text:
Simone - Returning to Occupied France in advance of the allied invasion leaves no time for love between Sergeant Brian Deveneau and Simone. War tears apart lives and love. Will they survive?
Rescued - Injured Ensign Steve Henry awakens from severe wounds to the tender care of Lieutenant Suzanne Cunningham. Attraction explodes between them but will war tear them apart in the end?
Angel in Green - Never expecting to find love, 1st Lieutenant Elena Roberts must put aside her feelings for 2nd Lieutenant Steve Johnson. When her hospital is overrun by North Vietnamese soldier's, she must guard not only her heart from the handsome solider, but keep him alive as well.
Excerpts from Love and War
She balled her delicate hand into a fist. Without thought or warning, she let fly. Her hand connected with his well-boned jaw. She sent him staggering backward, ass over teakettle onto the ground.
A look of astonished shock crossed his face as he staggered backward from the blow. He hit the ground, letting out a moan. Was it pain? Was it shock? He didn't know. From behind him, laughter assaulted his hearing. He started to form words, but didn't get a chance to say them out loud before he heard someone say, "Glad to see you've still got a way with the women, Brian."
He glanced over his shoulder at the voice, a scowl curling his mouth. "Shut up, Alan."
He looked back to Simone, now standing at his feet. Her eyes, wide with anger, dared him to move. She still had her fist clenched tightly, ready to strike. Her body tense, ready to pounce. Lips that just a moment before had been soft and inviting were now pinched tightly together. If he didn't know better—which right now he wasn't sure he did—he'd swear one corner of her mouth was curled in a snarl.
From the way she was standing, he could tell she wasn't all that happy to see him again. Which differed from just a minute ago when they'd kissed. All he knew was this wasn't how he'd planned their first meeting after seven long, hard years. War makes for strange events, some planned, some not. And this was definitely not planned.
As he gazed up to her face, her pert nose resting above those full, pouty lips he'd just snacked on, a slight breeze rustled her shoulder-length auburn hair. A few strands teased loose from her bandana and floated across her face. She reached up to reset the errant wisps behind her ear, not knowing her cotton blouse had drawn tight across her breasts.
Brian couldn't help himself as his eyes lowered from her face to her chest as the blouse pleasingly conformed to the shape of her breasts. He was able to easily see her nipples, swollen and hard, pointed at him. In anticipation of enjoying them very soon—so he hoped and prayed—he ran the tip of his tongue over his lips.
As she noticed his gaze drift from her face downward, she allowed her eyes to follow his. Once she realized what he was staring lustfully, she quickly brought her arm down. While Simone still maintained her glare of anger, she eased a step forward. She repositioned herself over his lower legs as she lifted a fist from her hip, shaking it at him. "You son of a bitch. You think you can just waltz back into my life and with one kiss assume all is forgiven for abandoning me?"
He reached to release several buttons and slid his hand under the blouse, freeing her breasts from the confines of her bra. With his fingertips he massaged her nipple, feeling it harden and pebble. Unable to catch her breath, Suzy briefly broke the kiss. His fingers still massaging a nipple, he lowered his lips to the other breast, taking the nipple fully into his mouth. As he teased it with his tongue, Suzy tried to control her breathing, but all she could do was take in short gasps of air.
Do I stop him or go all the way? Her skin felt on fire and every nerve ending was ultra-sensitive to his touch.
Steve shifted his head slightly. "Suzy, my love, if I don't stop now, I'm not sure what's going to happen. Truthfully, I don't know if I can control myself right now."
Suzy cradled his head in her arms. "I know what you mean. Part of me wants to go further, while the other part wants to stop. You're the first man who has ever made me feel this way." Reluctantly, she sat up and turned her back a little to him while she readjusted her clothing.
Then she continued, "Right now I have one very big problem…"
"I think it's the same one I have." Steve sat up straight, placing his hand in hers.
Angel in Green
"Hey, watch it, asshole! That could be considered assaulting an officer." She gasped, trying to catch her breath—not from being knocked over, but from staring into the most beautiful deep blue eyes she'd ever seen.
A devilish gleam danced in his eyes. He made no attempt to get up, resting his elbows on either side of her head. "That's Lieutenant Asshole, Lieutenant Miss."
Her mouth dropped open in surprise. One down, he's an officer! If he's not married, he'll be perfect.
His eyes entranced her, until she let her glance drift down to the most beautiful lips she'd ever seen. I wonder if they taste as good as they look. Before she knew it, his thumb caressed the corner of her mouth as softly as a gentle summer breeze. Sparks of pure lust zipped through her body, igniting a long dormant fire. His touch was heavenly—soft, gentle, and yet so strong. Not at all what she would have expected. She slipped her tongue out from between her quivering lips, wanting to taste his thumb. Hell, she thought of taking his thumb into her mouth to savor it.
With no warning, he lowered his head, brushing his lips, light as a feather, across hers. Teasing her, tempting her. A tingle coursed through her—something she'd never known could exist before, converting the sparks of a moment ago into a full-blown conflagration. She thought about resisting, but the sensation rippling through her was too fiery to ignore. Slowly the fire settled into the soft, curly patch of raven-black hair between her thighs. She allowed herself to relax her mouth, and gave in. He teased his tongue over her lips, begging for them to open for him. She'd been right—his lips did taste as delicious as they looked.
She smiled to herself. Nope, not married.
"Hey, Lieutenant!" a voice shouted. "You gonna play kissy-face or play ball?"
Barely lifting his head off her swollen lips, the stranger, now known as Lieutenant Asshole, fluttered an eyebrow. "What will it be? Kissy-face or ball? Er, football."
Secret Cravings Publishing- http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=1&products_id=466
I'd like to thank Lindsay for joining is today. She's a fantastic writer and it's always a pleasure when she visits.
Lindsay has offered up a Nook or Kindle version of Love and War to one lucky commenter so please leave a comment with your email address' and let her know your preferred format when you do so.
Lindsay will be picking her winner on Monday January 14th.
~Author Jennifer Labelle~


text:
It had to happen sooner or later–some fallout in the competitive online
grocery shopping arena.
The Web-based grocery shopping service OnCart, formerly called Shopper’s
Express, reportedly shut down its online operation March 6.
OnCart President Allison Abraham said the service was closing in a terse
letter on the site.
OnCart, which delivered non-perishable groceries, went head-to-head with Peapod in June 1997 by going into Atlanta where the two services competed directly. Peapod and OnCart also competed in Dallas.
OnCart said the Bashas grocery chain in the Phoenix and Scottsdale, AZ area is working on a plan for an online grocery program of its own.

