The Sherborn Selectboard discussed multiple aspects of potential land use and natural resources in town at its June 20 meeting, at which they also considered the town hall campus site plan.
A new item on the agenda was in regard to the property at 309 Eliot St. in Natick, where “there’s a plan to put in 15 to 16 homes,” according to Chairman Chuck Yon. The property once housed the Windy-Lo Nursery and country store, which closed their doors on Oct. 31, 2016, after 55 years in business, as posted on their Facebook page.
It is located on Route 16 in South Natick, and the plan for the homes would require a second access to Everett Street. Yon said there has been concern about the impact on Sherborn traffic.
He added the development is being managed by Trask Development, who is also proposing the Fields at Sherborn, Meadowbrook Commons and The Villages at Sherborn in Sherborn. Trask was invited to the board’s meeting, but they were not in attendance as they have yet to present the plan to the Natick Planning Board.
Selectman Michael Giaimo gave anecdotal evidence about a 20-minute detour he experienced that day from Eliot to Everett Street.
He added, “It’s not a particularly well-designed road for a lot of traffic, and I don’t know what the plan is.”
He believed they should be prepared to ask the Natick Planning Board to consider the traffic impact on Sherborn, and to ask the Sherborn Planning Board and Town Planner Gino Carlucci to monitor the issue and be aware of potential traffic impacts. He suggested having Town Administrator David Williams speak to the Natick Town Administrator.
Williams said, “I can tell him we want to be included so we know any site plan(s).”
Town campus site plan
Community Maintenance & Development Director Sean Killeen reported on the site plan for the town hall campus with a focus on the well near the Town Hall and parking.
He said the well was out of compliance with current standards due to a proximity to parking and an air-conditioning unit in that area. A well could be dug near the former Kostick property and not risk hammering ledge, he noted, and also not impact utility pipes.
“It was a safe place to go,” said Killeen.
The design team shifted the piping, which allowed them to be closer to the Town Hall generator that was already slated for replacement. A larger generator will be installed and will have a combined purpose for the Sherborn Library and Town Hall.
Selectman Eric Johnson asked about the material for the water pipe lines, which Killeen said the new ones would be plastic, with the old copper lines going to the Community Center.
As shown now, Killeen said 14 parking spaces are being created with the plan. They removed an island on the west side of Town Hall to provide better Americans with Disabilities Act access.
He said the main changes were on the east side of Town Hall to add angled spaces.
Selectman Vice Chairman George Morrill asked about having a green space on the west side of campus where the island used to be, and Killeen said it is a decision the selectmen can make, but it would not affect the plan.
He added, “I think it will work well.”
Killeen noted his “disappointment” that he did not have any cost numbers from the contractor for the board.
He said, “It’s going to take some time to take (additions and deductions) and mix the two, but that can happen concurrently with some of the work.”
Selectman Paul DeRensis said he would vote “no” on the plan because it is set up in a denied mode at the Department of Environmental Protection, and they have asked for a reconsideration of the plan.
“DEP’s not comfortable with this plan,” he said. “I believe we’re better off working cooperatively with DEP, and with more cooperation, we’d get the denial removed faster.”
Killeen said it was not “an ideal plan,” which would not include the well. He later noted the difficulty in placing the well in the plan.
Johnson added they would probably have to see DEP’s responses to the plan. He hypothesized that it would not be a simple yes or no, but along line item approvals. Basically, they would have to address the no’s the DEP finds on separate issues with the plan.
“I think you have to kind of see their responses and then know better,” Johnson added.
Marian Neutra of the Planning Board updated the board on Sherborn’s General Plan, which they have been working on “pretty much nonstop.” She noted there is an implementation table for goals that will be in the final plan.
“It’s coming together,” she said. “(The table) does allow us to go back once a year and see actually what is moving forward and to remind ourselves of what we wanted to do.”
DeRensis said the natural resources and open space portion of the plan is one that they can look at without much controversy and “feel good about.”
“The part of the plan of great interest to me, and I think to most people in town, is going to be the Town Center section and the housing section,” said DeRensis.
Neutra said the Town Center section is almost finished, and the board will receive a copy when it is done. She added that the only vote necessary is adoption by the Planning Board and said they believed it was not feasible to take it up at town meeting because of the detailed nature of the plan.
DeRensis asked if they would just receive chapters of the plan, and she added, “You’re going to see the entire plan.”
Boards such as the Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Open Space Committee, Water Commissioner Roger Demler, Town Center Options Committee, Recreation Commission and Agricultural Commission have received relevant sections, and the Planning Board has gotten “a lot of input.
“We’ll continue to get that input once we get what we think is a semifinal text,” said Neutra.
Planning Chairman John Higley said, “We’ve had hearings with lots of feedback.”
When asked by Neutra how they would like to see the plan, Yon said he preferred to get it in sections. Johnson did not have a preference, but he noted to be sensitive on the work that has gone into the plan when commenting.
Neutra added that things such as major factual errors or “things you think should be there” are what they look for in terms of comments.
Giaimo inquired if they would present it at town meeting, and Neutra said she would like to present a final plan representing 3 1/2 years of work. Higley said the goal could be for endorsement, not approval at town meeting.
Arguing that it makes the plan stronger, Giaimo said, “I think there’s value in having the town endorse a plan that’s been adopted by the Planning Board.”
DeRensis added he is working with the Baker-Polito administration on a land use bill that would give weight to general plans of communities so “courts reviewing decisions would give enhanced protection to decisions that comply with a properly adopted community plan.”
He said, “Up until now, a general plan has been something as a general guidance document, but if some of these changes get enacted, this would become a very important document for the community going forward.”
Neutra said, “We’re aware of that bill, and we hope it passes someday.”
She noted the Planning Board hopes to send a final version of the natural resources plan to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council by the end of the summer.


