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NRC's animal care committees terms of reference
ACC responsibility
Terms of reference for NRC's Animal Care Committees
The National Research Council's (NRC) Animal Care Committees (ACC) oversee the ethical treatment of experimental animals used in research at the NRC. Each ACC strives to meet or exceed the expectations of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC).
The CCAC requires that institutions conducting animal based research, teaching or testing establish an animal care committee (ACC), and that it be functionally active. To meet these expectations and the NRC's own ethical standards, the NRC's ACCs review and consider for approval the ethical acceptability of animal use protocols. The NRC's ACC's operations are governed by the CCAC's "Terms of reference for animal care committees" but are not limited to them.
These terms of reference have been tailored to reflect and refer to the NRC's animal care and use programs, its policies, practices and procedures.
The NRC's ACCs report directly to the senior administrator responsible for animal care and use for the institution. At the NRC, this would be the director general (DG) of the respective research centre (RC) or the vice-president (VP) of the division. The CCAC policy statement on senior administrators of animal care and use programs (PDF, 450.98 KB) (2008) will be consulted for details on the roles and responsibilities of the institution and its senior administrators.
The NRC's ACCs support the following requirements:
NRC employees who are considering research involving animal subjects are encouraged to contact their ACC at the earliest stage of protocol design. Research using animals must be approved in writing by the appropriate NRC ACC before any animals can be ordered or work can begin.
Animal research that is to take place off-site but involve NRC researchers still requires approval from an NRC ACC.
Contract/service animal research that is performed in NRC animal facilities, but does not involve NRC researchers, still requires approval from an NRC ACC.
Animal research that receives NRC financial assistance, as through the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), can choose to rely on the review of a CCAC-certified ACC functioning at the institution where the work is to be performed.
Animal research that is to take place off-site using NRC equipment but that does not involve NRC researchers does not require approval from an NRC ACC. In this situation, the research centre or program that owns the equipment would need to receive written assurance, via the relevant animal care and use program, that those using the equipment have CCAC certification.
In the event that an animal facility is operated on leased NRC property, the research centre or program's animal care and use program would need to receive written assurance that the animal users have CCAC certification. Only animal work involving NRC personnel would be reviewed by an NRC ACC, which would include representation from the organization operating the animal facility.
Research centres or programs that do not have an existing ACC may on occasion require the use of animals in their research. In such situations, the most appropriate NRC ACC will be asked, usually via the NRC senior veterinarian, to assist their colleagues by reviewing their applications.
Members, including chairs, are appointed to the ACCs by the relevant senior administrator, in consultation with their ACC Chair and the NRC Senior Ethics Officer when appropriate. Prospective members will normally provide their resume to the ACC who, in turn, will forward this to the senior administrator for their consideration.
ACC members will normally be appointed for terms of no less than 2 years and no more than 4 years (renewable once only up to a maximum of 8 consecutive years). This maximum should not be exceeded, except in the case of very small research centres (i.e. those that have 3 or fewer animal users). This does not apply to ACC members who must be part of the ACC because of their role within the institution (ex-officio members): the ACC Coordinator, the veterinarian(s) and the animal facility manager/supervisor.
The composition of the committees will vary and will be determined by the needs of each research centre or program but should include:
NRC researchers or Industrial Technology Advisors (ITA) experienced in animal care and use, who may or may not be actively using animals during their term on the ACC. There should be a minimum of 2 members and representation of all the major animal-using divisions of the research centre, or program or, as in the case of NRC IRAP, the ACC should have appropriate regional representation;
a veterinarian experienced in experimental animal care and use, who is being provided with continuing education/training opportunities in experimental animal care and use (ex-officio, voting member);
the NRC Senior Veterinarian to act as an observer and resource to the ACC and to support the Secretary General in corporate accountability on animal care (ex-officio, non-voting member unless also serving as the ACC veterinarian as described above). This member will participate, subject to operational requirements, via teleconference or videoconference;
an employee whose normal activities have not, at any point in their career, depended on or been involved with animal use for research, teaching or testing;
at least 1 person representing community interests and concerns, and who has no affiliation with the institution, and who has never been involved in animal use for research, teaching or testing (for larger committees, the appointment of 2 or more community representatives is generally more appropriate);
manager /supervisor of the research centre or program's animal research facility (ex-officio, voting member);
a technician actively involved in animal care and/or use within the research centre or program. In a small facility the technical staff position may be filled by the same person charged with managing/supervising the facility; and
the ACC coordinator, the institutional employee who provides support to the ACC (ex officio, non-voting member).
The senior administrator to whom the committee reports must not be a member of the ACC, but there can be a representative of the senior administration on the committee.
Normally, ACCs benefit from having occupational health and safety and biosafety representatives. As NRC IRAP does not house animals, this may not be applicable for this program. ACCs can also benefit from the presence of biostatisticians, ethicists and those responsible for communications
The chair should not be directly involved in the management of the research centre or program animal facility, nor be the veterinarian, nor be involved in the preparation of a significant number of the protocols to be reviewed by the committee, in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Provision should be made to invite other persons to participate on the ACC as the need arises.
A reasonable quorum, such as a majority of the members, will be established for ACC meetings, and the quorum must include community and veterinary representation. Normally, the chair will be present at all meetings.
Meetings should be scheduled at times that are convenient for all members, including community representatives. Committee members shall not participate in the review of their own protocols or annual reviews.
The responsible senior administrators are ultimately responsible for ensuring that high ethical standards are in place in their animal care and use programs.
The ACC will have the authority, on behalf of the responsible senior administrator, to:
require that amendments to approved protocols be submitted to the ACC and be approved before being implemented;
stop any procedure if it considers that unnecessary distress or pain is being experienced by an animal;
stop immediately any use of animals that deviates from the approved use, any non-approved procedure, or any procedure causing unforeseen pain or distress to animals;
require that an animal be euthanized if pain or distress caused to the animal cannot be alleviated.
The chair of the ACC and the veterinarian(s) will have access at all times to all areas where animals are or may be held or used.
Each research centre or program will establish procedures for post-approval monitoring of animal use protocols and will define the roles and responsibilities of the members of the animal care and use program in the monitoring process. The program will be formally captured in their policies and procedures manual.
Each research centre or program will establish procedures relating to the reporting of "Major Animal Welfare Incidents" (PDF, 278.34 KB) within 10 days as required by the 2020 CCAC policy (PDF, 888.42 KB) on this subject. The exact program will be formally captured in their policies and procedures manual.
The ACC is the body responsible for determining and working to correct breaches of compliance with approved animal use protocols and standard operating procedures. Breaches of compliance that cannot be corrected by the ACC working with the concerned animal users and veterinary/animal care staff must be referred to the responsible senior administrator, who must inform all members of the animal care and use program about sanctions that will be taken by the administration in the event of serious breaches of compliance.
The ACC delegates to their veterinarian(s) the authority to treat, remove from a study or euthanize, if necessary, an animal according to the veterinarian's professional judgment. The veterinarian will attempt to contact the animal user whose animal is in poor condition before beginning any treatment that has not previously been agreed upon and will also attempt to contact the ACC Chair. But the veterinarian will have the authority to proceed with any necessary emergency measures, whether or not the animal user and ACC Chair are available. A written report should be sent by the veterinarian to the animal user and to the ACC following any such event.
The veterinarian and ACC may also choose to delegate certain responsibilities to 1 or more senior animal care staff member(s).
It is the responsibility of each NRC ACC to:
ensure that no research or testing project or teaching program (including field studies) involving animals be commenced without prior ACC approval of a written animal use protocol; further to this, that no animals be acquired or used before such approval;
ensure that no animals be held for public display or breeding purposes, or for eventual use in research, teaching or testing projects, without prior ACC approval of a written animal use protocol, except where current CCAC guidelines provide for exemptions. The ACC should also be aware of other animal-based activities, such as commercial or recreational activities, within the NRC's research centres or program, and work with the persons responsible for these activities to ensure that animal care and use is undertaken according to appropriate procedures;
require all animal users to complete either an approved NRC animal use protocol form, which contains the information currently required by the CCAC, or a comparable form that has the approval of the home ACC;
ensure that, for research projects, a peer review of scientific merit is carried out. If the review is not carried out by an external, peer review agency, the ACC will require that it be obtained according to the CCAC's policy statement for senior administrators responsible for animal care and use programs. The institution will work with the NRC ACC to ensure that an appropriate mechanism, independent of the ACC, for the peer review of scientific merit is in place. For protocols that fall under CCAC's Level E category of invasiveness procedures, at least 1 of the scientific reviewers must be external to the NRC;
ensure that, for projects involving teaching and training, a pedagogical merit review is carried out. The research centre will work with the ACC to implement an independent process for this work. The details of which will be found in the respective policies and procedures manual;
review and assess all animal use protocols, with particular emphasis on the CCAC's Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals the Ethics of Animal Investigation policy statement (PDF, 54.54 KB) and the guidelines on animal use protocol review as well as on all other CCAC guidelines and policy statements and, where necessary, require further supportive information from the investigator/teacher or meet with the investigator to ensure that all members of the committee understand the procedures to be used on the animal;
ensure that all procedures comply with CCAC guidelines, and, if at variance with those guidelines, require justification for the variance on scientific grounds;
discuss protocols and make decisions on them during full committee discussions, rather than through individual reviews, and will attempt to reach decisions by consensus;
in the absence of consensus, a majority rule will be taken and the minority opinion(s) noted in the ACC meeting minutes;