domain: economics


|Publication number||US5440470 A|
|Application number||US 07/904,441|
|Publication date||Aug 8, 1995|
|Filing date||Jun 25, 1992|
|Priority date||Jun 25, 1992|
|Publication number||07904441, 904441, US 5440470 A, US 5440470A, US-A-5440470, US5440470 A, US5440470A|
|Original Assignee||Peerless Lighting Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (13), Referenced by (31), Classifications (20), Legal Events (8)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present invention generally relates to architectural lighting fixtures; it more particularly relates to reflector systems for lighting fixtures and the hardware used for mounting reflectors in a fixture housing. The invention has specific application in the field of linear lighting wherein elongated linear fixture elements of varying lengths have extruded aluminum housings that are subject to bending and twisting during installation. While the invention is particularly suited and is described herein in reference to linear indirect lighting fixtures, it shall be understood that the invention can also be used with linear fixture elements for direct lighting.
The fixture elements of a linear lighting system, be it a direct or indirect lighting system or a combination of both, are typically suspended from an overhead ceiling by means of suspension media such as flexible aircraft cable or rigid stems. During installation, each fixture is normally held at its extreme ends while installers attach the suspension media to connecting hardware in the fixture housing or while the fixture is attached to other suspended elements of the lighting system. Since fixture housings are typically fabricated of relatively flexible extruded aluminum, they can easily be twisted out of shape during this installation procedure. For long fixture lengths this twisting can be quite severe.
In older fixture designs, twisting of the housing during installation has not been a particular problem in that the deformed housing could be restored to its original undeformed condition by installers at the job site by applying a simple counter-twisting force to the fixture ends. However, restoration of the housing to its original shape cannot be readily achieved in certain newer reflector and lamp socket mounting configurations. The problem arises in the way the reflector in these newer configurations are mounted. In older designs, the reflectors are attached to the fixture's housing by means of socket saddles, which are relatively flexible bent metal parts which provide a stand-off for the reflector. In contrast, the approach of more recent fixture designs is to mount the reflector directly to the housing, thereby eliminating the need and extra cost of socket saddles. However, by eliminating socket saddles, the reflector now has greater direct contact with the fixture housing with the result that any distortion by twisting of the elongated housing will tend to cause a greater degree of deformation in the reflector than would be the case if socket saddle supports were used. Since the reflector and housing are typically fabricated of different metals, sheet steel in the case of the reflector and extruded aluminum in the case of the housing, and because steel is less flexible than aluminum, the consequence of deforming the reflector along with the housing is that the reflector will act to hold the housing in its deformed condition making it difficult to restore it to its original shape. The result often is that the fixtures, when installed, are permanently and noticeably twisted, detracting from their appearance. This problem is particularly noticeable in linear lighting systems which have long runs of linear elements designed to provide an attractive architectural feature to an interior space.
The present invention overcomes the problem of permanent deformation of a linear lighting fixture having a reflector assembly attached directly to the fixture's extruded aluminum housing. Using the present invention, a linear lighting fixture having such a reflector assembly can, when initially twisted during installation, be easily restored by a counter twisting force to its original shape.
Briefly, the invention involves a floating reflector assembly for a luminaire which permits the reflector to be tied directly to the luminaire housing while permitting the reflector to move relative to the housing when the housing is distorted, such as by twisting. In accordance with the invention, when the housing of a linear lighting fixture element is twisted, the reflector mounted internally of the housing will move or float at its mounting or securement points to prevent any substantial bending of the reflector. Similarly, the reflector will float within the housing when a counter twisting force is applied for restoring the housing to its original shape. Thus, it will be seen that the reflector can be tied directly to the housing without creating a condition where the housing is permanently distorted by twisting during installation.
The reflector assembly of the invention is comprised of a reflector element having over-sized tie down openings at locations where the openings overlay reflector securement points formed in the fixture housing. In the illustrated embodiment reflector securement points are provided by screw channels formed in the fixture housing side walls; however, it will be appreciated that the reflector could otherwise be secured directly to the housing such as by means of discrete tapped or untapped screw holes. The reflector is tied down to its securement points by means of retaining clips, each of which has a center portion and extended end portions, and each of which is suitably sized such that its extended end portions overlap the tie down opening so as to contact top surface portions of the reflector element. Each of the retaining clips is attached and drawn to its securement point by fastening means such as metal tie down screws inserted through a fastener opening in the center portion of the retaining clip. The width of the center portion of the retaining clip is preferably sized such that it can be drawn into the tie down opening to contact the underlying housing securement point to provide a good electrical ground.
Preferably, the extended ends of the retaining clips have downwardly projecting edges which provide an edge contact with the top surface of the reflector element for biting into this surface and, again, for providing good electrical contact for grounding purposes. The edge contact raises the extended ends of the retaining clips off of the reflector at the edges of the tie down openings so that contact between the reflector and downwardly projecting edges is not lost when the center of the retaining clip is depressed. The spring pressure of the clip's extended ends against the reflector act to hold the reflector in position while permitting its lateral movement beneath the clip. The reflector surface underlying the contact points of the retaining clips are preferably flat surfaces that will not hang up or bind on the clip, however, it is contemplated that the retaining clips could as well be used over irregular surfaces such as a Hammertone reflector.
A guide tab can alternatively be provided on one longitudinal side of the center portion of the retaining clip to assist in the proper positioning of the retaining clip during assembly. This alternative feature is particularly useful in lensed indirect linear lighting fixtures where a lens is placed on top of the fixture's reflector to receive and diffuse or redirect source light and where it is necessary to leave an unobstructed narrow flat seating area on the bottom reflector plate for the bottom edge of the lens. More specifically, guide tabs can be used to precisely align the retaining clips relative to an abutment structure (such as a turned up side wall portion of the reflector) to provide the requisite unobstructed flat area between the abutment structure and the edge of the retaining clips. The guide tab itself will not obstruct this area since it is designed to disappear into the tie down opening when the center portion of the retaining clip is depressed.
Therefore, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a reflector assembly and retaining clip therefor which permit a reflector attached directly to the luminaire housing to float within the luminaire housing such that the reflector does not deform when the housing is deformed. It is a further object of the invention to provide a floating reflector assembly which has relatively inexpensive parts and which can be easily installed. The reflector assembly of the invention also provides, in an indirect luminaire, a way of readily installing the reflector assembly's retaining clips so as to leave a properly dimensioned flat mounting surface along the edge of the reflector for receiving the mounting edges of a lens element. Still other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims.
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view showing a partial length of an indirect luminaire with a floating reflector assembly in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in side elevation of the luminaire and floating reflector assembly of FIG. 1 taken along section lines 2--2; FIG. 2 additionally shows a lens installed on the luminaire over the luminaire's reflector and light source.
FIG. 2A is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross-section of the detail of the structure shown at lines 2A--2A of FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a retaining clip for a floating reflector assembly in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 4 is an alternative embodiment of a retaining clip for a floating reflector assembly in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the retaining clip shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the retaining clip shown in FIG. 3 with the deformed position of the retaining clip shown in phantom lines.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein a second reflector having a cut-out over the bottom reflector's tie down opening provides for proper alignment of the retaining clips of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view in cross-section of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8 taken along section lines 8--8.
Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2, and 2A generally show the construction of the end portion of a linear indirect lighting fixture 11 having a floating reflector assembly in accordance with the invention. The fixture, which extends in a uniform cross-sectional shape and a generally uniform configuration for a designated fixture length, typically in incremental lengths of between four and twenty-four feet, includes the following basic elements: an elongated housing 13, preferably an extruded aluminum housing terminated by end caps such as end cap 15, preferably fabricated of cast aluminum; a reflector element 16 fabricated of bent sheet metal, suitably pre-painted white cold rolled steel; lamp sockets 17 suitably attached such as by screw or snap-in attachments, directly to the reflector element for holding fluorescent lamps 19; a ballast 21 installed in the housing below the reflector; and a lens cover 22 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A only). The ballast and lamp sockets are wired to external a.c. power in a manner well-known in the art.
The extruded fixture housing includes a bottom wall 23 and side walls 29. Ballast support ribs 27 formed on the inside surface of the housing bottom wall support the ballast 21 such that the ballast can be secured in a fixed position by anchor screws 18 which engage central T-slot 25. Opposed parallel screw channels 31 are further formed on the interior surfaces of the housing side walls so as to provide a support structure for the reflector element 16. The housing walls, ballast support ribs, T-slot and screw channels are all seen to be part of a single extrusion.
The reflector element includes a bottom plate 33 and upturned vertical side walls 35 which provide an abutment structure for mounting edges 24 of lens 22 which is placed over the reflector to cover the fixture's light source, i.e., fluorescent lamps 19. It can be seen that the reflector element is sufficiently wide to span the housing screw channels 31 and to be supported thereby.
A plurality of rectangular tie down openings 37 are located along the side edges 39 of the reflector's bottom plate 33 adjacent the reflector's vertical side walls so as to overlay the screw channels 31 which support the reflector. The fragmentary view of FIG. 1 shows two such tie down openings suitably located on opposite sides of the reflector. It will be understood that tie down openings would preferably be spaced uniformly along the edges of the reflector for the length of the fixture, with a number of tie down openings depending on the fixture's overall length.
The reflector element is held to the screw channels at the tie down opening by means of retaining clips 41, alternative embodiments of which are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The retaining clips are compliant spring-like clips, preferably made of stainless steel, which provide a pressure contact on the top surface of the reflector at flat surface portions 43 adjacent the tie down openings. Referring to the embodiment of the retaining clip shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, it is generally seen that the retaining clips each have a center portion 45 which is narrower in width than the width of the tie down opening so that the center of the clip can be drawn into the tie down opening by fastening means such as tie down screws 47 which insert through a fastener opening 49 and which tap into one of the relatively soft extruded aluminum screw channels 31. The retaining clips further include extended end portions 51 which overlap the tie down opening. As generally shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the extended end portions of the retaining clip have inwardly bent edges 53 which, in its undeformed condition, gives the clip a generally inverted U-shape which can be depressed inwardly by the tie down screw 47a as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 6.
As best shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 6, when the center portion 45 of the retaining clip is screwed entirely down onto the top of supporting screw channels 31 to make contact therewith, the center of the clip actually extends into the tie down opening 37. Consequently, it is important that, as above mentioned, the retainer strip be narrower than the relatively speaking oversized tie down opening to provide spaces 38 between the side edges of the retaining clips and the tie down opening boundaries such that the depressed center of the retaining clip does not inhibit lateral movements of the reflector on the screw channels. Also, during installation, it is necessary to precisely space the retaining clip away from the reflector's side walls 35 to permit the lens' bottom mounting edges 24 to properly seat on top of the bottom plate of the reflector element inside of the side walls. To permit quick installation of a precisely aligned retainer clip, an alternative embodiment of the retaining clip having a guide tab can be provided as shown in FIG. 4.
Referring to FIG. 4, the retaining clip 56 is generally seen to have a center portion 55, a fastener opening 57, and a relatively elongated guide tab 59 attached to one of the longitudinal sides 60 of the clip's center portion by means of a relatively narrow neck portion 61 which is created by the inwardly extending slots 63 between the tab and the body of the retaining clip. By providing a relatively narrow neck attachment between the tab and the body of the retaining clip, the tab will tend to lay flat when the clip is deformed. This prevents the tab from projecting out of the tie down opening where it can unseat the lens.
FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein alignment of the retaining clip over its tie down opening is facilitated, instead of by a guide tab, by means of a guiding structure which is part of the reflector element itself. Specifically, the embodiment of FIG. 7 shows a reflector element 65 comprised of a base reflector material 67 having an upturned sidewall 69 and a separate top reflecting material 71 overlying the base reflecting material and suitably attached thereto such as by crimp connections or by gluing the parts together. The base reflector material in this embodiment would suitably have a diffuse white reflecting surface while the top reflector material can suitably be a specular reflector material such as alzak™.
The base reflector material of the reflector element shown in FIG. 7 is further seen to have a tie down opening 73 adjacent the bottom reflector material's upturned wall 69 whereas the top reflector material is provided with a larger overlapping opening 75 formed in part by inwardly projecting edge structures 77, 78 against which the retaining clip 79 can be made to abut when the retaining clip is placed over the tie down opening 73 in contact with the surfaces of the base reflector material 67. The width of the inwardly projecting edges 77, 78 is chosen to space the retaining clip a desired distance from the upwardly turned sidewall 69 of the base reflector material. Thus, in the FIG. 7 embodiment, a retaining clip without a guide tab such as shown in FIG. 4 can readily and quickly be placed over the tie down opening at a precise spacing that accommodates the lens.
The reflector assembly described herein, that is the assembly comprised of the described and illustrated, reflector element, lamp sockets, retainer clips, and tie down screws is easily installed by first placing the reflector element with attached lamp sockets onto the supporting screw channels 31 in the fixture housing while properly locating the reflector along the length of the housing. Then, after placing retaining clips over each of the tie down openings in the reflector element, the retaining clips can then be fastened to the supporting screw channels in the housing by means of the tie down screws which are advanced until the center portion of the retaining clips contact the tops of the screw channels. The spring tension created in the extended ends of the retaining clips will securely hold the reflector element onto the screw channels and will provide good electrical contact between the reflector and the housing so that the reflector assembly can be properly grounded. It will be understood that proper grounding can be achieved by ways other than through the screw attachment of the retaining clips, such as, for example, by providing for a separate grounding strap between the reflector and the housing. Such a grounding strap would permit the retaining clips to be fabricated of a non-conductive material such as plastic.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail in the foregoing specification, it is understood that it is not intended that the invention be limited to such detail, except as necessitated by the following claims.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
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|US4636926 *||Feb 26, 1985||Jan 13, 1987||Jacques Roberge||Assembly for mounting a light fixture to a support structure|
|US4814954 *||Dec 24, 1987||Mar 21, 1989||Spitz Russell W||Rigid lightweight fluorescent fixture|
|US4874977 *||May 9, 1988||Oct 17, 1989||F & B Mfg. Co.||Stator assembly having coil bobbins with retaining clips|
|US4894882 *||Jan 11, 1988||Jan 23, 1990||Sanyo Electric Company, Ltd.||Portable vacuum cleaner|
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|US4928209 *||Aug 31, 1988||May 22, 1990||Mirrorlite, Inc.||Lighting apparatus|
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|US5072350 *||Jun 13, 1990||Dec 10, 1991||Lowel-Light Manufacturing, Inc.||Shadow control system|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US5791764 *||Dec 13, 1996||Aug 11, 1998||Thin-Lite Corporation||Fluorescent light fixture with extruded wire way cover mount|
|US6367955||Apr 7, 2000||Apr 9, 2002||Shin W. Rhee||Light fixture apparatus with pan retainer|
|US6908212 *||Feb 13, 2003||Jun 21, 2005||Michael Schultz||Flourescent light fixture|
|US7270462 *||Jan 16, 2003||Sep 18, 2007||Chungwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.||Reflector for flat panel display device|
|US7635198||Feb 12, 2007||Dec 22, 2009||Acuity Brands, Inc.||Replacement light fixture and lens assembly for same|
|US8153894||Apr 1, 2009||Apr 10, 2012||Abl Ip Holding Llc||Mounting system|
|US8220957||Apr 1, 2009||Jul 17, 2012||Abl Ip Holding Llc||Retrofit light assembly|
|US9521727||May 30, 2014||Dec 13, 2016||Cooper Technologies Company||Lighting fixture with motion sensor and battery test switch|
|US20030137825 *||Jan 16, 2003||Jul 24, 2003||Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.||Reflector for flat panel display device|
|US20040160766 *||Feb 13, 2003||Aug 19, 2004||Michael Schultz||Flourescent light fixture|
|US20070211457 *||Feb 12, 2007||Sep 13, 2007||Mayfield John T Iii||Replacement light fixture and lens assembly for same|
|USD612534||Apr 24, 2008||Mar 23, 2010||Abl Ip Holding Llc||Bracket|
|USD640825||Apr 24, 2008||Jun 28, 2011||Abl Ip Holding Llc||Louver|
|USD735401 *||Mar 31, 2014||Jul 28, 2015||Cooper Technologies Company||Multi-panel edgelit luminaire|
|USD756016||Feb 28, 2014||May 10, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light housing|
|USD757325||Jul 11, 2014||May 24, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Light fixture|
|USD757326||Jul 11, 2014||May 24, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Fluorescent light fixture|
|USD757327||Dec 12, 2014||May 24, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Fluorescent light fixture|
|USD768910||Apr 15, 2015||Oct 11, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Light reflector|
|USD769514||Nov 23, 2015||Oct 18, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light|
|USD770079||Apr 2, 2015||Oct 25, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Light fixture|
|USD770081||Sep 1, 2015||Oct 25, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light|
|USD770082||Sep 3, 2015||Oct 25, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light|
|USD770671||Sep 3, 2015||Nov 1, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light|
|USD773107||Apr 13, 2015||Nov 29, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light|
|USD775406||Jan 4, 2016||Dec 27, 2016||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light reflector|
|USD775760||Jan 20, 2016||Jan 3, 2017||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light housing|
|USD781492||Jul 26, 2016||Mar 14, 2017||Ip Holdings, Llc||Horticulture grow light|
|DE29815480U1 *||Aug 28, 1998||Jan 5, 2000||Ceag Sicherheitstechnik Gmbh||Bausatz für Leuchten|
|WO2002044615A2 *||Nov 26, 2001||Jun 6, 2002||Zumtobel Staff Gmbh||Light arrangement comprising at least two edge rails lying opposite each other|
|WO2002044615A3 *||Nov 26, 2001||Aug 1, 2002||Zumtobel Staff Gmbh||Light arrangement comprising at least two edge rails lying opposite each other|
|U.S. Classification||362/341, 362/217.08, 362/148, 362/217.05, 362/364, 362/433, 362/217.16, 248/231.81, 362/306|
|Cooperative Classification||F21Y2103/00, F21V15/013, F21V7/005, F21V17/12, F21V17/164, F21Y2113/00|
|European Classification||F21V17/12, F21V7/00E, F21V17/16B, F21V15/01E|
|Aug 6, 1992||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: PEERLESS LIGHTING CORPORATION, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:LY, HUE;REEL/FRAME:006215/0498
Effective date: 19920730
|Feb 1, 1999||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|May 24, 1999||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: NSI ENTERPRISES, INC, GEORGIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PEERLESS LIGHTING CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:009950/0600
Effective date: 19990409
|Mar 22, 2002||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: ACUITY BRANDS, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS L & C SPINC
Free format text: NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT;ASSIGNOR:NSI ENTERPRISES, INC. (NOW KNOWN AS NATIONAL SERVICE INDUSTRIES, INC.);REEL/FRAME:012506/0907
Effective date: 20020228
|Dec 20, 2002||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8
|Feb 21, 2007||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Aug 8, 2007||LAPS||Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees|
|Sep 25, 2007||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20070808


