A court of Appeals decision today cleared the way for any fast food vendors in New York City to continue to sell mega sized soft drinks and although Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that this is not the end it will be very difficult to try and re-enact a law that will stop oversized sodas from being sold.
Although there seemed to be a huge outcry to the law that Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to enact last year the fact is that the idea of giant soft drinks need to be stopped at some point.
The American Beverage Association of course is really happy that the rights of the businesses that they represent were not trampled on but of course selling soft drinks seems to be immune to any prosecution. And of course the American Beverage Association does not have to worry about the terrible health costs of soft drink sales, they just continue to crank them put and let cities, states, and the country as a whole pay the ovewhelming obesity costs as peoples health continues to dive and health costs escalate.
So lets just take a look at why this law would have been a good thing.
One can of soda has about 12 tablespoons of sugar in it as a sweetner. Although sugar in itself is not so bad the load of an extra large soft drink will cause a huge load on the pancreas, kidneys, and of course cause blood sugar swings that in itself messes up your energy and eventually turns into fat. How about 5 times that amount in a drink? That would be disastrous!
So what gives? Is there really a need to allow people the right, through the ABA, to have the biggest drinks possible when we all know that there are major health concerns? Is there a duty of care that can be lobbed over to the American Beverage Association so that they have some sort of responsibility to the people that buy their products?


text:
- "Your Bouquet Size" is a required field.
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The play of pink against green and white can’t help to bring a mirthful beauty to this stunning bouquet. The blushing swirl of the roses and lisianthus bring a sweet drama to this arrangement offset by clusters of green and cream hydrangea. With the vase tinted in a subtle blue shade, to add even further interest, sparkling as it catches the light through each facet of it’s unique design, this gorgeous flower arrangement is ready to set the stage for a treasured moment of pure happiness. IMPRESSIVE bouquet includes 11 stems. Approx. 15″H x 15″W. STUNNING bouquet includes 19 stems. Approx. 19″H x 18″W.
Your purchase includes a complimentary personalized gift message.
Flowers are subject to seasonal availability and some flowers may be substituted for a similar flower to reproduce pictured arrangement. Arrangements received may not be identical to image displayed. In some cases, some flowers may be delivered in bud to provide longer enjoyment.

domain: design


text:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed a mathematical framework that enables developers to reason rigorously about sloppy computation, providing mathematical guarantees that if a program behaves as intended, so will a fast-but-inaccurate modification of it.
MIT's Michael Carbin describes the framework as a type of formal verification, and says the performance gains promised by techniques such as loop perforation will give programmers confidence to try formal verification techniques.
"We're identifying all these opportunities where programmers can get much bigger benefits than they could before if they're willing to do a little verification," Carbin says.
The framework forces programmers to specify "acceptability properties" for each procedure in a program and by reference to the normal execution of the program. The framework also enables developers who have already verified their programs to reuse a lot of their previous reasoning. Carbin says the researchers are now working on a system that enables programmers to simply state acceptability properties.
From MIT News
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Abstracts Copyright © 2012 Information Inc. , Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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domain: news


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Can be catered to need. Usually involvs weekly quizzes to prepare for engineering exams and assignments. PowerPoint presentations etc
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The Hardee Help Center's (HHC) H meless Outreach mission is to compassionately serve the chronically homeless; identifying needs in order to offer services to alleviate the effects of chronic homelessness in Hardee County. For the HHC's program purposes the chronically homeless includes those people permanently living on the streets, living in a tent in wooded areas, in a park, at a shelter, or other places not meant for permanent human habitation.
Serve our H meless Neighbors
How you can help:
What should I do if I see an individual or a group of individuals that appear to be chronically homeless?
Serving the homeless begins with making contact with them. You can help the HHC as caring and concerned citizens by being our eyes throughout the day and evening. Sharing when you see a homeless individual in our community. It is not necessary to approach the individual before sharing the requested information with our office. We do not advice approaching an individual if you are alone. You should call 911 if the individual appears to pose an immediate risk to themselves or others or there is criminal activity.
What happens when you report a homeless Hardee resident in need of assistance?
Individuals share information using Report a Homeless Person form. We will cross check the information provided with our by-name Homeless Registry, and attempt to locate that individual and if found directly engage the individual, assess for safety and encourage them to accept services and transition off the streets.
What happens if someone declines help from the outreach team?
Accepting outreach efforts, including services that will help homeless transition indoors from the streets, is voluntary, and it can take months of persistent and compassionate engagement to successfully connect street homeless individuals with services. We remain undeterred in our efforts to engage them, proactively offering assistance and services, until we make the connection that will help them transition off the streets. Our team continues to reach out to offer services and help them come indoors.
HOW TO KNOW IF SOMEONE IS CHRONICALLY HOMELESS:
You may not, unless you have personal knowledge.
Share your information and Hardee Help Center Staff will attempt contact in a non-threatening manner.
If you are at risk or experiencing homelessness and would like to request help, please do NOT complete this form for yourself, but reach out to the Hardee Help Center @ 863-773-0034.

domain: sociology


text:
This course is designed for foster carers who may be new to fostering and want to be Health and Safety compliant and enable safer placements within the home.
- Health and Safety Legislation and how this links to the Fostering Standard
- Risk Assessments
- Basic food safety information – What is in your Fridge?
- Reporting and recording of Health and Safety Incidents

domain: health


text:
Salman Khan with his nephews Arhaan Khan (son of Arbaaz and Malaika Arora Khan) and Nirvaan Khan (son of Sohail and Seema Khan) at a photoshoot of the star's clothing brand.
Salman Khan with uncle Arhaan and Nirvaan
Salman Khan also took to Twitter to share a photo fo the youngest member of the 'khandaan' with his mother Salma.
Salma Nani and Nanha Ahil . pic.twitter.com/Ebq7faVOmJ— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) May 2, 2016
Photos: Salman Khan returns from Jodhpur to Mumbai
Pics: Sidharth Shukla-Rashami Desai's sizzling chemistry at TV show launch
Ooh La Lana! WWE Diva flaunts sexy curves in these 30 pictures
15 'peach' perfect photos of Priyanka Chopra at People's Choice Awards 2017
62 going on 16: These photos of Rekha prove she is 'forever young'