|Publication number||US5483108 A|
|Application number||US 08/081,110|
|Publication date||Jan 9, 1996|
|Filing date||Jun 25, 1993|
|Priority date||Jun 29, 1992|
|Also published as||DE69304454D1, DE69304454T2, EP0578531A2, EP0578531A3, EP0578531B1|
|Publication number||08081110, 081110, US 5483108 A, US 5483108A, US-A-5483108, US5483108 A, US5483108A|
|Inventors||Jacques Girard, Didier Marquet|
|Original Assignee||France Telecom Etablissement Autonome De Droit Public|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (5), Non-Patent Citations (10), Referenced by (29), Classifications (12), Legal Events (7)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
1. Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to an uninterrupted distributed storage supply system.
The field of the invention is the supply of energy supply telecommunication systems or electronic systems operating in a sensitive manner, i.e. which do not tolerate breakdowns or interruptions.
The system according to the invention more particularly applies to conversion procedures for electrical energy (such as the transformation of direct current) into alternating current and transformation of alternating current) into direct current, (to electrical energy storage methods, using recent technological developments in the field) and the appropriate combination of these different methods and technologies.
2. Description of the Related Art
As described in two articles by J. Girard entitled "Geode, un nouveau concept de l'alimentation en energie des systemes de telecommunications" (Echo des recherches, No. 113, 3rd semester 1983, pp. 45 to 60) and "Geode: a new generation of power plant for telecommunications facilities" (Commutation and transmission, No. 4, 1986), the prior art telecommunications systems like that shown in FIG. 1, are supplied with direct current under a nominal voltage of 48 volts. Based on the public electrical energy distribution network or mains 10 or an emergency power supply 11 producing an equivalent voltage (a.c. voltage 230/400 V), a low voltage panel 12 supplies a three-phase voltage of 400 V and which, after distribution, is received by the system 13 to be supplied incorporating rectifiers 14,14', a storage battery 15 and converters 16,16'. A conversion is carried out so as to produce a d.c. voltage of 48 V, which is used for supplying both the system 13 and for recharging the battery 15. The latter supplies the system, during an a.c. voltage breakdown, for the time necessary for bringing the emergency power supply into operation. The voltage of 48 V is distributed throughout the system to be supplied 13 and converted into several lower voltages compatible with the electronic cards (5 V±12 V, etc).
However, the prior art information processing systems, like that shown in FIG. 2, are usually supplied from centralized uninterrupted supply systems 17. These supplies e.g. comprise a static converter 18, converters 19,20 and a 400 V battery 21. In equipment 22, supply cards 23,23' directly supply the d.c. voltages required by the electronics (5 V,±12 V, . . . ) from the 230 V a.c.
Although the prior art systems lead to a very considerable supply security by freeing the supplied systems from the short-comings of the primary a.c. voltage supply, they still suffer numerous disadvantages.
These disadvantages are on the one hand of a technical nature. In telecommunication systems, the need of an a.c. voltage-d.c. voltage conversion for supplying an electrical energy reserve under a voltage of 48 V, reduces the efficiency of the energy chain by 10 to 20%. Moreover, the 48 V used for the remote supply of telephone terminals will not be suitable for future digital terminals. The uninterrupted supplies which supply information processing systems generally have static contactors which guarantee the switching under optimum conditions between the direct supply by the public mains and the supply filtered via input rectifiers, followed by output wigglers (such as inverters). In order to protect the system against switching transients and offer a higher mains filtering level, the latter operating mode is permanently provided. Thus, the efficiency and reliability are those of these three conversion levels in series. They are then inadequate for the supply of sensitive systems.
On the other hand there are disadvantages of an economic nature. The equipments put into place for a.c.-d.c. voltage conversion are dimensioned in order to meet the power requirements of the supplied system and are therefore expensive.
The invention relates to the production of a distributed storage supply system permitting the supply of sensitive electronic systems through a single conversion level in normal operation.
For this purpose the invention proposes an uninterrupted distributed storage supply system for sensitively operating systems, which is characterized in that it comprises at least one short term energy reserve supply circuit associated with each supplied system and a medium term energy reserve supply circuit having a reaction delay shorter than the autonomy delay of the short term energy reserve supply circuit.
Advantageously, the medium term energy reserve supply circuit comprises a wiggler operating in parallel, i.e. off-line mode. Advantageously, a short term energy reserve supply circuit successively comprises between its input and its output a rectifying and filtering circuit, a conversion circuit, a filtering circuit, an emergency chain comprising a storage circuit, a regulating circuit, a circuit for charging the storage circuit and a control/checking circuit for each of the aforementioned circuits.
In the thus characterized system according to the invention, the distribution of the storage and the use of equipments common to several methods lead to a very high reliability supply principle having reduced overall dimensions and easy maintenance.
Moreover, the use of a general-purpose, uninterrupted supply completed by the use of a simplified operation compared with that of the prior art information processing systems permits a significant reduction in the prime and operating costs of the energy chain. Moreover, the short term storage associated with the converters integrated into the supplied systems leads to no significant extra costs.
Compared with the prior art systems, the system according to the invention leads to a cost saving of 20 to 30% in systems considered on the basis of the distribution panel.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate two prior art systems.
FIG. 3 illustrates the system according to the invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates a short term reserve supply circuit of the system according to the invention.
The uninterrupted, distributed storage supply system according to the invention for sensitively operating systems, which can be telecommunication or information processing systems is shown in FIG. 3. It has at least one short term energy reserve supply circuit 30 associated with the supplied system and positioned as close as possible thereto, together with a medium term energy reserve supply circuit 31 having a reaction delay shorter than the autonomy delay of the short term energy reserve supply circuit 30, said circuit 31 being located at the central level.
The distribution of the electrical energy 10 and the emergency source 11, which existed in the two prior art means, have been shown with the same references.
The medium term energy storage circuit 31 is associated with a general-purpose conversion device placed on watch and which is responsible for supplying the a.c. voltage whilst awaiting the starting up of the long term emergency power supply 11.
Thus, if the network or mains is interrupted for several minutes, each short term energy reserve supply circuit 30 (below 1 minute) becomes active to permit the switching of the electromechanical contactor 35 of the medium term energy reserve supply circuit 31 (below 1 hour), before starting up the emergency power supply 11. Thus, there is an irreproachable supply quality (1×10-6) of the short term energy reserve supply circuits filtering the transients of the network, e.g. below 300 ms.
The medium term energy reserve supply circuit shown in FIG. 3 comprises an isolating transformer 32 whose function is to ensure the safety of personnel and bring about a first filtering of interference of all orders emitted by the distribution network 10, a wiggler 33 operating in parallel or in the off-line mode, associated with a battery 34 bringing about autonomy in the watch state, an electromechanical contactor 35, e.g. of the ordinary type, permitting network-wiggler switching and a control unit 36 making it possible to control these various components.
Advantageously, said medium term energy reserve supply circuit 31 is obtained by adapting a commercial optimized uninterrupted supply. In particular, the rectifying-filtering function is limited to the recharging of the battery 34 following the operation of the uninterrupted supply as a result of the interruption of the a.c. distribution network 10. As shown in FIG. 4, each short term energy reserve supply circuit 30 successively comprises between its input E (high a.c. voltage) and its output S (low voltage) a rectifying and filtering circuit 40, a conversion circuit 41 and a filtering circuit 42. The circuit 30 also comprises an emergency chain having a storage circuit 43, a regulating circuit 44, a circuit 45 for charging the storage circuit 43 and a control/checking circuit 46 for each of the aforementioned circuits.
In the remainder of the description, each of these circuits will be successively studied.
The rectifying and filtering circuit 40.
This circuit supplies a voltage between 200 and 400 V and makes it possible to maintain the operation of the supplied system for a few minutes following the interruption of the a.c. voltage E and filters the rectified voltage. In a per se known manner, it can be constituted by a diode bridge charging a bank of capacitors. The calling current, during the charging of these capacitors, can be limited by rheostats having a positive temperature coefficient. Once charging has been completed, the average current decreases and the resistance of the rheostats becomes negligible in the circuit. Upstream of the diode bridge, a filter LC can reduce the reinjection of disturbances of a differential nature and common mode.
The conversion circuit 41.
This circuit can be obtained with the aid of a d.c. converter, 300 V/5 V d.c./200 W operating at clipping frequencies between 100 kHz and 1 MHz as a function of the charge and offering an efficiency of 85% under full charge. The input voltage range extends between 200 and 400 V.
The filtering circuit 42.
Filters and protecting circuits located at the output of each circuit 30, but also at the input, limit the outgoing or incoming disturbance levels and isolate the system to be supplied in the case of a failure.
The storage circuit 43.
This circuit 43 can be obtained with the aid of a battery (organized e.g. in the form of two branches of five 1.2 V elements each), in order to obtain 6 V at the output. This two-branch organization makes it possible to have only 15 A in each branch, as well as a storage redundancy. Thus, in the case of a failure of one of the branches, the other can ensure the supply, the autonomy being subdivided by more than two, but remaining in excess of a few minutes.
The regulating circuit 44.
