Join us in celebrating lab week on April 22nd from 11:30AM-12:20PM on the third floor of North Kedzie for Speed Networking with BLD alumni. This is a great opportunity to see many of the different career paths that your degree can lead you to. We will provide food and beverages.
For more information on the alumni in attendance, check out the biographies below!
Hello! My name is Courtney Kent. I graduated from the BLD program, although I took much of the CLS coursework, in summer of 2018. In May of 2018 I obtained a job at Charles River Laboratories- Mattawan Site. I began my work in the in-life Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology (DART) department. On a daily basis I was caring and administering substances to animals. After 6 months I transfered to the post life side of DART, Teratology Lab. In the lab we conduct analysis to determine fertility of animals. We also conduct studies to look for birth defect or cognitive disorders in the offspring. I love my job, as I am passionate about helping people!
Emily Hubbard is a graduate of the CLS class of 2018. After completing her internship at Munson Medical Center, she passed her ASCP exam in May 2018 and now works as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Henry Ford West Bloomfield. Though she is a generalist, her passion is blood bank, and she hopes to further her career in the field.
Thomas Chen, BLD Class of 2014, is now a third year medical student at Michigan State University. He is based at DMC - Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. He plans to pursue a career in internal medicine. Before medical school, he spent a year at The Cleveland Clinic in their School of Medical Technology. Starting from his laboratory days, he's had a passion for microbiology, specifically the gut microbiome and how it plays a role in satiety hormone expression.
Dr. McLaughlin graduated from the MSU BLD Diagnostic Molecular Science program in 2007. She earned her PhD in Human Genetics from the University of Michigan in 2012 where her research focused on the role of tRNA synthetases in inherited peripheral neuropathies. After earning her PhD, Dr. McLaughlin completed a Clinical Molecular Genetics fellowship at Harvard Medical School in 2014. She has served as an Assistant Laboratory Director at the Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, an Associate Laboratory Director at GeneDx, and she is currently an Associate Laboratory Director at Invitae. Dr. McLaughlin has taught courses at Harvard Medical School and Boston University and she has authored over 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts and a book chapter. Her clinical interests focus on genetic testing for cardiology, connective tissue disorders, pediatric disorders, and eye disorders.
I graduated from MSU in 1982 (OLD!) with a degree in MT - did my internship at McLaren in Flint. Went on to work at both the DMC and St. John in Detroit, for about 10 years, both in Microbiology which is my passion. I attained the SM(ASCP) certification while at St. John. I made the leap into the commercial world when I went to work at bioMerieux, where I spent 9 years first as a technical rep, then an Account Manager. From there I went to Thermo Fisher Scientific and spent 16 years in the Microbiology Division with various roles in sales leadership. Started in November 2018 back at bioMerieux. My current title is Sr. Regional Business Manager for the Great Lakes Region at bioMerieux. In a nutshell, my education at MSU prepared me so well for a career that started in the lab and then transitioned into selling to clinical, pharma and food customers, all in the infectious disease/microbiology space.
Alex Cornell, Medical Laboratory Scientist. I'm from Battle Creek, MI and I attended Michigan State University from 2015 to 2017. I obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical Laboratory Science from Michigan State and then participated in the match program for MLS and got placed at Detroit Medical Center. I completed a 10 month internship from September 2017 until May 2018. Upon completion of that program, I passed my certification exam through ASCP and began a job working at Bronson Methodist Hospital in the Microbiology Department on second shift.


text:
Q: Python logging how to track hostname in logs? I am using Python logging in this manner:
logger = logging.getLogger("my_logger")
logger.info("Some text.")

I have a bunch of IoT devices all running (making logs).  They stream their log data to a database.  To differentiate the source, I need to include the source IP address.
Is there a way to get hostname using logging?  Is IP Address or hostname tracked/trackable in LogRecords?
In general, what is the best way to add in hostname to a LogRecord?

A: A simpler solution would be to pre-populate the format line with the hostname. For example:
logging.basicConfig(
   #... your logging configuration,
   format="%(asctime)s {} %(message)s".format(socket.gethostname())
)

would generate a format line like
"%(asctime)s some-hostname %(message)s"

The drawback is that if the host name changes you'd need to restart your service/application. This is usually not a problem for most applications, especially if running on docker/k8s

A: You can do that by adding a custom log filter and formatter that puts the host name in the log messages.
import logging, platform

class HostnameFilter(logging.Filter):
    hostname = platform.node()

    def filter(self, record):
        record.hostname = HostnameFilter.hostname
        return True

handler = logging.StreamHandler()
handler.addFilter(HostnameFilter())
handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter('%(asctime)s %(hostname)s: %(message)s', datefmt='%b %d %H:%M:%S'))

logger = logging.getLogger()
logger.addHandler(handler)
logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)

logger.info('Hello, world!')

A: The easiest way to do this is available through the Polog library.
Install it:
$ pip install pip

And use:
from polog import log, config, file_writer

config.add_handlers(file_writer())
config.set(service_name='my_host_name')

log('message')

After executing the code, you will see in the console something similar:
[2022-10-26 19:26:04.759310] |    1    | UNKNOWN | MANUAL | "message" | where: my_host_name.?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Three new tracks. There's a few SICK THOUGHTS records out, but this is a shining star. Sure, it sounds and looks similar to the Reatards... do you need a college degree and an iPhone to figure that out? Did you not love those records when they came out? Because I did and I still do. Drew cites GG Allin as an influence on this one, and I agree. Sick Thoughts LP out this year on Going Underground ("Home of the Hits")! Edition of 400.


New Stages is a major project initiated by Fabricio Mattos in 2018 and that will be developed over the coming years. It comprises intense research and careful methodology to a very practical and tangible output, where the very basic concepts of artistic performance will be scrutinised, denied, stretched, and eventually rewritten.
The main basis for New Stages is a PhD research undertaken by Fabricio Mattos at the Royal Academy of Music, London. The connection with such an important and well-respected academic institution provides the project with a robust academic and practical framing, thus creating an important and fertile ground for future growth.
The project is structured into three main sections: analysis of conceptual terminology in artistic performance; a vast research on history and aesthetics of performance spaces in many countries and cultures; and the practical application of conceptual, historical, and aesthetic ideas on highly experimental performance events in London and other places around the globe.
If you have any idea, comments, or corrections that might contribute to further develop this project, please get in touch via the contact tab on this website!


Nexus® Vehicle Systems has been designing and manufacturing products for articulated vehicles since 1992. Today, we provide a full range of solutions that protect and prolong the life of spiral coils carrying air and electrical services, reduce health and safety concerns by enabling coupling from the ground level, and increase fuel efficiency by allowing a closer coupling of the truck and trailer.
We work closely with fleet operators to optimise their truck to trailer linkage solution, and are able to adapt our solution to accommodate any connectivity issues with a particular combination of truck and trailer.
Use a sliding distribution plate attached to your trailer headboard to protect..
Our automotive connection systems include A-Frames, booms and hydraulic booms, sliding bridges and trailer sliders, all engineered to the highest quality standard to ensure a long and reliable service with minimal maintenance.
All of our products are supplied with the highest quality anti-kink compact coils, which are designed to to minimise snagging, interlocking and breakage.
We also produce a range of products for the rail industry and regularly design new solutions for major rail and tram operators, with recent projects including bespoke pneumatic track brake adjusters and tea urn assemblies.


The 68477th positive integer is an odd prime number that follows the number 68476 and comes before 68478. Sixty-eight thousand four hundred seventy-seven is 5 digits long.
Q: Is 68477 a prime number?
Q: What is the negative number for 68477?
Q: What is half of 68477?
Q: What is a third of 68477?
Q: What is a quarter of 68477?
Q: What is the square root of 68477?
Q: What is 68477 times Pi?
Q: What is 68477 divided by Pi?
Q: What is the scientific notation for 68477?
Q: What are the divisors for 68477?
Q: What is the factorization of 68477?
Q: What is the sum of divisors of 68477, including itself?
Q: What is the sum of divisors of 68477, excluding itself?
The spelling of 68477 in different languages.
Q: What is the roman numeral for 68477?
Q: What is the digital capacity for 68477?
The number 68477 represented in different base number systems.
List the frequency of characters that make up the number 68477.
List of hash code values for 68477.


text:
ifive
iFive: Rdio, HP, BP, Neuro–that's the New Euro–and Microsoft
While you slept, the innovation news kept gushing. Here's what you've missed so far:
1. "We did not have the tools you would want in your tool kit," said BP CEO Tony Hayward in an interview for the FT (did you know that BP's official spokesman, Andrew Gowers, is a former editor? Hack to flack). The beleaguered British firm is ponying up $360 million to provide six sand barriers to protect the Weezy wetlands, and sharks from its home country are already circling. The Guardian proves the point that most headlines containing questions deserve the answer, "nope." Meanwhile, keep an eye out for a set of apologetic TV spots that BP is set to begin airing in the U.S. today.
2. Rdio, the latest startup for Messrs. Zennstrom and Friis, the guys who brought us Skype, Kazaa, and *cough* Joost, has launched. The mobile music streaming service joins a crowded market: Rhapsody, MOG, and possibly Spotify. Price is $5 to $10 a month.
3. Microsoft unveiled Live Wave 4 Essentials, or Live Essentials for short, its riposte to Apple's iLife. Serving suggestion, from the chefs at Redmond, is to take it with fava beans and a nice Chianti. Sorry, I meant to say Windows 7 there.
4. The most disappointing quote of the day is from HP's CEO, Mark Hurd. "We didn't buy Palm to be in the smartphone business."
5. The Euro is dead, long live the Neuro. Does this mean that, a few years down the line, the U.S. can expect to be paying in Nollars?
3 ways you can create stability in uncertain situations

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Монте́ш () — муніципалітет у Франції, у регіоні Окситанія, департамент Тарн і Гаронна. Населення —  осіб (2011).

