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Victoria Star And The Nasteran - Dolphins
Welcome All,
Though I've been away, the diving has continued.
My thanks Cara and Nick for the following, also for Brian's notes on the WhatsApp group. Video footage will be available soon.
First Cara:
Divers: Cara, Allen, Brian, Hans, Nick, Polly
Dive site: Victoria Star and then Nasteran
Thanks to Brian for the wake-up call (and fine), Allen and I were actually able to make the dive. Upon arriving at the club, we soon got ourselves down to Al Khan Port to embark upon the Vic Star. Hooked on the first attempt, we all had an enjoyable dive with little current and OK vis (we have had much worse conditions on this site in the past). Within the cargo hold the current was nil and there was the best viz that I've ever seen in there, which meant we were able to explore around the concrete blocks more than we had done in the past.
Fish life was the norm, with Black Spotted Snappers, Arabian spine cheeks and Goat fish. Plus the occasional curious, yet scared, Yellow Bar Angel fish. For the newest member of the BSAC 406 club, Hans, he did very well as Brian managed to enjoy a 50 minute dive with him. Kudos to him for good air consumption and braving the waters in only skins whilst the rest of us were donning 3 or 5 mm neoprene. However he did spend a few minutes looking for a dive computer which was already on his wrist. As a newcomer, we decided not to fine him for this.
The second dive on the Nasteran was a more enjoyable one, as the viz was a little better and there were some nice swim throughs to be done. Allen secured the anchor in hole in the wreck, exactly where I was I pointing at a lovely big crab… I presume the crab moved. Again there was the same fish life, but our keenest interest was in seeing the infamous mummy Octopus and her eggs which Brian had discovered on last weeks' dives. As Allen and I excitedly and expectantly lifted the rock, to our disappointment, there was no octopus or eggs. I can only hope that the eggs hatched rather than becoming fish food for some of the goat fish which I've seen lifting rocks and looking for morsels of food before.
Allen and I continued our dive, and as we went to turn around the stern of the wreck, came face to face with a beautiful Stingray. Usually when this happens, you get spotted and they scarper – on this occasion it seemed completely unaware or unbothered of our presence, so we got to have a good look at it, but did not get too close as thoughts of Steve Irvine were close to mind. The rest of the dive was relaxing and uneventful until the end when the anchor was no longer secured in the hole (I think the crab moved it) We had heard some chain clanging and boat engines and had wondered what was happening on the surface.
Not to worry, a free ascent on a DSMB is always a nice skill to practice. Upon boarding the boat, Brian spotted a pod of Dolphins hunting. So we sat and ate lunch whist watching the Dolphins. Unfortunately for Nick and Polly, they had gone by the time they had surfaced, but they did see the Ray on the wreck. Newbie Hans got another open water wreck experience first, as he and Brian sent up the anchor on SMBs, but seemed to take a while to ascend after that.
The proposed Eid trip to Mafia is not now going to happen. Perhaps we got over-ambitious but there were too many who couldn't make or were doing other things. A thought for next year:
With the newly generous public holidays, we could do it at Eid Al Fitr rather than Eid Al Adha, which would bring it into May rather than August. Get in touch if you would like to join the club on our dive excursions.
DAN insurance website: https://www.daneurope.org/home
The Dive Club meets every Tuesday night in the Dive Bar.
In Search Of The Dara
Thank you to Cara and Nick for the following dive log.
Divers: Cara, Allen, Rayan, Nick, Polly, Denis
Dive site: MV Dara
This day's diving marked a first – Allen's first as a licensed boat driver. It was also the first time we had ever been diving with BSAC 406 without Ian, Brian or Mike to guide the newbies. As Nick put it, it was the first adventures of BSAC 406 next generation. Upon arriving at the club, we worked together to make sure we did everything was done correctly, as per the written instructions, and away we went to Hamriya Port with the MV Dara in mind.
After successfully getting past the coastguard checks, we went to turn on the boat's GPS and sonar device, but to no avail. Not to be deterred we had the idea to look up the GPS coordinates for the Dara and enter the coordinates into Google Maps and use our mobile phone to find the location of the wreck. After 20 minutes of boat driving getting the blue dot (us) closer to the red pin (Dara), we arrived at our dive site. We hoped. The next problem to overcome was hooking the wreck. Without sonar we were unable to use the fish finder to locate it, but the viz was so good, we decided to do a surface circular search, trying to keep the blue dot on the red pin, with me hanging over the bow shouting back as to when I saw wreck and fish. The next problem was knowing whether we had actually hooked the wreck, as without a speedometer, we had no real idea of our movement except for said blue dot/red dot, coupled with the fact there was no real current to speak of.
Thankfully there is a buoy near the Dara, so with some two point trig, we determined we were not moving and sent the first two divers in. For those of little faith on the boat, there was some reticence to go in the water only to find sand, but Polly and Nick went down first with the aim of doing a circular search and securing the anchor if the wreck was there. After 50 minutes Polly and Nick surfaced and we were informed we were hooked on the rope of a fishing pod, which was very secure (thanks to circular searching) and there was a line going off to the wreck.
So Allen and I kitted up. The viz was great, so we decided to stay at the Dara for the second dive (HAHAHA) The viz was excellent, as was the fish life. As well as the usual fish, there was a Ray (spotted only by Nick and Polly) and lots of Reef fish usually associated with an East coast dive including Yellow Spotted Box fish, Parrotfish, Thick Lipped Wrasse, Crescent Tail Wrasse, Angel fish, Clown fish and I even spotted one of my favourites, a Porcupine fish. We got to do some lovely swim throughs of the cathedral and freed many fish from certain death in ghost fish pods. Retrieving the anchor was a bit of a mission, but we managed it and were soon heading back to port on a south east bearing of 155O, we had a well-deserved beverage beside the pool.
A successful mission for the intrepid "next generation" of BSAC 406 and with thanks to Ian, remembered to put the bungs in the boat – apparently, they are important.
Nick had a slightly different take on the Dara dive:
Fridays' dive was a triumph for hope over probability. With all of the old guard being busy, BSAC 406, the new generation, decided to put out a boat.
Captain Allen successfully towed the boat out of the yard without demolishing any walls and we headed off to Ajman. Our second victory of the day came courtesy of Rayan with some arabic interpretation.
This victory however was short-lived, as we then noticed that we didn't have a functioning GPS. Faced with the possibility of turning back, we had a quick huddle, and decided to "try and blag it" – The Dara – biggest ship and greatest chance of hooking it blind- and shallowest, so best chance of spotting it from the top- was our choice. We put the coordinates into Cara's phone. Instead of sonar, we had me with an anchor in one hand and me head over the bow, spotting fish (we saw a Leopard Ray).
Once over fish, in range of the GPS and the marker buoy, we put down the anchor and circled around. Once established that we had hooked something so myself and Polly went down first. I was amazed by the viz 15m+. In a combination of looking at the lines of the fishing pods and "Enimimainimo", we reeled off and found the wreck about 20m off from the pod.
We secured the reel on a block. The next job was to identify the block/anchor point in relation to the ship. We swam into the current. The current was running bow to stern. After a complete circumnavigation, it turned out that the block was 15m from the stern.
Swimming around the Dara, we spotted lots of fish we normally associate with the East coast, Parrot fish, Box fish, Angel fish and a Leopard Ray hanging around the stern.
Given the circumstances, we decided to stay on the Dara for a second dive. The circumstances, like the viz., were awesome. Each diver had been given the mandate of "you're diving, today, plus one", and each diver rose to the day.
It goes to show that a dive club, like a band, is so much greater than the sum of its parts, when we work together.
Once all divers were safely on tera firma, myself and Allen felt a distinct, 'Beef o'fu++ing clock" moment………..
That justifiable moment continued into the night with great company.
With the newly generous public holidays, we could do it at Eid Al Fitr rather than Eid Al Adha, which would bring it into May rather than August. What do people think?
Octopus Of The Nasteran - May 2019
We had an almost full boat at the weekend which was very gratifying. The main reason for this was the return to the fold of those that for some strange reason, prefer to go hiking or fishing during the winter months. Anyway, the initial target was the Sea King 5 but it quickly became obvious that the sea state wasn't going to allow this, so we diverted to the much closer Nasteran. This proved very interesting in a number of ways, so much so that we stayed for two dives on the site rather than moving on elsewhere for the second dive.
First a word about the wreck: the Nasteran is an upside-down landing craft in about 22m of water, almost directly offshore from Ajman. Once little more than a metal box and hence not much dived, it became much more interesting when the sides started to corrode and break up, allowing us access inside the wreck. It was here that Uwe discovered the spare propeller that now adorns the outside of the Dive Club office. There are two levels for exploration: the cargo deck which being upside-down represents the space between the deck and the seabed and the lower (upper) deck which was the living accommodation.
On exploring the wreck, we found significant changes due to last winter's storms. The cargo deck has partially collapsed towards the seabed, effectively cutting this section in two although there seemed to be a route between them on the starboard side. Many of the holes allowing access into both upper and lower sections have become enlarged although the entrance near the bridge seems to be a lot tighter now. No doubt we'll do a further visit or two to assess the wreck's condition more thoroughly.
The viz was excellent and we saw the usual angelfish, snappers and shoals of jacks and barracuda. There were also a couple of large sweetlips. The highlight was just off the wreck where Brian turned over a rock to find a small octopus guarding a collection of eggs – young octopuses waiting to be born. I don't ever remember seeing an octopus on the west coast before and in fact they're not common on the east coast either. A memorable experience.
The sea state was pretty poor by this time and it was a slow journey back, but well driven by Cara and back at the club we were joined by Richard and Sharon, Richard having the weekend off from Saudi. A few refreshments followed. An excellent day.
From Angela:
Here are a few photos from the weekend.
If you zoom in on the octopus detail photo you can see the spotted body of the baby octopuses. Brian's eyesight was better than mine -he could see that underwater.
The flatworm has a nice reptilian pattern.
The anemone hermit crab has a symbiotic relationship with the anemone - the crab benefits from camouflage and protection and the anemone benefits from a ride and scraps of food. The symbiotic relationship with the plastic bag is yet to be determined.
Response to this year's Eid trip has so far been disappointing. At some point we will need to decide whether to proceed and I would greatly appreciate it if those who normally participate could indicate their intentions this year. See below logs for details about the trip.
Musandam Dhow - Sea Horses And Sharks - DM Nick Reporting
Musandam Dhow Trip 05/19
''Only in the UAE." I thought as I passed a 110km/h speed limit sign, a cop car, and a white saloon at 125km/h and the saloon started following me and flashing its lights and waving arms out of the window. However, this turned out not to be an irate motorist who had forgotten about the buffer limit on the E611, but Denis, who in true Irish style, had been half-way to his destination when he realized that he didn't know where he was going to and his GPS was on the blink. After a brief roadside conference, we decided that Denis would follow me, following my (unblinking) GPS.
Once arrived safely at Musandam border we went over, marveled at the ratio of cars to Musandam residents (about 4:1) and tried to park up, but were intercepted by Omani police. They directed us to the divers parking area and requested to see NOC insurance papers. Other drivers had their papers as they had checked out the situation and requested the needed documents from their hire companies/insurers. With some further to do......... I was back on the dive.
On the dhow it turned out that 10 divers had canceled last minute so we were only 8. We had plenty of space to spread out. Michelle gave me an instructor exam as a DM knowledge review. I went below deck and succeeded in both passing the exam and making myself mildly sea-sick. Then it was dive time.
The first dive was Lima Rock. I dived with Denis and Polly. On the surface there was so much algae and jellyfish that it actually affected buoyancy. I swan down with my arms to get out of it. Once on the bottom the vis was really good - 10m or so. We saw the usual suspects of Wrasse, Parrot Fish, Trumpets, Morays and a small Turtle at the end.
For the second dive we were at Al Wahida Rock. Same buddy team. Denis wanted to cut down his gas consumption and after chatting with Michelle, Polly and me. decided to try exhaling through his nose and swimming in the tec position.
Again the vis was dismal on the top but decent on the bottom. The overhang of the rock meant that it looked a bit dark and claustrophobic, so us 406ers were well at home. We saw the same fish as above and a Turtle again at the end of the dive as if to say "That's all folk!" Denis came up with 20bar more compared to me on the last dive so job done all round.
Denis then made his way back by speedboat relay as he was heading back to the Emirates. Some of us pushed on for the night-dive.This was a mistake! We'd chosen a shallow dive around Lima rock for the divers to make them comfortable about the depth at night. Unfortunately, the vis was dismal. Myself and Rotu lost the rock on the way down (vis zero), spent 20 minutes re-orientating ourselves before we decided to call it. Allan, Ying and Claudia called it 10 minutes later.
The next morning we started with Octopus Rock. A great dive, though you have to be careful with the current. Michelle saw a shark, Me and Polly saw a seahorse, so Polly was happy. There were also nudis and general fish.
We finished off with another dive on another rock. Again, the usual suspects. The food on this boat is exceptional. The guys put it together on a couple of hotplates even when they're fasting themselves!
So top diving weekend and highly recommended!
Mikes' Tug And Jumbo Revisit - May 2019
First of all, congratulations are due to Allen who as of last Wednesday, joins me on the main club committee. The Dive Club currently constitutes 33% of the Club Committee and 50% of the Trustees so our credit round here ought to be good. On behalf of all Club Members, thank you for the work that both Ian and Allen do for the club.
Now for the dive stuff, we had two parties out at the weekend. Michelle organized a trip up the Musandam, about which I have no reports, but I assume they had a good time. Meanwhile the rest of us took a boat out to sea on this coast, taking advantage of what was promised and indeed turned out to be almost flat seas.
The sea was so calm that Cara wound the boat up to some colossal speed causing her cap to go flying and a short trip back to pick it up. We proceeded more sedately from that point, though still making good time, and on the way saw some sea snakes and a breaching eagle ray.
First target was Mike's Tug on the grounds that we hadn't been there for a while. Although small, there is often some good sea life on the wreck, and this time we saw what looked like a Hermit crab conference, some big Yellow Tuna and some Dusky Sweetlips. There were the usual Snappers, Angelfish and Bannerfish and some Barracuda on the anchor line on the way up.
For the second dive, the Jumbo got the vote and it's only a couple of km away. Had we but known it, DSDC had been there earlier but they'd gone by the time we arrived. Rayan spotted a shark on his dive although there's no photographic evidence. We do have pictures of some rays and a sea bream was also spotted. Regrettably, most of this had vanished by the time Connie and I got down the line but we had a good dive nevertheless. The viz was good, the current was negligible and the water has started to warm up. We had to allow plenty of time to disentangle the line that Allen laid to the wreck (the anchor having fallen on sand). Such was the complexity, the line seemed to have entered a space-time continuum between the anchor and the wreck. We got it sorted out in the end. Thank you to Cara for the pictures.
For reasons too complicated to explain (read: can't be bothered), the following picture appeared on our WhatsApp group:
This was described by Allen thus:
"…looks like a grumpy DM, who was supposed to be off today, has a hangover and is signaling to 3 brand new open water divers who haven't dived since they did the course in Thailand a year ago…"
Inventive alternative descriptions may also be published at a later date.
Response to this year's Eid trip has so far been disappointing. At some point we will need to decide whether to proceed and I would greatly appreciate it if those who normally participate could indicate their intentions this year.
DAN insurance website: https://www.daneurope.org/home
BSAC 406 Legacy
When Geoff Taylor left the UAE in 2011, he left behind a couple of books of dive reports which give a comprehensive account of the club's activities between April 1980 and March 1984. Allen has just completed the task of scanning the documents which are now available as pdf copies. The files are too large for email but I would be happy to send via We Transfer to anyone who was around at the time or is simply curious as to what the club was up to in those days of almost 40 years ago.
About Time Too
To go even further back into the past, Marc has turned up an interesting raffle ticket ( see below ) from the De Ruyter family scrapbook:
"QDR" stands for Qatar-Dubai Riyal which was the currency before the UAE Dirham was invented. In fact in October 1971, the UAE itself was still two months away from existence.
The Ambassador Hotel is presumably the one that still stands on Al Falah Street in Bur Dubai, not far from HSBC, but I can't be 100% sure of this. Perhaps someone out there can confirm.
As it says on its website:
Ambassador Hotel Was The First Hotel In Dubai Which Carries A Long Legacy Of Hospitality, Excellence And Goodwill And Draws Tourists, Family's & Businessmen Alike. We Offer Our Guests The Best Where Luxury Meets Lifestyle.
It Also Seems Quite Fond Of Capital Letters.
We will endeavour to upload these on the website. Interesting read for all who have passed through the club.
Birthday Dive - Neptune and Tug - May 2019
Welcome One and All,
I'm happy to report that we managed to go diving at the weekend as at last, both weather and circumstance conspired in our favour. We headed out to the Neptune on the basis that if we could get there, the visibility would be better further offshore.
The sea was a bit lumpy causing a journey time of an hour or so, but we anchored the wreck at the first time of asking and we were pleased to see that the current was virtually nil.
The viz was also very good, certainly compared to the horror stories from last weekend. The wreck was visible from about 4m depth downwards which translates into about 14m. This is pretty good for round here. There were some barracuda circling the line and plenty of snappers, angelfish and others on the way round. The wreck continues to break up giving plenty of scope for exploration although Denis and I didn't do too much inside except for an easy swim through half way along.
The sea state was coming down so we decided to stay in the area and do a second dive on the Jumbo. The viz wasn't as good this time but still more than adequate and along with the usual marine suspects, there was a large Leopard Ray which both Allen and I spotted as we were leading our dives but it didn't hang around long enough to let the others take a look.
All in all, a good day. The sea is becoming warmer (around 24°C) although a wet suit is still a requirement and will be for a few weeks yet.
After that it was back to the club for a couple of beverages.
Pointless exercise of the day award goes to Polly who on borrowing a weight belt, took two 1kg weights off it and put two different 1kg weights back on. Ask her, not me.
Smarty pants comment of the day goes to Allen who when asked the anchor location replied: "on the end of the anchor line". Ask a silly question I suppose…
Zanzibar Dive Trip information is below. Please go to early posts for information.
The Plan is to dive Mafia island which is just south of Zanzibar.
Eid Al Adha this year is predicted as follows:
Saturday 10th August – Arafat Day
Sunday 11th August – Eid
Monday 12th August – Eid
Tuesday 13th August - Eid
Therefore logically, we are looking at flying out on Friday 9th August, 3 core days of diving on 10th, 11th and 12th with a return on Tuesday 13th August for those who want to keep the trip within the Eid holiday. Of course, the option exists to extend the trip either forwards or backwards. Taking Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th as leave would give the full week which is worth considering for those who can spare the time (and money). Those coming from outside the UAE will have their own calculations to make. Please see a member of the team if you are interested in joining us.