an ACC may delegate the responsibility of interim approvals to a protocol review subcommittee, which must include at least 1 scientific member, 1 veterinarian and 1 community representative, 1 of which should preferably be the Chair of the ACC. However, such interim approvals must be subject to discussion and final approval at a full meeting of the committee. Interim approvals will normally be used infrequently, and the interim review process, including exchanges between the ACC and protocol authors, will be documented and will then be subject to discussion and final approval at a full meeting of the committee;
define its protocol review process, with or without protocol review subcommittee(s), in its research centre or program-specific policy and procedures manual. This process will include, or refer to, clear instructions to protocol authors, to ensure that all animal users understand how the ACC works, when it meets, how to fill out and submit a protocol form, and what to expect after submission of the form;
ensure that animal users update their protocols with any modifications they intend to make, and approve any modifications to a protocol before they are implemented;
approve minor modifications, as defined by the ACC in their policies and procedures, at a minimum, by the chair of the ACC or a delegate;
approve major modifications, as defined by the ACC in their policies and procedures, through the entire committee;
for any major substantial changes to a protocol, require that a new one be submitted. ACCs will define, in writing, their own criteria as to what constitutes a change necessitating a new protocol submission;
ensure that animal users report any unanticipated problems or complications, as well as on the steps they have taken to address the problem(s), to the ACC;
review all protocols annually, i.e., within a year of approving the project, and approve any modifications to a protocol before they are implemented; annual renewals will be performed by ACC members (that at minimum will include a scientist, a veterinarian and a community representative) and decisions will be brought to the attention of the full ACC and recorded. The ACC may choose to use a shorter protocol renewal form, but no matter what form is used, all protocol renewals must emphasize:
the number of animals used in the preceding year;
the number of animals needed for the year to come, with a justification;
a brief progress report, describing any complications encountered relative to animal use (unpredicted outcomes, and any animal pain, distress or mortality), any amendments to the original protocol, and any progress made with respect to the Three Rs of animal use (replacement, reduction and refinement);
a brief report on the adequacy of the endpoints for the protocol, and on any complications encountered or refinements made relative to protecting animals from pain, distress or mortality;
any other changes from the original protocol.
require the submission of a new protocol after a maximum of three consecutive renewals;
document all ACC discussions and decisions in the committee meeting minutes and on attachments to the protocol forms;
ensure that all animal users have the opportunity to become familiar with the CCAC's Guide and Ethics statement and all other CCAC guidelines and policy statements, federal, provincial or municipal statutes that may apply, as well as the RC or program requirements;
ensure that all NRC staff involved in the animal research have completed the necessary training, as detailed in the CCAC guideline on "Training personnel working with animals in science (2015)." Ensure that animal users update their protocols with any modifications they intend to make and have them approved;
ensure appropriate care of animals in all stages of their life and in all experimental situations. Veterinary care must be available. Formal arrangements will be made to obtain the services of a veterinarian, at least on a consultative basis, if they are not readily available within the institution. These formal arrangements must be based on the elements contained in the CALAM/ACMAL Standards of Veterinary Care of the Canadian Association for Laboratory Animal Medicine (2020), which define the roles and responsibilities of veterinarians involved in scientific animal care and use programs. The NRC Senior Veterinarian is also available for guidance but, if offsite, does not replace the requirement for local veterinary services;
establish procedures, commensurate with current veterinary standards, to ensure that:
unnecessary pain or distress is avoided;
anesthesia and analgesia are properly and effectively used; the only exception to this may be when agents must be withheld as a scientifically-justified requirement of the study, and that this has been approved by the ACC. Painful studies requiring exemption from the use of either anesthetics or analgesia must be subject to particular scrutiny, not only prior to approval, but also during the experiment;
appropriate post-operative care is provided;
due consideration is given to animal welfare, including environmental enrichment.
ensure that policies to provide for a system of animal care that will meet the needs of the institution are established and implemented, and include:
the requirement that all animal care and animal experimentation are conducted according to CCAC guidelines and policies, and to any federal, provincial, municipal and institutional regulations that may be in effect;
ensuring adequate animal care and management of the animal facilities, in particular by verifying that there is a person clearly designated to be in charge of animal care and management of the animal facilities, who should be a member of the ACC (see Membership above), and who should keep the other ACC members updated on the activities within the animal facilities. Special arrangements may be made for IRAP-supported research where it may be unnecessary for the person in charge of animal care and management to serve on the ACC;
the training and qualifications of animal users and animal care personnel; animal users should receive appropriate training according to the CCAC guidelines on training personnel working with animals in science (2015) (PDF, 564.9 KB), either within the institution or through the programs of other institutions;
an occupational health and safety program for those involved in animal care and use, in collaboration with the research centre or program's authorities on occupational health and safety, that will appropriately protect all those who may be affected by animal-based work, according to the Canadian Biosafety Standards, 2nd Ed;
standards of husbandry, facilities and equipment;
standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all activities and procedures that involve animals, including animal care and facility management SOPs (typically produced by the veterinary and animal care staff), and animal use SOPs (typically produced by animal users, in collaboration with veterinary/animal care staff as needed); the ACC should receive all SOPs and ensure that all necessary SOPs are produced and regularly reviewed; and
procedures for euthanasia.
encourage the use of pilot studies with few animals when new approaches, methods or products are being tried, before approving new, large scale protocols. However, pilot projects will still need to undergo ACC review. A description of what constitutes a pilot study can be included in the research centre or program's policy and procedure manual;
in the case of projects involving proprietary or patentable research or testing insist on close monitoring of animals in order to respect the elements outlined;
for level E category of invasiveness protocols as well as those thought to have a potentially high level of contention, such as the use of animals not typically used in NRC's laboratories, the NRC Senior Veterinarian will inform the NRC Senior Ethics Officer. From an issue and reputation management perspective, the Director General of the Communications Branch will also be advised;
principal investigators seeking to appeal an ACC decision should bring this to the attention, in writing, to the responsible NRC senior administrator who will in turn strike an appropriate committee to review the ACC decision and the principal investigator's concerns. Recommendations will be made to the senior administrator who will convey these recommendations to the ACC and ask that they review their decision.
Animal care committees will meet a minimum of twice per year or as often as necessary to fulfill their terms of reference and be satisfied that all animal use within their jurisdiction is in compliance with institutional, municipal, federal and provincial regulations, and CCAC guidelines.
Minutes detailing ACC discussions, decisions and modifications to protocols will be produced for each meeting, and must be forwarded to the senior administrator responsible for animal care and use.
The ACC will visit the animal care facilities and areas in which animals are used, in order to better understand the work being conducted within the institution, to meet with those working in the animal facilities and animal use areas and discuss their needs, to monitor animal-based work according to approved protocols and standard operating procedures, to assess any weaknesses in the facilities for example, ageing facilities, overcrowding, insufficient staffing and any other concerns and to forward any recommendations or commendations to the person(s) responsible for the facilities and for animal use.
Visits of the animal facilities will be conducted at least once a year, and will be documented through the ACC minutes or written reports. Those responsible for the animal facilities will respond to any ACC recommendations in writing, and site visit reports should always be followed on jointly by the senior administrator and the ACC.
Each member of the ACC should participate in the annual facility visit(s).
More frequent ACC site visits will be made as necessary to follow up on any protocols that have raised significant concern during the protocol review process, or where problems have been encountered with a protocol being carried out in practice or with other aspects of animal facility operations; these visits will be carried out by the Chair of the ACC or delegate, accompanied or not by other members or animal care staff.
In situations where the animal work is performed off-site, including NRC IRAP-supported projects, alternate arrangements will be made by the ACC to inspect the premises to ensure they conform to the NRC's and/or industry standards.
The Animal Care Committee:
will regularly review (at least every 3 years):
its Policies and Procedures Manual in order to reflect the changing needs within the institution, the scientific community, the animal welfare community and society as a whole, and expand its Manual to meet the requirements of its research centre or program;
the security of the animals and research facilities;
standard operating procedures and the research centre's or program's animal care and use policies and make these available to those involved in the animal research;
policies and procedures for monitoring animal care and experimental procedures within the institution, including the identification of the persons responsible for monitoring animal health and welfare, and the procedures carried out by the ACC to conduct monitoring.
will maintain liaison with the CCAC Secretariat, and inform the Secretariat of any changes to their program: to the senior administrator responsible for animal care and use, the chair of the ACC, or the veterinary or senior animal care personnel;
will submit complete and accurate animal use information in the CCAC Animal Use Data Form (AUDF) format for all protocols annually (animal use information for each calendar year must be submitted by March 31 of the following year) and also in pre-assessment documentation;
will ensure that a crisis management program is developed for the animal facilities and for the animal care and use program, in conjunction with any general research centre or program crisis management plan(s). This program will detail plans in the event of power outages (short and prolonged), work stoppages, fires, natural disasters, large chemical spills and other similar crises, and must include a communications plan for addressing public and media inquiries on issues related to animal use;
should, from time to time, sponsor seminars or workshops on the use of animals in science and the ethics of animal experimentation, and encourage as many animal users, animal caregivers, students, ACC members and other interested parties to attend as possible;
will seek to raise awareness about animal research within the organization in order to demonstrate the organization's efforts in promoting animal welfare and to allay concerns regarding animal experimentation;
will be open to developing and maintaining communication with animal welfare organizations;
will be prepared to cope with concerns that may develop from time to time.
Shannon Quinn,
NRC Secretary General