Муніципалітет розташований на відстані близько 560 км на південь від Парижа, 45 км на північний захід від Тулузи, 13 км на південний захід від Монтобана.

Історія

До 2015 року муніципалітет перебував у складі регіону Південь-Піренеї. Від 1 січня 2016 року належить до нового об'єднаного регіону Окситанія.

Демографія

Розподіл населення за віком та статтю (2006):

Економіка

У 2010 році в муніципалітеті числилось 2263 оподатковані домогосподарства, у яких проживали 5800,0 особи, медіана доходів виносила  євро на одного особоспоживача

Пам'ятники

Посилання

 Монтеш на сайті французького Національного інституту географії
 Монтеш на сайті Quid (загальні відомості, історія, пам'ятки, фото, адреси)
 [ Розташування муніципалітету Монтеш на мапі Франції та сусідні муніципалітети]
 Мапа муніципалітету Монтеш на сайті Mapquest
 Сайт міста Монтеш

Див. також
 Список муніципалітетів департаменту Тарн і Гаронна
 Похилий шлюз у Монтеш

Примітки

Муніципалітети департаменту Тарн і Гаронна

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Home » Are the directors required to maintain proper accounting records?
FAQs / Are the directors required to maintain proper accounting records?
The directors and managers of every company are required to keep proper accounting records to sufficiently explain the transactions and financial position of the company. The records usually contain entries of all receipts and payments, details of sales and purchases of goods, record of the company's assets and liabilities and a record of annual stocktaking if the company deals in goods. The directors must prepare a profit and loss accounts and balance sheet together with notes to the accounts giving a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company at the end of the financial year.
The director's report attached to the accounts must be approved by the board and signed by two directors. The accounting records must be kept at the company's registered office or at such other place as the directors think fit. The Companies Act requires the accounting records to be kept for seven years.
How often is it required for directors to hold Board Meetings? What are Company directors' responsibilities? Who is a director? Who appoints Directors? Are the directors responsible for the company's tax filings?


text:
Jay Z Archive
7 California songs better than Katy Perry's 'California Gurls'
Jed Eckert | June 29, 2010
If you weren't a fan of Katy Perry's latest song, California Gurls (or it's spelling), then you are not alone. She branded the song as her answer to
Beyonce must not own a mirror
Roberta Ferguson | June 24, 2010
Here's Beyonce with her husband Jay-Z, only he's not in the picture because she totally looks homeless here. Seriously, did she fire her stylist or just decide to
Video: Katy Perry's California Gurls
Katy Perry gets naked in her new video for California Gurls and it's downright weirdness. It looks like Willy Wonka's wet dream. And the blue hair is just
Is Beyonce pregnant?
Roberta Ferguson | March 25, 2010
According to the New York Post via MediaTakeOut, dance diva Beyonce is pregnant with her and Jay-Z's first child. MediaTakeOut reports: It's been a long time waiting .
I hope Arctic Monkeys doesn't sue anybody over this
EarsuckerStaff | March 2, 2010
Let me repeat that title: I really, really hope Arctic Monkeys doesn't sue anybody over this. I say this twice because EarSucker has been the target of the
Photo: Jay-Z in his earlier years
Roberta Ferguson | February 24, 2010
Jay-Z grew up to be one of the biggest names in music today, but you can see here what he looked like as a kid. Respect the cap
Terry Urban and DJ Eloy mashup Jay-Z and Justice
EarsuckerStaff | February 15, 2010
Terry Urban and DJ Eloy Kill it on this one! Terry Urban comes with this crazy transition of Justice D.A.N.C.E. and mixes it with Jay-Z "On to the
2010 Grammys full list of winners
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards have kicked off with a performance by Elton John and Lady Gaga and they are both wearing dirt all over their faces. It's
Beyonce has baby plans?
Beyonce is taking a six month break from singing and performing to just enjoy life. Rumor has it that she is planning on doing more than just enjoying
Photo: Jay-Z covers 'Interview' magazine
Jay-Z is on the front cover of the February 2010 issue of "Interview" magazine. It just goes to show you that you don't have to be good looking
Disinformation and Dating Apps — A Match built in Heaven (But Swipe Left Though)
Can there be loans being payday SSI along side other Federal Benefit Recipients?
Debt consolidation reduction loans assist borrowers to cover straight down their debts easier and much more effectively.


text:
/**
 * Shows a simple alert total.
 * @param {Bool=} badge - To show the number as a badge.
 * @param {Bool=} hide-empty - To not display anything if the number is 0.
 */
angular.module('ngMessaging').directive('ngMessagingArea', [
    'ngMessagingManager',
    function (
        ngMessagingManager
    ) {
        'use strict';

        return {
            replace: true,
            transclude: true,
            scope: {
                channel: '@'
            },
            templateUrl: 'template/ng-messaging/messaging-area.html',
            link: function ($scope, $element, $attrs) {

                $scope.closeError = function () {
                    $scope.error = "";
                };

                $scope.submit = function () {
                    $scope.error = "";
                    $scope.submitting = true;
                    var deferred = ngMessagingManager.addMsg($scope);
                    deferred.then(function () {
                        $scope.msg = "";
                    }, function (error) {
                        $scope.error = error;
                    }).then(function () {
                        $scope.submitting = false;
                    });
                };
            }
        };
    }
]);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Clean Installation of Ubuntu Currently I have Windows 7 but I want to completly remove Windows 7 and install Ubuntu 13.04.
I have 5 Windows partitions including C: drive. I just want to know whether I will loose all my partitions in Windows. I want to keep the data on those partitions which include my all important data.
Is there a way of doing clean installation of Ubuntu without losing data on Windows partitions?
What happens if I move all my data into one Windows partition (Assume to last Windows partition i.e E:) and then format all other four Windows partitions (Then Ubuntu advance partition menu will identify this total space as a free space) and use advance partition menu to create /boot, /, /home and swap area?
Will I be able to extend or merge that Windows E: partition to my Ubuntu home partition after I boot into Ubuntu?
What other types of partitions that we can have in Ubuntu if we want to keep our Movies, Personnel Documents and Study materials in each separate partitions? (Like i did in Windows)

A: If you have 5 partitions with Windows is the extra partition a logical partition in an extended partition, or did you have Windows convert to dynamic partitions. Dynamic partitions do not work with Linux.
Only if you have Windows should you keep a NTFS partition as a data partition. It will need chkdsk on occassion and Linux cannot run that. Linux normally runs fsck on Linux partitions every 40 to 60 reboots automatically.
You can create Linux formatted (ext4 typically) partitions for data if you desire. While you can manually mount with Nautilus each time you reboot, it usually is better to add permanent settings to fstab. You then have to create your own mount points but you can give names that make sense like data, Movies, Music instead of E: or F:. You also have to set ownership & permissions.
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/mountlinux
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Mount/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FilePermissions
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Fstab

A: This question passes by every so often. Just google this site and you will find plenty of answers. In short:

*

*If you do not know what you are doing, keep at least two backups of your personal data (your other partitions).

*If you want a custom install of ubuntu, do not choose the option to replace windows with Ubuntu, but choose a manual partition table (again, don't do this if you do not know what you are doing).

*The place of your boot system on your hard drive is important (if it is in the beginning your drive will perform better). I would keep two backups of my data (windows partition included) and then do a typical ubuntu install which removes everything. Then you make a new home partition and use something else that ntfs for it.

A: If you have moved all your data to partition "E", you can format the partitions, but let the "E" remain the same in NTFS when you install the Ubuntu.
Your data will remain in partition "E" after installing Ubuntu.
I'm not sure if you will need to automount that partition, but in that case open the terminal and run:
sudo apt-get install ntfs-config
sudo mkdir -p /etc/hal/fdi/policy

Maybe you can check a "To do list after installing Ubuntu" for additional configurations.


