from one another. This means recyclers have had to invest in sensor-based sorting technology or sink-float technology to further refine this material.
However, a team of researchers at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and EDX Magnetics LLC, a company associated with the research team at the University of Utah, have been working to remedy metals sorting challenges using high-frequency electromagnets and a new form of eddy current sorter employing electrodynamic sorting (EDX). The research was led by Raj Rajamani, who is a professor of metallurgical engineering at the University of Utah. Research associates for this project included James Nagel, Dave Cohrs and Jacob Salgado.
One issue the researchers aimed to solve was recovering aluminum from zorba. The widespread use of eddy current separators among auto shredders operators means they have a tendency to produce relatively similar mixtures, Nagel says. One of the more common products produced by auto shredders is zorba, which is loosely defined as any combination of nonferrous scrap metals that is predominantly aluminum. However, zorba can be a tough grade to sort further, Nagel says.
A grant from the Reducing EMbodied-Energy And Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, West Henrietta, New York, helped the team of researchers construct a high-throughput electrodynamic sorter that can process zorba at a rate of about 1 ton per hour.
With the electrodynamic sorter, as lightweight aluminum particles pass through a magnetic field, electrical eddy currents are induced and the particles are propelled over a mechanical divider. The aluminum is recovered from the rest of the zorba, producing a clean, high- purity aluminum that can be sold directly to a smelter, says Nagel, who also is a co-founder of EDX Magnetics.
"This machine works well at upgrading zorba," he says. "We have a very good machine that works on fine zorba—zorba in the ¼-inch-to-1-inch size range. It's very good at getting aluminum out of that material with high purity. You can also upgrade your zorba to twitch. It also upgrades the drops of your copper concentrates, so you can get more value out of that."
Exciting technology
Rajamani first began researching magnets and eddy currents about a decade ago with hopes of developing an electrodynamic sorter. About five to six years ago, he submitted a proposal to develop an electrodynamic sorter to the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which funded the basic research.
Nagel says Rajamani and his team partnered with the REMADE Institute to scale the technology and make it more practical for use in scrap metal recycling.
Photo: EDX Magnetics LLC
Nagel adds that while the concept of EDX has been around for decades, EDX Magnetics' machine is the first embodiment that "really works" to sort nonferrous metals.
EDX Magnetics' electrodynamic sorter operates similarly to a traditional eddy current separator, Nagel says. The main difference is that eddy current separators are mechanical and feature a rotating cylinder, whereas the electrodynamic sorting machine features a nonmoving electrically excited field.
"The traditional eddy current is physically moving a permanent magnet," he says. "You have to mechanically move the magnet near the metallic object in order to excite the eddy current. We have an electromagnet, so it's magnetic material that you excite with an electrical current, and that creates a magnetic field. There's nothing moving. It's a solid block with an electrical current exciting it."
Nagel says the key principle with EDX technology is the high frequency of excitation that allows users to sort nonferrous metals from other nonferrous metals.
Electrodynamic sorting advantages
James Nagel, a research associate at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, says electrodynamic sorting offers a number of advantages:
It has a very high frequency of excitation.
The technology can sort nonferrous metals from other nonferrous metals.
It works on very small particles of about 1 millimeter in size.
The magnet features fewer moving parts.
It can sort by conducive geometry.
It improves sorting performance in cold climates.
It achieves high throughputs.
The process is dry.
It does not require much power.
EDX Magnetics' electrodynamic sorting system begins with a vibratory feeder that distributes scrap material onto a conveyor belt. Embedded within the conveyor assembly is an electromagnet core that is excited by an alternating electrical current. The tips of the electromagnet are placed in direct contact with the underside of the conveyor belt so that scrap particles can pass directly through the magnetic field overhead.
Depending on factors such as electrical conductivity, mass density and physical geometry, some of the particles will repel up and away from the magnet. These particles are referred to as "throws." Any particles that pass through the field without significant deflection are referred to as "drops." A mechanical splitter separates the throws from the drops, which collect in corresponding bins.
Because of the excessive heat that builds up in the electromagnets, an axial flow fan is used to circulate air through the cores to maintain a stable temperature. Nagel says the EDX technology also serves as an alternative to density separation technologies.
"[Density separation technology] exists and people are using it, but it's expensive," he says. "There is a huge processing cost with it—you may need to clean and dry materials. There are regulatory hurdles [to that model] as well. All these factors come together to determine whether that technology is viable or not."
Prepping to go to market
Lab testing on the technology was completed between February 2018 and November 2019, and Nagel says EDX Magnetics is almost in a position to sell the electrodynamic sorter commercially. But first, he says, the researchers need to test the machine in a scrap yard setting for a few months. Once the researchers know the machine can operate for three-to-four months in a scrap yard with no major failures, Nagel says EDX Magnetics will be ready to start taking orders.