text:
A suite of awards was presented at the BCHF annual conference last Saturday in Courtenay.
Awards of Recognition – Kyle Kusch
Kyle Kusch, Archives Technician with the Arrow Lakes Historical Society (Nakusp), is a recipient of an Award of Recognition.
Kyle is a bright, unflappable “doer” with a passion for local history and a brain full of historical facts and stories that he can call forth at will. In his time with the Arrow Lakes Historical Society, Kyle has provided exceptional service to the community of Nakusp through two major projects: the digitization of over 15,000 images; and the production of a 90 minute presentation called “Our Coloured Past: The Arrow Lakes in Colour, 1940-1980”.
Over the course of two years (2016-2017), Kyle digitized some 15,000 slides, negatives and old photographs of Nakusp and area. He created an online, searchable database of the images on the Arrow Lakes Historical Society website, thus making thousands of rare photos accessible to the community.
Kyle developed a 90-minute presentation called “Our Coloured Past: The Arrow Lakes in Colour, 1940-1980,” which combines over 150 colour photos from the Arrow Lakes Historical Society collection with rare colour Super-8 film footage of Nakusp taken during the 1950s-60s. The presentation helps reframe ideas about both archival holdings and Nakusp’s history.
Award of Recognition – Linda Peterat, Patti Wild and Elaine Gruenwad
Linda Peterat, Patti Wild and Elaine Gruenwad of Vernon are recipients of an Award of Recognition. The award will be presented to the recipients at the Silver Star Mountain Museum (SSMM) on Saturday, May 29th.
Linda Peterat, Patti Wild and Elaine Gruenwad were recognized for the exceptional service they have given to their community in the creation and operation of the Silver Star Mountain Museum. The museum, created in 2015, is a satellite museum of the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives (GVMA). The Museum is a community initiative and partnership between the Silver Star Dreamweavers Society, SilverStar Mountain Resort, and GVMA.
The recipients have provided the following leadership as volunteers: Patti Wild as event organizer and exhibit creation and display; Elaine Gruenwald in research, technology management, digitization of videos and photos, and video displays; Linda Peterat in research, exhibit creation, administration and management.
Each year the SSMM contributes at least 3500 hours of volunteer labour to Museum operations. In four years of operations they have raised over $65,000 for exhibit development and future building development. The nominees provide leadership for a 10 member Liaison/Advisory Committee, 15 summer volunteers who staff the Village museum, and 10 winter volunteers who assist with events.
Award of Recognition – Jack Bates
For the past 19 years Jack Bates has worked tirelessly promoting the military history of Work Point Barracks —the site of the first army presence on the West Coast (1887)—and Fort Macaulay — the first defence fortification established in 1878 declared redundant in 1956.
Jack’s efforts in preserving history are exemplified by the activities taking place at these sites: Fort Macaulay Day is held every year in May on Swiftsure Race Saturday and serves to broaden a deeper interest in the history of the Fort. At Work Point Barracks, Jack was instrumental in saving the original 1891 guardhouse. The building now has a use other than military with its new owners, the Esquimalt First Nation.
Sherri Robinson, who nominated Jack for the award, comments: “It is easy to see that Jack Bates love of military history, particularly army history, began with the stories passed down by his father, a PPCLI veteran of the First World, stationed at Work Point Barracks for many years and his own Peace Keeping experiences in the Congo. Jack is a hard working, quiet, get things done, usually behind-the-scenes person”.
Award of Merit – Vancouver School Board Archives and Heritage Commission
The Vancouver School Board Archives and Heritage Committee is a recipient of an Award of Merit.
Chaired by Derek Grant, the Vancouver School Board Archives and Heritage Committee was started in 2004 by a group of retired teachers and administrators who volunteered to preserve the history and legacy of the Vancouver School District.
The committee has assembled countless filing cabinets in the basement of the Vancouver School Board (VSB) with photographs and other collectables from Vancouver primary and high schools. The team worked tirelessly digitizing school photos, most of which have been donated by former students and community members. The images are now digitally preserved on the VCB Heritage website: https://blogs.vsb.bc.ca/heritage/archives/
The BC Historical Federation’s Award of Merit may be given to groups or individuals who have made a significant contribution to the study or promotion of British Columbia history. The award may be for an individual project or for an activity over time.