domain: celebrity


Western Shoshone vote challenged
BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nev. ? A vote by Western Shoshone tribal members over whether to accept a $138 million land claim distribution created quite a sensation 10 days ago when unofficial results reported 1,647 voting in favor and 156 against.
The prospect of receiving a per capita cash payment of about $20,000 elated supporters of the vote, including members of the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Steering Committee. The payout would be distributed among eligible members of the 5,445 enrolled Western Shoshones.
But numerous allegations of irregularities surrounding the ballot and the voting process have roused the ire of other tribal officials. They say the vote is not legal or binding because established election procedures were not followed.
Chairmen from four Western Shoshone bands that comprise the Te-Moak Tribal Council are challenging the validity of the June 3 vote organized by Te-Moak Chairman Felix Ike. They worry that the vote will be construed falsely as a signal that the majority of tribal members want only money. They fear that Ike's actions will threaten the tribe's claim to 23.6 million acres of ancestral land.
(The vote was also repudiated by the leader of the Yomba Band, also Western Shoshone but not part of the Te-Moak coalition.)
"He acted on his own without Te-Moak Council authorization," said Battle Mountain Band Council Chairman Stanford Knight. "It did not come from the tribal council. He was avoiding us because we wanted to stop that ballot. The council has the final say over what the chairman can and cannot do, especially if tribal funds are being used."
Larson Bill, vice-chairman of the Te-Moak Tribal Council and chairman of the South Fork Band Council, said that based on the estimates, he believes that less than half of the tribe's eligible voters participated in the vote because they opposed the ballot or were not notified.
"We did not approve this balloting," he said. "We have a government-to-government relationship (with the federal government) and it has to start at the local level. That didn't happen. This ballot is being pushed by Senator Harry Reid's office and the State of Nevada who will benefit from selling our land. The process was premature and must be stopped. We have to have some questions answered before they extinguish all our rights."
The four leaders said Ike violated the tribe's constitution when he developed, in collaboration with Sen. Reid, D-Nev., a so-called "referendum" vote that is intended to convince the Senate Indian Affairs Committee to approve a bill Reid sponsored to distribute the money.
In a May 1 letter to Felix Ike, Reid stated "I am committed to moving S. 958, the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act, through the legislative process. A clear and unambiguous ballot is essential to show the Congress that the Western Shoshone people support the provisions in S. 958, and I believe we can make significant progress with the legislation once a new vote has occurred."
Reid also made suggestions on rewording the ballot and said, "The Committee on Indian Affairs suggests the inclusion of the following statement, which could be added to the fact sheet:
"The United States Supreme Court has ruled that claims to tribal aboriginal land title were extinguished upon the payment into the U.S. Treasury of judgment funds awarded under Docket Numbers 326K, 326-A-1 and 326-A-3 by the Indian Claims Commission. Accordingly, the distribution of these funds neither revives any extinguished claims nor extinguishes any existing or future claims against the United States government."
Chairman Bill calls the statement "an outright lie" and argues that the government simply paid itself and that no Shoshone has ever received one dime. He cites legal experts who say that under Federal Indian Law, once a tribe accepts monetary payment for its land, it loses legal footing for a land claim.
Reid's press secretary, Tessa Hafen, told the Reno Gazette-Journal that "the senator has said all along that he would let the tribe decide. These early numbers do indicate overwhelming support for this distribution and Senator Reid will move forward accordingly."
But Fermina Stevens, chairperson of the Elko Band, said, "The Te-Moak Constitution has a definite process for a referendum, and that was not followed. A majority of the Te-Moak Council must start the process by a formal resolution. But we have never made a decision as a government regarding any kind of vote on the claims distribution."
Leta Piffero, who sits on the Elko Band Election Committee, said even though the vote took place in Elko, the election committee had no involvement in the vote. She said Chairman Ike's secretary served as the election clerk, though it was unclear how she had been placed in that position.
Piffero also objected to the lack of choices on the ballot, which asked voters to choose yes or no on distributing the judgment funds awarded to the Western Shoshone to be paid at 100 percent per capita.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you stick a piece of paper in front of someone and ask them 'do you want money, or do you not want money,' that they're gonna take the money," she said.
Many Western Shoshone oppose the idea of receiving a one-time cash payment and no land. Larson said Shoshones who live in cities seem to favor the cash payments, while tribal members who live in rural areas are against it.
"People who live on the land know the value of it," he said. "The land is worth much more than the money."
Willie Johnny, chairman of the Wells Band, said, "We do not approve of what Mr. Ike is doing. He has never had a meeting with us about the ballot and ignored council resolutions directing him to stop actions that are not in the best interest of the Western Shoshone people."
Johnny said people need to have more options in such a vote, options based on both land and money for damages not a cash distribution that could destroy their best chances at retaining their land.
Noting that the Wells Band has only 80 acres of land for its 200 members, Johnny accused Reid of "trying to sell us out" and said his tribe opposed the process leading up to the vote.
"To me, the land is worth a lot more important than the money," he said. "People here don't want to sell their land. Money comes and goes, but the land is forever."
All four leaders interviewed agreed that Ike's close relationship with Reid has compromised the Western Shoshone nation's right to conduct its internal affairs without outside interference.
They question why a United States senator was involved in writing language for a tribal ballot that contradicts several tribal council resolutions that were passed in early April and May. The resolutions document concerns about "the apparent closeness of Chairman Ike and Senator Harry Reid to sell Western Shoshone lands."
South Fork Band Resolution 02-SF-09 states: "The Council goes on record curtailing Te-Moak Chairman from discussing the claims issue with Senator Harry Reid or others who may wish to accept the claims distribution as written. There is to be no election poll taken until each Band Council has an opportunity to review and have input in the future of Western Shoshone land and its people."
In addition, the Battle Mountain Band Council sent a letter to Reid on May 15 advising him that the council had restricted Ike from meeting with Reid without Tribal and Band approval.
"We are requesting for you to meet with each Band in their areas so they may ask questions and give input on this very important issue. Through Resolution 02-BM-11, the Battle Mountain Band requested the voting that is scheduled for June 3, 2002 not take place (because) the people have not been given the opportunity to give their ideas or input regarding the ballot," the letter stated.
Chairman Knight, who signed the letter, said Reid has not responded to any of their requests or acknowledged their concerns.
Likewise, Yomba Tribal Chairman James Birchim sent a letter to Reid on May 30 asking him to exert his influence over Ike to cancel the referendum because "a referendum that bypasses tribal government processes is not an appropriate means to assess the views of Federally-recognized Indian tribes on issues of public policy."
Senator Reid's office did not respond to calls seeking comment.


text:
P I Bastiaens
Affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
- Observing proteins in their natural habitat: the living cellP I Bastiaens
EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstr 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Trends Biochem Sci 25:631-7. 2000..This possibility will not only play an important role in the understanding of biochemical reactions in signal processing and fidelity but also help to uncover the molecular mechanisms of organelle and cell morphogenesis...
- Lateral phosphorylation propagation: an aspect of feedback signalling?Christian Tischer
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 4:971-4. 2003
- Imaging biochemistry inside cellsF S Wouters
Cell Biology and Cell Biophysics Program, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany
Trends Cell Biol 11:203-11. 2001..Protein activities and interactions can be imaged and localized within a single cell, allowing correlation with phenomena such as the cell cycle, migration and morphogenesis...
- Improved spatial discrimination of protein reaction states in cells by global analysis and deconvolution of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy dataP J Verveer
Cell Biology and Cell Biophysics Program, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
J Microsc 202:451-6. 2001..We applied these techniques to quantitatively image the phosphorylation state of ErbB1 receptors tagged with green fluorescent protein in MCF7 cells...

domain: biology


Nigeria on Saturday ordered its security agencies to put some 50 high-profile graft suspects on a watch list and prevent them from leaving the country.
A presidency statement said the move was to ensure the implementation of an executive order(EO6) which empowers President Muhammadu Buhari to temporarily seize and forbid access to any suspicious assets.
“To this end…Nigeria Immigration Service and other security agencies have placed no fewer than 50 high-profile persons directly affected by EO6 on watch-list and restricted them from leaving the country pending the determination of their cases,” it said.
“Also, the financial transactions of these persons of interest are being monitored by the relevant agencies to ensure that the assets are not dissipated,” it added.
Buhari got the nod to implement the executive order this week after the opposition lost a court bid to stop its implementation.
The presidency did not disclose the names of those affected by the order, but members of the opposition were believed to be the target.
Buhari who came to power in 2015 on an anti-corruption platform, has accused the regime of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan of large-scale looting of the treasury.
Many opposition figures are on trial for corruption offences, but there have been no notable convictions.
Buhari will seek a second term in elections in February but faces a formidable challenge from former vice president Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP.
Dozens of candidates from other fringe parties are also bidding to oust Buhari from power.