He adds that the machine's cost will be on par with that of a traditional eddy current separator. However, Nagel explains, this technology isn't meant to replace eddy current separators; it supplements them by providing a better sort. "Most eddy currents, they're very good at getting metal out of nonmetal, but they aren't very good at sorting metal after the fact," he says. "This machine would come after a traditional eddy current."
Based on the lab testing, Nagel adds that the electrodynamic sorter can comfortably sort zorba at a rate of about 1 ton per hour. It can be pushed to about 1.5 tons per hour, but he says "that is the upward limit of pushing material through."
This technology offers other advantages in nonferrous sorting, Nagel adds. One benefit is that the machine can sort particles that are as small as 1 millimeter. The sorter requires only 4-to-5 kilowatts of power to operate. Also, the machine operates efficiently in warm and cold climates alike, but it achieves even better results in cold temperatures, he says.
Nagel adds that the electrodynamic sorter can be targeted to process other grades of nonferrous metals beyond zorba, as well. "This technology can be applied to other materials; just focus it on the greatest need."
Magnets/Eddy Currents
zorba
The minimill cost advantage
Minimills enjoyed a cost advantage over integrated producers in 2019, but that is not expected to continue going forward.
Ryan Smith of CRU Group
© Zhao jiankang / stock.adobe.com
Operating costs for flat-rolled minimill producers dropped in 2019 as weaker steel markets have pulled down metallics prices. This has meant that operating costs for minimills were in line with integrated producers in the United States throughout much of 2019. However, that cost level is not expected to be maintained.
US minimills are typically higher cost
On an operating cost basis, U.S. integrated mills typically are lower cost than their minimill peers. Scrap prices are tied to the marginal cost of hot metal production—meaning that the input for scrap-based steelmaking is typically higher than the average ironmaking bulks mix (iron ore, coal and coke). Supply-and-demand dynamics in the steel and scrap markets influence scrap prices, and high steelmaking margins will increase the spread between scrap prices and ironmaking costs and vice versa. In the U.S., domestic scrap prices are influenced by export scrap prices, with U.S. export scrap prices being linked to European and Turkish scrap prices. Scrap prices in Europe and Turkey are in turn driven by the marginal cost of hot metal production in these regions, which is typically higher than in the U.S.
Minimill costs are More volatile
Lower cost U.S. integrated producers, such as Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp. and Chicago-based ArcelorMittal USA have access to captive iron ore pellets that are charged to the mills on a cost-plus-logistics basis. These same integrated producers also have varying access to captive coal and coke that are charged to the mills on a cost-plus-logistics basis.
Higher cost integrated producers typically buy all or most of their iron ore and coal from merchant producers, such as Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and SunCoke Energy. In this case, the raw material purchases are typically conducted on a multiyear contract basis, with quarterly price adjustments that take into account changes to seaborne raw material prices, shape premia, steel prices and Consumer Price Index movements.
These pricing arrangements for integrated producers have an important impact on costs. Integrated producers' costs tend to move slowly, changing with contract adjustments and/or mining cost changes. As such, the costs for integrated steelmakers are less volatile than those for minimills.
CRU forecasts that steel prices and margins will increase from the fourth quarter of 2019, signaling that scrap, and metallics prices more generally, will rise in price.
Metallics prices moved downward for the balance of 2019, and costs for minimill producers have declined quickly as a result. The costs for mini- mill producers are much more responsive to changes in market prices because of the shorter time frames on which minimills purchase their raw material inputs—typically on a monthly basis.
What happened in 2019?
For much of 2019, steel markets have weakened, and scrap prices have dropped closer to marginal hot metal production costs. In the U.S. this has meant that flat-rolled production costs for minimill producers have dropped, with minimills on average producing steel at a lower cost than the higher cost integrated operations that do not have access to captive iron ore pellets. In addition, raw material prices for iron ore and coal were high for most of 2019 because of supply side issues, though these issues began to unwind in September. The result of these swings in raw material prices has led to partitioning on CRU's hot-rolled coil cost curve.
Will minimills stay lower cost?
CRU does not expect that the current cost level for minimills will be maintained. Low scrap prices reduce U.S. domestic scrap supply, and the growing minimill sector has an increasing appetite for scrap. In addition, CRU forecasts that steel prices and margins will increase from the fourth quarter of 2019, and these factors signal that scrap, and metallics prices more generally, will rise in price. In turn, this will increase minimill costs back above average integrated mill costs in 2020 and they will stay higher than integrated mill costs out to 2023.
This relative improvement in cost position will come as welcome relief for the integrated sector in the U.S., which struggles to realize the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins and profitability of the minimill sector. From 2020 onward, the integrated sector will again see cost inflation.
© Wisut / stock.adobe.com
What does CRU's Steel Cost Model tell us about the drivers of the cost changes for the integrated sector?
