With crises from other parts of the world dominating the news in Europe, the crisis directly at our European front door is no longer in the headlines. Two years after the Revolution of Dignity ended in the ouster of (ex-)president Yanukovych, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom highlighted the lasting importance of political and societal developments in Ukraine. While the revolution has voted the old guard out, the system has not yet been broken. Three panels in Hamburg (April 15th), Kiel (April 16th) and Bad Homburg (April 26th), the last in cooperation with the Karl Hermann Flach Foundation, addressed the crisis and the war but also some promising perspectives and examples for sustainable modernization and change in Ukraine on its way from a post-Soviet "corruption-state" to a state under the rule of law.
In Hamburg and Kiel, journalist Boris Reitschuster, political scientist August Pradetto and the project director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Ukraine, Miriam Kosmehl, faced questions from the moderator, Jan Puhl from the German magazine Der Spiegel (Hamburg), and from Stefan Hansen of the Institute for Security Policy (Kiel) on how to interpret the political stalemate in Ukraine caused by the resignation of the reform-minded (ex-)economics minister in February as well as how to solve the deadlock to the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement and deal with Russia's unpredictable assertiveness on the world stage. It was underlined that freezing the war in eastern Ukraine implies that it can be 'unfrozen' at discretion, a tactic which has already been used before to the detriment of a frozen war's 'mother country' and which reduces that country's Western orientation – which is why such conflicts must be solved, not just frozen.
In Bad Homburg the focus was more clearly on Ukraine, with the Moderator, Christoph von Marshall of the German daily Tagesspiegel, asking the panel guests, Sabine Adler of Deutschlandradio, political scientist Thomas Jäger, vice-chairman Karl-Heinz Paqué and Miriam Kosmehl of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, for traits that make Ukraine particularly vulnerable during its reform trajectory. Discussing reform processes and the differences between old and new elites in detail, the main message was that financial and technical assistance to Ukraine should be tied to Ukraine staying on the reform path and to firmly support the well-coordinated network of Ukrainian civil society experts with reformers in the executive and in parliament during their big challenge against what has turned out to be an oligarchic counter-revolution. Foreign partners tend to underestimate the harm being done by combining (justified) pressure for reforms with (unreasonable) claims linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Since the political troubles and difficulties with respect to achieving lasting reforms in Ukraine are not directly related to the problem of war with Russia, both must be kept separate. Otherwise, reformers are being discredited, which plays into the hands of the Kremlin and its intention of destabilizing Ukraine. Therefore, targeted reform from above in the key areas of justice and in respect to the still mighty apparatus of the public prosecutor's office must remain in the centre of the foreign partners' significant but unambiguously conditional support.
As for European action towards Russia, everyone agreed that at least displaying a unified position when it comes to targeted sanctions against Russian decision-makers must remain at the core of the Western partners' basic strategy in order to counteract the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in the occupied territories of Ukraine. There, a culture of impunity is spreading that will deepen the gap between Ukrainians living in different regions, further hampering future conflict resolution and providing an area of instability.
For more information about FNF's work in Ukraine, please visit their website and Facebook Page.


Bonjour! We couldn't be happier to announce a new Google Analytics blog for all you francophiles - le blog officiel de Google Analytics (en français)! This is a companion blog to this English blog and it will be linked to from our French homepage, via the "Blog" link. Take a look to read the very first post!
The French blog will have translated and localized versions of important posts from this blog, such as feature launches and integrations. There will also be practitioner posts and announcements, such as case studies from the French-speaking market and techniques for analyzing data that might be specific to the online industry in France or other French speaking countries. It will also be a place to find out about French analytics events that are happening. And it will not just be localized towards the French-speaking markets - it will be a good read for everything Google Analytics, written in French.
Google Analytics managers Nat Criou and Serge Descombes will be your chief correspondents on the blog, and there will also be contributions from French-speaking experts. Nous espérons que vous apprécierez!
in October, we created a few short videos to help people get started using the features. Your feedback on these videos and their popularity (over 70,000 views so far) has inspired us to create more educational videos.
We'll continue to listen for what you want to learn about and work on adding useful videos to the channel. If you want to be sure that you always stay up to date, you can subscribe to the Google Analytics Channel or even add an iGoogle gadget to your homepage.
When we launched additional enterprise class features in October, we created a few short videos to help people get started using the features. Your feedback on these videos and their popularity (over 70,000 views so far) has inspired us to create more educational videos.
Seminars for Success have been so popular in the US that we're now expanding to Canada! Come join one of our lead instructors, Justin Cutroni, Director of Analytics at EpikOne for a Google Analytics Seminars for Success in Montreal December 8 - 9. Whether you are an analyst or tasked with configuring Google Analytics this seminar will help improve your overall understanding of Google Analytics.
Perhaps you have questions like, "What reports should I be looking at for my business and what do they mean? How do I configure goals? What is an acceptable bounce rate?" If so, then Seminars for Success Montreal is for you. For only $249 U.S. per day this seminar offers tremendous value.
Day 1 focuses on Google Analytics reports and data. Justin walks through almost every report and shows how you can use Google Analytics to gain meaningful data insights. Day 1 will also cover many of the new Google Analytics analysis tools including Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reports and Motion Charts.
On Day 2 Justin really digs into how Google Analytics works and how to configure it correctly.
Ready to learn how you can improve your Google Analytics skills? Register here!


text:
JetBlue Will Offer Free In-Flight WiFi For The Next Six Months
Samantha Shankman,
Daniel Goodman / Business Insider
JetBlue Airways will launch its in-flight Wi-Fi service Fly-Fi Thursday morning with three inaugural flights. It will be the first to use high-speed satellite connectivity powered by ViaSat and JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV.
A basic version of the Wi-Fi called Simply Surf will be free until June 2014. There is also a premium service available called Fly-Fi Plus that gives flyers the ability to stream videos or download large files for $9 per hour.
A pricing scheme past the first six months has not yet been decided, but JetBlue senior vice president of marketing Marty St. George says his goal is to keep it free.
"We want to have the free option out there so customers can have unlimited web surfing and not have to pay for it. We want this to be a people's product."
Airline officials expect to offer gate-to-gate in-flight Wi-Fi starting in January 2014. Southwest was the first to offer comprehensive connectivity starting in November.
Worth the Wait?
JetBlue is one of the last U.S. airlines to introduce in-flight Wi-Fi, but officials say they hope to make up for lost time with superior speed and an attractive price point.
"I call it…last mover advantage," says St. George. "We feel like because we waited to have a really good system, we can offer something to our customers that no one else can."
The ability to upload photos and videos to Twitter or Facebook from 10,000 feet also gives the airline new opportunities to engage with flyers.
"It totally changes our [social media] landscape," says Laurie Meacham, manager of customer commitment at JetBlue. "It opens up a lot of opportunities to continue the conversation, just chat with them, and gives us more immediate feedback."
JetBlue plans to kickstart the in-flight social movement with surprise in-flight activities onboard the first three Fly-Fi flights to take off Thursday morning.
"I think we're going to go to the next level of that type of interactivity. We're really excited to have people really live tweet, live blog, live film their experience and share it in real time," says St. George.
However, flyers shouldn't expect to order in-flight service via social media just yet.
"If they tweet that they want a bag of Blue Chips, we're not necessarily going to send the message to the in-flight crew member," says Meacham.
Only five JetBlue jets will be outfitted with in-flight Wi-Fi by the end of the year, but the airline plans to add more than 140 planes throughout 2014.
ViaSat's satellite system is different from services offered by Gogo, Panasonic, and Row44 in that it allots high-speed bandwidth per passenger instead of per plane. This means flyers are not competing with one another for a strong connection.
JetBlue is encouraging flyers to share the download speed of their in-flight connection using speedtest.net and the hashtag #WiFiFlightSpeed. We tested the connection on a JetBlue flight Wednesday morning and recorded a download speed of 20.62 Mbps.
As a comparison, it was only 0.006 Mbps in the JFK Terminal 5 Airspace Lounge and 16.93 Mbps in the Skift offices.
Overseas Network to Come
ViaSat's network currently only covers the continental United State, but it will expand when ViaSat launches its second satellite in mid-2016.
ViaSat director of mobile broadband Don Buchman says the system will then cover overseas flights to Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and the flight route bridge to Europe.
Read the original article on Skift. Copyright 2019.
More: Skift JetBlue Wireless

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Mobizen Mirroring account can only be created via Android app.
Install the Mobizen Mirroring app, launch and sign up with the email or Google+, Facebook account.
Launch Mobizen Mirroring app > Tap START > Select an email > Connect > Set the password > Done.
Launch Mobizen Mirroring app > Tap START > Log in with Google+/Facebook account > Allow permission > Done.
Mobizen Mirroring service can be used via mobizen.com or by installing the PC application.
① Download and install Mobizen Mirroring PC application.
② Launch the PC application, select between USB / Wireless and log in.
④ On the mobile device, press the "2-step verification" button.
⑤ Enter the 6 digits code from the PC on the device's keypad.
⑥ Press START to continue with the connection.
① Open mobizen.com and log in.
② Select between USB / Wireless and press CONNECT.
Connect a mobile device with a PC using Mobizen Mirroring to view and control the device using mouse and keyboard, as well as file transfer.
Connect to the mobile device with Mobizen Mirroring, view and control the phone, launch apps on the phone just as having the phone on your hand.
Mobizen Mirroring can record or capture the mobile devices screen after getting connected.
Record games such as Minecraft, Clash of Clan, etc. or even live broadcastings.
Record and capture is available on Professional service only.