In the embodiment considered here, the voltage at the terminals of each battery branch can vary from 8 V under charge and 5 V at the end of discharge. However, in discharge it is necessary to supply a constant voltage of 5.15 V at the output, hence the need for a regulator for each battery.
As is known to the expert, for bringing about such a regulation it is possible to use one or more MOS transistors, whose transconductance characteristic is considered in order to vary the drain-source voltage. In this case, a differential amplifier can amplify the difference between the reference voltage, obtained from a Zener diode, and the voltage effectively measured at the output of the conversion circuit 41. The reference voltage can be brought to zero by a microprocessor or by a voltage presence detector thus inhibiting the action of the regulator. During supply breakdowns, it is the latter circuit which regulates the output voltage in discharge, whilst the microprocessor limits its duration.
The charging circuit 45 of the storage circuit 43.
This circuit can use one of the three charging methods for a cadmium-nickel battery, i.e. floating mode, rapid charging or slow charging.
The floating mode consists of permanently charging the circuit 43 under a weak current, no matter what the state thereof (charged or discharged). One of the major disadvantages of this method is that the aging of the elements of said circuit 43 is accelerated by permanent overcharging.
Rapid charging consists of charging the circuit 43 under a high current (e.g. 4 amperes) for one hour. This method has the advantage of rapidly recharging the said circuit 43, but accelerates its aging in the same way as the preceding method.
The third solution, which is advantageously adopted, consists of carrying out a slow charging under a weak current, e.g. 0.4 ampere, for e.g. 16 hours. The mean time before failure (MTBF) of the EDF network slightly exceeds 16 hours, which leaves plenty of time for recharging the circuit 43 before a new mains breakdown occurs. In order to satisfy the redundancy criterion of the system in the example considered herein before, each branch of batteries has its own charger. This charger e.g. consists of a small breakdown supply, whose negative feedback is a current closed-loop control. This consequently gives a current generator, which can be between 0 and 0.7 A. This generator is a chopper-voltage increasing means at breakdown operating as from 5.15 V for recharging the batteries. The voltage at the terminals of each branch of batteries can reach 8 V at the end of charging. A remote control can be provided for controlling the recharging from the microprocessor.
The control/checking circuit 46.
This circuit can be formed by a microcontroller, which under a reduced volume makes it possible to have a high calculating power and a high flexibility for control and monitoring purposes. It also facilitates a subsequent addition of new functions.
Circuit 46 performs an absence detection of the mains, maintains the batteries used, e.g. charging for one hour at 0.4 A every day, charging proportional to the discharge time
detection of defects of the storage circuit 43, e.g. that of the blocks of batteries: voltage <6 V, checking the current and the output voltage:
Vs<Vo-10% or Vs>Vo+20%
and display of the voltage and output current.
The analog-digital conversion performed by the system according to the invention takes place relative to an adjustable external reference voltage. The measurements to be carried out by the circuit 46 are of a very varied nature, namely mains voltage: 0 to 20 V (taken after a transformer), battery voltage: 0 to 8 V, output voltage: 5.15 V and output current (measurement of a voltage at the terminals of a shunt): 50 mV. Such a circuit 46 advantageously has a central processing unit 47, a random access memory 48 and a display 49.
Mains absence detection must make it possible to connect the conversion circuit 41 to the storage circuit 43 in the case of a breakdown of the a.c. source and conversely in the case of reestablishment. In known manner, this function can be performed by using threshold detectors. In addition, the function of said circuit 46 is to monitor that no defect occurs on the conversion circuit 41 of a battery which fails. In order to check all these parameters, measurements are performed at the output of the conversion circuit 41.
The control/checking circuit 46 can operate according to a very simple algorithm having a main loop, which can involve the following stages repeated indefinitely: testing mains presence, performing the output voltage conversion, establishing if it does not fall outside the standards, carrying out the conversion of the output current, entering the voltage and current into the memory and detecting a possible defect of the storage circuit 43.
This circuit 46 can also have two clock overflow interruptions and an external interruption. The first interruption can be used for controlling the starting up of daily charges of the charging circuit 45, for calculating the recharging time of the storage circuit 43 as a function of the discharging time and for controlling recharging. The second interruption can be responsible for refreshing the display 49. The third interruption can be an external interruption, initiated by the user if the latter wishes to display a fault. Thus, if a fault has been found by the circuit 46, the user merely has to e.g. press a pushbutton in order to display the nature thereof on the display 49.
Advantageously, the short term energy reserve supply 30 uses a very high energy density d.c./d.c. conversion circuit 41, which has a good efficiency. This voltage converter can therefore be installed on a printed circuit and its heat losses can then be evacuated by thermal convection by means of a suitable cooling device. This conversion circuit 41 also provides the isolation between the high voltage a.c. network (input E) and the low voltage at the output (output S). It must offer a high regulating level of the output voltage S as a function of fluctuations of the input voltage E and charging variations.
With this conversion circuit 41 is associated a short term energy storage circuit 43, rechargeable several hundred times after use. The discharge of this storage device 43 occurs during the switching of the system according to the invention to the medium term energy storage circuit 31.
Advantageously, said short term storage device 30 can use underdimensioned, tight storage batteries. Such batteries are able to supply a very high power, provided that the storage time is limited in order to protect them against any irreversibility. Such an arrangement is very economic. This storage could also be obtained with the aid of very high capacitance capacitors (several Farads), with a reduced volume and able to supply a current of several dozen amperes.
The short term emergency chain constituted by the storage 43, regulating 44 and charging 45 circuits has the originality of being connected at a single point, namely the output of the conversion circuit 41. Therefore said circuit 41 can be a common model and could evolve independently. The emergency chain samples the charging power of the storage circuit 43 on the output of the circuit 41 at its normal voltage. The function of the charging circuit 45 is to make this output voltage compatible with the recharging of the storage circuit 43. It can e.g. be a voltage raising device with non-isolated breakdown and limited current. Coupling comes into effect as soon as the output voltage of the conversion circuit 41 clears a low threshold. The putting into service of a coupling circuit can be anticipated by observing a low level on the input voltage. The function of such a circuit is to maintain a constant voltage at the output during discharging and also limits the discharging time. As soon as the output voltage of the conversion circuit 41 is reestablished, discharging is stopped. Advantageously, said coupling device can be produced in simple manner with the aid of a transistor controlled by a linear regulator, which is in turn controlled by output/input voltage comparators and a discharge time timer. In order to reduce the voltage drop to the minimum (a few dozen mV) at high current (a few dozen amperes), it is advantageous to use a low voltage Mosfet having a very low internal resistance in conduction.
In a special embodiment, the short term reserve supply circuit 30 is a 230 V/5 V/30 A energy reserve supply offering an autonomy of 5 to 10 min on the battery.
In normal operation, the high a.c. voltage of the network is directly converted into a d.c. output voltage by the main energy conversion circuit 41, which can provide an isolation between the input E and the output S. Secondary voltages S' can be obtained by other converters 16 using the main output voltage.
In emergency operation, the storage circuit 43, via the regulating circuit 44, maintains a constant output voltage for a voluntarily limited time, so as not to reduce the life of the storage circuit 43. After reestablishing normal operation, the charging circuit 45 is put into operation until complete charging of the storage circuit 43 has occurred.
Reliability considerations regarding said storage circuit 43 may lead to the duplication of the emergency chain.
In this embodiment, the vital functions are in non-programmed electronics, whilst the high level functions are processed by a microcontroller, which also obtains information via the display 49 on the state of the system according to the invention.
Various improvements to the short term reserve supply circuit are possible, i.e. monitoring can be extended so that it safeguards data measured to enable the latter to be remotely read by means of a teleprocessing network.
Each storage circuit 43 can have battery branches designed in modular manner, namely chargers, regulators and batteries. The actual conversion circuit 41 can be a supply module already provided for operating in parallel with other modules. Thus, if necessary, the power can easily be increased. For example, for a medium capacity telecommunication system connected to 30,000 subscribers, the system according to the invention can have about 100 short term energy reserve supply circuits 30 of 200 W each.
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|U.S. Classification||307/64, 307/66, 363/37, 307/82|
|International Classification||H02J1/00, H02J7/34, H02J9/06|
|Cooperative Classification||Y10T307/615, Y10T307/625, H02J9/062, Y10T307/707|
|Oct 4, 1993||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: FRANCE TELECOM ETABLISSEMENT AUTONOME DE DROIT PUB
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text:
Revenge of the Jedi Movie Poster
20th Century Fox, 1982
|Actors:||Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Sebastian Shaw, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Alec Guinness|
|Size:||27" x 41"|
|Country of Poster:||US|
|Condition Detail:||This poster was initially rolled prior to being linen backed.|
|Additional Description:||Very rare initial poster for the original title of the third installment of the original Star Wars series. George Lucas has the titled changed to Return of the Jedi.|
All Items Subject to Availability. All Our Posters Are Original and Authentic -- We Do Not Sell Reproductions! Posters Usually Ship Within 10 - 14 Days. All prices are listed in U.S. Dollars. International Orders May Take Longer To Arrive. Please see our shipping policies. We recommend using Acrylic UV Plexiglass when framing your items to protect and preserve your vintage movie posters.