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This is a complete and concise guide to creating and managing a successful environmental audit program. It provides step-by-step guidance on setting up an audit program for nearly every major component of environmental concern, from air standards to workplace safety, and from effluent discharge to waste handling and disposal.
Table of Contents
Auditing Controversies of Auditing Risk and Benefit Voluntary versus Mandatory Program Self-Evaluation Privilege The Auditing Climate
The Benefits and Risks of Auditing Benefits of Auditing Risks of Auditing
Federal Agency Positions and Perspectives Department of Justice Environmental Protection Agency Auditing and Enforcement at Federal Facilities
Private Sector Initiatives and Position Industry Survey International Standards Organization British Standards Institute and the Environmental Auditors Registration Association Chemical Manufacturers Association International Chamber of Commerce and Global Environmental Management Initiative Environmental Auditing Roundtable Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council American Petroleum Institute Other Organizations Conclusion
Legal Perspectives on Environmental, Health, and Safety Auditing Concerns About Disclosure and Privilege Traditional Common-Law Privileges Federal Government Response The State Legislators Respond Major Case Histories Enforcement Statistics Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Audit Program Issues Commentary on Getting a Program Started Audit Program Issues
Audit Relevant Regulations Occupational Safety and Health Act Clean Air Act Clean Water Act Oil Pollution Control Act Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Pollution Prevention Act Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Toxic Substances Control Act Endangered Species Act Other Acts National Environmental Policy Act and Environmental Quality Improvement Act Executive Orders
International Standards Organization 14000 Requirements for Auditing Requirements of an Audit Program Auditor Qualification Training
Security Exchange Commission Environmental Advantages Industry Practice and Required Disclosures Security Exchange Commission Guidance Conclusion
International Audits International Regulations and Resources Comments on International Auditing
Appendices Appendix A: Environmental Protection Agency Policy Environmental Auditing Policy Statement Clarification on Policies Related to Environmental Auditing Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction, and Prevention of Violations
Appendix B: International Standards Organization Draft Standards ISO/CD 14010.2 "Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - General Principles of Environmental Auditing" ISO/CD 14011/1.2 "Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - Audit Procedures - Part 1: Auditing of Environmental Management Systems" ISO/CD 14012.2 "Guidelines for Environmental Auditing - Qualification Criteria for Environmental Auditors"
Appendix C: Organizational Structure of ISO 14000/TC 207: Environmental Management and United States Participation Chart
Appendix D: Glossary Definitions Acronyms
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|Publication number||US6091749 A|
|Application number||US 09/031,328|
|Publication date||Jul 18, 2000|
|Filing date||Feb 26, 1998|
|Priority date||Feb 26, 1998|
|Also published as||DE69925400D1, DE69925400T2, EP0939469A2, EP0939469A3, EP0939469B1|
|Publication number||031328, 09031328, US 6091749 A, US 6091749A, US-A-6091749, US6091749 A, US6091749A|
|Inventors||David K. Hoffmaster, Terry L. Wetkowski|
|Original Assignee||Trw Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (6), Referenced by (46), Classifications (14), Legal Events (7)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a laser system controller for controlling the operating parameters of a laser and, more particularly, to a laser system controller for controlling the operating parameters of a solid state diode laser, including ramping of the power output of the laser beam.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
High-power, solid state lasers, such as diode slab lasers, that are used for many purposes, such as cutting, drilling and welding of various materials for precision laser machining (PLM), electronics manufacture, medical treatment, nuclear fusion, laser weapons, etc., are known in the art. A solid state slab laser will include one or more gain modules each having a solid state laser gain medium, such as a crystal of neodymium yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG), Yb:YAG, Ti:Sapphire or neodymium glass (Nd:Glass), and an optical pumping source to produce a population inversion in the gain medium. The gain medium typically has a slab configuration with a rectangular cross-section and optically polished major side and end faces. The optical pumping source generally is one or more diode arrays positioned adjacent to the side faces of the slab. The laser gain medium absorbs light radiation from the diode arrays to create a population inversion within the medium to produce a laser beam output. The end faces of the slab are preferably formed at a non-perpendicular angle to the side faces so that light travels longitudinally in a zig-zag pattern through the laser gain medium as it is reflected off of the side faces. A high power solid state slab laser of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,254 issued to Injeyan et al., Sep. 10, 1996 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/683,585, filed Jul. 15, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,575, titled Diode Laser Pumped Solid State Laser Gain Module, and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention.
The diode arrays are switched on and off or pumped in a controlled manner to generate a pulsed laser beam emitted from the gain medium that has a particular pulse rate and pulse width. The light output of the diode arrays can be accurately tuned to the absorption line of the active material of the laser gain medium to achieve a high pumping efficiency. An increase in the pulse rate and/or pulse width increases the power output of the laser beam. The diode arrays are fired in a controlled manner to set the pulse width and pulse rate of the output beam. The firing of the various diode arrays for multiple gain modules can be controlled independently of each other or sequenced to further control the overall pulse width and rate of the laser beam, or generate a continuous wave (CW) beam. Therefore, depending on the particular application, the pulse rate and pulse width of the beam output is controlled for efficient laser operation for that application.
Depending on the particular application of the laser beam, it may be desirable to modulate the laser beam to provide high peak power pulses for cutting and drilling applications. The modulator modulates the relatively long pulses from the gain modules to provide short duration beam pulses (such as on the order of 100 nanoseconds) having a relatively high peak power, for example, on the order of 500 kilowatts, that provides greater precision and control for certain applications. In one example, the laser beam pulses generated by the high power solid state laser gain module are modulated by an acoustical optical (AO) modulator that provides the modulation wave for modulating the beam pulses from the gain module. The modulated wave is also capable of being varied in frequency and pulse width to give even greater variability for different applications and materials. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/593,961, filed Jan. 30, 1996, titled "Laser Pulse Profile Control By Modulating Relaxation Oscillations", assigned to the Assignee of this application, provides a more detailed discussion of a modulator for a solid state diode slab laser.
To perform a PLM operation, a laser operator will calibrate or program a controller that controls the laser to operate the laser beam at a desired power level and machining sequence to perform the desired machining operation. A single machining operation may include various degrees of cutting, welding and drilling of a single workpiece or multiple workpieces. For example, the machining operation may require a welding operation and then immediately thereafter, drilling of a series of holes and/or cutting the workpiece. The welding operation generally requires different power levels than cutting and drilling operations, and cutting and drilling operations generally require that the beam be polarized and modulated to provide high peak power for efficient operation. Additionally, the welding process itself may require different laser power levels. For example, welding around a corner of the workpiece may require a decrease in power because the welding operation may have to be slowed down and the resulting higher power may damage or burn the material of the workpiece at the slower speed. Further, the laser can be calibrated to weld a certain material, such as steel. If the operator then changes to a different material, such as a different steel, aluminum, copper, etc., different laser settings and output parameters would be required, so the controller needs to be able to be readily changed to the appropriate settings. Thus, the laser controller needs to be programmed to provide these changes in power output level for different operations during the machining operation.
State of the art solid state diode lasers also allow the laser controller to vary the current applied to the diode arrays to change the intensity of the laser beam output. As the sophistication of precision laser machining increases, the sophistication of the controllers also need to increase. The known controllers for solid state diode lasers typically can only change the output power of the laser from one power level to another. It has been recognized that the effectiveness of the laser machining process could be increased by providing a controller that causes the output of the diode arrays to ramp the power of the laser beam from one level to another during the machining operation. Other improvements can be made to the laser controller to increase the efficiency of the laser machining process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a laser controller that provides for ramping the power output of the laser beam in a solid state diode laser, as well as providing other improvements over the known laser controllers to increase user interface and the like.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a laser controller is disclosed that has particular application for a controlling solid state diode laser including a series of gain modules and associated diode arrays. The laser controller includes a control console including a touch screen that allows a laser operator to interface with the controller to control the laser and laser parameters. The control console includes a target monitor that allows the operator to view the laser beam at a reduced beam intensity for alignment and beam quality purposes. The laser controller further includes a control computer having a counter/timer circuit that outputs a signal to the laser diode power supplies to set the pulse width and pulse rate of the laser beam output. This control allows the laser beam output to be ramped from one beam intensity to another beam intensity during a laser operation. The circuit also uses a series of end of pulse detectors that allow sequencing of the various diode arrays in the gain modules so that the laser beam output can be further varied or formed into a continuous operation.
The laser controller also includes a digital word generator that outputs a signal to a modulator to modulate the laser beam during the laser beam pulse on time. This additional modulation breaks the longer laser pulse into a series of shorter, compressed, pulses with even greater energy. The width and rate of these smaller pulses can be varied or ramped to tailor the laser beam for maximum effectiveness on different materials.
The laser controller also includes a power supply interface system that isolates the control computer from the primary power supplies that provide power to the diode arrays. A laser mirror motor control system allows the operator to manually control the mirrors of the laser through the control console. Shut down electronics bypass the computer and automatically shut down the primary power supplies in the event of a safety breach.
Additional objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a laser system including a laser controller according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a counter/timer board and a series of end of pulse detectors that provide sequencing of a series of diode arrays of the laser system shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a series of pulse outputs from the counter/timer board shown in FIG. 2.
The following description of the preferred embodiments directed to a laser controller is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its applications or uses. For example, the description of the laser controller of the invention will be described for controlling a solid state diode laser for a PLM operation. However, the laser controller of the invention may have application for other types of lasers or other types of machines.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a laser system 10 including a laser controller 12, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The laser controller 12 includes an industrial computer 14 that is the central control device of the controller 12. The computer 14 can be any commercially available computer suitable for the purposes described herein, for example, a computer from Industrial CPU Systems. The computer 14 includes two ninety-six (96) channel digital input/output (I/O) ports 16 and 18 that are digital input and output interfaces to allow the computer 14 to interface with other digital devices, as is well understood in the art.
The computer 14 also includes a ten channel counter/timer circuit board 24 used to set the pulse width and rate for energizing the diode arrays in the gain modules. The counter/timer board 24 can energize the diode arrays in any suitable time frame for different applications. The counter/timer board output signal controls the pulse width and pulse rate of the laser diode arrays. Both of these parameters can be ramped to vary the laser output power during laser operation. The various diode arrays can also be fired in a consecutive sequence so that the laser beam output is effectively a continuous wave output at a lower power. The diodes that are used in the state of the art diode arrays can handle a very large amount of power for short durations, but will burn out if the duration is too long. The counter/timer board 24 is programmed with the desired pulse widths, and the pulsed output signals are applied to a series of end of pulse detectors 26, described in more detail below. Output signals from the counter/time board 24 are applied to laser diode drivers 28 that control the firing of the diode arrays.
FIG. 2 shows a more detailed diagram of the counter/timer board 24 separated from the computer 14, where the end of pulse detectors 26 are shown as separate end of pulse detectors 30, 32, 34 and 36 that provide a pulse phasing operation. In one embodiment, five channels of the counter/timer board 24 are used to set the diode pulse sequence. The counter/timer 24 board is also used to measure the flow rate of the cooling water to the diode arrays. The five channels from the counter/timer board 24 provide suitable output pulses to energize the separate diode drivers 28 for five different diode arrays. Each pulse output for each separate diode array is labeled as pulse 1-pulse 5. FIG. 3 shows the sequencing of the pulses 1-5 relative to each other. A first channel of the board 24 outputs pulse 1 to fire the first diode array, and the end of pulse detector 30 detects the falling edge of pulse 1. When the end of pulse detector 30 detects the end of pulse 1, it outputs a signal to the board 24 that triggers the board 24 to output pulse 2 from the second channel to fire the second diode array. The end of pulse detector 32 detects the falling edge of pulse 2, and outputs a signal to the board 24 that triggers pulse 3 from the third channel to fire the third diode array. The end of pulse detector 34 detects the falling edge of pulse 3, and outputs a signal to the board 24 that triggers pulse 4 from the fourth channel to fire the fourth diode. The end of pulse detector 36 detects the falling edge of pulse 4, and outputs a signal to the board 24 that triggers pulse 5 from the fifth channel to fire the fifth diode array. Although not shown, an end of pulse detector would detect a falling edge of pulse 5 to trigger pulse 1 again. This sequence continues so that the output laser beam is effectively a continuous wave beam. Of course, the board 24 can be programmed so that some arrays are fired at the same time, or the sequence is in a different manner. Additionally, the counter/timer board 24 can be programmed to sequence less than five diode arrays or more than five diode arrays.