This saddle rack and blanket bar is constructed of rust-resistant, enameled tubular steel that provides excellent strength and durability. A raised gullet support helps to keep your saddle in top form, and a convenient blanket bar allows you to keep your saddle and blanket in one place. Great for English saddles. Hardware not included.
I think that this is a great product! It is easy to mount to the wall and it is very sturdy.


text:
What is InfoTech
Shifts of Power, Wealth and Voice
…in coming decades…"local networks will be telling government what they want. That is democracy."
Benjamin de la Peña
…markets left to their own devices are not likely to address the problems of job loss, inequality and insecurity. For that, government and policy will be indispensable.
CHAPTER IV - Shifts of Power, Wealth and Voice
The arrival of networking technologies in urban life has been alarming to many Mayors, political parties and city officials because these systems tend to disrupt the status quo and at times ignore city protections for their citizens. Familiar governmental procedures, stable political arrangements and insular institutional cultures can all be put at risk by open data systems and tech-empowered citizen participation. Treating the "city as platform" can catalyze structural shifts of power, wealth and voice within an urban region.
"The ownership of civic conversations is changing," said Ryan Panchadsaram, the Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer. "That is disrupting things, making many folks feel uncomfortable. I think that's actually a really good thing." One reason that it is good, he explained, is that it opens the door for healthy new forms of citizen engagement. Network-based systems are more hospitable to citizen participation, said Panchadsaram, because the "architecture of participation"—to use Tim O'Reilly's term—is open and modular. This may be one of the key drivers of structural change.
As O'Reilly explained in a 2014 blog post on this topic, open source software projects have been able to build large development communities because "they have a modular architecture that allows easy participation by independent or loosely coordinated developers…. The Web, however, took the idea of participation to a new level because it opened that participation, not just to software developers, but to all users of the system."
Following this logic, city governments can leverage the power of open participation as seen on the Web and in open source communities by devising standard, interoperable systems that enable sufficiently small and accessible "units of participation." O'Reilly writes, "Modularity depends on standards—formal or informal expectations about behavior and interfaces—and interoperability. To take an example that is not from software, consider that our most competitive, participatory industries all feature devices made from standardized parts. Whether you are talking automobiles, personal computers or cell phones, a rich ecosystem of suppliers is possible only because we agreed that the threads on bolts and nuts should be a certain size that electronic parts should be interchangeable, and that complex, custom assemblies should be kept to a minimum.
This is precisely why so many aspects of government remain inaccessible to ordinary citizens—and detrimental to democracy: the "units of participation" are too large and complex. O'Reilly writes: "When a bill is tens of pages long (consider, for example, the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which established the U.S. interstate highway system, at 29 pages) anyone can read and understand it. When it is 906 pages long (like the Affordable Care Act), few people—including the legislators who vote on it—are likely to fully grasp it, and it ends up being shaped by a small cadre of very knowledgeable insiders and lobbyists who have strong economic interests in the outcome."
Jennifer Pahlka of Code for America told a story of how the City of Philadelphia took steps to make it more feasible for people in housing projects to participate in policy dialogues about housing programs, and how this opened up a new dialogue. Lower-income citizens were thrilled to have their opinions heard, but many homeowners were distressed that their voices no longer dominated the political agenda. Similar shifts are likely, as network systems bring new voices into public life.
The city as an open-source platform may be disruptive in the short-term, and it will certainly entail new complexities. But it is also a force for rejuvenating civic life and democratic participation, and ultimately, spurring better, more equitable government performance. Instead of connected insiders driving the priorities of city programs, said Benjamin de la Peña, in coming decades we are likely to see the rise of social movements whose "local networks will be telling government what they want. That is democracy."
The Role of Technology in Economic Inequality
One of the most important purposes of treating a city-as-platform is to spur economic growth, productivity and jobs. But an abiding question is whether tech systems indeed have a deleterious opposite effect, at least on substantial segments of the urban population. Do new digital technologies foster greater inequality? If so, how might tech policies be changed to foster greater opportunity and more equal outcomes?
This topic was addressed in a short presentation by Tessie Guillermo, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZeroDivide, a San Francisco advocacy group that leverages technology to accelerate social change in underserved communities. She started by noting that the "social contract" that has given middle class Americans job and income security is being shattered by a confluence of factors. These include the "sharing economy, the increasing numbers of non-employee contracted outsourced workers, the gap between business and asset owners and operators, the cult of big data, and the technologies that enable this confluence."
This topic was extensively covered by a 2013 Aspen Institute report, "The Power Curve Society: The Future of Innovation, Opportunity and Society Equity in the Emerging Networked Economy." The report notes:
Although the new technologies are clearly driving economic growth and higher productivity, the distribution of these benefits is skewed in worrisome ways. Wealth and income distribution no longer resemble a familiar "bell curve" in which the bulk of the wealth accrue to a large middle class. Instead, the networked economy seems to be producing a "power-curve" distribution, sometimes known as a "winner-take-all" economy. A relative few players tend to excel and reap disproportionate benefits while the great mass of the population scrambles for lower-paid, lower-skilled jobs, if they can be found at all. Economic and social insecurity is widespread.
To give this trend a personal dimension, Guillermo gave a personal history:
My immigrant, working-poor parents became property owners and raised seven children in the 1960s in San Francisco, but fifty years later their third-generation grandchildren, my daughter, and her partner, live in a one-bedroom apartment while raising two of their own children. They pay in real terms anywhere from five to ten times what my parents paid on their 30-year monthly mortgage, and cannot afford or find a private alternative to one of the lowest-performing urban public school systems in the country, even though both of them are college educated and employed, one in the tech sector, ironically, and the other owning her own small business.
In trying to explain this social reality, Guillermo noted that "income inequality is fueled by disparities in skills and education, many of which in today's economy are explicitly tech-related. The people and institutions who benefit the most are those with the expertise and creativity to adopt and use technological innovations—and that drives income inequality. The demand for highly skilled workers rises, while workers with less education and expertise fall behind."
The inequality gap can be self-reinforcing, especially among those who cannot afford access to the Internet and smartphones. Guillermo continued, "Twenty percent of Black adults, 17 percent of Hispanic adults and 25 percent of households making less than $30,000 do not use the Internet. So data-driven smart cities, in the name of efficiency, have the potential to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots."
A key issue, then, is "who owns, collects, analyzes and productizes the data to support and lift these [lower-income] people up," said Guillermo. Much of the data generated by people using the Internet and smartphones accrues to private companies for private gain and not for the general good.
From a jobs perspective, we are experiencing a shift—due to sensors, cloud technology and digital social networks—from a situation in which people were once paid for their labor and productivity, to a product development process that is now done with free and willing labor participation. The sharing economy is making it so that the employer/platform owners have no obligation to provide the benefits, safety and longevity that traditional employment once did.
This is where policy comes in. The issue of jobs and work cannot be solved in the marketplace alone. How can cities "realize the promise of inclusive innovation?" asked Guillermo. She noted that her organization, ZeroDivide, which has dealt with digital equity issues for 17 years, is shifting its focus from technology demand and adoption to basic Internet access, content creation, data tools and product development. She cited the many nonprofits and social enterprises that are actually developing the capacity to collect, analyze and own their own data from the services that they deliver. Developing greater digital literacy among disadvantaged groups of citizens is a key challenge, Guillermo said.
New Frontiers of Automation and Its Impact on Jobs
Conference participants agreed that there are many troubling, inexorable structural changes in the economy, many of them driven by new technologies. The changing nature of work is well-illustrated by the comment made by entrepreneur Robin Chase who, in a prior Aspen Institute conference, noted that a friend's father had one job in his life; she would have seven jobs in her life; and her child will have seven jobs at one time. An economy that increasingly relies upon huge pools of freelance workers with multiple jobs and multitasking workdays is raising profound new questions for government and policy. How should social services should be structured? How should job-creation and inequality be addressed?
Stefaan Verhulst, Cofounder of the GovLab at NYU, suggested that we may need "a wholesale rethinking of what a job might be, and explore to what extent a minimum income is needed." There are many ways that this might be addressed, he said, ranging from the kinds of basic income ideas often proposed in European countries to apps such as one called Even, which helps individual freelance workers with irregular paychecks to smooth out volatile swings in their income.
