Despite tightening finances, standardized test scores for Valley schools have continued to improve and mirrored statewide trends, education officials said Monday.
In nearly all subject areas of the state Standardized Testing and Reporting program, Valley schools showed higher test scores. The STAR results were made public Monday.
State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said he was encouraged by the improvement in test scores even as schools contended with drastic budget cuts. He noted that California students have made overall gains in reading and math for eight consecutive years.
The percentage of California students scoring at the proficient level or above on English tests rose to 52%, two points higher than last year. In math, 48% of students scored at proficient or higher, two points higher than 2009. The STAR program also tests students in history and science.
The Fresno, Clovis, Central, Sanger, Madera and Visalia unified districts continued to show improvements as well. Among those districts, Clovis Unified's scores remained the highest.
Earlier this month, Fresno Unified officials touted their improvements in all subject areas. Scores in math rose 2 points, with 40% of students scoring as advanced or proficient. In reading, the number jumped nearly two points to a total 38%. It's the fifth straight year of higher reading and math scores, district officials noted.
"While we know we need to continue to find ways to accelerate this improvement, the gains are steady," Michael Hanson, Fresno Unified superintendent, said Monday.
The number of proficient and advanced students in Clovis Unified was higher in reading and slightly down in math.
Reading scores rose three points, with 71% scoring at proficient or advanced, while math scores fell slightly from 65.6% to 65.3% at the proficient and advanced levels.
A state official said the drop in overall math scores was attributed to more Clovis eighth-graders enrolled in algebra. Math scores for students in grades 2-6, however, rose two points, and 81% scored in the proficient and advanced ranges.
In history and the two science categories, the number of Clovis Unified students reaching proficient or better was two points to five points higher.
"This news may be only what our community expects to hear, but in real terms it shows that our teachers and our students are up to the challenge of continuous improvement," said Dave Cash, Clovis Unified superintendent.
In Visalia Unified, 48% of students scored as proficient or advanced in reading, an increase of three points.
Scores have been rising for four years in many categories, said Craig Wheaton, interim superintendent.
Central Unified saw improvements in all areas, but test scores in history rose more than seven points, with 38% of students scoring at proficient or better. Math, reading and science scores also were up.
"We showed positive signs of growth and achievement, but we are not going to sit back ... we still have areas that we can improve upon," Superintendent Michael Berg said.
Sanger officials also are pleased by scores that show continued improvement.
"Our number of kids in proficient or advanced grew from 1% to 2% across the board," said deputy superintendent Rich Smith.
It's a huge turnaround from 2004, when Sanger Unified was in state program improvement and was among the 100 lowest-achieving school districts in the state, he said. Today, the district includes State Distinguished Schools and National Blue Ribbon Schools.
Madera Unified saw smaller increases than Sanger, but officials found reason to be pleased -- especially when viewing STAR test results over several years, said Jake Bragonier, the district's spokesman.
This year, 42% of the district's students scored at proficient or advanced in reading, and 40% scored at those levels in math.
"We don't typically show enormous increases, but we show steady, sustainable growth year after year and across the board," he said.


On this day in 1949 legendary rock pianist and song writer, Billy Joel, was born in the Bronx. Joel would spend most of his childhood on Long Island in Hicksville, New York. Born to Jewish parents, Joel took a liking to music at an early age, receiving piano lessons from a Julliard-trained pianist named Frances Neiman. However, Joel’s interest in music and lack of interest in sports lead to turbulent relationships with his pears, often ending with Joel being bullied. In 1964, while watching The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, Joel decided that he wanted to pursue a full-time career in music. He then left high school without a diploma and hit the ground running, beginning what would become one of the greatest Rock n’ Roll careers of all time.
Joel has released thirteen studio albums, four of which have hit the top-spot on the United States charts (1978’s 52nd Street, 1980’s Glass Houses, and 1989’s Storm Front). With an extensive catalog featuring classics such as “Captain Jack,” “It’s Still Rock n’ Roll to Me,” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” it is no wonder that Joel is one the biggest selling artists of all time. However, Joel will forever been known for his 1973 magnum opus, “Piano Man.” Joel’s big break, “Piano Man” is one of the best songs ever written. Simple, passionate, and down-right brilliant, “Piano Man” still sounds as fresh today as it did over forty years ago. Joel has always provided the melody, and listeners have always felt so right.
Written by Michael Meeze (follow him on Twitter)


text:
Most of the actions taken against the corrupt officials, powerful civil servants and smugglers get weakened within a few days or weeks for no apparent reason. Ultimately, many of the corrupt employees and those involved in smuggling of gold and other goods and those who have given political protection to the wrongdoers get off scot-free. Even the media that expose the corrupt activities of the officials prompting the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the parliamentary committees and the police to take action against the wrongdoers mysteriously maintain mysterious silent.
If we look at the recent cases, we get only disappointing pictures. The media have almost stop reporting about Chuda Mani Sharma, joint-secretary at the Finance Ministry, who was nabbed by the CIAA for abusing billions of rupees of revenue and released by a court order. As suspected by many people, the case of Chuda Mani got weakened because he was reported to have a connection with powerful politicians.
Likewise, the boss of the Nepal Oil Corporation who was accused of embezzling millions of rupees while buying lands in different parts of the country once made news headlines. He was even interrogated by the parliamentary committee following the media report about his involvement in the corrupt activities. The lands purchased by the NOC to build its storage paying more than the actual prices submerged in the recent floods as it had bought the lands left by the rivers. Now we hardly get to hear about any action being taken against him. Instead, he had dared to file a case in the court against the journalist who first dared to report about his unlawful activities.
Recently, the police seized 88 kilos of gold from the city, the owners of the huge amount of gold smuggled in Nepal from China have not yet traced. Moreover, it was mysterious that the motor carrying 88 kilograms gold arrived in Kathmandu, evading several check posts from Nepal-China border to Kathmandu. Obviously, the gold was brought to Kathmandu by making a special setting all the way from Rasuwa to Kathmandu. No politician has made any comment about the seizure of gold.
It is not known what guides the government, the anti-graft bodies and even the police to be soft towards the corrupt persons and smugglers. On many occasions, the government and the politicians seem to be favouring the corrupt bureaucrats and politicians. It is really bewildering when a police officer who had seized the smuggled gold got punished and the police officer who let the smugglers carry out their business are set free! Hence, the politicians should be blamed for the growing corrupt activities and increasing cases of smugglings.
When the powerful leaders in the government or the ruling parties favour the corrupt employees and politicians, the anti-graft bodies and the police fail to take stern actions against the wrongdoers. This is what we have been noticing in the recent months. Moreover, the people get shocked when a corrupt politician is rewarded instead of a jail sentence.

domain: news


Porsche’s Panamera super sedan isn’t exactly the greatest looking car in history. Or on the market today, it’s actually quite the ugly duckling.
Tuners don’t appear to be put of by this, they keep having at it hoping to turn it into a beautiful swan. The latest to try is JE Design.
Like all others, they haven’t succeeded. At least it’s not worse than before and the specs do look a little better.
Under the bonnet we find the controversial 3.0 liter V6 TDI diesel engine and it’s been given a bit of a going over in terms of performance. It now develops 300 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque.
That’s quite the bit of poke but it’s nothing compared to what they did to the 4.8 liter V8 in the Panamera Turbo. That twin-turbo powerplant now develops 600 horsepower and 626 lb-ft of twist.
JE Design have managed to get a lot of performance out of a car that’s already insanely fast. With those engines under the hood it’s no surprise to see the exterior.
The front bumper of the JE Design Porsche Panamera features massive air vents. They’re not for show, they’re really needed to cool down those powerhouses.
LED Daytime running lights make an appearance, a bit overstated by my mind but it’s nice to see people experiment with them instead of just placing them on the list.
Alongside the new body kit and the new rear wing, the JE Design Porsche Panamera also comes with a set of 22″ Pandora light-alloy wheels and a new set of tires.