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News / Press Releases / New Crestron DigitalMedia™ I/O Blades Support Dante™ Audio Networking
New Crestron DigitalMedia™ I/O Blades Support Dante™ Audio Networking
Two industry standards join together to enable seamless, fully digital integration and interoperability
Rockleigh, NJ – August 17, 2016 – Crestron announced today that DigitalMedia™ now supports the Dante™ audio networking protocol with its new input and output blades for 64X64 and 128X128 DM® matrix switchers. Now shipping, the 4K HDMI® & Dante Input Blade for DM Switchers
(DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT) provides eight HDMI inputs, while the 4K HDMI & Dante Output Blade for DM Switchers (DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT) provides eight HDMI outputs with built-in 4K scaling. CEC embedded device control is possible with the addition of a control system.
Two industry standards join together
Dante is the preferred industry networking protocol for transmitting HD audio over Ethernet, adopted by more pro audio AV manufacturers than any other networking technology. Now, with these two new blades, seamless, fully digital integration and interoperability with DM, the industry standard for managing and distributing AV and control signals, is possible.
A common application is for use with video conference systems. Send content from a source, a laptop for example, and connect it to the HDMI port of the DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT; internal processing extracts the HD audio and outputs as Dante over Ethernet through the LAN port on the DM CPU blade. The audio is then sent to a local DSP (new Avia™ DSPs with Dante support from Crestron coming soon) in a conference room, which mixes the program audio with the microphones. The mixed audio is then sent out to a codec. The opposite setup, while not as common, is easy too. Dante audio goes into the LAN port on the DM CPU blade, is internally processed, and then sent out as HDMI to a local display.
Analog audio embedding and de-embedding
Analog audio inputs and outputs are enabled by connecting the optional Analog Audio Breakout Box (AUD-BOB-1602) to the Dante blades in the DM switcher. When the Analog Audio Breakout Box is connected to the DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT Dante input blade, the balanced analog audio input is then embedded with the digital video signal. Similarly, when the breakout box is connected to the DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT Dante output blade, the balanced analog audio output is extracted and fed into a sound system.
Seamless Dante audio support and interoperability with DM is now possible. Visit the DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT and DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT product pages for more information including specifications, photos, pricing, and accessories.
At Crestron we build the technology that integrates technology. Our automation and control solutions for homes and buildings let people control entire environments with the push of a button, integrating systems such as AV, lighting, shading, security, BMS and HVAC to provide greater comfort, convenience and security. All of our products are designed and built to work together as a complete system, enabling you to monitor, manage and control everything from one platform.
Our products are backed by more than 90 fully-staffed offices that provide 24 x 7 x 365 sales, technical, and training support across the globe. In addition to its World Headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey, Crestron has sales and support offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Discover Crestron by visiting www.crestron.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Grief Recovery
Meet with a Professional
Offering the Best in Funeral Service
Louis W. Lacy
Amherst Chapel
1600 Amherst Street
Monday 1/2, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
205 West Picadilly Street
Tuesday 1/3, 11:00 am
Memorial contributions may be made to
First Baptist Church of Winchester
205 W. Piccadilly St.
The Alzheimer's Association – National Capital Chapter
8180 Greensboro Dr.
Louis Wimbish Lacy of Winchester, VA and Hilton Head Island, SC entered eternal life on December 25, 2022. He was born in South Boston, VA on November 21, 1938 of the late Evan Hardy Lacy and Camilla Wimbish Lacy. He is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of sixty years, Joyce Wilborn Lacy, along with two daughters, Camilla Lacy McCleskey and husband Derek of Fairfax, VA, Lynne Lacy Esslinger and husband Joel of Winchester, VA and one son, Louis Wimbish Lacy, Jr. and wife Jordan of Winchester, VA. He is also survived by nine grandchildren, Lacy, Caroline and Kyle McCleskey, Abbey, Evie and Lyddie Esslinger and Campbell Grace Lacy, Louis W. Lacy, III and Carson Joseph Lacy.
He was preceded in death by brother, Evan H. (Gus) Lacy, Jr.
Lou was an active member of First Baptist Church of Winchester, where he had served as Trustee, Chairman of the Board of Deacons and Chairman of the Stewardship Committee. In earlier years he had served University Baptist Church of Baltimore, MD as a Trustee, Treasurer and Sunday school teacher. He was an alumnus and avid sports supporter of The University of Virginia where he had received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Darden School of UVA and was a member of the university's Lawn Society of benefactors.
Lou was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam Era serving as a Lieutenant from 1963 to 1965 after which he spent his entire working career as a commercial banker. His career spanned twenty-one years of service in Baltimore and twelve years in Winchester where he was Regional President of the former Jefferson National Bank. From the beginning of his retirement in 1998 and continuing until 2022, he and Joyce divided their time each month between their permanent home in Winchester and their home in his beloved Hilton Head Island, SC.
An avid golfer from age ten, Lou played college golf for four years and won the club championship of Halifax Country Club in 1959. He was proud to have achieved three holes in one during his playing days. Civic affiliations during his years in Winchester included service on the Boards of Directors of United Way, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Youth Development Center, Winchester Industrial Development Authority and a Founding Director of First Night Winchester. He was a member of Winchester Country Club, Sea Pines Country Club and the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.
A funeral service will be on January 3, 2023 at 11:00 am at First Baptist Church in Winchester with Pastors Kristin Whitesides and George Fletcher officiating and a family visitation will be held on January 2, 2023 from 5:00-7:00 pm at Omps Funeral Home in Winchester.
Memorial gifts may be made to First Baptist Church of Winchester, 205 W. Piccadilly St., Winchester, VA 22601 or The Alzheimer's Association – National Capital Chapter, 8180 Greensboro Dr., McLean, VA 22102.
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Employment Systems - Systems Unlimited, Inc.
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Elkader, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have charged a driver who they say caused the deaths of two 16-year-olds when his car collided with a pickup truck.
The Iowa State Patrol said in a news release Tuesday that 20-year-old Kory Doeppke, of Elkader, was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. Court records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.
Clayton County Sheriff Michael Tschirgi has said Doeppke was headed west when he failed to halt at a stop sign near Edgewood on Feb. 16 and collided with the northbound pickup. The two fatally injured boys were in the back seat of Doeppke's car. The patrol identified them as Brady Edwards and Izaiah Drinkwater.
The pickup driver wasn't injured.