CRU's Steel Cost Model is designed to provide granularity and transparency that allows the user to understand exactly what is driving changes in costs and competitiveness in the U.S. and the rest of the world. (CRU's Steel Cost Service provides a comprehensive examination of steelmaking costs for semifinished, flat and long products across the global industry for the years 2006 to 2025. Access to the Cost Analysis Tool allows users to generate individual asset reports with all key operation data via the web-based software. Further information and a demo are available by contacting CRU.)
Overall, costs will rise for the integrated sector from 2020 onward for a variety of reasons:
Iron ore supplied on a contract basis will feel upward price pressure because of rising hot-rolled coil prices and U.S. inflation.
Iron ore supplied on a cost-plus-logistics basis will see delivered prices rise because of mining cost inflation.
Rising metallics prices also will affect U.S. integrated steel producers but will do so to a lesser extent than it will affect minimills.
Higher wage rates, negotiated by workers' unions in 2018 when steel prices were high, will increase labor costs.
A forecasted decline in coal prices globally somewhat offsets these cost rises; however, overall, costs are expected to rise.
Given our expectations for the raw materials and metallics markets, CRU does not believe the current low cost base of minimill producers will be maintained: Minimill costs will rise as the steel market improves and additional minimill capacity begins to come online. The integrated sector will see some relief as their costs drop below those of the minimills in 2020 but, from 2020 onward, costs for the integrated sector also will begin rising.
Ryan Smith is a senior analyst based in Sydney with London-based CRU Group. He is responsible for CRU's Steel Cost Service, which provides comprehensive coverage of the global steel industry and details CRU's independent view of the cost structures for semifinished, flat and long products. More information is available at www.crugroup.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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INTRODUCING: Bekah Bossard
November 20, 2019 Marla GeesingComment(0)
When was the last time you felt hugged by a song? Felt the warmth of the words, the gentleness of a guitar… just engulf you. Well, look no further. We've found a song that does just that.
Debut single, 'San Diego' by up and coming artist, Bekah Bossard is a dreamy indie-pop infused track that casts you into another realm.
The studio version of the song is kept stripped from unnecessary instruments, so that ethereal tone of Bossard's voice can properly shine through and the lyrics work their magic. Its hypnotic pull lulls you in and keeps you hooked. Produced by Tim Barton and Abi Simmons, Bossard is vocally backed by Bella Barton. 'San Diego' is a track about "embracing the feeling of being completely at home with [a person] whilst also learning to be at peace with losing it." It's honest and raw. Vulnerable and sad but hopeful too.
And that rawness, is further displayed in the acoustic version of the song. In the video, Bossard stands alone in a wheat field. Just herself and a guitar. Watching her stand there and sing, you're firmly transported into that landscape. You can feel the radiance of that late summer afternoon. Feel a slight airy breeze. Hear the birds chime in.
Funnily enough, Bekah Bossard herself originates from California but fares from the South West of England – ultimately finding a new home in London. From the age of 13, she's been writing songs and playing the guitar. And it's the writing and the power of words that have always been of great importance to her – "[recollecting] memories of writing poetry since [being able to] string a sentence together," states the song's press release.
'San Diego' marks Bossard's first single. One she needed to "get [it] right," explaining "it feels terrifying to be so vulnerable but pushing through the fear to create a connection with people through my music makes it all worth it."
But the wait's been worth it. So, listen up and dream away.
'San Diego' is out now – available to Stream/Purchase here.
Discover more of Bekah Bossard via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tagged Introducing, Listen, Music, New Music, Review
Marla Geesing
Music writer with a love for honest lyrics – and may have a serious concert addiction. Based in Germany.
EP REVIEW: The Elephant Trees – 'Monachopsis'
In Conversation With… YONAKA


text:
Murphy, Graham J. ""On a More Meaningful Scale". Marketing Utopia in Watchmen." In: Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 28.1 (98) (2017), S. 70–85.
Added by: joachim (2021-01-27 15:00)	Last edited by: joachim (2021-01-27 15:02)
BibTeX citation key: Murphy2017
Keywords: "Watchmen", Adaptation, Gibbons. Dave, Moore. Alan, United Kingdom, USA, Utopia
Creators: Murphy
Collection: Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts Views: 3/110
Attachments URLs	https://www.jstor.org/stable/26390194
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen helped define a watershed period for the American comic book industry; however, although pre-production on various Watchmen film scripts began shortly after Watchmen's success, a full-fledged adaptation didn't hit theatres until Zack Snyder's Watchmen was released in 2009. This paper addresses the very different handling of utopianism in both versions of Watchmen, arguing that exploring utopianism in Moore's Watchmen provides much more to say about the traction of utopian social dreaming in our contemporary age than the deconstructionism that defines Snyder's film. In the end, while Snyder's Watchmen is visually arresting and effectively translates some of Moore's content into a cinematic medium, Moore's Watchmen uses the self-reflexivity of its superheroes to engage in a larger project on utopian inquiry and theorization in the realm of popular culture, an inquiry that remains important in today's broader cultural and socio-economic climates.