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Ephesoft Inc., the leader in providing advanced cloud-ready capture solutions, today announced the sale of a large-scale enterprise class system to one of the world’s largest BPOs. The sale followed an exhaustive proof-of-concept exercise in which Ephesoft bested seven other competitors. The solution will process over 450 million pages of mortgage files by automatically classifying and separating a wide variety of document types and then extracting key metadata for further processing. Searchable PDFs will be created in a tabbed format and deposited into their IBM Content Manager ECM. The BPO selected Ephesoft primarily for its unique 3 tier architecture which provides flexibility in scaling for all size projects and extensive security at each tier. The solution is 100% browser-based and provides for load balancing, high availability, and disaster recovery.
Ike Kavas, CTO of Ephesoft, commented “In addition to the above features and benefits that Ephesoft brings, this BPO plans to expand on its Open Source systems. The current Ephesoft system uses Linux-based web servers and Windows-based Application Servers. However, they are planning to have a 100% Linux platform to support their business. Since Ephesoft is the only platform today that can deploy an Intelligent Document Capture system running on Linux and work with other open source systems such as Ubuntu and RedHat, partnering with Ephesoft was the logical choice. ”
“While keeping technology solution costs as low as possible are a necessity for all BPO providers, the proper technical solution was most important here due to the complexity of the documents and the enormous volume of documents. So once the technology was proven to perform well, our standard benefits of unlimited volume with unrestricted user counts quickly sealed the deal. ” said David Talarico, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Americas at Ephesoft. “Our easy-to-implement platform and unique business model are perfectly suited to BPOs who must respond to new opportunities quickly and efficiently. No other ‘intelligent capture’ solution fits the BPO and Cloud-Centric environment as well as Ephesoft.”


text:
Since writing the Companion to Narnia (HarperCollins, 1994; ISBN 0-06-251136-X), I have been asked many questions about the Chronicles of Narnia. This section of my website contains the best of my answers to these questions.
Please feel free to use these files but please also acknowledge my copyrights. Thanks!
|People ask me, “How do I use your Companion to Narnia to study a particular book?” Read this file to find out the most important topics in each book of the Chronicles of Narnia.||
|What do Narnians believe? This file contains a Narnian Creed which I composed in 1976 for the first ever C. S. Lewis’s Narnia workshop at St. Andrew’s Abbey, Valyermo, California. It is modelled on the Apostles’ Creed.||
|The Canadian C. S. Lewis Journal asked me to write this fiftieth anniverary tribute to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I discuss many things, including the proper reading order for the Chronicles of Narnia. I also make available a letter written to me by one of the girls who lived in C. S. Lewis’s home, the Kilns, during World War II. My thanks to The Canadian C. S. Lewis Journal and its late founder Stephen Schofield for all the years it was published!||
|What is the proper reading order for the Chronicles of Narnia? Since 1994 the books have been marketed according the order of the internal chronology, which is the least helpful way into Narnia. Rearrange the 1994-on editions by “Remembering ‘245-3617.’” See also LWW 50th appreciation.pdf, above.||
|The decision in 1994 to make the British editions of the Chronicles of Narnia the standard for the world suppresses the few but significant changes C. S. Lewis made for the American editions, especially to the ending of Chapter Twelve, “The Dark Island,” in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which you can read and compare by double-clicking this file. The reasons for the changes in Chapter Twelve are in Companion to Narnia, under “Dreams.” All the variants are listed at the end of the section, “Using The Companion,” in the 1994 edition, pages xli–xlii.||

domain: literature


text:
Looking for your next favorite book? Stop by the Waterville Public Library during library hour from Saturday, April 13th through Friday, April 19th and check out our Spring Book Sale featuring a wide selection of materials for all ages!
All sales are by donation!
Saturday 4/13: 10am-3pm
Sunday 4/14 Closed
Monday 4/15 Closed (Patriots Day)
Tuesday 4/16 – Thursday 4/18: 10am-7pm
Friday 4/19: 10am-5pm
FMI: email firstname.lastname@example.org, or call (207) 872-5433


text:
When it comes to mental health of our young, effective early intervention is key. For those youths who start exhibiting mental distress, it is important that they get help and support early, before their condition escalates to become a mental health issue.
This is an area that needs urgent attention. At the 3rd Asia Pacific Conference and Meeting on Mental Health today, I shared some worrying trends. COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenges of mental health. Worldwide, more people are reporting anxiety and depression over the past year. Specifically from 2015 to 2020, the number of adolescents seen at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for depression has increased by about 60%.
We need to do something quickly to arrest this worrying trend. One way is to create a community-based support system, and bring mental health support closer to our community. Mental health intervention for youths at-risk should be accessible, holistic and prompt. To this end, in the coming months, President’s Challenge will partner IMH to develop a pilot programme to uplift the capacity of our social service agencies in the case management of youths with mental health conditions. I hope this will help mobilise community resources to complement Government efforts in supporting persons with mental health conditions.
No one should be left to face their mental health struggles alone. Let us work together to create a more caring society.
#mentalhealthawareness #breakthestigma #PC2019