Earlier this year Adisseo and Novozymes launched their newly developed probiotic for poultry, Alterion, on the U.S. market as well as in a number of countries in the Middle East and South East Asia. In recent months Adisseo, in partnership with Novozymes, has stepped up its focus on launching Alterion globally.
Feedinfo News Service touched base with Dr. Stefan Jakob – Innovation Project Director at Adisseo – and Camilla Marie Bünner Kruse – Senior Partner and Marketing Manager – Animal Health & Nutrition Novozymes -to find out how the market is responding to the product as its worldwide roll-out continues.


Despite the hindrance, the president must be lauded as he joked about the incident and said, "You don't see that every day... they're going to send it to CNN, pure protein!"
Leaders and politicians are often interrupted during a press conference or live interview by journalists. However, President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera had an unusual guest hindering his speech — a wasp! Yes, during a live press briefing a wasp flew at the president and he accidentally swallowed the insect. Smiling all for the camera, he kept answering and then took a sip of water to gulp it down. Ewww!
But the president must be commended for his composure and passing the incident with his humour. "I ate it, I ate the wasp!" Solís exclaimed, before bursting out laughing along with media personnel. "You don't see that every day… they're going to send it to CNN, pure protein!" the president laughed as he was handed a bottle of water by a member of his team.
Well, though it happened in a fraction of a second, people and cameramen did not miss the wasp going down the president's throat. Footage of his briefing at the inauguration of an asphalt plant in Paso Real, Puntarenas is now going viral not for his speech for a completely different reason.


I'm writing this post because I've been getting a lot of questions about my hair. What products I use? How do I get it to curl? Am I happy I went natural? All very good questions but let me start from the beginning.
I got my first perm at the age of 8. I have very thick hair and my Mom did what many other Moms dealing with a head full of thick natural hair did and actually still do. She permed it to make it more manageable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I loved my permed hair. I think I wore it well. But a couple of years ago I started on my fitness journey. I went from not working out to intensely working out 6-7 days a week. And let me tell you, when you're always in the gym and you have a tendency to sweat in your hair, it doesn't really mix well with permed hair.
I was in the gym 6-7 days a week and sweating my hair out. My hair started to become very brittle. It even started to break in the center. I started to get worried and I really wasn't sure what I should do. I didn't want to stop working out . That wasn't even an option, but I had no idea how I was going to get my hair back to a healthy state.
Around this time my best friend did the big chop. I couldn't believe it. She just cut all her hair off. She suggested I do the same. At first I really couldn't see myself just chopping all of my hair off. I've gone short before but never mini-afro short. I just couldn't see myself doing that.
So I decided to go the transitioning route. This basically meant I would stop perming my hair. Trust me, it was very difficult. After about 4 months managing the two textures became extremely difficult. I wore twist-outs and buns most of the time. I did this for almost a year. After about 11 months of not perming my hair I just couldn't deal with the two different textures anymore. One Friday night I just cut it. Yes, I just went into the bathroom and cut all the permed ends off leaving myself with just 4 inches of new growth (all natural hair).
I think the hardest part after doing that big chop was going back to work on that Monday. I was very self-conscious about how professional others would consider me. What were my co-workers going to say? I always pride myself on being very well put together. How was I going to do that with an afro? It was the words of my Baby Girl and the ear of my BFF that stuck with me through the first couple of weeks. They were a pivotal part of my acceptance of my natural hair. They reminded me that this is how God made me and I just needed to embrace that. Once I was able to accept that, it made focusing on finding the right products a lot easier. It also didn't hurt that I got so many compliments from family and friends. The acceptance was warming and overall I couldn't be happier with my decision to return to my natural hair.
This is where it all started and I never looked back after that. Stay tuned for my favorite hair products.


Lopatkina performs "Carmen" debut with Bolshoi, June 17.
This was posted on the Bolshoi's web site in the Russian version.
Lopatkina says she was invited by Ratmansky to dance the role and, when the interviewer commented that this surprised many fans and critics because the image/role of Carmen is so different from the roles she usually dances.
To that Lopatkina replied, "Dancers use their own body's plasticity in order to create an image, a character. If you value this side of the professiona nd not just technique, then it's interesting to try something new. Actors need variation. Probably some sort of opinion has formed about me regarding a particular style that viewers are used to seeing me represent. But (I'm attracted by) new roles and new movements. It's impossible to dance only museum pieces."
Translation my own. But the last sentence can only be interpreted in that way, those are her exact words.


text:
In Nepal, Life and Death Meet in a World Heritage Site
Pashupatinath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site adjacent to Kathmandu's airport. It is also the city's best known cremation site. (copyright Donatella Lorch)
The Pashupati temple complex with the burning cremation areas on the left
Pilots do visual landings into Kathmandu, first skimming then dipping down sharply over the rims of the nearby hills that encircle the valley and stopping at the end of a runway that abuts the city's downtown. There is no long highway into town, no time for visitors to slowly absorb the capital city's chaotic traffic, smells, dust, colors or history. Everything is there —- immediately.
Just drive through Tribhuvan International Airport's huge orange and gold gateway, make a right, pass the golf course and you arrive, just a few hundred meters from the runway, at Pashupatinath, one of Kathmandu's seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, and one the world's holiest Shiva Shrines. It doesn't look very sacred from the outside especially if you enter through the gauntlet of stalls selling religious knick knacks, but amid the huge bewildering pantheon of gods in Nepal, here you have reached the apex of Hindu spiritual power.
The site, on the banks of the Bagmati River, the country's holiest river that feeds into the Ganges, is in a big park and consists of a collection of temples, shrines and cisterns that were first built in the 4thc AD though the main pagoda styled temple was also rebuilt in the 17thc. These days, the Bagmati's other claim to fame is its overwhelming filth. The river is dead, a thick, slimy grey liquid, lined by garbage and coating nearby neighborhoods with its choking stench. Added into the complex are a hospice and a temple doubling as an old age home founded by Mother Teresa where homeless elderly live amid devotees ringing sacred bells and making food offerings at the myriad mini shrines.
At Mother Teresa's hospice, the elderly live in a working shrine. (copyright Donatella Lorch)
Here Shiva is the Lord of the Beasts not the fearful and destructive Bhairab and devotees flock to worship him from all over the subcontinent and the world. Non-Hindus are not allowed in certain parts of the temple. I brought my four kids here so they could see, touch, smell and experience Hinduism and its rituals for the first time. We share the shrine's stone paths with devotees, tourists, wandering cows, scrawny stray dogs, beggars and what our guide calls "the Hollywood Sadhus," the ash coated and orange-dressed bearded holy men who demand money for pictures.
Playing tourist with the Hollywood Saddhus. (copyright Donatella Lorch)
Pashupatinath is also a favored location for Hindu cremations. It is the open presence of death that I think shocks western visitors the most. As the smoke from the pyres wafts over and around us, Richard, our Christian guide from India, brings us to a terrace overlooking two on-going cremations to describe the technicalities and the ritual. Bodies are cremated rapidly after death, preferably the same day. The body is first taken to the edge of the Bagmati and the feet dipped in the water, symbolically the last effort to see if they are still alive. It is then carried to the ghat and placed in a pyre of wood to burn between three and four hours. Women are fattier and take longer to cremate. The umbilical cord, which apparently does not incinerate, is buried in the soil of the shallow Bagmati, as part of the cycle of rebirth. In a complex ritual, the relatives receive the ashes and then go to the other shore of the Bagmati for puja (worship) before giving the ashes to the river. The northern most cremation area is reserved for the royal family. Here in 2001, the king and queen and eight members of the royal family, who had all been gunned down by the crown prince, were simultaneously cremated.
the cremation site
My eight year old is okay with all this. He has been living here for six months and sees cremations in the neighborhood temples where we live. The word "Puja" is an integral part of his vocabulary. He knows that pious Hindu adult sons must wear only white (shoes too) for a year when their father dies and when we drive through town, he regularly points out the men in white. He knows that for the first 13 days after a father's death, a truly pious adult son lives alone and can only shower outdoors. He cannot touch anybody, eating only once a day boiled rice with ghee, lemon and fruit. He cannot sleep with his wife.
My teenage boys, at school in North America and both argumentative philosophers, are keen to discuss the meaning of life. For my 21-year-old daughter, I think listening to the crackle of the pyre and watching the stoker push back embers around a protruding foot, is part surreal and part overwhelming. The public and physically intimate ritual of handling a dead person does not exist for us. When a relative died recently, we all said our goodbyes as she lay in a hospital bed. A few days later, we received the ashes. The ritual, if there was one, was highly impersonal. I wonder what the elderly who live in the next-door hospice think when the distinct smell of burning human flesh wafts into their abode.
Waking Lord Shiva by ringing the bell in Mother Teresa's hospice (copyright Donatella Lorch)
But Pashupatinath is not only about the dead. It is about a vast number of festivals, daily pujas and ceremonies. One of the biggest yearly festivals, the Maha Shivaratri (Great Shiva Night), falls on February 28th 2014. Thousands of Sadhus come from all over Nepal, India and the rest of the world for a week of prayer, smoking marihuana and bathing in the Bagmati. Some strip naked. Mark your calendars.
This entry was posted in Kathmandu, living overseas, Nepal, Shiva, south asia and tagged cremation, Donatella Lorch, festival, Kathmandu, Kathmandu Valley, living overseas, Mother Teresa, Nepal, News, pashupatinath, religion, sadhu, shiva, shrine, tourism, unesco, World, world heritage site on January 22, 2014 by Donatella Lorch.
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1 thought on "In Nepal, Life and Death Meet in a World Heritage Site"
Ainslie Embree January 24, 2014 at 7:57 am
Dear Donatella,
Your pictures and text brought back so many memories. My first trip to Nepal – it must have been 60 or so year ago. I went expecting it to be a second-rate copy of India – and to my astonishment, as I visited all your sites, I found it was entirely different from India. Cremation – in India foreigners and indeed any non-Hindus are discouraged. Which brought up the reaction of your children. We often comment that in this country we are shielded from death. Our 60 plus children have dim memories of seeing bodies being taken past our house kin Ind0ore to the cremation ground, but never saw a dead body, Nor here – they have never seen a body at a funeral in this country. cremation is not seen. and hardly any bodies are ever buried.So the various reactions of yours was intensely interesting. And the Hinduism of Nepal is not the Hinduism of India – Bill Fisher and Ted the others had convinced me of that. So what is it – a separate religion?
But your pictures filled me with longing – I would love to go again – but as Tennyson has Ulysses say: "I am not what I once was – I( am undone by age and fate."
Next time — give us a quick brush up on politics – we had so many Nepalese at Columbia who must now be in high places. Do you ever meet them?
As always, thanks for sharing your life with us – even if it fills me with dreams of the unfilled and unpossesed.
Much love to you all