domain: library


text:
Michigan To Auction Off 380 Tax-Foreclosed PropertiesThe properties have been foreclosed because of delinquent property taxes.
Wayne County Extends Deadline For Homeowners To Pay Back Taxes, Avoid ForeclosureTuesday's deadline for thousands of Wayne County residents facing foreclosure has now been extended.
Snyder Signs Bill To Help With Homestead Property Tax ClaimsSnyder says the law will make it "easier for residents to file their tax returns correctly" and reduce the amount of incorrect property tax credits paid.
Frustrated Hundreds Jam Wayne County Treasurer's Office In Last Minute Rush To Pay Tax BillsWith hundreds of discontented Detroiters squeezed into a small space, the deadline has a lot of people scrambling...and complaining.
Top Snyder Aide Pays $16,700 In Back Taxes, InterestThe governor's transformation manager improperly claimed a principal residence exemption on two houses for three years.
Duggan Takes On Detroit Property Taxes: "Assessments ... Have Been A Source Of Great Anger" Duggan says high, unrealistic property assessments have been a "source of great anger" for Detroiters and forced many out of their homes.
State Tax Commission May Launch Detroit ProbeThe State Tax Commission may launch an investigation into complaints that Detroit is overtaxing property owners through inflated assessments.
Half Of Detroit Property Owners Didn't Pay 2011 TaxesRecords show that nearly half of the owners of Detroit's 305,000 properties failed to pay their tax bills last year, exacerbating the city's financial crisis.
Nearly 23,000 Wayne County Properties On The Auction Block Nearly 23,000 properties across Wayne County are on the auction block this week.
Opinion: Mitt Romney's Tax ProblemMitt Romney is the person who needs to put up or shut up in his dispute with Harry Reid. There is no reason to believe a word he is saying about his taxes.
Business Taxes Again On Mich. Lawmakers' AgendaFresh off lowering Michigan's overall business taxes in a bid to boost economic growth, Republicans will aim to eliminate or phase out a state tax paid on business equipment in 2012.
Report: More Rebuying Foreclosures To Escape DebtA published report says more Detroit homeowners and landlords are escaping property tax debts by rebuying their foreclosed properties at auction.


- Bjoern on August 9, 2016 at 6:48 am in reply to: [Resolved] Mediapress conflict with Buddyboss Media #4999
The Buddyboss support fixed it with some custom css for their photo lightbox:
This luckily fixed the conflict and the lightbox is visible again. Thanks.
- Bjoern on August 7, 2016 at 4:08 am in reply to: [Resolved] Mediapress conflict with Buddyboss Media #4982
Thanks, I will ask them and come back when I have feedback.
- Bjoern on August 7, 2016 at 4:02 am in reply to: [Resolved] Auto rename uploaded Mediapress files for security #4980
Thanks so much, Brajesh! That’s exactly what I was looking for. I tested the upload plus plugin with your custom code and it works great. I still think that the newer “upload rename plugin” is a little better because it is a lot smaller and still supported because it is very new. It also doesn’t change the display title of the file but only the file name. The upload plus plugin is a lot bigger and not supported anymore. Sometimes (eg. on Mediapress) it changes the display title to the random string, which is not very user friendly. Because of the Exif strip functionality it also seems to be destined to probably give some upload errors once in a while. It also doesn’t allow for customization of the random strings. Anyway I have a working solution with upload plus and I could change the string length of 20 in the code itself. Thanks again.
- Bjoern on June 7, 2016 at 11:51 pm in reply to: [Resolved] Profile Visibility Manager Hide Friends List does not cover friends widget #4144
Thanks so much for the update today. Yes it works now perfect. The group request properly show up for the admin even when the requesting user is not a friend and it has visibility to friends only. When admin tries to click on the requesting user it just redirects back to current user without revealing anything, which is the usual behavior. Very nice indeed!
When the group admin accepts that request an activity item is generated for the group members only, which says that the new user joined the group. When I hover over the new user name in that activity entry it links to the correct user. The avatar of new user is also correct but when hovering over the avatar it links to the respective group admin. It’s only a very minor issue and I don’t really care a lot about it. The usual behavior would be that the link of the avatar would be correct so that friends can successfully click on it. When non-friends click on it it would redirect to current user. Whenever you feel like it you may try to change it but as I said, I don’t really care because the activity only shows for group members…
Most important thing is that the group request now properly work. So thanks a lot for all your work!
- Bjoern on June 7, 2016 at 10:50 am in reply to: [Resolved] Profile Visibility Manager Hide Friends List does not cover friends widget #4133
Brajesh, thanks for your reply. Were you able to figure out what the problem is?
- Bjoern on June 3, 2016 at 9:19 pm in reply to: [Resolved] Profile Visibility Manager Hide Friends List does not cover friends widget #4096
Did you see my reply the other day? I just saw that it was accidentally marked as private:
Thanks so much Brajesh.
I just tested 1.3.6 but unfortunately the group requests still don’t appear under “requests” for the group admin. I use the Boss theme from Buddyboss which comes with Ajax live notifications. The group admin gets the notification and an email about the request but when he clicks on the notification it shows the empty requests tab of the group. He can not accept the request. I am not quite sure what the problem is. This occurs when the profile is set to “Friends only”.
Another less important thing I noticed is that when the group admin instead sends a request to that person (works when search visibility is on) and the person joins the group the respective activity entry in the newsfeed shows the correct avatar of [private user’s name] joined group xyz but the avatar links to another user (apparently to the group admin instead) although there’s no need for that. I am not quite sure whether that’s your plugin or some Buddypress bug but this only occurs with “friends only” private profiles.
- Bjoern on May 31, 2016 at 3:19 am in reply to: [Resolved] Profile Visibility Manager Hide Friends List does not cover friends widget #4044This reply has been marked as private.
- Bjoern on May 30, 2016 at 2:02 am in reply to: [Resolved] Profile Visibility Manager Hide Friends List does not cover friends widget #4025
ok sounds great…thank you
- Bjoern on May 28, 2016 at 5:26 am in reply to: [Resolved] BP Profile Visibility Manager – Group join requests not showing up #4017
As said on the other thread, I think option 2 would be better. It just needs to show the request/user, the profile itself could still be “hidden”…
- Bjoern on May 28, 2016 at 5:21 am in reply to: [Resolved] Profile Visibility Manager Hide Friends List does not cover friends widget #4016
Thanks for the update. Really like all your plugins. – Hiding the friends widget works now perfect when the user sets his friends list to private. No more issues there.
The group requests/invitations on the other side is giving me a little bit of a headache. I still don’t think that hiding the request button is a good solution. I understand that this only works for private groups and profiles set to private. However this is a very common scenario for a lot of users. In this very common scenario the user is completely unable to join the group unless he changes the privacy. He can’t even private message the group admin because the group admin is also hidden in a private group so he doesn’t know who the admin is. The group admin on the other side can’t send an invitation to the user even if they befriend each other unless the user sets his privacy to show up in member search. All this needs way too much explanation. In addition my Boss theme does not completely hide the group requests after your update. Your update hides the main request button but not the request tab where users can add a message to the group admin. The main button just redirects to this tab. I was still able to send out a group join request from my hidden test user but the admin again got the notification but it’s not showing the actual request when you click on it. I really think it would be better to allow and show the requests to the group admin even if the user sacrifices a little of his privacy there. Then it’s his choice. Otherwise he doesn’t have a choice, he simply can’t join at all.


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How an actress came to play 'Henry V' at Oak Brook's First Folio
In a few days, Diana Coates will step onto First Folio Theatre's outdoor stage to tackle -- for the second time -- one of William Shakespeare's most compelling kings.
The classically trained Coates (whose first name is pronounced Deanna) will play the titular monarch in the Oak Brook theater's production of Shakespeare's "Henry V." Yet, when it comes to Shakespearean roles, Henry wasn't her first choice.
The Washington, D.C., native wanted to play the witty, strong-willed Beatrice in her favorite Shakespeare comedy "Much Ado About Nothing." But while Coates dreamed of playing the Bard's heroines, she auditioned with soliloquies he wrote for his heroes.
"I never really had it in my mind I would play these men, but I did want to audition with these monologues," she said.
She never imagined she'd take on one of those characters in an actual production. Until she did.
The year was 2013. Coates played Marc Antony in an all-female production of "Julius Caesar" from Babes With Blades, a Chicago company dedicated to telling women's stories and providing female theater artists with opportunities to engage in stage combat.
That production marked Coates' first time playing a male role. The experience paved the way for others.
"The sky became the limit," she said. "For me it was, 'why not?'"
Coates returned to the company in 2015 as Aaron in "Titus Andronicus." She continued to play female roles: Margaret in Rasaka Theatre's "Much Ado," Hermia in "Midsummer Night's Dream" at Evanston's Piccolo Theatre and most recently Isabella in Michigan Shakespeare Festival's "Measure for Measure."
In 2015, Coates played Paulina in First Folio's "The Winter's Tale," which ensemble member Hayley Rice co-directed with her late mother, Alison C. Vesely. Nearly two years later, Rice was directing Babes With Blades' all-female "Henry V" and having a hard time finding her Henry. A colleague suggested Coates.
"We offered her the role on the spot," Rice said.
Rice's father, David Rice, First Folio co-founder and executive director, saw BWB's production three times. He proposed Hayley direct it again in Oak Brook. Eager to expand what had been a small-scale, intimate production, Hayley Rice agreed, with one condition.
"I will not do this show without Diana. She's my Henry," said Hayley Rice, who never considered casting a male actor. "She has a presence. There's something about her you like and that commands respect."
Nontraditional casting removes assumptions, Rice said. It shatters audience members' "preconceived notions of the show and allows them to see it in a light they've never seen before," she said.
"Henry's a dude who's steeped in toxic masculinity. He's a white male," Rice said. "Having someone who has lived outside of those experiences brings something to the role."
Coates immediately accepted Rice's offer to revisit the role.
"I had not explored everything in this character I wanted to," she said. "He is the noble, Christian king, but he's got so many cracks and flaws. I wanted to dig deeper into that."
Coates hopes the production sparks a conversation during which "we'll unpack some biases we didn't realize we had."
One thing she hopes resonates is how people deal with difficult circumstances.
"There are a number of instances in this play where someone who seems to have it all together does not," she said. "It's important for people to know that is OK. That is human."
And when you don't have it all together, it's important to reach out for help, to lean on other people, she said.
That applies to life and to art.
"What I love about theater is that it is not a solo sport," Coates said. "It's always about the other, communicating with one another."
• • •
Where: First Folio Theatre, Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 31st St., Oak Brook, (630) 986-8067 or firstfolio.org
When: 8:15 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, July 10-Aug. 18