text: "%MEVIS_LIB%\make\win32\createDsp.bat" PyCPPWrapperExample

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Most files are installed in /opt/google/.
It attempts to patch /usr/share/gnome-control-center/gnome-default-applications.xml on postinst (maybe legacy compatibility? Someone with more gnome-fu than me care to explain?).
It includes a daily cronjob that – at least at first glance – tries to do the same things the postinst did (new apt source, archive key, etc) and some further archive configuration. The cron script is called at the end of postinst.
On a slightly more positive note, it at least seems to successfully undo most of the changes once removed, with the exception of the added archive key and the above mentioned patch to gnome's default apps list (that is: if there's any situation it actually gets applied).
I understand it might be too much hassle doing it the right way (from the corporate POV), but then why not simply cooperate a bit more with the community? Hopefully they'll accept some criticism and suggestions.
Or even better: they could simply reuse all the work being done to officially package Chromium.
UPDATE: forgot to mention that the version string (something like "4.0.249.43-r34537") doesn't follow policy. Not a huge deal for a non-distributable package, but in the name of forward-compatibility – if Chrome ever becomes fully open-source – it could be smart to adopt something like "4.0.249.43-0.x".


text:
Workshop Home
Topical Workshops
DP Principles
DP Principles: Example
DP Framework
DP Framework Model
Digital Content Review
DCR Landscape Example
DCR Report Template
DCM Workflows
Disaster Communication Model
Disaster Policy Model
Disaster Roles
Disaster Training
DP Self-assessment
Digital Preservation Management Model Document
Version 3.0 Digital Curation and Preservation Framework: Outline
Developed by Nancy McGovern, last revised September 2014
This document provides an outline for constructing a digital curation and preservation framework and offers a step towards identifying core components of a framework to encourage a community standard for organizations to use. The outline:
Addresses explicitly the seven attributes of a Trusted Digital Repository
Presents the high-level perspective of an organization's program
Reflects current not future capabilities of the program
Provides links to documents containing more detailed and frequently-updated documents, e.g., procedural documents
Points to the organization's action plan for near-term priorities and timeframes
Specifies the approval and maintenance process for the framework
The framework includes an introductory section on digital curation and preservation followed by one section for each of the seven attributes of a trusted digital repository: OAIS compliance, Administrative Responsibility, Organizational Viability, Financial Sustainability, Technological and Procedural Accountability, System Security, and Procedural Accountability.
Framework Components
Digital Curation Overview: This section specifies the priorities and objectives of the organization towards developing a digital curation and preservation program.
OAIS Compliance: consists of an explicit statement of the intent of the digital curation and preservation program to comply with the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model approved as ISO 14721 in 2003, revised in 2009, and re-approved in 2012. The preservation planning statement for the organization delineates the specifics of OAIS compliance and the self-assessment results for the digital curation and preservation program documents the status of the program's OAIS compliance. Links: strategic plan, action plans for digital curation and preservation
Administrative Responsibility: makes an explicit commitment to digital curation and preservation and to compliance with prevailing standards and practice.
Purpose: makes explicit the intentions of an institution and defines the essential role a digital curation and preservation program plays in fulfilling the mission to protect the organization's digital assets. This section defines the rationale for the framework, identifies responsible parties and stakeholders, indicates the intended audience for the document, and places the document in the context of organization-wide efforts. The purpose statement might range from broad to narrow, reflecting the variations in intention for different types of digital archives. Links: mission statement, high-level policy statements, strategic plans.
Mandate: stipulates the authority, jurisdiction, or governance upon which responsible parties have developed the digital curation and preservation program, e.g., laws, legislation, policies, and mission. This section may also address requirements that are not specifically identified as preservation, e.g., legal admissibility, authenticity, FOIA, ADA, Data Protection Acts, copyright legislation, public records acts, E-Government, National Grid for Learning (UK). Links: laws, legislation, contracts, policies, mission statement, regulations.
Objectives: states the high-level aims and targets of the organization for collecting, managing, preserving, and sustaining access to digital content. This section identifies the benefit of the program to an institution and its relationship to other objectives, goals, and policies. Links: strategic plans, goals and objectives, budgets, preservation plans, technology plans.
Organizational Viability: addresses the legal status as well as human and other resources needed to establish and maintain a digital curation and preservation program.
Scope: establishes the overall timeframe, levels of responsibility, boundaries, extent, limitations, and priorities of the digital curation and preservation program. This section delineates what the organization's digital curation and preservation program will do and, as importantly, will not do. The scope statement may be brief or extensive, depending on the nature of the program. The scope provides useful metric for measuring the effectiveness of the digital curation and preservation program. Links: strategic plans, collection development policies, preservation plan, role definitions.
Operating Principles: defines the key principles, models, processes, and assumptions upon which the digital curation and preservation program is developed and implemented. This section is paticularly important in establishing system-wide benchmarks for distributed programs when multiple operational and technical processes are implemented. Common rprinciples include adherence to standards (in particular OAIS) and other accepted indicators of good practice, support for life cycle management, interoperability, evidence-based requirements, and preferred methods of preservation. Links: community and organizational good practice, workflow and process documents, procedures.
Roles and Responsibilities: describes key stakeholders and their respective roles in digital curation and, including creators, producers, digital repository staff, administrators, financial managers, user groups, advisors, other repositories, and collaborators. This section makes an explicit statement that digital curation and is shared responsibility requiring participants within and beyond the organization. It describes broad categories of roles and responsibilities and cites documents containing more specific descriptions. Links: role definitions with explicit responsibilities, documentation of current role assignments, job descriptions, organizational charts.
Selection and Acquisition: provides the rationale and processes for developing and retaining collections based on specific parameters (e.g., formats, types of records, geographic scope). A clear articulation is critical to the success of a digital repository and ensures that collections support the institutional mission and priorities, and that requisite resources are made available for digital curation and. One aspect of auditing a digital archive is to verify that the stated mission and intended scope of a digital archive matches its actual content. Specific policies logically follow from the conceptual statement in the framework to further collection development aspects, e.g., submission guidelines. Links: collection development policy, submission guidelines, ingest workflow.
Access and Use: identifies the designated communities for the digital curation and preservation program and the barriers and/or restrictions to use of the digital content for which the digital curation and preservation program is responsible. Specific policies should be developed to further articulate access and use requirements and restrictions. Note: A digital archive may be dark, dim, or lit, but the absolute proof of preservation is in the capability to provide meaningful long-term access. Links: access policy, deposit agreements, digital rights management rules and practice, user agreements.
Challenges and Risks: identifies the organization's risks, difficulties, sense of urgency, and incentives for developing a digital curation and preservation program. This section provides evidence that even though the full process may not be clearly understood, the need to act now is strong. Links: risk analyses, SWOT analyses, growth projections, examples of loss and near misses.
Financial Sustainability: documents the tangible basis for sustaining the digital curation and preservation program.
Institutional Commitment: confirms and synthesizes the support for the program and the resources available to sustain the digital curation and preservation program. Links: budgets, financial reports, fiscal policies, annual reports, succession plans, contracts.
Cooperation and Collaboration: acknowledges that the organization's effort exceeds or will exceed available resources and may not guarantee the safety of all vital assets. This section places the digital curation and preservation program into a broader context that recognizes the program's dependencies on other partners and on the community at large. Collaborations and partnerships may require formal, legally binding agreements that delineate explicit roles and responsibilities of each party. Links: partnership agreements, operating principles and practices for collaborative projects.
Technological and Procedural Suitability: this component summarizes the preservation approach, strategies and techniques that are employed by the digital curation and preservation program to achieve stated objectives. This section states the general philosophy of the digital curation and preservation program and points to relevant requirements, policies, standards, guidelines, and practice. It makes a tangible link to the preservation planning component of the digital curation and preservation program and to the organization's preservation plan. Links: preservation strategies, preservation plans for the organization and for specific content, deposit agreements.
System Security: specifies the organization's commitment and approach to ensuring the accuracy, completeness, authenticity, integrity, and long-term protection of the organization's digital assets. Links: security policies and procedures, disaster plan
Procedural Accountability: acknowledges the need for and stipulates the means for ensuring the transparency and accountability of the digital curation and preservation program's management and operations.
Audit and Transparency: explicitly commits the organization to periodic self-assessments and audits to evaluate, measure, and adjust the procedures, preservation approaches, and practices of the digital curation and preservation program. Transparency enables self-assessments and audits. Self-assessments and audits improve internal operations, facilitate external reviews, and contribute to the development of effective partnerships and collaborations. Links: audit and self-assessment schedules and results, strategic plans, preservation planning documents.
Framework Administration: describes the organization's practice pertaining to the development, approval, maintenance of the framework over time, e.g., frequency of updates and reviews, maintenance roles, expiration dates. The framework has little value if it has not received the appropriate approvals and has not been implemented. At minimum, the date and source of approval and the review cycle should be provided. Links: policy administration procedures, policy approval documentation.
Definitions: identifies terms and concepts that may be needed to understand the framework and may be instrumental in strategies for securing institutional commitment. This is an optional section, but one that can be very important. It is particularly important to include legally required and other mandated terminology and definitions. The section may either provide or point to requisite definitions. Links: definitions developed by the organization, glossaries adopted by the organization.
References: provides citations for or pointers to key resources that were informed the development and application of the framework. This section identifies more detailed documents, both internal and external, that provide a deeper expression of the mission, underlying principles, illustrative processes, and sustaining roles. It may contain citations for these documents or point to a current list of relevant community standards and guidance. Links: cited resources, community lists of standards and practice.
Provenance of the Outline
This outline reflects the findings of the Digital Preservation Management workshop curriculum development project (co-developers, Anne R. Kenney and Nancy Y. McGovern, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities); lessons learned in the development of similar frameworks for the Cornell University Library http://commondepository.library.cornell.edu/cul-dp-framework.pdf and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/preservation/policies/dpp-framework.html, as well as samples of frameworks developed by organizations that participated in the DPM workshop, e.g., the Library and Archives of Canada, N.C. State Library.
Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model, the June 2012 version is available at: http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/650x0m2.pdf.
Attributes of a Trusted Digital Repository: Roles and Responsibilities, May 2002, available at: www.oclc.org/programs/ourwork/past/trustedrep/repositories.pdf
Audit Checklist for Certifying Digital Repositories, September 2011 version available at: http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/652x0m1.pdf