Another approach is for cities to develop new sorts of economic development models that can generate more jobs. Verhulst suggested two interesting ideas: an open-data system that could provide market intelligence to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises, helping them to compete against larger corporations. Another idea is for cities to provide a "co-location model" that provides SMEs with a kind of headquarters that can help them develop export markets for their products and services.
However beneficial such approaches, the larger secular trends in the economy may simply swamp such strategies, suggested Benjamin de la Pena of the Knight Foundation. He cited a recent article journalist Scott Santens on the website Medium, which assesses the likely economic impact of self-driving vehicle technologies. The first fully autonomous self-driving truck was successfully tested in Nevada in May 2015, and analysts such as Morgan Stanley predict that there will be completely autonomous truck capability by 2022 followed by massive market penetration by 2026. This development could have a devastating impact on the estimated 3.5 million truck drivers in the U.S. and another 5.2 million non-drivers who are employed by the trucking industry. Combined with the hotels, restaurants and other businesses that depend upon truck drivers, journalist Santens concludes that, "we are facing the decimation of entire small town economies, a disruption the likes of which we haven't seen since the construction of the interstate highway system itself bypassed entire towns.
This general automation trend is playing out in many new frontiers today, from the outsourcing of white-collar work to cheaper labor in India, to the automation of supermarket cashiers and flight check-in. "The Port of Norfolk, Virginia, used to employ 3,000 people," said Steven Adler of IBM. "Today the whole port is run by 100 people. Distribution centers around the country are run by just ten people. Robots move pallets around, with the whole warehouse run by a computer screen and a mouse. We are on the verge of eliminating huge numbers of blue-collar jobs that will never come back."
The Indispensable Role of Government and Policy
There was general agreement among participants that markets left to their own devices are not likely to address the problems of job loss, inequality and insecurity. For that, government and policy will be indispensable. "There are many things that only government is going to provide over the long term," said Susan Crawford, a law professor at Harvard Law School and a co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, "and in order to be effective, government must be visibly doing a good job." She added that government stands alone in its capacity to assure that everyone's baseline needs for education, health, transport, clean water, electricity and social insurance are met, "I think we can stipulate that the market will not provide these," Crawford said. "Government is essential for providing the basic, long-term things that no private sector actors want to provide." Or as one participant noted, "There's really no market for taking care of poor people's children."
But however useful this line of thinking, it is also true that government cannot meet these needs alone; increasingly, cross-sector partnerships are needed, said Jay Nath of the Office of San Francisco's Mayor Edwin M. Lee. This will require a new sort of leadership to mobilize diverse factions to rally behind a new vision. Or as business columnist Eduardo Porter wrote in The New York Times: "Success won't hinge on a list of proposals. It will require reshaping entrenched political positions, and convincing solid majorities of voters of the vital role of government in their lives."
Government will face another tension—how to deal effectively with inequality and social needs without jettisoning its traditional economic development goals. Can this be achieved? Some conference participants hailed the capacity of current markets to provide greater job flexibility and choice, while others regard that as a race to the bottom that threatens people's basic needs and desire for security.
"The power curve exists in pretty much every domain of the economy, and as such, I don't think we can complain about it," said Jacques Bughin of McKinsey & Company. "It's a fact of life." In Europe and Asia, he said, smart cities are actually driving the inequalities of the power-curve by creating more white-collar and service jobs, and not blue-collar, manufacturing jobs.
Many conference participants agreed that social equity and income security will only grow more important in coming years, and that some forms of redistribution may be necessary. "This is ultimately a question of what kind of culture and society do we want to live in," said Sara Horowitz, Founder and Executive Director of the Freelance Union. "We really need to have that kind of conversation. We keep expecting everything, including nonprofits, to function like free markets, as if aligning supply and demand and reaching some optimum will solve the problem. We know that that just isn't true because we're seeing all of these market choices being made in the midst of massive income inequality." Horowitz called for the creation of "a social sector" that could have new sources of capitalization and support—a role that other participants suggested could be significantly augmented by philanthropy.
So much of the distortion of market outcomes stem from the "financialization of markets," said Tim O'Reilly, in which hedge funds, speculators and other capital investors interfere with the "real economy" of production and services. The solution, he suggested, will come from policy interventions, particularly in changing how government taxes labor more than capital. We do not need tax breaks for financial deals that serve only to drive up stock prices without improving corporate performance.
A number of participants noted that many successful companies in the gig economy are in effect free riders who are shirking the historic "social provisioning" obligations of employers. Jennifer Bradley of the Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation said that "Uber's business model is based on free-riding because it does not necessarily pay for the benefits of its drivers by making them employees. If such companies had to pay their share of the public provision," she said, "we could capture some of that value and put it back into social systems like health insurance and vacation benefits. There is unquestionably a role for government here, and I think that we need a new sort of regulatory framework to get there."
Conceptually, many participants agreed that new sorts of pooled mutualization of benefits, perhaps under the auspices of government, could work. The trick would be to meet both the legitimate social needs of individual workers while respecting the economic and innovative virtues of the gig economy. Tim O'Reilly cautioned against "throwing away all the things that are positive" with Uber and other network-based enterprises. There was agreement with this, but also a response: So how, then, do we provide social benefits such as health insurance, vacation time and unemployment compensation? How do we deal with (what some regard as) the free-rider problem?
This remains an unanswered question, but Sara Horowitz of the Freelancers Union believes that we should move away from a conversation about specific companies to the larger question: How to provide reliable, universal social benefits at a time when employers are shedding that historic role?
Horowitz suggested that the social sector could become a "holding vessel" for social benefits, perhaps in collaboration with government. Instead of traditional New Deal approaches, one could devise massive open platforms and APIs as a vehicle for mutualizing social benefits in decentralized ways, without benefits being tethered to a single employer.
This is more or less how the Danish social welfare system functions, said Steven Adler of IBM. He explained that Demark has taken all social benefit payments from employers off the government balance sheet. All employers pay a wide array of social benefits (health insurance, unemployment, vacation benefits, maternity leave, even severance pay) into the universal system. Funds are administered by a publicly listed, privately owned insurance company, ATP, which is 49 percent owned by the Danish government. Because workers have no fears about losing social benefits, Denmark has the highest labor mobility rates in Europe, said Adler. "It is a remarkable country that has figured out how to balance a socialistic economy with a free market system."
Adler proposed that cities consider trying to devise social support systems on their own. After all, they already provide a wide variety of social services. Why not unemployment insurance or maternity leave? But others were skeptical. "Quite frankly, cities don't have the tax base for something like this," said Peter Marx of the City of Los Angeles. It was pointed out, as well, that even large cities like L.A. do not have a large enough risk pool to develop such forms of social insurance.
Yet there are things that cities could experiment with, said Benjamin de la Peña. To challenge large employers who deliberately take six months to pay freelancers for their work, for example, cities could require that contractors be paid within thirty days. The social sector itself has extensive expertise that could be used in partnerships with city governments to come up with better, financially feasible approaches, said Tessie Guillermo of ZeroDivide. Yet another source of help could be the maker movement, said Peter Hirshberg, which has plenty of civic commitment and innovative ideas.
Horowitz believes that the real force for galvanizing action against inequality will be moral opinion. Citing Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change as a model, she thinks that a new politics will emerge from new moral framings of issues that focus on elemental human realities like "love and work." Just as fights against child labor were not merely economic or practical issues, she said, "The new political realignments are really going to revolve around questions of morality. I do not think this is a crisis of creativity."
Words from Charlie
CHAPTER I: Introduction
CHAPTER II: The Rise of the "City as Platform"
CHAPTER III: Building New Affordances for Citizen Engagement
CHAPTER IV: Shifts of Power, Wealth and Voice
CHAPTER V: Recommendations for Government Policy
CHAPTER VI: Conclusion
Adler, Steve
Bellows, Story
Blue, Allen
Bollier, David
Bradley, Jennifer
Brown, John Seely
Bughin, Jacques
Chui, Michael
Crawford, Susan
de la Peña, Benjamin
Dille, Flint
Fertik, Michael
Herrera, Luis
Hirshberg, Peter
Horowitz, Sara
Kunzweiler, John
Levin, Blair
Lewin, Dan'l
Ma, Qingyun
Marx, Peter
McGovern, Patrick
Nath, Jay
O'Reilly, Tim
Pahlka, Jennifer
Panchadsaram, Ryan
Pepper, Robert
Pohl, Rachel
Verhulst, Stefaan
Wu, Marianne
Yowell, Connie
InfoTech 2015
InfoTech 2015 Report
The Rise of the "City as Platform"
Building New Affordances for Citizen Engagement
Recommendations for Government Policy
What Is InfoTech?
Learn more about the theme of InfoTech
Discover who attended the Roundtable on Information Technology
A collection of reading materials, media and reports from InfoTech


