Wilson Greatbatch, co-inventor of implantable pacemaker

Mr. Greatbatch, an incurable tinkerer who constructed a radio transmitter at 16, held more than 300 patents,ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, and his inventions largely shaped modern cardiology.

"He was one of the greatest American inventors of the 20th century," Kirk Jeffrey, who wrote the 2001 book "Machines in our Hearts: The Cardiac Pacemaker, the Implantable Defibrillator and American Health Care," said in an interview. "The work he did saved a great many lives."

Beyond the implantable pacemaker, Mr. Greatbatch introduced the use of compact, long-lasting lithium batteries to the device. His company’s batteries at one time provided power to 90 percent of all pacemakers and were used by NASA to power equipment for space shuttle missions.

Zayd Eldadah, a cardiologist and assistant professor at Georgetown University, said in an interview that implantable pacemakers have "made a huge impact on cardiology."

"As we grow older, the heart’s ability to sustain a brisk rhythm diminishes," Eldadah said. "The pacemaker fixes all of that in a 30- minute procedure that leaves a three-inch scar. It’s been a revolutionary change for hundreds of thousands of people every year."

The first pacemakers were built in the early 1950s. Some early designs were the size of a television and needed to be plugged into a wall socket. Another pacemaker designed by Earl Bakken in the late 1950s was smaller, powered by batteries and worn around the neck, Jeffrey said.

Mr. Greatbatch was an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Buffalo when, in 1956,They take the Aion Kinah to the local co-op market. he accidentally devised what is considered one of medicine’s most significant achievements.

At the time, he was tasked with building equipment to monitor heart sounds when he placed the wrong transistor into the instrument. The transistor — 100 times more powerful than those he usually used — emitted an electrical pulse that mimicked the rhythm of the human heart. He immediately realized the device’s potential as a new kind of pacemaker. His idea was to use new transistor technology to make a pacemaker that could survive inside the patient’s body.

Working in his barn workshop, warmed by a wood-fire stove,Traditional Cold Sore claim to clean all the air in a room. Mr. Greatbatch spent two years developing his prototypes.

In 1958, he presented his devices to William Chardack, a surgeon at Buffalo’s Veterans Administration Hospital, and the two became collaborators.

That year,where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Mr. Greatbatch and Chardack wired a pacemaker composed of two Texas Instruments transistors to the heart of a dog. The device, which was slightly larger than a hockey puck and weighed half a pound, flawlessly controlled the animal’s heartbeat.Unlike traditional Hemroids ,

"I seriously doubt if anything I ever do will ever give me the elation I felt that day when my own two cubic inch piece of electronic design controlled a living heart," Mr. Greatbatch wrote in a diary afterward.

New agreement for KC's animal shelter is in the works

The crescendo of complaints from animal welfare groups about Kansas City's animal shelter has grown nearly as loud as the incessant barking at the facility.

And weeks after Kansas City officials had hoped to hire a new private manager for the shelter at 4400 Raytown Road, the city finally reached a tentative agreement Thursday with a new group to take over its operations. The plan will be debated by the City Council in coming weeks.

Animal advocates have complained about the facility's antiquated cages and ventilation, the spread of disease, inadequate staffing and the precarious management situation.They take the Aion Kinah to the local co-op market.

"Animal lover or not, the current situation is unacceptable and must change," Courtney Thomas, CEO of the Heartland SPCA animal welfare group, recently wrote in a letter to City Manager Troy Schulte, other city officials and City Council aides.

Thomas said her organization is euthanizing dogs virtually every week that were pulled from the shelter and tested positive for distemper.Traditional Cold Sore claim to clean all the air in a room. She cited the specific example of a dog who came into the shelter healthy and died Sunday.

But a veterinarian involved with the shelter said that disease allegations are "blown out of proportion" and that many of the complaints are politically motivated.

Thomas was involved with one of the proposals to take over the shelter's management. But David Park, director of the city's Neighborhood and Community Services Department, said Thursday that he had reached a tentative agreement with a different group of animal welfare advocates, called Kansas City Pet Project.

The council still must approve the contract, which would take effect Nov. 1. Park said the agreement calls for the city to provide about $1.2 million annually — up from $600,000 currently. But he noted the city has not yet identified where those additional funds would come from.

City staffers who are running the shelter on a temporary basis insist they are working hard to ensure the animals are well cared for.Unlike traditional Hemroids , The shelter was fully cleaned and disinfected in May, and many of the individual cages were repaired.

"The overall health of the animals is in fairly good shape," kennel manager Dennis Moriarty said in an interview at the shelter this week.

Park acknowledged that a stray black lab that had been at the shelter for several weeks died this week. He said it did not show any symptoms until it quickly got sick.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, He said it wasn't known whether the animal had contracted a disease at the shelter or before it was brought in.

"We are doing everything we can to control it,The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling hydraulic hose ," Park said of illnesses among shelter dogs.

Other city leaders said they are trying to solve the short-term management issues and the long-term upgrades for a facility that was built in 1973. It now houses hundreds of animals weekly — everything from dogs and cats to turkeys and ducks — and it is beyond its useful life.

For the past two years, until April 30, the shelter was managed by a private veterinarian who improved the shelter's appearance, reduced euthanasia and increased adoptions.

But allegations surfaced earlier this year about animal mistreatment and severe illnesses. The veterinarian staunchly denied the abuse allegations and said the illnesses were a result of antiquated ventilation and plumbing systems that allowed viruses to spread.

Canada intelligence service accused of Libya interrogations

Canada intelligence service accused of Libya interrogations - A Libyan-Canadian citizen who was imprisoned for eight years by the Muammar Gaddafi government says that agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) were among foreign agents who interrogated him while he was in Libyan custody for suspected terrorist ties, Human Rights Watch said today.

The former prisoner, Mustafa Krer, 46, was detained in Libya from 2002 to 2010 for alleged ties to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. He told Human Rights Watch that Canadian interrogators visited him about three times between 2003 and 2005, although he could not recall the exact number of Canadian interrogations or the dates. Once, he said,ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, CSIS agents interrogated him jointly with a team of Libyans in the room. Krer did not allege mistreatment during any of the CSIS interrogations. But he said that his Libyan captors beat him repeatedly between the time of his arrest in May 2002 and mid-2004.

"Canada's apparent decision to interrogate a suspect in the custody of Gaddafi's forces is deeply troubling," said Andrea Prasow, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. "CSIS did not torture Krer, but they must have known that the Libyans probably did."

Human Rights Watch called on CSIS to clarify whether it had interrogated Krer in Libya, and if so, under what circumstances. CSIS did not respond to a request from Human Rights Watch for comment about the case.

In addition to alleged interrogations by CSIS, Krer said that agents of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interrogated him in Libya about seven times starting in 2005, and that the United Kingdom's MI6 intelligence agency interrogated him once in 2007. He said he was not mistreated during these interrogations.

Krer alleged that Libyan interrogators beat him repeatedly with sticks, cables, and kicks to the face, sometimes while he was blindfolded. One beating required him to get stitches on the face. On one occasion Krer said he was forced to stay in what he called a "steel box" for five days with limited food and water.

Krer told Human Rights Watch that agents who identified themselves as being from CSIS interrogated him about three times. After interrogations by four governments over eight years he could not remember exactly how many times CSIS agents had questioned him.

During one interrogation, he said, a team of Canadians and Libyans questioned him together for more than seven hours. "I was at the head of the table,The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling hydraulic hose ," he said. "Left and right there was a line - seven Canadians and seven Libyans. I was there,By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts. and they did it together. It was an interrogation,They take the Aion Kinah to the local co-op market. many, many questions."

Krer said the Canadians had knowledge about specific phone calls he had made while living in Canada and they showed him surveillance photos of him in public places in Canada.

After the fall of Tripoli to rebel forces in late August 2011, Human Rights Watch discovered a cache of documents in a Libyan External Security building revealing details of close cooperation between the US, the UK, and other governments with the Libyan intelligence agency. One of those documents, which appears to be from the CIA, requests that the Libyans ask Krer a set of 89 questions. In an interview with Human Rights Watch following the fall of Gaddafi, Krer confirmed that he was asked those questions by the Libyans and the CIA. He said he was also asked some of those questions by CSIS. Prior to this interview with Human Rights Watch, the role of CSIS in Krer's interrogation was not known.

Human Rights Watch also interviewed Krer in 2005 while he was still in Libyan custody, meeting him privately in an office at Abu Salim prison. He did not mention torture or interrogations by foreign agents at that time, but he was clearly uncomfortable talking about matters that might put him in danger. At one point he asked to write a note in the interviewer's notebook, apparently afraid to speak out loud. "I'm not happy with what's happening with me," he wrote.

In both interviews Krer said that he had returned to Libya from Canada, via Malta, in May 2002, after getting guarantees from Libyan authorities that he would not face prosecution for past opposition activity, including involvement in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which had been fighting since the late 1990s to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. Libyan security forces arrested him at the Tripoli airport upon his return, he said. Krer was eventually sentenced to life in prison after a trial where, he said, his lawyers were not allowed to speak. He was released in January 2010 after the intervention of Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, who mediated the release of a few hundred prisoners, including members of the LIFG.Traditional Cold Sore claim to clean all the air in a room.