The computer 14 also includes a digital word generator 20 that provides digital output signals to an RF amplifier 22. The amplifier 22 generates an RF signal that controls an AO modulator for modulation of the output beam of the laser system 10. The digital word generator 20 is a pattern generator that is programmed by software with a set of digital patterns that are sequentially clocked out up to a rate of, for example, 20 MHz. This clocked output pattern generates the modulation pulses that modulates the diode array pulses into high intensity peak pulses. The diode arrays (not shown) are pulsed on for some period of time by the counter/timer board, for example 500 microseconds. During this on time, the AO modulator switches the laser beam on and off to allow lasing or inhibit lasing to generate the high intensity pulses. The pulse pattern from the generator 20 controls the AO modulator at the desired pulse width and frequency, or ramped in either or both parameters, to break up the laser pulses to form the high peak pulses. A more detailed description of this type of modulation can be found in the '961 application referenced above. The digital word generator 20 is programmed or calibrated for a particular PLM operation.
The computer 14 also includes a series of RS 485 comm ports 38 that provide communication to other system devices on a common bus. One of the ports 38 provides a temperature control signal to heater controls and diagnostics 40. The heater controls 40 control one or more heaters, for example, edge bar heaters (not shown), that are used to maintain each of the laser gain modules at a specific temperature for different applications. It is necessary that the gain modules have a consistent temperature to operate effectively in a stable manner, as is well understood in the art. The computer 14 tells the controller 12 what temperature to run the gain modules for a specific pulse setting, and those temperature signals are output from one of the ports 38 to the heater controls 40. The diagnostics control 40 monitors the light output power monitor of the laser system 10 as a voltage signal. In one embodiment, another of the ports 38 is used to connect an external computer (not shown) so that the controller 12 can be operated from a remote site. This RS 485 port can also be configured as a RS 422 port.
A watch dog timer 42 monitors the operation of the computer 14 as a safety function, so that if the computer program should lock up for any reason, the watch dog timer 42 would stop the operation of the laser system 10 to prevent it from being maintained in an operating condition. Each of the I/O ports 16 and 18, the digital word generator 20, the counter/timer board 24, the comm ports 38, and the watch dog timer 42 are well known devices in the art, and therefore their specific operation need not be discussed in specific detail. For example, the ninety-six channel digital I/O ports 16 and 18, the counter/timer board 24 and the comm ports 38 can be National Instrument boards and the digital word generator 20 can be a Quatech 100, all known in the art.
The laser system 10 is controlled by the operator through a control console 44. The control console 44 acts as the work station that the laser operator stands or sits at to run the laser system 10 for the various PLM operations. The control console 44 includes a computer monitor with a touch screen 46 to allow ease of control. The touch screen 46 allows the operator to touch different graphically displayed areas on the screen to easily adjust various parameters of the laser system 10, such as the pulse width and pulse rate control of the laser beam, polarization and modulation control, etc. for different PLM operations. The control console 44 also includes a series of control switches 48, such as a start button, a stop button, key switches to lock out the laser for safety purposes, or any other type of control switch specific to a certain laser system, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
The control console 44 further includes a target monitor 50 that provides a visual indication of the laser beam during the PLM operation. The target monitor 36 can be a tiny liquid crystal display (LCD) mounted on the control console 30. Small target and alignment video cameras 52 are provided within the laser system 10 so that the operator can actually see the laser beam at a reduced beam intensity for beam alignment and beam quality purposes. The operator can select which of the target and alignment cameras 52 to display on the monitor 50 through the touch screen 46. An output from the touch screen 46 is applied to the industrial computer 14 and, through the digital I/O port 18, the computer 14 outputs a signal to a camera select circuit 54. The camera select circuit 54 outputs a signal to the target and alignment cameras 52 to select a camera whose image is displayed on the monitor 50. The display signals from the cameras 52 are sent to the target monitor 50 through the camera select circuit 54. A keyboard 56 is also provided at the control console 44 to allow more detailed access to the laser control functions and programming. The keyboard 56 will normally be locked away during operation of the laser system 10, and the operator will control the operation by the touch screen 46. The keyboard 56 can be used for maintenance purposes or actually access some part of the main program for more detailed control if needed.
The laser controller 12 includes a power supply interface isolation system 58 that is the interface between the industrial computer 14, through the I/O port 16, and the primary power supplies 60 of the laser system 10. Typically, there is an individual power supply 60 for each diode array. The power supply interface isolation system 58 provides a digital interface signal from each power supply 60 to the computer 14 for isolation purposes to prevent a fault in the power from the primary power supplies 60 from damaging the computer 14. The power supply interface system 58 includes several integrated circuit chips that digitally feed an optoisolator (not shown) in each primary power supply 60. The actual integrated circuit chips can be any suitable existing integrated circuit that performs this function, as would be well known to those skilled in the art.
A controls and monitor electronics system 62 is a digital interface to the computer 14 through the I/O port 18 for safety and system interlocks 64 of the laser system 10. The safety and system interlocks 64 would include various system level safety systems, such as laser cover interlocks, mirror temperature sensors, as well as other safety systems existing within the laser system 10. Sensors (not shown) are provided behind some of the mirrors in the system 10, so that if the laser beam burns through a mirror, this burn through will be detected and the system 10 will be shut down through the controls and monitor electronics 62. Additionally, the laser system 10 includes certain interlock safety systems that if not properly activated, or are breached, will shut down the operation of the laser system 10. In other words, the controls and monitor electronics 62 monitor the various safety and system interlocks 64 to allow the computer 14 to shut off the laser beam in the event of some type of safety breach in the system 10.
Laser mirror motor control electronics 66 provide a manual control of the mirrors in the system 10 by controlling mirror motors 68 that drive the mirrors (not shown). The control electronics 66 apply a voltage to the mirror motors 68, and then determines what kind of loading is on the motor 68. The control electronics 66 uses the EMF from the mirror motor 68 to determine motor loading in this manner. The computer touch screen 46 includes a touch control that provides an output through the I/O 18 to the laser mirror motor control electronics 66 to move the mirrors to adjust beam quality and the like. Therefore, instead of having to open the laser system 10 to adjust the mirrors, the operator can view the laser beam on the target monitor 50, and adjust the mirrors by the touch screen 46 for alignment purposes to increase beam quality.
System shut down electronics 70 provides an interface from user interlocks 72 to the computer 14. The user interlocks 72 are those safety switches and locks that the user of the system 10 can selectively connect depending on the location and application of the system. For example, the actual laser is typically located in a separate room, where the doors to the room include door interlocks such that if the door is opened during operation, the laser will shut off. The system shut down electronics 70 bypass the computer 14 and directly shuts down the primary power supplies 60 through the isolation system 58. Additionally, the system shut down electronics 70 gates off the pulses to block them so they are prevented from being outputted from the computer. In this manner, the computer's operation doesn't prevent a safety interlock in the event that the computer 14 locks up, and all of the safety controls are lost.
The controller 12 discussed above provides controlled ramping of the beam output intensity and modulation from one output setting to a next output setting during actual operation of a PLM operation. Additionally, the various features of the controller 12 discussed above provide increased operator convenience and accuracy over known laser controllers in the art.
The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
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|U.S. Classification||372/38.02, 372/25, 372/26, 372/38.04|
|International Classification||H01S3/0933, H01S5/06, H01S5/0683, H01S5/062, H01S3/102|
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|Feb 26, 1998||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: TRW INC., CALIFORNIA
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Effective date: 19980225
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Owner name: NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION,CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:TRW, INC. N/K/A NORTHROP GRUMMAN SPACE AND MISSION SYSTEMS CORPORATION, AN OHIO CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:013751/0849
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Owner name: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SPACE & MISSION SYSTEMS CORP.,CAL
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Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NORTHROP GRUMMAN SPACE & MISSION SYSTEMS CORP.;REEL/FRAME:023915/0446
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text:
October 28, 2012 |
FOR THREE DAYS, Raghunandan "Ragu" Yandamuri seemed the most caring of friends. After someone killed Satyavathi Venna and kidnapped her 10-month-old granddaughter, Saanvi, from the family's King of Prussia apartment Monday, Yandamuri attended a candlelight vigil and helped create and distribute fliers offering a reward for the baby's safe return. To show support for the family, he even visited the Upper Merion Police Department, where Saanvi's parents, Venkata Venna and Chenchu Latha Punuru, camped out with investigators, desperately waiting for any word of their missing infant.
June 16, 2014 |
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman was a political superstar when she ran for reelection in 2011, with such a sterling image and strong popularity that Democrats did not put up a challenger. The next year, Ferman stepped into a star-studded spotlight in New York City, as the L'Oréal Women of Worth awards' national honoree for her work on behalf of abused children. Her name often ended up on short lists of prospects for higher office. But Republicans and Democrats are now talking, or at least whispering, about the political damage Ferman may have suffered from botched investigations in two high-profile prosecutions - the rape case against former Montgomery County GOP chairman Robert Kerns, and a theft case against a contractor that ended with a Ferman apology and a $1.6 million payout to the man. Ferman still has ardent supporters.
April 27, 2013 |
Their paths don't cross professionally. He's in the kitchen, she's in a courtroom. But on Thursday, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman and her brother, the acclaimed chef Marc Vetri, shared a stage for the first time. Their topic was neither cuisine nor crime, or sibling rivalry - but charity. Vetri, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Vetri, Osteria, Amis, and Alla Spina, cofounded the Vetri Foundation in 2008 to promote healthy foods and active lifestyles.
October 25, 2012 |
WHERE IS baby Saanvi? One day after police discovered the body of her murdered grandmother in the family's King of Prussia high-rise apartment, authorities continued their desperate search for the child, who has been missing since the Monday murder and is presumed kidnapped. Relatives said that thugs had no reason to target their family. "We don't have any suspicion of anything, no threats on anyone," the girl's uncle Ram Venna told reporters Tuesday morning outside the Upper Merion Township Police Department, where the family spent the day with investigators.
October 26, 2012 |
The body of a missing 10-month-old child has been found at the King of Prussia apartment complex where she was snatched as her grandmother tried to save her life, authorities said today. The body of Saanvi Venna was discovered at 4:30 a.m. in a basement area of the apartment building, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman. Police arrested Raghunanean Yandamuri, a family friend, who they said had sought a $50,000 ransom. Yandamuri, who lives in the same Marquis apartments complex, left a chilling ransom note.
March 5, 2014 |
KING OF PRUSSIA Concerned about the sex trade at motels and hotels around King of Prussia, police set up an undercover sting and arrested six men for patronizing prostitutes, authorities said Monday. "This particular initiative is one that you might typically refer to as a 'john sting,' " Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said. Upper Merion police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, part of Ferman's office, placed an advertisement on an unnamed website offering prostitution services Friday.
July 3, 2014 |
STATE SEN. LeAnna Washington, awaiting trial on two felony public-corruption charges, would rather face a jury in Philadelphia than in Montgomery County. Washington's attorney, Henry Hockeimer Jr., yesterday asked a Montgomery County judge overseeing the case being prosecuted by the state Attorney General's Office to move it to Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas. Hockeimer's argument: All of the action in the case is in Philly. Washington, 68, has an unexpected legal ally in that argument: Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.
May 23, 2014 |
The Radnor Township contractor who received a $1.65 million settlement and a rare apology from Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman over unsubstantiated charges that he ripped off a Jenkintown church said Wednesday that he was glad to see the end of what he called a "five-year-long nightmare. " Walter Logan, 65, said he hoped to rebuild his construction business after his arrest on theft charges in 2009, which he said all but destroyed his reputation. Since then, he said, has lost out on several potentially lucrative contracts for projects across the country.
May 21, 2014 |
Montgomery County has agreed to pay $1.65 million to a Radnor Township contractor who accused District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman of bringing unfounded theft charges against him at the behest of a church that counts prominent county officials among its members. As part of the agreement, finalized this week, Ferman admitted no improper influence but was required to issue an apology to Walter Logan, whose alleged crimes she once described as "particularly despicable" and "really very low. " Those words, delivered to a TV news crew, came hours after her office had charged Logan in 2009 with bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Salem Baptist Church of Jenkintown during a contract dispute.
August 8, 2012 |
Five men have been arrested and police are seeking 18 others in an elaborate scheme to bilk Comcast out of $2.4 million by selling discounted cable services for a fee, officials in Montgomery County said Tuesday. The scam was carried out from April 2011 to April 2012 in Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties, said District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, during a news brief in Norristown. In all, 5,795 customers paid $150 to have promotional discounts applied to their cable accounts, giving them premium channels and lower rates they weren't entitled to, Ferman said.