University Town hasn't ever been on the fast lane when it comes to pace of development work but much of everything else about the project seems great. And that's especially true for those looking to gain more over time, and are investing small today. Perhaps affordable rates is also the reason why property transaction volume here didn't really drop and has lately gone up. Here is the latest update on University Town.
A surge in demand was noticed soon after the election dust settled, which came as a sigh of relief for those operating in University Town. That's primarily because the agents operating here had to deal with a dry investment period during Ramazan and right after Eid-ul-Fitr. The fact remains that the society mostly interests investors having medium to long-term plans, as well as the end users looking to avail the currently low rates of residential plots in University Town.
some end users are also hunting for options available at cheaper than market rates and they are often left disappointed because owners here don't bend on rates. The confidence comes from the society's great location on Kashmir Highway and Islamabad-Lahore Motorway M-2, in close proximity with Eighteen Islamabad, Islamabad International Airport, Faisal Town and also many prime areas of both Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The society has been around for a while where its last booking for plots in Block F was closed in 2013. But so far, the developer has been able to complete development work by 100% only in Block D. Some lanes and parts of Block A and B are yet to be finished, but the good part is that property possession has been handed over in the developed parts.
This block is currently in the preliminary stage of development. So far, work has been carried out on carving the road network on 50% of the area, while land is being leveled in the remaining. For the road network, carpeting stage is next for which work is expected to begin soon. Block C has seen addition of more land in its Extension parts, making it the biggest block of University Town. It is also one of the few blocks where development work is underway.
Development work here has been completed by 100% with possession available throughout the block. So far, four houses has been constructed, but none of them are occupied. Block D is one of the most expensive blocks in University Town. It will also be the block via which the society's access road from Kashmir Highway will be located, but for that, development of Eighteen is needed, which doesn't appear to be happening in the short term.
Development work in this block is also done by half. The road network has reached the stage where it is up next for carpeting, while laying of sewerage lines has also been completed. Up next is erecting poles for electricity, and laying lines for gas, water and electricity supply. In terms of ongoing development work, this block is the most active one.


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"Easy Testimonials" is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
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Compatibility with new Testimonial Form Builder.
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Sub-Saharan Africa desperately needs mobile data pricing that matches the pockets of the mass market that should be using it. The latest annual release from research company Cable looks at worldwide mobile data prices. Russell Southwood looks at what it tells us about current Sub-Saharan African prices.
Every year research company Cable releases an annual comparison of broadband prices. Until this year, these comparisons have been for fixed broadband. This year's looks at mobile data prices and examined 6,313 plans in late 2018. The resulting Excel spreadsheet provides an average price for a country and most and least expensive.
The data provides a largely baffling listing of Sub-Saharan countries where there is no easily discernible relationship between GDP per capita (a crude measure of wealth) and the average price being charged for a GB of data. For example, Congo-B (US$5.63 per GB), Sierra Leone (U$5.79) and Mali (US$9.22 per GB) all fall in the second most expensive category (US$5+ to below US$10 per GB). South Africa at US$7.19 per GB is the most completely out of whack: how does a country like this continue to price against only the "haves" and not the "have-nots"?
Neither do the average price rankings seem to have a direct and clear relationship to the level of competition in a country except at the top end. Out of the most expensive countries ((US$11.02 to US$75.20 per GB), 7 out of ten have monopoly issues: Nambia, Togo, eSwatini, Benin, Djibouti and Equatorial Guinea.
We are about to publish a very detailed report on Africa's Top 11 Digital Markets (see paragraph at the end of this story) and in terms of mobile data pricing we reach somewhat different conclusions. However, eight out the 11 countries that have the largest online activity fall in the bottom half of the price spectrum (below US$5 per GB): Ghana (US$1.56), Cameroon (US$1.71), Nigeria (US$2.22), Kenya (US$2.73); Ethiopa (US$2.91), Senegal (US$3.28), Cote d'Ivoire (US$4.10) and Uganda (US$4.69).
The outliers are Tanzania (US$5.93), which we think has cheaper data prices, South Africa (see above – nuff said) and Angola (US$7.95).
In the most recent annual reports for MNOs reporting publicly, they have defined active mobile data subscribers as people using 5MB a month or 100 MB a month. If large numbers of Africans in Sub-Saharan Africa are going to start living the digital life then pricing 1GB seems a better place to start.
Now try and imagine a world in which the average price per GB is below US$2 for the majority of countries and the average use per user is at least 1 GB a month. At that point you can start to see Africa's digital life involving millions of people.
Another big obstacle that has to be overcome before that dream becomes a reality is the gender gap. According to the Mobile Gender Gap Report for 2019 from the GSMA, the gender gap in mobile ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2018 was 15%. The gender gap refers to how much less likely a woman is to own a mobile than a man. The worst thing is that this gender gap has not shifted since 2017.
The red represents women, the blue men and the gender gap percentage is in the circle on the right of the chart.
This gender gap represents a market going begging and it's hard to see where the marketing strategies are to get them. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as elsewhere globally, women hold up more than half the world and the digital life opportunities have to be available for everyone.


text:
package org.telegram.telegrambots.meta.api.objects.polls;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
import lombok.AllArgsConstructor;
import lombok.EqualsAndHashCode;
import lombok.Getter;
import lombok.NoArgsConstructor;
import lombok.Setter;
import lombok.ToString;
import org.telegram.telegrambots.meta.api.interfaces.BotApiObject;

/**
 * @author Ruben Bermudez
 * @version 4.2
 *
 * This object contains information about one answer option in a poll.
 */
@EqualsAndHashCode(callSuper = false)
@Getter
@Setter
@ToString
@NoArgsConstructor
@AllArgsConstructor
public class PollOption implements BotApiObject {
    private static final String TEXT_FIELD = "text";
    private static final String VOTERCOUNT_FIELD = "voter_count";