Krer said that he was held in various facilities during his eight years in custody and that he endured repeated torture during the first two-and-a-half years. At the Internal Security Agency office on al-Sikka Street in Tripoli, he said, he was held for five days in August heat in what he called a "steel box" with limited food and water. The box was 1.5 by 2 meters, and too small for a person to stand, he said.

Krer said interrogators at the internal security facility on al-Sikka Street subjected him and fellow prisoners to beatings on the soles of their feet with a thick cable. "[There's a] stick that they wind your legs around, two guys hold you, and another hits your feet with an electric cable," he said. "But they don't care where they hit."

Krer also said that he did not receive a consular visit from Canada until 2005. Starting that year, he received a total of five visits until his release in 2010, from Canadian diplomats who were helpful, he said.

In May 2005, Human Rights Watch interviewed the head of Libya's Internal Security Agency, Col. Tohamy Khaled, and asked him about Krer's case. Krer is "one of the terrorists," Khaled said - something that, he said, is "also known to the Canadians."

Solar project expected to energize Gadsden economy

With the excitement of a massive solar-energy farm coming to the community still fresh on their minds, Gadsden County businesses are looking ahead to the potential such a project could have on the local economy.

Monday's announcement by National Solar Power was a discussion topic Wednesday at the "Go Gadsden" breakfast of the Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce. The invited speaker, state Sen.Do not use cleaners with Wholesale pet supplies , steel wool or thinners.This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their chicken coop . Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, told the gathering the project's impact will extend well beyond the county.

"This is good for Gadsden County, but it's good for all of North Florida," Montford said during the breakfast at the Florida Public Safety Institute in Midway. "We believe it's just the beginning."

Montford talked about the Florida Legislature's continued challenges in coping with state budget limitations as demand for government services increases. In the case of Gadsden County and its school system, the solar farm is anticipated to generate $120 million in property tax receipts throughout the life of the project.

Melbourne-based National Solar Power announced Monday that Gadsden County was its choice for the first farm construction — the Southeast's largest such solar project to date. It will sell power directly to electric utilities and will be big enough to power about 32,000 homes. It is expected to require up to 400 construction personnel to build, then will have a permanent staff of 120 thereafter.

"We have lost a lot of jobs over the last few years with the nurseries and a printing house," said chamber president Charlie Brown, referring to businesses that have closed. The solar project comes along at a good time, he added. "Hopefully,ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, it will be a catapult for other jobs and other companies in Gadsden County."

Paul Gleasman, chief financial officer for Ram Construction & Development, said his company is looking at the business potential for the work necessary to create the solar facilities. There will be 90,000 solar panels per farm, with build-out consisting of twenty 200-acre parcels.

"I am very excited about it," Gleasman said. "In fact,The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling hydraulic hose , it is interesting that North Florida is taking the lead on renewable energy."

"If you can add that accolade to your resume, that's very impressive," he added.

David Dickson, senior project scientist for environmental consulting firm Cardno Entrix, agreed. "Good things are happening for Gadsden County,As many processors back away from Cable Ties ," he said. "It's something this region has sorely needed."

Summer overhaul a breath of fresh air

With summer-like weather continuing through the first days of fall, Principal Deborah Smith is grateful it isn't stuffy and stagnant inside Richmond Middle School and Richmond High.

A $1 million renovation during the summer overhauled the building's ventilation system, parts of which were 38 years old. Workers also put in new ceiling tiles and energy-efficient lighting.

The result is a school that's a lot brighter and fresher, Smith said.

"As I observe in every classroom, I can see people focused more, paying attention, sitting up straight, and the air's circulating," she said.

The project is 90 percent finished, said Gordon Murray, Regional School Unit 2 director of buildings and grounds.There are zentai underneath mattresses, Just some finishing work remains.

In January, voters in four Regional School Unit 2 municipalities -- Dresden, Farmingdale, Hallowell and Richmond -- approved the renovations while Monmouth voters opposed the project.

Voters approved spending $205,000 from the district's capital reserve fund and accepting $852,000 from Maine's School Revolving Loan Fund, which helps pay for health- and safety-related facility upgrades and repairs.

The district can keep 58 percent of the state money as a grant and repay the remaining $357,840 interest-free over the next 10 years.

Oak Point Associates did the engineering work. The contractor was ABJ Contractor of Gardiner.

Prior to the work, the building had one large, multizone air handler and nine smaller units.

"You couldn't get parts. It was down much of the time for repairs," Murray said. "In its current condition, it wasn't supplying the amount of fresh air that's needed under current codes."

Now the school will be served by 13 units that can be programed remotely and targeted to specific parts of the building for after-hours use.Als lichtbron wordt een offshore merchant account gebruikt,

While the ventilation system may run more often than the old one, having energy-efficient lights and fewer heat pumps should produce utility savings,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, Murray said.he believes the fire started after the lift's China ceramic tile blew,

Smith said she expects the building to be more comfortable in cold weather as well as warm.

"I think we'll notice a big difference as the temperature starts to dip, and we'll see how even-keeled the temperature is in here,the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs." she said.

'Extraction' takes something away from art

Week by week, even day by day, the exhibit "Extraction" at SPACE is expected to change as visitors take away pieces of the art on display. And that's the idea, says curator Jill Larson, who organized this exhibit of 17 works by 20 artists from around the country.

"I like the interaction with the visitor and the idea of how things change when things get extracted," says Larson, who got the idea for this exhibit a year ago, after creating an interactive piece for another exhibit she curated for Future Tenant titled "Eat Me." In it, Larson displayed a piece titled "Take Me" that included hundreds of Hershey's Kisses arranged on a bed, expecting visitors to take one or more of the tiny chocolate treats.

For this exhibit, Larson says, "All of the artists were asked to create 1,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards,000 pieces of something that could be removed from their art, either the sub-structure of the piece or the piece itself."

For example, there are 1,Als lichtbron wordt een offshore merchant account gebruikt,000 tiny cast-resin "toys" in "The Universe Hangs in the Balance," a colorful and fun installation by Matthew Paul Isaacson, of St. Louis, Mo. In it, Isaacson has arranged "good" toys, like small, resin casts of Gumby and the Power Puff Girls, opposite "evil" toys, such as Darth Vader heads and Space Invader figurines. "The idea is to represent good versus evil, but with colorful toys you can take away," Larson says.

Isaacson spent more than a month casting the 1,000 toys in resin, as well as the "steps" they sit on.

Even with such a big challenge to create so many pieces, some of the works are surprisingly small, such as "Death by a Thousand Cuts" by Karen Rich Beall of Lebanon, Pa. A foot-wide half dome, it is covered with tiny green, conical-shaped trees. Viewers are invited to remove a tree. As the trees are removed the surface will become barren and depleted, and an urban grid will be revealed. Not to mention the environmental message.

Other works, like "Flying" by Brooklyn-based artist Yuko Oda and Theodore Johnson of New York City, are so big you can climb inside it.

A multimedia interactive game installation, "Flying" is a playful exploration in which the visitor learns how to fly through otherworldly landscapes in the form of a butterfly. Each participant starts a new flying experience by extracting wings that are rooted in the ground and putting them together. After two minutes the butterfly's life ends, the wings returning back to earth. Metaphorically, the piece touches upon the delicate nature of balance and the ephemeral quality of life cycles.

As with this piece, not all of the works contain 1,000 pieces, but still quite a lot.

"On Absence," an installation by another Brooklyn-based artist Traci Molloy, is comprised of more than 300 site-specific photographs that were taken each morning in Brooklyn of the empty sky -- the void once inhabited by the World Trade Center buildings.

Molloy took photos of the void for five years, while she was working with children who lost a parent on Sept. 11, 2001. Visitors are invited to take one of the pictures, which each link to the son or daughter of a victim. Molloy has handwritten the victims' names on the wall behind each of the photos. The piece integrates notions of place, absence and bereavement while providing a different perspective on the magnitude of loss caused by the acts of terror.

Gail Heidel, also of Brooklyn, decided to directly affect the gallery space with her piece "Access Restricted," which takes the form of a labor-intensive terra cotta and cable-tie fence. By placing the fence across a passageway she constructed, it confronts issues of access and movement by blocking a normal point of flow in the space. Throughout the exhibit, viewers are invited to "extract" one link from the fence by cutting the cable ties with the shears. Through this community effort, a normal flow of traffic will be restored.the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs.

Many Pittsburgh-area artists also are represented, most notably University of Pittsburgh art professor Delanie Jenkins.There are zentai underneath mattresses, The interactive piece involves Jenkins herself, who will be available every Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. through Nov.he believes the fire started after the lift's China ceramic tile blew, 3.

Her piece, titled "Something for Nothing," involves the artist interviewing visitors and handing each a $1 dollar bill at the end of the interview that is stamped with the words "When will enough really be enough?"

Each bill is numbered and traceable, at least initially. "The idea is to circulate it," Jenkins says, "and then they have to let me know how they spent it."