text:
Spotify Technology S.A. Ordinary Shares (SPOT) Company Bio
Spotify AB provides a digital music-streaming service that gives on-demand access of songs on devices, computers, mobiles, tablets, and home entertainment systems. Its services allow subscribers to search and discover music collections of friends, artists, and celebrities; build a personal collection playlist; and share music on Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, blog, and via email with friends. It also offers research and development services in Sweden. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify AB operates as a subsidiary of Spotify Limited.
SPOT Price Forecast Based on DCF Valuation
DCF Fair Value Target:
Below please find a table outlining a discounted cash flow forecast for SPOT, in which we model out valuation assuming a variety of terminal growth rates. To summarize, we found that Spotify Technology SA ranked in the 10th percentile in terms of potential gain offered. Our DCF analysis suggests the stock is overvalued by about 89%. As for the metrics that stood out in our discounted cash flow analysis of Spotify Technology SA, consider:
98% of the company's capital comes from equity, which is greater than 93.18% of stocks in our cash flow based forecasting set.
The business' balance sheet reveals debt to be 2% of the company's capital (with equity being the remaining amount). Approximately merely 6.78% of US stocks with free cash flow have a lower reliance on debt in their capital structure.
The company's cost of debt, derived from its interest coverage, tax rate, and market capitalization, is greater than 66.05% of stocks in its sector (Technology).
Terminal Growth Rate in Free Cash Flow
Return Relative to Current Share Price
For other companies in the Technology that have a similar discounted cashflow valuation profile (and ensuing price forecasts) as SPOT, try KLIC, SIMO, SSNT, TTD, and EVOP.
Hot technology startups have traditionally raised the cash they needed to break into the big time through initial public offerings. IPOs became synonymous with instant wealth for company founders and those lucky enough to buy those shiny new shares. Then music-streaming service Spotify Technology SA went a different route, going public through a method called direct listing. Why a direct listing? While Spotify didn’t need new cash, its investors wanted to cash out. Workplace messaging platform S
A group of Apple's critics - including Spotify Technology, Match Group and "Fortnite" creator Epic Games - have joined a nonprofit group that plans to advocate for legal and regulatory action to challenge the iPhone maker's App Store practices.
It's not hard to conclude that the stock of Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) is absolutely a buy. The company has already established itself as the global paid music-streaming leader, which suggests there is a lot of growth ahead of it, given music streaming adoption is still in its infancy.