text:
Constituo
Letter to Irish Times August 2015
Posted on February 29, 2016 March 3, 2016 by dnifhloinn
Why we need Building Regulations
Fri, Aug 21, 2015, 01:12
Sir, – In your editorial("Building regulations: Politics over planning", August 17th) you refer to the proposed exemption of one-off houses from the requirements of the Building Regulations as a "bonus to the one-off houses . . sucking the life out of towns and villages".
Recent experience in Ireland has demonstrated that the problems of defective housing go well beyond this. The cost to the State of repairing Priory Hall and of the pyrite remediation scheme runs to tens of millions.
One of the disappointing aspects of the recent report on the regulations was the failure to consider why professional fees for building site inspections can be so much more expensive here than in the UK, where inspection of a one-off house typically costs less than £500 (€700).
Instead, it was decided to exempt one-off houses from the regulations altogether. One-off houses are not inherently lower-risk; the report itself notes that "small houses carry big risks", for example in relation to radon, subsidence and septic tanks.
The result will be that houses will be built without any inspections, with potentially disastrous consequences for owners, future purchasers, and the public purse. Defects are often impossible for purchasers to see when deciding to buy. This is why inspection in the course of construction is mandatory in other countries.
It beggars belief that we would now choose to exempt new houses from inspections, given the misery that poorly-built housing has brought to so many. – Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE NÍ FHLOINN
School of Law,
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin 2.
Legal remedies for building failures: what can be done?
Posted on February 29, 2016 by dnifhloinn
In November 2015, Dublin City Council served a notice on the residents of the Longboat Quay development requiring them to carry out essential repair works to address fire safety issues. This is one of a number of building failures to come to emerge in recent years. The most high-profile to date is Priory Hall, evacuated in 2011 due to breaches of Building Regulations; many believe that there are similar problems elsewhere. The discovery of damaging levels of pyrite in thousands of houses in Ireland has also had a devastating impact on thousands of affected owners of homes and businesses.
These failures highlight the lack of effective legal remedies under Irish law in respect of building defects. In many cases, the original builder/developer is insolvent, but homeowners have also found that legal remedies are complex, and difficult to access.
Why doesn't the law provide a remedy?
Under Irish law, there are a number of limitations to remedies for building defects which may prevent recovery of a financial remedy by the affected homeowner. The claim may be statute-barred before the homeowner realises that there is a defect. The homeowner also may not be party to the original building contract for the unit or building, and recovery of a remedy outside the law of contract is complex.
Even if a remedy is available against the original builder in contract, the builder may be insolvent, and the defect may not be covered by a defects policy. There is no system for comprehensive, mandatory, latent defects insurance for new houses and apartments in Ireland.
Should the State intervene?
State intervention in building failures to date has been on an 'ad-hoc' basis: a building failure occurs, and the State adopts a 'wait and see' approach to see whether the relevant legal relationships will provide a remedy.
The decision to intervene is taken after the event; therefore, the financial risk to the State of providing the remedy cannot be managed via the construction process, in order to reduce the risk of the building failure.
It is far preferable to invest in an effective building control system, supported by a legal regime that affords a remedy to homeowners, than for the State to continue to act as the ultimate guarantor of building failures.
The Irish system of building control disconnects financial risk from risk management, as the financial risk of a building failure, at least for a residential unit, will often lie with the purchaser of the unit, who has no means of managing that risk.
Purchasers rely on the building contractor, and on the local building control authority, which has powers of inspection and may order sites to be closed or Building Regulations breaches to be corrected. However, building control authorities aim to inspect only 12-15% of housing units being built. Although the Minister recently announced that resources for inspection are to be increased, this will not result in 100% of units being inspected.
What is done in other countries?
Western Australia has a system of registration and regulation of building contractors and sub-contractors, administered by a public body.
Many countries, including the UK, require a developer to obtain a permit to build, which involves review of plans by a building control authority before the permit is granted.
Inspection of construction works by a competent professional, independent of the builder/developer, is fundamental to the building control system in the UK. In Ireland, there is no requirement that the person who certifies compliance with Building Regulations is independent of the owner/developer; they may even be an employee of the owner/developer, with obvious potential for conflicts of interest.
Under English law, a cause of action for latent damage passes to subsequent purchasers of the unit. The Irish Law Reform Commission recommended this in 1982, but it was not implemented.
Many countries require mandatory latent defects insurance for construction of residential housing;
A State-backed loan scheme for repair works was introduced in British Columbia to assist the owners of condominiums after many buildings were found to have leaks arising from inappropriate cladding and building envelope materials.
In 1982, the Law Reform Commission recommended the creation of a new statutory duty that a person undertaking construction work would be required to see to it that the work is executed is a good and workmanlike manner with suitable and proper materials. The duty would be owed to the person commissioning the work and to persons who subsequently acquired an interest in it – so the first and subsequent purchasers of an apartment, or house, for instance. The Defective Premises Bill that it drafted in 1982 was never implemented.
34 years later, it would be a very good starting-point.
Letter to Dept – Consultation on Building Control Regulations 2014
DNiFhloinn Submission to DECLG re Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014
Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
Building Standards
Custom House
Re: Consultation – Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014
I refer to the consultation process in relation to the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 ("the 2014 Regulations") initiated by the Department in April 2015. I now enclose a submission for consideration in the context of that consultation process.
Rather than dealing with specific amendments to the 2014 Regulations, I have highlighted in the attached document a number of significant characteristics of the legal environment in which the 2014 Regulations operate, in order to highlight the significant prejudice to Irish home-buyers in accessing remedies for defective housing. In my opinion, the 2014 Regulations do very little to improve that situation.
I call upon the Minister to review the outcome of the most serious building failures that have come to light in Ireland in recent years from the perspective of whether the home-owners affected were able to obtain a financial remedy in order to rectify their homes. The solution to these failures will take some time to devise and to implement, and will involve a package of law reform. I have set out the main issues and potential solutions in the attached submission.
I also call upon the Minister to consider the establishment of a National Building Control Authority in order to centralise inspection and enforcement functions of building control authorities under the 1990 Building Control Act, to administer the Building Control Management System, and to administer the register of building contractors that is to be put on a statutory footing later in 2015.
I am in my first year of a PhD at TCD on the topic of 'Consumer remedies for defective dwellings: devising a model for effective redress', for which I have been awarded a scholarship by the School of Law.
I was in practice for 14 years before starting the PhD, including 10 years as a specialist construction lawyer.
The starting point of my research is the lack of legal remedies available to home owners when defects emerge in housing; for example, because actions are statute-barred (as they were for many of the owners whose houses were damaged by pyrite), because the builder/developers are insolvent, or because the homeowner is not the first purchaser of the house/apartment, and thus has no remedy in contract against the builder.
The outcome of my research is likely to be an outline of the main law reform measures that I believe will be necessary to re-balance the relationship between consumers and builders in the Irish housing market, in order to provide effective, accessible remedies.
I am happy to meet with the Department in order to discuss any of these issues.
Safe as Houses? Oireachtas Committee Report on Building Standards, Building Controls & Consumer Protection, Jan 2018
Regulating the builders: Construction Industry Register (CIRI) Bill
Planning notices and participatory democracy
Oireachtas Housing Commitee April 2017
One-off houses and c… on Letter to Dept – Consult…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Important Considerations When Hiring a Drilling Contractor Looking for a trustworthy engineering contractor to drill you a borehole? Having a water borehole of your own is a guarantee that you'll have an unlimited supply of water on your property. For large water users, a borehole can, for many years to come, prove to be an invaluable asset. For many farmers in the UK, boreholes are a cost effective and convenient solution to their water supply needs. So how do you go about the process of finding and hiring the best borehole drilling company? Here are some of the major points to put into considerations. Check for accreditations For a costly project like a borehole, you wouldn't want to waste your money and time with a company that is not accredited by the relevant authorities. Some of the accreditations are for compliance with safety standards, which is important when engaging an engineering contractor of any kind. So ask your prospective contractor to show you all their accreditations. The firm should also be a member of a such professional bodies as the professional British Drilling Association.
Your prospective contractor should provide a detailed quote for their services. The quote should be itemized, providing the costs for the initial survey, drilling, casing, site cleanup, etc. The information should be presented in an easy to understand format. If there are any questions about some items on the estimate, don't hesitate to ask fro clarification from the contractor. It would also be a good idea to get estimates from a minimum of two contractors–keep that in mind. You may be surprised at how much money you could potentially save by doing this. It's however not advisable to choose a contractor based purely on their affordability–which leads us to the next consideration: reputation. Contractor's track record Finding a contractor with an impressive track record to back up their claims is important.You may want to ask for a few references that you can check with. Also consider how long the company has been in operations. Those that have been in operations for more than ten years have decent industry experience and are therefore more likely to meet or exceed your expectations. Reliability and professionalism Would you say the contractor is a reputable organization, going by their manner of presentation? First, do they have the latest and best equipment for the job? See if any information about the equipment, as well as pictures, are provided on the contractor's website. You should also consider how dependable and prompt the contractor is–can one count on them to do a quick job? Do they respond to your inquiries promptly, and are they willing to address all your concerns?