    @JsonProperty(TEXT_FIELD)
    private String text; ///< Option text, 1-100 characters
    @JsonProperty(VOTERCOUNT_FIELD)
    private Integer voterCount; ///< Number of users that voted for this option
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Nikola Tesla was born the son of a Serbian minister at precisely midnight between July 9 and 10, 1856, in Croatia in the village of Smiljan. He was educated at the Austrian Polytechnic School of Gruz and immigrated to the United States in 1884.
Before Tesla, alternating current (AC) was merely a curiosity for scientific study and not thought to have any practical value. Before Tesla, there was no way known to generate and distribute electricity efficiently more than a few miles. Nikola Tesla changed all that by inventing practical and affordable systems to generate and distribute AC electric power. He also invented the modern AC induction motor, fluorescent lighting and the Tesla coil.
Nikola Tesla sacrificed a personal fortune in exchange for a promise by his investors that they would provide his AC power technology freely to anyone in the world who wanted to build on it.
He liked to perform dramatic electrical demonstrations in front of the public and his friends, sending high frequency current and millions of volts through his body. He also once built and tested a seismic experimental device which created an artificial earthquake that wrecked havoc on his neighborhood in New York City. He had to smash the device with an ax to stop the earthquake. The local police rushing into his laboratory were not amused.
Nikola Tesla invented radio first. Although Guglielmo Marconi was recognized for over 40 years as the inventor of radio, the U. S. Supreme Court overturned Marconi's radio patent in 1943 and restored it to Tesla.
Tesla also experimented with the radio transmission of electrical power. He wanted to build a wireless power plant complex that would provide energy for the whole world. It was difficult for him to maintain financial support to develop this technology fully. Power without power lines also meant power without meters to bill customers.
Nikola Tesla was also the father of Robotics. He invented and demonstrated the first radio controlled boat in 1894. Tesla thought it would be better if robot boats and machines could fight each other in war instead of people.
Tesla designed plans for electrically powered particle beam weapons in the 1930's and tried to interest the Allies in building them during World War II. He thought these weapons could be used as a peace shield that would make invasion nearly impossible. It is believed that the U. S. Government confiscated many of Tesla's papers on this subject after Tesla died. Tesla's basic ideas were integral to President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative of the 1980's.
Nikola Tesla never married and dedicated himself solely to the pursuit of scientific discovery and invention to better the lives of all mankind. He once said, "I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success ... such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, lover, everything". He died in 1943 at age 83.
In the 1960's the 'tesla" was defined and accepted by the scientific community as an international unit of measurement for flux density.


Saturday Night Zydeco is an outstanding Zydeco CD by one of Zydeco's most exciting performers. It has a well-rounded selection of songs, including 50s and 60s Rhythm & Blues, Cajun and Creole, Boogie and Blues… all given that special Zydeco treatment for a foot stompin' Zydeco party. Released in 1989, 19 tracks.


The fall exhibit at Candler School of Theology's Pitts Theology Library showcases works from its Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection, with a focus on the significance of the Ten Commandments to the Protestant Reformation. "That We a Godly Life May Live: Luther's Interpretation of the Ten Commandments" runs through Jan. 15 in the library's exhibit hall.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Free guided tours are scheduled for Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Nov. 13 and Dec. 4 at 2 p.m.; advance registration is required for guided tours.
The exhibit, which takes its name from a hymn Martin Luther penned about the commandments, offers context for the 28th annual Reformation Day at Emory on Oct. 22, which will explore the Ten Commandments' role in Scripture, Luther's reform, and contemporary American life.
Objects on display include tracts by Luther on sin and prayer related to the commandments, Luther's large and small catechisms, interpretations of the commandments by other Reformation theologians, images of Moses from medieval and Renaissance art, and sermons and hymns from the Reformation era.


text:
Blackhawk Energy Ventures Inc. is a private company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas in the United States. We focus on acquiring and developing energy assets that present potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns under our stewardship.
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Contact@Blackhawk.Energy
All Rights Reserved 2019 @ Blackhawk Energy Ventures LLC.
U.S. crude oil and natural gas production increased in 2017, with fewer wells
U.S. crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq recently increased, but may decline soon
Crude oil prices expected to increase slightly through 2017 and 2018
U.S. oil and natural gas proved reserves declined in 2015 because of lower prices
U.S. energy production, consumption has changed significantly since 1908
Short positions in U.S. crude oil futures held by producers, merchants at nine-year high
U.S. oil companies closer to balancing capital investment with operating cash flow
EIA projects rise in U.S. crude oil and other liquid fuels production beyond 2017
The Golden Block of 16/08 in the South China Sea - the Story of Texaco's Early Operations in China
EIA Projects 48% Increase in World Energy Consumption by 2040
By EIA - US Energy Information Administration
On Tuesday, the Cleveland Indians are set to host the Chicago Cubs in game six of the 2016 Major League Baseball World Series. In the 68 years since the last title for the Cleveland Indians, and the 108 years since the last World Series title for the Chicago Cubs, energy production and consumption patterns in the United States have changed a great deal.
In 1908, the last time the Cubs won the World Series, the United States produced less than half a million barrels per day (b/d) of oil, with crude oil production having only started approximately 50 years earlier. At that time, crude oil was mainly refined to produce kerosene for use in lamps. The first Ford Model T automobile was produced in 1908, kicking off a shift in demand for petroleum products from kerosene for lamps to gasoline for automobiles.
The last time the Chicago Cubs made a World Series appearance, in 1945, the United States was producing 4.6 million b/d of crude oil. Production had been steadily increasing in the decades prior, as the economy grew and industry expanded following the Great Depression.
The last time the Cleveland Indians won the World Series, in 1948, the United States produced 5.5 million b/d of crude oil. Crude oil production had been steadily increasing since declines in the 1930s and would continue to increase until production declines in the 1970s. More recently, in 1997, the last time the Cleveland Indians appeared in the World Series, the United States produced 6.4 million b/d of oil, falling to the production levels of the 1950s.
The consumption of energy in the United States has also changed significantly over the past hundred years. In 1908, the country consumed just 15 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), of which three-quarters was coal. By the time the Cubs made their last World Series appearance, total energy consumption in the country had doubled. Coal was still the main fuel, but petroleum had also become a large source of energy consumption.
In comparison, the last time the Indians appeared in the World Series (1997), U.S. energy consumption had increased to totals closer to those seen today. Consumption in 1997 totaled 94 quadrillion Btu. Coal's share had fallen to one-quarter of total consumption, and natural gas and nuclear made up a large share. Since then, the shares of natural gas and other renewables used to generate electricity have increased, resulting in a lower share of coal generation.
The share of nonhydro renewable consumption is actually lower today (10%) than it was in 1908 (15%). This is a factor of both lower energy consumption as a whole and a large amount of biomass (in this case wood) consumption 100 years ago. Today, while the nonhydro renewable share of total energy consumption is lower than in 1908, solar and wind generation continue to increase and make up a large percentage of total nonhydro renewables.
Despite the changes in fuel sources, fossil fuels have continued to make up a large percentage of U.S. energy consumption. In 1908, fossil fuels accounted for 85% of total consumption. When the Indians won the World Series in 1948, that share had increased to 91%, as petroleum and natural gas had begun to account for increasing amounts of energy consumption. Fossil fuel consumption has fallen in recent years, accounting for 81% of total consumption in 2015.
liquid fuels
Annual Energy Outlook
Ingriselli
International Energy Outlook
STEO (short term energy outlook)
Tang Ke
Tight oil
Y.M. Shum
exports/imports