domain: finance


text:
We first met Jamie and Chris last August when we were on the home stretch of preparing for our own wedding. Right away it felt like we really hit it off and it was great to get to know each other and learn all about their upcoming September wedding day. Jamie and Chris live in San Mateo and have been familiar with this area for a quite some time. When we needed to choose a location for their engagement session it was very easy and we really enjoyed walking all around the downtown area as well as in San Mateo Central Park.
Jamie and Chris’ wedding is going to be at the Crystal Springs Golf Course and we are excited to shoot there. If you’ve ever driven past this area on freeway 280 there is a good chance you noticed the beautiful gazebo out on the rolling hills overlooking the reservoir. Natasha and I can’t wait to capture their celebration.
Here are some favorites from this session:
Happy weekend, everyone!
Update – we just got Jamie and Chris’ reaction to the shots and wanted to share it:
I just wanted to thank you both again. The photos are amazing and we love them. I cannot wait for the wedding. Now I am just trying to figure out which ones to buy.
Your engagement photos are beautiful!

domain: geography


text:
It seems that the megastar judges of America’s most iconic television talent competitions favour the equally iconic design duo of Dolce & Gabbana to make their most striking fashion statements. Whether on the judging stand or attending high-visibility events, multiple fashionistas from these popular reality programs repeatedly choose clothing and accessories from the high-end Italian designer. Judges from America’s Got Talent, American Idol, and World of Dance have all been seen stepping out while draped in Dolce & Gabbana in recent days.
American Idol’s Katy Perry
American Idol judge and singing superstar Katy Perry is known as much for her stunning looks as her power vocals. The 37-year-old was recently spotted in Capri, Italy, filming a commercial for Italian designer, Dolce & Gabbana. Perry went for a ride on a speedboat, sporting a retro look in an ebony floral bralette with a matching mini skirt. Outside the fashion shoot, the singer displays a fondness for Dolce & Gabbana accessories, including jewellery and handbags from their Devotion line. She has also been spotted in several floral print dresses from the iconic designer, showing a particular preference for body-conscious styles, maxi dresses, and skirts.
America’s Got Talent’s Heidi Klum
The gorgeous Heidi Klum, the supermodel judge of the blockbuster American talent competition, recently stunned on-set in a black Dolce & Gabbana gown with a plunging neckline and sparkle-embellished straps. Klum is also the proud mother of a Dolce & Gabbana model, as her daughter Leni has followed her lead and walked the runway in this past summer’s Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda fashion show.
America’s Got Talent’s Sofia Vergara
The stunning Sofia Vergara, AGT judge and former star of Modern Family frequently sports Dolce & Gabbana dresses both on the show and off. She recently shared a mirror selfie on Instagram featuring a floral, fitted midi dress from the Italian designer. The strapless yellow dress included a pink, green, and white floral pattern and a pleated hemline for a flirty, feminine touch. Vergara is frequently spotted with Dolce & Gabbana handbags, of which she apparently has quite a collection!
World of Dance’s Jennifer Lopez
A former judge of American Idol and World of Dance, Jennifer Lopez is known for her timeless beauty and impeccable style. She is featured in a new Dolce & Gabbana eyewear campaign along with English model David Gandy. Lopez dazzles in black, strappy, lace lingerie while draped in Dolce & Gabbana jewellery and oversized sunglasses. The new Mrs. Ben Affleck is often spotted in D&G styles at her many high-visibility events and social engagements. Her style preference leans toward black garments, including lacy bustiers, miniskirts, and tulle bras. Lopez also frequently sports jackets by the Italian designer, with a penchant for lace blazers, short jackets, and long, beaded styles.
America has shown its love for reality talent shows, and these judges are popular not only for their ability to provide feedback to the competitors but for their ability to look great while doing it. Dolce & Gabbana is a valuable asset behind the stylish looks of these iconic women.

domain: artistic


KF softball looks to build on last season
The King’s Fork High School softball team is looking forward to try to build on the season they had last year.
Last year, King’s Fork won nine games, including a playoff win, before falling in the semifinals to Great Bridge High School last year. The Bulldogs graduated five seniors from last year’s team, and Coach Tom Hinnant believes King’s Fork has a chance to be even better than they were last season.
“We’ve added some pieces, which include a transfer and those returning from injury,” Hinnant said. “I believe we have an opportunity to be better than we were last year. The schedule plays out a little better for us. I think we will be competitive, if not more, this season.”
King’s Fork returns senior pitcher Cali Hinnant to the circle. She is a three-time All-District and All-Region selection. King’s Fork has also added Toni Jones, a transfer from Nansemond River High School.
The goal for this season is to make the state tournament, but Hinnant knows the Lady Bulldogs will have to hit better and make smarter decisions in their base running this season. Playing in the Southeastern District will be continue to be a true test for King’s Fork.
They will open the season at home at 5:30 p.m. March 17 against Nansemond River.


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I had a friend once, a vivacious, spectacular person, who spent his life motivating and encouraging others. He was a new-ish friend, but one whose company I really enjoyed, and a person who spread sunshine and kindness wherever he was. We got together for coffee sometimes, or met to exercise. He had popped into my head several times that week, thinking I should call and work out the next time we could meet. It was a busy week, and the call stayed on my to-do list.
On Saturday morning, he was gone, leaving so many people shattered. I didn’t understand.
Then few years ago, during a very prolonged dark time in my life, I understood him far too well.
I contemplated very seriously if the world would be a better place without me in it. I definitely had a good number of wonderful people who loved me, and it would not have been obvious to nearly any of them that I harboured such thoughts. It had nothing to with being alone, or not being loved, or anything any of those fine people had or hadn’t done.
I was just bone-tired with trying to be okay for others, tired of being told that ‘this too shall pass,’ or that I had ‘so much to be thankful for,’ or that I needed to ‘focus on the positive.’
So I found myself one day, after walking my children to school, standing, somewhat frozen, at the edge of the train line, wondering what would happen if I just waited for the right moment, then stepped forward…
It was the most terrifying moment of my life. Mostly I felt guilty, then useless. I had absolutely no plan, no solution and so many small things on my shoulders, which seemed to combine to feel like a crushing weight.
My phone rang, and thankfully, it was a quiet, calm friend, just checking in. So I started walking again, not daring to tell them where I had been standing, or what I was thinking. I just lied through my teeth, once again assuming the role of a person coping, until I actually started to again.
Some time later, I dared to divulge that day to some people very close to me, and was almost unfailingly met with fury – how could I? Don’t I know how selfish that would be? Don’t I remember my responsibilities? What kind of mess would I leave behind?
They were scared. I got that then, and I get it now, but if anyone you know or love ever says the same to you, try and avoid that response. That person is just as scared as you, and they are in more pain than you can imagine. It’s not your fault.
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day – a day to recognise the part we all have in preventing suicide, to remember those we have lost to suicide and support the loved ones they left behind.
This year, the global theme for World Suicide Prevention Day is “one world connected” – a reminder to us that working together and supporting each other is key to preventing suicide.
“Making sure we connect with people is one of the most powerful ways to help people in distress,” Mental Health Foundation Chief Executive, Judi Clements, says. “If you’re worried about a friend or family member, reach out to them and listen without judgement. Encourage them to get the support or help they need.
“Sometimes people just need someone to really hear them, and then they may be more willing to reach out for help from professionals such as a doctor or counsellor.”
Fortunately, New Zealand’s suicide rate has decreased by over 20% since 2000. That’s a great start. But we need to stay connected, aware, empathetic and patient.
For more information, contact mentalhealth.org or your GP.