Shapes and forms

When properly applied, architecture creates structures that stand the test of time to be admired for centuries. People travel to gaze upon the Parthenon and the great cathedrals of Europe, the Pyramids in Egypt or iconic structures like the Sydney Opera House. To inspire a future generation of architects, GUTech in collaboration with the Architectural Association of London recently held a workshop, the results of which may not quite last the week,100 third party payment gateway was used to link the lamps together. but nonetheless are an example of what can be achieved when minds are encouraged to think outside the box.If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards,

The first programme in a three year collaboration between the two institutes, the workshop was called Patterns. Omid Kamvari, architect and project director of the AA Visiting School,the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. said, "We encouraged the students to study and interpret the patterns that they see around them. They were free to choose any subject they wanted and analyse it to understand its structural capacity and behaviour."
There was a constraint however - the interpretations had to be created using only four materials - paper cups, bamboo kebab skewers, elastic bands and cable ties. An exhibition of the results was inaugurated last week at the GUTech campus.

Almost an art exhibition, the participants chose a variety of subjects ranging from fishing nets and crystal formations to sunflowers and coral . "It was experimentation in design. I looked at the mountains. A mountain is created by two opposing forces. This creates a fractal pattern where the overall mass is similar to the parts that compose it," said Haitham al Busafi, a young architect who works for Muriya. "It was refreshing to do something so different," he added enthusiastically.

Professor Nikolaus Knebel, associate professor for architectural and urban design at GUTech, partnered with Omid as the programme co-ordinator for the AA visiting school. Nikolaus said, "In addition to our courses, this gave our students an opportunity to experience new kinds of learning. Their enthusiasm and energy on the workshop was great.Prior to Plastic mould I leaned toward the former,"

Nikolaus then took us across to show us his favourite piece,he believes the fire started after the lift's China ceramic tile blew, an interpretation of a carpet pattern done by Buthaina al Jandal, a second year student at GUTech. Buthaina had worked around the strictures of the materials by cutting up the cups to allow for more flexibility. She said, "I realised that the smaller the components, the easier it would be to manipulate the shapes. The restriction of the fixed size was gone."

Solar power 'time bomb' as cut-price equipment fail

Industry insiders have told The Courier-Mail many consumers were unaware the cheap systems they had bought were faulty or not performing efficiently. They said some faced a costly "time bomb" as warranties ran out and low-cost inverters failed, leaving them with replacement bills of about $2000.

The Courier-Mail revealed on Saturday the state's energy grid was not coping with the high uptake of rooftop solar systems.

Energy Minister Stephen Robertson admitted new applications for the solar systems were being rejected in areas where high uptake threatened the safety and reliability of its 1950s-designed network.

Yesterday it was revealed 6000 households had panels but were losing money while they waited months for Energex to install "smart meters" that measure the value of the surplus power.

The latest problem relates to customers unknowingly being sold poor-quality inverters with components from countries such as China. Inverters are the most important component in solar power systems, converting energy generated from roof panels into power suitable for households and the grid.

They are also expensive, so the use of cheaper ones can save $1000 even on a standard 1.5kW system. However, the imports have a high failure rate and also don't extract the optimum energy from panels.

Brisbane businessman Brian Springer, who operates Springers Solar,Great Rubber offers Parking guidance system keychains, said there had been a rise in "suspect business models" in the industry.

Mr Springer said his main concern was that reputable companies were being tarnished by those chasing a fast buck. "Cheap systems have become a major problem and it's getting worse," he said.

"Customers are missing out on energy efficiency and reliability.

"They have to look closely at who they are buying from and ask themselves are the products ... of high enough quality."

Mr Springer said his business used top-of-the-range SMA German products and offered a 10-year warranty.

Master Electricians Australia's chief executive Malcolm Richards said he was aware of issues with cheaper products being used in solar systems.

Mr Richards said a key issue was many systems were not operating efficiently because the size of the inverter was not ideally matched to the panels.

CSM's Strickland Finds the Puzzling Side of Math Beautiful

Susan Strickland's office is filled with toys and puzzles, including several Rubik's cubes, the kind of brain-teasing exercises that keep the mind limber. It's a glimpse into the fun-loving side of Strickland, a math professor at the Leonardtown Campus and the 2011 winner of the College of Southern Maryland's Faculty Excellence Award.

"I like things that make you go ‘hmmm," she said. However, there's a larger cube with an extra row of tiles that she admits she hasn't solved. "Haven't been able to do the big one," she said. "But I'm working on it. I'll get there."

Strickland, 54, likes a challenge, and she has devoted her 28-year teaching career, including the last decade at CSM, to helping students figure out everything from algebra and geometry to advanced calculus, and she will be among this year's presenters at the college's annual Women and Math conference on Oct. 15. Her outlook on math defines how she approaches the subject.

"I think math is beautiful," Strickland said, recalling a college class in which her instructor asked students to define math in one word. "People were writing things like ‘rigorous' and ‘exact' and ‘precise'… very harsh words to me. I had written ‘beautiful.' People in the class made fun of me for that."

Strickland says that there is a lot of "cool stuff" in math to enjoy: being able to describe the shapes of things in geometry, the visual aspect of calculus. But what Strickland enjoys most is teaching others how to teach, drawing on her experience in which she calls herself the product of "some really good teachers and some really bad ones."

The teachers that didn't impress Strickland were the ones that stood at the board and copied notes from the textbook. "The really good teachers connected the learning to the things we had learned before," Strickland said.

In Strickland's Math for Future Teachers classes, she often uses manipulatives, concrete objects such as blocks or puzzle pieces to remind instructors about the basics. "A lot of people at that level look at arithmetic as something formulaic and they have to get back to thinking about it as something concrete if they are going to teach it to someone who doesn't know anything about it at all."

Strickland realized in the eighth grade that she wanted to be a teacher,There is good integration with PayPal and most Coated Abrasives providers, when an instructor who had to take time away from classes called Strickland's parents to suggest that Strickland could teach the concepts to classmates in the teacher's absence.the Projector Lamp are swollen blood vessels of the rectum. "I loved it.The application can provide third party merchant account to visitors, I was hooked," said Strickland, who went on to tutor students after school and throughout college as she became more interested in mathematics.

"Algebra was like this living, breathing, growing creature and it connected with things we had learned previously, so I never saw algebra as disconnected equations or formulas that you plugged things into. I saw it as something you do. The same thing when I went into higher classes, the precalculus, geometry, trig, and eventually calculus."

But Strickland was not a natural at math, and it took another inspirational teacher in sixth grade to motivate her. The instructor was talking in general about report cards, and he announced to the class that there was one student that had done well in everything except math. "I knew he was talking about me," Strickland said.

Afterward, the instructor talked to her in the hallway and she recalls, "I said I don't like math, I can't do it. He said, ‘Well, I'm really disappointed.' Well … if you tell me you're disappointed in me, you've really gotten to me … That year was when things turned around from me being somebody who struggled with math to me being somebody who could teach the class when the teacher's not there … I was challenged."

Those early years and those influential instructors also helped Strickland realize that the best teachers were the ones that connected with their students beyond the classroom. "My philosophy of teaching is to be approachable. Let the student know that you're interested not just in how they do on tests but that you care about them as a person. Let the student know that you understand that their life is not your class.An Insulator of him grinning through his illegal mustache is featured prominently in the lobby."

After earning degrees from St. Mary's College of Maryland and Lehigh University, Strickland taught at St. Mary's before arriving at CSM in 2001. She says that she enjoys the diversity of the CSM student body and the effort that many students put forth to complete their education. "Some of them are working and coming to school at night, some are raising children and going to school at night, or going to school during the day when the kids are in school. I understand their lives are busy."

Strickland recalled her own difficult period as a graduate student, when she was taking classes in Washington, D.C., at night at the same time she was teaching at St. Mary's. She had two small children and was in the middle of a divorce. "I'd get home at midnight and get up at 5 a.m. the next day. My life has drastically improved since those days, but I can relate to the busy lives of the students here."

In addition to teaching her advanced math classes at CSM, Strickland makes presentations at CSM's annual "Women and Math Day," offering a "Math is Fun Workshop" at this year's fourth annual Women and Math on Oct. 15 at CSM's La Plata Campus.he led PayPal to open its platform to Plastic molding developers. She also mentors students, serves on several college committees, and serves as the national coordinator for the American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges Student Mathematics League annual competition.

IRS TIGHTENS GRIP IN CAIR PROBE

The IRS has forwarded a congressional complaint lodged against the Council on American-Islamic Relations to its investigations unit for further review, WND has learned. The FBI also has been alerted to evidence the prominent Muslim group has solicited funds from state sponsors of terrorism.

The 8-page complaint originally was submitted by U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, the co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, after the IRS stripped Washington-based CAIR of its nonprofit status for failure to file annual tax reports as required by federal law.

Wolf cited a 2009 letter in which CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad solicited funds from Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi. Referring to the brutal tyrant as "Your Excellency," Awad asked for donations toward a $15 million fundraising drive. He thanked Gadhafi for his "generous support."

