text:
New Mexico Set Tour is a Reminder of Behind-the-Scenes Hard Work and Creativity
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Albuquerque Studios and touring the set of "The Night Shift" – a Sony production that airs on NBC. Seeing a state of the art facility like ABQ Studios first-hand and visiting with members of the cast and crew is always a reminder to me of all the tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes hard work and creativity that goes into making each of the films and television series audiences love.
Visiting a bustling set like "The Night Shift" in the midst of production makes it immediately apparent – from carpenters, to lighting and set designers, assistants and of course the actors – just how many people are at the core of a high-profile movie or TV show production. According to the New Mexico Film Office, the production of "The Night Shift" employs more than 100 New Mexico crew members per week and more than 300 local New Mexico actors and extras per episode. "The Night Shift" and other similar productions also heavily rely on the development of high-tech infrastructure, a process involving the hiring of local vendors and drives money to businesses in the surrounding area. In fact, ABQ Studios recently unveiled a new 3,000-square-foot digital green cyclorama stage that cost about $150,000 and three months to construct.
While touring the impressive set, I also had the opportunity to spend time with Stewart Lyons, one of the producers of AMC's award-winning series "Breaking Bad" and the upcoming "Better Call Saul." Also filmed in New Mexico, "Breaking Bad" provided a direct uplift to the local economy and continues to make an impact by bolstering local tourism. Albuquerque's Mayor Richard Berry summed up "Breaking Bad" economic benefits during an interview with NPR's Marketplace when he said, "It really hits our economy from top to bottom."
New Mexico's competitive film tax program is essential to sustaining this high-level of economic productivity. And we appreciate the support and the recognition of the job creation and economic investment by Governor Martinez and the legislature that allows this positive economic activity to flourish. A state study this summer showed that the film industry generated $1.5 billion in total economic output since 2010. And the latest state economy profile reveals that the film and television industry supports more than 3,000 direct jobs and pays close to $165 million in wages.
The productivity and investment of numerous men and women behind-the-scenes is at the heart of every story we seen on screen. And I am grateful to be a personal witness to the "The Night Shift" as New Mexico's latest example of a successful and economically fruitful production.
Find out where to watch "The Night Shift" here.
Image courtesy of ABQ Studios.


HOWL Brand is expanding into an online boutique and we're currently looking for experienced stitchers to help in the production of small runs for seasonal collections. This is a paid position that will vary based on the pieces being produced. We would supply patterns and materials, but an ideal candidate will have their own sewing equipment and be able to work independently from their own home or studio. We are currently considering applicants in or around Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio.
The Fashion Design Intern position is ideal for a student wanting to gain insight and experience in growing a fashion label from the ground up. We can help train in areas of construction, such as pattern-making, sewing, and embellishing, as well as branding, marketing, and production of a product line. This is an unpaid position specifically for students who are able to work for class credit. Hours required and days/times available are flexible to fit the student's program. Applicants must have their own transportation. Applicants must be based in or around Cincinnati, Ohio.
As HOWL Brand expands, so will its online presence. We are currently seeking a Multimedia Design Intern well-versed in web and graphic design to help us expand into new platforms. The ideal candidate will have their own laptop and experience in Adobe Illustrator. This is an unpaid position specifically for students who are able to work for class credit. Hours required and days/times available are flexible to fit the student's program. Applicants must have their own transportation. Applicants must be based in or around Cincinnati, Ohio.
If you are an up-and-coming model, photographer, or hair and makeup artist looking to network and grow your portfolio, we are always willing to participate in collaborative photo shoots. We can provide the clothing and other details as well as coordinate the shoots in exchange for use of the final images in our brand promotions. We are currently looking to shoot in the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio.
If you are interested in applying for any of the positions above, please send your resume along with your portfolio or a link to images of your work if applicable to ashley@freewillsstudio.com. We are a fun brand looking to support and encourage you while you grow your career. We look forward to hearing from you!


text:
BACK TO PUBLICATIONS
Philomena Durcan Obituary
Oregon Quilt Project
Quilter, author, teacher, Philomena Durcan passed away on July 28, 2020.
Philomena T. Durcan
Oct. 15, 1934-July 28, 2020
We miss her Irish lilt, the twinkle in her eyes and her easy smile. Philomena was born in Sligo, Ireland to John and Ann Durcan.
While at St. Luke's Hospital as catering manager, she met Walter Wiechec, an American physicist who co-founded Core Memories Ltd in Dublin. They married and moved to California where Walt was hired by Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto. Philomena's new friends were quilters and invited her to join them. For her first quilt she found an Irish Friendship Ring and was delighted with the results. Encouraged by Walt and her friends, she continued to share her heritage by designing Celtic quilts inspired by the Book of Kells and the Lynch drawings in the Oratory of the Dominican Convent in Dublin. She incorporated bias tapes to create the intricate Celtic designs illustrated in her four books. Under her company, Celtic Designs Inc, she sold her books, bias bars and stencils. Her quilts can be viewed at www.quiltindex.org. Two of her signature quilts are donated to the International Quilt Museum at Lincoln, Nebraska and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Philomena often reflects on her quilting days as "the happies times in my life."
Philomena lived in Sunnydale California until 2008 when she moved to Portland to be near her niece Grainne and family. She was preceeded in death by her parents, her sisters Eileen, Maureen and Bride and her brothers, Tom, Jack and Pat. She is survived by her nieces and nephews in Ireland and the US.
A graveside service is planned. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice. To our "Irish Cailin", Philomena, ...Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Author; Designer; Quiltmaker
Durcan, Philomena
Oregon; United States
Philomena T. Durcan Quilter, Innovative Designer, Author, Businesswoman
Willamette Heritage Center in Salem
The Oregon Quilt Project (OQP) is dedicated to documenting, collecting and preserving information about the quilts and quilt makers of Oregon, past and present. Quilts recorded have been from public and private collections.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
/**=========================================================
 * Module: colors.js
 * Services to retrieve global colors
 =========================================================*/

(function() {
    'use strict';

    angular
        .module('app.colors')
        .service('Colors', Colors);

    Colors.$inject = ['APP_COLORS'];
    function Colors(APP_COLORS) {
        this.byName = byName;

        ////////////////

        function byName(name) {
          return (APP_COLORS[name] || '#fff');
        }
    }

})();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Strategic Fireworks
Warhead Impact Crater (photo: Novaya gazeta)
Being practically the eve of Victory Day, news is hard to come by.
Novaya gazeta, however, was nice enough to print an interesting article about Russia's strategic shooting gallery — Kamchatka's Kura test range.
The author says, from the air, this 13,206 square kilometer patch of taiga looks like an unattractive golf course with a great quantity of holes. In Kura's 55-year history, more than 5,500 "items" have landed here.
Kura was called Kama at the time of its establishment in 1955, and two years later, the first missile, an R-7 (SS-6 / Sapwood) — the world's first ICBM, landed here.
Why this site? An old hand at the Independent Scientific-Testing Station of Space Forces explains:
"There are several reasons for this. Firstly, this is one of the most remote regions, that is it's possible to test missiles here not only for firing accuracy, but for range. Secondly, the trajectory of all flights was conducted only over the USSR's territory. Thirdly, the range was laid out at a great distance from populated points and airline routes."
So, the military's calculations were correct. No aircraft or people ever suffered from a stray missile, but not every "item" landed as intended. They cut into mountains, or splashed in the ocean. In the early 1980s, one caused casualties in a Koryak reindeer herd.
Kura Test Range
"Items" land here less frequently now, not more than 20 per year. In the past, there were up to 250 per year. The old hand continues:
"In the Soviet years, warheads poured from the sky like off a conveyor belt. Not just military here, but scientific life was also cooking here. Groups from scientific-research institutes who were creating the Soviet 'star' program as a counterweight to the American SDI constantly came here. But after perestroyka, most scientific research was rolled up."
He says the range's helicopter pilots are marvelous fliers, but it's often the bears who first find what's fallen from the heavens. All the oxidized metal is bad for the environment, of course.
The local garrison is just tens of kilometers from the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano, and its ash and sulfuric acid takes a toll on equipment.
The author says the locals say the warhead flights are spectacular. At first, there's a bright star in the night sky, rapidly approaching the ground. Then a flash so powerful the street's lit like daytime, but doomsday lasts not more than a second. In an instant, the big star separates into several smaller ones. Up to 10 warheads separate from the platform and fly at their own targets. Cooler than any fireworks.
V / ch 25522 has 200 conscripts, about the same number of contractees, and 500 officers. Life in the garrison town is generally good. Soldiers preferred the old "Afghan" uniforms to the new ones from Yudashkin. The barracks are warm, and there's been no violence or hazing in recent years, but there's not much free time (or much to do) either. Soldiers can use their cell phones on days off.
For Space Troops officers, service here is considered prestigious, and the pay is almost three times that in units in Central Russia. A year of service here counts double for hardship. The stores are significantly better stocked here than on the "mainland," but the prices are also 2-3 times higher.
Like everywhere, officers are being retired or put in civilian billets. Engineer pay at the range, with supplements and coefficients, is 25-30 thousand rubles a month. A lieutenant colonel gets 50-60 thousand.
Winter is seven months, and earthquakes a daily occurrence. The volcanic ash isn't good for people, but it isn't deadly, they say.
Many officers have served at Kura since the early or mid-1990s, and they don't complain. The work is interesting, and the surroundings beautiful. Things are better than 10 years ago when personnel didn't get paid, and pilots had to buy their own spares for their helicopters. Now equipment gets repaired, and the pay's on time.
Posted in RVSN, Space Troops, Strategic Forces Modernization
Tagged ICBM, Kamchatka, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Klyuchi, Kura, R-7, Sapwood, SDI, SS-6, V / Ch 25522, Warheads