It's good when the firing coincides with the Tulip harvest.
Results of the first spy port finishing exhibition are a success!
Kings Mountain slip over pipe clay body is looking good.
Time lapse of @kristeneasters and @t.glosby working the kiln on the second overnight.
We finished the firing last night at the very reasonable time of 9:30pm.
It was one of the smoothest burns to date and after 12 years and almost 50 firings… we are really starting the get things figured out?
Thanks to the rest of the crew. @gillandotypottery @nicklistoceramics @juliecantwellceramics and of course my awesome wife @carolinaflowers_ for helping to make it happen.
@gillandotypottery working the front box.
I taught a woodfiring class at Arrowmont in 2016 and it was awesome. We got airbrushed t-shirts, took an olde tyme photo AND did a super successful woodfiring.
I'm teaching at Arrowmont again this summer and it's sure to be a blast.
My dear friend and talented woodfirer @tomalward will be assisting the class which is a total bonus.
Thanks to @arrowmont_school for having me back.
Check out their website to register.


text:
Aggersund Bridge
56.9994639.294012Koordinaten: 56 ° 59 ' 58.1 "N, 9 ° 17' 38.4 " E
Aggersund in the Limfjord
The Aggersundbroen (Danish for " the Aggersundbrücke ") is an arc and bascule bridge in northern Denmark, which leads over the Limfjord. The bridge is located in the municipality Vesthimmerlands and there connects the Himmerlands peninsula with the North Jutland island of Vendsyssel -Thy. When the building was completed in 1942, it replaced the ferry service between the North Løgstør and Aggersund. On the two-lane road bridge, the highway Primærrute 29, which runs from Hobro to Hanstholm and is traveled there from about 6,900 vehicles daily runs (as of 2011 ).
Between the two arches are two flaps that can be opened by the bridge personnel for maritime traffic. The ships, most of which go to and from Aalborg, there is a passage width of 30 meters.
The initiative for the planning of a bridge over the Aggersund went in the 1920s from Løgstører citizens. They convened a committee which drew up a series of proposals for a fixed link. However, dissent over the route and lack of funding prevented the further planning. It was only after a visit of the Minister of Public Works, Niels Peder Fisker, in 1936, the planning process progressed again. Although the draft of the present bridge was approved in 1938, a year later, construction began.
Because of its position carried the offices of Aalborg, Hjørring and Thisted to the financing, what an inscription on two cross beams reminiscent under the bridge arches. At the inauguration of the bridge on June 18, 1942 armed soldiers of the German occupying forces were present. The occupiers built on the southern side a series of bunkers to observe from there the bridge and the traffic can. Some of these bunkers have been preserved until today.
Thisted County


text:
The Abernathy Independent School District is a school district based in Abernathy, Texas (USA). The school operates three schools: Abernathy Elementary School, Abernathy Middle School, and Abernathy High School.

Finances
As of the 2010–2011 school year, the appraised valuation of property in the district was $465,786,000. The maintenance tax rate was $0.116 and the bond tax rate was $0.034 per $100 of appraised valuation.

Academic achievement
In 2011, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.  Thirty-five percent of districts in Texas in 2011 received the same rating. No state accountability ratings will be given to districts in 2012. A school district in Texas can receive one of four possible rankings from the Texas Education Agency: Exemplary (the highest possible ranking), Recognized, Academically Acceptable, and Academically Unacceptable (the lowest possible ranking).

Historical district TEA accountability ratings
2011: Recognized
2010: Recognized
2009: Recognized
2008: Recognized
2007: Academically Acceptable
2006: Academically Acceptable
2005: Academically Acceptable
2004: Academically Acceptable

Special programs

Athletics
Abernathy High School participates in the boys sports of baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling. The school participates in the girls sports of basketball and softball. Abernathy High School plays football in UIL Class 3A Division II.

See also

List of school districts in Texas
List of high schools in Texas

References

External links
Abernathy Independent School District

School districts in Hale County, Texas
School districts in Lubbock County, Texas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Music Together Summit - What Happens In Class?
45 minutes of Pure Fun with your family!
Each class includes a quiet time "snuggle song"
Classes meet once a week for 10 weeks (6 weeks in the summer).
Come find out what it's all about! Visit a class and meet our Music Together® Family!


Seasons greetings to all our friends in blogland.
I would like to take this opportunity in the quiet time just before the new year starts, to say a big thank you to all who have read this blog and given support over the year.
The snow should be gone soon and I am looking forward to some of my friends coming up to stay.
Very Nice Jon, I hope you aren't snowed in for long. Great Pictures, The Christmas Tree looks Great.
Snow snow every where and Jon you are looking like a real astronaut.Does it go on like this during these days?
Nice post and photos. Life in the country is inconvenient, but I wouldn't trade it for city life just yet. Growing up here in West Virginia, I was accustomed to the term "Shank's mare." It meant the same as your term, of course. Blessings of the season to you!
All the best of the season Jon. Here in Canada, (aka the Great White North) we have had a green Christmas. Ok, it's actually dull browns and grey but the fact is the same, no snow. Not sure how the big fella in red managed to get his sleigh moving. Still, he managed to find his way clear to leaving a GB swedish carving axe for me. Decent fellow, I think.
Hi Altaf...This snow is unusual for this region.
Really great blog, and nice pictures! Happy Holidays!


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text:
var assert = require('assert')

module.exports = function (_, dir, finish, gm) {
  if (!gm.integration)
    return finish();

  gm(dir + '/blue.gif').color(function (err, color) {
    if (err) return finish(err);

    assert.equal(1, color)
    assert.equal(this.data.color, color)

    finish();

  });
}


Home >> Positively Contributors >> "Reactive" dog? It's time to turn struggle to strength!
A Naughty But Nice (NBN) dog is exactly how it sounds - they are nice, beautiful, loveable dogs underneath but sometimes they make bad choices! These bad choices might be because they are easily overexcited, overaroused, reactive, frustrated, worried, scared or anxious! They might make these bad choices because they find it impossible to be calm, need to be calmer or maybe have a high desire to chase, hunt, sniff or herd!
They are labelled this way because, quite often, the behaviours they choose to deal with their anxiety, fear or frustration are deemed not all that appropriate in situations. They might choose to lunge, bark or even bite or they might become unresponsive, lose their recall or run away!
You may feel alone, but you aren't! We have been through it, we know you can turn this into a strength and, most importantly, we know it can be FUN! In fact, there's an entire FaceBook support group devoted to the Naughty But Nice revolution with thousands of members.
Over a series of blogs, I'm going to share with you as a vet, trainer and behaviourist, what I have found to be pivotal in turning struggle to strength with my own NBN dogs and my students and patients too. In this blog, I share the first two - and here's the thing - we aren't even getting onto the training yet but, even with the best NBN training in the world, without these two things, you aren't going to succeed.
First of all, it's all about community. It feels like the world looks at you and shakes its head every time your dog does something "naughty". We have all been there, right? We have all had the head shakes, the rolling of eyes, the nasty remarks. What's worse is that quite often these gestures are from fellow dog owners - dog owners who have never had the amazing experience of working with our loved Naughty But Nice dogs. In working with your NBN dog, you have got to surround yourself with the right people. People that are going support you through struggles, celebrate your successes and give 100% criticism- and negativity-free advice. Surround yourself with the right people and truly you are half way there.
The second, fundamental change to make is a habit in you. It's human nature to see struggles as problems, struggles as something you don't want, struggles as something to fear. Here's the thing. All of the NBN owner-dog teams that I have met over the years (and likewise for our own dogs) have encountered struggles. But. Time and time again I've seen that with every struggle that is worked through with the right training and the right people around you, that struggle transforms into a strength. For example, that recall disaster in the park last week can and will become a flawless recall. That lunging and barking mess at the end of the lead this morning can and will become a bombproof, joyful optimist. That inability to be calm in the house or that crazy desire to chase sheep or whatever it may be for you, will become your strength! But that will only start to happen as soon as you start to look at struggles as opportunities, opportunities to have yet another awesome strength, build your team further and cement your relationship with your NBN dog.
Right, in the next blog, we are going to be looking at the training aspect of working with NBN dogs, specifically how to build real-life impulse control (not just self-control that works with a few bits of kibble in your living room but doesn't translate to that squirrel in the field).
In the meantime, start working with your NBN dog with the games in this eBook.
… and don't forget to head on over to the Naughty But Nice FaceBook support group to share your struggles and make them strengths.
Do Some Dogs Need a Heavier Hand?