UPDATE 10/17/2017: Don't use this! I made it for myself so it works for what I needed it for. But you probably shouldn't use this package. There are better ways of building SQL queries that are safer and better (and probably even easier). For now, let me just point you in the direction of db.rstudio.com, dplyr/dbplyr, and the recently added glue_sql() function in the glue package.
sqrrl is a small collection of utility functions that help build text-based SQL queries in an R-style native-feeling and functional manner.
Unlike other packages that build SQL queries using an object-oriented style, sqrrl provides small functions that produce SQL snippets and can be linked together to compose SQL queries. The result is that the code to produce the SQL statement reads much like the SQL statement iteself. On the other hand, sqrrl doesn't know anything about your database and can't help you out with completions, etc.
Where this package is most useful is with Shiny web apps that interact with a MySQL backend. The utilities are all built so that queries can be built using column names and values stored inside ordinary R data structures.
The following is a quick demonstration of how the package works using the nyclights13 dataset. For more information on sqrrl, check out the package documentation.
To demonstrate the features in sqrrl, let's set up an in-memory SQLite database using the nycflights13 dataset featured in dplyr and dbplyr.
First, load (or install) the pacakges and functions that we need.
Then load the flights data frame from nycflights13 into the in-memory SQLite database (this code comes direclty from the dbplyr documentation).
Often, when I'm working with a database, I'll create an alias for dbGetQuery with the database or table name. Inside the alias function I usually add any data type modifications that might need to be applied, and I suppress the warning messages that DBI outputs about data type conversions.
Now we can repeat the above SELECT statement using sqrrl, this time limiting the columns selected.
Note that sqrrl provides the %+% infix operator, which is essentially just an alias for paste(x, y).
sqrrl also provides a wrapper around the python utility sqlformat that can be used to pretty-print SQL formats.
Notice that unlike other packages, sqrrl can't build the nested queries for you. You still need to understand the structure of the database and the structure of the query.
But when compared with the final output of the query, the sqrrl version looks a lot like SQL transliterated into R functions.
For me, at least, where the goal is to write SQL queries as bare strings, sqrrl lets me write in R and think in SQL without having to add a huge number of paste and paste0 functions.
Everything in sqrrl takes input data from regular R data types and outputs an SQL snippet.
For an example of nearly everything each of the functions can do, see the Getting Started section in the documentation.
As a final example, here is a fully-loaded select query.
This query and table select the most popular flights from JFK between June and December of 2013 from the carriers UA, AA, US, and WN that depart JFK after 8:00 AM and have an air time of less than 2 hours.
There's more that the package can do, like JOINs, INSERTs, and UPDATEs that I haven't gone into here.
There are also a number of wrappers, comparison operators and concatenators that can be used for wrapping strings in quotes — e.g. quotes() — comparing columns to values — e.g. geq(), eq(), lt(), neq() — and stringing together statements — e.g. AND(), OR(), %LIKE%, %IN%, BETWEEN().
There's an example of nearly every single function and each of it's possible configurations in the package documentation.
Hopefully this package is useful to someone other than myself (like you!). If you run into any problems, let me know or submit an issue on GitHub.