text:
package scalaxy.js

import scala.reflect.macros.blackbox.Context
import scala.language.experimental.macros
import scala.annotation.StaticAnnotation

import java.io.File

class JavaScript extends StaticAnnotation {
  // def macroTransform(annottees: Any*) = macro JavaScript.implementation
}

object JavaScript {
  def implementation(c: Context)(annottees: c.Expr[Any]*): c.Expr[Any] = {
    import c.universe._

    val body = c.typecheck(c.enclosingUnit.body, withMacrosDisabled = true)
    val converter = new ScalaToJavaScriptConverter(c.universe)
    val javaScriptCode = converter.convert(body.asInstanceOf[converter.global.Tree])
    println("CONVERTED TO JavaScript:\n" + javaScriptCode)
    write(
      javaScriptCode,
      new File(
        "target/javascript/" +
        new File(c.enclosingPosition.source.path.toString)
          .getName.replaceAll("(.*?)\\.scala", "$1") + ".js"))

    c.Expr[Any](q"{ ..$annottees ; () }")
  }
}


Blumer, 42, wanted to infuse a bit more rock 'n' roll into his industry. So when he eventually took over his father's small firm, he made his own rules: There would be no time sheets, no dress code and, most radical of all, no billable hours. He was convinced, in fact, that the billable hour was part of a series of mistakes that took all the fun out of his profession. To him, it seemed like a relic of a dying economic age and one that was depriving his industry of billions in profit.
The notion of charging by units of time was popularized in the 1950s, when the American Bar Association was becoming alarmed that the income of lawyers was falling precipitously behind that of doctors (and, worse, dentists). The A.B.A. published an influential pamphlet, "The 1958 Lawyer and His 1938 Dollar," which suggested that the industry should eschew fixed-rate fees and replicate the profitable efficiencies of mass-production manufacturing. Factories sold widgets, the idea went, and so lawyers should sell their services in simple, easy-to-manage units. The A.B.A. suggested a unit of time — the hour — which would allow a well-run firm to oversee its staff's productivity as mechanically as a conveyor belt managed its throughput. This led to generations of junior associates working through the night in hopes of making partner and abusing the next crop. It was adopted by countless other service professionals, including accountants.
During the past few decades, as the economic logic of the United States has changed, global trade and technology have made it all but impossible for any industry to make much profit in mass production of any sort. (Companies like G.E., Nike and Apple learned early on that the real money was in the creative ideas that can transform simple physical products far beyond their generic or commodity value.) Similar forces have ripped through professional services, particularly accounting, a profession that, until recently, was little changed from its 16th-century roots. Software like TurboTax has made the most basic work worth little. Cheaper accountants in India, Ireland, Eastern Europe and Latin America have steadily taken over the more routine types of business, though not quite as voraciously as once predicted.
Just as Apple doesn't want to be in the generic MP3-player business, Blumer didn't want to be just one more guy competing to charge a few hundred dollars an hour to do your taxes. A few years ago, he said, he realized that the billable hour was undercutting his value — it was his profession's commodity, suggesting to clients that he and his colleagues were interchangeable containers of finite, measurable units that could be traded for money. Perhaps the biggest problem, though, was that billing by the hour incentivized long, boring projects rather than those that required specialized, valuable insight that couldn't (and shouldn't) be measured in time. Paradoxically, the billable hour encouraged Blumer and his colleagues to spend more time than necessary on routine work rather than on the more nuanced jobs.
But those complex problems were the ones that Blumer wanted to solve, and he also knew his insights were more valuable than the time it took him to conjure them. So he identified a niche — creative professionals who struggled to manage their finances as their start-ups became mature businesses — and he endeavored to help his clients make (and save) enough money that they would gladly pay a significant fee without asking about the hours it took him to figure out what to do. Blumer has been so successful in his approach that he has become a leading voice among a national band of accountants who call themselves the Cliff Jumpers. Many Cliff Jumpers have abandoned the traditional bill-by-the-hour approach to focus on noncommodity accounting solutions for specific client groups. One focuses on entrepreneurs hoping to sell their new businesses; several work with people who are terrified about starting a small business.
Many economists have tried to break professional "knowledge workers" down into their component parts. It's fraught enough with lawyers and accountants, Bosworth says, but it's all but impossible with other professions, like doctors and teachers. "We don't even try with education," he says. In the meantime, the Bureau of Labor Statistics directly measures the productivity of only 60 percent of U.S. industries, which means that nearly half of our economic activity is unknown, including almost all of the fastest-growing sectors. If education and health care are not becoming more productive, as many economists fear, it will be hard to know if government policies to improve those sectors are working without knowing what to measure in the first place.
During the 20th century, industry started out in small workshops that created unique handcrafted products. Over time, they morphed into massive plants that churned out a countless number of identical units. Now there's a synthesis. In the era of mass specialization, companies are using high-tech efficiencies to make customized products that each consumer finds especially valuable. This has enormous advantages for both consumers and producers, but the big problem it creates is that we don't know how to do the math. Blumer, who, after all, is an accountant, told me that set formulas and financial spreadsheets are just not compatible with this new approach to work. He can only figure out what to charge his clients after spending a lot of (unbilled) time talking to them about their needs. But now that it's clear that the fundamental nature of work has changed, it is fitting that a bunch of rogue outliers from one of the world's oldest professions are helping guide the way.


Startup Topics: Why work at Startup? Network, Research, PT Job, Customer Service, Serial Founder, Jobbie, Interview, Volunteer, Internship.
A. Why you should work for a Startup.
They say in business you should think BiG. But when it comes to your career, have you considered thinking "small"? A Startup can be a wild roller-coaster ride that can offer you incredible career experiences and teach you some invaluable life lessons – even if you don't startup your own Business. A Startup can: make you more efficient than you've ever been, they can help you expand your responsibility & knowledge to learn how any business, despite challenges, can effectively get off the ground.
#1 a Startup is in the "real" World.
Everything you do in a startup makes a difference. No longer are you surrounded by a safety blanket world where you're a small cog in a large machine. In a startup, everything you do will contribute to the ultimate success or failure of the business. Leaving a large organization and heading to a startup feels liberating. A Startup will actually push you to identify & focus on what's absolutely critical, forcing you to think more creatively about how you approach projects & create value. Best of all, you'll often get to see results first-hand and share in the rewards & glory.
#2 Learning + Responsibility = more Learning.
You can learn more in my first few months in a Startup than you did in the previous may years of your professional career. The reason for this is that everyone in a Startup is expected to wear multiple hats. A Startup forces you to adopt new skills and responsibilities to make up for the small-sized taking on the huge challenges of building an empire. Startups can also lead to increased responsibility & multiple opportunities to both utilize & accelerate your talents & knowledge. All of this can translate into powerful position in the business world and means you'll have much more to offer as an individual, particularly when it comes time to take on an opportunity at another company or even start your own business.
#3 you can Shape the Culture around you.
You can help build a Culture where talented people come together and make work fun. There's nothing more rewarding than feeling excited to come into the office in the morning to tackle the next challenge the world has thrown at us. Entering a larger organization usually means that you'll be stepping into a predetermined culture, set with existing practices, customs and values. Joining a startup, on the other hand, often means that you can directly contribute to the creation & growth of the business culture, offering ideas & practices that can help shape the working philosophy of the company.
#4 You're in an Environment of Innovation.
One of the most rewarding things about Startup is that you can find yourself working with a team that is highly passionate & enthusiastic. This can spark your inspiration on every level, leading to truly innovative ideas & developments that can help the business stand out against competitors in the greater industry. Being part of an entrepreneurial team is also a wonderful way to learn how to innovate. Entrepreneurs are great people to learn from — they identify a problem, then find a new efficient way to solve it.
B. Using your Network to find Opportunities.
Building your personal network is a good path to a great job at any stage of life. Connect with everyone you know–and in turn with everyone they know–through Family & Friends, Social Media, & Professional (ie, LinkedIN) events, setting up lunch or coffee dates to stay in touch, any way you can find. Other ways to Network: 1) when you see the info, connect with "Start-up People" in our area, 2) Befriend a Start-up Recruiter & 3) Target Start-ups directly.
#1 Learn all you can about your Target Industry. It may be that you need more education to qualify for what you really want to do. But even outside of formal education, find ways to keep current and expand your base of knowledge: take non-credit or audit classes, enroll in professional development or special training courses, or just do a lot of reading in your fields of interest.
#2 Take a PT job in your Target Industry, such as afternoons, nights or weekends position, before leaving your current job or search behind. This will help you to assess whether you like the industry, whether it's as good of an opportunity as you thought and also, whether it's a good fit for your skills & personality. These are all important things to know before you invest your time, talent & treasures in a new business.
#3 Talk to your "future" Customers: Customers are a business's biggest asset, yet getting good market research is tuff. Find out what your possible future customers' wants & needs (as well as how big of a responsibility it is to deal with them) by taking on a Customer Service job in your target industry. By working in Customer Service, you will be able to gain first-hand knowledge of how your customers think, act and spend!
#4 Learn from someone who's "Been there, done that". What is most people's favorite thing to talk about? Themselves. Business Owners are no different. Ask those who have been in the trenches for years, if they could make some time for an Information Interview, so that you can learn the good, bad & ugly of the industry. Or even better, see if you can shadow them for a day or two or take on an un-paid Internship to learn the ins-&-outs from someone (or a couple of "someones") who have been successful.. If you don't know anyone who fits the bill, ask your Personal, Social & Professional networks to help put you in touch with these business owners.
G or J. Start a Jobbie: It's a name for a Hobby that makes money (otherwise known as a side business). Having a Jobbie is a great way to test out the viability of a business with a defined budget, before you fully commit to it. If your industry involves a product instead of a service, develop, build, & test prototypes – to try out the product's appeal & function – along with your day job or your current job search. Both of these approaches will allow you to gain industry insights and if you stick to a budget, it won't cost you your life's saving like a Startup could.
O.K. Preparation & Technique during the Interview.
#1 What are your Strengths? Even if you're fairly sure, ask your family, friends, teachers, etc, to verify. Then figure out how you can use them in your chosen Industry – especially include Leadership roles you've held.
#2 Be Confident of your Abilities, but Humble in presenting them. This gets easier the more you practice or with actual Interviews. Be comfortable with not knowing everything that might be expected. Instead, be curious, ask questions, listen – if you're interested.
#3 If you're interested in the Position, show your enthusiasm, motivation & desire to learn. You wouldn't be applying to the job if you didn't want it. If you really want it, make sure that's obvious. Don't seem desperate, but do seem passionate. Do your background research on the company and have a prepared, honest, thoughtful response for the "Why do you want to work here?" question.
#4 If you really want it, Follow-up. A day or two after the Interview, compose an Email of why you would be a good match and want the job.
L. Maybe Volunteer First. Here are 3 places to look to get a little (micro) Experience.
VolunteerMatch lets you search local and virtual opportunities.
Catchafire is filled with short-term volunteer opportunities.
Fiverr is the place to list the skill you'd like to develop and snag a bunch of micro-experiences quickly.
M. Then consider Internship or PT Contract second. Internships aren't just for students and they most certainly count towards any job's experience requirements. If you're having trouble getting interviews, it may be that your resume simply doesn't have enough Real World experience on it.
Comments: Do you know any other ways to get Startup experience w/out starting one?