domain: psychology


|Publication number||US7950473 B2|
|Application number||US 12/276,485|
|Publication date||May 31, 2011|
|Filing date||Nov 24, 2008|
|Priority date||Nov 24, 2008|
|Also published as||US20100126770, WO2010060014A2, WO2010060014A3|
|Publication number||12276485, 276485, US 7950473 B2, US 7950473B2, US-B2-7950473, US7950473 B2, US7950473B2|
|Original Assignee||Smith International, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (54), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (12), Classifications (13), Legal Events (4)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present invention relates generally to downhole tools, for example, including directional drilling tools such as three-dimensional rotary steerable tools (3DRS). More particularly, embodiments of this invention relate to rotary steerable tools having formation evaluation sensors deployed in an outer housing thereof. The invention further relates to geosteering methods.
Logging while drilling (LWD) techniques for determining numerous borehole and formation characteristics are well known in oil drilling and production applications. Such logging techniques include, for example, natural gamma ray, spectral density, neutron density, inductive and galvanic resistivity, micro-resistivity, acoustic velocity, acoustic caliper, physical caliper, downhole pressure, and the like. Formations having recoverable hydrocarbons typically include certain well-known physical properties, for example, resistivity, porosity (density), and acoustic velocity values in a certain range. Such LWD measurements (also referred to herein as formation evaluation measurements) may be used, for example, in making steering decisions for subsequent drilling of the borehole.
LWD sensors (also referred to herein as formation evaluation or FE sensors) are commonly used to measure physical properties of the formations through which a borehole traverses. Such sensors are typically deployed in a rotating section of the bottom hole assembly (BHA) whose rotational speed is substantially the same as the rotational speed of the drill string. LWD imaging and geo-steering applications commonly make use of focused FE sensors and the rotation (turning) of the BHA (and therefore the FE sensors) during drilling of the borehole. For example, in a common geo-steering application, a section of a borehole may be routed through a thin oil bearing layer (sometimes referred to in the art as a payzone). Due to the dips and faults that may occur in the various layers that make up the strata, the drill bit may sporadically exit the oil-bearing layer and enter nonproductive zones during drilling. In attempting to steer the drill bit back into the oil-bearing layer (or to prevent the drill bit from exiting the oil-bearing layer), an operator typically needs to know in which direction to turn the drill bit (e.g., up or down). Such information may be obtained, for example, from azimuthally sensitive measurements of the formation properties.
One drawback associated with the above described configuration (in which the FE sensors are rotationally coupled to the drill string) is that the vibration and shock sensitive FE sensors are subject to high lateral, axial, and torsional vibrations during normal drilling operations. Conventional FE sensor deployments are known to be susceptible to vibration and shock related errors and failures. Another drawback associated with the above-described conventional FE sensor deployments is that azimuthal logging techniques require a substantially uniform drill string rotation rate during drilling in order to suitably reduce statistical errors in the azimuthally focused logging data. While the above-mentioned conventional deployments are serviceable, and have been commercially utilized, an improved apparatus and method for acquiring near-bit formation evaluation sensor measurements is needed. In particular, there is a need for an apparatus that is less susceptible to shock and vibration related errors and failures and that is capable of providing both azimuthally focused and non-azimuthally focused formation evaluation sensor measurements.
The present invention addresses the need for improved formation evaluation sensor deployments and improved geosteering methods. Aspects of this invention include rotary steerable deployments including at least one (and preferably a plurality of) formation evaluation sensor(s) deployed in the steering tool housing. In one preferred embodiment, the steering tool housing includes at least first and second circumferentially opposed gamma ray sensors. In a second preferred embodiment, the steering tool includes at least first, second, and third neutron density sensors, each of which is radially offset and circumferentially aligned with a corresponding one of the steering tool blades. The invention further includes methods for geosteering in which a rotation rate of the steering tool housing in the borehole (and therefore the rotation rate of the formation evaluation sensors) is controlled via controlling blade force. The rotation rate may be controlled, for example, so as to promote formation evaluation measurements at or near predetermined tool face angles. The rotation rate may also be controlled so as to enable borehole imaging. Steering decisions may then be made utilizing the formation evaluation measurements and/or derived borehole images.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may advantageously provide several technical advantages. For example, deployment of the formation evaluation sensors in the steering tool housing has been found to reduce both shock and vibration exposure and therefore tends to minimize shock and/or vibration related errors and/or failures. Exemplary steering tool embodiments of the invention also advantageously provide for both azimuthal (focused) and non-azimuthal (non-focused) formation evaluation measurements. Exemplary steering tool embodiments of the invention may also provide for simultaneous formation evaluation and physical standoff measurements. Such physical standoff measurements tend to be more reliable than conventional ultrasonic standoff measurements and may be utilized to interpret the formation evaluation measurements (e.g., neutron density measurements).
The invention further provides near-bit, azimuthally resolved formation evaluation measurements which may be utilized, for example, in geosteering applications. The use of azimuthally resolved formation evaluation measurements in geosteering tends to advantageously optimize wellbore placement and reduce dependence on pre-well geological models. Such models are known to be limited by the resolution of seismic data and commonly fail to include faults and other complex geological features (even when correlated with nearby offset wells). Thus, the invention may also provide for improved wellbore placement in geosteering applications.
The invention also advantageously provides a method for controlling the rotation rate of the steering tool housing in the borehole during drilling (e.g., in the range of from about 0.1 to about 30 revolutions per hour). Since the formation evaluation sensor(s) are deployed in the steering tool housing, the invention also advantageously enables the rate at which these sensors rotate in the borehole to be controlled. Controlling the rotation rate of the housing advantageously enables the sensors to be maintained at a desired orientation (e.g., in high side or low side quadrants) for longer periods of time than an undesirable orientation (e.g., in left side or right side quadrants). Such control tends to be advantageous in geosteering applications.
Moreover, controlling the rotation rate of the steering tool housing advantageously enables borehole images (images based on formation evaluation measurements) to be acquired. Such borehole images may also be advantageously utilized in geosteering applications.
In one aspect the present invention includes a downhole steering tool configured to operate in a borehole. The steering tool includes a shaft deployed substantially coaxially in a housing, the shaft and the housing being free to rotate relative to one another about a longitudinal axis of the steering tool. A plurality of blades are deployed on the housing. The blades are disposed to extend radially outward from the housing and engage a wall of the borehole, said engagement of the blades with the borehole wall operative to eccenter the housing in the borehole. A plurality of circumferentially spaced formation evaluation sensors are deployed in the housing, each of the formation evaluation sensors being configured to individually provide a corresponding azimuthally focused sensor response. The plurality of formation evaluation sensors are further configured to collectively provide a non-azimuthally focused sensor response. A controller is configured to acquire sensor data from the formation evaluation sensors and to compute both azimuthally focused and non-azimuthally focused formation evaluation measurements.
In another aspect this invention includes a downhole steering tool configured to operate in a borehole. The steering tool includes a shaft deployed substantially coaxially in a housing, the shaft and the housing being free to rotate relative to one another about a longitudinal axis of the steering tool. At least first, second, and third blades are deployed on the housing. The blades are disposed to extend radially outward from the housing and engage a wall of the borehole, said engagement of the blades with the borehole wall operative to eccenter the housing in the borehole. At least first, second, and third circumferentially spaced formation evaluation sensors are deployed in the housing. Each of the first, second, and third formation evaluation sensors is axially spaced from and circumferentially aligned with a corresponding one of the first, second, and third blades. A controller is configured to compute a standoff distance at each of the formation evaluation sensors based on a radial position of the corresponding blades.
In another aspect the present invention includes a method for geosteering. The method includes deploying a steering tool in a subterranean borehole. The steering tool includes a housing deployed about a shaft, the housing and the shaft free to rotate relative to one another about a longitudinal axis of the steering tool. A plurality of blades are deployed on the housing, the blades disposed to extend radially outward from the housing and engage a wall of the borehole, said engagement of the blades with the borehole wall operative to eccenter the housing in the borehole. The steering tool housing further includes at least one formation evaluation sensor and a tool face sensor deployed therein; The method further includes causing the tool face sensor to measure a tool face angle of the formation evaluation sensor; processing the measured tool face angle to determine a target rotation rate of the housing in the borehole, and causing the housing to rotate in the borehole at about the target rotation rate.
In still another aspect the present invention includes a method for geosteering. The method includes deploying a steering tool in a subterranean borehole. The steering tool includes a housing deployed about a shaft, the housing and the shaft free to rotate relative to one another about a longitudinal axis of the steering tool. A plurality of hydraulically actuated blades are deployed on the housing, the blades disposed to extend radially outward from the housing and engage a wall of the borehole, said engagement of the blades with the borehole wall operative to eccenter the housing in the borehole. The steering tool housing further includes a hydraulic pressure sensor, at least one formation evaluation sensor, and a tool face sensor deployed therein. The method further includes causing the tool face sensor to measure a tool face angle of the formation evaluation sensor, processing the measured tool face angle to acquire a target hydraulic pressure, causing the hydraulic pressure sensor to measure a hydraulic pressure in the housing, comparing the target hydraulic pressure with the measured hydraulic pressure, opening at least one valve when the measured hydraulic pressure is greater than the target hydraulic pressure.
In a further aspect the present invention includes a method of geosteering. The method includes deploying a steering tool in a subterranean borehole, the steering tool including a housing deployed about a shaft, the housing and the shaft free to rotate relative to one another about a longitudinal axis of the steering tool. A plurality of blades are deployed on the housing, the blades disposed to extend radially outward from the housing and engage a wall of the borehole, said engagement of the blades with the borehole wall operative to eccenter the housing in the borehole. The steering tool housing further includes at least one formation evaluation sensor and a tool face sensor deployed therein. The method further includes causing the housing to rotate in the borehole at substantially a predetermined rotation rate, causing the at least one formation evaluation sensor and the tool face sensor to acquire a plurality of data pairs, each data pair comprising at least one formation evaluation measurement and a corresponding tool face angle and processing the acquired data pairs to construct a borehole image. The method still further includes processing the borehole image to acquire at least one image parameter and evaluating the at least one image parameter to control a direction of drilling, the direction of drilling being controlled via controlling extension and retraction of the blades.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other methods, structures, and encoding schemes for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring first to
It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that methods and apparatuses in accordance with this invention are not limited to use with a semisubmersible platform 12 as illustrated in
Turning now to
Steering tool 100 may be used in directional drilling operations (including geosteering applications) to steer drill bit 32 along a predetermined drilling path. To steer (i.e., change the direction of drilling), one or more of blades 150 are extended and exert a force against the borehole wall. The steering tool 100 is moved away from the center of the borehole by this operation, altering the drilling path. It will be appreciated that the tool 100 may also be moved back towards the borehole axis if it is already eccentered. In general, increasing the offset (i.e., increasing the distance between the tool axis and the borehole axis) tends to increase the curvature (dogleg severity) of the borehole upon subsequent drilling. In the exemplary embodiment shown, steering tool 100 is configured for “push-the-bit” steering in which the direction (tool face) of subsequent drilling tends to be the same (or nearly the same; depending, for example, upon local formation characteristics) as the offset between the tool axis and the borehole axis. The invention is not limited to a push-the-bit configuration. It is equally well suited for “point-the-bit” steering in which a near-bit stabilizer is utilized and the direction of subsequent drilling tends to be opposite the offset between the tool axis and borehole axis.
As described above, shaft 115 and housing 110 are configured to rotate substantially freely with respect to one another. To facilitate controlled steering, the housing 110 preferably is substantially non-rotating or slowly rotating with respect to the borehole. By keeping the blades 150 in a substantially fixed position with respect to the circumference of the borehole (i.e., by limiting rotation of the housing 110), it is possible to steer the tool without constantly extending and retracting the blades 150. During a typical drilling operation, housing 110 typically rotates slowly in the borehole (e.g., at a rate in the range from about 0.1 to about 30 revolutions per hour). In order to accommodate the slow rotation of housing 110 and maintain a predetermined drilling direction, adjustments are typically made to the blade positions during drilling.
With reference now to