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By Mons Kallentoft
(Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Hardcover, 9781451642544, 464pp.)
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Other Editions of This Title: Paperback
Enter your zip code below to find indies closest to you.
IN THE ACCLAIMED MALIN FORS SERIES, EVERY SEASON IS PERFECT FOR MURDER. The tiny town that Detective Malin Fors calls home is plagued by a sweltering heat wave and resulting raging forest fires. It is the hottest summer anyone can recall, and it’s about to become the most violent and grim, too. A teenage girl is found naked and bleeding in a city park, without any recollection of what has happened to her. Next, another grisly discovery is made on a lakeside beach, and the whole town is on edge. A serial killer walks among them, and while the families of Linköping withdraw to protect their young, Malin must uncover the secrets behind these crimes, potentially putting herself and her own family at risk in the process.
Mons Kallentoft is the author of the internationally acclaimed crime fiction series featuring Malin Fors. The series has been translated into twenty-six languages and has sold more than 1.5 million copies. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
“Kallentoft writes vividly and harshly.”
“One of those books that will keep you up throughout the night. . . Make room on your shelf--and calendar--for this one.”
“Readers will look forward to the next three volumes.”
“Don't bother with Stieg Larsson... Kallentoft is better.”

domain: library


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With formal closing completed December 19, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has acquired the assets of Coordinated Health (CH). This means Coordinated Health is now part of Lehigh Valley Health Network. LVHN and CH jointly announced in September they had signed a binding Letter of Intent for LVHN to acquire the assets of Coordinated Health, pending reviews by the Federal Trade Commission and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. Those reviews concluded in November and both organizations worked diligently to reach closing.
Read the full article: Coordinated Health Joins Lehigh Valley Health Network //


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When I was a boy there was a PSA that was broadcast with some regularity on TV. A series of photos were shown depicting men, women, and children of different ages and ethnicities. All this was done while the signs get sang “VD is for everybody.” The ’60s were an odd time to be a child.
Anyway, whatever one thinks of that long-ago commercial, as a recent essay makes clear it isn’t just VD that’s “for everybody.” Violence is a possibility for everybody as well. Those on the Left just as much as the Right.


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Today, June 4, 2005, 16 years after the bloody crackdown that took place in and around Tiananmen Square, Human Rights Watch calls on China to stop trying to rewrite history. Until China’s leaders are willing to seriously confront the events of 1989, that cannot happen.
The government’s first step must be to overturn the 1989 verdict calling the movement by workers, students, and the citizens of Beijing and other cities and towns across China a counterrevolutionary rebellion. That verdict denies redress and public acknowledgement of their losses to those whose sons, daughters, wives, and husbands were killed. It prevents those who escaped from returning to China to visit their families, to mourn parents, even to be reunited with their own children.
China’s current leadership must publicly hold accountable those who made the decision to turn the People’s Liberation Army against the citizens of Beijing and who ordered the imprisonment of thousands of others throughout China. The leadership must formally exonerate or initiate new and fair trials, attended by international observers, for all those convicted of crimes in the aftermath of June 4. It must issue a complete list of those who died, those who were injured, and those who went to prison.
As the world watches, China must permit those who lost loved ones to publicly mourn and to join together in mourning. And it must join with all those who call for a full and impartial investigation of what the world has come to call the Tiananmen Massacre.
The coverup has gone on too long.

domain: law


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This just in…
Ever have one of those moments when you’re reacting to life instead of responding to it and God checks your heart real quick to bring you back to reality? I know I’m not the only one… well, this idea of courage… courage is being brave, right? And being brave means not backing down and facing the fight with confidence? Eh, so I thought.
Since I was a small child, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with snakes. I pretty much love to hate them. I’m not sure where the fear came from. I speak of it often. My parents have a good bit of land, so I’m always on guard concerning that. Recently, I killed one and I felt all brave and bold like finally I faced it! God checked my heart just now. He told me that the whole concept of killing your fear and wearing it as shoes is false courage.
True courage is going forward confident in my identity learning to co-exist and eventually rise above the idea of fear. Sure, I can go around smashing snakes and making belts, but that doesn’t change the dreary feeling that comes over me when I contact one or see one on something. It doesn’t take away the paranoia when walking through the woods. Being able to embrace the snake as it is, as I am is true courage.
Someday, I’ll get there. I’m grateful to know that I’ve been approaching it wrong.
This also applies to life and relationships. It’s one thing to run away from every sign of something that frightens you; it’s another to walk through in spite of that one sign to see what could happen. It’s not brave to date after divorce. It’s brave to embrace the idea of loving another imperfect human being even after being hurt or changed by another person.
It is impossible for hope and fear to co-exist. One must be compromised for the other.
It’s actually simple. I’ve been making it hard. I can trust. I’ve been choosing not to based on my fear of what could happen.
I no longer care what could happen. Maybe a snake will fall on me. Maybe I’ll meet the love of my life. Maybe I’ll wake up 30 pounds thinner. Maybe my dog will grow wings and fly. Anything can happen; anything happens all the time. Living in fear of anything is stupid. It’s also overrated.
I dare to live in expectation of the anythings of life.
I AM Eryka.

domain: literature


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RM Happiness Centre is offering CHIA Seeds with an absolute level of purity. We are a major supplier and processor of Organic Chia seeds in Gujarat. Chia seeds are oval and grey with black and white spots, having a diameter of about 2 millimetres.
All the products are hygienically packed with the support of our technologically advanced packaging machine. Chia seed suppliers in Gujarat give perfect packing with Paper Bags, PP bags, and Big Bags (Jumbo). An airtight packing is done cautiously so that it is moisture-free. It keeps our products fresh and germ-free.
Despite being small in size, these are completely loaded with a lot of significant nutrients. These can be eaten cooked or raw, but one must add chia seeds to another recipe before eating. Chia seeds can be utilised in several healthy food recipes and can be prepared easily. Contact us now for more information!
Hi! Simply click below and type your query.
Our experts will reply you very soon.

domain: food


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This week on Classical IPR in Concert, we get in the Halloween spirit with "Phantasms of a Fevered Imagination." This production of the Old Town Playhouse features classic works of spooky literature, with music by Dr. Cynthia Van Maanen.
Tune in Friday night at 8 p.m., Sunday at noon, or listen any time at the link below!
"Phantasms of a Fevered Imagination" at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City
Music: Cynthia Van Maanen
Musicians: Cynthia Van Maanen (flute, bass flute, prepared piano), Anthony Bero (piano, prepared piano)
Director: Terri Heffron
Recording engineer: Silvio Ciccone
- I Felt a Funeral (Emily Dickinson) - Denni Don Hunting
- The Furnished Room (O'Henry) - Cathy Louis, featuring John Klapko, Denni Don Hunting and Maria McKane
- The Shadow on the Stone (Thomas Hardy) - Michael Binstead
- Wraith (Edna St. Vincent Millay) - Denni Don Hunting
- The Terrible Old Man (H.P. Lovecraft) - John Klapko
- A Chilly Night (Christina Rossetti) - Denni Don Hunting
- The Masque of the Red Death (Edgar Allen Poe) - Jay Simon, Michael Binstead and the full cast


ON this day in history...
...2007, Marc Jacobs' business partner Robert Duffy confirmed that the designer had checked himself in to a rehabilitation centre in Arizona to undergo treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.
Jacobs, who made no secret of his problems, had been sober for seven years before the relapse and apparently left Paris straight after his Louis Vuitton show and flew direct to begin his treatment.
"Marc made the right decision," Duffy told WWD. "He'd been sober for seven years. When he relapsed, he wanted to deal with it right away. According to the experts, such a relapse isn't uncommon. Thankfully, Marc recognised the problem himself and chose to deal with it. Obviously, our prayers are with him."


Xbox and PS4 Fortnite players have been experiencing footstep audio issues. Epic is investigating.
Finally, all Fortnite players are able to farm without this debilitating weak point pickaxe bug.
Epic has announced a PS4-exclusive tournament with $1 million in prizes and a free skin.
Patch v8.20 came out on Wednesday, March 27th and it brought some performance upgrades which changed lighting and other visuals on console versions of the game....
Epic Games have rolled out Fortnite patch v15.20, with a whole host of changes.
Fortnite v15.20 is expected this week. Take a look at all of our predictions for the next Fortnite update.
Fortnite’s v15.10 update has rolled out in Epic Games’ popular battle royale title, bringing a few new weapons to Season...