The rough, rocky ridge is a favourite among visitors to the Lake District. Make sure you save it for a good day.
The Honister Rambler bus service No.77 operates from April to October in both directions from Keswick, stopping in the village, on a circular route taking in Portinscale, Catbells, Grange, Seatoller, Honister Slate Mine, Buttermere, Lorton and Whinlatter Forest – but runs in both directions. You'll need to check the Stagecoach site for information to see if the buses are currently running as there are no timetables available online.
There are numerous places to park in and around Buttermere. There is a National Trust pay and display (free for members) on the road in from Lorton Vale. A Lake District National Park Authority pay and display is located behind The Fish Inn and Bridge Hotel in the centre of the village. Additionally, there is a small parking area above the chapel on the Newlands Pass road.
The Buttermere Ridge is a Lake District classic – one to be savoured and saved for a fine day. The ridge route includes the high, rugged fells that stand between Buttermere and Ennerdale. While the ridge may be tackled in either direction, the more typical route is to follow a circuit anti-clockwise with Red Pike being the first fell of the day.
Both ends of the ridge have steep approaches but you will be treated to some sublime views across the Lake District and beyond while there is additional interest in the rock architecture of these fells, particularly the crags and coves above Buttermere. You'll also get the chance to visit Haystacks, the favoured fell of Alfred Wainwright. Like many walks in the Lake District, this can be extended or reduced in length to suit your ability.
1 – From Buttermere village, take the lane beside the Bridge Hotel then bear left at The Fish Inn onto a lane bounded by a wire fence. Pass the car park and follow this lane through a series of gates to the shore of Buttermere. Cross a footbridge over Buttermere Dubs and bear left to another footbridge with a gate a short distance beyond.
2 – A path branches off to the right up into the woods. Though steep, the path is well built and climbs all the way to Bleaberry Tarn. Once at the tarn, hug the northern shore and follow the path through a wall, upwards to The Saddle. Once on The Saddle, turn left to make the final climb up Red Pike. This final section is very steep, up an eroded slope. It emerges right on the summit.
3 – The ridge walk along the Red Pike – High Crag ridge is fairly straightforward. A path follows the crest of the ridge for its entire length. Additionally, there are the old metal boundary posts which used to mark the Ennerdale / Buttermere boundary that makes a useful aid if the weather is poor. The only thing to note is that the first 'summit' (NY 16740 14787) on High Stile is the one mentioned by Wainright, though it is not the highest point. The 'true' summit (all of 1m higher) stands a short distance out on a short rib (NY 17009 14817).
5 – Here you have the option to cut the walk short by descending back to Buttermere, however, that would miss the delights of Haystacks, which looms ahead. The path heads directly up the rocky ramparts ahead of you, first following some stone steps. A combination of steep climbing and non-technical scrambling will get you up to the summit. The 'true' summit is marked by the cairn with a metal post sticking out of it and has a fine view towards Great Gable at the head of Ennerdale.
6 – From the summit cairn, bear right to find a path which leads down to Innominate Tarn (there are two paths, both lead to the same place). Keep following the path as it leads down to the larger Black Beck Tarn below Green Crag. Once past Black Beck Tarn, the path takes a left where you will encounter a large rock (NY 20573 13173). Bear right and descend towards the river (Warnscale Beck).
7 – Stepping stones will assist you across the river. The disused Dubs Quarry can be found here and is well worth a poke around. Once across the river, bear left though avoid entering the stream. The main path hugs the north side of the stream before becoming the gravel path above Warnscale Beck. This path is easy to follow though is steep in places. It will lead down to the road close to Gatesgarth Farm car park (NY 19570 14930).
8 – At the road, bear left and follow the road a short distance. Unfortunately, there is little in the way of pavement along this section so watch for approaching traffic. Round the corner where the road runs along the lakeshore to find a path on the left (NY 19124 15433). Leave the road to follow this path back to Buttermere village – you should have no trouble finding your way. Don't be alarmed when you encounter a dark tunnel – this allows the path to pass beneath the crags of the Hassness Estate without straying from the shoreline.


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>>> prefer to keep it at the version currently used?
>> CVS. Patches must be sent without such cruft to be applied.
>> This obviously gets easier if we remove said files from CVS.
> above removal is up, before worrying further about this.


Or perhaps you would like to enhance your intuition, memory and study skills. And did you know that Hypnotherapy can be surprisingly effective for managing our eliminating pain? Our Clinic in fact specialises in treating clients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Hypnotherapy can change how you think and feel at a subconscious level. This is the part of the mind that's in control of your automatic actions and reactions to things.
Hypnotherapy is a very relaxed and focused state of mind. It's a process where the conscious mind is asked to step aside temporarily to allow you to connect with the subconscious mind. In this way you can access the wisdom and abilities of the inner mind to find solutions to problems or make positive changes.
Often the cause of a problem can be uncovered and resolved rather than just treating the presenting symptoms.
Hypnotherapy is a process where the Therapist guides you and helps you work with your own inner ability to resolve issues and develop your full potential.
Clinical Hypnotherapy is very different from 'Stage Hypnosis' you may have seen, where the subject seems under complete control of the Hypnotist. In Clinical Hypnosis we help you gain control of your own subconscious mind.
The mind also has a profound effect on the body. Hypnosis is one of the best ways to create MINDBODY healing and can help a variety of conditions.
Childbirth – If you're having a baby then our amazing HypnoBirthing program might be for you – We teach mums how to use Hypnosis for a safe, comfortable and positive birth experience.
We offer our Hypnotherapy services from our Melbourne based clinic in Doncaster East but also have range of online Hypnosis Audios and Programs available to everyone.
Your Therapist will ask you to sit comfortably in a chair and close your eyes. They will then simply talk you into a very relaxed state. Your therapist will continually ensure that you are comfortable with the experience.
Hypnosis is a pleasant, day-dreamy state. It's a little like the feeling you have when you are gazing at an open fire place or a beautiful waterfall. Your body will probably be very relaxed but you will be more focused and aware than you normally are.
You are always in control and you will normally remember what happens during the session although it may feel a little like a dream.
After a Hypnotherapy session many people report feeling much more at peace and thinking more clearly. Problems often seem to resolve themselves or unwanted behaviour changes automatically.
Repeated sessions are helpful as you become more and more familiar with the process you tend to go deeper into trance. Hypnotherapy helps you feel more in control of your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Most people benefit from somewhere between 3 and 8 sessions depending on the issues you're working on. Using a hypnosis CD regularly between appointments will often enhance your progress.
I just wanted to thank you very much for your help with my Fibromyalgia pain.
After our first appointment using Hypnosis the pain, particularly in my legs has greatly reduced.
I am also sleeping much better with the help of your CD. Considering Fibromyalgia is meant to be incurable you have done wonders.
I know that this email is a long coming – however better late than never?!
We service the wider East Melbourne community: Doncaster, Ringwood, Box Hill, Templestowe, Nunawading, Blackburn but also have online Hypnotherapy Programs available online if you would prefer.


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18/03/21 Blog , Workshops
[Field Trip] No-Code Ways to Support Your Community with Designer Sarah Lawrence
March 17th, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Learn creative ways to support your local community and make an impact in this interactive FieldTrip with best practices and tools from Atlanta designer Sarah Lawrence.
08/03/21 Blog
Talking about COVID-19
It feels obvious to say that 2020-2021 have been pretty tough years, considering all we've had to deal with due to COVID-19. I was feeling isolated at the end of last summer and started asking questions informally on Instagram (which has a polls feature) to just get a simple read on how everyone else was feeling and holding up. To my surprise, 500 people ended up participating, and it led to some really helpful, healing conversations about loneliness and empathy.
21/09/20 Blog , Small Business
14 Chrome Extensions I Can't Live Without
People think I'm a wizard with the internet, and I'm really not – I've just cultivated a solid list of Chrome plugins that make me feel like a wizard.
5 Great Ways to Host Interactive Events Online
One of the weirder things to come out of this time of COVID-19 is the strong, immediate interest in hosting virtual events that at least sort of feel like you're there. This can be tricky to do with online experiences, and so I've decided to help everyone out and put together this online guide based on what I've been able to do so far. Questions? Just leave a comment below!
29/06/20 Blog , Video Games
Video Games That Almost Anyone Can Play
I'm a latecomer to video games – maybe in the last few years or so, and since I skipped the Halo/Skyrim/mega franchises, I'm just not good at a lot of the 3D shooter games and have instead chosen to really dive into artful, loving crafted games instead (not that Halo… isn't…).
In that time, it's been tricky to find games that match my (low) skill level but also are challenging and fun to play and help me get better with every title – and the more I talk to my friends about games, I've started to basically keep a list in my head of good intro games for them. Here is (in order, on purpose) your intro to gaming.
10 Things to Keep in Mind when Renting a Studio Space
My main gig as a freelancer is graphic design, but I also love doing interactive public art projects, that mostly live as installation art – I've been working out of my own house and backyard for the past three years, but working out in the yard was tricky. It was tough to keep these big plywood pieces clean, out of the elements, and nice enough to continue to bring to events. This year I took on a new project that called for an even higher quality of presentation, and I felt that it was finally time to graduate to a studio space in my neighborhood. After 4 months, it was so bad I had to break my lease early and move out.
21/02/19 Blog , Design
Spare Snacks Rebrand
I'm working on a project with my interns that helps them build their writing skills. Here's the fourth one, by Natalia: a recap on the new Spare Snacks rebrand.
Spare Snacks, formerly Spare Fruit, is the type of company you should want to support just on principle. The whole concept behind the snack is that it uses fruit that is deemed "the wrong shape, size, or color" and dehydrates them and then turns them into chips. The aim of the company to raise awareness of food waste in general, but specially in the UK.
ZARA Rebrand
I'm working on a project with my interns that helps them build their writing skills. Here's the third one, by Natalia: a recap on the new ZARA rebrand.
ZARA: where fast fashion meets marked up prices. Personally, I never fully got the hype of ZARA, and that's okay. I like that they bring European style to the world, and I dislike the quality and price of the clothes. As a brand, I've never really given them much thought.
National Museum of Iceland Rebrand
I'm working on a project with my interns that helps them build their writing skills. Here's the second one, by Natalia: a recap on the new Museum of Iceland rebrand.
The National Museum of Iceland, located in the capital city of Reykjavík, is devoted to highlighting the country's culture and history. Before it got its own building in 1950, the museum was housed in different attics across the city. Since its establishment, the museum was renovated in the 1990s, and now features permanent collection on Iceland's history, and iconic contemporary works. Now, thanks to a new identity designed by Jonsson & Lemacks and Siggi Odds, the National Museum of Iceland has a new look.
Slack Rebrand Recap
I'm working on a project with my interns that helps them build their writing skills. Here's the first one, by Natalia: a recap on the new Slack rebrand.
As someone that doesn't use Slack but is a designer, the rebrand of the collaboration platform was interesting to watch unfolded through social media. Seeing as I've yet to use Slack but know of its notoriety, the company's decision of a new look came as a surprise. Slack's original logo, a multicolored hashtag tilted on an angle, already had recognition. Why bother fixing something that isn't broken?