Moffat Museum - 'Taking the Past into the Future': GREAT NEWS!
The National Museum of Scotland has approved the loan to Moffat Museum of the replica bow and arrow and the Ericstanebrae replica brooch in March in time for the hoped for re-opening of the refurbished Museum. Terrific News!
Just showing you the fabulous brooch again!


text:
Categorized | News, Opinion
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM has THREE PRIMARY OPPONENTS! GOAL: KEEP GRAHAM BELOW 50% in FIRST PRIMARY!
Posted on August 6, 2013. Tags: Democratic Primary, Dewhurst, Electoral Law, Facebook, Female Graduate, Gop Chairman, Katon Dawson, Lindsey Graham, Line Of Reasoning, Nancy Mace, Political Survival, Real Clear Politics, Runoff System, Senate Campaign, Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Legislature, Stark Terms, Tea Party, Tooth And Nail, Unintended Consequence, Usa Today
These two reports are encouraging to those who hope that Senator Lindsey Graham is retired by the voters in South Carolina next year.
The first one is in USA Today. Here's an important bio on the two new candidates (Businessman Richard Cash is the first to get into the race):
Nancy Mace, the first female graduate of The Citadel who has strong ties to the Tea Party movement, posted on Facebook that she will announce her Senate campaign on Saturday.
State Sen. Lee Bright, a leading libertarian voice in the South Carolina Legislature, told The State newspaper that he plans to announce his campaign in a few weeks. Richard Cash, a businessman who lost a 2010 race for Congress, is already in the race.
Normally several candidates means the incumbent wins with a reduced vote. But in the South, where at one time the Democratic primary was the election, there was set up a runoff system to ensure that the winner got a majority of the voters. This however had the unintended consequence of making the favorite's strategy to be: Win in the first primary. Otherwise, the combined voters of the others could unite around the other runoff survivor. This is what occurred in the Dewhurst-Cruz race in Texas in 2012. Dewhurst won the first primary but did not get 50% and then lost to the second place Cruz.
That leads me to this article in Real Clear Politics:
But this line of reasoning has a potential flaw: South Carolina electoral law stipulates that a candidate must win at least 50 percent of the primary vote to avoid a runoff, and Graham's chances of reaching that threshold could become even more difficult with additional names on the ballot.
And in a one-on-one runoff , all bets are off for Graham, who would likely have to fight tooth and nail for his political survival.
Former South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson — who runs a super PAC supporting the already well-funded incumbent — explained in stark terms the challenge ahead: "Fifty percent in a three- or four-person race is a hard number to get to. It just is. My expectation would be a runoff."
So, this is good news. Let's light the flame of liberty in 2014 and retire Senator Graham. Support your favorite. But do remember we have races in 2013 to support!
← WHAT DOES ROBERT SARVIS need to WIN the ELECTION? SOME HELP and a FAIR AMOUNT OF CASH! PERHAPS a SARVIS MONEY BOMB?
Forum:If you could be anyone else living or dead, whom would you be? →