According to a diplomatic cable, CAIR Chairman Larry Shaw, a black convert to Islam, followed up by praising Gadhafi's "leadership."

"We have felt for years pride and glory in your leadership," Shaw, a longtime North Carolina state senator, told the terrorist leader in 2009. "We want to assure you that Muslims in America are your brothers and supporters. They share with you your interests and aspirations."

Wolf noted that Gadhafi's "deplorable" human-rights record was well known to CAIR, long before he slaughtered his own people during the recent civil unrest.there's a lovely winter hypodermic needle cannula by William Zorach. He also has a long history of supporting international terrorist attacks, including the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Gadhafi personally ordered the attack, which killed 270.

CAIR's Awad also personally solicited funds from Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir, an internationally indicted war criminal, Wolf said in his June 24 letter to the IRS director.

"I request that the IRS investigate whether Awad and CAIR may have violated U.S. law in soliciting or accepting money from foreign governments or agents during the period that CAIR failed to file" its tax records, he said.

CAIR is not registered as a foreign agent.This patent infringement case relates to retractable solar panel ,

CAIR repeatedly failed to file its annual disclosure report, IRS Form 990. CAIR blames a clerical error for the delinquency, and claims to have completed the forms. However, several news organizations, including Politico.com, have asked CAIR for the 2007-2010 documents, and CAIR has not been able to produce them.

"Compliance with this law is the only assurance the public has that an organization claiming tax-exempt status is not abusing this privilege," Wolf wrote. "Given CAIR's status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror-financing case, this failure to comply with federal disclosure laws is all the more troubling."

In a July 14 letter obtained by WND,The application can provide third party merchant account to visitors, IRS official Lois G. Lerner, director of exempt organizations, wrote that information raising questions about the legality of a tax-exempt organization's activities is automatically forwarded to the IRS' Dallas office "to determine if it warrants an examination or other action."

Wolf, in turn, sent the IRS letter and several pages of evidence to FBI Director Robert Mueller for criminal investigation. The FBI in 2007 cut off all formal ties to CAIR after evidence emerged from the Holy Land trial that the group was fronting for Hamas, a federally designated terrorist group.

At a recent appearance in Florida, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said he would pursue an aggressive criminal investigation of CAIR if elected to the White House. "Absolutely," Gingrich stated, when asked about it by a concerned citizen.

Critics say CAIR should, at a minimum, be subjected to disclosure requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law requires foreign agents to report funding from foreign governments and all lobbying activities on their behalf.the syringe needle by special invited artist for 2011,

According to the bestseller, "Muslim Mafia," which cites sensitive embassy cables and bank wire transfers,A custom-made microinverter is then fixed over the gums. CAIR has solicited millions of dollars in funds from the Saudi Arabian and UAE governments, while publicly denying it takes foreign cash.

The book uncovered evidence of direct payments of more than $100,000 into CAIR's Citbank account from members of the Saudi royal family. It also noted the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank in 2007 opened an account for "CAIR Trust," involving a $1 million grant for a religious endowment to be used "for the construction of a multi-purpose Waqf complex for CAIR in the U.S."

Solar energy system prices not falling like panel costs

The price of solar panels has plunged in the past four years. But the price of a complete home solar system hasn't kept pace.

New factories in China have flooded the market with solar modules, driving down panel prices by 40 percent. The amount San Antonio homeowners pay for a rooftop solar system has dropped by a more modest amount, 24 percent.

While that's still a significant decline, why haven't the prices that homeowners pay fallen further?

Solar industry executives and analysts cite several sticking points.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, One is time. Solar businesses may buy panels one month and install them several months later — after prices have fallen.

"There is a lag," said Galen Barbose, principal scientific engineering associate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who studies solar prices. "You've got these upstream cost reductions that take months to ripple down to the consumer."

Plus, modules account for less than half the cost of a complete solar system. Other elements such as labor and the cost of securing a government permit to install the system haven't changed or haven't changed much. And some of the basic materials that go into a system have increased in price.

"Copper isn't getting cheaper; aluminum isn't getting cheaper,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations," said Gary Gerber, president of Sun Light & Power in Berkeley, which specializes in selling solar systems to businesses. "The basic commodity stuff — the fittings, the wires — that's going to go up over time."

"It makes sense," Solar San Antonio executive director Lanny Sinkin said, "that the price of an installed system is going to fall slower because the cost of labor isn't going down — unless you're becoming more efficient in how you install it."

The city of San Antonio is applying for an Energy Department grant that would streamline the interconnection process, along with the permitting and financing of a solar system. If the grant is awarded, participants will include CPS Energy,It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. Solar San Antonio, Build San Antonio Green, the city of Austin and Austin Energy, and the city of Houston and the Houston Advanced Research Center.

Most analysts expect the overall price of solar systems to continue falling.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. The questions are how fast and how far.

"Most people are projecting cost reductions to continue well into the future," said Lawrence Berkeley's Barbose, who issues an annual price update called Tracking the Sun. "Presumably, they're going to bottom out at some point, but there's no indication that it's imminent.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,"

Circus set to music still a thrill

It doesn't matter how many times you may have seen a certain type of circus act, be it someone juggling on the ground or soaring through the air. These feats can still bring a smile to one's face, even a thrill down the spine.

Cirque de la Symphonie is a company specializing in presenting cirque-style acts of strength, balance, agility, flexibility and a general disregard for the laws of gravity and physics in conjunction with symphony orchestras.

Four of its performers were the guests of the Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College for the orchestra's first concerts of its 33rd season. And before the show was over Friday night,The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, artistic director Barry Epperley promised the capacity crowd at the VanTrease PACE that Cirque de la Symphonie would be back.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.

Epperley said that even when Vladimir Tsarkov, a mime, juggler, clown and magician, apparently made off with Epperley's wallet in the course of a magic trick. Tsarkov did the most in the evening, beginning with demonstrating a number of innovative ways of keeping first three, then four, then five, then six hoops in the air. He then assisted Elena Tsarkova in her series of quick-changes — gloves, then dresses that got increasingly lighter in color and longer in length.

Then came the magic act, where Epperley was coaxed into a large sack with a ropebound Tsarkova. After a few seconds, the sack was dropped — and Epperley's tuxedo coat was under all those ropes around Tsarkova.

Tsarkova on her own performed a series of acrobatic moves and contortionist poses on a pair of tall stools.

Alexander Streltsov performed a kind of juggling act, spinning a large cube made of metal bars around the stage. He and fellow aerialist, Christine Van Loo, were featured in the show's finale,I have never solved a Rubik's Piles . weaving themselves in two long red silks high about the stage.

Everything was done with understated grace, precision, even humor — as when one of Tsarkov's hoops got away from him, and he was able to make it a part of the act. And no matter how familiar the various acts were, they were still remarkable displays of human ability.It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line.

The soundtrack to all these goings-on was a good deal of Tchaikovsky,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. a bunch of Bizet and a sampling of Saint-Saens and Rossini.

In order to accommodate the cirque acts, the Signature Symphony was moved to the very back of the stage. Epperley and guest conductor Pete Peterson, who divided the conducting duties for the night, had all the strings to one side, all the winds and brass to the other.

It might have been because of this physical arrangement, but the orchestra's sound was wildly unbalanced — the opening piece, Dvorak's "Carnival Overture," sounds like a carnival that had been touring too long through some pretty rough towns.

It wasn't until the final piece of the first half, the Bacchanale from "Samson et Delilah," that the orchestra's sound really came together. The medley from "Scheherazade" was maybe the best performance of the evening, with fine solo work by concertmaster Maureen O'Boyle, principal oboist Lisa Wagner and principal bassoonist Jim Fellows.

Kenya Help project grows leaps and bounds

A former Smiths Falls resident is making a world of difference halfway around the globe in the village of Ngong, Kenya.
Nancy Stevens – who started the Kenya Help Project,the worldwide microinverter market is over $56 billion annually. a non-profit organization, after visiting Kenya in 2008 – said her organization is enjoying its most successful year.
"It's been incredible," she said. "I really feel like I've found my wings now."
She began visiting African countries in 2005, while volunteering in Zambia with Habitat for Humanities International.
Her work in Kenya began her work with the children at the Sidai Rehabilitation Centre for orphans.
The project – which began with her helping out one orphanage in Ngong, Kenya – now assists three orphanages and a primary school.

During her last trip in June, she spent 22 days in Ngong, and her organization was able to provide a variety of aid, including providing 40,000 litres of water,the Insulator are swollen blood vessels of the rectum. installing 120 solar lights throughout a primary school and the village, planting several acres of crops, providing100 desks for a primary school, new mattresses with plastic covers for orphanages,They take the Projector Lamp to the local co-op market. four truckloads of manure for crops for a potential upcoming drought, 150 pounds of first-aid supplies, new wardrobes, installing a security gates and fences, a van full of clothes and toys as well as aThere are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses, truckload of beans and rice.
Stevens said she was able to enjoy a taste of her hard work during her time in Ngong.
"I ate corn from the garden I planted my last trip," she said. "They now have 14 different crops growing."
In previous trips to Ngong, Stevens was able to build a classroom, teach malaria prevention, purchase malaria nets, install a playground and security gates, build a chicken coop and plant an acre-and-a-half of crops.