In the hopes of fostering understanding between the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Churches, what is the Coptic Orthodox understanding of the Catholic teaching on Indulgences?
The several topics that you bring up, have been discussed on this site extensively. You may search through the different threads. Probably the best answers come from His Holiness Pope Shenouda. All of His Holiness' books are available on-line in pdf format.
Simply put there is no common ground on any of the issues that you put forth. They are not open for negotiations. They are not Orthodox.
What are indulgences, are you catholic or something because you have posted a lot of threads on several topics that i have never hear about.
the way i see it, indulgences were the reason the protestant churches came about.
it was the priest giving u absolution after confession (we do that too), but in addition requiring something from u so yr confession would be accepted.
it is orthodox and normal for the priest to say 'go and help some old folk coz u have too much spare time, that's why yr downloading wrong things on yr computer' but it's not orthodox for the priest to ask for money or some other gift to the church in order for u to have yr sins forgiven.
in the 1500s the catholic priests in europe were going around telling people their sins were not forgiven unless they paid fairly large sums of money, and the priests were getting rich as the people got poor. so that was the start of a protest against these practices and the birth of protestant churches.
catholics today don't take large sums of money from the people, but i think they still give u an extra absolution if u do something to 'make up for' yr sin.
we can never make up for our sins, only the death and resurrection of our Saviour can do that.
The greatest sin of the RCC, is the coming of the Protestant Movement.
The Protestant Movement came about from this type of nonsense.
The price for that sin as well as judgment for it well be a heavy price, I believe.
This sin perpetuates itself, and I believe it to be an insult to the Holy Spirit.
ilovesatinmark, you are indeed correct. To be honest, Martin Luther did not have a problem with indulgences, he was concerned that people were abusing them or misunderstanding them, but that was not his major argument.
One of his major arguments was the fact of how rich the church had become and how stingy they were, further milking the people of their money as opposed to use what the church already had.


text:
//
// Pythagoras - a collection of geometry classes
// http://github.com/samskivert/pythagoras

package pythagoras.d;

import java.util.NoSuchElementException;