Hydraulic module 130 further includes a piston pump 240 operatively coupled with drive shaft 115. In the exemplary embodiment shown, pump 240 is mechanically actuated by a cam 118 formed on an outer surface of drive shaft 115, although the invention is not limited in this regard. Pump 240 may be equivalently actuated, for example, by a swash plate mounted to the outer surface of the shaft 115 or an eccentric profile formed in the outer surface of the shaft 115. In the exemplary embodiment shown, rotation of the drive shaft 115 causes cam 118 to actuate piston 242, thereby pumping pressurized hydraulic fluid to high pressure reservoir 236. Piston pump 240 receives low pressure hydraulic fluid from the low pressure reservoir 226 through inlet check valve 246 on the down-stroke of piston 242 (i.e., as cam 118 disengages piston 242). On the upstroke (i.e., when cam 118 engages piston 242), piston 242 pumps pressurized hydraulic fluid through outlet check valve 248 to the high pressure reservoir 236. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular pumping mechanism. In other embodiments, an electric powered pump may be utilized, for example, powered via electrical power generated by a mud turbine or from batteries such as lithium batteries.
Hydraulic fluid chamber 220 further includes a pressurizing spring 234 (e.g., a Belleville spring) deployed between an internal shoulder 221 of the chamber housing and a high pressure piston 232. As the high pressure reservoir 236 is filled by pump 240, high pressure piston 232 compresses spring 234, which maintains the pressure in the high pressure reservoir 236 at some predetermined pressure above wellbore pressure. Hydraulic module 130 typically (although not necessarily) further includes a pressure relief valve 235 deployed between high pressure and low pressure fluid lines. In one exemplary embodiment, a spring loaded pressure relief valve 235 opens at a predetermined differential pressure (e.g., about 750 psi), thereby limiting the pressure of the high pressure reservoir 236 a predetermined amount above wellbore pressure. However, the invention is not limited in this regard.
With continued reference to
In order to extend blade 150A (radially outward from the tool body), valve 254A is opened and valve 256A is closed, allowing high pressure hydraulic fluid to enter chamber 244A. As chamber 244A is filled with pressurized hydraulic fluid, piston 252A is urged radially outward from the tool, which in turn urges blade 150A outward (e.g., into contact with the borehole wall). When blade 150A has been extended to a desired (predetermined) position, valve 254A may be closed, thereby “locking” the blade 150A in position (at the desired extension from the tool body).
In order to retract the blade (radially inward towards the tool body), valve 256A is open (while valve 254A remains closed). Opening valve 256A allows pressurized hydraulic fluid in chamber 244A to return to the low pressure reservoir 226. Blade 150A may be urged inward (towards the tool body), for example, via spring bias and/or contact with the borehole wall. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the blade 150A is not drawn inward under the influence of a hydraulic force, although the invention is not limited in this regard.
Hydraulic module 130 may also advantageously include one or more sensors, for example, for measuring the pressure and volume of the high pressure hydraulic fluid. In the exemplary embodiment shown on
In the exemplary embodiments shown and described with respect to
Referring now to
With further reference to
In the preferred embodiment depicted in
With reference now to
As is known to those of ordinary skill in the art, nuclear logging measurements are particularly degraded with increasing standoff distance (the distance between the FE sensor and the borehole wall) due to neutron scattering in the borehole fluids in the annulus between the sensor and formation. Therefore, a measurement of the standoff distance between the sensor and borehole wall is important in order to properly weight the acquired sensor data. Prior art neutron density logging tools often utilize simultaneous ultrasonic standoff measurements as the tool is rotating in the borehole. Alignment of the standoff sensor with the neutron sensors provides a determination of the standoff distance between the neutron sensors in the formation. While such prior art techniques are commercially serviceable, there are drawbacks. For example ultrasonic standoff tools are known to provide inaccurate or unreliable standoff measurements in certain borehole environments and drilling fluids. Ultrasonic caliper tools also tend to be expensive and prone to shock and vibration related failure during operation in harsh borehole environments. They also have difficulty measuring a reliable standoff when there are gas bubbles in the drilling fluid.
The preferred embodiment depicted in
The steering tool 100 described above with respect
During a typical directional drilling application (e.g., a geosteering application), a steering command may be received at steering tool 100, for example, via drill string rotation encoding. Exemplary drill string rotation encoding schemes are disclosed, for example, in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,222,681 and 7,245,229. Upon receiving the steering command (which may be, for example, in the form of transmitted offset and tool face values), new blade positions are typically calculated and each of the blades 150A, 150B, and 150C is independently extended and/or retracted to its appropriate position (as measured by displacement sensors 274A, 274B, and 274C). Two of the blades (e.g., blades 150B and 150C) are preferably locked into position as described above (valves 254B, 254C, 256B, and 256C are closed) with respect to
It has been found that the rotation rate of the housing 110 with respect to the borehole is approximately inversely related to the force of the floating blade (e.g., blade 150A) against the borehole wall. In other words, the rotation rate of the housing 110 tends to increase with decreasing floating blade force and decrease with increasing floating blade force. Therefore, in order to increase the rotation rate of the housing 110, the force applied to the floating blade may be decreased. Alternatively, in order to decrease the rotation rate of the housing 110, the force applied to the floating blade may be increased. It will be appreciated that it is typically necessary to maintain some minimum applied force to the floating blade so as not to degrade the steerability of the tool 100 (the blade force of the floating blade has also been found to effect the steerability of the tool 100 as is described in more detail in commonly assigned, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/595,054 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,464,770).
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the blade force of the floating blade may be controlled by controlling the system pressure of the hydraulic fluid used to extend the blades 150. For clarity of exposition, control of the hydraulic fluid pressure will be described for a tool configuration in which blade 150A is floating and blades 150B and 150C are locked in their predetermined positions (as described above). The invention is, of course, not limited in this regard. As described above with respect to
An exemplary geosteering operation is now described in more detail with respect to
It will be appreciated that the housing 110 rotates significantly slower than the drill string. Therefore accelerometers may be advantageously utilized to measure the sensor tool face. The use of gravity-based sensors tend to be advantageous in steering tool 100 embodiments (as opposed to magnetometers) since the housing is often fabricated from at least some Ferro-magnetic materials. The invention is not limited in this regard, however, since magneto-sensitive devices (e.g. magnetometers) and/or gyroscopic sensors (e.g. mechanical gyro) can be used to obtain tool face angle.
It will be appreciated that the rotation rate of the housing 110 in the borehole may be controlled by controlling the extendable blades deployed in the housing. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, the housing may be made to rotate at the first rotation rate by causing at least one of the blades to engage the borehole wall at a first radial force and at the second rotation rate by causing the blade(s) to engage the borehole wall at a second radial force (with the first radial force being less than the second radial force). As described above, the rotation rate of the housing 110 typically decreases with increasing blade force. It will be understood that the blade force applied to the borehole wall may be controlled using either type of directional control mechanism described above in the Background Section of commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0110674.
In a preferred embodiment of the method depicted in
As stated above,
After a predetermined time (e.g., 1 second), the blade pressure is measured again and is compared with the target pressure (at 814 and 816). If the pressure measured at 814 is less than or equal to the target pressure acquired at 808, the valve is closed at 818 and the controller returns to step 804 at which the hydraulic pressure is again measured after some predetermined time. If the measured pressure remains greater than the target pressure, the valve is left open and the controller waits for a predetermined time before repeating steps 814 and 816.
The target system pressure may be acquired at step 808 using substantially any suitable protocol. For example, the controller may be preprogrammed to include first and second, upper and lower target system pressures. When the measured tool face of a preselected one of the sensors 120 is in either of the high side or low side quadrants 601 or 603 (
It will further be appreciated that the system pressure may also be controlled via implementing a controllable system valve (e.g., a solenoid valve) in place of (or in parallel with) pressure relieve valve 235 (
It will be understood that the closed loop geosteering methods depicted in
Steering tool embodiments in accordance with the present invention may also be utilized to acquire formation evaluation images, which may be further utilized in geosteering applications. For example, the radial force on at least one of the blades 150 may be controlled such that housing 110 rotates at an approximately constant rate in the borehole. In general, a relatively fast, approximately constant rotation rate is desirable for acquiring images. A rotation rate in the range from about 5 to about 30 revolutions per hour has been found to be suitable for such formation evaluation imaging applications. Rotation rates less than about five revolutions per hour tend to be too slow for imaging applications at most serviceable rates of penetration. Rotation rates greater than about 30 revolutions per hour may adversely affect the steerability of the steering tool (since very low blade forces tend to be required). Rotation rates greater than about 30 revolutions per hour also tend to require a large hydraulic fluid pumping capacity in order to continually adjust the position of the blades.
In such imaging applications, formation evaluation measurements may be acquired and correlated with corresponding tool face measurements while the housing 110 rotates in the borehole. The formation evaluation measurements and corresponding tool face measurements may be used to construct a borehole image using substantially any know methodologies, for example, conventional binning, windowing, or probability distribution algorithms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,158 discloses a conventional binning algorithm for constructing a borehole image. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,926 discloses a technique for constructing a borehole image in which sensor data is convolved with a one-dimensional window function. Commonly assigned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/881,043 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,558,675) describes an image constructing technique in which sensor data is probabilistically distributed in either one or two dimensions. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a borehole image is essentially a two-dimensional representation of a measured formation (or borehole) parameter as a function of sensor tool face and measured depth of the borehole.
The constructed borehole images may be evaluated uphole and/or downhole using techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The evaluated borehole images may then be used as the basis for steering decisions (i.e., blade adjustment decisions). For example, the ratio of high side gamma ray counts to low side gamma ray counts may be obtained from the constructed borehole image and may be used to control the direction of drilling in the manner described above. Moreover, evaluation of the borehole image may advantageously enable a formation dip angle to be determined. The dip angle is known to those of ordinary skill in the art to be the tilt angle of the subterranean formation relative to the surface of the earth. The dip angle acquired from the borehole image may also be used as a basis for steering decisions.
With reference again to
In the exemplary embodiments shown above, modules 130 and 140 are in electronic communication with pressure sensors 262, 272A, 272B, 272C and displacement sensors 264, 274A, 274B, 274C. Modules 130 and 140 are further in electronic communication with valves 235, 254A-C, and 256A-C. The control modules 130 and 140 may further include instructions to receive rotation and/or flow rate encoded commands from the surface and to cause the steering tool 100 to execute such commands upon receipt. Module 140 typically further includes at least one tri-axial arrangement of accelerometers as well as instructions for computing gravity tool face and borehole inclination (as is known to those of ordinary skill in the art). Such computations may be made using either software or hardware mechanisms (using analog or digital circuits). Electronic module 140 may also further include one or more sensors for measuring the rotation rate of the drill string (such as accelerometer deployments and/or Hall-Effect sensors) as well as instructions executing rotation rate computations. Exemplary sensor deployments and measurement methods are disclosed, for example, in commonly assigned, U.S. Patent Publications 2007/0107937 and 2007/0289373.
Electronic module 140 typically includes other electronic components, such as a timer and electronic memory (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory). The timer may include, for example, an incrementing counter, a decrementing time-out counter, or a real-time clock. Module 140 may further include a data storage device, various other sensors, other controllable components, a power supply, and the like. Electronic module 140 is typically (although not necessarily) disposed to communicate with other instruments in the drill string, such as telemetry systems that communicate with the surface and an LWD tool including various other formation sensors. Electronic communication with one or more LWD tools may be advantageous, for example, in geo-steering applications. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the multiple functions performed by the electronic module 140 may be distributed among a number of devices.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alternations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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|U.S. Classification||175/45, 175/73, 175/50, 175/76, 175/61|
|International Classification||E21B47/022, E21B7/04|
|Cooperative Classification||E21B7/062, E21B47/02, E21B17/1014|
|European Classification||E21B17/10C, E21B7/06C, E21B47/02|
|Jan 13, 2009||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: PATHFINDER ENERGY SERVICES, INC., TEXAS
Effective date: 20081113
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SUGIURA, JUNICHI;REEL/FRAME:022098/0731
|Feb 10, 2009||AS||Assignment|
Effective date: 20080825
Owner name: SMITH INTERNATIONAL, INC., TEXAS
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PATHFINDER ENERGY SERVICES, INC.;REEL/FRAME:022231/0733
|Oct 17, 2012||AS||Assignment|
Effective date: 20121009
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SMITH INTERNATIONAL, INC.;REEL/FRAME:029143/0015
Owner name: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, TEXAS
|Oct 29, 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4