domain: artistic


text:
IT’S TELEVISION TUESDAY
How to Write an Oscar-Nominated Screenplay (The Self Publishing Show, episode 201)
Author: Jennifer Anne Davis
Narrator: Kim Bretton
Length: hours minutes
Publisher: Reign Publishing⎮2019
Series: Knights of the Realm, Book 1
Release date: Oct. 11, 2019
Synopsis: Reid has spent her whole life pretending to be a man so she can inherit her father’s estate, but when a chance encounter threatens to expose her lie, she is forced to risk everything.
In the kingdom of Marsden, women are subservient to men, and land can only pass from father to son. So, when Reid Ellington is born, the fifth daughter to one of the wealthiest landholders in the kingdom, it’s announced that Reid is a boy.
Eighteen years later, Reid struggles to conceal the fact she’s actually a young woman. Every day, her secret becomes harder to keep. When one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring with a sword, she is forced to accept his offer and lead her father’s soldiers to the border. Along the way, she discovers a covert organization within the army known as the Knights of the Realm.
If Reid wants to save her family from being arrested for treason and robbed of their inheritance, she will have to join the knights and become a weapon for the crown.
To protect her family, Reid must fight like a man. To do that, she’ll need the courage of a woman.
This is the first book in a new fantasy series from best-selling author Jennifer Anne Davis
The Realm of Knights is a gem! I was very delighted to find this book via Audiobookwormpromotions.com. The premise, plotting, characterization is excellent. Reid Ellington is faced with a dilemma at every turn that forces her to comply and keep her family secret. I thought the writing was brilliant. It kept me turning the pages!
How often do you write?
I write five days a week, 8-10 hours a day. I usually set a goal for myself, and I’ll work until I reach that goal. When I’m writing a first draft, I try and write 5,000 words a day. Then when I’m editing, I usually try and edit 10 pages a day.
Tell us a little bit about the characters in Realm of Knights.
Realm of Knights is centered around Reid Ellington. She’s an 18 year old young woman, and the fifth daughter of Duke Ellington. Since land and title can only pass from father to son, the duke tells everyone Reid is a boy when she’s born. So Reid has grown up wearing boy clothing and playing with boys. It has made her fiercely independent and she views the world differently than those around her. There are a few other characters of importance in the book. Her best friend, Harlan, helps her out. He’s the sort of guy that’s always there, fiercely loyal, and he respects Reid even when he learns she’s a woman. Then there’s the princes—Ackley and Gordon. They’re brothers and best friends. Ackley is tall and lean. There’s a fierceness to him that he manages to keep hidden. Gordon is the commander of the army. He’s shorter and stockier than Ackley, he’s fairly quiet, and he’s a little stubborn.
How do you balance other aspects of your life with your writing?
It’s hard to balance everything. I treat writing as my full-time job (because it is). It allows me the freedom to be there for my kids when they need me. However, when I’m on a deadline, it can be rough revising when I need everything to be quiet around me. Thankfully, my family is very supportive and we make it work.
What makes a great story line?
Interesting characters that the reader can connect with, an obstacle the main character has to overcome, a fantastic villain, and a unique love interest.
What is the hardest thing about writing a book?
Revising. Writing the first draft is the fun part. Revising—which is basically rewriting the entire story—is difficult for me. I want to make sure that everything I’m thinking and feeling in my head is exposed on the page. It usually takes me about 25 min to revise one page.
Do you have any people who help you with your story lines as well beta reading and such?
Yes. I have two people that read everything I write. They’ve both been with me for years, and I couldn’t write without them. One started out as my biggest critic and now is my biggest cheerleader. The other is a pro at finding plot holes and inconsistencies.
How did you choose your narrator?
For Realm of Knights, I wanted a female voice with a British accent. It was important to me that the narrator have a youthful voice since Reid is only 18. However, I also wanted her to have a maturity to her that hints at the hardships Reid has faced over the years. When I was listening to auditions, the second I heard Kim’s voice, I knew I’d found the perfect narrator. I was so excited when she agreed to take on the project, that I had her sign for all three books in the series. She is the perfect person for these books, and I couldn’t be happier.
Jennifer Anne Davis graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. She is currently a full-time writer and mother of three kids, one weimaraner, and a tortoise. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart and lives in the San Diego area.
Jennifer is the recipient of the San Diego Book Awards Best Published Young Adult Novel (2013), winner of the Kindle Book Awards (2018), a finalist in the USA Best Book Awards (2014), and a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards (2014).
Publishers Marketplace listed Jennifer as one of the best-selling indie authors in June 2017. She has also been ranked among the top 100 best-selling authors on Amazon.
Kim is an accomplished and award winning actress and director with West End/Broadway theatre credits. Kim has narrated over 35 audiobooks and counting. She is also an in demand voice over talent in the commercial and corporate arena and owns her own class A recording studio in Nashville. Kim is from the UK but has lived in NYC, L.A. and now Nashville TN. She continues to work in Theatre, Film and TV as an actress and a director alongside narrating audiobooks and commercial voice overs.
Former opera singer Emma Streat has survived the murder of her husband and the destruction of her beautiful old house. Now a full-time single mother, she struggles to move forward and make a home for her two sons. Because of her detection skills, she has become a go-to person for help–so, when her rich, feisty, socialite godmother is blackmailed, she turns immediately to Emma. Soon, Emma founds herself thrust into the dark world of cybercrime. Mounting challenges take her to exclusive European settings where she mixes with top people in the financial and art collecting worlds and has intriguing and emotion-packed experiences with men–including her dynamic ex-lover, Lord Andrew Rodale. When she is targeted by a cybercrime network using cutting-edge technology, it takes all of Emma’s resilience and wits to survive and bring the wily, ruthless criminal she’s hunting to justice. Action-packed and full of twists and turns, this third book of the Emma Streat Mystery series does not disappoint!
Excerpted from Firewall: An Emma Streat Mystery by Eugenia Lovett West. Copyright © 2019 Eugenia Lovett West. All rights reserved. Published by SparkPress.
A spring blizzard was cascading snow over Boston’s Public Garden. I poured my first cup of coffee and went to the living room window of my temporary apartment. People going to work struggled along the paths, heads bent, feet slipping. I watched, glad that in a few days I’d be on an island in the Caribbean. Lying in the sun with a man. Finding out if a dynamic former relationship could be renewed.
My phone on the counter sounded its little chime. I picked it up and saw that the call was from my godmother, Caroline Vogt. She never called before noon, but today the gravelly tuba voice reverberated in my ear.
“Emma, I need you, and I need you now.”
This was demanding, even for Caroline. I took a deep breath. “Why do you need me? Are you still down in the Keys?”
“I’m back in New York and something has happened.”
“Oh God, I can’t believe it, but someone’s trying to blackmail me.”
“Just now. I was simply sitting in my bed, eating my breakfast, and the doorbell rang. Minnie went to open it. No one was there, just a note shoved under the door telling me to pay a million dollars to an account in a Miami bank. Pay it today. If I don’t, my dirty little secret will go to the media tomorrow. All the media.” The tuba voice wobbled.
I shifted the phone. Caroline’s usual reaction to trouble was assault mode. Strike back. Never show weakness. This call for help was totally out of character—and the timing couldn’t be worse.
“Look. I can see why you’re upset,” I said, trying to apply calm. “Blackmail is nasty, but it happens. The dirty little secret bit— everyone has secrets and that person is just trying to scare you. If you’re really worried, I think you should call the police or a detective. Someone who has real expertise.”
“No. Absolutely not. I won’t have strangers prying into my business. You’re the person we all trust in a crisis. You found Lewis’s killer. You exposed those virus terrorists and saved your niece Vanessa. You have credentials. You have to find this bastard before he comes back and wants more.”
“Wait. Let me think.” I pushed back my hair. No way did I want to be the family detective, involved in another crisis, but Caroline was now in her eighties, a mega heiress from Chicago, a fixture in New York society. Divorced four times, no children. I was the closest thing she had to family and she was frightened. I must go, but with any luck I could still get to that island. Spend three days sorting her out, then fly there from New York.
“I’m here. Listen. It’s snowing hard in Boston, a freak storm, but I’ll try for a flight today. Failing that, I’ll take the train. I’ll let you know. Relax, no need to be paranoid. Love you,” I said and clicked off.
A siren went shrieking down Arlington Street, the sound that signaled trouble. I sat down on the stool at the counter and reminded myself that I owed Caroline. She had been my unfailing support from the day I was born. She had taken the place of my dead mother. Fourteen months ago she had given me a stern lecture:
“You’re still young. You survived losing your rising opera career. You’ve done a superb job bringing up those two hunks of boys, but now they’re off to college. Cut the cord and let them go. You’ve got the money and the energy to do something important. Different.”
Good advice, but three days later, my husband was murdered and my world had gone up in flames along with my beautiful old house on the Connecticut River. I still had Jake and Steve, but creating a new life wasn’t easy. It was time, past time, to move forward.
I took a deep breath and picked up a pad of paper. First, call the airlines, then cancel this morning’s appointment for a haircut. Start packing.
By now experience should have taught me that one small incident can spiral into a tsunami of trouble. But no siren sounded, warning me that by helping Caroline I would be targeted by a network of cybercriminals. No way of knowing that her call would take me to many countries, lead to heartbreak, and nearly cost me my life.
Excerpted from Firewall: An Emma Streat Mystery by Eugenia Lovett West. Copyright © 2019 Eugenia Lovett West. All rights reserved. Published by SparkPress.
Eugenia Lovett West is the author of Firewall: An Emma Streat Mystery. Eugenia was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father was Reverend Sidney Lovett, the widely known and loved former chaplain at Yale. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and worked for Harper’s Bazaar and the American Red Cross. Then came marriage, four children, volunteer work, and freelancing for local papers. Her first novel, The Ancestors Cry Out, was published by Doubleday; it was followed by two mysteries, Without Warning and Overkill, published by St. Martin’s Press. West divides her time between Essex, Connecticut, and Holderness, New Hampshire, where she summers with her large extended family. For more information, please visit http://www.eugenialovettwest.com
From the New York Times bestselling, celebrated, and award-winning author of Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yell comes the spellbinding, epic account of the dramatic conclusion of the Civil War.
The fourth and final year of the Civil War offers one of that era’s most compelling narratives, defining the nation and one of history’s great turning points. Now, S.C. Gwynne’s Hymns of the Republic addresses the time Ulysses S. Grant arrives to take command of all Union armies in March 1864 to the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox a year later. Gwynne breathes new life into the epic battle between Lee and Grant; the advent of 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army; William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea; the rise of Clara Barton; the election of 1864 (which Lincoln nearly lost); the wild and violent guerrilla war in Missouri; and the dramatic final events of the war, including the surrender at Appomattox and the murder of Abraham Lincoln.