/**
 * Provides most of the implementation of {@link ICubicCurve}, obtaining only the start, end and
 * control points from the derived class.
 */
public abstract class AbstractCubicCurve implements ICubicCurve
{
    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public Point p1 () {
        return new Point(x1(), y1());
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public Point ctrlP1 () {
        return new Point(ctrlX1(), ctrlY1());
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public Point ctrlP2 () {
        return new Point(ctrlX2(), ctrlY2());
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public Point p2 () {
        return new Point(x2(), y2());
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public double flatnessSq () {
        return CubicCurves.flatnessSq(x1(), y1(), ctrlX1(), ctrlY1(),
                                         ctrlX2(), ctrlY2(), x2(), y2());
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public double flatness () {
        return CubicCurves.flatness(x1(), y1(), ctrlX1(), ctrlY1(),
                                       ctrlX2(), ctrlY2(), x2(), y2());
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public void subdivide (CubicCurve left, CubicCurve right) {
        CubicCurves.subdivide(this, left, right);
    }

    @Override // from interface ICubicCurve
    public CubicCurve clone () {
        return new CubicCurve(x1(), y1(), ctrlX1(), ctrlY1(),
                              ctrlX2(), ctrlY2(), x2(), y2());
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean isEmpty () {
        return true; // curves contain no space
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean contains (double px, double py) {
        return Crossing.isInsideEvenOdd(Crossing.crossShape(this, px, py));
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean contains (double rx, double ry, double rw, double rh) {
        int cross = Crossing.intersectShape(this, rx, ry, rw, rh);
        return (cross != Crossing.CROSSING) && Crossing.isInsideEvenOdd(cross);
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean contains (XY p) {
        return contains(p.x(), p.y());
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean contains (IRectangle r) {
        return contains(r.x(), r.y(), r.width(), r.height());
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean intersects (double rx, double ry, double rw, double rh) {
        int cross = Crossing.intersectShape(this, rx, ry, rw, rh);
        return (cross == Crossing.CROSSING) || Crossing.isInsideEvenOdd(cross);
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public boolean intersects (IRectangle r) {
        return intersects(r.x(), r.y(), r.width(), r.height());
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public Rectangle bounds () {
        return bounds(new Rectangle());
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public Rectangle bounds (Rectangle target) {
        double x1 = x1(), y1 = y1(), x2 = x2(), y2 = y2();
        double ctrlx1 = ctrlX1(), ctrly1 = ctrlY1();
        double ctrlx2 = ctrlX2(), ctrly2 = ctrlY2();
        double rx1 = Math.min(Math.min(x1, x2), Math.min(ctrlx1, ctrlx2));
        double ry1 = Math.min(Math.min(y1, y2), Math.min(ctrly1, ctrly2));
        double rx2 = Math.max(Math.max(x1, x2), Math.max(ctrlx1, ctrlx2));
        double ry2 = Math.max(Math.max(y1, y2), Math.max(ctrly1, ctrly2));
        target.setBounds(rx1, ry1, rx2 - rx1, ry2 - ry1);
        return target;
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public PathIterator pathIterator (Transform t) {
        return new Iterator(this, t);
    }

    @Override // from interface IShape
    public PathIterator pathIterator (Transform at, double flatness) {
        return new FlatteningPathIterator(pathIterator(at), flatness);
    }

    /** An iterator over an {@link ICubicCurve}. */
    protected static class Iterator implements PathIterator
    {
        private ICubicCurve c;
        private Transform t;
        private int index;

        Iterator (ICubicCurve c, Transform t) {
            this.c = c;
            this.t = t;
        }

        @Override public int windingRule () {
            return WIND_NON_ZERO;
        }

        @Override public boolean isDone () {
            return index > 1;
        }

        @Override public void next () {
            index++;
        }

        @Override public int currentSegment (double[] coords) {
            if (isDone()) {
                throw new NoSuchElementException("Iterator out of bounds");
            }
            int type;
            int count;
            if (index == 0) {
                type = SEG_MOVETO;
                coords[0] = c.x1();
                coords[1] = c.y1();
                count = 1;
            } else {
                type = SEG_CUBICTO;
                coords[0] = c.ctrlX1();
                coords[1] = c.ctrlY1();
                coords[2] = c.ctrlX2();
                coords[3] = c.ctrlY2();
                coords[4] = c.x2();
                coords[5] = c.y2();
                count = 3;
            }
            if (t != null) {
                t.transform(coords, 0, coords, 0, count);
            }
            return type;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Transl Psychiatry. 2014 Feb 25;4:e365. doi: 10.1038/tp.2014.8.
Markers of inflammation and stress distinguish subsets of individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Fillman SG1, Sinclair D2, Fung SJ1, Webster MJ3, Shannon Weickert C1.
1] Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia  Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia  School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
1] Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia  Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia  School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia  Department of Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatric Signaling Program, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Laboratory of Brain Research, Stanley Medical Research Institute, 9800 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD, USA.
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share a number of common features, both symptomatically and biologically. Abnormalities in the neuroimmune and the stress-signaling pathways have been previously identified in brains of individuals with both diseases. However, the possible relationship between abnormalities in stress and neuroimmune signaling within the cortex of people with psychotic illness has not been defined. To test the hypothesis that combined alterations in brain stress responsiveness and neuroimmune/inflammatory status are characteristic of some individuals suffering from major mental illness, we examined gene expression in the Stanley Array Cohort of 35 controls, 35 individuals with schizophrenia and 34 individuals with bipolar disorder. We used levels of 8 inflammatory-related transcripts, of which SERPINA3 was significantly elevated in individuals with schizophrenia (F(2,88)=4.137, P<0.05), and 12 glucocorticoid receptor signaling (stress) pathway transcripts previously examined, to identify two clusters of individuals: a high inflammation/stress group (n=32) and a low (n=68) inflammation/stress group. The high inflammation/stress group has a significantly greater number of individuals with schizophrenia (n=15), and a trend toward having more bipolar disorder individuals (n=11), when compared with controls (n=6). Using these subgroups, we tested which microarray-assessed transcriptional changes may be associated with high inflammatory/stress groups using ingenuity analysis and found that an extended network of gene expression changes involving immune, growth factors, inhibitory signaling and cell death factors also distinguished these groups. Our work demonstrates that some of the heterogeneity in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may be partially explained by inflammation/stress interactions, and that this biological subtype cuts across Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-defined categories.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) measured mRNA expression for inflammatory-associated genes (a) and cytokine-associated genes (b). Controls (blue) and individuals with bipolar disorder (green) and schizophrenia (red) are plotted with median values represented by the black line. All values with the exception of PTGS2 are plotted on a log-transformed scale because of their distribution.
A series of recursive two-step cluster analyses yields different breakdowns in each diagnosis category. Three clustering operations were performed on only the inflammatory-related genes ((a), top row), stress-related genes ((a), middle row) and then both sets of genes combined ((a), bottom row). Each diagnosis is split between those in the high group ((a), darker color) and the low group ((a), lighter color). Controls (blue), bipolar disorder (green) and schizophrenia (red) are shown in the first, second and third columns, respectively. To examine the overlap of the inflammation ((b), x axis and right rear wall) and stress clusters ((b), z axis and left rear wall) with respect to diagnosis (blue, green and red color scheme), they were plotted in the form of a three-dimensional bar graph. Using the same values as b, the third, combined stress and inflammation cluster is represented by a separate color code, with blue representing low inflammation/stress and yellow high inflammation/stress (c). This indicates that the dichotomous group variables of inflammation and stress are a good, but not perfect, predictor of membership in the combined inflammation/stress group defined by clustered by the 19 continuous mRNA values.
A recursive two-step clustering incorporating stress as well as inflammatory gene-related results in two groups that we titled high inflammation/stress and low inflammation/stress with relation to their inflammatory and stress signaling components. Individuals with bipolar disorder (green) and schizophrenia (red) are plotted relative to the mean expression of the low inflammation/stress control group (black-dashed line at one) on a log scale with s.e.m. represented by error bars. The blue rectangle represents the genes incorporated into the combined inflammatory/stress clustering model. Genes are ordered relative to their contribution to the model decreasing from left to right.
The top ingenuity identified network that was enriched for the 57 genes that were significantly differentially expressed, after false discovery rate (FDR) correction, between high inflammation/stress individuals with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia as compared with low inflammation/stress controls. The initial microarray data were taken from a geometric mean of four separate experiments performed on the same Stanley Array Collection that we used in this current study. On the left side of each gene is the significance and fold change for bipolar disorder (when compared with low inflammation/stress controls). On the right side of each gene is the significance and fold change for schizophrenia. Fold changes are represented by intensity of color with green showing a decreased expression in the disease state compared with controls, whereas red indicates an increased expression in the disease state high inflammation/stress group as compared with the low inflammation/stress controls. Significance of these fold changes as assayed by t-tests are the following: *P<0.05, **P<0.001, ***P<0.0001, ****P<0.00001.