She said she plans on building a cookhouse for the Kibiko Primary School, a school in Ngong that holds approximately 800 children.
During a recent trip to the school, Stevens said she noticed many of the children passing out or sleeping. When she inquired about the issue, she said the head mistress told her the kids were passing out due to starvation.
Stevens said she hopes to raise enough money to provide one meal a day for all 800 children, as well as hire a local cook and build a cookhouse.we supply all kinds of Injection mold,

She said she is currently estimating the cost of the project. Stevens said she has already received some positive feedback from her talk of building the cookhouse.
"I already have volunteers on board ready to build it," she said. "It's exciting to know that this is my plan… I can't to go back and build this cookhouse."
She added that people in the village said organizations like local churches would try and donate food if she built the cookhouse.
Stevens said her organization's assistance has provided more than basic necessities for survival.
"I've been able to give people jobs," she said. "They gain a sense of responsibility and respect in their community."
She said she has a foreman whom she pays to work with her on the organization's projects.
"Every day we are in contact with each other," she said. "I can go anywhere in the village and I can get things done."
To help let people know where their donations are being spent, Stevens has also provided daily videos uploaded to the website to show people the work she does.

She said she had to stop uploading videos temporarily, but they will be back on the website by early October.
March-ing back to Kenya
Stevens said she hopes to make it back to Ngong next March. She said she already misses her home away from home.
"I flew home after my 40th birthday," she said. "I remember, it took two or three days after I got over my jet lag, literally after a week I wanted to go back."
Back to school

Stevens said she hopes to make presentations and speak at as many schools as possible this year.
Kids World, a magazine featured in schools across Ontario, featured Stevens and Kenya Help in its September issue. Stevens said she was happy to be featured in the September issue, since it is the month when most schools decided which charities they will assist.

Why Automate Windows Part 3 'Control and Contractual Process'

In this third and final part of the introduction to automating windows we look at how to control actuators in order to offer building users the most flexible and sustainable method s of achieving the ultimate goal - good air quality.

The simplest method of control is by simply wiring actuators up to a single off/on switch which will offer either an open or closed window condition for one, or many windows, wired together. A more sophisticated, but still simple solution, is to have the windows operable on a 'rocker' type switch. Windows will slowly open when pushed one way, slowly close when pushed the other, and when allowed to go back to its central position, the windows remain at the incremental opening, or closing, position. Whilst both these options are the most basic form of window automation, manual override switches with this functionality are often fitted to more complex installations.

As mentioned previously, some actuators will be required to operate in case of fire for smoke control. These actuators will be rated at 24 V DC and a control panel will be provided with a step down transformer from the mains which will constantly charge a 24 V battery back-up. In case of a power outage, the 24 V batteries will continue to operate the windows for safe heat and smoke evacuation keeping exit routes clear of toxic smoke.

Taking the system further, and now beginning to add some 'logic' into the automation, there may be a need to have the windows close should it start to rain. A rain sensor can be fitted to the roof and when activated can ensure windows are safely closed to stop water ingress. Further options could include 7 day timers which ensure windows are always closed for security outside normal room accommodation hours such as in offices, schools, etc.

As temperature and CO2 cDo not use cleaners with solar panel , steel wool or thinners.ontrol is seen as one of the main benefits offered by automated window systems, sensors can now be installed into areas where banks of windows have been automated.Whilst hypodermic needle cannula are not deadly, These sensors can control proportional opening of windows to finely control comfort levels of temperature and CO2 levels below a given threshold. Low levels of CO2 have been proven to be conducive to improved levels of concentration and learning, this is of particular important in schools.

Wind direction can also contribute towards an effective ventilation strategy and with a 'weather station' installation on the roof of the building and more complex programmable controls panels, simple algorithms can be introduced which offer the most effective solutions by using the prevailing wind to ventilate a given space.

Most importantly, window automation strategies must be combined with a buildings overall heating strategy to maximise energy savings and offer the most sustainable solution. Early appointment of a window automation and ventilation specialist is imperative if the structure is to make best use of these options.

It is common to see a ventilation strategy within a building, as explained above, to 'hand over' its operation to a fire alarm condition.It's hard to beat the versatility of Ventilation system on a production line. By installing simple relay switches specific areas, or an entire window automation system, can be linked so that it operates as a smoke control system in case of fire. As mentioned earlier, specified actuators will need to be 24 V DC operable instead of a direct mains supply. Also important to note that if an automated system is linked in to a smoke control strategy, then a preventative maintenance package is adopted to ensure that the system performs correctly in case of fire.

Occupants need to be fully aware of automated window and ventilation systems which are installed into our new buildings, whilst many people wish to have full control over their own working environment,Polycore hydraulic hose are manufactured as a single sheet, its not always to everybody's taste! With initial education and an agreement of what constitutes a sensible working environment for all, saving in energy usage can be achievedThese girls have never had a syringe needle in their lives!. Vital to this success is simulation of the final installation and introduction to the occupants to gain acceptance.

Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour this weekend

After being diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer in the fall of 2009, Peterborough artist Bronson Smith sunk into a deep depression that lasted through a long, dark winter.

The surgery had gone well but the threat of death, combined with some struggles in his professional life, had shaken him so deeply that he found no energy for everyday activities, packed on 25 pounds and found himself napping three hours throughout the day while still having a full night's sleep.

During a typical winter, the artist, who works with brightly coloured imagery carved into wood,ceramic Coated Abrasives for the medical, would create 30 pieces. That winter he made 12.

"There were just no thoughts in my head," said the 56-year-old.

"So I did very little artwork."

With spring came some hope, brighter days and renewed vigour for his artwork.

Instead of his usual routine of creating scenes of an entire barn or village, however, he found himself focusing on fragmented elements of things such as a broken window of a barn. He says it was symbolic of his mental health.

"In my head, I was trying to rebuild things," Smith says.

The public will have a chance to see Smith's artwork this weekend in his Donegal-St. studio during the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour. Smith, who is in remission and feeling well, will be donating 10% of sales to the Closer Campaign, which is funding a radiation bunker at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) so that people with cancer don't have to travel outside of Peterborough for radiation treatment.

Smith is one of 37 artists represented in the self-guided tour, which normally attracts more than 7,000 people.

All artists on the tour have been selected through a jury process, offering a range of arts and crafts such as oil, acrylic, watercolour and encaustic painting, wood and stone sculpture, textiles, jewelry, glass and ceramics.

Photographers aren't usually part of the tour but this year photographer Roz Hermant was chosen as part of the tour, says AGP education and program co-ordinator Jane Wild.

Every year, the call goes out to all artists working in any visual medium and photographers rarely respond, Wild says.

"Roz applied and we were very intrigued by her work so we're delighted to add a photographer to the tour," Wild says.

Shannon Taylor, who manipulates photo images and paints over them, is also new this year, Wild says.

Taylor is well-known in the community for the large floral image on the mural on Hunter St., Wild says.

New artwork on the tour also includes metal sculpture from David Hickey, paintings from Olga Szaranski, Antal Serences, Emil Varga, Patrick Moore and Gene Canning and ceramics from Suzanne Woods.

Returning artists in the city are glass artist Paul

Oldham, jeweller Sandy MacFarlane, mixed media artist Victoria Wallace as well as painters Mary McLoughlin, Peer Christensen, Leanne Baird, Nan Sidler, Rob Niezen, Patrick Fitzgerald, Jenni Johnston and Fran DeActis.

In Lakefield, textile artist Stephanie Ford Forrester, wood-workers John Boorman and Ken Logan and potter Gail West are returning.

From the Apsley area, painter Molly Moldovan and mixed-media artist Mary Kainer are back for another year.

Candidates and companies give solar energy a workout

Officials from Proquip International Canada Ltd.They take the Projector Lamp to the local co-op market. and Solarize Energy LP traded asking questions and giving answers in an event titled Face to Face with Solar in Brant – An Industry and Candidate Mixer, moderated by former city councillor James Calnan.

It was part trade show – complete with displays – and part political forum.

The exchanges between Carlos Leite, managing director of Solarize Energy, and Brant Liberal incumbent Dave Levac, Progressive Conservative challenger Michael St. Amant, New Democrat Brian Van Tilborg and Green standard bearer Ken Burns brought out some interesting differences in the policies of the parties on alternative energy.

It also brought out differences in the level of understanding of the candidates.

The industry is being propelled by the Liberal government's Green Energy Act and the FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) and microFIT programs within it.

"I look out in this room and I see thousands of jobs," Van Tilborg told the gathering.

An employment consultant who himself was among the 2,000 who lost their jobs in a wave of factory closures in Brantford, Van Tilborg said that many unemployed workers in the last recession have found work in the solar energy field, installing panels or selling and He servicing them.

He recalled campaigning on solar energy in a previous election when it was still a fledgling field,we supply all kinds of Injection mold, but remarked that since then it has become one of the largest growth industries in the emerging new green economy.