Thermal cycling was performed between room temperature and 723 K in a sputter deposited thin film of Al-1 mol % Si alloy on a silicon substrate. After given numbers of cycling, residual stress was determined at room temperature by measuring the film curvature using a laser deflection apparatus. Residual stress was found to increase with increasing the cycle number up to the 4th cycle, followed by a continuous decrease by further cycling. Based on the microstructure observation, the initial increase of residual stress was caused by the increase of lattice dislocations and their tangling. The following decrease of residual stress was caused by crack formation and delamination. Stress relaxation experiments were also performed during isothermal annealing at various temperatures. Analysis of the relaxation curves indicates three temperature regions representing different deformation mechanisms. The boundaries between the neighboring regions were found to agree with the boundaries in a deformation mechanism map calculated for an Al thin film. Based on the obtained knowledge of the deformation mechanisms, the origin of the microstructure changes and the structural failure by thermal cycling are discussed.


Integrate with "Access Analyzer API" from amazonaws.com in no time with Mockoon's ready to use mock sample
Start working with "Access Analyzer API" right away by using this ready-to-use mock sample. API mocking can greatly speed up your application development by removing all the tedious tasks or issues: API key provisioning, account creation, unplanned downtime, etc.
It also helps reduce your dependency on third-party APIs and improves your integration tests' quality and reliability by accounting for random failures, slow response time, etc.
Identity and Access Management Access Analyzer helps identify potential resource-access risks by enabling you to identify any policies that grant access to an external principal. It does this by using logic-based reasoning to analyze resource-based policies in your Amazon Web Services environment. An external principal can be another Amazon Web Services account, a root user, an IAM user or role, a federated user, an Amazon Web Services service, or an anonymous user. You can also use IAM Access Analyzer to preview and validate public and cross-account access to your resources before deploying permissions changes. This guide describes the Identity and Access Management Access Analyzer operations that you can call programmatically. For general information about IAM Access Analyzer, see Identity and Access Management Access Analyzer in the IAM User Guide. To start using IAM Access Analyzer, you first need to create an analyzer.


For the purpose of making LibreCube projects modular and compatible to each other, we are working on the definition of the LibreCube Board Specification. It specifies the requirements of such boards in terms of mechanical, electrical, and communication interface.
The work package is here: https://librecube.blaucloud.de/index.php/s/dI0JmMtrJLqmu9T
The draft specification is in folder “workspace”
Please provide your comments/feedback here.


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You can put a pin in the legal drama between Kailyn Lowry and Briana DeJesus.
After about nine months of proverbially duking it out in court, the Teen Mom 2 stars are going to have to move on however they feel is best after Kailyn’s defamation lawsuit against Briana was officially dismissed by a judge on Monday.
Us Weekly and others confirmed the dismissal, noting that a court has extinguished the ongoing litigation in DeJesus’ favor by tossing out Kailyn’s claims. As Perezcious readers will recall, the pair had been battling in court after Lowry sued DeJesus in the summer of 2021, claiming her reality TV rival had falsely asserted Kailyn had physically assaulted Chris Lopez, the father of her two youngest sons Lux, who is now 4, and Creed, who is nearly 2.
Lowry was initially arrested amid the alleged incident with Lopez, which took place late in 2020. However, the Pride Over Pity author was soon released from police custody, and charges against her regarding the alleged altercation were eventually dropped. Still, that didn’t stop Lowry’s legal battle with DeJesus after the 30-year-old mom of four took issue with what she termed were false allegations made by Briana about Lopez’s supposed assault and an alleged break-in at his home.
All that ends now, though. According to the mag, which obtained court docs related to the dismissal, a judge decided that Briana’s statements were “substantially true.” Writing in the dismissal decision, the judge shared:
“[Briana DeJesus] Soto’s statement about ‘breaking and entering’ does not change the gist of the statement that Lowry had been arrested. It was widely publicized that Lowry had been arrested for domestic violence and Soto’s comments on the issue were substantially true. The damage to Lowry’s reputation, if any, had already occurred when the incident was publicized by news media.”
And the judge added more:
“Even if the isolated statement regarding ‘breaking and entering’ can be considered defamatory, there is insufficient evidence to establish that Soto [DeJesus] knew the statement was false at the time it was made. … As a matter of law, Lowry has not met her burden regarding the issue of malice.”
Briana immediately celebrated the dismissal, first sharing a very simple two-word statement with Celebuzz on Monday:
Hours later, the 27-year-old MTV star took to her Instagram Stories to post images of several screenshots of clown costumes for sale on Amazon.
Signaling with the screenshots that she was going to buy one of the costumes for Lowry — trolling the Coffee Convos podcast host over supposed clownish behavior — Briana also credited her lawyer in one of the snaps:
Not exactly subtle…
Briana followed all of those pics up by sharing a series of screenshots pulled directly from the judge’s dismissal decision, relaying key points from the court docs to her fans on Instagram.
As for Kailyn, the 30-year-old shared a more subdued message following her legal loss, writing this on her own IG Stories on Monday:
“While today’s ruling is unfortunate, I have to respect the judge’s decision. With that being said, I stand by my truth and the information spread about me is still not true. I would like to thank my legal team for fighting for me, and I am looking forward to life after this lawsuit so I can focus my energy solely on my boys and my future business endeavors.”
So there you have it! Now, whether or not they agree with the judge’s decision, it would appear this legal battle is behind both reality TV stars.
Reactions, Perezcious readers??


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Enjoy a two-hour tour of the ancient port city of Portoferraio in the beautiful Elba Island, walking along the pink paving of the old town. Visit its Renaissance fortifications, dominating the distinctive harbor, and Napoleon’s old haunts.
About this activity
- Free cancellation
- Cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund
- Mobile ticketing
- Use your phone or print your voucher
- Duration 2 hours
- Check availability to see starting times.
- Instant confirmation
- Live tour guide
- English, Italian, German
Select participants and date
Prepare for the activity
Piazza Cavour 60 - In front of Banca C.R. FirenzeOpen in Google Maps ⟶

domain: travel


text:
At present, Calcom Cement India is expanding its consolidated cement manufacturing capacity to 2.1 million tonnes per annum. DCBL said that the investments would be made through a combination of new issuances and acquisitions and subject to the various terms and conditions set out in the definitive documentation.
Amit Chaudhery, group corporate communications, Dalmia Bharat Group, said, DCBL has arrived at an in-principle agreement with Assam-based Calcom Cement for a 50% stake in that company. Calcom Cement has a robust presence in markets of the northeast. The 50% ownership of this 2.1 million tonne semi-commissioned plant will come at an investment of R238 crore and is a first concrete example of the non-organic, acquisition-based growth strategy of DCBL.
According to sources, Dalmia Group, sometime ago separated its cement business into DCBL and had even attracted close to R750 crore investments from one of the major private equity player KKR for an undisclosed stake way back in mid 2010 and the funds have been used to grow organically and inorganically. Actis is also believed to be one of the investors in the company, the sources added.
The move has been aimed at expanding the cement business beyond south to north, northeastern states to take logistics and cost advantage apart from creating a market for its brand in these markets. Dalmia has 9.5 million tonne capacity now and is holding little over 45% stake in Orissa Cements (OCL), which has around 5.5 million tonne capacity. The company is also looking at setting up greenfield plants in Karnataka with a capacity of 2.5 million tonne each.


Best Coast came to Amoeba Hollywood Oct. 22 for a set of songs culled laregely from their rad new EP, Fade Away. The band showed scrappy confidence in the new songs, which return to the heavier sound of her first album, Crazy For You. Frontwoman Bethany Cosentino's emotive voice shone through the fuzz as girls shouted her name, singing along to songs of loneliness and mid-20s dread. Cosentino gushed about playing to a large crowd (who lined up around the block to get in) at a place she frequented as a teen, and urged fans not to knock over the CD racks. Though the band played most of the new seven-song EP, they threw in a few choice songs from the first two albums—"The Only Place," "Boyfriend" and "Crazy For You," featuring some J Mascis-style shredding from Bobb Bruno. The whole setlist is below. See more photos from the show here.
"This Lonely Morning"
"Who Have I Become?"


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As well as a Gaeltacht Football Championship, the GAA has experimented with new counties in lower level Hurling Competitions, such as the National Hurling League Division 3B counties Fingal (North Dublin) and South Down, as a way of promoting Football and Hurling in non-traditional areas. None of these counties is, however, currently recognised as an official GAA county.
An Gaeltacht GAA
An Gaeltacht GAA Comortais Peile na Gaeltachta (Finals):
Dublin GAA Fingal Schools Football League (Seasons): 1976