text:
Kirsty McKay
The Chicken House
Out of sight, out of their minds: It's a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby. The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty. Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back. But they've changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they're zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin' fast, because that's the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates' next meal. It's kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late. Combining the chill of THE SHINING, the thrill ride of SPEED, the humor of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and the angst of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Kirsty McKay's UNDEAD is a bloody mad mash-up, a school-trip splatter-fest, a funny, gory, frighteningly good debut!
The Undead Can Have a Sense of Humor Too.
Take a handful 1980s John Hughes teen flicks throw in some snarky British humor and a load of zombies and you have the "funtastic" thrill ride of Undead.
I love Kirsty McKay's writing style. The story is fast paced and easy to read. Bobby, our narrator, is a smart and courageous teenage girl who doesn't loose her sense of humor in the face of danger. The characters fit many of the stereotypical teen movies- but that makes them all the more familiar and easy to understand. Although the plot line can get slightly predictable, as even some movies can be, there are a few twists that keep the story moving. The predictability actually adds to the story, allowing the reader to completely enjoy the humor and have fun reading.
After a few chapter I literally could not put it down. I will definitely recommend Undead to others even a few of my younger ones if they're looking for a Zombie book that will make them smirk instead of running under the covers. A fun read! Looking forward to the sequel Unfed.
Joanne Mumley, Twitter Manager Top 50 Reviewer 212 reviews
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"I don't know how this series keeps getting better, but it does. This third book is just... so much happens..."
The Tempest Sea
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The Fractured Empire
"This book grabbed me from the very beginning, throwing me into this beautifully-crafted, intriguing new world. The plot is fast-paced..."
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"'My High School Royal Boyfriend' by Kylie Key follows new River Valley High students Blaire and Alex, as they try..."
Born at Dawn
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"BORN AT DAWN is an upper YA fantasy full of adventure - the main character is half human and half..."
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"As a girl, Vi suffered various forms of torture from her mom and she was the equivalent to a lab..."
The Lost Prince (The Nihryst Book 2)
"THE LOST PRINCE opens up where the first one left off. Ada is with Lee searching for a cure to..."
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Marie Schmidt
"This book literally starts out with a bang as multiple meteorites strike cities across the earth at the same time,..."
The Runaway (Barrett Boys #1)
"Annie lives in a small town where everyone knows everything about each other. She is usually the subject of the..."
My High School Rebel Boyfriend
Michelle Lynn, Assistant Indie Manager
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Daughter of Darkness
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Cindy Ray Hale, Staff Reviewer
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The Devil's Apprentice
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Patrick Hodges, Staff Reviewer
"The story: When Emmitt's twin sister Minnie dies in a tragic accident, it cripples not only him..."
Mastery of Earth (Legends of the Tri-Gard Book 3)
"Oh the feels this book gave me. Davi's officially back but still not really? His memories are all over the..."
Glass Princess
"This second entry was good, well technically fifth. I am really glad that the story picked up right after the..."
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"Set in a Greek/Roman era, where not only one but three worlds are colliding, Arianna is a human girl who..."
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"This superhero tale is a lot of fun, with likeable characters, lots of action, and a thread of faith that..."
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Beware That Girl


text:
Lockdowns could be avoided if 95% of people wore masks, says WHO
Posted November 19, 2020 9:03 a.m. EST
By Emma Reynolds, CNN
CNN — Lockdowns could be avoided if everyone followed health measures such as wearing masks, the World Health Organization's top Europe official said at a Thursday news briefing.
WHO Europe's Regional Director Hans Kluge stressed that lockdowns should be a "last resort," and urged the public to follow guidance to help to prevent deaths.
He said that if 95% of people wore masks, instead of the current 60%, "lockdowns would not be needed" -- although he added that mask use was not a "panacea" and needed to be combined with other measures.
"If we all do our share, lockdowns are avoidable," Kluge said.
He noted that hundreds of millions of people are currently living under lockdowns, which require economic support and cause job losses, disruption to health services and collateral damage in terms of mental health, substance abuse and gender-based violence.
Kluge warned of the "negative impact of easing too quickly," saying restrictions should only be relaxed gradually.
Europe must stay 'vigilant' for winter
European countries are still facing high rates of infection and death, with Italy registering 753 fatalities on Wednesday, its highest daily tally since the first wave. Poland reported a record number of deaths for a second day in a row Thursday, with 637 registered.
There were more than 29,000 coronavirus deaths in the region last week, or one person dying every 17 seconds, Kluge said. Covid-19 deaths were up 18% in Europe over the past two weeks, with 4,500 lives currently lost daily, he added.
This is leading to more signs of overwhelmed health systems, with French intensive care wards at over 95% capacity for 10 continuous days and Switzerland's intensive care units at full capacity, he said.
But Kluge said current restrictions across the continent had seen new cases drop from 2 million to 1.8 million last week.
"It's a small signal, but it's a signal nevertheless," he said. "I am encouraging a tier system based on levels of seriousness in community transmission, with a set of proportionate measures that could be considered under each one of them," he said.
"The virus thrives on the vulnerable, on doubts, on the governmental decisions being late," he added.
Kluge said countries should ensure safe learning, with most European countries keeping schools open in their latest lockdowns and children not considered primary drivers of transmission.
He said that the good news on two vaccines represented a "new horizon."
"While vaccines won't stop Covid-19 entirely, and don't answer all our questions, they do represent a great hope in the war against this virus," he said.
He warned that vaccines are "not a silver bullet" as their supply and distribution will be limited, especially initially.
"We know that the vaccine will be too late for winter, so we have really to stick together, and implement the long-term measures which we know are working," Kluge said.
The WHO director added that he is "hopeful" but "also very, very vigilant because we have seen that health systems can be very quickly overwhelmed."
Bio Jobs: Find a job that changes lives, even yours.
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History mystery: WWII dog tags belonging to Raleigh veteran found in Italy
Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing


Chapter 636 Urban superintendents consortium steering committee meeting.
Meeting notes discussing the success of Parent Information Centers.
E.T.C. - C.W.E.C Agenda November 9, 1976.
Central organization of Boston Public Schools, 1975-1976.
Memo, update, September 11, 1979.


text:
William C. Bryant Collection, 1902-1905
The William C. Bryant Collection consists of publications, ephemera, and photographs assembled by Bryant during his student years at Oregon Agricultural College from 1902 to 1905.
Bryant, William C. (William Cullen) (1875-1931)
Emery, W. G.
Gardner, W. S. (Winfield S.) (1863-1933)
Horner, John B. (1856-1933)
Oregon. National Guard
ID: MSS Bryant
Extent: 0.03
5 photographs; 1 box
The William C. Bryant Collection consists of publications, ephemera, and photographs assembled by Bryant during his student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in 1902 to 1905. The publications include two OAC New Friends notebooks with autographs of fellow students; a college bulletin for 1902-1903 with annotations by Bryant for his brother; a 1904-1905 student handbook and calender with notations; and a pamphlet on cadet regulations from the Oregon National Guard. The ephemera include a broadside with the words for football game yells and songs, a photocopy of a sign requesting information on vandalism to a campus building in 1902, and a letter from Professor John B. Horner to George Pope, of Woodburn, referring to Bryant.
The collection includes five mounted photographic prints of fellow students or individuals affiliated with Cauthorn Hall dated 1904-1905. Two of the images are portrait photographs of waitresses at Cauthorn Hall (P140:1 and P140:5) made by W.S. Gardner. One of the images (P140:3) is a portrait photograph of Mrs. R.L. Whitehead, the Cauthorn Hall housemother and "Superintendent of the Culinary Department". The fourth image is a portrait photograph by William G. Emery of John Schroeder, an OAC student in his cadet uniform (P140:4). The final image is of two young men standing outdoors in front of a stand of trees (P140:2) One of the men is identified as John Wiggins.
William Cullen Bryant, from Woodburn, Oregon, attended Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) from 1902 to 1905. Bryant studied mechanical engineering, but did not complete a degree. He lived in Cauthorn Hall, the first residence hall for men at OAC constructed in 1892.
Bryant was an educator and lawyer and served as superintendent of schools in Sherman County, Oregon, for 3 years. He was born in Nebraska in 1875 and died in Moro, Oregon, in 1931.
Preferred Citation: William C. Bryant Collection (MSS Bryant), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Acquisition Note: The photographs were acquired by the Archives in the 1960s. The publications and ephemera were transferred to the Archives by the School of Education in 2003.
Collection Material Type: CLD
Bryant, William C. (William Cullen), 1875-1931
Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
Student housing--Oregon--Corvallis.
Women--Oregon--Corvallis.
Ephemera (general object genre)
The Cauthorn Club Records (RG 101) include financial records for room and board paid by men residents in 1893-1896 and 1908-1909. The OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include many other collections with Oregon Agricultural College photographs and ephemera from the early 1900s including the Bertha Andresen Photographs (P 026), G. Herbert Root Photograph Collection (P 127), and James A. Sewell Photograph Album (P 259). Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC) includes many images from this time period, including photographs of the Class of 1905.