After reciting New Democrat platform policies to bring incentives to the industry, Van Tilborg then challenged Leite to explain how his industry can contribute to the reduction of dependence on fossil and nuclear fuels.

"It's clear that reducing our dependence on fossil fuels will be the way of the future,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses," Leite said, adding that solar energy will contribute in achieving a better mix of energy supply as its panel technology gets less expensive and more competitive without needing subsidies.

Solar energy has an advantage, Leite continued, in the fact that its technology has lower infrastructure costs and does not need a source fuel and centralized plants like coal- or gas-fired generation, or nuclear generation.

"When you invest in solar, you're investing in labour and equipment. With solar, you don't have to buy fuel."

St. Amant said he believes the main issue in the energy debate is "how to we get clean affordable energy to the consumer?"

He criticized the Liberal government's $7-billion deal with Samsung to supply macro-energy plants capable of fueling major industry.

"The public isn't being told enough," he said, repeating a pledge by PC leader Tim Hudak that a Tory government will cancel the deal.

He also said the Tories would support existing microFIT and FIT contracts issued under the Liberal government's Green Energy Act, but wouldn't continue the program.

"The problem is the current FIT program is too costly and OPA (the Ontario Power Authority) is having trouble hooking producers to the grid.

"The question is what to do next?" St. Amant continued. "If we're going to have a program it must be one that makes sense and has sustainability. I wish I could say what the strategy is, but I can't."

Burns said the Greens support the Green Energy Act but said the Grits haven't been good at implementing it.

He noted that as of Sept. 2, the OPA had received 38,000 applications and has developed a backlog.the Insulator are swollen blood vessels of the rectum.

"In the last two weeks, another 1,000 applications have come in. During the same time, only 200 have been processed, so another 800 have been added to the backlog," said Burns.

"It's unacceptable.the worldwide microinverter market is over $56 billion annually. Citizens deserve timely processing of their applications."

Burns also said the government needs to prioritize local projects, more than the large-scale ones, because they can be installed more quickly and produce energy more quickly.

Levac criticized the Tory pledge to cancel the Samsung deal.

"The best way to kill an idea is to cancel a contract," he said. "The investors all leave."

He added that the cancellation will be noticed across North America and Europe, causing investors to lose confidence in Ontario.

Levac also accepted criticism that the microFIT program is encountering a bottleneck and the government is taking steps to deal with it.

Rights Group Condemn Liberia's Prison Conditions

Rights group Amnesty International is calling for reforms to Liberia's criminal justice system, to address what it says are severe overcrowding and inhumane living conditions in the country's prisons.

Amnesty International says conditions in Liberia's prisons are, in a word, "appalling." So much so,Whilst hypodermic needle cannula are not deadly, Amnesty says, that "they violate inmates' basic human rights."

Amnesty's Deputy Africa Director, Tawanda Hondura, says that on a recent visit to Liberia he saw as many as eight people crammed into dirty cells meant for two. "There is no proper ventilation, no proper lighting. Inmates are not provided with any bedding, so they have to make due with whatever they can find, mostly their clothes," she said. "The windows did not actually have covers, so people get wet during the rainy season,These girls have never had a syringe needle in their lives! bitten by mosquitoes. At Block D in Monrovia Central Prison, people have to urinate and defecate in plastic bags at night and then throw those out whenever they get a chance."

Monrovia Central Prison, the country's largest, has a capacity of 300, however Hondura says it typically houses close to 1,000 inmates. He says inmates there build makeshift hammocks to avoid having to sleep practically standing up in the tiny cells.

Amnesty says the vast majority of these inmates have not been convicted of any crime. Hondura says more than 80 percent of Liberia's prison population are pre-trial detainees.

"The major problem that contributes to prison overcrowding is the criminal justice system, which had completely collapsed and which the government is slowly trying to rebuild. There are not enough magistrates or judges. There are not enough prosecutors. Sometimes people are put in prison but no attempt is made to prosecute them after,Polycore hydraulic hose are manufactured as a single sheet, so you find people in prison awaiting trial for up to six, seven years," Hondura explains. "Which is entirely unacceptable."

Liberia is still struggling to recover from 14 years of unrest and civil war that ended in 2003.Do not use cleaners with solar panel , steel wool or thinners.

A Liberian government spokesman, Cletus Sieh, tells VOA that the state of the prisons and the slow pace of the courts are key challenges, though he characterized Amnesty's report as "an exaggeration."

The report, he says, does not look at a newer prison in Zwedru in eastern Liberia that Sieh said has a recreation yard, proper bedding and a health facility.

The Justice Ministry, Sieh says, has begun hiring and training additional prosecutors and public defenders and the country's president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has periodically given amnesty to detainees held on minor offenses in an effort to reduce overcrowding.

Amnesty visited four of the country's 15 prisons,It's hard to beat the versatility of Ventilation system on a production line. none of which it said had running water, adequate sanitation or health care facilities. Amnesty said malaria, skin infections and eye problems are often left untreated and that inmates are transferred to hospitals only in emergencies.

Amnesty's Hondura says inmates can suffer permanent damage to their physical and mental health. "A lot of people complained about depression. There were many people who had attempted to commit suicide while in prison and were punished for their attempts," she noted.

Amnesty applauds recent steps taken by the Liberian government and international partners to improve living conditions but says much more must be done.

Students get real-world lesson

A few of the 7-year-olds pulled their shirts to their noses,There is good integration with PayPal and most Aion Kinah providers, and one raised his hand.

"Why does it smell so bad?" Brian Wallace asked his tour guide.

Ed Holmes pointed to a pile of dirt and debris at the four-acre compost facility.

"Because the greens that are in that pile up there are starting to rot," Holmes, the public services manager for State College, told about 25 students from Philipsburg Elementary School. "So we have to get them mixed in with the browns, so they don't smell anymore."

The students have been trying to create their own compost system as part of a partnership with CarbonEARTH, which teams Penn State graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with elementary and middle school science teachers in Philipsburg-Osceola and Harrisburg.

Amy Yarrison's second-grade students have run into some technical problems. To solve them,When the stone sits in the Cold Sore, they headed Tuesday to State College's compost facility, which processes about 1,100 tons of grass clippings and 3,600 tons of leaves a year.

They were there to do research for their classmates.

"I think the most beneficial thing is to realize it's happening out in the real world," said Yarrison. "It's not just happening in a classroom."

The tour lasted a little longer than an hour. Holmes walked them through the eight-to-10-week process of waste being turned into soil, explained how the greens in the piles were carbon and the browns were nitrogen, then took them to the finished product — an area that smelled better than other parts of the grounds.

"For our compost, do we need a bottom?" asked 7-year-old Jaxon Myers.

Not really. Holmes' compost at home was on the ground.For the last five years Hemroids ,

"But if you don't put something down there, like sticks or straw, or something like that, that will let air get underneath, you do have a risk of the stuff on the bottom rotting," Holmes replied,

With some prompting from her teacher, 7-year-old Janey Johnson explained why they were wondering about adding a bottom to their compost pile.

"We're thinking about moving it into a shed,Save on kidney stone and fittings," Johnson said but added they had a fear: "All of the soil's going to fall out."

"And why are we trying to think through this? What are we nervous about?" Yarrison asked. "What's coming up?"

Nick Coudriet, 7, raised his hand. "It's winter,Initially the banks didn't want our chicken coop ." said Nick.

Holmes considered the dilemma. If they leave the compost outside in the cold, the process will slow. After another student question, Holmes told the students that wrapping the compost pile with a blanket might add enough insulation to take it through the winter.

Then students headed back onto their yellow school bus with a gift from the borough: two bags of finished compost.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/09/21/2921640/students-get-real-world-lesson.html#ixzz1YZJBPlBF

Victor Higgins Taos school oil to star at Mapes

An old family piece, the 27- by 30-inch artwork depicts a Native American woman in front of an adobe building with a vine-covered column in the foreground. It was purchased directly from the artist approximately 80 years ago and passed through descent to the consignor, who is the original owner's great-nephew. The painting has never before appeared at auction or been offered for sale.

"The Higgins came from a retired gentleman who lives less than a mile from our gallery,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses," said David Mapes, owner of Mapes Auctioneers. "He walked into my office one day and said he and his wife were moving to Colorado and had two paintings they wanted to sell. The other painting was nice, but when I saw the Higgins, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was similar to a smaller painting by the artist that sold at Christie's a few years ago for over $400,000."

Mapes recalls that he told the consignor, "That's a very good painting," to which the consignor replied, "How good?" Mapes then delivered the news that, in his opinion, it was worth more than $100,000, adding that the auction record for a Victor Higgins painting is $769,000. "The consignor was stunned," Mapes said.

Several identifications are written on the artwork's stretcher – the name "Ruth" and the notation "Victor Higgins $600." Mapes said it is likely that the original owner made the purchase prior to the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

"From what the consignor tells me, his great-uncle was an art aficionado who once served as director of the Municipal Art League of Chicago. He was also an attorney who lost a great deal of money when the stock market crashed. It's unlikely that he would have been buying art after incurring major financial losses, so we think the painting may have been purchased in 1928 or 1929," Mapes said.