text:
Weekend Calendar
Weekend Buzz
New Restaurants
Restaurant Closings
Workshop History
James Beard Award Winners
Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants
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Home›Uncategorized›What to Expect from the Chargers this 2020
What to Expect from the Chargers this 2020
by Holy City Sinner
Introduction and brief playing history of the Chargers
Last year the Los Angeles Chargers entered their 50th season in the National Football League. The team that was originally established in 1960 played one season in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego and played at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California up until 2017 when they returned back to Los Angeles. In 2017, the Chargers played at the Dignity Health Sports Park formerly named StubHub Stadium. Starting in 2020, the Chargers will play their games at the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California, which they will share with the Los Angeles Rams.
Past records and this year's expected schedule release
In the past year, the Chargers finished last in the AFC West division failing to make the playoffs with a record of 5 wins and 11 losses. Their home record in 2019 was 2 wins and 6 losses, thus they will need a lot of support in 2020 from fans all over California to push them over the edge and grab some extra wins. Especially since they will have some competition in town from the Los Angeles Rams. For the upcoming 2020 - 2021 the Charger's schedule will be released mid-April 2020 according to https://www.barrystickets.com/chargers-tickets/, and the best part about it is that you are sure to find a ticket that fits your budget. As a result of their abysmal record last year, the Chargers will be picking 6th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Addressing their offensive line is a must for the Chargers which are led by head coach Anthony Lynn, since their move to Los Angeles in 2017.
Lynn is the first African American coach for the Chargers in all their history and is no stranger to winning despite his 27 wins and 24 loss record as a head coach. Lynn, who as a player was a tough and gritty journeyman reserve running back his whole career, played for the back to back NFL champions Denver Broncos in 1997 and 1998. Lynn had some success with the LA Chargers in their 2nd season. They managed to finish with a 12 wins and 4 losses record and went on to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in the wild card spot before being eliminated by the eventual super bowl champions the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Question marks around returning players
The biggest question mark this upcoming season is their veteran starting quarterback Philip Rivers and pro bowler running back Melvin Gordon. Rivers, a 16 year professional NFL player has been with the Chargers for the last 14 years of his career and his contract expired at the end of the 2019 season. He has been an 8-time pro bowler, however, as a 38-year-old he did not perform up to par and threw 20 interceptions for 23 touchdowns in the 2019 season, his lowest since 2007. The Chargers have a tough decision to make this upcoming season either turn their back on Rivers or sign him to a cheap contract in order to have him as a veteran presence to positively influence the younger players and teach them the ropes of a grueling NFL season.
The Chargers have to pay back a relocation fee of 650 million dollars over the next 10 years. Although the club's value increased by 11% in Forbes' latest ranking of around $2.5 billion, they have been amongst the league's worst revenue-generating teams. Thus, it is very likely that the team ends up parting ways with Philip Rivers, who is looking for one last big paycheck, this upcoming season. As for running back Melvin Gordon, in 2019 he missed the first 4 games with a contract dispute and never found his groove after that, rushing for a career-low 612 yards. He will likely get paid in the range of 10-14 million dollars next year and it is believed that the Chargers deem this figure way too high. Thus, it is very unlikely that Gordon will return for the 2020 season.
Promising future
Although the Chargers have a bright, promising young team with up and coming players. Their main goals next season will be to sell their tickets and grow their small fan-base in Los Angeles. Bringing a big name like Tom Brady to help out young players and grow their fanbase might do just that. However, the best option is to build a stable long term franchise through the draft. They will be looking at drafting a fresh and energetic quarterback with a strong arm like Oregon's Justin Herbert and draft a speedy running back in the later rounds like Henry Ruggs III or Devontay Smith. Although there is some uncertainty in Charger nation their future is looking very promising even if it takes some time to get back to their winning ways.
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The Women's Eye Radio host Stacey Gualandi talks to Culinary Queen Elizabeth Blau, about the recipes, cooking tips and personal stories found in her new cookbook, Honey Salt Food & Drink – A Culinary Scrapbook.
Don't miss a BRAND NEW interview on The Women's Eye Radio with Stacey Gualandi as I talk with acclaimed restaurateur Elizabeth Blau about the recipes, cooking tips and personal stories found in her new cookbook, Honey Salt Food & Drink – A Culinary Scrapbook.
As a Las Vegas resident who loves to make reservations, I have made Honey Salt a dining destination for me and my family. So having Blau – fresh from a Canadian cranberry bog – chat with me in studio AND share an (in)famous "brookie" (combo brownie/cookie) for my birthday was a rare treat.
With talent – and good taste buds – Elizabeth Blau is now the queen of cuisine in Las Vegas. Together with her husband and masterful Chef Kim Canteenwalla, the James Beard nominees have made their mark on and off the Strip, and more recently in Vancouver, with several world class restaurants.
But it was the opening of Honey Salt six years ago that sealed their epicurean empire. And now she and her husband are on a (lobster) roll with their first cookbook!
For Blau, it's about sharing special moments, reminiscing about adventures with friends all over the country, and preserving those for her young son Cole.
Nowadays, there are numerous gifted female chefs and restaurateurs leveling the playing field in these male-dominated professions, but Elizabeth is certainly a standout. And not only has Blau paved her own successful path, but she has also become a role model for up-and-coming women hoping to follow in her foodie footsteps.


"Extra" host Maria Menounos caught up with singer Justin Bieber and his manager Scooter Braun on Thursday at Bieber's charity event, "Pencils of Promise," where she got the exclusive lowdown on allegations the pop star fathered a child.
Though the paternity suit filed by Mariah Yeater has been dropped, Braun said his client will still take the DNA test. "He's ready to take a paternity test, at any moment. We have one scheduled for tomorrow," Braun told Menounos. "He doesn't mind, he's like 'I'm just going to go ahead of it and be fine.'" Justin added, "It doesn't matter."
Braun did indicate the Biebs may want to take action against Yeater. "We've never even seen the lawsuit, but we're going to just get ahead of this thing and go right after it. I think it's important to hold people accountable for their actions."
The "Baby, Baby, Baby" singer agreed. "Just because she did it, we don't want it to seem like its okay for everyone to say, like, 'I had Justin's baby or having his baby.'" Braun quipped, "I'm actually having Justin's baby. I'm pregnant. I'm showing soon."
Justin's Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe," is in stores now.


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Sports Betting News From Ohio, Ontario Will Affect Michigan Sportsbooks In Different Ways
Written By Derek Helling on June 25, 2021 - Last Updated on July 22, 2021
In Indiana and Wisconsin, things go by much as they have for the past couple of years in terms of legal gambling. However, in two other Michigan border territories, some recent news could affect Michigan sportsbooks.
Those two jurisdictions are the US state of Ohio, and the province of Ontario, Canada. The news is about legislative action that will have consequences for gamblers who live there. The sports betting industry in Michigan could experience some repercussions as well.
The recent news in these two Michigan border territories
On Tuesday, Canada's Parliament finalized a bill to remove the country's prohibition on single-event wagering. Currently, the only way to legally bet on sports in Canada — outside of sovereign, tribal lands — is to parlay together multiple events. Thus, the regulated market in Ontario is currently minuscule.
The actual rollout of regulated sports betting in Ontario is up to provincial government now. The COO of Ontario's Alcohol and Gaming Commission, David Phillips, said he expects sportsbooks to be up and running by the end of this year.
That commission is the likely regulatory body for sports betting in the province, so Phillips' prognostication carries weight. But as a major roadblock to legal wagering in Ontario was removed, OH lawmakers went the other way.
Clock running out on late Ohio sports gambling efforts
It looked as though time would run out on the state's current legislative session with no final action on gambling expansion. A total of 15 hearings on the matter of legalizing sports betting in the state appeared as though they would produce nothing, but there may be a better grasp of where things sit for the fall.
However, as reported by PlayOhio.com, there was some last-minute momentum to get sports betting added to the gambling options in that state to the south. The Senate passed bill H29 late Thursday, and sources told PlayOhio that means sports betting could have been added by early next week. The bill was originally about adding veteran identification cards in the Buckeye State, and sports betting was tacked on to it.
However, the word from Legal Sports Report on Friday was that the bill seems unlikely to hit the soft June 30 deadline that lawmakers had imposed.
If this current effort stalls, the House can take the matter back up when it reconvenes in September. But, right now, there is some hope for gambling expansion. Either way, this will have real impact on MI sports betting apps.
What does this all mean for Michigan sports betting?
Immediately, none of this news poses any threat for MI sportsbooks. The only real concern is some potential new competition down the road. Even if Ontario moves quickly on rolling out sportsbooks and the last-minute action by the OH legislature moves forward, it's still going to be months before residents there are actually putting bets down.
The more probable scenario in Ontario involves the enactment of provincial statutes sometime this summer. Then, regulators will get to work on compliance and licensing. MI sports betting apps probably don't have to worry about competition from the "Great White North" until late this year, if not early 2022.
That timeline could be even further out in Ohio. Should the legislature reach concurrence and OH Gov. Mike DeWine sign off, you're probably looking at about the same timeline as Ontario, if not later. Also, even when Ohio and Ontario sportsbooks are live, it's fair to question how much effect they'll have on the same in Michigan.
Are Ohioans, Ontarians coming to MI to bet?
There's no solid research on how many people putting down bets at MI sportsbooks actually live in Ohio or Ontario. Since MI sportsbooks went live, the number of Ontarians doing so has probably been small. That's largely because Canadian COVID-19 pandemic restrictions discourage trips into the United States.
Ohioans also have several other options when it comes to legal wagering. Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia also offer online sports betting apps. So, residents closer to those states more likely crossed those borders than made the trip to MI.
Also, there is a strong probability that Ohioans who bet on offshore websites continue to do so rather than travel to wager legally. The bottom line is that Michigan border territories offering sports betting may not have much effect on the market in MI. Either way, some time will pass before anyone can quantify such outcomes.