Producers and Fish Processors of Red Drum - Worldwide list of companies (with full contact details) who are Producers of Red Drum Fish including Commercial Fishermen and Red Drum Fish Processors.
Sellers & Fish Exporters of Red Drum - Worldwide list of companies that export Red Drum Fish, sellers of Red Drum Fish.
Importers and Buyers of Red Drum Fish - Companies with full contact details that are fish buyers of Red Drum Fish and | or fish importers of Red Drum Fish.
Wholesale Fish Suppliers of Red Drum - Worldwide listings of companies that are local wholesale seafood suppliers or fish distributors of Red Drum Fish.
Seafood Agents for Red Drum - List of companies that are Seafood Buyers agents and | or Fish Traders of Red Drum Fish.


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How to Avoid Breaking Up at IKEA
Congratulations! You're dating someone you actually care about. Wanna keep it going? A word of advice: Don't go to IKEA together.
By Anna Breslaw
Illustration by Cun Shi
When I was single, IKEA was stressful in a completely different way. Instead of braving the hellish local outpost in Red Hook, I ordered my bookshelf online. The rom-com-stereotypical problems only began once it arrived. Should I text that guy whose balls were in my mouth one time from, like, four months ago if he can come over and build my Fläglet? Maybe it's weird if I ask that guy listed in my contacts as "Ughhhh Wants To Be An Actor?" Or—oh god—do I have to try to build it myself because feminism?
Now my boyfriend has a car. That would have gotten me so many more cool points thirteen years ago, but it's significantly more useful as an adult New Yorker. Three months into our relationship and thrilled not to be single, I was new enough to LTRs that I imbued ours with a magical quality: everything, including excursions for Swedish meatballs and office chairs, would be perfect.
Three months into our relationship, he gave me a lift to IKEA to return a Hemnes wardrobe. It was not perfect. The trip culminated with him exasperated and me sobbing uncontrollably in the parking garage.
When I tweeted about wanting to interview couples who get stressed out by IKEA, among the replies were: "they aren't couples anymore," and "um, us? everyone?" There are myriad articles on the phenomenon, including one Today Show comedy segment and a bald-faced personal essay entitled "Ikea Almost Led to My Divorce." Ramani Durvasula, a Santa Monica–based clinical psychologist, told The Wall Street Journal that IKEA comes up so often during couples therapy that she decided to include furniture assembly in her sessions. Pro tip: Stay away from the $1,199 Liatorp home-entertainment system. Or, as Durvasula refers to it, the Divorcemaker.
"My boyfriend does not understand the importance of 99-cent heart-shaped ice-cube trays. He is here to get the Fintorp and bounce—minimal chatter, zero introspection. IKEA basically turns heterosexual men into Jason Bourne."
The cultural ubiquity is strong enough that one could picture it instigating a couple's argument in an Apatow movie, if there's ever a couple in an Apatow movie anything less than filthy-Silverlake-rich. (Don't hold your breath.)
Now—two years into our relationship—I ask my boyfriend what, exactly, is so offensive about a giant outpost of affordable housewares in cheerful primary colors. "Halfway through IKEA, my brain starts melting and I think I'm in a museum for aliens about how humans decorate their habitats," he replied.
Dr. Ty Tashiro, couples therapist and author of The Science of Happily Ever After: What Really Matters in the Quest for Enduring Love, agreed that the labyrinthian layout of IKEA—no exit signs in sight—stimulates our natural anxiety. It's our coping mechanisms for the stress that cause conflict: "Stressed women are more likely to access their social relationships and collectively solve problems, but men under stress tend to withdraw or not participate. If the woman's trying to engage him in collaborative problem solving, the guy might feel like he's being nagged, when in fact that's not the case at all."
"Immediately, my husband, out of either intimidation or the half-hour ride to get there, goes off in search of a restroom, and I start following floor arrows," says Jenny, 32. "IKEA displays perfection front and center." One thing IKEA does is it forces you to confront each other's tastes head on. "And as cool as I think his Star Trek ships are, they might not fit with this office space I've just discovered on the showroom floor," she adds.
You will be forced to acknowledge, perhaps for the first time, that you're dating a man who owns that Pink Floyd poster with the asses and prisms. And you're both fully aware of the potential to be judged—which puts you both on the defense. "We've seen couples [in IKEA] go into full meltdown mode," confirms Jenny, who says that after the first few trips they got their game on point.
"Women generally accept that there is a flexibility to the shopping list, but men don't see much point in the froufrou," says Suze, 32. She and her husband disagreed over impulse buys—this obviously simplifies the matter along gendered lines, she says, but it holds true in her case as well as in mine. My boyfriend does not understand the importance of 99-cent heart-shaped ice-cube trays. He is here to get the Fintorp and bounce—minimal chatter, zero introspection. IKEA basically turns heterosexual men into Jason Bourne. Or, worst-case scenario, Seinfeld's David Puddy.
This is to say nothing of an IKEA trip with a partner whose commitment level hasn't been established yet. Allison, 23, had been dating a guy for five months when he needed to get some stuff for his apartment. In a role reversal of my boyfriend and me, she offered to give him a lift. "We were at that point in our relationship where it was starting to actually go somewhere, and we were beginning to talk about long-term plans. But I didn't want to freak him out, so I tried to subtly steer him towards things I liked." The two are still together, but the strain was palpable: "Way more awkward than 500 Days of Summer makes you think it would be."
Tashiro also points out that a trip to IKEA tends to coincide with major life events like moving or newly cohabitating. As he put it, "stressors before you even walk in the door." In fact, I realized, this was exactly the case in my original IKEA meltdown with my then new boyfriend: I'd just moved to a new apartment after a long, crazy-making search in lower Manhattan on my lunch breaks from work that wound up costing me $6K in broker fees. My complete exhaustion undoubtedly contributed to our conflict.
But I won't push my luck. Maybe someday we'll be able to afford ABC Carpet & Home. Until then, I'll be ordering all my Fräcks online.
Related Stories for GQIKEAWhat She SaidRelationships


For the album's visual theme, Manami worked with label director Mohammed Taher and New York-based photographer Bao Ngo to capture the full breadth of her music. "Unlike the typical solo album, this isn't a genre album," explains director Taher. "Manami crosses chiptunes with everything from classical piano and SNES-inspired beats to melodically vague soundscapes and orchestral numbers. The music influenced our photography, and we toured around the Swiss Alps looking for the perfect shots." The front cover was shot by photographer Bao Ngo with a long lens and symbolizes the album's distinct genre-sweeping style, with the CD and vinyl booklets featuring full-page spreads of Ngo and Taher's photographic escapade.
Matsumae's music has touched the hearts of gamers since December 1987, when CAPCOM released the original Mega Man for the Nintendo Entertainment System, ushering in one of that company's longstanding and most recognizable gaming icons. Since then, Matsumae has worked on dozens of game soundtracks, such as standouts Mega Man 10, Shovel Knight, and Mighty No. 9. She has most recently worked with Brave Wave on original songs and collaborative albums, notably collaborating with Evanescence's bassist Tim McCord and contemporary chiptune extraordinaire Chipzel, thereby penetrating the borders of her home country of Japan to reach new audiences all around the world. She continues to be an integral part of Brave Wave, and is currently working with label director Taher on the upcoming mega-collaboration album World 1-3 slated for release in 2019, following the #1 album World 1-2, as well as contributing to the ZX Spectrum album Magenta by C-jeff which is planned for January 2018.
After two years of work, musician Keiji Yamagishi and director Mohammed Taher are ready to unveil their year-long project titled THE RETRO-ACTIVE EXPERIENCE under the Brave Wave® label. Keiji Yamagishi is a Famicom-era pioneer and has composed music for some of the most beloved gaming franchises, notably Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Bowl, Captain Tsubasa and Gitaroo Man. Twenty-five years later and surer of his place in life, Keiji Yamagishi is stepping into the limelight once more to present his first-ever solo project, split into three parts to be released throughout 2015, beginning with Retro-Active Pt. 1 in February. Inspired by his Famicom days and fueled with more passion and focus than ever, Keiji Yamagishi sends us all into a "futuristic and emotional chiptunes world", as he himself has described it.
In Retro-Active Pt. 1, Keiji Yamagishi infuses his early Famicom roots with modern sounds and production in collaboration with notable audio and visual artists, including Marco Guardia (of Flutlicht, DJ Tatana, Monomirror) as mixing engineer. The mini-album sees Yamagishi dabble in melodic and guitar-driven compositions, including collaborations with Mega Man's legendary composer Manami Matsumae and eclectic guitarist Stemage (of Metroid Metal). With art by David Hellman (of Braid; Second Quest) and Cory Schmitz (of SoundShapes; Below), director Mohammed Taher works to combine audio and visual into an explosive and exciting comeback.
Retro-Active Pt. 1 is available to pre-order now, following a Polygon.com feature about Yamagishi and his Famicom work. The album contains 9 tracks and will release on February 5th, 2015 with remixes by Brave Wave's Takahiro Izutani (of Metal Gear Solid 4, Bayonetta) and newcomer Smoke Thief, as well as Riki Arai, Yamagishi's longtime friend from their Famicom days.
Yamagishi is currently working on composing the second part of the Retro-Active project as well as designing the 2-disc physical release (details TBA) with director Taher and designers Hellman and Schmitz to be released later this year. Simultaneously he is composing music for video game Exile's End by Marvelous.
After a hiatus of 7 years, Saori Kobayashi (of Panzer Dragoon) and Yumiko Takahashi (of Suikoden) are finally back with their musical ensemble AKANE. Journey features new original music inspired by the Panzer Dragoon series of games, compositions from Crimson Dragon, Crimson Dragon: Side Story, and a special appearance by legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu (of Final Fantasy).
AKANE was formed by Saori Kobayashi and Yumiko Takahashi. The band's rich and majestic signature sound incorporates Japanese folk vocals, synthesizers and traditional instruments. "I am particularly fond of making music that blends elements from Japanese folklore with Takahashi-san's powerful voice, combined with a unique soundscape," says Saori Kobayashi. "This has given us some very exciting and profound experiences, making us even more enthusiastic about creating new music."
After composing the music for Microsoft's Crimson Dragon (Xbox One) and meeting Brave Wave's president Mohammed Taher, Kobayashi decided to revive AKANE in the form of a second album titled Journey. "Before encountering the series, I didn't focus on a specific type of music, but composing for Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta and experiencing these games made me interested in working with similar musical elements. A big part of AKANE is inspired by the Panzer Dragoon series."
Brave Wave teamed up with Berlin based designer Natalie Hanke to create a beautiful CD package, with imagery and packaging designed exclusively for the physical release. This worldwide collaboration continues with two remixes for the album, one by Helsinki based composer KOZILEK (Nuclear Throne; Luftrausers) and another by Tokyo based composer Takahiro Izutani (Metal Gear Solid 4; Bayonetta), further exploring the dynamic and rich sound of AKANE with new styles of music.
AKANE's Journey is available to buy from Brave Wave's online store, and is also available on iTunes and Spotify starting September 29th.
November 15th marks our 1st anniversary as a music label, so we decided to release a name-your-price EP to thank the fans and show our gratitude. There's no catch: head over to Bandcamp, set the price to $0 and you'll get it. However! *drumrolls* Any amount we get from you will be donated to UNICEF, in order to help the victims of the awful typhoon Haiyan that struck our brothers and sisters in Philippines.
The beautiful art was drawn and illustrated by German artist Dominik Johann, who will also be designing one of our t-shirts, as well as painting our cats and possibly more.
Thank you so much for the outpouring of love and support. You are enabling us to make good music and let our favorite artists do the work they enjoy the most in life. Consider donating some money when buying the album — let's try to make something humanitarian and good to the people of the Philippines who were unfortunate to experience an awful typhoon.