text:
The Royal Watcher
Royal Events
Today in Royal History
Wedding of Louis Ducruet and Marie Chevallier
July 27, 2019 July 27, 2019 ~ Saad719
Louis and Marie's official wedding photos! 📸Palais Princier (via Monaco Matin) https://t.co/W38r98h9mi
HeavenLM (@HeavenQRF) July 27, 2019
Louis Ducruet married his fiancée Marie Chevailler on a civil wedding in Monaco on 26th July 2019. Congratulations to the Couple ❤🎉 The bride's dress was designt by @rosa_clara Today on Saturday 27th July they will marry in a religious wedding in Monaco Cathedral, it will be the first Royal Wedding after Louis Grandfather Prince Rainer married Grace Kelly in 1956😍💕 #louisducruet #mariehoachevallier #mariechevallier #monacoroyals #monacoroyalfamily #royalwedding #instaroyals #monacoroyalwedding
A post shared by European Royal Families (@europeroyals) on Jul 27, 2019 at 6:15am PDT
Wedding kiss! 📸 Palais Princier (Via Monaco Matin) https://t.co/ypymHeHVTt
The Wedding of Louis Ducruet, eldest son of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, nephew of Prince Albert II, and 15th-in-line to the Principality, and Marie Chevallier (wearing a Atelier Boisanger and Pauline Ducruet gown) at the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-Immaculée (Saint Nicholas Cathedral) in Monte Carlo on July 27th. The couple got married in a civil ceremony the previous day. This was the first wedding at the Cathedral since that of his grandparents, Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly, in 1956.
The Casiraghis and the Ducruets were all there to celebrate Louis and Marie's wedding! It looks like Prince Albert… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Royal attendees included Prince Albert II, Princess Caroline, Princess Stephanie and their children with their respective spouses. More details.
Posted in Monaco, Wedding
< Previous Wedding of Princess Louise of Wales and the Duke of Fife, 1889
Next > King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand
4 thoughts on "Wedding of Louis Ducruet and Marie Chevallier"
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Interview with Sofia Khan: Innovators in Science and Technology Series
Innovation in science and technology ties directly to the transfer of knowledge and distinct learning strategies. In many ways, scientific advancements are both the outcome and the foundation of ongoing research and development of breakthrough products and techniques. Welcome to an interview with Sofia Khan, NonLinear Seismic Imaging.In it, she describes her goal to help develop a new method of imaging fluid-saturated reservoirs in the subsurface.
1. What is your name and your interest in geophysics?
My name is Sofia Khan and my interest relates to the application of science to better understand the true nature of fluid-saturated hydrocarbon reservoirs in the subsurface. I was introduced to cutting-edge concepts in direct reservoir imaging over ten years ago and am now more involved in the development of a way forward that could help solve many of the existing and future complex challenges faced in hydrocarbon exploration and production.
In general, we all want to solve and create a viable and cost-effective method to map oil and hydrocarbon accumulations underground, enabling us to produce more oil from existing reservoirs and from reservoirs not mapped so far using the current subsurface imaging methods.
Sofia Khan and Susan Smith Nash at the AAPG Permian Basin New Technologies Workshop
Any useful knowledge shared, improvement or breakthrough in that regard is a contribution and benefit for the entire industry and more importantly for the world's energy supply - the impact of what we strive to achieve is far beyond our role within our own companies. The ongoing effort to introduce new ideas can take decades before widespread acceptance and implementation, if we can patiently persist in that tireless effort.
Through the work of our company and others like the Los Alamos National Laboratory, it has been shown that reservoir rocks can be better mapped when we realize that the fluid-saturated, porous and permeable rocks exhibit "dynamic elastic nonlinearity." The reservoir rocks of interest are complex and heterogeneous and contain a variety of mesoscopic structural features (cracks, voids, joints, grain contacts) with different elastic properties specific to their structure. The voids and cracks are filled with multiphase fluids that are under pressure. The fluid pressure couples to the mechanical effects of an externally applied seismic signal that creates stress or strain cycles. The reservoir fluids, which are an integral part of the reservoir rock, have different physical and elastic properties. The elastic properties of the reservoir fluids - according to oil, gas, and water content - vary due to the changes in their viscosity and behave differently during load and unload cycles of a seismic wave. The result is that a reservoir rock behaves like a complex configuration of tiny springs connected to each other in series and parallel combinations, each one of them behaving nonlinearly. Research work on dynamic elastic nonlinearity of rocks carried out in Los Alamos and Stevens Institute of Technology establishes a relationship between measurable nonlinear parameters and the physical characteristics of the porous rocks, and further establishes that the elastic nonlinearity of the rocks directly relates with effective porosity and the pore fluids.
What differentiates reservoir rocks from other sedimentary rocks is that the reservoir rocks have effective porosity, fractures and pore fluids. Subsurface imaging methods that will directly focus on these differentiating characteristics of the reservoir rocks and highlight them against the other subsurface formations will provide us with direct hydrocarbon detection capabilities.
When body waves propagate through the reservoir formation, they disturb the equilibrium state within the reservoir that exists, between the pore fluids and the rock matrix. Shear waves, due to their propagation characteristics, show less sensitivity to the pore fluids. However, the compressional wave and the Slow Wave or Drag Wave™, which effectively move the pore fluids with respect to the rock matrix, behave differently and generate elastically nonlinear attributes. These seismic attributes related to the propagation characteristics of the P-Wave and Slow Wave are more sensitive for mapping reservoir properties compared to the currently used seismic attributes which relate to velocity, attenuation, and modulus.
The Nonlinearity Component, which is generated due to the relative movement of the fluids and the reservoir matrix, is caused due to hysteresis effects of the fluid movement. This effect is more pronounced for higher viscosity pore fluids like oil compared to gas or water.
Due to the dependence of elastic nonlinear parameters of the rocks on the porosity, permeability, and pore fluids, elastic nonlinearity measurements are best suited to map the in-situ reservoir properties. For most practical purposes, the nonlinearity parameter directly correlates with the ratio of the amplitude of the harmonics generated or the sum and difference frequencies generated, to the amplitude of the fundamental primary input signal.
I recently read something that reminded me of the importance of empirical data – that science requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. I bring this thought into my dialog because we have faced a lot of resistance to a new idea in the area of geophysics, for reasons that are not always rational or fair. If we can overcome all the disagreement and focus on the empirical data, perhaps we will all gain from the new ideas. It might be considered radical or controversial, but we owe it to the industry to take a second look at the fundamentals of seismic imaging to advance solutions for more rigorous challenges that lie ahead. We should boldly go to the oilfields and try out each new idea without hesitation, like the pioneers of previous generations did to come up with answers they wanted to obtain. There was little hesitation or doubt involved, rather there was almost immediate support and interest in every idea.
At present, only the contribution of the reflected primary seismic signal is being used and the new frequencies generated due to elastic nonlinearity of the reservoir rocks are ignored by the geophysical industry. The Nonlinearity Component, in the form of new frequencies different from the input signal, once acknowledged, will provide a powerful tool to map the reservoir properties not previously mapped using the current seismic methods.
Another assumption made by our industry is that the contribution of a newly generated seismic wave in the reflected and refracted signals from a porous and permeable rock formation is negligible and can be ignored. Using current conventional data processing, which does not realize the existence of this wave and does not account for its lower velocity in the reservoir rocks, its reflection is mapped as a 'shadow' or 'ghost' of the compressional wave reflection. This is an artifact created by the lack of understanding of actual behavior of seismic wave propagation in porous and permeable reservoir formations.
In reality, reflected and refracted signals from a porous and permeable rock formation have two components. Part of the propagating energy is reflected and refracted from the rock matrix and part of the energy is reflected and refracted from the pore fluids contained in the rock formation. Throughout the published scientific literature, the compressional energy in the permeable rocks, which travels through the pore fluid interconnections in a tortuous path, is known as Slow Wave because its velocity is slower than the fast compressional wave.
Slow Wave, as defined by known literature, is diffusive and highly attenuated therefore difficult to measure in-situ in reservoirs. "Drag Wave™" is a form of Slow Wave in that its velocity is also measurably slower than the fast compressional wave. This Drag Wave can propagate over long distances through and across the entire reservoir because it is generated by the solid/liquid coupling as the fast compressional wave propagates through a rock that is permeable, porous and fluid-saturated. Imaging this unique signal that is generated by the slower compressional wave only in the rock which is permeable, porous and fluid-saturated will directly identify the hydrocarbon accumulations.
2. What is your new product?
The industry has been looking for some form of seismic attribute which can differentiate the hydrocarbon-bearing rocks – those that have porosity, permeability, fracturing, and are saturated with pore fluids – from all others. Nonlinear Seismic Imaging Inc. introduced a new concept of imaging certain important seismic attributes of the reservoir rocks - not previously addressed by anyone when we began our journey. This technology is proprietary and protected by a number of U.S. Patents.
In this technology we identified three main seismic attributes which differentiate the reservoir rocks from all other subsurface formations that exhibit non-porous and non-permeable properties:
1. When a seismic compressional wave propagates through a reservoir formation it generates harmonics of all the primary frequencies that are present in the seismic signal.
2. When there are more than one seismic signals propagating through the reservoir formation simultaneously, the sum and difference frequencies of the two primary waves are created, and that is a unique property of the reservoir formation.
3. During the propagation of the compressional wave through the reservoir formation which is permeable and fluid-saturated, another seismic wave is created which is identified as the Slow Wave or Drag Wave™. The Slow Wave travels at a lower velocity than the velocity of the compressional wave in the mineral frame of the rock, or the velocity of the compressional wave in the fluid that saturates that reservoir formation. This phenomenon creates a very low frequency wave that will only be present in the reservoir formation and not in any other subsurface rock.
Nonlinear Seismic Imaging technology, in the form of proprietary acquisition and processing methods, uses these three main characteristics to directly map the presence of hydrocarbons in the subsurface formations. To successfully achieve the desired results, the seismic data acquisition has to be specifically designed so that these seismic attributes are created and preserved for further analysis and interpretation after the seismic data have been processed. Without the proper data acquisition, these unique attributes cannot be usefully extracted during the data processing, and we will not get the desired image to identify the presence of hydrocarbons.
3. What does it do?
In essence, Nonlinear Seismic Imaging will change the way we think about the hydrocarbons by focusing on directly mapping the reservoir rocks. We need a method that maps the seismic signals being generated only in the reservoir rock which is fluid-saturated – mapping these signals will identify the formations of interest and all other rocks are invisible in the Nonlinear Seismic image.
To find and produce the oil that has been left unproduced or undiscovered, industry needs a scientific breakthrough that can provide Direct Reservoir Imaging, a new way to directly map the reservoir fluids and identify oil and gas accumulations, rather than map the geometry of the subsurface structure and use that information to infer the oil accumulations. Industry needs a technology that will illuminate the oil reservoir like an MRI illuminates one chosen part of the human body, and ignores the rest.
The unique contribution of Nonlinear Seismic Imaging acquisition and processing methodologies is that they provide a method of differential illumination of the subsurface formations that are of greater interest to the hydrocarbon producers. Clays and shales are normally less porous, more homogeneous, and behave more linearly in comparison with high porosity sandstones and limestones. As a result, shales and clays themselves generate a weaker 'nonlinearity component' and show less prominent amplitude response on a nonlinearity seismic section. Yet, the main advantage of this technology is that fractured and complex reservoirs will be mapped with greater definition than any conventional seismic method can, irrespective of the number of channels used in the acquisition systems being offered today. Hydrocarbon-bearing shale would be a prime target to identify the sweet spots since the shale has been deposited in horizontal laminations, and the hydrocarbons captured between the laminations provide the same anisotropic response as the horizontal fractures. The shale, because of the laminated effect of its deposition history, would become highly nonlinear to a vertically propagating seismic wave – and will give us a strong nonlinear response.
We have proposed that new reservoir characterization methods should be developed by using the elastic nonlinearity parameters of the reservoir rocks and their correlation with the reservoir properties. Seismic wave propagation through fractured or porous and permeable rocks generates new frequencies not originally present in the input signal. Seismic images created using the newly generated frequencies provide unique information related to reservoir properties at very little additional cost to the oil company.
Nonlinear Seismic Imaging methods enable the end-user to retain the conventional linear seismic images and provides additional seismic images that will go further to identify the porous and fractured reservoir rocks – and this is where the oil and gas will be located. In areas where the current seismic fails to map the stratigraphic or fractured hydrocarbon traps, Nonlinear Seismic Imaging technology can provide the useful reservoir information so that reservoirs that are invisible to current technologies can be discovered. Carbonate reservoirs are a prime target for this technology, since their porosity and permeability quite often does not correlate with the structure or the linear measurements of velocity and attenuation.
4. What need does it meet?
Some of the complex challenges considered to be solved using this technology include:
- Can we map the reservoirs that are caused by stratigraphic traps that we are unable to map using current technology?
- How do we map the unique signals that are being generated in the reservoir rock when the compressional wave propagates through it?
- If there's a deeper zone, can both zones be mapped simultaneously?
- Will the presence of the Slow Wave generate a unique and independent signal that will identify the reservoir?
- If there is no acoustic impedance contrast between the reservoir and other non-reservoir sedimentary rocks, can this technology be used to identify and map those formations?
- In the case of a marine environment, how do we certify and ensure that we have highlighted the seismic anomaly which is porous and fluid-saturated?
- To eliminate the cost of drilling dry wells, how can we map the porosity profile of an existing or potential reservoir?
- In order to understand the flow patterns between the wells and between the reservoir facies for accurate reservoir simulation, how can we map the permeable units of the interwell space?
- How can we map the changes in the reservoir pore fluids that are caused due to production and injection processes; can we accurately monitor the fluid fronts?
In spite of all of our efforts to date, the quest for direct reservoir imaging has not been fulfilled. From the time when we used the "divining rod" or relied on surface anomalies to find the drilling location, to the present day when we rely on advanced seismic imaging to locate oil and gas accumulation – the goal has been elusive. The current technologies have come a long way during the last hundred years; we can map the subsurface geology of the sedimentary rocks with a higher resolution. However, there is no technology which exists that can help us in directly locating the hydrocarbon accumulations with any level of certainty.
One of the critical elements of oil exploration is to identify the geologically favorable areas around the world where commercial oil and gas accumulations can be found and exploited. Seismic subsurface imaging methods are being used in geologically favorable areas to image the subsurface strata. During the last two or three decades, tremendous progress has been made in improving the resolution and the reliability of the seismic results. Based on the seismic images, the potential geologic traps that hold viable oil and gas accumulations are identified. At present, the interpreted results of the various geologic traps that can accumulate hydrocarbons can only be validated by the drilling results. The current seismic, in spite of all the recent improvements, fails to directly map the hydrocarbon accumulations.
The existing reservoirs dating back to those discovered many years ago still contain substantial remaining quantities of oil and gas in a conventionally movable state. The volume of residual oil in the existing reservoirs is large. There is a strong correlation between the unrecovered reserves with the geologic heterogeneities of the reservoirs.
Over the past almost three decades, industry has applied different methods of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improved oil recovery (IOR). In most cases EOR or IOR have proven to be expensive and have had limited success. Generally the limitations do not seem to be in the efficiency of extraction techniques, but rather in the ability to correctly deploy such technologies in geologically complex reservoirs. Since most of the conventionally movable oil and gas potential lies in geologically complex reservoirs, the breakthrough reservoir imaging technologies will be chiefly responsible for improvements in producing the extra reserves.
It is highly probable that more subtle hydrocarbon accumulations in stratigraphic traps have been left behind, since the current technology can only map the subsurface rocks and fails to directly map the subsurface hydrocarbon fluids.
Today, what is needed is the development of a new technology that will provide a new seismic approach that will allow us to map the reservoir porosity profile, permeable flow units, location and orientation of fractures, and the distribution of different viscosity pore fluids. In addition to the standard 3-D image provided by the current imaging methods, each one of these critical parameters would be mapped and displayed individually in three dimensions. Hydrocarbon reservoirs are heterogeneous and complex in terms of porosity, permeability, fracturing, lithology, pore fluid saturation, and distribution. Knowledge of these reservoir parameters and their spatial variation is critical in the evaluation of the total volume of hydrocarbon reserves in place and how these reserves can be extracted economically.
5. What makes the technique advantageous?
We directly image the unique signal that is being generated in porous, permeable and fractured reservoir rocks, and not being generated in other sedimentary rocks.
The applications of this technology primarily define the reservoir parameters listed as follows:
1. Direct Reservoir Signature
2. Imaging Reservoir Effective Porosity
3. Imaging Reservoir Permeability
4. Mapping Pore Fluids
5. Imaging Reservoir Fractures
As an end product, we will directly identify hydrocarbon accumulations and simplify the exploration effort. There are several techniques we can utilize and they will depend on the challenge that is faced in the particular field location and geologic condition. These methods can be implemented using all of the existing equipment already known throughout the geophysical industry, such as Vibroseis trucks, impulse sources, marine streamers, ocean bottom nodes and cables etc. Recently, we have come up with a new, different approach to identify reservoirs with the "Direct Reservoir Signature using the Drag Wave™" – and feel confident that the industry will recognize its value.
The reservoir properties of interest are porosity, permeability and the identification of the pore fluids. In large exploration programs when the data volume can become overwhelming, the industry needs a method which will identify more promising leads that will direct the explorationist to focus on the areas which are more likely to be commercially viable. This patent is designed to address that shortcoming by using simple acquisition and data processing methods to locate the subsurface reservoir formations that will provide more commercial and beneficial returns. This patent would be extremely useful for reconnaissance work in unexplored areas of the world and in those areas where the conventional seismic has been unable to map and locate new reservoirs. You might consider it as a "Step One" when using this technology.
In particular, no additional Vibroseis equipment will be required to implement the method; we've created the invention to be effective for the most difficult-to-access areas where the operations are increasingly expensive. One of the main advantages of this new method is that the lower frequency generated due to the Drag Wave is totally unique and cannot be mistaken by the harmonics or the interaction of frequencies, and this lower frequency becomes a very reliable indicator of the presence of subsurface reservoir formations.
This Drag Wave™ invention will also reduce the cost of drilling dry wells because a simple test using this technology will either confirm or decline the presence of reservoir rocks, thus avoiding not drilling any wells where this newly generated lower-frequency signal is not present. This invention will reduce the cost of exploration and improve the success ratio, and can easily be implemented with the current seismic equipment and the current practices using seismic imaging at present.
6. What are your future plans?
The work has been done to understand dynamic elastic nonlinearity; the methods have also been devised to take advantage of the science so that we can advance the effort in hydrocarbon exploration. I would like to achieve the implementation of this technology as we advance into a world of changing demographics – increased population and more demand from developing economies throughout the world. Using the new Nonlinear Seismic Imaging technology, opportunities exist to improve results in oilfields both onshore and offshore. Taking this approach, the risk is minimal to the operators. With intelligent planning and proper implementation of simple techniques, it would be nice to have a successful outcome for everything that has gone into this effort so far.
Using the technology is not capital intensive, so the rewards will be directly related to the exploration efforts of the oil companies. I am currently exploring how to achieve global implementation of this technology – in a step by step process. There are no easy answers so far, but I am hoping that we will find a champion in the industry that believes in this approach and decides to move forward with us with a full, dedicated commitment.
Labels: innovation , mapping oil and gas , nonlinear seismic imaging , oil and gas exploration , reservoir imaging , sofia khan
Interview with Sofia Khan: Innovators in Science a...