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Q: Finding order and cosets of subgroup For:

Let $P$ be the pairs $(a,b)$ where $a \in \Bbb Z_4$, and $b \in \Bbb Z_2$
An operation, $*$, is defined by: $$(a,b)*(c,d)=(a+c  \pmod 4, b+d \pmod 2)$$ for all $(a,c),(b,d)\in P$
H = ⟨(1,1)⟩ is the cyclical subgroup generated by (1,1)

How do I find the order of $H$ and the cosets of $H$?

A: Hint: Here $1_4$ is a generator of $(\Bbb Z_4, +_4)$ and $1_2$ is a generator of $(\Bbb Z_2, +_2)$.
For a further hint, click, hover over, or tap the box below.

 Since $\Bbb Z_4\times \Bbb Z_2$ has only eight elements, it is feasible & practical to simply compute all the powers of $(1_4,1_2)$.

Another hint:

 Use Lagrange's Theorem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home » Hurricane Watch
Craig R. Dylan
A photo of Hurricane Katrina over southeast Louisiana. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
When record storm surges hit New Orleans and breached the 17th Street Canal levee in the wake of Hurricane Katrina at the end of August 2005, experts knew the situation was bad. "I was watching it on TV from where I'd evacuated, and I couldn't believe it at first," says Mark W. Huber with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). "'Life's not going to be the same now,' I thought."
Huber and others in the USACE immediately began organizing emergency survey operations that would continue for months. Jimmy Chustz, PLS, president of Chustz Surveying Inc. in New Roads, La., a private survey firm under contract to the USACE, may have been the first surveyor to get to New Orleans following the disaster. "It was devastating to watch it all happen," he says. "The first thing I thought was that we needed to get in there immediately."
Prior to Katrina, Chustz had stored boats and other equipment in a flood-proof location away from trees, which allowed his crew to deploy rapidly. "The levee broke on Monday, and we were there Tuesday morning," he says.
Roy Dokka, PhD, travels to various locations throughout Louisiana equipped with a Trimble R8 GNSS receiver (on the vehicle's roof) and a Trimble TSC2 Controller to measure the tops of levees. Photo courtesy of Saundra Dokka.
However, once the surveyors arrived, they faced another challenge. The entire city was under water, including key bench marks, and most of the region's monumentation was known to be off vertically by nearly a foot due to subsidence. What's more, Louisiana State University's (LSU) GULFNet, a network of continuously operating reference stations (CORS), had been hit hard by the storm conditions. "Some stations were blown down; others had lost power. And just getting to them was difficult because roads had been washed out," says Roy Dokka, PhD, the LSU civil and environmental engineering professor who originally conceived GULFNet. A team from LSU headed by Tony Cavell, PLS, and other volunteers scrambled behind the scenes to re-establish the network. Receivers were repaired and replaced; solar panels were installed to provide emergency power, and satellite uplinks were established. Within one to two days, individual reference stations were once again operational, and the entire network was functioning within two weeks.
One important post-Katrina adjustment was relatively easy. Critical early survey tasks included damage assessment and the location of navigational hazards, and airborne surveying was the quickest way to get this work done. To improve the accuracy of airborne LiDAR, photogrammetric surveys and aerial photography, the USACE asked Dokka if he could increase the sampling rate of GULFNet's reference stations. In response, Dokka increased the rate from once every 15 seconds to once per second, which made post processing more precise by lessening the time lag of the aircrafts' GNSS receivers.
Looking west from the Trimble Zephyr Geodetic 2 antenna for station 1LSU on the LSU campus.
Meanwhile, Chustz and others were able to rely on GULFNet for positioning in areas where existing monumentation had been wiped out. "Communications were terrible, and the corps had evacuated to Vicksburg, Mississippi," Chustz says. "We finally got through to them, and they sent us to the 17th Street Canal to run sections with single-beam hydrographic equipment. The whole city was under water, so we got around by boat. There weren't many bench marks or known points available, but GULFNet CORS were accessible and really sped things up."
As the water slowly receded, Chustz and his crew set up Trimble R8 GNSS or 5700 GPS receivers on whatever dry ground was available and performed static GNSS work to establish control points. These points were then used as references for the receivers during the hydrographic surveys. The Trimble TSC2 Controller was switched as needed between GNSS receivers and total stations.
Much of the early work was overseen by Huber, who was one of the first government surveyors on the scene. Although GULFNet was repaired quickly and seemed to be working well, Huber, like any surveyor, was looking for some verification.
Finally, on Oct. 12, 2005, NGS released new figures for area bench marks, giving Huber something to hang his hat on. As it turned out, GULFNet's elevations and the NGS's new figures agreed within 0.15 feet or less in critical areas, which, Huber says, made him extremely happy. "Under the circumstances, it was quite a relief to have our work verified," he says.
In the following months, surveyors working under emergency conditions throughout southern Louisiana constantly turned to GULFNet for reliable positioning.
The flooding from the levee failures devastated large areas; water often rose to roof level.
GULFNet Gets an Upgrade
While GULFNet proved itself an invaluable resource following Hurricane Katrina, Dokka believed that using Trimble VRS technology to convert the system to a real-time network (RTN) could make it even more useful. "When we first built GULFNet, we didn't know about VRS," Dokka says. "So when we learned about it from NEI [Navigation Electronics Inc.] soon after Katrina in 2005, we integrated VRS into everything."
The decision provided instant benefits for Huber and the other surveyors using the network. "We had been holding the GULFNet stations as fixed when we did our own network adjustments, which was incredibly useful," Huber says. "But when VRS was added to the system, we began to do RTK without base stations for engineering studies and most of our other work."
In 2009, the USACE did a post-Katrina assessment of every federal hurricane structure in southeast Louisiana--levees, canals and floodwalls--to analyze the region for "hot spots" in advance of the upcoming hurricane season. "Our in-house survey crew (just two guys) was able to get to every structure and shoot hundreds of miles of profile, as well, in just a couple of weeks," Huber says. "Before VRS, it would have taken considerably longer, and before GULFNet, it would have taken months."
Workers use boats to get around and GPS to navigate even as flood waters recede (note the water line on the building).
To illustrate another way the GULFNet RTN has helped him with his daily work, Huber likes to tell a story about the time he received a call about an apparent 7-foot horizontal bust in sections collected by a contractor at the 17th Street Canal.
Concerned, but with an idea about what was causing the problem, Huber hung up the phone and ran out to take check shots on the floodwall with a Trimble 5800 GPS Receiver and the GULFNet VRS. "Everything checked with the rest of our work," he says. "So when I got back to the office, I called the surveying firm that performed the initial surveys and asked if maybe they'd been using international feet instead of U.S. survey feet--and that turned out to be the case." The very minor difference, when applied to the large numbers that characterize state plane coordinates, created the 7-foot displacement. Working by himself, Huber was able to confirm his suspicions and resolve the error.