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VIDEO: Contrapel
By: Chris Lorigan, Photography by: Matthew Jones
This unique technology could potentially change the face of marine propulsion. The guys from Contrapel are excited and justifiably confident. What they've built works so well it more than validates the time and money they've invested. And the US Navy's keen to get its hands on it…
If the United States Navy is interested in your technology, you must be doing something right. When your propulsion system works better than anything else they've got, it might be about time to open the champagne and start celebrating, especially after you've invested over ten years and two-million dollars in the design and development of your invention.
When the US Navy's Riverine Squadrons, part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, were operating in Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers between 2003 and 2011, they found their jet engines were blowing out well before their use-by date. They needed their boats to work effectively in shallow silt- and sand-laden water but the jet units were only lasting about three weeks, with maximum speed dropping from 42 knots down to just 17 in that time — not a good proposition with angry insurgents around. They needed something better, and Christchurch-based Contrapel has a solution — a solution with wide-ranging applications across the entire marine industry. As Contrapel inventor Barry Davies summarises, "The unit can operate in sand, weeds and even withstand exposure to gravel with no drop in performance or longevity."
But let's go back a step. Put simply, what we're looking at here is a new form of boat propulsion. It's a hybrid — a clever blend of jet and propeller technology with the advantages of both and none of the disadvantages of either. Big claim, sure, but we've seen how it works and Contrapel Ltd is clearly onto something. The unit has been integrated into the design of a purpose-built Stabicraft 10.2 Supercab, weighing in at eight tonnes and is easily pushed along by two gutsy Volvo Penta D6 engines, both producing 435hp and 1047Nm of torque at 2500rpm. The boat was designed by naval architect Scott Robinson and built to survey standard under the watchful gaze of boatbuilder and Stabicraft boss, Paul Adams. It's worth around a million dollars — these guys aren't mucking around and are very confident about their technology.
Hammer down
The 10.2 Supercab is an impressive, search and rescue-style boat made even more impressive by the Contrapel system that gets the big vessel up and moving more quickly and smoothly than you'd expect. We were lucky enough to hop on board with the guys after the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, and after we'd passed Auckland Harbour's limited speed zone just beyond North Head, Davies made sure everyone on board was holding on before he put the hammer down. With a huge volume of white water erupting from the stern, the boat almost effortlessly muscled its way from 12 to 32 knots in next to no time. There was no loud lurch of power delivery as the Contrapel system and the big Volvos got into their work — the system is so quiet, in fact, it can run with electric power for silent operation. The foaming white water surged out of the twin Contrapel units before the boat began producing what looked like a more traditional stern drive wash. Top speed is a comfortable 37 knots at 3500rpm, and you get the feeling you could ski behind this boat if you were so inclined. The guys are also testing the technology in a five-metre tinny and a 7.2-metre McLay, and Davies and his team believe it can be adapted to anything from runabouts to ships. In the big yellow Stabicraft, fuel burn is 110 litres an hour at 26 knots. Over the past decade they've got through a bit of diesel during extensive and successful testing in all conditions, heading out into the treacherous Foveaux Strait as well as Fiordland, the southern lakes, Southland's Waiau River and the Marlborough Sounds.
The Contrapel hybrid propeller drive is a high volume, low pressure system that works above the water line (or below if the application requires it). As Davies explains, "We get a high-mass, low-plume velocity for smooth power delivery. This combined with the triple-vane steering system situated in the wash means we don't need complex or expensive controls. It's a propeller system with the advantages of a water jet, meaning high propulsive thrust at all speeds. At 37 knots (WOT), the internal propellers are doing 1750rpm. If we took this boat trolling on one engine, we'd use 2.5-litres of fuel an hour at six knots."
The drive uses a pair of contra-rotating, fully-enclosed propellers. An alloy intake duct (one for each unit if two are fitted) in the bottom of the hull picks up water to prime the unit, the propellers then accelerate the water through the outlet. This means the system only requires downstream back-pressure to function, and no high pressure needs to be generated to provide thrust. Davies uses a simple analogy to explain the high volume operation of the unit: "If you stand on ice in a pair of skates and throw a tennis ball very hard, you won't move. But if you instead throw a big, heavy medicine ball, you'll move backwards." In this sense, it's based on simple physics, and it's only when you get Davies talking about propeller theory and the like that you wish you'd listened in high school science class just to comprehend the technology at its most basic level. Clever and effective it might be; basic it is not.
What they've found, among other things, is that the next advance, which is an oscillating Contrapel system (the current system is non-oscillating), halves acceleration time, lifts top speed and halves fuel consumption, giving, in Davies' words, "unbelievable performance" — they can replace a 350hp Chevy V8 with a 180hp two-litre Subaru engine and outperform the US big block. The technology gives smooth, quiet, predictable thrust at all speeds, can operate in shallow or deep water without limitation, produces a low velocity wash (eliminating the problem some fast ferry operators have with damaging coastlines as they pass, as was the case with the catamarans in the Marlborough Sounds in the 1990s) and offers exceptional low speed control and manoeuvrability. To demonstrate this latter feature, Davies put both engines on forward thrust and lightly turned the wheel to full lock — the boat spun 360 degrees within its body length, rotating several times on its own axis as if bolted to the sea floor. It was a striking display of the technology's broad abilities. Another clever feature is the big stainless steel trim plate at the stern, which, even with only slight adjustment, instantly raises and lowers the bow as required.
The Contrapel drive works well at any speed, so slowing down for rough conditions isn't an issue. The weather and sea state when we were on board were calm, and the guys were hoping for conditions to deteriorate to demonstrate the technology's heavy weather capability. "The system really comes into its own in the rough," says Davies, looking out at the windless Hauraki Gulf as if wishing for a mean low to miraculously appear to prove his point. "We've tested it in Foveaux, and it thrives on a big swell and high chop, with no cavitation ever."
In reverse (which holds one of the company's three patents), anti-ventilation plates drop down to prevent air being sucked through the system along with the water. Backing down on game fish or manoeuvring in tight spots for rescues or docking is easy.
The unit is fully enclosed and protected, with no propeller strike possible. It can operate in weeds, mud, sand and ice with no reduction in performance. This is all good news for commercial and military operators, and Davies has in mind the likes of tourist ventures and ferries, particularly those working in places like the Abel Tasman National Park where beach landing in shallow water is commonplace. And Iraq, of course.
A week or so before they went to Auckland's Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, the Contrapel guys were testing in shallow waters when Davies accidentally pulled gravel through the system during operation. We could see the tell-tale scrapes in the unit's paintwork, but the system itself shrugged it off like a rhino with a sandfly bite and kept on doing its thing.
Davies and his team have sourced top manufacturing and engineering partners, and won't skimp on quality. They're in no rush and just want to get the technology absolutely right. The unit is made of the highest grade stainless steel to maximise durability. Davies has a goal of servicing intervals reaching 10,000 hours, which is another aspect that will no doubt appeal to commercial and military users.
Gearing is from Auckland's AH Gears, an industrial gear specialist, while Christchurch-based Mace Engineering built all the Contrapel components to Navy specification. Support from Volpower and Stabicraft has been of huge benefit to the overall development project. And Davies also points out he couldn't have brought the project to fruition if it wasn't for the unwavering support of his wife, Stephanie, and co-founders Paul Paterson, Basil Paterson and Gary Lindberg.
A while back they built a manufacturing prototype but lost all performance once they started addressing a small engineering fault. In attempting to fix the problem, they deliberately built another faulty one to see what was happening. After careful observation, they found the seals and bearings needed work, so they've since designed, produced and rigorously tested unique parts that have eliminated the problems they were seeing in their oscillating unit, which is currently being designed by Mace Engineering in collaboration with Davies.
The power and the passion
Davies started working on this idea about 20 years ago, and the result is testament to innovation, lateral thinking and belief. He has engineering experience earned over many years, having first restored a Jeep while still at school. He later spent time restoring Rolls Royce cars while living in London, has built jet boats and figured out how to design sprint hulls that stick to the water through the creation of pressure. The idea for the Contrapel system came to him while he was installing an aeroplane engine into a speed boat. Being a former high school teacher (science, maths, design and technology), he has a staggering knowledge of physics, including the complex science of propellers, slippage, lift, pressure, hydrodynamics and a whole host of other things you almost need a degree to understand. He explains it pretty well, and if you need more detailed scientific information, check out contrapel.com or email admin@contrapel.com.
The company owns three patents across 15 countries, and people across the industry are starting to sit up and take notice. The sort of interest they're getting is a tribute both to the innovation inherent in the invention and the hard work Davies and the team have put in over the years. As Davies says: "This is not in any way speculative or purely theoretical. The performance gains can be demonstrated, are quantifiable and backed up by [ten] years of research."
The company is in no way seeking further investment, and is not looking to restrict production of the technology — Davies is more interested in getting the product out to manufacturers and distributors than keeping it all to himself. I got the feeling he's passionate about the development for its own sake, the thrill of achieving something new, something pioneering in science and engineering rather than focusing on potential profit. Having interest from the US military was a big part of that thrill, bringing with it validation and confirmation that what they've been working on for so long is about to find its way into the world.
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Art Department to Present Summer Show in Harcum Gallery
Exhibit to Feature Trio of Local Artists
A trio of local artists will present their work in a summer exhibit running from Thursday (May 28) through July 19 in Wilmington College's Harcum Gallery.
Artists Katelyn Wolary, Brad Davis and Doug Davis will be honored at an opening reception Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m. The public is invited free of charge. Normal gallery hours are weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(ABOVE) WC students Stryker Stock and Callie Eberhart got a sneak peak of the new exhibit that opens Thursday at Harcum Gallery.
Hal Shunk, professor of art, is gallery curator.
Wolary said her artistic influences and inspirations are anchored in nature.
"The quietness of the unadulterated landscape and the sublime moments between person, self and nature, are concepts that I strive to emulate through painting, drawing and even sculpture," she said.
Wolary added that the human form and nuances of individuality inspire her — "as do the universal struggles we all encounter with identity and how we seem to fit in the often cold, yet beautiful world."
Brad Davis' paintings seek to emphasize the beauty found in overlooked people and places in his surroundings.
"I focus on aspects of urban culture, while simultaneously engaging with more traditional practices, including portraiture and still life," he said. "As an artist, I see myself as a sponge to my surroundings and I filter my perspective through a language of paint."
Shadowing the tradition of American realism reflected by Thomas Eakins, Jamie Wyeth and Bo Bartlett, Davis pursues "a monumental truth that is defined by who we are, how we behave and how we perceive."
Doug Davis believes that art can communicate ideas visually that cannot be communicated through any other medium, as he sees the world in terms of shapes, colors, textures and forms.
He is interested in the "little scenes," those objects or places that otherwise go unnoticed such as cars, old buildings and windows.
"There is nothing exceptional about my subject matter, however, at a closer look, there is a certain beauty and familiarity that, for me, becomes exciting and fascinating," he said.
Interestingly, he creates his artwork using a medium known as egg tempura, in which the yolk of an egg is separated and mixed with distilled water, which becomes a binder for dry pigments and exhibits an opaqueness and ease for working from dark to light colors.
"By layering thin colors one on top of the other, I'm able to get an almost atmospheric quality to my work," he added.