Hymns of the Republic offers angles and insights on the war that will surprise many readers. Robert E. Lee, known as a great general and southern hero, is presented here as a man dealing with frustration, failure, and loss. Ulysses S. Grant is known for his prowess as a field commander, but in the final year of the war he largely fails at that. His most amazing accomplishments actually began the moment he stopped fighting. William Tecumseh Sherman, Gwynne argues, was a lousy general, but probably the single most brilliant man in the war. We also meet a different Clara Barton, one of the greatest and most compelling characters, who redefined the idea of medical care in wartime. And proper attention is paid to the role played by large numbers of black union soldiers—most of them former slaves. They changed the war and forced the South to come up with a plan to use its own black soldiers.
Popular history at its best, from Pulitzer Prize finalist S.C. Gwynne, Hymns of the Republic reveals the creation that arose from destruction in this thrilling read.
The first history books I loved were the Cornelius Ryan works about World War II: The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. I also loved the Bruce Catton books about the Civil War, starting with A Stillness at Appomattox and This Hallowed Ground. Note the war theme. These books taught me what history could do. I had two great professors at Princeton—Stephen Cohen (Soviet history) and Robert Darnton (history of the French revolution)—who really inspired me.
The title is a play on “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” that Bible-based, blood-drenched, sword-themed song of divine triumph that the northern soldiers liked to sing. I meant to suggest other “hymns,” in a more metaphorical sense, that were sung by the various constituencies of the war. (Black soldiers actually had their own battle hymn!)
A few years ago I wrote a biography of Stonewall Jackson, entitled Rebel Yell, that ended with his death in May 1863 and thus covered roughly the first two years of the war. When I was researching the last year of the conflict, I was struck by how much more violent, desperate, brutal, and vengeful the war had become. This was the product of many things, including the progressive destruction of southern property, southern industry, and southern wealth; the staggering body counts from the Grant-Lee fight in Virginia; the anti-civilian warfare of William T. Sherman and Phil Sheridan; the rise of the prisoner of war camps; the rise of a bitter guerrilla war; and the presence of 180,000 black soldiers in the northern army, which drove Confederate soldiers to unprecedented acts of violence. I wanted to try to convey how deeply the war had changed, and the final year gave me a mechanism by which to do that.
For this book I did about a year of background reading, then proceeded to research and write each chapter as I went along. I always travel to the places I am writing about. The research/writing ratio was probably 60-40.
Characters are always the drivers of compelling narratives. So I start with interesting characters and do as much reading as I can in their memoirs, letters, and other documents, as well as other primary sources of the era. With a character like Grant, about whom much has been written, I just try to look for a particular angle that other historians haver not pursued. The difference lies less in the facts themselves than in how I analyze those facts.
That is a very hard question. Assuming that the war had to happen, I guess that the single worst piece of news for the nation, and for its future, was the assassination of Lincoln. So I would save Lincoln.
Again, tough question! You can pick up virtually any major newspaper these days and immediately grasp the fact that the United States of America has not solved its problems with race. One can argue that it hasn’t even come to terms with them. Our nation has always been deeply divided. More than twenty percent of the residents of the American colonies were loyal to the English king. I grew up in the 1960s, a time when the nation was badly split over the Vietnam War. There were race riots in the streets, riots at the Democratic convention. In 2019 we are deeply divided. The Civil War was the worst split of all. 750,000 men died because Americans could not agree on questions related to race and the future of the country. I actually take a positive lesson from this. I think you can read about the war and understand 1) that we are by nature divided, sometimes violently; and 2) that in spite of these problems we always manage to muddle through. Democracy is messy, and often violent, but the republic stands.
S.C. Gwynne is the author of Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War and the New York Times bestsellers Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He spent most of his career as a journalist, including stints with Time as bureau chief, national correspondent, and senior editor, and with Texas Monthly as executive editor. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife. For more information, please visit https://scgwynne.com
It takes courage to write a memoir. Sort of like going to confession if you are Catholic. If you want absolution, you must admit to all the stupid things you’ve done. Similarly, if you want to sell your story, you must bare your moments of weakness to readers. The difference is that, in a memoir, you also get to tell about your triumphs and how you won in the end. Your life events need to span the full gamut of what life has thrown at you and resonate in the readers’ hearts and minds, and this means going deep into your soul to create the story, your story.
For me, Flying Alone was not going to be a memoir, even though all the events and characters are real. It was going to be a novel. Actually, it was to be a memoir masquerading as a novel, complete with names changed to protect the innocent and not so innocent. This way, I could fully reveal the events without having to own up to them. Those years in the 1980s when I was climbing and clawing my way up the aviation ladder were filled with risk, dangerous situations and some bad decisions. When I lost my FAA medical certificate in 1990 with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, my aviation career ended and I knew I had to write about it. Even though I wasn’t ready to expose some of it, I still pushed those thoughts aside and wrote… and wrote. The memories were fresh, and I could record them in the greatest detail. After completing the writing, I put it in a box and set it aside knowing that someday there would be a time to revisit it. Well, the time passed until about two years ago, when I finally knew I was ready.
I read it all the way through for the first time in so very long, reliving the experiences with all the edge-of-my-seat terror and suspense as when it actually happened.
Even though it was intended to be a novel, written in the third-person to shield myself from what readers might think of my escapades, there was no doubt only halfway through rereading it that it was, in fact, a memoir of a very turbulent time in my life. This posed the greatest difficulty in the editing process—telling it as my personal story in the first person, i.e., baring myself to readers and owning the truth. I had to make peace with all that had happened back then and, ultimately, I shared everything and could forgive myself for old mistakes and regrets.
At times, the distance of thirty years made it seem unreal, but that separation also helped me to look at those years with the objective compassion that comes with maturity. I remember and love the people who played important roles during that time, from Rod, my employer, mentor and flight examiner, to Melanie, my student, friend and cheerleader, and Peter, my dear friend and fellow risk taker who paid the highest price.
Flying Alone is the result of the cathartic process called memoir writing. But not only is this process cleansing and peace-making, it serves another important purpose—that is, recording history. Whether my history is important or not is not the point. Rather, the point is it is the history of a time and a small slice of life at that time.
In sharing my story, my hopes are for a variety of reactions from a variety of people. For other women, I hope they can see how it is possible to emerge from life situations and decisions that make you feel as desperate as an airplane in an uncontrollable spin. My relationship with Steve was just that, and even though recovery was never a guarantee, persistence allowed it to happen.
I equally hope that young women aspiring to careers in aviation and other male-dominated professions will understand that it can be done successfully. Certainly, the circumstances are much more forgiving today than they were in the 1980s, but there still remain obstacles. I hope the ultimate message received is never to give up even when it just doesn’t seem worth the effort anymore. Don’t plant the seeds for later regrets.
Of course, I also want to share it with pilots of all types so they can see my side of the world of civil aviation and perhaps derive amusement, stir their own memories or, in the case of student pilots, learn what not to do. An early reviewer of my book summed it up in this way: “… [Beth’s] book will warm the hearts of grizzled pilots like me or anyone seeking insight into the challenges and rewards of flying.”
As I look back, despite the fact that quite a bit of courage is needed to write a memoir, the memoir is in fact a reward earned for simply living life. Taking the time to look back on years past and contemplate the events that have shaped and changed you as well as others is an act of accepting yourself, but writing about these events to share with others is the reward.
Beth Ruggiero York is the author of Flying Alone: A Memoir. She is a former airline pilot for Trans World Airlines. She entered the world of civil aviation in 1984 shortly after graduating from college and, for the next five years, climbed the ladder to her ultimate goal of flying for a major airline. Beth originally wrote Flying Alone in the early 1990s, shortly after her career as a pilot ended and the memories were fresh. She is now a Chinese translator and a professional photography instructor for Arizona Highways PhotoScapes. She has published a popular instructional book on night photography, Fun in the Dark: A Guide to Successful Night Photography, which has worldwide sales, and she has co-written a book entitled, Everglades National Park: A Photographic Destination. Beth and her husband live in Fountain Hills, AZ. For more information, please visit https://bethruggieroyork.com and follow Beth on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Toby Neal was raised on Kauai in Hawaii. She wrote and illustrated her first story at age 5. After initially majoring in journalism, she eventually settled on mental health as a career and loves her work, saying, “I’m endlessly fascinated with people’s stories.”
Toby credits her counseling background in adding depth to her characters–from the villains to Lei Texeira, the courageous and vulnerable heroine in the Lei Crime Series, to the wounds and psychological implications of the heroes of the Scorch Series.
Want to write a crime-fiction story but not sure where to start? Are you between drafts and feeling stuck? Do you feel that you just don’t know enough about police work to write a believable police detective protagonist?
In this conversational and fact-filled handbook, veteran police detective Adam Richardson answers the criminal investigation questions most frequently asked by authors and screenwriters. Unlike many other writing guides about “the cop stuff,” the Writer’s Detective Handbook addresses police procedure and criminal investigation from the storyteller’s perspective.
The Writer’s Detective Handbook: Criminal Investigation for Authors and Screenwriters equips storytellers with the ability to tell a great story while keeping the police-work aspects believable. Reading this book will empower you to write the crime-fiction story you’ve been dying to tell!
Established in May 2011 by Marie Elena Good and Walter J Wojtanik, to help nurture and inspire the poetic spirit.
A place for poems and pics
a simple pairing of pictures and poetry
Sharing Poetry and Hugs
Persistent WV Poet
Lines of poetry, prose & photos
short writing prompts
I am the way and the reality and the life...John 14:6
Submit your film, screenplay, novel, to the festival and get it showcased at the FEEDBACK Festival. Full Feedback on all entries.
Author page of JR Handley, a veteran who writes military science fiction to excise the demons of his time spent fighting in the Late Unpleasantness in Mesopotamia.
British-Canadian scientist and writer