Together with the Perseids, the Geminids meteor shower is the biggest star shooting event of the year. This astronomical phenomenon occurs when small particles of dust from comet fragments, or asteroids, collide with the atmosphere of our planet. This year, the best times to witness Geminids will coincide with the nights of Thursday, December 13th, and Friday, December 14th, although they can be observed between December 4th and December 17th.
The point in the sky where the meteors seem to be "born," as their radiant is the constellation of the Gemini, located near Orion. The moon, which is crescent, will cease to be visible at midnight, allowing stargazers to enjoy the spectacle. Thus, an observer will be able to see a meteor every two minutes on average if it is located in a dark place, without light pollution.
Geminids are a meteor shower that can be seen from both hemispheres. In the Northern Hemisphere, the activity will be more significant, because the radiant will be higher on the horizon. Although from the southern skies you will also be able to observe a large number of meteors. It is advisable to lie down, fix your gaze on an area of the sky and maintain it, at least, for a few minutes to be able to appreciate the meteor shower.
The annual meteor shower of the Geminids reaches its peak on the night of between December 13th and December 14th This year, the astronomical phenomenon will benefit from the darkness provided by the new Moon on December 14th. The frequency of meteors in the sky is expected to be one per minute under optimal observation conditions.
Geminids are active every December when the Earth passes through a massive trail of dusty debris thrown by a strange, rocky object called 3200 Phaeton. The debris burnt when the space rock meets the Earth's atmosphere is causing a burst of "shooting stars." The less artificial lighting there is in the observation area and the clearer the sky, the better are the conditions to see the event.