I am delighted, thrilled and honoured to announce The 2017 Wedding Industry Awards Midlands Region Wedding Entertainer of The Year-Owen Strickland. This is such a massive honour for me I'm struggling to express the words!
What makes these awards the best, and the most prestigious, is that only Brides/Grooms whose wedding contestants have appeared at can be considered. They have to submit a series of scores about their experience in booking me. This is from the initial meeting or enquiry, right up to the special day itself. They also have to write a short report about how i performed on the day itself. I had 44 votes from Brides/grooms from Weddings in the last 12 months which is such a lovely honour. .Sadly I missed the awards ceremony as I was in Mexico, but my trophy will be forwarded to me.
I now go forward to the National Awards in London In January against the other 6 Regional Winners. This is a very glamorous night at Cafe De Paris In London . This year it will be hosted by Roger Black.
Staffordshire Wedding Magician Premier Suite Cannock.Today I performed at the wedding of Abi. What made this such a special wedding is that Abi is tragically terminally ill. Friends and Family got together and put a special day on for her, and I was honoured to be part of that. There was no sadness on the day, just smiles and laughter. Everyone really got into the spirit of the day and had a great time. I did my special trick i do for Bride and Grooms for the happy couple. It was tough to do but I managed to smile my way through it.
Wootton Park Magic with Warwickshire Magician Owen Strickland-These are some great shots recently sent to me by Bride Vicki after her wedding at Wootton Park late summer. There was just enough light left outside to get them!!


Anat here with you today to share my first ever video tutorial for Lindy's – Yay!
This video is a very special Lindy's technique and I can't wait to show you how to create these amazing Gems using Lindy's Embossing Powders.
In this tutorial I'm showing how to make the amazing gems I used in the project below, made for Lindy's January Challenge.
Lindy's embossing powders are two-toned powders and that's what gives the gems the unique Chameleon Bright and Shimmering look.
Some of Lindy's EP are transparent so if you use one on top of the other like I did, you get more tones and you still can see underneath.
You can see in the next photo the gems not only have the tones attributed by the embossing powder but they also reflect the grungy colors of the spray on the project.
This gives us the chance to make a bunch of gems in advance and use the same Gems in different project styles.
What you need is a good embossing pad or dabber, some pebbles and at least two of Lindy's Embossing Powders.
Hope you've enjoyed my video tutorial.
Great idea. Thanks for sharing your creativity. I am also wondering where we can purchase the gems. All I have been able to find have adhesive flat backs on them and it looks like you put the embossing powder up in the concave surface of the gem.
What are gems made of – glass or acrylic? Where can they be purchased?
Great tip. Where do you get the pebbles?


St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, left, and police Chief Jon Belmar speak at a press conference after the February trial of Trenton Forster, who was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Officer Blake Snyder. Photo by Gloria Lloyd.
Reps. Jim Murphy and Michael O'Donnell, both R-Oakville, will hold their second joint town hall meeting this week, this time with two special guests — county Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and county Police Chief Jon Belmar.
The town hall will take place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the Cliff Cave Branch St. Louis County Library, 5430 Telegraph Road in Oakville.
Murphy and representatives from around the region met Feb. 22 with Bell to "discuss the concerns of our citizens," Murphy said in a news release.
After speaking with Belmar while presenting an Officer of the Year award, Murphy invited the police chief to the discussion — the first time Bell and Belmar will jointly speak at an event.


Y'all...I seriously cannot get enough of these booties.
The ankle boot trend is certainly here to stay for a while. I had been eying some here and there online, but the other day at Target I saw these for $10!!! I have worn them almost everyday since.
Even if they don't really match....but who am I kidding....they match with everything!
Here's where you can find your own pair! Do you have some ankle boots you're gushing over???
I'm out of town this week, so posting might be a bit sketchy tomorrow and Thursday. Make sure you're back for Friday's BEST OF Style Link Up! I hope y'all are having a wonderful week so for and I wish you a very happy Spring Break!


Stroke models are key essential tools to experimental stroke research. You may find numerous scholarly articles on stroke models, however, there are still lots of important technical details that may only be acquired through personal communication or hands-on training. Instant messaging (IM) is an effective communicating method for the modern society, it would be a great tool for facilitating realtime communication among scientists in the stroke modeling field. Doccol provides a free IM platform, on which the stroke modeling scientists can build a reliable supporting community to help their daily works. You may use the following web interface to join a group chat, or you may prefer to use a desktop client or mobile apps. We recommend the following free softwares and configs for connecting to our IM server.
Desktop: Spark, a cross-platform real-time collaboration client optimized for business and organizations. Download the latest version of Spark for your system from this link.
Mobile: Xabber or AstraChat for Android system; Monal, Talkonaut, or AstraChat for iOS system.
Doccol IM server address: chat.doccol.com; Group chat service address: stroke.chat.doccol.com; Group chat rooms [Name(address)] availabel to join: MCAO (mcao@stroke.chat.doccol.com), Stroke Models(strokemodels@stroke.chat.doccol.com), Main Lobby(lobby@stroke.chat.doccol.com).