Dokka has similar stories. Soon after Katrina, the State of Louisiana asked him what it would take to conduct an independent analysis of levees and other flood structures in the southern half of the state. State officials thought it would cost millions and take years. "But," Dokka says, "Tony Cavell and I were able to do it for them in three months at a fraction of the cost they had in mind." In fact, flood-structure assessment has become so efficient with the VRS-enhanced GULFNet that the corps plans to take a "snapshot" look at the entire Louisiana system every year.
"After all," Huber says, "on the levees where we can get a four-wheeler on top, one person can profile 40 miles a day, calibrating at bench marks along the way. Why not take advantage of that?"
Huber, who is now at the U.S. Army Geospatial Center, also sees a lot of "intangible" benefits to RTNs. "Networks like GULFNet level the playing field," he says. "If we do a dredging project, for example, and I work on GULFNet to estimate how many cubic yards of material have to come out and the dredge comes in and measures from the same continuously updated reference system, that's very comforting because their work is more closely related to mine. Even better, navigation can be on the same network. Simply put, if everyone is using the same reference system, we're all comparing apples to apples."
Cavell measures the height of a floodwall near a damaged section in New Orleans.
Though the emergency and practical uses of GULFNet are the most visible, its scientific value is also important. In effect, the statewide system functions as a giant laboratory device measuring subsidence and crustal deformation--critically important tasks in this coastal state.
Bedrock in southern Louisiana can be many hundreds of feet down and is essentially inaccessible, meaning that accurate bench marks unaffected by shallow subsidence processes are hard to come by. But accurate bench marks are even more important in this coastal area than they are in states with accessible bedrock because flood control and hurricane protection depend on accurate elevations applied consistently over large regional projects. Subsidence is a pressing concern. Dokka, who has served as the program director at the National Science Foundation, says that due to fault lines underneath the state and the massive amount of mud that moves "like a glacier," subsidence can occasionally be quite rapid. From 1966 to 1970, for example, part of the New Orleans area sank 1.75 inches annually.
And it's not just subsidence and monumentation issues that make life difficult for GNSS surveying in the Bayou State. Climate is also a factor. "Much of what we know about GNSS was learned in semiarid climates," Dokka explains, "which means that humid summer afternoons in Louisiana are not a good time for GNSS surveyors." That's because the hot, heavy atmosphere causes more distortion in the GPS signal there than in drier states. The Trimble VRS network solution accounts for regional atmospheric delays encountered by surveyors in these conditions, allowing them to continue working despite the challenging environment.
GULFNet is also contributing to weather prediction by providing data to atmospheric scientists at NOAA's National Weather Service, who use the data as part of their precipitable water vapor research. "They're interested in the delay time of satellite signals passing through the atmosphere because moisture increases delay," Dokka explains. "So if we've got a station collecting signals from 10 satellites, that's like measuring moisture in 10 different directions at once, and they can use that data to improve their atmospheric models." Then he laughs. "It's interesting," he explains. "The signal they use is the noise in my data, but to the weather guys, my signal is their noise." Ultimately, it's a win-win because the improved atmospheric models that the National Weather Service derives from the data improve the results GULFNet provides to surveyors.
USACE's Tommy Bacon checks the elevation at a West Bank pump station using the GULFNet VRS network.
A System That Comes Through
GULFNet is owned and operated by LSU and is made up of 65 GNSS reference stations and two redundant server banks. Access to additional stations provided by the Texas Department of Transportation and the University of Southern Mississippi was arranged in order to provide full coverage in Louisiana. Stations are being added in the northern half of the state to improve coverage, and Dokka says there's a lot of interest in densifying coastal areas. "But it's a tough environment as we have to provide power and cellular communications links," Dokka says, "and sometimes they aren't available in the middle of nowhere."
Redundant server banks mean that one bank can fail and users shouldn't even notice. As a result, system downtime is minimal. Because rural Internet providers and power grids can fail, there are certainly times when individual stations go out, but Dokka says the system as a whole hasn't had any significant downtime except during hurricanes.
Dokka says he's proud of what GULFNet has done for Louisiana. "In addition to the flood structure assessments, we've also been able to survey evacuation roads in a few months and integrate that work into the National Weather Service's official storm-surge models," he says. "That work would have taken years, cost huge amounts of money and been less accurate before GULFNet."
It isn't often that survey work saves lives, but the work and planning that goes into GULFNet will surely do just that as planners and emergency personnel prepare for future hurricane seasons with accurate, timely information that simply wouldn't have been available without the behind-the-scenes work of Dokka and LSU. "The evidence is clear," Dokka says. "New Orleans and south Louisiana are sinking, and the survival of … these coastal communities depends on our ability to accurately measure the change so that mitigation strategies can be developed. GULFNet helps us develop sound solutions based on accurate measurements we can rely on."
Sidebar: The Origins of GULFNet
Improved hurricane protection and ecosystems restoration planning require reliable predictions and assessments of future subsidence, and rebuilding after any hurricane requires readily accessible and accurate vertical control. Not only do levees and floodwalls need to be repaired, but planners have to prepare for the next big hurricane by surveying proposed evacuation routes and incorporating dynamic data into storm-surge models.
To take advantage of improved GNSS location technology and to make use of reference points--satellites--that weren't continually sinking, Roy Dokka, PhD, and the Louisiana State University Center for GeoInformatics began to develop GULFNet in the early 2000s. While initially a simple CORS network, the new network was revolutionary for Louisiana. "We always knew everything was moving all the time," Dokka says, "but now, at least, we could track it as it was happening."
An important early decision was to use the best locations possible for reference stations. In Louisiana, that meant large public buildings. "It's all about the monuments and how you install them," Dokka says, adding that Navigation Electronics Inc. helped them overcome the challenges of sighting reference stations. "Because we have weak soils and no bedrock to speak of, we can't just set them anywhere. But some of our buildings are set on piles that go down hundreds of feet--that's about the best we can do in terms of minimizing movement." Using mostly public buildings, like schools, ensures access over time.
Dokka has done well: Twenty-one of GULFNet's reference stations are part of the national CORS network. According to a June 2009 NGS-commissioned report,* this part of the system is valued at $12 million annually.
* "Socio-Economic Benefits Study: Scoping the Value of CORS and GRAV-D," available online at www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/Socio-EconomicBenefitsofCORSandGRAV-D.pdf.
Recent Articles by Craig Dylan
Restoring Fox River
Race to the Finish
Prepared for Takeoff
Tough Work in a Tight Spot
Suspended in Midair
Craig R. Dylan is a freelancer with land surveying background, who specializes in writing for the AEC industry.