text:
Home >Camera Enforcement > Red Light Cameras > Louisiana Supreme Court Rejects Traffic Camera Challenge
Louisiana Supreme Court Rejects Traffic Camera Challenge
High court in Louisiana tosses constitutional challenge to photo ticketing fairness on procedural grounds.
The Louisiana Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a challenge to the photo ticketing program in New Orleans. Because city officials re-wrote their ordinance and offered $28 million in ticket refunds, the high court majority felt that justice had already been served.
Five years ago, a lower court ruled the administrative hearing process that the city used from the beginning of the program in 2008 until the 2012 decision was unconstitutional. That forced the city to change its ways, but a group of motorists decided to continue their case to the high court in the hopes of pulling the plug on the program for good. The justices found that someone else would have to bring that case.
"Although this case is technically moot, the end result is that the plaintiffs have achieved vindication of the constitutional rights for which they advocated," Justice John L. Weimer wrote in the majority opinion.
The motorist suit contended that the administrative hearing process for red light camera and speed camera tickets deprived them of due process. For instance, the city's hearing officer served simultaneously as the person prosecuting the case and the one deciding guilt.
The city dropped the tickets issued to the motorists who filed the suit so that the court would rule they no longer had standing to challenge the system. New Orleans also ordered the city attorney act as the prosecutor in all new administrative hearings.
The court majority refused to rule on whether this arrangement is constitutional or not, instead finding that someone else would have to bring that case.
"We find that there is no reasonable expectation that the city would reenact the previous scheme in a way that would justify this court presently adjudicating the constitutionality of an appellate scheme which was replaced long ago," Justice Weimer wrote. "We find that to opine on the constitutionality of the present procedures would be an exercise in speculative analysis because present procedures differ so greatly from the procedures as they existed when plaintiffs' citations were issued and that this is, thus, not a case where an exception to mootness may be found... The fact plaintiffs here were subject to possible monetary penalties for traffic citations at the time they filed their lawsuit does not vest plaintiffs with an everlasting ability to seek a declaratory judgment regarding the constitutionality of the citation review procedures."
Justice Jefferson D. Hughes III disagreed with his colleagues, explaining that the new ordinance is just as unconstitutional as the old one, as evidenced by a form that requires vehicle owners to admit they were the driver if they wish to contest the hearing.
"The intake form, which reflects the ordinance itself, provides that the 'owner or operator' is responsible for a violation, as was acknowledged at oral argument," he wrote in a dissenting opinion. "I would find this to be an unconstitutional scenario likely to be repeated and therefore not moot."
Chief Justice Bernette J. Johnson wrote separately to note that the lawsuit forced needed changes to the automated ticketing program.
"This challenge to the constitutionality of the administrative review process has resulted in a benefit for all citizens of New Orleans," she wrote in a concurring opinion.
Louisiana has a history of scandal with its automated ticketing machines. Jefferson Parish was caught allowing Redflex lobbyists to receive a 3.2 percent of the profit from each ticket. In New Orleans, the city inspector general uncovered an arrangement that allowed individual police officers to fill their own pockets with red light camera cash by "reviewing" citations while off the clock through a limited liability company.
A copy of the ruling is available in a 250k PDF file at the source link below.
Source: Rand v. New Orleans (Louisiana Supreme Court, 12/6/2017)
South Australia Cancels Dubious Red Light Camera Tickets
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DC Cracks Down On Drivers From Maryland, Virginia
Safespeed Denies Red Light Camera Racketeering Conspiracy
Arizona: Public Opposition Defeats Red Light Camera Proposal


Back in the 16th century, the cruise port of Newcastle-tyne, United Kingdom was known as one of the largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centers in the world; a title earned after centuries of protecting the northern parts of England through mighty fortresses. The first recorded settlement in the port city of Newcastle was Pons Aelius, a small Roman Settlement on Hadrian's Wall. Today, the city boasts of a population of about 282,442 natives and foreigners creating a lively and diverse environment together. While cruising to Newcastle-tyne, United Kingdom, the deep-rooted tradition of the city, together with the established nightlife, art, music and sports will stand out in its eclectic splendor. The series of boutique hotels, countless restaurants and bars, remarkable concert halls and iconic art galleries make for a perfect mix of urban sophistication juxtaposed with an impressive heritage.
See a different side of the cruise port of Newcastle-tyne, United Kingdom as you venture out to the Victoria Tunnel. This relic of industrial heritage was built between 1839-1842 as a means of transporting coal to Staithes, a seaside village in Scarborough Borough of North Yorkshire, England for exportation. The underground adventure in the tunnel runs 2.4 miles from entrance to exit with a depth of about 85ft.
To experience the vibrant nightlife in the cruise port of Newcastle-tyne, United Kingdom, make it a point to take a lovely stroll down The Quayside, an area along the banks of the River Tyne. The main feature for most tourists happens to be the Gateshead Millenium Bridge which spans the river between the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Newcastle Law Courts. With plenty of bars, clubs and restaurants to explore while soaking up the beautiful multiculturalism in this attraction, you are sure to have a great time.
Still a hidden gem on the east end of this prominent city, Jesmond Dene Park is the perfect escape to magical woodland. The natural sounds of nature will surely create authentic rhythms only experienced in quiet photogenic wonderlands. This public park has a great play area for kids, a beautiful little waterfall and winding rivers with perfect spots for Kodak moments.