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Things To Do in Architectural Buildings, Restaurants in Architectural Buildings
Architectural Buildings
10 Things to Do in Crows Nest That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Crows Nest, Australia including Sydney Harbour, Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden, Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, Champagne Sailing Sydney, Blues Point Reserve, Balmoral, Sydney Park, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Ferries.
#Bodies of Water #Sydney Harbour #Gardens #Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden #Movie Theaters
Things to do Italy
What to do and see in Scopello, Italy: The Best Places and Tips
The Commune of Scopello (Italian: Comune di Scopello; population about 450) is located in the Valsesia region of the Italian Pennine Alps, in the Piedmontese Province of Vercelli. The municipality covers an area of 18.62 square kilometres (7.19 sq mi) and ranges in elevation from 640 to 1,930 metres (2,100 to 6,330 ft) above sea level. Its main centre of population, and the capoluogo of the commune, is the small town of Scopello which stands on the river Sesia at an elevation of 659 metres (2,162 ft).
#Other Outdoor Activities #Cala Mazzo di Sciacca #Points of Interest & Landmarks #Baglio Di Scopello #Beaches
Things to do India
The 10 Best Things to Do in Tamil Nadu, India
^# Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem, while "Invocation to Tamil Mother" is the state song/anthem. ^† Established in 1773; Madras State was formed in 1950 and renamed as Tamil Nadu on 14 January 1969 ^^ Tamil is the official language of the state. English is declared as an additional official language for communication purposes.
#Architectural Buildings #Brihadeeshwara Temple #Sacred & Religious Sites #Airavatesvara Temple #Sri Meenakshi Temple
Top 10 Things to do in Yamagata, Japan
Yamagata is the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. As of October 2015, the city had an estimated population of 252,632, and a population density of 663 persons per km².
#Sacred & Religious Sites #Risshaku-ji Temple #Points of Interest & Landmarks #Frost Covered Trees of Zao #Architectural Buildings
Top 10 Things to do in Kapellen, Belgium
Discover the best top things to do in Kapellen, Belgium including Loopgravenpad Mastenbos, Skydive Hoevenen, Den Deugeniet, Grenspark de Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide, Kinderboerderij Mikerf, Spoorfietsen Kempisch Landschap, Central Station, un PEU d'O, Gennesareth, De Uitlegger.
#Nature & Wildlife Areas #Loopgravenpad Mastenbos #Skydiving #Skydive Hoevenen #Other Fun & Games
Things to do Romania
The 10 Best Things to Do in Piatra Neamt, Romania
Discover the best top things to do in Piatra Neamt, Romania including Lake Izvorul Muntelui (Lake Bicaz), Telegondola, Curtea Domneasca, Cucuteni Neolithic Art Museum, Toaca Peak, Zimbra Reserve Dragos Voda, Muzeul De Stiinte Naturale, Lake Cuejdel, Teatrul Tineretului, Sinagoga De Lemn Baal Sem Tov.
#Points of Interest & Landmarks #Lake Izvorul Muntelui (Lake Bicaz) #Taxis & Shuttles #Telegondola #Architectural Buildings
Things to do United Arab Emirates
8 Things to Do in Dubai That You Shouldn't Miss
Dubai is a destination that mixes modern culture with history, adventure with world-class shopping and entertainment. Catch a show at the Dubai Opera, see downtown from atop the Burj Khalifa and spend an afternoon along Dubai Creek exploring the gold, textile and spice souks. If you're looking for thrills, you can float above the desert dunes in a hot air balloon, climb aboard a high-speed ride at IMG Worlds of Adventure or skydive over the Palm Jumeirah.
#Fountains #Dubai FountainsDubaiSummer Nights: Unforgettable Evenings Out #Observation Decks & Towers #Burj KhalifaDubaiFamily Stop Over Must-Sees #Shopping Malls
Things to do Spain
The 6 Best Things to Do in Seville, Spain
Originally founded as a Roman city and now home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Seville is bursting with antique charm. The Alcazar palace complex is a stunning collage of architectural styles, and the Cathedral will impress you with its beauty and its status as the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The Metropol Parasol is the world's largest wooden structure, a massive mix of grids and swirls that contains a market and a terrace observatory.
#Points of Interest & Landmarks #Plaza de Espana #Gardens #Castles #History Museums
What to do and see in Province of Parma, Italy: The Best Places and Tips
The Province of Parma (Italian: Provincia di Parma) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma.
#Architectural Buildings #Theaters #Teatro Farnese #Sacred & Religious Sites #Cattedrale di Parma
Things to do Germany
The 10 Best Things to Do in Regensburg, Germany
Founded by the Romans in 179 AD as Casta Regina (meaning Fortress by the River Regen), Regensburg is one of Germany's oldest towns. It was relatively spared from Allied bombings during World War II. Today, many flock to see the wonderfully intact old city and its many medieval structures. The 12th-century Stone Bridge was used by Crusaders en route to the Holy Land. The Regensburg Cathedral (or Dom St. Peter) is one of southern Germany's finest examples of Gothic architecture.
#Points of Interest & Landmarks #Old Town #Specialty Museums #Golf Museum #Sacred & Religious Sites
Things to do Uzbekistan
What to do and see in Samarkand, Uzbekistan: The Best Places and Tips
Samarkand (Uzbek Latin: Samarqand; Uzbek Cyrillic and Tajik: Самарқанд; Persian: سمرقند; Russian: Самарканд; Greek: Σαμαρκάνδη), alternatively Samarqand, is a city in modern-day Uzbekistan and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city from the late Paleolithic era, though there is no direct evidence of when exactly Samarkand was founded; some theories propose that it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean, at times Samarkand was one of the greatest cities of Central Asia.
#Monuments & Statues #Historic Sites #Shah-i-Zinda #Points of Interest & Landmarks #Registan
Things to do Ecuador
What to do and see in Pichincha Province, Ecuador: The Best Places and Tips
Pichincha (Spanish pronunciation: [piˈtʃintʃa]) is a province of Ecuador located in the northern sierra region; its capital and largest city is Quito. It is bordered by Imbabura and Esmeraldas to the north, Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the south, Napo and Sucumbíos to the east, and Esmeraldas and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the west.
#History Museums #Museo Templo del Sol Pintor Ortega Maila #Sacred & Religious Sites #Iglesia de La Compania de Jesus #Specialty Museums
10 Things to Do in Eltville am Rhein That You Shouldn't Miss
Eltville am Rhein (German pronunciation: [ˈɛltvɪlə], from Alta Villa, Latin for "high estate, high town", corrupted to Eldeville, Elfeld and later Eltville) is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies on the German Timber-Frame Road (Fachwerkstraße).
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Things to do Russia
The 10 Best Things to Do in Shushary, Russia
Discover the best top things to do in Shushary, Russia including Church of the Resurrection, Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Preserve, The Temple-Chapel of Xenia of St. Petersburg, Catherine Palace and Park, Autodrome St-Petersburg, Memorial Lyceum Museum, Temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, The Hermitage Pavilion, Kameronova Gallery Museum, Alexander Park.
#Churches & Cathedrals #Church of the Resurrection #Historic Sites #Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Preserve #Points of Interest & Landmarks
Things to do Finland
The 10 Best Things to Do in Central Finland, Finland
Central Finland (Finnish: Keski-Suomi; Swedish: Mellersta Finland) is a region (maakunta / landskap) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, Southern Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia, Pohjois-Savo, and Etelä-Savo.
#Military Museums #Specialty Museums #Finnish Air Force Museum #Specialty Museums #The Alvar Aalto Museum
Things to do Ireland
Top 10 Things to do in Duncannon, Ireland
Duncannon (Irish: Dún Canann) is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village.
#Surfing #Windsurfing & Kitesurfing #Hooked Kitesurfing #Architectural Buildings #Tintern Abbey
10 Things to Do in Haro That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Haro, Spain including Bodega La Rioja Alta S.A., Thabuca Wine Tours, Vivanco, Bodega Valenciso, Bohedal Bodega Boutique, Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de la Piedad, Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta, Bodega Conde de los Andes, Junguitu - Museo del Vino del Portal de La Rioja, iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion.
#Wineries & Vineyards #Bodega La Rioja Alta S.A. #Private Tours #Thabuca Wine Tours #Vivanco
10 Things to Do in Hulst That You Shouldn't Miss
Hulst in The Netherlands, from Europe region, is best know for Historic Walking Areas. Discover best things to do in Hulst with beautiful photos and great reviews from traveller around the world here!
#Historic Walking Areas #Stadswallen Hulst #Art Galleries #Verbeke Foundation #Water Parks


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Here are three (more) big Tampa Bay construction projects you might have wondered about
A rendering of the Exchange, an apartment community under construction at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St and 5th Avenue N. [Courtesy of the Richman Group]
By Susan Taylor Martin
Published Jun. 20, 2019
It seems we can't drive around the Tampa Bay area these days without running into yet another big new building project. Almost a decade into the recovery from the Great Recession, construction continues unabated as more and more developers from outside the area seek to capitalize on Tampa Bay's booming population and job growth. Here are three projects you might have seen and wondered about.
The Exchange — St. Petersburg's Innovation District touts itself as the largest cluster of education, health and research facilities in the Southeastern United States. Encompassing a puzzle-piece shaped area south of Central Avenue and east of Interstate 275, the district includes two major hospitals, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and the Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Despite thousands of new apartments going up downtown and in the Edge and Grand Central districts, there haven't been many new ones built in the Innovation District to accommodate the many young professionals working there. That's about to change with the Exchange, a five-story, 132-unit mid-rise on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street S near where Interstate 175 exits onto Fifth Avenue S.
"It's just a phenomenal area that is growing,'' says Kristen Gucwa-Fuechslin, a marketing executive with the developer, Connecticut-based Richman Group Development Corp. "You're right down the street from a lot of restaurants, retail. You have the Rays stadium right there.'' Richman, one of the nation's largest apartment owners, expects to finish the one- , two- and three-bedroom apartments in December; rents have yet to be set.
READ MORE: Here are four big Tampa Bay projects you might have seen but (probably) know nothing about
American House St. Petersburg — A company based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. has selected the northeast corner of 66th Street and Ninth Avenue N close to Tyrone Square Mall as the site for its ninth senior living center in Florida and first in the Tampa Bay area.
American House and its partner in the project, Dallas-based Prevarian Senior Living, recently broke ground for the 165-unit facility that will offer independent living to memory care services in a "resort-style setting.'' Amenities will include a pool, spa, theater, salon and fitness center.
"Senior housing is needed in that area and the site is in a fantastic location, in a great community with wonderful neighbors,'' said Jacqueline Trost, American House's vice president of marketing.
The neighbors weren't happy about previous plans for the property, once owned by the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg. In the mid-2000s, the Sembler. Co. asked the city for rezoning to build 48 townhomes, offices and a Publix-anchored shopping center there, sparking outrage among nearby residents who said there already was enough commercial development in the area. City of St. Petersburg staffers agreed: "There are nine shopping centers within two miles of this site,'' then-city planner Rick MacAulay said at the time. "We have enough commercial land to satisfy the city's needs for the next 20 years.''
Nonetheless, city council approved rezoning. But then the market changed and Sembler connected the diocese with a developer who had plans for a continuing care residential community. That developer is no longer in the picture but Prevarian, which had the same vision for the site, bought the corner in March for $5.18 million.
Alta Gateway — Pinellas Park is going through an apartment boom, thanks in large part to its location in Pinellas County's Gateway area. Long a manufacturing and retail hub, "The Park,'' as some residents call it, has easy access to Tampa, downtown St. Petersburg and parts north via I-275, Gandy Boulevard and U.S. 19. Near or on those major roads, four substantial apartment projects are under construction: the 274-unit Allure, the 274-unit Satori, the 82-unit Palmetto Pointe and the newest, Alta Gateway at the junction of U.S. 19 N and 49th Street.
Atlanta-based Wood Partners, a major national apartment developer, paid $7.33-million in March for the 10 acres on which it is building 288 units and a dog park. (A long-closed Saab car dealership last occupied the site.) Shannon Coughlin, Pinellas Park's economic development manager, said the level of multi-family housing construction is probably unprecedented
"We don't have 1,000 apartments at one time in a 16-square-mile city,'' she said.
If you're curious about any big construction sites you see, let us know and we'll try to find out what's going there!
Contact Susan Taylor Martin at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanskate.
Susan Taylor Martin
Former real estate reporter at the Tampa Bay Times


© 2015, Elizabeth Laing Thompson – A version of this article was first published on Scary Mommy's The Mid .
Elizabeth Laing Thompson writes novels for teens, and blogs at LizzyLife.com about the perils and joys of laundry slaying, giggle collecting, and shopping at Target. Her work has appeared on The Huffington Post, Mamalode, BonBon Break, and more. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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