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Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments
Darrin C. Edwards, Matthew A Kupinski, Robert M. Nishikawa, Charles E. Metz
We extend a method for linear template estimation developed by Abbey et al. which demonstrated that a linear observer template can be estimated effectively through a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) experiment, assuming the noise in the images is Gaussian, or multivariate normal (MVN). We relax this assumption, allowing the noise in the images to be drawn from a weighted sum of MVN distributions, which we call a multi-peaked MVN (MPMVN) distribution. Our motivation is that more complicated probability density functions might be approximated in general by such MPMVN distributions. Our extension of Abbey et al.'s method requires us to impose the additional constraint that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-present noise distribution all be equal, and that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-absent noise distribution all be equal (but different in general from the signal-present covariance matrices). Preliminary research shows that our generalized method is capable of producing unbiased estimates of linear observer templates in the presence of MPMVN noise under the stated assumptions. We believe this extension represents a next step toward the general treatment of arbitrary image noise distributions.
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
Medical Imaging 2000: Image Perception and Performance - San Diego, CA, USA
Duration: Feb 16 2000 → Feb 17 2000
Medical Imaging 2000: Image Perception and Performance
San Diego, CA, USA
random noise
Covariance matrix
Probability density function
probability density functions
normal density functions
Edwards, D. C., Kupinski, M. A., Nishikawa, R. M., & Metz, C. E. (2000). Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering (Vol. 3981, pp. 85-96). Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments. / Edwards, Darrin C.; Kupinski, Matthew A; Nishikawa, Robert M.; Metz, Charles E.
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. Vol. 3981 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 2000. p. 85-96.
Edwards, DC, Kupinski, MA, Nishikawa, RM & Metz, CE 2000, Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments. in Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. vol. 3981, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, pp. 85-96, Medical Imaging 2000: Image Perception and Performance, San Diego, CA, USA, 2/16/00.
Edwards DC, Kupinski MA, Nishikawa RM, Metz CE. Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments. In Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. Vol. 3981. Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. 2000. p. 85-96
Edwards, Darrin C. ; Kupinski, Matthew A ; Nishikawa, Robert M. ; Metz, Charles E. / Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. Vol. 3981 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 2000. pp. 85-96
@inproceedings{db90132979244b6f9aabab11329ef679,
title = "Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments",
abstract = "We extend a method for linear template estimation developed by Abbey et al. which demonstrated that a linear observer template can be estimated effectively through a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) experiment, assuming the noise in the images is Gaussian, or multivariate normal (MVN). We relax this assumption, allowing the noise in the images to be drawn from a weighted sum of MVN distributions, which we call a multi-peaked MVN (MPMVN) distribution. Our motivation is that more complicated probability density functions might be approximated in general by such MPMVN distributions. Our extension of Abbey et al.'s method requires us to impose the additional constraint that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-present noise distribution all be equal, and that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-absent noise distribution all be equal (but different in general from the signal-present covariance matrices). Preliminary research shows that our generalized method is capable of producing unbiased estimates of linear observer templates in the presence of MPMVN noise under the stated assumptions. We believe this extension represents a next step toward the general treatment of arbitrary image noise distributions.",
author = "Edwards, {Darrin C.} and Kupinski, {Matthew A} and Nishikawa, {Robert M.} and Metz, {Charles E.}",
booktitle = "Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering",
publisher = "Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers",
T1 - Estimation of linear observer templates in the presence of multi-peaked Gaussian noise through 2AFC experiments
AU - Edwards, Darrin C.
AU - Kupinski, Matthew A
AU - Nishikawa, Robert M.
AU - Metz, Charles E.
N2 - We extend a method for linear template estimation developed by Abbey et al. which demonstrated that a linear observer template can be estimated effectively through a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) experiment, assuming the noise in the images is Gaussian, or multivariate normal (MVN). We relax this assumption, allowing the noise in the images to be drawn from a weighted sum of MVN distributions, which we call a multi-peaked MVN (MPMVN) distribution. Our motivation is that more complicated probability density functions might be approximated in general by such MPMVN distributions. Our extension of Abbey et al.'s method requires us to impose the additional constraint that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-present noise distribution all be equal, and that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-absent noise distribution all be equal (but different in general from the signal-present covariance matrices). Preliminary research shows that our generalized method is capable of producing unbiased estimates of linear observer templates in the presence of MPMVN noise under the stated assumptions. We believe this extension represents a next step toward the general treatment of arbitrary image noise distributions.
AB - We extend a method for linear template estimation developed by Abbey et al. which demonstrated that a linear observer template can be estimated effectively through a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) experiment, assuming the noise in the images is Gaussian, or multivariate normal (MVN). We relax this assumption, allowing the noise in the images to be drawn from a weighted sum of MVN distributions, which we call a multi-peaked MVN (MPMVN) distribution. Our motivation is that more complicated probability density functions might be approximated in general by such MPMVN distributions. Our extension of Abbey et al.'s method requires us to impose the additional constraint that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-present noise distribution all be equal, and that the covariance matrices of the component peaks of the signal-absent noise distribution all be equal (but different in general from the signal-present covariance matrices). Preliminary research shows that our generalized method is capable of producing unbiased estimates of linear observer templates in the presence of MPMVN noise under the stated assumptions. We believe this extension represents a next step toward the general treatment of arbitrary image noise distributions.
BT - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
PB - Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers


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Spring Garden is a neighborhood in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, bordering Center City on the north.  Spring Garden is a neighborhood that combines diverse residential neighborhoods and significant cultural attractions.  The residential areas on the north side of the neighborhood (North of Spring Garden Street) are composed mostly of brick and brownstone three-story townhouses built during the mid-to-late 19th century.  The houses include townhouses in the Italianate style, Second Empire, Queen Anne, and Venetian Gothic.  Many streets (including Green Street and Spring Garden Street) include "terraced" set ups, which include a small gardened plot, often raised, in front of the house.  The residential areas to the south are dominated by taller, multi-family buildings built during the 20th century. The museum area, also to the south of Spring Garden Street, includes the Rodin Museum, the Central Library of Philadelphia, and the Barnes Museum. Before consolidation of Philadelphia, Spring Garden was a district of Philadelphia County.

Boundaries
Finkel defines Spring Garden as "North of Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Fairmount Avenue, Broad Street to Schuylkill River." The Philadelphia Information Locator Service list (augmented from the Finkel 1995 list), repeats Finkel's definition of the neighborhood's boundaries. One qualification that should be added is that this definition would have Spring Garden as extending deep into Center City, nearly all the way to City Hall. The other boundary that most would agree Finkel omitted is Vine Street.

The Spring Garden Civic Association limits its purview to only the northern half of the above definition, as "between Spring Garden Street and Fairmount Avenue and between Broad Street and Pennsylvania Avenue/Fairmount Park." The sub-neighborhood of Baldwin Park occupies the area between Spring Garden Street and Vine Street and between Broad Street and the Schuylkill River. The neighborhood is named after the centrally located Matthias Baldwin Park.

The neighborhood's main arterial road is Spring Garden Street, running east to west.

Demographics

Spring Garden is within the 19130 ZIP code, which also includes Fairmount and Francisville.  The 2000 census reported that the population within the 19130 ZIP code is 22,252.  The racial composition of Spring Garden was 60% white, 30% African American, 3% Asian, and 7% Hispanic.
Ten years later, the population of the 19130 ZIP code had increased by 10% to 24,870, an increase in population of 2,618, with a racial composition of 68.1% white, 21.4% black, and 5.6% Asian.

Before the neighborhood was incorporated into the city of Philadelphia in 1854, the city of Spring Garden peaked at ninth on the list of the largest cities in the United States during the 1850 Census.

History

Spring Garden appears in Varie's map of 1796 as a small settlement between Vine Street and Buttonwood Lane and a point on a line with Seventh Street, and extending as far west as Ridge Road. There was a street (now known as Franklin Street) which ran north from Vine Street across Callowhill, and stopped opposite a house half-way between Callowhill, and Buttonwood Lane. The Street now known as Eighth Street (then called Garden Street) ran through the centre of the district, and the street now called Darien, formally Garden Street (then called Spring Street) ran from Vine to Buttonwood.

The neighborhood was originally part of the Northern Liberties, a township to the north of the city (which at that time was distinct from the other townships and municipalities within the County of Philadelphia). It was originally part of a manor (named Spingettsbury Farm) established by William Penn.  During the late 1700s, the manor was split into two estates---"Bush Hill" (located to the east of 19th Street) and "The Hills" (located to the west of 19th Street).  In the early 1800s, the estates were subdivided, and from 1850 to 1876, housing was developed in alignment with the city grid that had originally been established by William Penn.

The neighborhood name is quite old, going back many decades before Philadelphia's Act of Consolidation, when the area was part of the Spring Garden District of Philadelphia County, not yet part of the city. Finkel gives 1808 as the year it first appears in the written sources that he and his contributors consulted. The Philadelphia Information Locator Service list (augmented from the Finkel 1995 list), while repeating Finkel's definition of the neighborhood's boundaries, gives 1813 as the earliest year of use.

The district was incorporated March 22, 1813, as "the Commissioners and Inhabitants of the district of Spring Garden." The original boundaries were Vine Street on the south; the middle of Hickory Lane (afterwards Coates Street, now Fairmount Avenue) on the north; Broad Street on; the west, and the middle of Sixth Street on; the east.

On March 21, 1827, the district was enlarged by adding; that part of Penn Township beginning at the middle of Sixth Street to a point 210 feet north of the north side of Poplar Lane; thence northwest, parallel to the lane, at a distance of 200 feet from the latter, to the middle of Broad Street; thence parallel with Vine Street to the Schuylkill River.

The meaning of this was, that whilst the upper boundary of the district took a course from Sixth Street west by north to Broad Street, the line beyond the latter ran due east and west to the Schuylkill. It extended by the course of that river to Vine Street, and along the latter to Broad, where it met the old district line. By this addition the size of Spring Garden was more than doubled. At the time of consolidation the area of the district was estimated to be 1100 acres (4.5 km2).The former diagonal street York Avenue, a short section of which survives in Center City, formerly ran from Spring Garden to Fifth Street near Market Street and during the mid 19th Century served as a major commuter route for residents of the Spring Garden District who worked in what was then the central business district of Philadelphia.

At the time of its consolidation in 1854, it was one of the ten largest cities in the United States.