This motor is ideal for indoor models of 50g-70g auw. With only 5.2gms weight and 20w of power it spins a 4x2.5 to 5x3 prop giving 80gm of thrust.
bullet connectors or 3 pin 2mm space plug/socket.
Motor is supplied with a motor mount and prop saver adapter; other prop adapters can be found here. Suitable connectors for motor/ESC are available here - e.g. 0.8mm or 2mm bullet connectors or 3 pin 2mm space plug/socket. Some batches of these motors have 2mm male bullet connectors fitted to the motor leads, but no matching female connectors in the package.
The motor mount grub screw requires a 1.27mm hex key and the grub screw in the end-bell securing the shaft requires a 0.9mm hex key.
A 2g motor designed for single LiPo cell operation. A GWS 3x2 prop gives 27g thrust at 1.8A.
Suitable connectors for motor/ESC are available here - e.g. 0.8mm or 2mm bullet connectors or 3 pin 2mm space plug/socket.
The GWS 3" props are a tight push fit onto the AP03 1.5mm shaft, a reamer is available. The GWS 4" props require a prop adapter: either the push-on collet adapter or the prop saver. Suitable connectors for motor/ESC are available here - e.g. 0.8mm or 2mm bullet connectors or 3 pin 2mm space plug/socket.
A 5g motor designed for 1S and 2S operation with winds of 5000Kv and 3000Kv. With a GWS 5x3 prop, the 3000Kv motor gives 45g thrust on 1S or 110g on 2S.
The AP05 is supplied with a prop saver adapter. The push-on collet adapter may also be used for a rigid prop mounting (suitable for GWS 4" and 5" props).
A three part firewall mount for APxx micro motors (AP02, AP03 and AP05). Lightness and strength is provided by the ply-balsa-ply sandwich construction. The mount kit includes 3 self tapping screws.
A good motor for the slightly larger/heavier park flyer. Run on 2S or 3S, max power 80W. 22mm diameter, 3mm shaft, weight 19g. Recommended prop: (2S) 6x3, (3S) 5x3.
A small brushless outrunnier ideal for parkfly models conversions weighing up to 230g/8oz on 2S and up to 400g/14oz on 3S.
A tiny 10mm diameter brushless inrunner motor suitable for use in the GWS EDF30 fan or for micro cars.


Installing vinyl plank flooring is a great way of saving money while keeping the slot the boards together without requiring too much cutting, trimming, or sawing.
DIYers made a surprising floor by cutting wood plank into "bricks and cementing them down.
BlockTile B2US4630 Deck and Patio Flooring Interlocking Tiles Perforated cut with a diamond blade on a circular saw since the cut side would be covered.
Watch video to find out about the Ryobi Portable Flooring Saw for DIY because you've got to go outside, where you've either set up your table saw and your miter saw, the blade, and then what I could do is slide my plank underneath here.
Our wide plank flooring oiled french oak hardwood offers a thick wear layer and beautiful Quarter & Rift Sawn Floors by Sawyer Mason Structured Wide Plank.
Wide Plank Floor DIY: Rough Cut to Tongue and Groove: As Winter progressed in As Winter progressed in Michigan and outside projects turned to inside projects A We Contacted local saw mills and priced out different varieties of lumber.
Flooring specialists use a routine procedure for nailing all boards in an row is to get the boards straight, but when laying the last row, it's to cut the flooring boards material only from the sections of the boards that are outside the doorway.


Sports bar on Canal Street, near the TDBankNorth Boston Garden.
Great photo; the monochrome makes the area look so ancient. I like the whole idea of the meme. Guess I'll have to try to remember it.
This façade is fabulous! noone at tables, was it a cold day?..
Awesome, and it will always be the Boston Garden to me.
wow charming buildings and I like a lot the b&w for this picture!
It's such a chic photo!
This is a great photo! It looks like a bronze graving, it has such depth and texture.
Another perfect scene shot rendered in sepia.
And, I agree about Boston Garden. I wince every time I hear another name for it. All new things are not progress.
The baseball player reminds me: What do you think about Bobby Valentine's dissing of his own star player only ten games into the new season? Fire him and bring Tito back.


C&K Careers' ICT team maintains the Client Caseload Information System (CCIS) of all young people in Calderdale and Kirklees. This comprehensive database is used to support the work of our advisers and young people in and not in education, employment and training.
The CCIS provides essential management information for local authorities, schools, colleges, training providers and employers, as well as annual returns for the Department for Education, such as the Annual Activity Survey of Year 11 leavers, September Guarantee and data for the monthly NCCIS (National Client Caseload Information System).
Our ICT team provides vital technical support to all C&K Careers teams working on internal and external contracts. It helped to web-enable the content for the CLiK, (Community Learning in Kirklees) online searchable course database; and hosts the site.
Effective use of technology is seen as an embedded feature of the IAG delivery ... This was particularly well demonstrated across the participation advisers who are equipped with mobile technologies to support their outreach delivery. Care is taken to support clients in making good use of ICT with frequently visited websites well positioned on public access computers. matrix report, January 2016.
C&K Careers are proud to hold the Cyber Essentials PLUS badge. Cyber Essentials PLUS is a government-backed, industry-supported scheme to help organizations protect themselves against common cyber attacks.
Enables us to bid for Government and other contracts.


Most modern homes and commercial areas are installed with air conditioners to help in the regulation of temperatures. HVAC is an acronym for heating ventilation and air conditioners devices that are useful during summer and winter seasons. During the installation, maintenance and repair processes, people are advised to hire professionals to handle their air conditioners and heating appliances. Since the air conditioners and the heating appliances can get damaged after some time, people are advised to seek suitable HVAC repair contractors so that they are guaranteed quality services. When looking for commercial HVAC repair contractors, clients should consider the following areas.
Clients that are planning to hire commercial HVAC repair contractors should find out how the company is reputed. People would want to be associated with commercial HVAC contractors that are known to deliver quality services to their clients. Before hiring commercial HVAC repair services, clients should read the comments that have been made about by different clients on their websites and make an informed choice. Clients should inquire for a list of references that can be contacted since it will help them to gather more information about the HVAC repair services that they want to hire.
When looking for commercial HVAC contractors, it is crucial to find out if the companies have experienced technicians to handle the work. People are advised to hire commercial HVAC repair contractors that have been well trained and have the relevant skills to undertake repair work on the HVAC system. Clients will be guaranteed better services when they hire experienced HVAC contractors and damages to the equipment will be minimized. When interviewing suitable commercial HVAC contractors, it is essential to inquire on the period that they have been in business. One can narrow down their search and hire commercial HVAC repair contractors that have been in the industry for a long time.
Suitable commercial HVAC repair companies should register their employees with an insurance company. The purpose of the insurance coverage is to cater for damages that will be caused to air conditioners and heating appliances and enable the contractors to seek medical services when they sustain injuries. Clients are advised to contact the insurance companies to find out if the cover is active. The availability of the licenses proves that the commercial HVAC repair companies are legal and business and will guarantee quality repair work to their clients. Clients are advised to compare quotes and hire commercial HVAC repair contractors that offer affordable rates. The choice of a suitable commercial HVAC repair company should be made after comparing quotes from different companies.