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Sixteen members of the class, with about 20 others, took a reunion tour that included Arlington National Cemetery the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and more.
OCALA - Members of the Howard High School Class of 1968 who took a seven-day reunion trip to Washington, D.C., returned to Ocala praising the tour agenda and the chance to renew bonds made half a century ago, during the time of racial segregation and the Vietnam War.
The Howard High "Wild Bulls" Class of 1968 reunion trip took almost a year to plan and included 16 members of the class, joined by 20 friends and family members
"It was wonderful," said Sylvia Jones as she chatted with fellow class members just after the Diamond Tours charter bus arrived at the Ocala Police Department parking lot for the travelers to pick up their cars and head home on Thursday evening.
Jones said the reunion trip renewed ties with some members of the group who had gone through school together starting in the first grade and who were neighbors.
Tour stops included the Arlington National Cemetery, Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Museum of the Bible, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens and the Virginia State Capitol Building, which was "designed by Thomas Jefferson and houses America's oldest legislative assembly," according to the agenda.
Jones said when the group visited the King memorial, thoughts turned to the day he was assassinated and how people responded.
Hercules Adams said the visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture and the King memorial, where she was moved by his quotes, "brought back memories."
Adams said she enjoyed an unplanned visit to a portrait museum where the group saw paintings of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama and of Mary McCloud Bethune, who founded an institute that later became Bethune-Cookman College.
Adams said the Class of 1968 had 103 members and the students were "given a choice" when segregation first ended to stay at the all-black Howard High or go to Ocala High School.
"I decided to stay at Howard," she said.
She said several class members on the trip had gone to Ocala High School during the early days of integration. Both schools are now defunct.
Adams said a number of Howard High students died in the Vietnam War.
Adams moved to Baltimore, Maryland for a time and later served as an educator for many years in Pace, in the Florida panhandle, before she retired in 2010 and returned to Ocala.
Ron "Ronnie" Coleman, a native of Ocala now of Orange Park, was accompanied by his wife Barbara. He said he left Howard High in the ninth grade and attended, with his mother's encouragement, the previously all white Ocala High School with about a dozen other African American students.
Coleman said he entered the new venture at the school "calmly" and looked forward to having new supplies as many of the materials, such as school books, at Howard High were "hand me downs."
Coleman said he graduated from Ocala High School and recently attended that school's reunion, but that he "grew up" with the people at Howard High. He said Barbara was his "high school sweetheart" and he met her at Howard. She left Howard for Ocala High School in the 10th grade, he said.
Coleman said he was well received by most at Ocala High School but that some people did not want the black students at the school.
After graduation, Coleman went to the University of Florida, where he participated in track and field and was the "first black athlete with a scholarship" at the college, he said.
Coleman entered the Navy in 1975 and, at the suggestion of a fellow officer, got into naval aviation and flew S-3 jets off aircraft carriers, including the U.S. Kennedy, mostly stationed at Mayport or Cecil Field. He remained in the Navy until 1998 and attained the rank of commander.
Cheryl Walker said facing the "struggle and tension" of segregation made the classmates closer.
Eunice Woodbury-Pinkney, Gail Samuel, Brenda Darling and Cynthia Wise also made the reunion trip.
"I loved the Bible Museum; fantastic," Wise said.
Gino Jamison said one of the tour stops he enjoyed seeing was the Virginia State Capitol Building where "the floor sagged" under a crowd in an 1870 disaster.
Jones said members of the Class of 1968 will "keep the fire burning" and continue activities including community service projects like a cleanup of Brick City Park and holding voter education and participation events. A dinner dance is scheduled for Dec. 22, with details yet to be finalized.
For more information, contact Jamison at 954-203-5334.