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BC tip - Jigsaw: Audio case studies
May 25, 2016 Anansi BowenCraggs
A Google-owned think tank makes innovative use of radio-quality audio clips for its case studies.
Jigsaw (formerly Google Ideas) is a think tank and technology incubator within Google's holding company Alphabet. Its mission is to invent technology that will address global problems such as violent extremism, online censorship and digital attacks.
The think tank's website uses radio-quality audio clips coupled with rolling transcripts to illustrate its services. For example, in 'Uncovering corruption in Cairo', investigative reporter Hisham Allam tells a 2m story about how he uses the Jigsaw database and records-access service, Investigative Dashboard. Visitors can either listen, or turn the sound off and read the story.
The website home page plays excerpts of its case studies in a loop, inviting visitors to click for more on the story, or the Jigsaw service it is helping to highlight.
Jigsaw's audio case studies take a simple, but innovative approach to content creation. It is an unusual choice not to use video for this kind of material, but the quality of the recordings and power of the language lend immediacy to the testimony.
The clips are relatively short, and signposted via a vertical bar. The audio also acts as a hook – viewers can decide to turn it off and read the transcript.
https://jigsaw.google.com
Tags audio, multimedia, transcripts, storytelling, Jigsaw, Google


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Home Bhutan Festival Tours
No.of Days / Duration: 15
Category: Bhutan Festival Tours
Day 01: Arrival Paro - Thimphu
The most spectacular mountain flights you will ever experience in a life time. Flying in from the heat of the plains of India one can witness from the left side of the aircrafts window a series of the world's highest peaks. Your pilot will announce the names of the peaks if the weather is clear. You will descend into the high mountains and as the plane lowers you will not find any airstrip or any city but instead you will enjoy the view of the approaching valley of Paro, the alpine forests, little monasteries, temples and farm houses. Before the plane touches the runaway you will get a glimpse of the fertile valley of Paro, the Paro Dzong (Fortress) and Paro chu (river). Our representative will be at the airport to assist you and meet. And transfer to Thimphu. Evening visit Tashichoe Dzong (Fortress of Glorious Religion). Overnight at the hotel in Thimphu.
Day 02: Thimphu sightseeing.
Thimphu sightseeing includes the following: After breakfast you will be transfer to the following places. And lunch will be served.
National Library - There are lots of Bhutanese scripts and also we have the biggest book in the world.
Handmade Paper Factory - The Jungshi handmade paper factory uses traditional methods to produce the authentic Bhutanese paper known as Deh-sho. It is located approximately 1 km from Thimphu City. The factory uses the bark of two tree species, the Daphne tree and Dhekap tree in the manufacture of traditional paper. Visitors can observe the entire process of producing handmade paper using ancient traditional methods that have been practiced for generations. You can even try your hand at this ancient craft and make some paper of your very own as a souvenir. Deh-sho paper was originally used by monasteries for woodblock and manuscript books and also for writing prayer books.
Zilukha Nunnery - Zilukha nunnery in Drubthob Goemba,Thimphu is biggest nunnery in Bhutan. The Nunnery and Goemba once it belonged to the Drubthob (Realized one) Thang Thong Gyalpo often referred to as The King of the open field. In the early 15th century with his multiple talents he popularly became the Leonardo da Vinci of the Great Himalayas. It is located above Tashichhoedzong(2 KM drive from the Dzong). The Zhilukha Nunnery is overlooking the Tashichhoedzong or Thimpu Dzong. You can see many nuns chanting prayers and turning prayer wheels in Zhlukha nunnery. In the same compound there is one-storey building which is serving as sleeping quarters. You can see views of golf course and other side of Thimphu valley. In Bhutan girls and women are admitted to nunneries for short to long period of time. From the nunnery they get an education. Finally they dedicate their lives to serve the society. These nuns are very much involved in local communities in Bhutan and helping needy families.
Takin Preservation Centre (contains national animal takin). Evening at leisure or take a walk to the main city from Clock tower square for shopping. It provides excellent opportunity to mingle with local people. Overnight at the hotel in Thimphu.