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In China, Shows Like "Story of Yanxi Palace" Go Viral, and the Party Is Not Amused
By Jiayang Fan
Though "Story of Yanxi Palace" is intended to provide a transporting distraction from real life, its stories have tapped into contemporary China's most urgent preoccupations.iQiyi
In 1967, not long after the start of the Cultural Revolution, an influential literary critic named Yao Wenyuan published an essay about one of his rivals, titled "On the Two-Faced Counter-Revolutionary Zhou Yang," in a publication called Red Flag. Yao was a member of the Gang of Four—the infamous group led by Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife—and his writings helped drive a decade of sociopolitical upheaval and purges. In the essay, Yao also took umbrage with "Sorrows of the Forbidden City," a commercially successful movie that was released in 1948—a year before the Revolution—and centered on the power struggle between the nineteenth-century Empress Dowager Cixi and her nephew, the Emperor Guangxu. But Yao's true target in that instance was Liu Shaoqi, China's head of state, who, along with Deng Xiaoping, the Party's secretary-general, was seen as something of a reformer. The film was indisputably counter-revolutionary, Yao wrote, and he strongly implied that Liu was one of its most ardent admirers. (Little evidence has been found for that claim.) Therefore, he concluded, Liu was a traitor. Not long afterward, Liu, who had previously been seen as a successor to Mao, was jailed. The film's director, Zhu Shilin, who lived in Hong Kong, had died of a heart attack the day he read the essay. Yao soon became known as "the killer by pen."
Fifty years later, tales of the imperial court have again incurred the wrath of the Communist Party. In late January, a piece in Theory Weekly, a magazine affiliated with the state-run Beijing Daily, condemned certain entertainments for being "incompatible with the core values of socialism" and exerting a "negative influence on society." Specifically, the article took aim at "Story of Yanxi Palace" and "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace," two dramatic series that débuted last summer and which, in both plotlines and production values, might be considered direct descendants of "Sorrows of the Forbidden City." Like the film, they are set during the Qing Dynasty and tell of courtiers' ruthless struggles for power. (Many of the stories involve a good-hearted young woman who must contend with scheming concubines and rises to become the most powerful among them.)
"Ruyi" first aired on the site Tencent Video and was streamed more than fifteen billion times. "Yanxi" was released on iQiyi, the Chinese Netflix, and broke all viewing records. More than half a billion people streamed it in a single day. It was reportedly the most-Googled show on Earth, despite the fact that Google is blocked in China. Both series also aired on television, but, after the Theory Weekly article was published, the Beijing Daily followed up with an editorial that attacked "Yanxi" in particular, and a planned rebroadcast of the shows on state television was abruptly cancelled.
In the People's Republic, it has long been understood that culture should adhere to Party policy. In fact, that doctrine was established before the Revolution, when Mao convened the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, in Communist-held China, in 1942. Since then, a large part of Chinese civic life has been a long experiment in the conscription of popular culture into the service of ideology. In the past few years, media censorship has grown to encompass everything from foreign TV series to televised rap competitions and shows that, according to the state, promote a "Western life style." The cancelling of "Yanxi" and "Ruyi" shows that the Party remains unswerving in its vigilance.
Yet, while imperial dramas have remained basically the same over the decades—palace intrigue, after all, never gets old—China has not. Its vertiginous transformations have a cinematic quality of their own—and they present a challenge to the Party's efforts to police the screen. Take, for example, the Beijing Daily's accusation that "Yanxi" and "Ruyi" fetishize luxury and ignore "values like thriftiness and hard work promoted by state-sanctioned role models of today." Such charges may be in keeping with old-line Party orthodoxy, but they sound very strange coming from a political system that jettisoned the socialist economy four decades ago in favor of a market capitalism that has taught the population to prioritize self-interest, material wealth, and class status above all else.
The country's prosperity has amplified social inequalities and stoked competition in all realms of life. "Yanxi" and "Ruyi" may be set in a previous century, and may be intended to provide a transporting distraction from real life, but the stories of palace life have tapped into contemporary China's most urgent preoccupations. After the release of "Yanxi," a number of Web sites posted listicles of "golden words of advice" from the show, intended to be taken as tips for "survival in the workplace." Some seem directly inspired by Sun Tzu's "The Art of War": "The time you spent on waiting is actually spent on accumulating power, once the time is right, you can then give your enemy a fatal blow." A few—"Being powerful is better than relying on those in power," for example, or "If managed well, all threats can become stepping stones"—wouldn't be out of place in "The Prince."
These lessons are presumably the opposite of what the Communist Party intended, which, according to the latest memo from the National Radio and Television Administration, which oversees all media content, is to encourage work that showcases "people's happiness" and celebrates important Communist Party landmarks, such as, this year, the seventieth anniversary of the Revolution, and, coming up in 2021, the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Party. In 2018, the administration announced that five thousand theatres across the country would periodically screen pro-Party programming. A prime example is "Amazing China," a documentary extolling the nation's achievements and singing unequivocal praise of Xi Jinping. The film appeared to be a runaway hit—China's top-grossing documentary of all time—but it turned out that state-run companies and other government entities had handed out free tickets to pad the box-office numbers.
For decades, under Mao's leadership, China's insularity kept it backward and poor, but it also facilitated the Party's methods of control. China in the digital-information age is increasingly turning outward, and its newfound cosmopolitanism is upending the Party's objectives. How does a state wage war on reality? The problem is especially acute if, as fans of "Yanxi" seem to think, the public is catching on to the idea that "being in power is better than relying on those in power"—and that information is power. The state under Xi Jinping is intensifying its vigilance, but the effort feels increasingly like a game of Whac-A-Mole. And, in China, it is always difficult to predict who the winners will be.
When the Cultural Revolution came to an end, after Mao's death, in 1976, the essayist Yao Wenyuan was arrested. He was said to have admitted to falsifying evidence that led to the purge of Deng Xiaoping. Yao was sentenced to twenty years in prison. In 1978, Deng become China's top leader and, with his program of "reform and opening," introduced capitalist market models to the economy and lifted the nation out of poverty. Two years later, Deng issued the "Resolution on the Rehabilitation of Comrade Liu Shaoqi" and declared him "a great Marxist and proletarian revolutionary." But, by then, Liu, who had been forced to endure regular beatings and public shaming, had been dead for eleven years.
Jiayang Fan became a staff writer at The New Yorker in 2016.
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Buffalo stampeded by Bulldogs in 4A-2 quarterfinals
Jacksonville Bolles scored on its first two possessions and cruised to a 44-14 win against The Villages Friday in the FHSAA Class 4A-Region 2 quarterfinals at The Range.
Frank Jolley
Daily Commercial
THE VILLAGES — Jacksonville Bolles scored on its first two posand cruised to a 44-14 win against The Villages Friday in the FHSAA Class 4A-Region 2 quarterfinals at The Range.
With the win, Bolles, an 11-time state champion, improves to 7-2 and will play at Fernandina Beach next week in the Region 2 semifinals, while the Buffalo wrap up a 6-1 campaign.
Football Brackets
The Bulldogs displayed the best of their offensive and defensive units in the first 9 minutes of the game and gave the near-capacity crowd an indication of what was to come.
After stopping the Buffalo on three plays in the game's opening possession, Bolles took over following a punt and launched a 17-play drive that used more than 7 minutes of the quarter. The drive, which was helped along with multiple third-down conversions, was capped off with a 15-yard scoring run by quarterback Gunner Boree.
Following another three-and-out for The Villages, the Bulldogs got rolling again on their next possession. Kade Frew topped off the drive with a 1-yard blast and early in the second quarter, the Buffalo trailed 13-0.
But, The Villages were not without highlights. Trailing by two scores and needing to make something happen, the Buffalo took a chance on fourth down and connected with Brenden Shipp on a 46-yard touchdown pass to keep the home team within a touchdown, 13-7.
Then, Bolles showed why it is one of the state's top programs, when it scored a pair of touchdowns in a span of less than three minutes.
Frew started things off with a 61-yard sprint for a touchdown to rebuild a two-score advantage. Then, with The Villages looking to close in on a score just before halftime, Bulldogs defensive back Spencer Surface picked off Gilchrist and raced 78 yards to the one-yard line.
After a pair of illegal formation penalties threatened backed the Bulldogs up, Boree found Jack Mulvey on a tight end seam for a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 27-7 halftime lead.
Bolles' dominance was obvious on the stat sheet. The Bulldogs ran for 182 yards in the first half and enjoyed a 222-83 advantage in total yards.
In the second half, Alec O'Rourke picked off a pass in the opening minutes of the third quarter and lifted the Buffalo's sagging spirits. The Villages plowed its way downfield, shredding the Bulldogs' defense.
Gilchrist scored from 6-yards out to cut the deficit to two touchdowns.
But, that was a close as the Buffalo would get.
Following a stop on fourth down, Bolles took complete command of the game. The Bulldogs scored a pair of touchdowns and a 26-yard field goal to close out the scoring.
Bolles finished with 438 yards of offense, including 313 on the ground. Frew paced the running attack with 192 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns.
The Villages totaled 136 yards of total offense — 74 yards through the air and 62 on the ground. Ed Williams led the Buffalo runnings game with 47 yards on eight carries and Shipp had five receptions for 58 yards.
Gilchrist completed 8 or 13 passes with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Friday's Scores
Winter Park 42, East Ridge 6
Longwood Lyman 42, South Lake 38
Lake Minneola 54, Land O'Lakes 0
Green Cove Springs Clay 43, Leesburg 0
Orange Park Ridgeview 38, Tavares 20
Mount Dora (1-6) at St. Augustine Menendez (3-5)
Jacksonville Bolles 44, The Villages 14
South Sumter 28, Palatka 7
Wildwood 40, Bronson 0
SSAC
Mount Dora Christian 56, Bradenton Christian 53
Port Orange Spruce Creek 69, Umatilla 12