domain: artistic


text:
South African born Josh Pieters is well known for his YouTube partnership with Archie Manners.
In 2020, the pair created some of the year’s most viral content – from flying Katie Hopkins to Prague to collect a fake award, to tricking Tiger King’s Carole Baskin into giving her first ever broadcast interview. With their finger on the pulse of current affairs, in March 2021 their next video successfully duped royal correspondents to offer their opinions on Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey before it was even aired.
Josh founded his YouTube channel in 2015, amassing over 1 million followers and hosting his own comedy show, Josh Investigates, on Comedy Central.
Josh is a keen sportsman, having played cricket semi-professionally in South Africa and also is a talented footballer and golfer.

domain: celebrity


The possibility of releasing an iPhone without a notch in 2024
For several years now, iPhone users have struggled with the notch at the top of their smartphone display. To be more specific, ever since FaceID was introduced with the iPhone X, the notch display has become a staple of smartphone design. It became a Cupertino company.
Meanwhile, Apple didn’t seem to care about user reactions; Because even the aforementioned notch has reached its newest MacBook Pros. However, today Ming-Chi Ku shared a tweet in which he mentioned the possibility of removing the notch from the 2024 iPhones. This well-known analyst of Apple products has repeatedly made correct predictions about the future of this company; As a result, his opinions can be trusted to some extent.
I think the real full-screen iPhone will come in 2024. High -end iPhones in 2024 would adopt an under-display front camera alongside the under-display Face ID. A low-light condition is detrimental to front camera quality, and ISP & algorithm are critical for quality improvements. https://t.co/vWjeZYZUPK
—郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) April 20, 2022
(Translation: I think the real full-screen iPhone this year Coming in 2024. Flagship iPhones in 2024 will use an under-display front-facing camera alongside under-display Face ID. Low-light conditions are detrimental to front-facing camera quality, and ISP and algorithms are considered critical to improving quality.)
- Apple’s new patent shows the company’s solution to remove the notch on the iPhone display
Mingchi Kuo posted his tweet today as a follow-up to a post he shared on April 2nd. In the mentioned tweet, he claimed that in two years, FaceID will go under the screen with iPhone 16. He even wrote in his text that the said schedule is not related to technical issues and is more of a marketing goal.
Does Apple really do this? FaceID can be considered the Achilles heel of iPhone; A feature that distinguishes it from the rest of the competitors. In order to move FaceID under the display, Apple needs to make sure it works. It will take more time to find out the next step of the Cupertinos, to finally see if we can say goodbye to Nach forever!


text:
fail to pour water through your cornet before beginning the day’s work; never mind WHY, just DO IT and note the benefit of this simple advice.
allow yourself to acquire a tremolo in your tone; nothing can be more objectionable than a cheap, shivery, trembling tone “a goat-stop” tone is a performers worst asset.
hold your instrument too high or too low, and by all means don’t hold it sideways, that’s an unmistakable sign that you’re a novice.
beat time with your feet, though the practice is often a help to beginners; if you have acquired the habit, try to discontinue it; it is entirely unprofessional.
forget, all Rules in music have their exceptions. Moral- learn the rules, and the exceptions will take care of themselves.
A FEW RULES; (having exceptions)
The higher you play the louder you play.
The faster you play the more staccato you should play.
Breath after long notes, tied notes, dotted notes and at the end of phrases.
Breath often- make sure of always having a “reserve supply” of wind.
When practicing for “accuracy”, apply the same method you would in approaching a wild beast that was crouched and ready to spring upon you- steady, careful and ACCURATE- you simply must “get him”.
For “speed,” you are simply “shooting at a flock of blackbirds”- it is of little importance how many or how few you “bag”, you are training your eye to “look ahead”.
Master a system of COUNTING TIME; use any means to this end; beat time with the foot, if you MUST, then tie them down after, so they won’t move; “left foot on first beat, right foot on second beat.” Hay foot, straw-foot,” the “down beat,” the “up beat” the “and beat,” etc. A good conductor will give an account for ALL OF THEM, and you “can’t lose him” if you have the same system mastered, and unless you have it mastered you are sure not to occupy his “first chair” very long.
“disfigure yourself for life” by forming an embouchure on the side of your mouth.
take too much stock in “lip ointments” and “get-lip-quick” formulas; nothing in all the world will make an embouchure but perseverance. Treat your lip muscles pretty much the same as a good jockey treats his horse-observe the he “warms him up” gradually before expecting the best that’s in him.
blame the instrument if it “sounds out of tune sometimes and at times appears to be all right;” YOU are at fault.
And one last bit of instruction which is without doubt the most important-
“Don’t fail to learn a trade in addition to your music; you can drop it at will should you find yourself adapted to make music your entire profession, while you will find it difficult to learn a trade after you are well past the amateur age”.

domain: hobby


text:
Kelly Clarkson Shares Adorable Snap of River Rose 'Meditating'
Baby’s first meditation?
“I’m so thankful for my amazing family & friends!! Especially this little nugget ? River can’t be bothered right now. She’s meditating. #sheistotallythinkingaboutfood HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!! :)” the singer captioned the photo of the 17-month-old looking upward with her mouth open.
Whether little River was actually meditating or “thinking about food,” one thing’s for sure: She’ll have a little more responsibility on her plate soon, as she’s set to be a big sister.
Clarkson, 33, announced in August that she and husband Brandon Blackstock are expecting a son.
Earlier this year, the singer opened up to PEOPLE about why she was nervous about having a second child.
The reason: little River is “so perfect,” Clarkson said.
“I feel like something horrible’s gonna come out of me. Because she’s so great– like, the yin to her yang,” she said.
“But I won’t put that out there,” she added. “I’m gonna project happiness.”

domain: entertainment


When you think about protective screens for smartphones and tablets, Gorilla Glass by Corning is the first to come to mind. There are other competitors out there like Dragontail, but Gorilla Glass has established itself very well in the market and is no doubt the most trusted and popular brand that almost all smartphone companies choose it for their high-end products.
Having said that, Samsung, that has been using Gorilla Glass on most of it’s flagship devices, is buying 7.4 percent of Corning. This move means Samsung gets to secure supply of Gorilla Glass for its devices until 2023.
So if you’re hoping for Samsung to change their protective screen preference for their products, or if a better and more popular protective screen product comes along, it is unlikely to happen that Samsung will switch since it has already bought some of Corning’s shares.
1,255 total views, 1 views today


Soil Conservation Districts Pond Management Field Day was Tuesday. L-r are: Tammy Whalen, watershed coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Debbie Donnels, chairperson of Sequatchie County SCD.
March 16, 2019 -- The Bledsoe County Soil Conservation District (SCD) and the Sequatchie County SCD hosted “Pond Management Field Day” at the Swafford Family Farm on Tuesday, March 12. There were more than 100 in attendance.
Travis Scott of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) spoke about stocking rates and launced a TWRA boat on the pond water, so that a first-hand demonstration about pond sampling was observed by all.
Plant science expert Craig Kimbro from UT Extension - Grundy County spoke about pond plant life, weed control, and much more.
Conservationist Justin Howard was the emcee throughout the event and spoke about Cost-Share and EQIP programs.
Betty Bailey, with Seepage Control out of Arizona, spoke on how to seal ponds using their natural and cost-effective product ESS-13.
Bledsoe UT Extension 4-H prepared a fish fry supper for everyone to enjoy.
“It was a picture-perfect day for the event,” Sequatchie County SCD Administrator Donna Knox said. “A big thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Perry Swafford for their hospitality. We greatly appreciate you both!”
The TWRA demonstrated pond sampling. Photos contributed.


Video: Toyota Unveils Extreme Tacoma Pickup For Travel Enthusiasts
In preparation for the SEM tuning show, Toyot has built a special version of the Tacom pickup called Overland-Ready. The car has been improved both for overcoming off-road and for a comfortable pastime on travel.
The pickup's off-road capabilities are enhanced by a metal front bumper with an integrated winch and metal underbody protection. The suspension has new levers, shock absorbers and springs, and the transmission has a rear differential lock. The pickup is shod with 16-inch wheels with BFGoodrich mud tires.
- The stock 3.5-liter V6 was equipped with a Magnusson mechanical supercharger, which increased the engine output by 93 hp. and 88 Nm - up to 375 hp. and 447 Nm of torque.
- The Overland-Ready Tacom also has an expedition rack with LED chandelier, extra canisters and sandtracks, hijack and air compressor mounts, and an additional platform that can be installed in the cargo hold. The platform can be folded into a tent.
- The truck was created in a single copy to demonstrate the versatility of ToyotTacoma.
- The project was planned to be presented at the SEMA tuning show, which was supposed to start today, November 3. However, in order to reduce the risk of the spread of coronavirus, the event was transferred to an online format.