Day 03: Thimphu-Punakha
Morning drive to low lands of Punakha valley touching Dochula pass 3,100 m and on the stop at Hongtsho village. Stop at the immigration check point to stamp in your permit. Next to the check point you will find small local stalls selling fresh juicy local apples available for sale in plastic bags you could try some. You will be driving through the first mountain pass in the western part of Bhutan. You will find the 108 Druk Wangyal chortens on the top of the pass where the ridges are draped in colourful prayer flags greet you. You could take three rounds and offer prayers, take some best photo shots. If the weather is clear you will be able to see the highest peaks towards the north, Gangar Punsum among others is the highest unclimbed peak (24,000 ft) in the world.. If you are lucky you could see red pandas, different species of birds, you can take some photo shot close to the natural lake. Proceed down towards Punakha through Thinleygang village and upon reaching Lobesa turn left and enter Punakha valley. On the way have Lunch at Lobesa and take a hike to Chimi Lhakhang (Temple). This monastery is dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kunley" Divine Madman" known for his outrageous behavior. It was built in 1499 by Ngawng Chogyal the, 14th Drukpa Hierarch. Many childless women visit this lhakhang (Temple) and seek blessings for a child. The existing footpath to Chimi Lhakhang (Temple) passes through beautiful terraces of paddy filed after crossing paddy field. You will come across a Lobesa Village with lots of traditional house. Lobesa Village is situated in valley, surrounded by paddy fields on the way to important Buddhist Shrine "Chimi Lhakhang" in Punakha. You can very well interact with local people and here also, you can visit some village houses to understand about their life style and proceed towards Chimi Lhakhang (Temple). Drive to Punakha. Overnight at a Hotel in Punakha.
Day 04: Punakha (Hike)
Morning we will visit beautiful nunnery built on the hill top of Walakha, join the nuns for morning prayer and later on drive further north of Punakha to visit one of the beautiful Stupa or Temple built on ridge near the Punakha river known as Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten which will take around 30 minutes to reach from the town. It was built in honour for then Crown Prince Jigme Kheser Namgyel Wangchuk which was built in 1990s and took period of nearly 10 years. From the parking, it will take another 45 minutes uphill hike to reach crossing through rice suspension bridge and rice field and return portion downhill takes around 30 minutes. Overnight at a hotel in Punakha
Day 05: Punakha – Trongsa
Morning transfer to Trongsa via Wangdi we drive uphill towards Pela La Pass crossing the Black Mountains that divides western and central Bhutan. The roads uphill is pretty curving with sharp bends but you need not worry as our drivers are well experienced and on the way you will find rhododendron, magnolias and yaks grazing and on clear days you will find the Mt. Jumolhari standing still towards the west, at an elevation of 23,685feet. Before arriving to Trongsa you will pass by Nikkarchu Bridge and here you will find white washed stone chorten built in Nepalese style in the 18th century which lies below the road. This temple was founded by a lama called Shida who subdued a demon that was a trouble to the valley. Here you will experience something interesting as you will be approaching Trongsa where from the road you will be able to view the massive Trongsa Dzong also known as "the never reaching Trongsa Dzong. this place used to be the old gateway between the east and west. If you have time you could visit the Trongsa Dzong and Ta Dzong (Ta means watch tower in Dzongkha) was built in 1652 and now it is a museum which displays Buddhist art and the history of our Monarchy. Overnight at Trongsa.
Day 06: Trongsa – Bumthang
Post breakfast, we will drive you towards Bumthang. Bumthang valley is very open and spacious which is different from other valleys in Bhutan, its altitude ranges from 2,600 meters (8530ft) to 4000 meters (13,125 ft).Bumthang is known as heaven for hikers and trekkers and you will come across many beautiful monasteries, also important Buddhist monasteries and pilgrimage sites. This valley is full of surprises and fascinating as almost every valley or hill has a background of interesting myths and legends about kings, Buddhist masters and serpents. This place is important in terms of religious relics left by the famous Guru Rinpoche and his reincarnation. Morning visit Jakar Dzong founded by a white bird built on a ridge overlooks the valley. The Kurjey Lhakhang where the kings of Bhutan are taken for their cremation rites. Kurjey translates into "Kur" means body and "Jey "means Lhakhang. The big cypress tree is believed to be the walking stick of Guru Rimpoche. The great Guru also created a holy water hole beside the temple which people frequent either for religious or medical purposes. Wangdicholing Palace – built during the times of the first king's father, Jigme Namgyel was used by the first King Ugyen Wangchuk as his main residence. Visit the town or take a walk till the bridge though the township was burnt down by fire in recent times. If you are a cheese and honey lover you could try the Bumthang cheese which is available and honey produced in Bumthang. Evening at leisure. O/n at Bumthang.
Day 07: Ura Valley Excursion
Beautiful Ura valley is located on the way to eastern Bhutan with incredible community and amazing valley. It is also the most beautiful valley within Bumthang district with traditional and well preserved cultures and traditions. On the visit also visit Mebartsho also referred as "The Burning Lake" it's believed to be one of most sacred religious sites in Bhutan. During the time of tertoen (Treasure Discoverer) Pema Lingpa it's said that he discovered the hidden treasure of Guru Padmashambava from that lake with lamp burning on his hand. Overnight at a hotel in Bumthang.
Day 08: Bumthang – Tashigang
Post breakfast, we will be driven towards Tashigang and Overnight in a Hotel in Tashigang.