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#30581 Book / Biography
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Survey of female comics over the last 100 years, from the silent era and stars such as Fanny Brice and ...
#79711 Book / Collected Biography
A gossipy look at Hollywood and Broadway through the eyes of a New York Post entertainment reporter and his interviews ...
#15704 Book / Coll Biog
The story of the takeover of Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Fox by Zanuck's son, Richard Zanuck.
#39239 Book / Criticism/History


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That which is not, shall never be; that which is, shall never cease to be. To the wise, these truths are self-evident.
Quote by William Hazlitt
Some people break promises for the pleasure of breaking them.
The most violent friendships soonest wear themselves out.
The player envies only the player, the poet envies only the poet.
He who comes up to his own idea of greatness must always have had a...
It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born...
Reflection makes men cowards.
The essence of poetry is will and passion.
Genius not only diagnoses the situation but supplies the answers.
We grow tired of everything but turning others into ridicule, and congratulating ourselves on their...
Some one is generally sure to be the sufferer by a joke.
People of genius do not excel in any profession because they work in it, they...
One shining quality lends a lustre to another, or hides some glaring defect.
To give a reason for anything is to breed a doubt of it
You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures...
To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love, are the two greatest proofs, not...
Life is the art of being well deceived; and in order that the deception may...
Every one in a crowd has the power to throw dirt: nine out of ten...
Look up, laugh loud, talk big, keep the color in your cheek and the fire...
Grace in women has more effect than beauty.
The humblest painter is a true scholar; and the best of scholars the scholar of...

domain: artistic


2018 NFL Draft: Biggest Saints, LSU headlines, plus TV info, key details, more
The 2018 NFL Draft begins Thursday, starting a three-day stretch that will end with more than 200 college athletes getting a shot to be professional football players.
Specifically for Louisiana, the New Orleans Saints have eight picks, starting with the 27th overall selection.
The other seven picks: third round: 91st overall pick, fourth round: 127th overall pick, fifth round: 147th overall pick, fifth round: 164th overall pick, sixth round: 189th overall pick, sixth round: 201st overall pick and the seventh round: 245th pick.
For LSU, it’s possible 10 Tigers will hear their names called between Thursday and Saturday. Those players: running backs Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams, wide receiver D.J. Chark, defensive backs Donte Jackson and Kevin Toliver II, defensive end Arden Key, offensive linemen Will Clapp, K.J. Malone and Toby Weathersby and quarterback Danny Etling.
TV/broadcast info (draft to be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas)
-- Round 1: Thursday at 7 p.m. CT on NFL Network, FOX, ESPN, ESPN2
-- Rounds 2,3: Friday at 6 p.m. CT on NFL Network, FOX, ESPN/ESPN2
-- Rounds 4-7: Saturday at 11 a.m. on NFL Network, ABC, ESPN
New Orleans Saints: What you need to know
Overview: During free agency, the Saints tried to put themselves in position to draft best players available, regardless of position. The team bolstered its defense by signing safety Kurt Coleman, defensive back Patrick Robinson and linebacker Demario Davis. It also added wide receiver Cameron Meredith and tight end Ben Watson to passing game and sought to improve depth on the offensive line with veteran Jermon Bushrod. The Saints were unable to sign a big-name defensive end or defensive tackle, so those areas could become draft priorities, particularly in light of coach Sean Payton’s recent comments that improving pass rush is “a must.”
More expert analysis:
LSU Tigers: What you need to know
Predictions via the Associated Press’ Ralph D. Russo:
Guice: Strengths: Runs violently once he breaks the line of scrimmage and has breakaway speed. Weaknesses: Some durability concerns. Might not be a three-down back. Fact: Set an SEC record with three career 250-yard games. Gone by: Middle of second round.
Jackson: Strengths: Speed. Lots of speed. Weaknesses: Light and lacks strength. Fact: Louisiana state high school champion in 100 and 200 meters. Gone by: End of second round.
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Key: Strengths: Big-time pass-rush potential, combining size, range and agility. Weaknesses: Production comes and goes, and he did not show much last season after returning from a shoulder injury. Fact: Set LSU single-season record with 12 sacks in 2016. Gone by: Day 2 though first round is definitely possible.
Because we know you’re always wondering...