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I'm not a big fan of salads. In my opinion they are flavorless and doused in tons of dressing that they aren't even healthy either.
I was inspired to like this particular kale salad recipe that I have concocted from a recipe that I learned in a cooking class at Truffles & Trifles in Orlando Florida.
It is the same kind of idea, I just change up the ingredients to follow what is currently seasonal. Now that it is fall time, kale is coming into season.
I think kale is a greatly misrepresented and underused green. It is extremely versatile and super healthy. You would use it just like you would spinach.
Kale is known to be slightly bitter. Which is why it is not really used in salads because people prefer to cook it down in a soup or something to mask the bitter taste. Its not that bitter people. It doesn't taste gross I promise. Especially when you pair it in a salad that is bursting with flavor and hits all flavor and texture profiles from sweet and salty, to soft and crunchy.
Kale Salad with Fall Seasonal Toppings
Basic Salad Ingredients
Kale - washed, dried, and torn into small pieces. I wash all my produce in vinegar and water.
Fruity type of vinaigrette, I used raspberry vinaigrette.
Crumbled blue cheese- gives tons of flavor and the salty profile. I don't recommend using a different cheese.
Chopped nut of preference, I used chopped walnuts.
Take it to the next level by adding these toppings:
Chopped apples or pears (crunchy & sweet). You can toss the apples or pears with some lemon or lime juice so they don't turn brown.
Sliced mandarin oranges, or just regular oranges (sweet & citrus)
Grapes sliced in half (sweet & juicy)
Dried fruit pieces, like dried cranberries (sweet)
Pomegranate seeds (sweet, juicy, & crunchy)
I know this salad sounds weird. I thought the same thing when it was made in the cooking class. Except the cooking class used a bagged mixture of salad greens, not just kale. I almost didn't try it. But I'm so glad I did. I love how all the flavors combine and its a perfect fall time salad. This salad may sound fancy, but its so easy to make. Just chop everything into small pieces, even the kale, since most of the ingredients are very small. I eat this like every other day at least.

domain: food


text:
Your life insurance coverage mortgage deducts on the earnings assertion. It could actually assist you to save as much as 1,356 euros on this earnings marketing campaign if you happen to meet sure necessities.
On June 30, the 2020 income campaign ends. Since final April 7, we Spaniards must render accounts to the Treasury about our earnings throughout the previous 12 months. For a lot of, it may be an actual scare and must fork out an enormous pinch, which implies saying goodbye to financial savings or holidays. To decrease that determine, and even get the earnings assertion to be returned, it’s important to look carefully on the allowances and deductions.
When you have not but made the declaration of earnings tax for 2020 and you’ve got a mortgage life insurance coverage, you might meet the necessities to have the ability to save as much as 1356 euros. What should you adjust to and the way a lot cash are you able to deduct?
Necessities to deduct mortgage life insurance coverage
You possibly can deduct the premium if you happen to meet all these circumstances:
The mortgage should be previous to January 1, 2013
Solely individuals who purchased their residence earlier than that date can deduct the bills related to the acquisition of the home. These bills embody the mortgage funds, the life insurance coverage premium or the house insurance coverage premium. In 2013 this tax deduction was abolished, so Subsequent mortgage-related bills can now not be deducted. As a substitute, it stays in impact for many who purchased the home earlier than that 12 months.
Have to be mortgage linked life insurance coverage
Which means that insurance coverage was a requirement to get the mortgage and what’s linked to him. Likewise, it is vitally possible that this means that, if the insured died, the financial institution can be the beneficiary of the compensation, with a view to repay the debt of the home.
So, if in case you have a standard coverage, to depart some cash in your kids to check, for instance, you will be unable to incorporate it within the assertion.
Solely the ordinary residence
You possibly can deduct life insurance coverage solely whether it is linked to your foremost home, no second properties or trip. The Tax Company considers a ordinary residence to be that wherein you’ve gotten resided for a minimum of three steady years and which was successfully and completely inhabited for a most of 12 months after shopping for or renovating it.
How a lot cash does mortgage life insurance coverage deduct?
Mortgage life insurance coverage on loans previous to 2013 is taken into account an expense for the acquisition of the house and, subsequently, might be deducted. Whole, The Treasury permits all of the bills related to the acquisition of the home so as to add as much as a most of 9,040 euros. And, from that determine, You possibly can deduct 15%: 1,356 euros of financial savings.
That 15% deduction adjustments in some communities. The state part is 7.5%, and every area establishes its autonomous part, which additionally normally coincides with 7.5%. Likewise, there are different bills associated to the mortgage that can be deducted relying on which area you reside in.
Let’s take an instance to higher perceive how a lot cash mortgage life insurance coverage deducts:
An individual paid 8,000 euros of mortgage throughout 2020, a premium of 200 euros for his mortgage life insurance coverage and one other 100 for residence insurance coverage. Because the mortgage is previous to 2013, they’re all thought-about deductible bills. They add as much as a complete of 8,300 euros, of which 15% might be saved within the declaration: 1,200 euros.
Alternatively, if the bills had totaled greater than 9,040 euros (for instance, if the mortgage had been 10,000 euros), the utmost quantity could possibly be deducted: 1,356 euros.
The exceptions: the self-employed, the Basque Nation and Navarra
The self-employed can deduct the premium even when they purchased the home after 2013 or it isn’t linked to their mortgage. Freelancers can deduct insurance coverage premiums (medical, life and people associated to their exercise), as much as a most of 500 euros.
Alternatively, within the Basque Nation and Navarra, private earnings tax deductions are managed by regional governments and have their very own laws. In order that, For those who reside within the Basque Nation you will get a deduction of 18%, whatever the date of buy of the home:
- Vizcaya: the utmost base is 1955 euros.
- Guipúzcoa: the utmost base is 1,530 euros or 2,160 if the house was bought earlier than January 1, 2012.
- Álava: the utmost base is 2300 euros.
For its half, in Navarra You possibly can now not get the deduction for brand spanking new residence purchases, however Those that purchased earlier than January 1, 2018 can nonetheless profit from it.
What if the 2 mortgage holders file a joint declaration?
Every individual can deduct 15% of a most of 9040 euros. Subsequently, it’s normally extra helpful for each mortgage holders to file individually. Let’s take an instance:
A married couple with a mortgage has paid a complete of 12,000 euros throughout 2020. Each are equal holders of the mortgage, so every would have paid 6,000 euros. If each deducts their half, 15% of 6000 euros could also be deducted: 900 euros. By doing it individually, you save a complete of 1,800 euros.
Alternatively, in the event that they did it collectively, solely 15% of 9,040 euros could possibly be deducted, the utmost allowed base. That implies that 1,356 euros can be saved, much less cash than individually.
What field should be stuffed in on the earnings tax return?
Deductions for funding in main residence are included within the packing containers 547 and 548 of the assertion.
- Field 547: corresponds to the state deduction proportion (7.5%). Will probably be the results of including the figures in packing containers 0699, 0700, 0702 and 0704, the place the totally different bills related to housing should be included.
- Field 548: corresponds to the regional proportion (which additionally normally coincides with the state one, 7.5%). On this case, will probably be the sum of packing containers 0699, 0701, 0703 and 0705.
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Those that purchased their residence earlier than 2013 are lucky that mortgage life insurance coverage not solely protects their residence, but in addition helps them with their earnings tax return. For those who meet the necessities, you’re self-employed otherwise you reside in Navarra or the Basque Nation, take good be aware of how mortgage life insurance coverage reduces taxes within the 2020 earnings marketing campaign.

domain: finance


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The hexadecimal color code #fd8afc is a light shade of magenta. In the RGB color model #fd8afc is comprised of 99.22% red, 54.12% green and 98.82% blue. In the HSL color space #fd8afc has a hue of 301° (degrees), 97% saturation and 77% lightness. This color has an approximate wavelength of 548.7 nm.
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.

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I don't say everything, but I paint everything.

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I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.

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Download Link Mirror Link
this is great for students who want to learn how to dig for data and apply it for themselves. Be aware that you very well may not get the collectors item you think you are paying for. This is not only a book whose words were written by an anointed woman of God but the words were given by the Lord. His father will soon turn 35 which means he will retire to Eden; a virtual world where you live forever and can do anything you want. Download ebook Study Guide To Accompany Textbook Of Basic Nursing 9Th (Nineth) Edition Text Only Pdf. It seemed like it jumped a lot of parts and then the ending just kind of left you wondering. From the famous performances of Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show to the infamous red-light district, from the decline of vigilante justice to the victims who perished from yellow fever, Joiner and Roberson recover and remember lost Shreveport.
Study Guide To Accompany Textbook Of Basic Nursing 9Th (Nineth) Edition Text Only reviews:
The study guide followed the book perfectly. Highly recommend....
In less time than it takes to watch episodes of a reality television program similar to the one in this book, I met and fell in love with Brooke and the people she meets in her search for a fresh start. Tal vez hubiera pretendido un poco más de intencidad e intriga porque en general no me sorprendí en ningún momento.
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Hello! We are Jonathon and Renny, newlyweds and dog lovers! We don't have any dogs of our own right now but would love to hang out with and love on yours!
I'm Renny! I am a Nanny for a local family. In addition to caring for their sweet baby, I also look after their Yorkie, Zoe everyday! I also had 2 dogs growing up, a Shih Tzu and a Belgian Malinois! Before we were married, Jon had a roommate with a super sweet Pitbull-Lab Mix, Duke, that he helped care for for 2 years. We have both always had pets and love animals! You can find photos of the pets we have had or cared for in our photo gallery, as well as testimonials and recommendations by their parents in the references!
Jon and I have 2 female cats, Gypsy and Alina, who are friendly and good with other animals. Our friends bring their pets over often and we have never had a problem on our end! If for some reason your fur baby isn't too fond of ours, that's okay! The girls are perfectly content downstairs in their kitty suite/our finished basement! :)
My hubby is a paramedic for Central EMS and is fortunate to have a rotating shift that allows him to work one week and be off the next. We schedule most boardings every other week while Jon is off so that your dog never goes unsupervised. This is for their safety and so that they don't get lonely. Our house is on a main street, not in a neighborhood, and does not have a fence. Pups are not allowed outside without a leash. "But Renny, how do they play and run and get out energy?" We live about a half mile from Kennesaw Mountain and visit there several times a week to run and hike the trails. We also live 12 minutes from Lewis Park, an off-leash dog park for exercise and socialization. If you are comfortable with your dog being around others, we are happy to hit up Lewis Park as well. We want your dog to be as happy, healthy and comfortable as possible while staying with us. We are a very active couple and can keep up with a high energy pup. If your dog is older or more laid back or let's face it, just not feeling a run that day, we can adjust and do a slow walk or just enjoy a relaxing day of play at home.
If you use a crate or anything special for your dog, please bring it (or have us pick it up) but know it isn't necessary! Pups are free to sit, play and sleep wherever they like! Also, being a nanny, I am used to keeping a daily log and sending mom and dad lots of pictures throughout the day. We will do the same for you with your fur baby! Jon and I are really excited to get to know you and your best friend. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns so that we can make sure your dog receives the best care and is comfortable while you are away.
Read More about April...