Day 09: Tashigang (Sightseeing).
Post breakfast, we will visit Rangjung Lhakhang Further east from Trashigang, driving north will take you to another commercial hub in Trashigang, the Rangjung town. This once sleepy town is today a major commercial center where people from five gewogs congregate and carry out brisk businesses. Besides the town one can visit the Rangjung temple located on a small hillock overlooking the town. The temple built in the architectural style of the Tibetans has a monastic school supported by HH Garab Rinpoche. Namdru Choling lhakhang An hour's drive from the Rangjung town will take you to Phongmey a quiet but a quaint village through the rice fields. At the end of the road is the Namdu Choling lhakhang widely known as the Phongmey lhakhang. Built in the late 1890's this lhakhang serves the spiritual needs of the village. Opposite the lhakhang across the Gamri Chu river is the abode of the local deity Meme Ralang where one can see hermitages on its top. Later, you will take you to witness Tashigang Tsechu (27th Nov – 29th Nov, 2017). The annual Trashigang Tshechu is one of the biggest festivals in eastern Bhutan. People from all over eastern Bhutan come to the festival. The nomadic community of Merak and Sakteng, called the Brokpas, stand out of the crowd with their unique dress and appearance. Different sacred mask dances are performed during the festival apart from other traditional folk songs and dances. The highlight of the festival is the unfurling of the thongdrel (large tapestry) of Guru Tshengyed (eight manifestation of Guru Rinpoche). Another Thongdrol of Neten Chudrug (Sixteen Arhats) is also unfurled for the public. Overnight in a hotel in Tashigang.
Day 10: Tashigang– Gangtey
Post breakfast, we will drive you back to Gangtey and overnight in a Hotel in Gangtey.
Day 11: Gangtey (Sightseeing)
After breakfast you will visit Gangtey Monastery or the Gangtey Goempa is an important monastery / temple associate with the Nyingmapa school of Buddhism. The Monastery is Located in the Wandue Phodrang Dzhongkhag in central Bhutan. The Gangtey Monastery is situate in the picturesque Phobjikha Valley, which is also renowned for being the winter home of the rare Tibetan Black Necked Cranes. The monastery was established in 1613 by Peling Gyalse Rinpoche, the grandson of Trenton Pema Lingpa the great treasurer discoverer. According to a story during a visit to the Phobjikha Valley, Trenton Pema Lingpa foretold the people that one day his descendants will construct a monastery on the hills surrounding the valley and make it the seat of the Peling Tradition. The present ruling dynasty of Bhutan is descendant of the great Trenton Pema Lingpa. The monastery is a complex of five temples that surround a main central tower. The main hall of the monastery is built in Tibetan style architecture and is made completely out of wood with its 8 main wooden pillars considered to be the largest in Bhutan. Between 2002 and 2008 the monastery underwent a complete renovation / restoration.The monastery was consecrated by the present day reincarnation of the Pema Lingpa in October 2008. The monastery has a very close connection to the royal family of Bhutan. Phobjikha valley The Phobjikha is a wide glacial valley located in close to the Gangtey Monastery. The Phobjikha valley is the winter home of the rare Black Necked Cranes that migrate from Tibet from the arid plains of Tibet to roost in the more comfortable climate of the Phobjikha Valley. The valley is at an altitude of 2900 meters above sea level and experiences a much lighter winter as compared to the harsh extremes of Tibet. A part of the valley lies in the Black Mountain National Park. There are 2 rivers that flow through this valley called the Nakay Chu and the Gay Chu. According to legend it is said that the rivers represent a serpent and a boar. Once upon a time there was a race between the two to determine wether people can grow rice in the valley or not, if the serpent won then the people of the valley could grow rice but if the boar won, then rice could never be cultivated in the area. Eventually the serpent lost and till date rice is not grown in the Phobjikha Valley. While visiting the Phobjikha Valley one must take time out to visit the Black Necked Crane Information Centre, the centre is located at the edge of the main forest are along the road and can be easily accessed. The centre has an observation deck that is equipped with a high power telescope that gives visitors a chance to spot some cranes. The Information Center has a display that offers an insight in to the natural and cultural history of the valley. Overnight in a Hotel in Gangtey.