domain: library


text:
Chapter 170.3: Have You….. Fallen For Me?
With only Qing Yu who was still there and had not left, she then stared at the eyes that had been altered black on the man for a moment and then tilted her head to one side before she asked: “You’re in a bad mood? Why did you punish them?”
Lou Jun Yao raised an eyebrow. “They broke the rules and created trouble by fighting here which disturbed the sect’s peace. Shouldn’t I punish them?”
Qing Yu’s face was one of surprise as she looked at him. “You are now….. looking more and more like what a teacher should be.”
“I am a teacher.” Lou Jun Yao scoffed and then went walking over closer to her. He held her by her shoulders and turned her to face him. “And I haven’t reprimanded you yet. What did you think you were doing just now? You completely disregarded your own safety to go save that kid. Do you really think that you’re invincible?”
“I’m fine now aren’t I? I moved only because I am confident that I will not get hurt. I am a selfish person and will never do anything that disadvantages me.” Qing Yu said with an indifferent laugh.
“Is that so?” Lou Jun Yao challenged with an indiscernible smile. “Why do I seem to remember when you were dispelling the curse I was afflicted with, you went on to take on the full brunt of the backlash in order to protect me from being hurt which resulted in you losing consciousness from severe injuries?”
Qing Yu was stumped for words with that retort.
[How was she supposed to respond to that? That she did it to return the favour for the Polar Fire Core?]
[This fella really remembers things in the past so well. If not for the fact that she was hurt that time, he wouldn’t have discovered that she was really a girl in disguise so early.]
Seeing the young lady at a loss for words and unable to retort, Lou Jun Yao could not help but laugh aloud and stretched his hand out to pinch her cheek as he said softly: “Do not be so foolish next time. Nobody is more important than you and even if you will not get hurt, never put yourself in the way of danger. Do you hear?”
Qing Yu was shocked by his sudden actions and subconsciously took a step back as she stared at him with an angry glare. “Lou Jun Yao!”
“Mm.” The man responded with a smile. “I am now called Lou Bai Qian and it will not be good if you expose me by shouting like this.”
A vein twitched at Qing Yu’s temple. “Can you possibly…..”
“Hm?” The man lifted an eyebrow to look at her. “What?”
“Can you possibly be a little more normal?”
“I’m not normal?”
“In what way are you normal! ?” Qing Yu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Can you not do such strange things to me?”
Lou Jun Yao saw the look of utter exasperation on that tiny face and could not help but break out in laughter. He leaned in closer and asked: “What kind of strange things?”
With him having moved himself so close to her, Qing Yu retreated a few steps backwards, but there was a tree right behind her. Seeing that the young lady’s slender figure was about to crash into the tree, Lou Jun Yao quickly reached his arm out to slip around her waist, where she knocked right into the crook of the man’s arm.

domain: literature


text:
With any dance style, you can't just show up ready for the party if you haven't learned a few basic moves. Sure the waltz, box step, and - now days - shuffling, look easy, but just try them for the first time in full and you will quickly find your other left foot.
Yard sales are quite the complicated dance I've found. Who knew it would take so much time to go through almost 13 years of married-to-a-pack-rat-stuff! And like any other dance, I'm finding lessons in small doses to be very helpful.
Today's move?? The laundry room shuffle!


Photo by MTV
February 26, 2010 MTV is gonna Turn the Beat Around with their second of a triumvirant of original movies (the first being My Super Psycho Sweet 16 from October 2009 and the last MADE, still in development.)
Turn the Beat around stars Romina D’Ugo as Zoe, a struggling L.A. hip hop dancer trying to make it in the music video scene. Her mother tried to break into the disco dancing scene in the 70’s but never made it, which inspires Zoe to convince a club entrepreneur to invest in a disco. Drama ensues as Zoe struggles with mixing her personal and professional relationships and clashes heads with a fiery choreographer played by Donna Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano.
The drama and dialogue fall flat in MTV’s struggle to mix a new Melrose Place style plotline with Flashdance, but the dancing is entertaining enough to keep you awake in between the slow bits.
It’s a thrown together storyline to accommodate a pretty cool concept: bringing disco back. With better plot development, more fleshed out characters, and less stilted acting, this could have been a cult classic, but instead it’s a fun flick to watch on a Friday night when you’re a board teen.
If you miss the movie premiere on February 26, it’s coming to DVD March 9, 2010. Since the highlights of this move really are the dancing and singing February 16 you can download Turn the Beat Around soundtrack EP.