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One of the Best Around!
I used to visit MJM Magic often, especially when the forum was active. After the forum shut down I wondered if MJM was still in business; I even...
Good for Asian as Well
I came from Malaysia, asian country here is the best probably best magic site to allow asian country to purchase few dvd with reasonable shipping...

domain: geography


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Ottoman Pointelle Stripe Shell Top
11 986 kr
Missing size? Select size to be notified when it's back in stock
details & fit/
Crew neck shell top in white Ottoman cotton pointelle with partial button placket. Buttoned side vents with signature striped grosgrain trim. Stripe detail at back hem. Signature striped grosgrain loop tab at back of neck.
Model is 5'10" (178 cm), wearing size 40
Made in Italy

domain: design


SUBSCRIBE TODAY & SAVE UP TO 22% PLUS RECEIVE A FREE GIFT!
The low-down on common bluebottles
Australia's best meteorite craters
Australia is home to many bizarre creatures, but they're no less lovable than our iconic kangas and cuddly koalas. Here are our favourites.
Dr Yunupiŋu’s music is steeped in the culture of his people, the Yolŋu of northeast Arnhem Land.
Propellers and porcupines, hairpins and tennis balls — the common names for some of Australia's 78 species of banksia speak volumes about their distinctiveness and diversity. All but one — the tropical banksia — are found only in Australia. South-western WA hogs most of the limelight with more than 80 per cent of species. What appears to be one large, showy flower is actually a dense cluster of up to several thousand individual blossoms. Their nectar once provided a sweet treat for Aboriginal people, who sucked the flower spike or soaked it in water to make a drink. After flowering, the spike develops into a woody cone with tightly closed follicles, each containing one or two 'winged' seeds.
Submit your photos for consideration for Image of the Week.
Join AG on these great trips
Submit your best short videos of Australian nature, wildlife, people and places
Watch the full 10-part documentary series
This species of tube-nosed bat resembles a certain Jedi master, quickly making it an internet sensation.
Whale sharks need our help
Apply for sponsorship
Rock climbing legend Paul Pritchard is touring Australia talking about his incredible journey in a series of speaking events called 'Beyond Doing It Scared'.
A week without wi-fi and telly might sound like a challenge for some families, but with so much to see and do, Lord Howe Island makes it easy.
Gene drives aim to deliberately spread bad genes when invasive species such as mice reproduce.
The giant panda snail— Australia's biggest snail, dates back all the way to the Gondwana age but don't be confused by the 'panda' in its name.
The Interpretive competition asked photographers to experiment graphically with their images. Animals, light and landscapes all provided the inspiration for these photographers to create exciting new images.
These photos will be exhibited at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide (18 August to 3 October) and the Australian Museum in Sydney (19 August to 9 October).
Get up close and personal with some of the ocean's amazing animals
Australian spiders have a fearsome reputation, but our bees typically pose more of a threat. Here are the worst.
Congratulations to the winners and runners-up for the 2016 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the year competition.
Summer is beach time, but crowds who flock to the coast should beware of the endangered hooded plover.
Love them or hate them, Australia is crawling (well, slithering) with snakes of all kinds – and they're as fascinating as they are fearsome.
A playground for rare great white shark pups offers a chance for scientists to observe this elusive Australian icon.
AG wildlife photographer Gerry Pearce captured this dramatic photo series in Garigal National Park near Sydney.


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On Jan. 20, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, along with Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno and Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, proposed a state takeover plan for Chicago Public Schools, according to a Jan. 20 Chicago Sun-Times article.
The proposed takeover plan includes replacing the current mayor-appointed school board, weakening the Chicago Teachers Union’s bargaining power and allowing CPS to file for bankruptcy, according to a Jan. 20 Chicago Tribune article.
CPS is struggling—especially with budget issues—but Rauner’s proposal is not the help the district needs.
Replacing the mayor-appointed board with another government-appointed one is not going to help the district overcome their problems. As the CTU and parents contend, people who serve on the board should be elected, not chosen by outside government officials who have no personal stake in CPS.
Additionally, weakening CTU’s bargaining power would decrease the quality of teachers CPS can attract. Collective bargaining gives teachers an opportunity to improve and renegotiate their salaries, benefits and conditions.
Years of deficit spending have left the district with $6.2 billion in outstanding debt and an operating budget of about $5.7 billion, according to a Jan. 21 WBEZ article. Although CPS has financial issues, being able to file for bankruptcy, as Rauner’s plan would permit, does not guarantee CPS would be successful in restructuring its debt. CPS needs more funding from the state, not a takeover or the opportunity to file for bankruptcy.
Rauner’s plan takes the focus off students’ well-being and education and puts it on profits and politics. CPS’ main goal should be to provide quality education for students.
Rauner’s plan reveals he is thinking of CPS as a company. If CPS is run like this, the needs of students are more likely to be disregarded in the interest of saving money.
City officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel and state Democrats, have opposed the proposal and said it will not pass, according to a Jan. 21 WBEZ article. Without their support it is indeed highly unlikely the proposal will go through. But if it did, it would be detrimental to the future of CPS and Chicago’s children.


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In a world where man is the norm, women are at risk.
While searching for data on women, there is often nothing but silence. In this world, a Caucasian man is the norm (the default human) and due to that norm, the world is built for men. This means that we disregard almost half of the population: women. This lack of information about women is called the gender data gap.
In Ismay Schaduw's research the following question is explored:
“What is the effect of the gender data gap on the safety of women?”
The consequences can be seen everywhere: from receiving an inaccurate dosage or prescription of medication because it was based on the male body to safety equipment that is not suitable for women and to all-male car crash test dummies.
Essentially, bulletproof vests are designed to protect you in life-threatening situations. However, there are no designs suitable for women. This is because the current vests are based on the body shape of the default human, which is the Caucasian man. As a consequence of the gender data gap, the design of bulletproof vests doesn’t provide women with the same comfort and protection as they do men.
Why is the artwork innovative?
Data has become an unthinkable concept in our digital era which is always growing because of algorithms. If we never provide the right data on women, it will automatically evolve with the Caucasian male as standard, leaving women behind at risk.
After doing extensive research on the “default human” in order to find a solution that could make these designs more suitable for women, Ismay designed bulletproof vests based on different female body types. The vests show the critical effects of the gender data gap and the challenges of our deeply rooted view of the male being the norm. You can expect to see different sizes, including a vest made for a pregnant woman.
Why is the artwork critical?
This artwork work criticizes society in which the Caucasian male is the norm (default human). This standard excludes women in the way we measure data and make decisions. Because of this, design can fail women: harmless, but also life-threatening.
We live in a time where it should concern everyone, regardless of gender, if women are being ignored due to a gender data gap. Therefore, alongside the work of designing bulletproof vests, the artist also wanted to motivate women with a short film that illustrates the mission that lies ahead in moving design to a place more inclusive of women. The film explains the scope of the gender data gap issue by providing the facts and statistics alongside women wearing the vests, marching to close the gap.
This work has been nominated for the Manifestations Young Talent Award: graduate 2019 Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam
CHECK IT OUT NOW! WWW.MANIFESTATIONS.NL
Location and opening times:
Veem building, 9th floor (side entrance)
5617 BE Eindhoven
19 to 27 October, every day from 11:00 a.m to 18:00 p.m
Accessible for the disabled and fun for the kids
Author: Denitsa Peneva