Day 12: Gangtey – Paro
Drive back to Paro. Overnight at a hotel in Paro
Day 13 Drive back to Paro
Morning visit Lhakhang (temple) Karpo also known as the white temple believed to be constructed in 7th century by Tibetan king Songtsen Gempo in his mission to built 108 temples throughout Tibet, Ladakh and Bhutan. Then drive to Paro, after lunch visit Rinpung Dzong is a large dzong - Buddhist monastery and fortress - of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school in Paro District in Bhutan. It houses the district Monastic Body and government administrative offices of Paro Dzongkhag. Kichu Lhakhang - The Jowo Temple of Kyichu is one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, originally built in the 7th century by the Tibetan Emperor Songtsän Gampo. It is considered to be one of the 108 border taming temples he built. Taktshang (Tiger's Nest) falls in top 20 places to visit in the world. Paro is a valley of religion and myth. The most famous landmark, Taktsang Monastery (Tiger's Nest), stands on a granite cliff about 1000 m above the valley. It is believed that Guru Rinpoche, a famous Buddhist saint, flew to Paro on a tigress and meditated at Taktsang. The monastery is considered a national treasure of Bhutan. The hike to Taktsang would take us around 2 ½ hrs to reach a cafeteria, a point from where one can enjoy great view of the monastery. Those interested can walk further 45 minutes uphill to get a closer view of the monastery. Walk down back to road. The journey downward to the road would take us less 1 ½ hrs. Have lunch in Hotel. After lunch take a walk in Paro Bazar for shoping. Overnight at the Hotel in Paro.
Day 15: Departure
After Breakfast drive back to Paro International Airport. Bhutan Buddha escort will help you with exit formalities and then bid you farewell.
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This facility is equipped with the WeatherBug Lightning Alert System. When the system detects lightning within 10 miles of the facility, the air horns sound an uninterrupted 15-second blast and the strobe light will activate. Park patrons who hear the horn and/or see the light need to seek shelter immediately. When the system no longer detects a threat, three 5-second blasts from the horn will sound and the strobe light will stop working. This is the signal that it is safe to return outdoors.
No system is fool-proof. Park visitors should always assess weather conditions before going outside and always be prepared to take the appropriate action needed to ensure one's safety.


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Zwilling Fresh & Save makes food last longer at home
Hardware, Health, Reviews
Ted Kritsonis
One thing about working from home is that you can always benefit from having food last longer, and that's what the Fresh and Save system from Zwilling aims to do.
At first glance, they look like typical food containers, but there's some tech involved here to make it more well-rounded. For starters, it's a vacuum storage system using a rechargeable pump to suck out air from inside the container. Zwilling says that makes the food contents inside last up to five times longer.
The Zwilling Culinary World app can scan QR codes on the lids to help determine how long food can last based on what's actually inside. The idea is to naturally reduce food spoilage, while increasing storage all at once. It paints a nice picture for meal prep, though there are some nuances to keep in mind along the way.
How the vacuum pump works
The most striking part of the Fresh and Save system is the most technical, and that's the vacuum pump. It looks like a motorized pepper grinder but actually only serves the purpose of pulling the air out of the containers and bags designed for the system. It has a cap at the bottom, which also houses the micro-USB port to charge the internal battery. Why micro-USB over USB-C is baffling, but in any case, you get a charger and cable in the box.
The basics behind how it works are pretty simple:
You place food in a container or bag.
Take the cap off the pump.
Place it over the valve in the container or bag.
Press the button on the pump.
Wait for it to stop pumping before removing it.
The pump knows when there's no other air to pull out. It can't completely deoxidize a container or bag to make something last almost indefinitely. Nor is it a vacuum solution that seals food tight in plastic, like you often find at a grocery store. The idea here is to be able to store food for a little longer, though you can stretch time further using a freezer.
Zwilling rubberized the pump's suction area to ward off liquids that might splash in, though you still should be careful. I would advise never to store soup in these containers, especially if it's closer to the top of the container. It will almost certainly find its way into the pump's internal mechanics.
Zwilling food containers and bags
As key as the pump is, the system's expandability lies squarely with where you actually store food. The Starter Set review Zwilling sent was made up of two glass containers and four bags — two small, two medium. A wine sealer was also thrown in for good measure.
These containers aren't cheap in quality, given their sturdy build and weight. Zwilling says they not only work to keep food safe in the fridge or freezer. You can also use them in the oven, reheat in the microwave and as a serving dish at the table.
There are plastic variants of these same containers, which aren't going to be usable in the oven, to say the least. You can, however, use them for the other purposes, like storing food in a fridge or freezer, and washing them in a dishwasher. They work the same way, sporting the same valves at the top.
In both cases, the lids have rubberized gaskets around the edges that contract or expand depending on how much pressure the air (or lack thereof) applies. They are also the same, regardless of whether the container is glass or plastic.
The bags are very different in that you can use them to store anything you might consider more temporary or harder to fit in a container. Personally, I preferred to keep drier things, like pre-cut veggies, bread, uncut fruit and unopened cheese in there. But you could always use it to marinate something, or even cook in sous vide, if you like. Zwilling says the bags are reusable, but I'm thinking there's a finite number that isn't particularly high, especially if the bags get dirty or oily.
Where the Zwilling Culinary World app comes in
Each lid has a QR code that serves an important purpose. The app is pretty good when you look at the recipes and use it as a shopping list, but under "Devices", the Fresh and Save section lets you add an item. This is where I would scan the code with my phone, and then select the Shelf Life form to select what was inside. From there, the app determines how long the contents inside will last in the fridge and freezer.