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2018: Golden West Adventure (8500) from $2,279.00 (USD) Experience the best of the West on this thrilling adventure-with its vibrant cities, spectacular mountains, scenic drives, and unique rock formations. This western U.S.
GLOBUS 2018: Tournament of Roses with San Diego (AX2) from $2,299.00 (USD) Go behind the scenes in Los Angeles to experience the Tournament of Roses, America's most famous New Year's celebration. Ring in the New Year with a festive dinner and dance gala complete with hats, live music, party favors, and champagne.
Contact Empress Travel and Cruises for information on All Inclusive Caribbean Resorts, All Inclusive Cancun Resorts, Luxury All Inclusive Caribbean Resorts, Luxury All Inclusive Cancun Resorts, Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, Luxury Caribbean Resorts, Luxury Cancun Resorts, Caribbean Beach Resorts, Cancun Beach Resorts and more.

domain: entertainment


Although WhatsApp is full of features, it does not provide the functionality to record video calls. Hence, we are providing below different methods to record WhatsApp Video calls on Android and iPhone.
Record WhatsApp WhatsApp Video Calls
Most users looking for the steps to record WhatsApp Video calls on iPhone or Android Phone are simply trying to preserve memories of their WhatsApp Video conversations with their relatives and friends.
While close friends and relatives may have no objection to being recorded, you need to be careful while recording business related conversations or recording people that you do not know well.
Recording Calls without consent from both parties is considered as being illegal in certain countries and it is strongly recommended that you clearly understand the regulations, before going ahead and recoding video calls on your Android or iOS device.
1. Record WhatsApp Video Calls on Android Phone Using DU Recorder
One popular call recording App that you can make use of to Record Video Calls on Android Phone is known as “DU Recorder”.
A good feature of this App is that it automatically creates a tiny shortcut on the screen of your Android phone, making it easy for you to record WhatsApp Video Calls, without the need to open the app.
1. Open Google Play Store, search for DU Recorder app and download the App onto your device.
2. Once the app is downloaded, open the app.
3. Now, you can record any WhatsApp Video Call on your device by simply tapping on the Record button (See image below)
4. To stop recording, open Notification Center and tap on Stop (See image below)
The recorded WhatsApp Video Call will be saved into the Photos app on your Android Phone.
2. Record WhatsApp Video Calls on Android Phone Using AZ Screen Recorder
In case the first app did not work on your device, you can try AZ Screen Recorder App to record WhatsApp Video calls on your Android phone or tablet.
Similar to “Du Recorder”, AZ Screen recorder also creates a handy shortcut on the screen of your Android Phone and allows you to record WhatsApp Video Calls using the shortcut, without the need to open the App.
1. Download AZ Screen Recorder app on your device from the Google Play Store
2. Open the app after it finishes downloading
3. To record a WhatsApp Video call, simply tap on the Record button (See image below)
4. To stop recording, open the Notification center and tap on Stop.
Record WhatsApp Video Calls on iPhone
Apple introduced a screen-recording feature in iOS 11 and you can make use of this to record WhatsApp Video calls on your iPhone.
1. Open Settings > scroll down and tap on Control Center.
2. On the next screen, tap on Customize Controls option.
3. On the Customize Controls screen, scroll down and tap on the green plus button located next to “Screen Recording” and this feature will be added to the Control Center.
4. Once the “Screen Recording” feature is added to Control Center, you will be able to Record WhatsApp Video calls at any time on your iPhone by Swiping-up from bottom of your screen and tapping on the Record button.
To stop Video Recording, open Control Center by swiping-up on the screen of your device and tapping on the Record button again.
The recorded WhatsApp Videos are saved in the Photos app and you can access them at any time by opening the Photos App.


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2009-03-28 37 -121
At the eastern tip of the Henry W. Coe State Park, with a beautiful hike to and fro.
Ilya, Jason, & Sam's tale: We're all students at Stanford and decided it would be fun to go out for dim sum and then go geohashing. It was a bit of a drive, but quite an excellent place to visit. We got there around 4:00 p.m., took some pictures, and spelled out XKCD with pieces of sticks. On the hike back to the car, we met Graham, easily identifiable by his XKCD shirt -- nice.
| ilya and Sam earned the Land geohash achievement
| ilya and Sam earned the Admit One Achievement

domain: geography


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All Things for All Students
When Columbus Middle School was ready to expand into a new building, PryorMorrow developed a beautiful, safe, and functional school within the district’s budget. This 60-classroom school features a dance studio, choral music room, band hall, art studio, gym, auditorium and science labs.
PryorMorrow designed a pre-engineered metal building frame to be fitted with masonry walls and GFRC cornices. Columbus Middle School won the Gold Interior Design Award from the South Central American Society of Interior Designs.


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The police have announced vehicular and human movements during the Osun governorship election this Saturday.
This was revealed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Johnson Kokumo, in charge of the poll who made the announcement on Thursday.
The DIG met accredited election observer groups, non-governmental organizations and the media.
Kokumo said there would be now movement from 12 midnight to 6 p.m. on the same day.
He confirmed that essential workers and election observers and media would be allowed to operate.
Kokumo said the police have the understanding, the cooperation and the collaboration of other services.
Adequate security arrangements had been made for the three senatorial districts, the 332 wards and the 3,763 polling units, he added.
“We have officers on the ground, air deployment with helicopters and have also deployed police marine on the waterways.”
Kokumo vowed that the police were ready to arrest those who seek to take laws into their hands or violate the electoral act.
“Vote buying and selling is an electoral offence.We will arrest the culprits and process them through the court”, the DIG added.

domain: politics


July 14, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier
After a difficult decade-and-a-half-plus which saw one of the few freehold islands in the Great Barrier Reef pummelled and damaged by two cyclones and unsuccessfully acquired by one and a half new owners, Dunk Island has been sold to Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon Brookes and his family for between $23 and $24 million, according to multiple media reports.
The island has a 160-room resort on it which was damaged by Cyclone Larry in 2006 and Cyclone Yasi in 2011. The destruction caused by the latter was never repaired and the resort never reopened.
It was bought at the rough price of a high-end Sydney property in 2012 by Peter Bond, founder of Linc Energy, which went into liquidation in 2016.
In 2019, the island was purchased by private equity business Mayfair 101, for somewhere around the $31 million mark, but the property was eventually repossessed by the Bond family and Mayfair 101 and associated companies are currently subject to an ongoing investigation by ASIC. During their investigative process, the Australian financial regulatory body has imposed millions of dollars in fines and banned several people associated with Mayfair 101 from a variety of financial activities for up to 20 years – moves which are being challenged in court by their subjects.
In 2021, another private equity firm, Upsense Media Capital, which specialises in the entertainment and media sectors, was widely publicised to have bought Dunk Island, however the sale never fully eventuated.
Here’s hoping the second try by an energy-associated family – Cannon-Brookes is AGL’s largest shareholder and made a take-over bid for the energy company earlier this year – will yield a more fruitful future for Dunk Island, which has potential as both an incentive and conference destination.
The purchase by the Cannon-Brookes family is widely reported to be driven by Mike’s wife Annie.