The neighborhood was once home to significant heavy industry. Many blocks of the neighborhood were once covered by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Various Bement-related machine tool firms (William Bement & Son; Bement, Miles & Co; and then Niles-Bement-Pond) occupied the site where the Barnes Foundation museum now stands.

Infrastructure and government

City government
The Spring Garden neighborhood is in the 15th Ward and the 8th Ward.  The 8th Ward leaders in 2011 are Stephanie Singer (D) and Alber Doering (R); the 15th Ward leaders are William Greenlee (D) and Jason Brehouse (R).  Generally, the northern part of Spring Garden (Spring Garden Street and north) is in the 15th Ward; the southern part is in the 8th Ward.

Spring Garden is within the 5th City Council District. , the 5th district is served by Councilman Darrell Clarke, who is the council's president.

State government
The Spring Garden neighborhood is in the 182d State House District and the 195th State House District.  Generally, the northern part of Spring Garden (Spring Garden Street and north; roughly co-terminous with the portions of Spring Garden in the 15th Ward) is in the 195th State House District.  In 2011, the representative from the 195th house district was Michelle F. Brownlee.  Generally, the southern part of Spring Garden (the portion in the 8th Ward) is in the 182d State House District.  In 2011, the representative from the 182d house district is Babette Josephs.

The Spring Garden neighborhood is in the 1st State Senate District.  Since 2020, the State Senator is Nikil Saval.

Community association
Spring Garden is represented by the Spring Garden Civic Association.  The Civic Association performs neighborhood maintenance services, such as occasional street sweeping and tree planting.  Further, much of the neighborhood is included in The Spring Garden Historic District, intended to preserve the historic architecture of the neighborhood.

Parks
The neighborhood includes the Roberto Clemente Playground, which was renovated in 2011 and includes a "sprayground."  The neighborhood also includes "The Spring Gardens" community garden which covers an entire city block.  The block was cleared in 1996 and was turned into a community garden composed of over 180 garden plots that are cared for by neighborhood families.

Transportation

Automobile
As mentioned above, the main arterial road through Spring Garden is Spring Garden Street, which runs east and west.  The neighborhood is bounded on the east by Broad Street, which runs north and south.  The neighborhood is also bounded by Vine Street on the south, which contains an entrance to Interstate 676.  On the west, the neighborhood is bounded by the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Public transportation
Spring Garden is served by several public transportation routes of SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

Despite the neighborhood's importance to American railway history, most of its rail infrastructure is gone. The Philadelphia and Reading right-of-way, cut down below street level, is abandoned to woods in one portion and serves as parking in another.

Several bus routes and a subway route connect the neighborhood to Center City and other city neighborhoods.

Broad Street subway
On the east side of the neighborhood, the subway connects the neighborhood to North Philadelphia (for example, Temple University), City Hall, Walnut Street, and the Sports Complex.  The Spring Garden station, refurbished in 2011, is located at Broad Street and Spring Garden Street.

Bus route 33
The 33 bus route runs south through the neighborhood on 19th Street. It runs along Market eastward to Penn's Landing.  The 33 returns, running west along John F. Kennedy Boulevard and north through the Spring Garden neighborhood on 20th Street.

During rush hour, the 33 south-bound runs every 5–8 minutes and takes about 10–12 minutes from 20th and Spring Garden to 16th and Market.  Likewise, during rush hour, the 33 runs north-bound every 5–8 minutes and takes about 12–14 minutes to get from 15th & John F. Kennedy Boulevard to 20th & Spring Garden.

Bus route 2
The 2 bus route runs south through the Spring Garden neighborhood on 17th Street.  It continues south on 17th through Center City to South Philadelphia at Oregon Station.  The 2 bus route returns north from South Philadelphia, through Center City, on 16th Street.

During rush hour, the 2 south bound runs every 10–13 minutes and takes 9–11 minutes to get from 17th and Spring Garden to 17th and Market.  Likewise, during rush hour, the 2 runs north-bound every 11–13 minutes and takes about 10–13 minutes to get from 16th and Market to 16th and Spring Garden.

Bus route 7
The 7 bus route runs south along 23rd Street from Brown Street to Spring Garden Street, where it turns southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue to 21st Street. From there, it heads south into Center City.  At Market Street, it heads west to 23rd Street and then goes into South Philadelphia along 23rd.

Bus route 48
The 48 bus route runs south along 23rd Street from Brown Street to Spring Garden Street, where it turns southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue to 21st Street.  From there, it heads south into Center City.  At Market Street, it heads east along Market to Front Street.  Heading out of Center City, the 48 runs west bound along Arch Street to 22nd Street, where it turns north. Northbound, the 48 travels through the neighborhood on 22nd, crossing Spring Garden Street and Fairmount Avenue.

During rush hour, the 48 south bound runs every 4–6 minutes and takes 9–11 minutes to get from 23rd and Spring Garden to 16th and Market.  Likewise, during rush hour, the 48 runs north-bound every 7–8 minutes and takes about 10–13 minutes to get from 22nd and Arch to 22nd and Spring Garden.

Bus route 32
The 32 bus route runs southeast along Pennsylvania Avenue, crossing Fairmount Avenue and Spring Garden Street.  At Hamilton Street, it heads east to 21st Street.  From there, it heads south into Center City.  At Market Street, it heads east along Market to Broad Street.  From there it heads south along Broad Street to Washington Street, where it turns around.  Heading north out of Center City, the 32 runs north bound along Broad Street, goes counter-clockwise around City Hall, and then heads east on John F. Kennedy Boulevard to 18th Street, where it turns north, returning to the Spring Garden neighborhood on its southern and western borders.

During rush hour, the 32 south bound runs every 10–11 minutes and takes 9–11 minutes to get from Pennsylvania Avenue and Spring Garden to 15th and Market.  Likewise, during rush hour, the 32 runs north-bound every 10–13 minutes and takes about 10–13 minutes to get from 15th and John F. Kennedy Boulevard to Pennsylvania Avenue and Spring Garden Street.

Bus route 43
The 43 bus route runs east and west along Spring Garden Street.  Eastbound, the bus takes Spring Garden to Front Street and Delaware Avenue (near the Festival Pier).  From there, it heads northbound to Fishtown and Port Richmond.  Westbound, the 43 runs along Spring Garden, crosses the Schulykill to Lancaster Avenue, then north on Lancaster Avenue to Belmont Avenue in Parkside.

Education

Public schools
Spring Garden is in the School District of Philadelphia.

Spring Garden is located in the Laura Wheeler Waring Elementary School catchment, although a significant portion of the neighborhood's elementary-school children who attend public schools attend schools outside the catchment such as Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School.  Spring Garden is the home of the Benjamin Franklin High School and Franklin Learning Center, formerly William Penn High School for Girls. Spring Garden is also home of one of the top-ranked public high schools in the city and state, the Julia R. Masterman School at 1699 Spring Garden Street.  Although students are, generally, automatically eligible to attend the neighborhood school, they may also attend other Philadelphia Schools (academic magnet schools, performing arts schools, and other out-of-catchment schools) through the school district's Voluntary Transfer Program.

Private schools
Spring Garden is the home of the J. W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School.  For boys, the Roman Catholic High School is just outside the neighborhood, on the east side of Broad Street.  Spring Garden is also the home of the St. Francis Xavier School, a Catholic lower- and middle-school.

Churches
Spring Garden is home to several churches, including St. Andrew's Church (the only Lithuanian-Catholic parish in the city) on 19th and Wallace, St. Francis Xavier Church, at 24th and Green Streets, Olivet Covenant Presbyterian Church, at 22nd and Mount Vernon Streets, Greater Canaan Church of God in Christ, at 21st and Spring Garden, United for Christ Ministries on 21st Street, and Enon Baptist Church at 19th and Green Streets.

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Spring Garden Civic Association
Historic Photos
2601 Parkway History

Neighborhoods in Philadelphia
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Irish-American neighborhoods
Houses in Philadelphia
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları (zkr. TCDD, doslova Železnice Turecké republiky) je státní společnost provozující železnice v Turecku. Založena byla v roce 1927. TCDD v roce 2008 provozovaly tratě v délce přes 10 991 kilometrů. Do železniční dopravy se značně investuje, což je znát hlavně při výstavbě vysokorychlostních tratí.

Společnost provozuje v Istanbulu železniční muzeum.

Vysokorychlostní tratě
Turecké státní dráhy začaly budovat vysokorychlostní železniční tratě v roce 2003. První část této sítě mezi Ankarou a Eskişehirem byla slavnostně otevřena 13. března 2009. Je součástí 533 km dlouhé vysokorychlostní železniční trati z Istanbulu do Ankary. Celá tato trať pak byla otevřena 25. července 2014. Zbývá ještě dokončit část z centra Istanbulu do čtvrti Pendik, odkud prozatím vlaky do Ankary vyjíždí. Dceřiná společnost Tureckých státních drah Yuksek Hızlı Tren je jediným provozovatelem vysokorychlostních vlaků v Turecku.

Výstavba tří samostatných vysokorychlostních tratí z Ankary do Istanbulu, do Konya a do Sivasu, stejně jako trať Ankara–Izmir, která se dostala do fáze počátku výstavby, je součástí strategických cílů Tureckého ministerstva dopravy. Turecko má plány vybudovat síť vysokorychlostních tratí na počátku 21. století se zaměřením na 1500 km síť vysokorychlostních tratí do roku 2013 a 10 000 km sítě do roku 2023.