For example, I put freshly cut watermelon inside a large glass container, and it told me it would last for 10 days in the fridge. That's an eternity for watermelon, so it was a surprising result. When I opened it up three days later, I was shocked to find it tasted as if freshly cut.
With barbecued chicken breast, it gave me a six-day window from the fridge — 90 days from the freezer. There is a caveat that I learned as I went along. While it was great to place the chicken into the glass container, Zwilling recommends letting food cool to room temperature before vacuuming the air out.
The app doesn't provide a great deal of context, so you do have to read the manual out of the box to look for some of the nuances. For example, "fresh vegetables" casts a wide net, except it's hard to tell if mixed greens will last as long as broccoli, or if cutting an avocado in half will stay a perfect green for as long as half an onion might.
In my experience, it didn't, so that's when you can set up your own food groups to keep tabs on whatever it is you're storing. The app can notify you when time is running low, ensuring you consume what you have before spoiling.
Getting your food money's worth
Unless you keep track, it's hard to tell how much money you spend on food goes to waste. Zwilling's Fresh and Save system tries to mitigate that in a way that uses tech without a steep learning curve. And there's some flexibility in how to make use of it. You could use the containers to store marinated or cooked dishes, and they can act as substitutes for the storage coming from grocery stores.
Even getting takeout from a local eatery can last longer this way. Imagine ordering more than you need in one sitting so you can store it for an extra couple of days to eat the rest later. If they become indispensable after grocery store runs, as well as for meal prep and after cooking, the $150 Starter Set may not be enough on its own. Still, it is a good start, and could change how you manage foodstuffs at home going forward.
Apps, Food, kitchen
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Kangana Ranaut is a big fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and she got to meet his idol at the Rising India summit.
Kangana Ranaut's sister Rangoli Chandel took to Twitter to share the picture. She captioned the picture, "Proud moment for the whole family!!"
Kangana looked stunning in a printed floral sari.
Speaking at the summit, the 'Queen' actress said, "As a youth, I want to see growth in my life. I have come to this conclusion that if India does not grow then I won't grow. I am an Indian and born an Indian. I have no other identity".
"I said in some interview that I am a nationalist. People said 'oh you are that type of a person'. I was like 'what do you mean by that kind?' I personally feel that there is a confusion between these words.
"Before all of this, I hadn't even heard of the term nationalism. The good thing is that at least the word has got out. That there is a word like nationalism. You can have a choice whether you want to believe in it or not," Kangana said.
The actress said she is huge fan PM Modi.
"I am a big Modi fan because of his success story. As a young woman I do believe that we need to have right role models. I mean the graph and the ambition of an ordinary man and whenever we have a PM who is a chaiwala, then I always say that it is not his victory but it is the victory of our democracy. I feel he is the right role model," he said.
Speaking about the controversy surrounding the Pakistani artists working in India, the actress said that artistic world is different from physical world.
"Artistic realm is different from physical realm. When you are talking about physical boundaries and you are talking about borders, why be esoteric. You should know about a place where people are losing lives.
"At the time of ban on Pakistani artists, the country is vulnerable where people are struggling and trying to cope with emotions. The common sentiment is 'Humko kya Lena dena, hum toh artist hai'. This is not going to work. Above everything, you are Indians as well, and when you are talking about boundaries, you can't go into esoteric world and say 'I am an artist'," Kangana said.
On the work front, Kangana Ranaut will be next seen in 'Manikarnika-The queen of Jhansi'.


Those that sit and listen to you say every week how you should protect your data, back up your work and have a plan in place for if a disaster strikes.
I remember the Friday night, thinking I need to back up 3 months of hard work (which consisted of challenging cases and difficult drafting) - then my son fell over and I was distracted, and I forgot. On the Sunday evening I logged into my computer - and no desk top! No documents, no precedents, no access to my work.
I felt sick, a wave of panic and very hot and suddenly very stupid and vulnerable, and I hate feeling vulnerable.
I messaged my BNI colleague at LaneSystems on the Sunday, something I try not to do because everuone should have a day off. I was contacted and told to bring my computer in on Monday.
I did, and got direct access to a technician who without looking at the computer reassured me that he would do what he could and he felt my data could be recovered.
It took 3 days, which were long days, and being self employed, days that I lost income. I then got the call to say all data was restored. the computer was brought back to my office, and not only had the technician restored it, he had backed up my data and gave it to me on a hard drive.
For my experience, I would happily recommend LaneSystems but please learn from my experience and do not wait for a crisis - purchase a monthly plan that gives you access to their IT guys, who were very goof and calm in my crisis and not judgemental.
Thank you to LaneSystems and their IT technicians for their professional, quick and knowledgeable service. I am hugely grateful for the service they gave to me and my business.