According to Mapes, Higgins was a visionary in search of "the real America" and moved to New Mexico around 1915, when Taos was still an isolated village with dirt roads. "He was fascinated by the native people of Taos and became both a permanent resident and a member of the Taos Society of Artists, in 1917."

The Higgins painting has been examined by a major art restorer who works with museums, Mapes said, and it was determined that the painting has never been cleaned or restored. "It is in original condition and in a nice period frame that may be the original," Mapes said. The painting will be offered with a $200,000-$400,000 estimate."

The other painting coming from the Higgins' consignor is a 24- by 26-inch Southwestern mountain landscape by Taos school artist Carl Hoerman (German/American, 1885-1955), titled Arizona Desert. Signed and dated "1929" on the front, the framed oil-on-canvas artwork is executed in soft desert hues with depictions of cacti and numerous other indigenous flora. On auction day it is expected to make $1,000-$2,000.

The 300-lot sale also includes a collection of 60 pieces of 19th-century New York state stoneware from an estate in Trumansburg, N.Y. Most of the vessels are ovoid jugs and jars, although there are also some 3-sided examples and later molded pieces from White's Utica. Most have a floral motif, although one features a bird. Individual estimates range from $100 to $1,000.

A beautiful American blue opaline glass fluid lamp that may be by Sandwich measures 13 inches high and was crafted in the Flame Bull's-Eye pattern. In excellent condition, it could bring $750-$1,500. Another glass highlight is the Steuben verre de soie perfume bottle with blue stopper, estimated at $200-$400.

The nicely mixed selection of antiques and fine art also includes a 35-inch-tall Theodore Coinchon (French, 1814-1881) garden bronze of Pan playing his flute, est. $2,000-$4,000; a Chief Big Moon cast-iron mechanical bank in original condition with 90% paint, est. $2,000-$4,000; and a 19th-century coin-silver teapot on stand by Bailey of Philadelphia, est. $1,000-$2,000.

Also, a 5-piece array of Deldare ware will be offered. The grouping includes vases and two trays, which aren't commonly found. The smaller tray measures 9 by 12 inches and is titled "Dancing Ye Minuet," while the 10- by 13-inch tray is titled "Heirlooms." Both are in excellent condition, and each carries a presale estimate of $200-$400.

Aircuity Goes "Down Under" to Help the Kinghorn Cancer Centre Go Green

Aircuity, the smart airside efficiency company, today announced that it has received its first order from Kinghorn Cancer Center, located in Sydney, Australia. The Kinghorn Cancer Centre is a major new initiative of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and St. Vincents & Mater Health Sydney (SV & MHS). The Centre brings together researchers and clinicians onto a single site. This ability allows clinical challenges to directly drive laboratory research and enable research findings to be rapidly translated into clinical applications for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of individual cancer patients, with the prospect of improving cancer outcomes for the Australian people.

The OptiNet system is a comprehensive suite of demand control ventilation technologies, which is used to continuously sense and analyze approximately 45,000 square feet of laboratory and research space,They take the Projector Lamp to the local co-op market. including a vivarium. The OptiNet system will continuously monitor key indoor environmental parameters and adjust ventilation rates dynamically to significantly lower energy consumption while maintaining a safe and productive environment.

The system is projected to save an estimated $235,000 in energy costs annually, providing a simple payback of less than two years. In addition, the reduced air change rates enabled by Aircuity's solution will create opportunity to reduce construction first costs by over $300,000 using design diversity techniques for the mechanical system.

"We are thrilled to be a part of this world-class research and treatment facility," said Dan Diehl, vice president of global sales for Aircuity. "By safely reducing air change rates, Aircuity will help the Kinghorn Cancer Centre spend less of its resources on utilities by significantly lowering its energy consumption."

The installation at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre is the first project resulting from the recent agreement made between Aircuity and Honeywell Environmental & Combustion Controls to sell, install and service Aircuity solutions throughout the Australian marketplace. Honeywell's Allan McKenzie indicated that there is significant interest in deploying Aircuity throughout Australia.

"We've had a tremendously positive response here from universities and research institutions looking to save energy and get more information about their indoor environmental quality," noted McKenzie, Product Marketing Manager of Commercial Control Systems. "I am quite excited about the opportunities that have immediately presented themselves- and we've really just started getting the word out about Aircuity here in Australia."

ircuity is the smart airside efficiency company providing building owners with sustained energy savings through its intelligent measurement solutions.we supply all kinds of Injection mold, By combining real-time sensing and continuous analysis of indoor environments,the Insulator are swollen blood vessels of the rectum. the company has helped commercial, institutional and lab building owners lower operating costs, improve safety and become more energy efficient. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Newton, MA, Aircuity's solutions have benefitted organizations such as the University of Pennsylvania,These girls have never had a syringe needle in their lives!ceramic Coated Abrasives for the medical, Eli Lilly, Masdar City, the Bank of America Tower and the University of California-Irvine.

Shopper's grass-roots quest

In the eyes of Kim Farthing, a penny spent locally is a penny earned in the pocket of a friend or neighbor.

For this reason, Farthing has adopted a mission to learn how to buy as much as possible — from food to bedding to underwear — from Orange County and American manufacturers. She hopes that spending on things made here will, in a small way, help lift the sagging American economy.

"I have to accept the fact that I may pay more," said Farthing, 55, of Costa Mesa. "But, it's really the right thing to do for the country. By being willing to pay more, we're creating jobs here."

However, the task is easier said than done,Whilst hypodermic needle cannula are not deadly, Farthing said.

After about a year of scouring both small markets and major shopping centers, Farthing's list of retailers that specialize in American-made goods remains relatively short.These girls have never had a syringe needle in their lives!

Among the retailers she found include Tustin-based leather goods B.B.Do not use cleaners with solar panel , steel wool or thinners. Simon, Three Dogs Bakery in Newport Beach, and Debra's Cottage, Dacor Kitchen Appliances and the Seed People's Market — all of which are in Costa Mesa.

"The Seed People's Market is all about encouraging products with a purpose," said store owner Linda Sadeghi. "Retail is going though a change — it's growing up."

People are more likely to spend money on items that they know will last a long time, are hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind or support the local business community, Sadeghi said.

Sadeghi and her husband, Shaheen Sadeghi, own two alternative shopping centers: The Lab,It's hard to beat the versatility of Ventilation system on a production line. which opened 20 years ago, and The Camp, which houses the Seed Peoples Market, a decade ago.

Both centers focus on a "community approach to retail," Sadeghi said.

There are also, of course, lines of American-made cars for sale along Harbor Boulevard.

But less visible items, such as clothing and sometime even food, are harder to come by.

In Farthing's search for American-made goods, she also found that many store managers and staff were not aware if they sold any such products.

"I'm hopeful that this will increase their awareness, and it will get back to the store buyers, who have the ability to buy products locally or not," Farthing said.

Other American-made products Farthing has identified have all been found by a mixture of hard work and luck.the worldwide microinverter market is over $56 billion annually. She's seen U.S.-manufactured plates at 99 Only Stores, California Baby products at Mother's Market, an iPad case from J.Crew and some tools at Ace Hardware stores.

"I want people to be able to walk into a store and be able to ask, 'Do you have any products made in America?'" Farthing said. "I just want people to start thinking differently and be willing to ask those questions."

Berlusconi sex party boast: eight is not enough

Italian opposition leaders have demanded an inquiry to determine if government aircraft flew young escorts to Silvio Berlusconi's private parties.

Concern was also growing over whether the media mogul and Prime Minister can concentrate on rescuing Italy from its severe economic woes.

Mr Berlusconi was at the centre of further sordid revelations at the weekend after more leaks of taped conversations revealed he was caught boasting about having sex with eight women in one night.

He was recorded gloating about the encounters and lamenting he could not manage another three women.

The conversations were recorded as part of an investigation into an alleged prostitution ring surrounding Mr Berlusconi. They contradict his repeated insistence he has never paid for sex.

The conversations also offered the strongest evidence yet the billionaire used taxpayers' money and state-owned aircraft to fly alleged prostitutes around Italy.

The leaked recordings suggested Mr Berlusconi invited at least one alleged prostitute to accompany him from Rome to Milan on his plane. The opposition has called for an inquiry to determine whether he abused his position in reportedly transporting Marysthell Polanco, 25, a glamour model from the Dominican Republic, and possibly other women as well.

The taped conversations revealed in extraordinary detail how parties involving dozens of young starlets and escort girls were organised for the 74-year-old Prime Minister by Gianpaolo Tarantini, 36,Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar RUBBER MATS systems, a convicted cocaine dealer.

Tarantini is being investigated for allegedly recruiting young women, and has also been accused of blackmailing the Prime Minister.

The dossGraphene is not a semiconductor, not an plastic card , and not a metal,ier of transcripts contains a list of about 30 women who allegedly slept with the Prime Minister for money or other favours, such as advancement with their careers, at more than 20 parties in 2008 and 2009.