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The Coronation Free Library opened in April 1905; it was built to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII on August 9th 1902. The initiative came from a town meeting on April 11th 1902. The cost of the land and building was paid for by public subscription, assisted by the generosity of the well known philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, who contributed £3,800. A plaque marking the opening of the library and a portrait of Executive Committee chairman Sir Thomas Parry can be seen in the library.
The children’s library was opened in 1933 and the Welsh reference library in 1949, having received a donation from the profits of the 1947 National Eisteddfod held in the town. The wrought iron gates that stand at the main entrance to Eirias Park were also a gift to the town following the same Eisteddfod.


There are some moments in football that leave you stunned, and this is one of those. Only a few seconds' delay in your mind will likely be followed by a laugh.
Is this the greatest own goal ever? Well, that's pretty hard to say, considering there have been some true wonder strikes over the years. Ahem, Jamie Pollock!
But this was an absolute scorcher from Milan Gajic, and while playing at a pretty decent level, too.
The midfielder plays for Young Boys in the Swiss Super League, a side used to playing in top European competition.
Sadly for Gajic, however, the opening day of the new season did not start well as he put rivals St Gallen 2-1 up with this thunderbolt into the top corner.
It was surely the best goal that he has ever scored with the ball fizzing past his own goalkeeper, but there lies the problem. Just look at his manager's face!
Young Boys went on to equalise late on and spare Gajic's blushes. At least until this video went viral...
- Sports & Recreation
- Milan Gajic


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In addition to coloured versions, the mirror is also available with clear glass.


Why Did the Jessup Correctional Institute Cancel My Book Club?
For Any Reason or No Reason at All...
In The Maximum Security Book Club, released last June, I wrote about the reading group I have been running for the past four years at Jessup Correctional Institute, a men’s Maximum Security Prison about 15 miles outside Baltimore. JCI is one of the worst of Maryland’s 23 prisons, notorious for gang violence. This year has been especially bad. On January 18th, a convict killed his cellmate with a homemade shank. More recently, on August 14th, a gang of men stabbed another inmate to death.
There were only nine men in my book club, but I knew that for these convicts, the group had become an essential part of their weekly routine. It had taken a long time for us to trust one another, but I felt the men were beginning to recognize that reading could be an alternative to the more perilous ways of negotiating the everyday monotony of prison life. One or two of these men had never read a book before. Now they were reading all the time.
On August 15, the day after the second stabbing, I received an email from the prison’s Assistant Warden, whom I have never met, informing me that I had been found guilty of an infraction. “Unfortunately,” she wrote, “you will not be permitted to volunteer at JCI due to your failure to adhere to rules set forth by our volunteer program coordinator. Although we value our volunteers time and service to the population we cannot allow such breaches to occur. Thus your privileges are suspended.”
This was devastating news, and not only because I was not told what mysterious transgression I had committed. Surely at a time when tension was high, volunteer-led groups like mine that encouraged cathartic discussion (and cost nothing to run) should be promoted, not suddenly ditched without giving the men a chance to say goodbye. I am a trained psychoanalyst, and even though I was not running the group in a clinical capacity, it was unquestionably therapeutic. Over the last four years, I had shared with these nine men their most profound life experiences: marriages, divorces, the deaths of loved ones, lockdowns, weeks on solitary confinement, serious medical procedures, psychiatric evaluations, and parole hearings (all of which were turned down).
In the meantime, I had got the men to struggle, reluctantly at first, through literary classics like Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They did not always find the books easy, but our discussions were invariably enlightening, for myself as well as the convicts. For at least two of them, the last four years were the longest time they had ever been on general population. “I used to be a time bomb waiting to go off,” said Donald, who had, in the past, spent years in the Supermax for violent behavior. “I’m not like that right now. This book club is very good for me, to be honest. Keeps me out of trouble.”
I read the Assistant Warden’s e-mail four or five times, but I still could not grasp its implications. All I could think about was the ten copies of Toni Morrison’s Beloved I had just bought. They were waiting on my desk for me to take in to the prison for our first meeting of the fall semester. When we can’t grasp something enormous, we hold on to something small. We had talked about this last year in the book club, when we were reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Gregor wakes up to find he had turned into a bug, but is worried about missing his train and being late for work. “When I was on trial,” Vincent had remembered, “and I heard the judge say he was giving me two consecutive life sentences, all I could think about was the stuff in my bedroom at home—my posters, tapes, records and everything—and what was going to happen to it. I couldn’t register that I was about to go to prison for the rest of my life.”
I called the Assistant Warden the following day, but—another Kafkaesque moment—was informed that she no longer worked at the prison. Subsequent e-mails to her address bounced back. I next tried the Media Relations Specialist at the Maryland Department Corrections, who had advised me last year, when I needed to obtain permissions for my book.
“Don’t think I’m going to be able to help you,” he replied, dismissively. “We have a new Communications Director. You should get in touch with her.”
Positions in the Department of Corrections seem to be political appointments. The Media Relations Specialist was a journalist who had been laid off from the Baltimore Sun, and was given his job by then-Governor Martin O’Malley, whose campaign he had covered sympathetically. The new Director of the Office of Communications was a former talk radio broadcaster and voiceover actress for video games. When I asked her what rule I had broken, this was her reply:
Pursuant to the Volunteer Agreement and Acknowledgement form, as stated in your Volunteer Orientation guide, the following applies: The State or the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services reserves the right to terminate any volunteer for any reason or no reason at all, except as precluded by law. Therefore, facilities reserve the right to sign up or terminate volunteers autonomously, and do not have to offer explanations for such actions.
I stared at the words on the screen. “ … for any reason or no reason at all …”. How Doug would have appreciated the dark horror of those words! The oldest member of the book club, Doug, had worked as the prison librarian’s assistant. When we’d finished Animal Farm, Doug read everything else by Orwell he could find. When he went into hospital in March for a long-delayed heart bypass operation, he took with him a copy of Orwell’s 1946 essay, “Politics and English Language.” Doug passed away on Sunday March 27 2016, aged 68. He slipped and fell in the toilet at the prison hospital—a dreadful place to die. I had not read Orwell’s essay until Doug recommended it to me, and this e-mail from the Director of the Office of Communications reminded me how prescient Orwell continues to be. “When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims,” he writes, “one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”
The books we read together in the book club, depressing though they may sometimes have been, showed the prisoners that they were not alone in their suffering. The fact that they could identify with characters like Bartleby and Gregor reminded them that they were more than just “criminals” or “lifers”: they were human beings with dignity, pride, and purpose. The more they read, the more perspective these men gained on their own situation. Reading about other people’s inner lives helped them understand that their conflicts and difficulties were often internal, and that, from another viewpoint, their own situations could seem completely different. Literature also helped to remind them that if words had the power to imprison them (“life without parole” is a terrible sentence in both ways), then words could also teach them how to expand the limits of their captivity.
The e-mail I had just received negated the very premise of our book club. It consisted of those ready-made phrases (“pursuant to…”; “as stated in…” “reserves the right to terminate…”; “except as precluded by…”; “do not have to offer explanations….”) which, as Orwell puts it in “Politics and the English Language”, will come crowding in as soon as you give up the trouble of thinking for yourself. “They will construct your sentences for you,—even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent — and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself.” This is the point where politics connects with the debasement of language. And when the meaning of what you say is something you need to conceal even from yourself, it is not only language that is debased, but human life.
To read an excerpt from The Maximum Security Book Club on Lit Hub, click here.