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NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
Next Race: Food City Dirt Race
The Place: Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
The Date: Sunday, April 17
The Time: 7 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,374,089
TV: FOX, 6 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 125 miles (250 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
Next Race: Ag-Pro 300
The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
The Date: Saturday, April 23
TV: FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300.58 miles (113 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 113)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt
The Purse: $599,224
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Distance: 75 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)
NASCAR Cup Series takes the Next Gen car dirt racing at Bristol
For the first time in its existence the NASCAR Cup Series will compete with the Next Gen car on the dirt surface of Bristol Motor Speedway for an Easter Weekend spectacular, the Food City Dirt Race, this Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Last season's race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track was the first-time the NASCAR Cup Series had competed on dirt in over 50 years. Not since the checkered flag flew on NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty for winning the race on September 30, 1970 at North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina had the NASCAR Cup Series competed on a dirt track.
With more than 23,000 cubic yards of dirt hauled in to create the temporary dirt track surface at Bristol, it was a sight to be seen when all 39 cars took the green flag last season. The event saw five lead changes among five different leaders, but it was Team Penske's Joey Logano who took the checkered flag over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by a scant 0.554-second.
This weekend's Cup Series action at Bristol will kick off on Friday, April 15 with first practice from 4:05 p.m. — 4:55 p.m. ET and then followed by final practice from 6:35 p.m. — 7:25 p.m. ET. Both practices will be televised on FS1. Then on Saturday, April 17 Busch Light Pole Qualifying will be from 6 — 7 p.m. ET on FS1.
Looking back at the NASCAR Cup Series on dirt
The NASCAR Cup Series has had a long legacy of racing at dirt tracks prior to the Modern Era (1972-Present), from 1949 to 1970 the series competed in 501 races on dirt. The very first NASCAR Cup Series points-paying sanctioned race in the inaugural season of 1949 was on dirt at Charlotte (Old) Speedway, a 0.75-mile track in Charlotte, North Carolina and the event was won by Jim Roper driving a Lincoln.
Including this past season's dirt race at Bristol, the 502 all-time dirt Cup races have produced 77 different winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty leads the series in dirt track wins with 46 victories; followed by Buck Baker with 42 and Herb Thomas with 41. Joey Logano is the only active driver with a win on dirt in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Top 10 NASCAR Cup Series Winners On DirtRankCup Dirt WinnersWins1Lee Petty432Buck Baker423Herb Thomas414Tim Flock365Ned Jarrett356Richard Petty317David Pearson238Junior Johnson239Speedy Thompson1810Fireball Roberts15Fonty Flock15
This week the competitors will be tasked with wrangling a Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track that has been measured to exactly 0.5-mile, and this weekend's event will be 125 miles (250 laps) in length. The race will be broken up into three stages. The first two stages are 75 laps each and the final stage is 100 laps.
In addition, NASCAR has instituted a special format for Busch Light Pole Qualifying that includes qualifying races, very similar to what the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series did at Eldora Speedway, to decide the starting lineup. The lineups for the qualifying races will be done by random draw on Friday, April 15 at 3 p.m. ET. There are four qualifying races scheduled with 36 entrants competing and each race will have nine competitors.
Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt – Qualifying & Race Formats
This weekend's racing will have special formats for both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. Below are details on the 2022 Bristol Dirt qualifying and race formats:
Qualifying Race Starting Lineup — Random draw determines qualifying race designation and starting position for the qualifying race. The draw will be in order of current owner points.Qualifying Races — Four qualifying races held at 15 laps each with only green flag laps counted — no overtime rule. Free pass and wave around procedures will be in effect.Points Earned During Qualifying Races — Drivers will accumulate points in the qualifying races based on finishing position and passing points. The points total of a driver's passing points and race finishing position points determines the starting position for the feature event.Passing Points = The difference between assigned starting position and finishing positionGo forward — accumulate passing pointsGo backward or finish where you started — zero passing pointsRace Finishing Position Points = Points received for the driver's finishing positionFinishPoints1102938475665748392Tiebreaker – Owner PointsFeature Main — Lineup based on combined points of Qualifying Race finishing position and passing points. Feature race will be 250 laps (NCWTS: 150 laps) divided into three stages (NCS: 75/150/250) / (NCWTS: 40/90/150). Running order will be frozen at the conclusion of each stage. During the stage breaks, teams can change tires, add fuel, and make adjustments to their cars/trucks. These non-competitive pit stops must be completed in a time designated by NASCAR. No fuel or tires except at stage breaks. Flat or damaged tires may be changed with approval by NASCAR. (Note: Teams will not be required to pit during the stage breaks. Teams that elect not to pit will re-start ahead of teams that pitted. Re-start order determined by the freeze at the conclusion of the preceding stage)Additional Event Highlights — Choose rule will not be in effect for the Bristol Dirt race. The overtime rules, free pass and wave around procedures will be in effect.
NASCAR and Easter weekend racing
This weekend's Food City Dirt Race (Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the NASCAR Cup Series' 11th-time racing on Easter Sunday since its inception in 1949.
The last time the series competed on Easter Sunday was March 26, 1989 at Richmond Raceway — the race was rescheduled to the Easter Sunday date after being snowed out from its original date in February. The race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.
On two other occasions — in 1953 at Charlotte Speedway and 1954 at Orange Speedway in Hillsboro — the race was held on Easter Sunday as a make-up date due to rain.
NASCAR Cup Series Races held on Easter Sunday
DateTrack – Race WinnerReason for Scheduling on EasterSunday, April 5, 1953Charlotte Speedway – Dick PasswaterScheduled for March 22, 1953; Postponed due to rain.Sunday, April 18, 1954Hillsboro – Herb ThomasScheduled for April 11, 1954; Postponed due to rain.Sunday, April 17, 1960Wilson Speedway – Joe WeatherlyScheduled DateSunday, April 2, 1961Hillsboro – Cotton OwensScheduled DateSunday, April 22, 1962Martinsville – Richard PettyScheduled DateSunday, April 14, 1963South Boston – Richard PettyScheduled DateSunday, April 18, 1965North Wilkesboro – Jr. JohnsonScheduled DateSunday, April 6, 1969Hickory – Bobby IsaacScheduled DateSunday, March 29, 1970Atlanta – Bobby AllisonScheduled DateSunday, March 26, 1989Richmond – Rusty WallaceScheduled for February 27, 1989; Postponed due to snow.
In addition, 20 NASCAR Cup Series events have been held on Easter Weekend from Good Friday through Easter Monday (Easter Monday was a public holiday in North Carolina from 1935 to 1987).
The first time NASCAR held a Cup race on Easter Weekend was on April 12, 1952, when the event at Columbia Speedway was held on Saturday. NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker was the race winner.
On Easter weekends in 1964, 1966, & 1967 the NASCAR Cup Series held races on Saturday at Greenville Pickens Speedway and on Monday at Bowman Gray Stadium.
The race held on Easter weekend, Saturday, April 11, 1971, was the first in NASCAR Cup Series history to be broadcast live from start to finish on national television on ABC Wide World of Sports.
William Byron snaps 2022 season's different winner streak
After seven different winners in the first seven races kicked off the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsport's William Byron snapped the different winners streak by snatching his second victory of the year last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. It was Byron's first grandfather clock Cup trophy from the historic half-mile at Martinsville, his second of the 2022 season and fourth of his Cup career. Now the 24-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina heads to the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track to keep the early season momentum going.
Following his win last weekend, Byron has jumped to third in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings just 12 points back from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott as standings lead. In eight starts this season, Byron has put up two wins (Atlanta, Martinsville) and four top fives.
Last season on the Bristol dirt, Byron started eighth and finished sixth.
Joey Logano looks to go back-to-back on the Bristol Dirt, get first win of 2022
The Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt couldn't have come any sooner for Team Penske's Joey Logano as the defending winner of last season's race on dirt is still looking for his first win of this season.
In eight starts this season, Logano has collected two top fives and four top 10s. If Logano gets a win this season, it will be his 11th consecutive season with a victory in the series.
Last year, Logano looked like a natural on the dirt at Bristol. He started 10th and methodically worked his way to the front, taking the lead on Lap 193. He would then hold on to lead the final 61 laps, even fending off a wild overtime restart to get the win. With the victory, Logano became the 77th different driver to win on a dirt surface in the NASCAR Cup Series and the only active driver to accomplish the feat.
Chase Elliott's consistent pace has him out front in points
There is a reason a winless driver is currently atop the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings, and it all boils down to consistency. No driver has a better average finish in the first eight races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season than Hendrick Motorsport's Chase Elliott (11.3) and that early consistency has him holding the points lead heading to Bristol for the Food City Dirt Race this Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The first eight races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season have produced five points standings lead changes among five different drivers. Chase Elliott currently holds just a three point lead over second place Ryan Blaney in the driver standings. Elliott has posted one top five and five top 10s this season.
Looking to the wild card track that is the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt, Elliott started from 26th and impressively raced his way up to a top-10 finish (10th).
Martin Truex Jr. returns to Bristol Dirt looking for redemption
Last season's Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track was dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing's Martin Truex Jr. who led a race-high 126 of the schedule 253 laps (49.8%). The New Jersey native started fifth and won the first stage but ultimately fell to 19th at the finish. Now, still winless in 2022, Truex and the No. 19 team return to Bristol looking for some redemption on the dirt.
Last season, Truex competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt taking the win, his first in the series. With the win, Truex became the 36th of the 39 drivers all-time to win at least one race in all three of NASCAR's national series.
Truex is still looking for his first win of the season. Through eight races, he has accumulated one top five and four top 10s.
Playoff Bubble: A little over quarter of the way through the regular season
A little over a quarter of the way through the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season and currently half of the Playoff spots are spoken for as the series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt for the Food City Dirt Race (Sunday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Seven different drivers have won this season securing their spots in the Playoffs, but don't forget the series points leader is also guaranteed a position in the Playoffs even without a win. That leaves just eight postseason spots still up for grabs with 18 races left in the regular season.
The seven drivers with wins this year are William Byron (two wins), Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and Austin Cindric (each have one win). A winless Chase Elliott currently holds the series driver standings lead taking the eighth spot.
At the other end of the Playoff outlook are the Richard Childress Racing teammates Tyler Reddick (+15) in 15th and Austin Dillon (+10) in the 16th and final Playoff transfer position. Both RCR drivers are looking for their first win of 2022. Last season at Bristol Dirt, Reddick started 27th and raced his way up to a seventh-place finish and Dillon started ninth and finished 21st.
Just outside the Playoff cutoff is 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 23XI Racing's Kurt Busch in 17th with 10 points separating him from Dillon. Also, within striking distance of the Playoffs point cutoff are Petty GMS Motorsport's driver Erik Jones and Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suárez. Last season both Suárez (fourth) and Jones (ninth) finished inside the top-10 at Bristol Dirt. Kurt Busch started 28th and managed to finish 16th.
2022 Driver Playoff Bubble Outlook Following Race No. 8RankDriverPointsWinsStagesPlayoff PtsPts From Cutoff15Tyler Reddick2020221516Austin Dillon1970001017Kurt Busch187000-1018Erik Jones181000-1619Daniel Suarez179011-1820Christopher Bell173000-2421Chris Buescher173000-2422Bubba Wallace154000-4323Justin Haley135000-6224Cole Custer135000-6225Ty Dillon130000-6726Michael McDowell121000-7627Todd Gilliland #112000-8528Ricky Stenhouse Jr.111000-8629Harrison Burton #110000-8730Corey LaJoie99000-98
NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.