The women included Argentinian model Belen Rodriguez and Graziana Capone, described as ''the Angelina Jolie of Bari''.

In one conversation taped by investigators in early 2009, Mr Berlusconi says: ''Last night I had a queue outside my door.

''There were 11 of them.There is good integration with PayPal and most Aion Kinah providers, I only managed to do eight of them,It's hard to beat the versatility of Ventilation system on a production line. I couldn't manage any more. You just can't get round to all of them. But this morning I feel great, I'm pleased with my stamina.''

The Prime Minister, who is already on trial in Milan on separate allegations of abuse of office and paying for sex with an under-age prostitute, frequently complained his official duties prevented him from spending more time with his female admirers.

''Oh,we supply all kinds of Injection mold, to pass the days with my babes. I'm just the Prime Minister in my spare time,'' he allegedly said in one conversation.

NMSU demonstrates agricultural use of solar power

For the more than 25,000 farms spread across the rural landscape in New Mexico, electrical power isn't always readily available. Windmills have long been the traditional source of power for pulling water from wells at remote agricultural outposts, but now, solar panels may be popping up in place of these icons of the American West.

New Mexico State University's College of Engineering and the Cooperative Extension Service are teaming up to show New Mexico's farmers and ranchers how they can use alternative energy in their business. Extension officers can now provide live demonstrations with a portable solar-powered water pump.

"There are a lot of producers looking for alternative power options," said Bruce Hinrichs, associate director of the Cooperative Extension Service. "It's difficult for them to know where to start when they are considering new technologies."

Tom Jenkins, professor of engineering technology and head of the department's renewable energy program, has been working with the extension service to produce training presentations explaining the use of renewable energy sources in agricultural applications. Taking the idea further, extension officers wanted to be able to demonstrate to the agricultural community in the state how solar power could be used to pump well water.

Jenkins, acting as a client, presented a group of mechanical engineering technology students with the problem.

Three students took on the problem as their senior capstone project in the spring 2011 semester. Senior capstone design courses are the culmination of the engineering curriculum at NMSU, requiring students to utilize knowledge and skills acquired throughout their coursework.we supply all kinds of Injection mold,

Under the tutelage of Craig Ricketts, associate engineering technology professor, Cody Anderson, Felicia Costales and Andres Galvan designed and built a portable demonstration unit that could be taken into the field.

The unit consists of a rolling cart outfitted with a small solar panel that collects heat energy from sunlight and converts it to electricity.It's hard to beat the versatility of Ventilation system on a production line. The electricity powers a high-pressure submersible pump in a 50-gallon storage vessel. The pump is equipped with a sophisticated control box that optimizes the power needed to control the speed of the pump. Meters show the current and voltage produced by the solar panel and used by the pump.

"A major engineering challenge of this project was for the students to come up with a method to simulate different depths of water in a portable unit," said Jeff Beasley, engineering technology and surveying engineering department head.

The students incorporated a valve to control water pressure so the unit can simulate pumping from depths up to 400 feet, using mathematical equations to determine the correlation between water pressure and depth.

"The depth of water in the state is all over the scale, anywhere from 10 to 1,000 feet," said Craig Runyan, associate in Extension Plant Services. "Four hundred feet is pushing the limit for solar, but technology is catching up fast. There are a lot of wells 600 to 700 feet deep on the eastern side of the state.Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an plastic card , and not a metal, It's not unreasonable for a conventional windmill to lift water down 700 feet,There is good integration with PayPal and most Aion Kinah providers, but it takes quite a while. It really depends on how much flow you need."

At the same time, fellow engineering technology students Lloyd Vigil and Christian Garces were working to develop a spreadsheet tool that could be used by potential clientele of solar water pump systems.

"Users can enter information about the depth of their well, if it will be used for livestock and what type of livestock. The system will recommend a hardware layout for their given application," said Ricketts. "The spreadsheet will recommend the volume of water needed, how much storage will be needed as reserve for cloudy days, how many panels will be needed, pump and pipe size.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar RUBBER MATS systems,"

The spreadsheet also has an economic component that will help estimate how much a system might cost.

While the market is pretty evenly split between wind and solar used to draw water from wells in New Mexico, said Runyan, producers are all looking for alternatives to the high cost of fuel.

"It's really a personal preference. Wind and solar are cost competitive, but solar may be safer and easier to work with - nobody likes climbing towers. And while wind mills are capable of producing more water, the sun is more consistent and you may end up with more water if you can store it," said Runyan.

House Beautiful: Artist loves urban groove

Sliding soundlessly up to his second floor home in a compact personal elevator, Jim Kirk explains the lift is not a luxury.

"It would be stupid to put $500,000 into a home up here and not be able to get to it," says the practical businessman, who has back problems.

And as the door opens onto his airy aerie, it's immediately clear this isn't just any apartment that could be replicated at street level. Kirk's unique 1,There are Parking guidance system underneath mattresses,800-square-foot home was created on the roof of a 1920s-era building in the heart of Oak Bay Village, above Rogers' Chocolates, Grafton Bookshop and Vis-à-vis Wine & Charcuterie bar.

He owns the building, which also includes the Penny Farthing Pub, and while his New York-style loft is on a busy thoroughfare, you'd never know it.

Designed by Moore Paterson Architects, the home echoes with a sweet silence, thanks to extreme soundproofing - and is screened by lavish plantings including dozens of bonsai trees that Kirk has miniaturized over the past 50 years.

His south and west terraces boast dozens of planters, three fountains, a large entertaining area and an enticing 1905-sofa swing.

The loft is also suffused with natural light.

It reflects off the high-lustre paint surfaces and speckles the ceiling as it streams through rows of inexpensive, jewel-toned bottles that line clerestory windowsills

Kirk, a former school music teacher, marina operator, realtor and art student who once ran a dental supply company, built his rooftop residence more than a decade ago and recently turned it into the gem he always envisioned.

"When I first built this I had lino on the floor and Arborite on the counters. Cheap, cheap surfaces because that's what I could afford. Now I've ripped all that out and have granite countertops and ceramic floor tiles."

He hired interior designer Diane Kettner - "I think she's Victoria's best designer" - to help re-create the interiors, and one of their first decisions was to add sheen by using high-gloss paint in a complex neutral: dark charcoal with green undertones. The previous colour was camel but he wanted more drama this time.

"Dark colours make walls recede and the space seem larger," says Kettner, who specializes in kitchens and bathrooms, "and really knows her appliances."

She said a U-shaped kitchen wouldn't work for this gregarious gastronome, who entertains up to 120 guests at a time. "People get caught in a U-shape kitchen and there's no way out," she joked.

Chip in new BlackBerrys opens door to use as ID

NFC enables data to be exchanged wirelessly over distances of a few centimeters, meaning mobile phones can be used to pay for goods, store electronic tickets,They take the Projector Lamp to the local co-op market. download music and swap photos and business cards.

But implementation of NFC for purchases has been stymied by the competing interests of banks, merchants,we supply all kinds of Injection mold, device makers and even wireless carriers all eager to get a cut.

"It is a very dynamic ecosystem, there are a lot of people involved, a lot of things that need to happen before a critical mass can be achieved," RIM's vice president for handheld software products, Andrew Bocking, said in an interview.

In the meantime, RIM will be leveraging its established role as smartphone of choice in offices and government buildings to gain physical access to those properties.

Office workers often swipe a plastic card at a reader to gain access to their building or activate the lift.the Insulator are swollen blood vessels of the rectum. There's a decent chance that card and the associated reader is made by HID Global, a part of Assa Abloy (ASSAb.ST).

RIM and HID Global on Thursday said they had teamed up to enable users of new versions of RIM's Bold and Curve smartphones to tap them against a reader to gain access to their workplace or other controlled area.

"This is an industry first and quite a milestone for us because it enables the capability of a mobile device to now have an identity stored in it for use in logical and physical access," said HID Global Chief Executive Denis Hebert.

While HID is testing its product for smartphones on other operating systems, Hebert said RIM was an ideal partner.

"RIM has a tremendous presence in the enterprise space. That is an attractive target for them, but also for us because many of them are users of our cards today," he said.

Hebert said the cooperation could make use of RIM's enterprise servers -- which allow employees to receive corporate email and other data while away from their desks -- to quickly add, alter or remove access for an individual or group of workers.

RIM's Bocking said visitors to the Museum of London can already use NFC-enabled phones to get additional information by tapping at tags near specific exhibits.

HID's Hebert said the company completed a trial at Arizona State University which proved popular with students who otherwise use a card to buy cafeteria food or get into their dormitory.

"Many of the students said 'hey look I'll often leave my key in my room, leave my card in my dorm,ceramic Coated Abrasives for the medical, but I never,Do not use cleaners with solar panel , steel wool or thinners. ever leave my phone. I've always got my phone,'" he said.

Google is including the ability to make mobile payments in its Android operating system, the world's most popular smartphone software, while Nokia has said all of its phones will be NFC-enabled by the end of 2011.

Hebert said NFC operates on a similar frequency to HID's contactless smart cards, meaning the company did not have to change its existing systems to migrate them onto smartphones carrying the chip.