Ve výstavbě je také Marmarský projekt, který se skládá ze železniční dopravní sítě v okolí Istanbulu a ve světě nejhlubšího ponořeného železničního tunelu pod Bosporskou úžinou. Marmarský tunel otevřený 29. října 2013 spojil železniční tratě na evropské a asijské části Istanbulu a Turecka. Osobní doprava začala částečně fungovat v 13,5 kilometrech z celkových 76,5 km. Dokončení zbytku bylo plánováno na rok 2015.

V současnosti je vysokorychlostní trať postavená například mezi Istanbulem a Ankarou.

Externí odkazy

Železniční doprava v Turecku
Železniční společnosti


text:
COQUITLAM, BC, June 25, 2018 – Coquitlam residents are invited to help the City shape the future of Robinson Memorial Park Cemetery.
Through July, the City will be conducting a survey on future service delivery at the Cemetery. Full details including the survey can be found at www.coquitlam.ca/cemeteryplan.
About the Cemetery Services Plan
The need to develop a Cemetery Services Plan was identified in the Parks, Recreation & Culture (PRC) Master Plan. With space for full burial plots expected to run out within three or four years, the new plan will help address the need while guiding the City's cemetery services for the next 20 to 30 years.
Specifically, the public engagement process is looking at three key areas:
Regionally, cemetery services are provided by municipalities, private operators, and not-for-profit cemeteries, which are often faith-based. Traditionally, full burial at Robinson Memorial Park Cemetery has only been offered to current and former Coquitlam residents, with other interment options such as cremation also available to non-residents. Additionally, the types of services being offered may need to change as new options become popular such as green burial.
Coquitlam has traditionally priced its offerings to cover the direct operating costs, as well as repayment of past debt from cemetery development. Additionally, the BC Cemetery Services Act says the City must collect a Perpetual Care Fund fee to provide for care of the site in perpetuity. Possible pricing models could see increased prices to allow for future cemetery development, while eliminating the need to take on debt.
With limited remaining interment inventory – especially for full burials – along with increasing demand for cemetery services, the City is considering a new concept plan for site development that aims to optimize the land available in the Cemetery while respecting the character and beauty of the current site.
About Robinson Memorial Park Cemetery
Robinson Memorial Park Cemetery is a 3.4 hectare (8.5 acre) site in Southwest Coquitlam owned and operated by the City. It has been in operation since 1935. The Cemetery serves current and former residents of Coquitlam and operates on a direct cost recovery basis offering a mixture of interment options for cremated remains and full burial.
For more information on the Cemetery, visit www.coquitlam.ca/cemetery.
Lanny Englund
Manager, Parks Planning & Forestry
⇐Previous Older Adults Can Get Active with Free Recreation Program


text:
3 Michigan nursing homes report more than 100 coronavirus cases. See newly released data
Elisha Anderson Christina Hall Kristi Tanner
New answers about which nursing homes have been most severely impacted by COVID-19 came Friday when Michigan officials released cumulative case data on facilities that house the state's most vulnerable population.
But the accuracy of some of the numbers has been called into question by previous Free Press reporting. After the state's release, some said they don't trust the counts.
The data released Friday shows nursing homes statewide have had about 5,000 coronavirus cases among residents with about 90% of the facilities reporting. Three homes in metro Detroit have had more than 100 cases and another five reported more than 80 cases, according to the state's data.
Friday was the first time since the start of the pandemic that the state has provided cumulative coronavirus cases broken down by nursing home. No death data was provided online Friday, but officials previously said more than 1,200 nursing homes residents have died.
According to the state's data, nursing homes reporting the highest total number of cases among residents include:
Westland Convalescent & Rehab Center (Westland, a Villa Center) in Westland with 127 cases.
Autumn Woods Residential Health in Warren with 111 cases.
Fairlane Senior Care and Rehab Center in Detroit with 101 cases.
The Free Press left messages Friday with the facilities that had the highest number of cumulative cases and did not hear back from two of them.
Westland, a Villa Center, had zero COVID-positive residents in-house as of Friday, according to a statement from Villa Healthcare. It said that 66 residents have recovered from COVID-19, and six residents have died.
Ambassador, a Villa Center in Detroit, didn't have any data listed on the state's website, indicating it hasn't reported. Detroit's website, though, shows the facility with 107 resident cases. Nursing home officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
The accuracy of some of the numbers posted on the state's website was in question Friday evening. The Free Press quickly uncovered discrepancies in some of the numbers posted and numbers previously reported by the newspaper.
For instance, on April 9, the Free Press reported 21 Rivergate Terrace residents had tested positive for COVID-19, citing information provided by the facility in Riverview. About two weeks ago, the Free Press reported 93 residents had tested positive in total at that facility.
However, the state's website showed Friday just 18 Rivergate Terrace residents had tested positive since the start of the outbreak.
"We will follow up with the facility to determine the accuracy of the data," state health department spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin said in an email when asked about the number.
The number of active cases at Rivergate Terrace, a Life Care Centers of America facility, has dropped in recent weeks and there are now six positive cases, said Timothy Killian, a public information liaison.
Heidi Sisler, 55, of Southgate said she doesn't believe the state released accurate numbers given what she's heard previously. Her mother-in-law, Lucille Kania, 88, is a resident at Rivergate Terrace and was diagnosed with the virus earlier this year, she said.
"I have zero confidence in Michigan's government over this COVID-19," Sisler said. "None."
The latest data provided by the state did not include the number of nursing home staff infected with the virus or how many residents live at each home.
There have been at least 1,216 coronavirus-related deaths of nursing home residents in Michigan — about 23% of all deaths in the state, according to preliminary data released by the state earlier this week. No facility information has been provided about where those deaths occurred and the number is expected to grow as more facilities report to the state.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive, said the state's data reporting systems for public health have not kept up with what is needed to fight the pandemic and give people information as quickly as officials should.
Officials still have work to do on death information associated with nursing homes before making it public, Khaldun said during a Friday afternoon news conference.
"What I don't want to do is put up data that's not accurate," Khaldun said, adding there is some conflicting information they need to sort through.
People, including those with loved ones in nursing homes, have sought comprehensive statewide information on COVID-19 in the facilities for months. Michigan confirmed its first coronavirus case on March 10 — more than 11 weeks ago.
Whitmer: Nursing homes must have dedicated units before coronavirus patients return
More:State releases nursing home COVID-19 death count; numbers expected to grow
More:When it comes to nursing home deaths, state data tells only part of the story
Earlier this week during a state Senate oversight committee hearing, a lawmaker asked why other states have been able to release detailed nursing home data before Michigan.
Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon said staff is thinly stretched and the state has an outdated data reporting system, contributing to the state's slow response providing the information.
"My suspicion is that there are states that have been able to automate reporting through their own disease surveillance systems," Gordon said during the hearing. "That is just not something that we were in position to do."
What we knew
Previous data released by the state gave one-day snapshots at nursing homes. It provided the current number of coronavirus cases among residents at nursing facilities but lacked the cumulative number of residents at each facility who contracted the virus, how many residents have recovered and the number of those who have died.
Because of the lack of statewide data, including where deaths have occurred, the true toll of the virus on nursing home residents still remains unknown.
Some local health departments have provided more specific numbers. Detroit began releasing detailed data on the city's 26 nursing homes more than a month ago after conducting extensive testing at all of the facilities.
Many other states have provided cumulative case and death data associated with nursing homes.
"We applaud the Governor's decision to release cumulative data on COVID cases in nursing homes," said Andrea Acevedo, president of SEIU Healthcare Michigan. "Up until this point, it has been difficult to draw conclusions based on information publicly available. Comparing case totals with testimony from our workers in homes helps us make decisions and hold employers accountable for issues such as available (personal protective equipment), hazard pay, and infection control in nursing homes."
Discharged
Some Republican and Democratic legislators in Michigan have criticized the decision to house COVID-19 positive residents in the same nursing homes as noninfected people, even if they are separated. The move creates an unsafe situation for seniors, they argued.
Some of the concerns expressed include limited staff at nursing homes, which can lead to employees working with infected and noninfected residents, poor infection control histories at some facilities and limited personal protective equipment.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was questioned about why there hasn't been a ban on COVID-19 patients in nursing homes Thursday and said officials wanted to make sure patients discharged from hospitals had a place to go.
"We've had to strike a balance here," Whitmer said, adding "as we continue to learn, we continue to improve."
Her latest executive order on long-term care facilities mandates that nursing homes make all reasonable efforts to create units dedicated to residents with the coronavirus and provide appropriate personal protective equipment to staff working in the units.
Khaldun said Thursday that steps have been taken to protect residents and there's more to come.
"We still have to do more work to get this right, to make sure that our nursing home residents have some place safe to go," she said. "And we continue to work on that."
Do you work in a nursing home or senior center affected by the coronavirus? Have you or your family personally been affected? We'd like to talk to you. Please contact Chris Hall at chall@freepress.com or send encrypted email to chall99@protonmail.com.
Contact Elisha Anderson: eanderson@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @elishaanderson
Contact Kristi Tanner: ktanner@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @MIdatalove


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