Special Easter Sunday Service at BMS Prior to the Food City Dirt Race – Grammy Award-winning worship leader Chris Tomlin and best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado will headline a live Easter celebration service prior to the start of the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 17. Special guest Gary LeVox, most well-known and beloved as the lead singer of Rascal Flatts, also will perform during the much-anticipated event.
The Easter celebration will begin at 4 p.m. (ET) on a stage in the BMS fan midway area outside the stadium near the E Parking lot between the Green and Orange bridges. A variety of speakers from the NASCAR industry will make appearances, highlighted by team owner Joe Gibbs.
LeVox will perform during the Easter celebration and also sing the National Anthem during pre-race ceremonies for the Food City Dirt Race.
"We are honored to provide an amazing late Sunday afternoon Easter service highlighted with appearances by Chris Tomlin, Max Lucado and Gary LeVox," said Jerry Caldwell, president of Bristol Motor Speedway. "Hosting the Food City Dirt Race under the lights that night gives us and our partners the opportunity to recognize the importance of the day, while complementing our tremendous on-track action. Our community is a faithful one and we can't think of a better place for this mega-celebration to culminate than right here at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 'Home to Big Events.'"
Justin Allgaier to race #77 Spire Motorsports car at Bristol Dirt – Spire Motorsports announced this week that Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 77 car on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17.
This weekend will be Allgaier's first NASCAR Cup Series start of the 2022 season and his third with Spire Motorsports in the series. Allgaier was last in a Cup car in the October Talladega race last season.
This weekend will be Allgaier's series track debut at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt.
Josh Williams to make NASCAR Cup Series career debut at BMS Dirt – This weekend for the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt, Live Fast Motorsports has tapped Josh Williams to pilot the No. 78 Ford. It will be Williams NASCAR Cup Series career debut.
Williams, from Port Charlotte, Florida, cut his teeth in the ARCA Menard Series and has competed full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2019. He is currently ranked 35th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings after making five starts and posting an average finish of 27.2
Doubling The Duty On Dirt — Four different NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be attempting to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race this weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track — Chase Elliott, Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano are all entered in the event.
Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger continues championship march at the front of the pack
Eight races into the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and everyone is chasing Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger, who currently has a 20-point lead on the rest of the field in the championship driver standings following Martinsville Speedway last weekend.
Allmendinger, the 2021 Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion, has been the most consistent driver in the series this season posting eight top-10 finishes in as many races. His average finish this season is a stout 4.5. In addition to his eight top 10s, he has also collected one win (COTA) and five top fives.
Allmendinger will get to enjoy the spoils of being the points leader for an extra week as the series has its first off week of the season this weekend.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return to action at Talladega Superspeedway for the Ag-Pro 300 on April 23 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
In the spring race at Talladega last season, Allmendinger started 11th and finished third in the rain shortened event.
Jeffrey Earnhardt Joins Richard Childress Racing at Talladega
Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, will be driving his grandfather's No. 3 Chevrolet with Richard Childress Racing next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
A fourth-generation driver, Jeffrey Earnhardt fell into the world of racing at a young age. His NASCAR national series career began in 2009 when he ran in two races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Watkins Glen and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve). Since then, he has competed across all three NASCAR national series posting 76 starts in the Cup Series, 135 starts in the Xfinity Series and 10 starts in the Camping World Truck Series.
He has posted four starts in the 2022 season (three with Sam Hunt Racing and one with Emerling-Gase Motorsports).
"What a dream come true," said Earnhardt. "The chance to be behind the wheel of the No. 3 car for RCR, that my pawpaw made famous, has long been a dream of mine and now it's finally happening. I can't thank Forever Lawn enough for making my dreams come to reality and for being such a big part of my career. I also want to thank Mr. Childress for making this possible. The No. 3 car is cherished by a lot of people, and I know how much it means to him. To give me this opportunity is something I'll never forget."
In Dale Earnhardt's 27 years in the NASCAR Cup Series, he started 676 races posting 76 wins, 281 top fives, 428 top 10s and won the Cup Series championship seven times (a record he holds with Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson). In the Xfinity Series, he posted 136 starts, 21 wins, 65 top fives and 75 top 10s.
Brandon Jones brings home his first checkered flag of the season
Joe Gibbs Racing's Brandon Jones found his way past teammate Ty Gibbs (who led 198 laps) in the final lap of Friday night's Call 811 Before You Dig 250 Powered By Call811.com at Martinsville Speedway.
The win marked his first at Martinsville Speedway, his first of the season and the fifth in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career. (One win in 2019 and three wins in 2020).
Now, the 25-year-old driver has this weekend to relax and regroup for some superspeedway action at Talladega on Saturday, April 23 where he has a good chance to snag his second win of the season.
Jones has been taking his shot at the iconic 2.66-mile track since 2016 and has come extremely close to making his way to Victory Lane. In the 2018 and 2021 seasons, he finished runner-up and in 2020, he posted a top-five finish.
Allmendinger takes home the money in Martinsville; Dash 4 Cash continues at 'Dega
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program was designed to add elements of unpredictability and drama leading up to and during four designated races, increase on-track competition, engage fans and reward / recognize NASCAR Xfinity Series regular competitors.
In the first Dash 4 Cash race this season at Richmond Raceway, Sam Mayer beat AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Austin Hill with his third-place finish to take home the $100,000 bonus. It was the first time he had won the Dash 4 Cash in his career.
With the Dash 4 Cash win at Richmond, Mayer was once again eligible for the $100,000 at Martinsville Speedway along with Allmendinger, Riley Herbst and Richmond race winner Ty Gibbs. After a wild race that saw 16 cautions at Martinsville, AJ Allmendinger was the highest finishing eligible driver grabbing the $100,000 with his third-place finish.
Going into Talladega, Allmendinger, Landon Cassill, Brandon Jones and Austin Hill will take their shot at the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash.
Allmendinger has had a few Xfinity Series stints in Talladega and while he hasn't always had the best of luck, he did post a third-place finish last spring and had a runner-up finish in Daytona earlier this year, proving he can handle all the excitement that comes with superspeedways.
Cassill has competed at Talladega in the Xfinity Series a total of six times, posting two top-10 finishes.
Although Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Austin Hill only has one Xfinity Series Talladega race under his belt, his win in Daytona earlier this year and his numerous top-five finishes (Daytona, Atlanta, COTA and Martinsville) are a good indicator of his versatility.
Camping World Truck Series playing in the dirt at Bristol
This weekend's Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt track (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the first of two races on the special surface this season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The series will also visit Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on June 18.
In total the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has run nine races on dirt at three different tracks — Eldora Speedway (2013-2019, seven races), Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt (2021, one race) and Knoxville Raceway (2021, one race) producing nine different winners — at Eldora Austin Dillon (2013), Bubba Wallace (2014), Christopher Bell (2015), Kyle Larson (2016), Matt Crafton (2017), Chase Briscoe (2018) and Stewart Friesen (2019); at Bristol Dirt (Martin Truex Jr., 2021); at Knoxville Raceway (Austin Hill, 2021).
Of the nine races run on the dirt in the series, two of the former race winners will try to qualify for this weekend's race at Bristol — Matt Crafton (Eldora Raceway, 2017), and Stewart Friesen (Eldora Raceway, 2019). Last season's Bristol Dirt winner, Martin Truex Jr. is not entered this season guaranteeing a new winner at the .5-mile track this weekend.
Four NASCAR Cup Series regulars will be taking a turn on the dirt with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this weekend as well — Chase Elliott (No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet), Harrison Burton (No. 17 Team DGR Ford), Austin Dillon (No. 20 Young's Motorsports Chevrolet) and last year's NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Dirt winner Joey Logano (No. 54 Team DGR Ford).
All the action begins on Friday, April 15 with first practice from 3:05 p.m. — 3:55 p.m. ET followed by final practice from 5:35 p.m. — 6:25 p.m. ET. Both practices will be televised on FS1. Then Cometic Gaskets Pole Qualifying will take place at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16 on FS2.
Setting the field and race format for the Camping World Trucks at Bristol
A total of 38 trucks are currently entered for Saturday night's Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to vie for a spot in the field for the 150-lap feature race.
To set the field, Saturday afternoon will feature four qualifying races, starting at 4:30 p.m. ET. A random draw determines a driver's qualifying race designation and starting position for the qualifying races, and the draw will be done in the order of current owner points. Qualifying random draw is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Friday, April 15.
Each qualifying race will be 15 laps, with only green flag laps counting and the overtime rule will not be in effect. Free pass and wave around procedures will be in use. For positions 32nd — 36th provisionals will be applied.
Drivers will accumulate points in the qualifying races based on finishing position and passing points. Then, the lineup for the feature race will be based on combined points of qualifying race finishing position points and passing points.
Passing points are defined as the difference between the assigned starting position and the finishing position of the trucks. There will only be positive passing points awarded for moving forward — if a driver finishes in the same or a lower position, they will receive zero points.
Finishing points are awarded as such:
FinishPoints1102938475665748392101
The feature race will be 150 laps divided into three stages (40/90/150). The running order will be frozen at the conclusion of each stage. During the stage breaks, teams can change tires, add fuel and make adjustments to their trucks. Trucks cannot add fuel or change tires except at stage breaks.
Husband and wife team to tackle Bristol dirt
For the second year-in-a-row, the Friesens — Stewart and Jessica – a married couple, will attempt to compete against each other in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. Jessica Friesen, a well-known sprint car and modifieds dirt racer, will be making her 2022 season debut in the Camping World Truck Series driving the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota alongside the familiar No. 52 of Jessica's husband Stewart Friesen.
The Friesens have competed against each other before, finishing first and second in a race at Utica-Rome Speedway two days after their wedding in 2014. Then last season, Jessica and Stewart competed in the same NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Knoxville Raceway. Jessica ultimately finished one spot better than her husband Stewart in the event taking home 26th and 27th-place finishes respectively.
It was the first time a husband-wife duo competed in the same NASCAR national series race since Elton Sawyer and Patty Moise last did it at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 1998.
This weekend, the Friesens will look to add another race to the list they have both competed in when they attempt to compete in this Saturday's Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol. Last season, Jessica attempted to qualify for the Bristol event but did not make the race. Stewart started last season's race in seventh and finished 12th.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.
Buddy Kofoid to make series career debut — Kyle Busch Motorsports has tapped Penngrove, California native Buddy Kofoid to pilot the No. 51 Toyota this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. It will be Kofoid's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut.
Kofoid has participated in USAC, POWRi, NASCAR ARCA Menards Series West, and Late model races.
The No. 51 KBM Toyota team won last season's Bristol Dirt Truck race with driver Martin Truex Jr.
Alan opens up Sunoco Rookie points lead — Lawless Alan took the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year points lead following COTA and this past weekend at Martinsville expanded his points lead to 15 points over second place Corey Heim.
In five starts this season, Alan has posted an average finish of 21.6.
All four rookies this season will be making their NASCAR Camping World Truck Series track debuts at Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt this weekend.
— NASCAR —