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This light bulb is equivalent to a 65 watt incandescent light bulb but uses less energy and produces less heat than similar incandescent models. This LED lamp is designed to last up to 25,000 hours and can even be used in damp locations. Not only does this bulb yield 800 lumens, but its dimmable design allows it to work with many types of dimmer switches to set the right mood wherever you choose to use it. This energy saving bulb has a classic BR30 flood shape and it also has a medium base. It has a CRI (Color Rendering Index) of 80 and color temperature of 3000 Kelvin, which means that it provides a warm white light.
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Performance and Scalability
Vista makes fewer and larger disk reads for page faults and system cache read-ahead and has removed the 64KB limit. Fewer, faster, and larger disk writes for the system page file and mapped file I/O reduce the page file fragmentation and allow a larger cluster size.
The CPU usage has also been improved by providing improvements in the concurrency management within the kernel.
Windows Error Reporting (WER)
Vista is a more robust and resilient operating system that provides a read-only system cached view of the registry which protects it from being overwritten by drivers and helps reduce data loss in page crashes.
Prior to Vista, unhandled exceptions were handled in the context of the thread incurring the exception. This relied on the thread stack being valid and could result in the “silent death” of applications when the stack was corrupted.
In Vista, unhandled exceptions are sent to the Windows Error Reporting service, which launches Werfault.exe. This replaces Dwwin.exe (Doctor Watson), and permits WER to be invoked for threads that are too corrupted to invoke their unhandled exception handling.
Volume Shadow Copy
Windows Vista now uses Volume Shadow Copy for System Restore and Previous Versions. This creates a point-in-time copy-on-write snapshot of live volumes and solves the problem of open files not being backed up.
The Previous Versions tab was introduced as Windows Server 2003 “Shadow Copies for Shared Folders” feature.
Volume shadow copy now uses the kernel transaction manager for consistent cross-volume snapshots. Snapshots are taken once per day and when system restore points are taken.
Other Reliability Features
The kernel now supports the concept of a “flight data recorder” with the introduction of the circular kernel context logger.
There are new system events for virtual memory exhaustion, which can be used to help capture and report user-mode memory leaks.
The Restart Manager enables most applications and services to be shutdown and restarted to unblock access to DLLs needing to be replaced. This feature may finally allow seamless replacement of in-use DLLs, reducing the number of times a reboot is necessary at the end of an install.
For the developers, there are new debugger APIs that allow for “wait chain traversal” to help find and report deadlocks.


- Item No.
- Mfg Part No.
Product Information for ACR Electronics Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)
Highlights for ACR Electronics Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)
- Product Type:Marine Tracking Device
The GlobalFix™ PRO broadcasts a unique registered distress signal that not only tells rescuers where you are, but who you are. The internal GPS will automatically turn on and acquire your position upon activation and then utilizes a powerful 406 MHz signal to relay your distress call to orbiting satellites. As local Search and Rescue is deployed, a separate homing signal and integrated LED strobe light guide rescuers to your exact location.
Learn How A Rescue Works
The GlobalFix™ PRO is small and rugged and comes with over 53 years of life saving technology built into every one. Performing a full functional self test of the GlobalFix™ PRO internal circuitry, battery voltage & power, and 406 MHz transmission gives you the peace of mind knowing your EPIRB will work the moment you need it the most. ACR Exclusive: Built-in GPS acquisition test mode allows you to test the internal GPS receiver to ensure it's working properly.
- Replacement due six (6) years from date of manufacture or five (5) years after beacon is placed into service, whichever is first, or after emergency use
- Material High impact UV resistant polymer
- Deployment Category I-Hydrostatic release (auto), Category II-Manual release
- Activation Out of bracket and wet, or manually
- Waterproof 33 ft (10 m) @ 10 min. Exceeds RTCM standard
- Output Power 6.3 W +/-2dB (406.037 MHz) 50 mW +/-3dB (121.5 MHz)
- Operational Life 48 hours minimum @ -4F (-20C)
- Typical Performance 65+ hrs. @ -4F (-20C); Longer in higher ambient temperature
- Operating Temp. -4F to +131F (-20C to +55C ) (Class 2)
- Storage Temp. -30F to + 158F (-34C to +70C)
Certifications & Standards
Network & Communication


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5 Key Steps to Improving Government-to-business experience
Good corporate citizenship is an essential ingredient for business success in any economy. This involves the responsiveness of Businesses to their legal obligations and objectives established by their stakeholders. While meeting stakeholder expectation may reasonably be within the control of a business, meeting up with legal obligations is an extrinsic factor to the business which has continually belabored business performance with its peculiar set of challenges.
Nigeria’s new Immigration Regulations 2017
Nigeria’s Minister of Interior launched the new Immigration Regulations 2017 (the Regulation) on 20 March 2017. The objectives of the Regulation is to drive effective implementation of the Immigration Act of 2015 which replaced the Immigration Act of 1963.
Tax Newsletter: No more ₦50 stamp duty on bank deposits- Federal High Court
A Federal High Court (FHC) on 13 March 2017, delivered a judgment on the validity of the circular issued by Central Bank of Nigeria referenced CBN/GEN/DMB/02/006, in the case between Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited (AKA Shoprite) and the defendants Citibank Nigeria Limited (Citibank) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Inside the New National Tax Policy
A revised National Tax Policy (NTP or the Policy) was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria on 1 February 2017. The approval is an aftermath of the submission made by the NTP Review Committee, set up by the Minister of Finance in August 2016 for the review of the old NTP that was initially issued in 2012. The committee, headed by Prof Abiola Sanni, submitted its report in September 2016.
Implications of Nigeria’s Draft Petroleum Fiscal Policy
As part of efforts towards reforming the oil and gas industry, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) recently released the Draft National Petroleum Fiscal Policy.
The new digital divide
The future of digital influence in retail Today there is almost universal recognition among retailers that digital has reshaped customer behaviour and shopping forever. Deloitte’s New digital divide report, deepens our exploration of the growing gap between the digital experiences that brick-and-mortar retailers are delivering and the experiences that their customers actually want
TAX ALERT: New FHC Judgement Nullifies CBN Circular on Collection of N50 Stamp Duty
A Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Ikoyi Lagos, on 13 March 2017, nullified the circular issued by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which mandates all deposit money banks and other financial institutions to enforce collection of ₦50 stamp duty on all electronic transfers and teller deposits from ₦1,000 and above.
NSITF and NECA Agreement: What Implications for Non-NECA Members?
The might of a nation is expressed in the social security and welfare of its people. This was aptly put by Abraham Lincoln in his saying that “the purpose of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all or cannot do so well for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.” This underpins the provision of Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
TAX ALERT: Nigeria considers new tax amnesty framework through VAIDS
In a bid to grow Nigeria’s tax revenue and raise non-oil tax to GDP ratio from current level of 6% to 15% by 2020, a Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) is to be implemented. The National Executive Council (NEC) has granted approval-in-principle for this new scheme subject to finalization of the broader framework. The primary objective of VAIDS is to encourage voluntary declaration of undisclosed income and assets with consequential payment of applicable tax liabilities over a defined period. It is expected that this window offered to those who have not complied with extant tax regulations, will simultaneously generate revenue and encourage investment and economic activity. An estimated revenue of US$1 billion is projected from the scheme. Key highlights of VAIDS include: Commencement date: the scheme is expected to kick off from 1 May 2017 with incentives put in place to encourage early participation. Taxes covered: all taxes…
Regulatory Alert: Reform Intervention to Improve Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria
The Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES), under the aegis of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), recently organized a stakeholders meeting to sensitize the public on ongoing economic reforms. This follows the set-up of PEBEC by President Muhammad Buhari with the mandate of making Nigeria an easier place to do business.

domain: finance


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Toarmina is a city known for its dramatic siting on a mountainside overlooking the Mediterranean as well as its historic Greek/Roman amphitheater ruin. The Lonely Planet describes it as a “chi-chi resort town popular with holidaying high-rollers.” That describes us perfectly as we routinely take our rollers (bikes) to high places (mountains) and we consider cyclists, by definition, chic. This would be our kind of place!
We were a little early in May for the glitterati, but only a little—this year’s G-7 Summit will happen in Taormina in 2 weeks—and we saw ample signs. Carabinieri, police and soldiers were prominent. Our biggest surprise was the multi-level parking deck built into the side of the mountain and beneath the town was entirely closed. It was as empty as a great concrete ruin. Since there’s no place to park a vehicle in the medieval-width streets of Taormina itself, workers, tourists and our Andiamo guides had to park in a reserve deck 3/4 mi. away and walk into town.
We stayed in Taormina for two nights; unfortunately, we spend so much time on our bikes that we seldom have time to explore a town thoroughly. Toarmina is definitely worth a stroll, and it appeared to us that it has a plentiful supply of gelato and all its restaurants have an outdoor terrace overlooking the sea.