Initiatives // Jan 2020
Technology is central to the future of the air transport industry, and as a testament to this, this week saw Delta Air Lines become the first airline to keynote the annual trade show for innovators and breakthrough technologies. Delta CEO Ed Bastian laid out a compelling vision for the future of travel during his keynote including transformation of the Fly Delta app, parallel reality display screens, captivating entertainment options, full-body wearable exoskeletons, and an AI machine learning operations platform.
Taking inspiration from these ground-breaking developments in the travel tech space, we have compiled our prediction on the most exciting trends and technologies that airlines and airports can expect to shape the passenger experience on the ground and up in the air over the next 12 months and ahead. Take a look:
Robotics – from self-driving guide robots and autonomous vehicles to avatars and delivery drones
Automation in the aviation industry is gaining momentum due to rapid advancements in the fields of robotics. Robots in the terminal are becoming a more common site and among some of the most recent examples are Fraport’s new self-driving guide robot, called YAPE, for luggage transportation; “Airstar” robot at Incheon Airport; Munich Airport’s Josie Pepper; and British Airways’ partnership with startup company BotsAndUs to test AI-powered autonomous robots at Heathrow Terminal 5 to further enhance punctuality for passengers.
As well as robots in the terminal, automated vehicles on the airfield and baggage-related robots are also gaining traction. A prominent example is Vanderlande’s end-to-end baggage logistics solution FLEET, deployed at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, and trialled at Hong Kong International Airport to further improve the efficiency of the baggage handling process, enhance ergonomic working conditions for ground staff and future-proof the airports’ baggage handling operations, so we will likely hear more about this technology in the months to come.
Autonomous vehicles and drones have also been tested in the past couple of years. For instance, Delta Air Lines is currently in partnership with technology-focussed college Georgia Tech and smart city living laboratory Curiosity Lab to identify ways autonomous vehicles can benefit customers and employees. Researchers from all three partners will have access to Curiosity Lab’s 1.5-mile autonomous vehicle test track and smart city living laboratory in Peachtree Corners in Atlanta. As autonomous vehicle research advances across the world, Delta sees potential applications for autonomous cars, trucks or buses at airports and beyond. For example, autonomous vehicles could help customers make tight connections across an airport, deliver delayed baggage to customers or transport aircraft parts to airports. Fraport also recently completed a trial of a hybrid aerial vehicle at Frankfurt Airport Terminal 2. The company joined forces with startup Hybrid-Airplane Technologies GmbH to carry out test flights assessing whether the aerial vehicle could be used to perform status checks in the terminals.
Drone delivery is also becoming increasingly popular and recently Edmonton International Airport (EIA) entered a new strategic partnership with Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) that will see the airport become a hub for drone cargo deliveries in Western and Northern Canada. This is expected to be the world’s first regularly scheduled drone delivery service from an airport. Meanwhile, the technology is already gaining traction in the hospitality business with Yotel, for instance, experimenting with the use of drones to deliver food and drink orders to guests at its hotel in Amsterdam, so it is likely that this trend will soon be replicated in the airport terminal.
Another interesting concept to keep an eye out for is avatars. Japanese airline ANA is currently developing new platforms for telepresence to “impact the lives of all 7 billion people on Earth and to connect people, connect things, and connect ideas and dreams,” shared Kevin Kajitani, Co-director of ANA’s Avatar division. One of the team’s goals is to set up an experiment that could let sports fans experience the 2020 Tokyo Olympics through telepresence robots sitting in the seats.
Digital Twins is a topic that came up on numerous occasions during the FTE conferences in 2019, and so we thought it is worthy of a mention.
SITA Lab is currently working on a fully functional digital twin, which is being tested at a US East Coast airport where the 3D interface is on an 86-inch touch-screen in the operations room. In a recent blog post on SITA’s website, Kevin O’Sullivan, Lead Engineer at SITA Lab, shared that the result will “improve decision-making, based on the holistic view of the airport operations”. He explained: “As well as showing what’s happening now, we can also select a moment in history and play back exactly what happened in the past. It’s a very effective way of investigating the handling of disruption, to identify what can be done better next time.”
However, he added that “a fully-functioning productised digital twin of an airport is still some time off. But as we build it out more widely and deeply, the full extent of its potential is becoming clear.”Interested in the latest technologies and trends? Sign up to our newsletter >>
AI & Machine Learning
During the past couple of years, the air transport industry has been showing a great commitment to realising the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI) with a plethora of use cases. On one side, we have seen airlines and airports adopting chatbots to communicate with passengers, and on the other to improve operations.
In terms of chatbot applications, last year AirAsia developed and launched its AirAsia Virtual Allstar (AVA), a continuously learning AI-powered chat platform, which won the Silver Award at the FTE APEX Asia EXPO Awards 2019 for the Best Passenger Experience Initiative in the Airline category.
One of the highlights during Ed Bastian’s keynote at CES was a proprietary AI-driven platform to be implemented this year, that will help Delta’s professionals make even smarter operational decisions. The airline claims that it is applying AI-driven machine learning on a scale that’s never been done before by an airline. The proprietary AI-driven platform analyses millions of operational data points – from aircraft positions to flight crew restrictions to airport conditions – to create hypothetical outcomes that help Delta’s staff make critical decisions before, during and after large-scale disruptions. During his keynote, Bastian said: “Our leading source of innovation is our people. Our people shouldn’t be spending all their time taking tickets and scanning boarding passes. They’re too talented for that.”
Elsewhere, KLM has embarked on a unique partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) which has the potential to “revolutionise global airline operations”. In a recent interview with FTE, Daan Debie, Director Engineering & Architecture, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, explained that KLM has developed a suite of advanced optimisation tools for the Operations Control Centre to help set up robust schedules by implementing smart tail assignment, manage and solve disruptions, and help with decision-making. He pointed out: “This has led to huge savings in non-performance costs.”
The benefits for passengers are clear too – minimising the impact of disruptions through real-time updates, reducing baggage delays and personalising information that has been provided to the customer through digital channels.
Virtual reality & immersive experiences
In a saturated market such as the airline sector, virtual reality (VR) and immersive experiences can be a true differentiator. Last year saw a raft of announcements in this space. As one of the leading virtual reality suppliers, Inflight VR attracted a number of airlines to its portfolio, including Evelop Airlines, SunExpress and Jin Air to name a few.
In partnership with VR company Neutral Digital, British Airways also tested the technology to introduce its new Airbus A350 aircraft. In an interview with FTE, Daniel Taylor, Brand and Marketing Content Manager at British Airways shared: “VR provided us with an immersive way of bringing this new product to life and engaging both external and internal audiences. The project was initially built for press events and for our own crew familiarisation of the new product and layout. But we’ve since found it to be invaluable across the whole marketing ecosystem. The tool has allowed us to quickly create visual assets including photography, film and 360° content that we have used across various marketing channels.”
5G – 100 times faster than current 4G networks
Recent developments in 5G technology are fuelling the new decade of innovation that will change business as we know it today. The technology will lower data latency, offer more stability, and connect more devices at the same time. In the aviation industry, the technology will be instrumental to satisfy the need for fast connectivity inflight and at airports; demand for predictive maintenance through data shared by the connected aircraft; and growing demand for a better inflight experience.
On the ground, last year Manchester Airport became the first UK airport to offer 5G network access as part of a trial by Vodafone. Vodafone installed a dedicated 5G-enabled ‘blast pod’ at Manchester’s Terminal One that allowed travellers to test the new super-fast network for downloading films or TV boxsets on their mobile devices up to four times faster than 4G.
5G has been the subject of speculation over the past few years, however, in 2020 it feels like the technology will come one step closer to reality – though still not that close. The possible impacts of 5G were widely discussed at the CES show, where network carriers insist that 2020 will be a turning point for the technology.
While 5G is being rolled out around the world with China, South Korea, UK, Germany and the US leading the fifth generation of mobile networks, the technology is still in its early stages. According to a recent article by Wired magazine, “5G isn’t a single technology or standard, but rather a constellation of different technologies, and deploying them could require a radically different approach than building 4G networks”. Moreover, only a handful of devices on the market support the technology, while flagship devices from Samsung, Google and Apple support 4G only. But in the next few years, we expect to see continuous efforts to make 5G the next big thing.
Inflight Connectivity – a real opportunity to drive conversion
The future of the inflight connectivity industry is bright, with a growing number of airlines seeking to digitise their inflight experience in order to stay relevant. This demand is driving a real step-change in terms of the quality of connectivity on offer.
During his presentation at FTE APEX Asia EXPO 2019, Dominic Walters, Vice President Marketing Communications & Strategy, Inmarsat Aviation presented findings from the final instalment of the Sky High Economics report, which identified a market of 450 million passengers currently unengaged with traditional airline loyalty schemes, who could be driven to switch allegiance for high quality Wi-Fi up in the air. The study has estimated that this can drive a whopping $33 billion share shift – equivalent to 6% of total market share – that can create enormous opportunities for airlines adapting to what Walters refers to as the “always-on” passenger behaviour.
While many airlines, such as Qatar Airways, Norwegian and AirAsia, to name just a few, are stepping up their connectivity efforts, there is still much scepticism whether investments in connectivity today will stand the test of time. During his presentation at TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in 2019, Aldric Chau, Head of Retail and eCommerce, Cathay Pacific Airways, highlighted that: “If you are building an e-commerce site that can only be accessed outside of the aircraft it means you are missing an opportunity to work with retail giants such as Alibaba or Amazon. If you do have inflight connectivity this can be a real opportunity to bump up inflight sales by launching some real-time offers and initiatives to drive conversion.”
Biometrics technology has been receiving special mentions in our trends reports for the past few years now, and while it is truly gaining traction, we believe that the full potential of the technology is yet to be uncovered. 2019 was a landmark year for its development in air travel with many successfully implementations, from British Airways’ biometric rollout at Heathrow, Orlando, Los Angeles and John F. Kennedy international airports to Kempegowda International Airport’s Digi Yatra Programme, and Delta Air Lines’ first biometric terminal in the United States at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, to name just a few.
This year, we expect that more airlines will adopt facial recognition mobile apps to make the check-in process easier for passengers. In more recent news, for instance, we saw Iberia trialling facial recognition app at Madrid Airport to enable customers to identify themselves at both general and fast-track security control and at the boarding gates with their biometric profile, eliminating the need to show travel documents.
However, while the implementation of biometrics is gathering pace, there has been a number of challenges, and even misconceptions, around standardisation, privacy issues, integration, security, legacy infrastructure and establishing trust between all parties. To move forward, we’re yet to see the industry taking a united approach in tackling these issues.
This year, at FTE Global, 1-2 September, 2020, FTE will once again host a dedicated biometrics summit where we will hear case studies and lessons learned from first-movers that have been through implementations.