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Researchers at Charles Sturt University are eagerly awaiting the emergence of several thousands of very special dung beetles over coming weeks, marking a major milestone in the Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers (DBEE) project.
The beetles are a key part of a national research effort led by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) through funding from the Australian Government’s Rural Research & Development for Profit program to turn 80 million tonnes of dung produced by Australian livestock each year into a multi-million dollar benefit to farmers.
Originating in Morocco, the Onthophagus vacca (O. vacca) beetles will be the first species to graduate from Charles Sturt’s new breeding facilities and into the pipeline that will lead to release onto livestock properties across Australia to assist primary producers. The five-year project will ultimately see the introduction of three new dung beetle species, specifically chosen to fill seasonal and geographic gaps in the distribution of beetles across southern Australia.
Insect ecology expert and joint project lead, Professor Geoff Gurr, is overseeing the mass rearing of beetles and says it’s a long and complex pathway from importation to final release.
“When they arrive in Australia from overseas the insects are required to stay for the term of their life under strict quarantine conditions. The only thing that can come out of quarantine are the eggs of the beetle and these are required to go through an exhaustive sterilisation phase, ensuring exotic microorganisms are not introduced into the Australian ecosystem. The new generation of beetles that arises from the sterilised eggs require delicate handling in the CSIRO Australia facility to ensure adequate growth and survival.”
“It’s a stressful process for the developing insects and a closely monitored numbers game but we were happy to report a positive result with over 300 precious and hard-won adult beetles making their way to the new breeding facility at Charles Sturt in Wagga Wagga in May this year” concluded Prof Gurr.
Since then, the Charles Sturt team has been working closely with CSIRO to fine tune rearing conditions and maximise survival and reproduction. The beetles are, for example, surprisingly fussy about the type of dung they are fed”, said Professor Gurr.
DBEE joint Project Lead, Professor Leslie Weston and Dr. Russ Barrow, Field Technical Coordinator are pleased to report that in the months since their arrival, researchers at the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation have seen a significant increase in the number of eggs, indicating the beetles are in good health and adapting well to their new surroundings.
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It is expected that the new generation of O. vacca beetles will be introduced into testing sites in South Australia in the coming months. If the introduction is successful in these on-farm nurseries, future beetles will also be introduced to sites across Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
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Source: Charles Sturt University. For more on the DBEE project visit https://www.dungbeetles.com.au/
Will these be evaluated for worm control?


Like father, like son: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s legacy has deep links to Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Their legacies have been intertwined for decades, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and this cauldron of chaos where the Appalachian Mountains taper away.
Talladega Superspeedway suited him from the start of his NASCAR career.
His late father and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. won there a record 10 times, establishing his reputation as one of the undisputed masters of the odd art of restrictor plate racing. Even as he labored 20 years before winning the plate race that mattered most — the Daytona 500 — Earnhardt Sr. had parlayed his ability to divine the movements of snarling lines of race cars, hunkered inches apart at 200 mph, into glory, fame and devotion out in the Alabama hills.
They loved him, then mourned him upon his death on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. And they deposited that devotion with Earnhardt Jr. as his career at NASCAR’s highest level began to bloom soon after.
And the son rewarded them.
Sponsored by Budweiser, he was young enough, rowdy enough and similar enough to his father in different ways to cast the sprawling grounds around the biggest NASCAR track a brilliant red. Much of that similarity was his seeming preternatural skill at the form of racing in which his father excelled. That it also was the type of racing in which Earnhardt Sr. died added an almost mystical quality.
Of Earnhardt Jr.’s 26 Cup wins, a career-best six have come at Talladega — plus four at Daytona, including two in the Daytona 500. He leads all active drivers in victories at Talladega, but he knew long ago how much more he’d have to accomplish there to surpass his father.
After winning the fall race at Talladega in 2004, and assuming the points lead with seven races left, Earnhardt Jr., though he’d won five of the last seven races at Talladega, responded exuberantly during a television interview: “It don’t mean (expletive) right now. Daddy’s won here 10 times.”
A 25-point penalty cost Earnhardt Jr. the points lead, and after wrecking at Martinsville and Atlanta, he finished fifth in the final standings for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He didn’t win at Talladega again until the spring of 2015 with Hendrick Motorsports, was second in the fall and crashed into a 40th-place finish last spring. He missed the 2016 fall race while recovering from a concussion.
Earnhardt Jr.’s heritage at Talladega goes beyond results, though. Honoring his and his father’s lineage sometimes literally called down vengeance from the sky. Beer cans descended from the grandstands in protest of Jeff Gordon beating him by a position under caution in April 2004, and a 12-ounce rebellion arose again in April 2007 when Gordon, his future teammate, passed his father with a 77th career win. On what would have been Earnhardt Sr.’s 56th birthday, no less.
Earnhardt Jr. expressed approval in Gordon surpassing his father, and the brew flew again.
“I thought Junior had more power than that,” Gordon said after the race.
As 42-year-old Earnhardt Jr. approaches his penultimate race at the 2.66-mile behemoth before retiring at the end of the season, it’s apparent what this track and this form of racing has given him. And what it’s taken.
Earnhardt Jr.’s decision to leave under his own terms has been praised and respected. Walking away from driving of his own volition into family life and whatever numerous business ventures lay out before him makes for a heartening story. But a driver whose career was put in jeopardy, who had to work diligently first to regain life normalcy before even considering a return to the No. 88 Chevrolet, has 27 more green flags scheduled before the credits roll.
And even as Talladega has been a scene of wonderful memories for the Earnhardts, it’s a place that can take its fair measure in return. Gordon — a 12-time plate-race winner, including the Daytona 500 three times — rued his final trip to Talladega in his final full Cup season of 2015 and stated unapologetically that he wouldn’t compete at those two tracks again.
Yes, racing is dangerous. Yes, Earnhardt Jr. made it through the first plate race of the year at Daytona perfectly fine. And yes, a crash at Michigan International Raceway is believed to have been the first domino in the most recent chain of events that led to his admission of a problem and recusal from racing in mid-July last year.
But there will be those inside of Earnhardt Jr.’s circle and out who will be glad to cross this second of four plate races off the to-do list, because absurd and seemingly random sequences of tumbling and soaring race cars are always just a bobble away at Talladega. After suffering a concussion in a tire test crash at Kansas Speedway in 2012, Earnhardt Jr. missed two races after feeling unwell following another hit at Talladega six weeks later.
A brutal and simplistic reminder of the interminable nature of brain injuries came this week when the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby suffered a concussion after being cross-checked in the NHL playoffs. Crosby, who, like Earnhardt Jr. was treated by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center neurologist Micky Collins, missed six games at the beginning of the season and Game 4 of the series. His short- and long-term status has not been further revealed by the team. Athletes do not return to their sport in a vacuum. Their sport continues to happen around them.
Talladega’s going to happen again Sunday. Earnhardt Jr. might give the faithful something to stand up for again as he roars through the tri-oval on the final lap. Everyone, including NASCAR, wins. Maybe they just get to wave their respects as he moves on closer to the end of the proverbial line.
Talladega has no doubt helped shape his legacy, like his father’s. But maybe this time, uneventful is better for everyone.
Follow James on Twitter @brantjames
PHOTOS: BEHIND THE WHEEL WITH DALE EARNHARDT JR.


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President Akufo-Addo announced a GH¢1billion stimulus support for households and businesses, particularly SMEs, as part of measures to mitigate the negative economic impact of COVID-19.
It follows the two-week lockdown of Accra, Kumasi and Tema announced by government as part of measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is taking a toll on economies around the world.
The President said Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, will provide details about the GH¢1 billion stimulus package but added that it will be used to implement measures that will reduce the impact of the pandemic on households and ensure that job losses are minimised.
The President mentioned other relief measures that will provide respite for businesses. This include the extension of the tax filing date from April to June; a 2 percent reduction of interest rates by banks, effective April 1, 2020; the granting by the banks of a six-month moratorium of principal repayments to entities in the airline and hospitality industries, i.e. hotels, restaurants, car rentals, food vendors, taxis, and uber operators.
A new COVID-19 Fund has been established to receive contributions and donations from the public to assist in the welfare of the needy and the vulnerable. There is no question that COVID-19 novel coronavirus has caused a crisis for the world’s economy and markets.
In response to this crisis, governments and central banks all over the world have enacted fiscal and monetary stimulus measures to counteract the disruption caused by the coronavirus. Thus, many Ghanaians were anxious to learn what sort of stimulus package government would offer, particularly in light of the two-week lockdown announced by the government.
Obviously, that amount of cash injection is bound to affect budgetary projections for the year and throw out of gear government’s economic targets. However, as explained by the president when he issued the instructions, government can always turn around a bad economy, but however, cannot restore back life therefore it is prudent to adopt measures that will keep businesses and households afloat.
When that is successfully achieved and we are able to contain and defeat the onslaught of this deadly virus, then the country can put its shoulde4rs to the wheel and work towards building a resilient economy.
It is a bitter pill to swallow now but under the circumstances the global community finds itself as a result of this pandemic, there is very little options open for the country but to prepare a stimulus package to avoid the situation where the economy collapses entirely as a result of a halt in economic activity.

domain: finance