POLICE hope these photos will show the danger of cycling without lights before they launch another crackdown.
Officers will be stopping riders in Bournemouth this autumn and issuing 30 fines, which are cancelled if offenders buy lights within seven days.
In the first photo, the rider has no night-time gear and is very hard to spot.
The second shows a typical commuter with lights, and also a high-visibility jacket and helmet – the latter are not mandatory, but are recommended by the Highway Code.
And in the final photo, the cyclist is wearing the latest and most complete reflective clothing.
PC Rob Hammond said: “The clocks go back at the end of October and this makes it darker in the evening.
“Many cyclists are unaware of the danger they present by not making themselves visible.
“Now is the time to make yourself as safe as you can be.”
The Echo’s photos show cyclists at 14 metres from a car’s headlights – the stopping distance at 30mph.
Police last year began a series of operations with a presence a Bournemouth Cemetery Junction in December.
Officers stopped 33 riders in two hours and issued fines. They plan to carry out another series of operations in the next few months.
Last winter, they concentrated on Wallisdown Road, a busy commuter spot that also includes the most accident prone spot for cyclists in the whole town, the roundabout which joins to Wimborne Road.
PC Hammond said: “Cyclists can change how they look to motorists relatively simply and cheaply – after all, how much is your life worth?”
Monday 31 October 2011
Sunday 30 October 2011
New light on Night Watch
Royal Philips Electronics announced that starting on October 26, one of the world's most renowned paintings will be bathed in a new light. Philips, Founder of the renovated Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, presents Rembrandt van Rijn's Night Watch in innovative LED light, bringing out the best of the painting's color palette while offering increased sustainability and energy efficiency. Through the project, the two Masters of Light are reinforcing their intensive collaboration aimed at joint innovation in the area of LED lighting, setting the new standard for museum lighting.
The 5-year extension of the partnership was sealed this afternoon in the Rijksmuseum by Frans van Houten, CEO of Philips, and Wim Pijbes, General Director of the Rijksmuseum. The Night Watch was relit for the occasion by Philips, combining innovative LED lighting with an advanced light control system. The new lighting will help reduce the Rijksmuseum's energy consumption.
LED technology has been developed to the point that the Rijksmuseum felt it needed to adopt this innovation. The new lamps ensure optimal color rendering, lending an even greater expressive quality to the objects. In terms of light quality, the LED solution easily outstrips the halogen spot, praised for its warm color and broad spectrum.
A key element in the partnership between Philips and the Rijksmuseum lies in the intensive exchange of knowledge between the two parties with regard to the development of LED solutions for lighting art and architecture.
As Founder, Philips has been involved since 2001 in the biggest restoration and renovation project in the 126-year history of the Rijksmuseum. During the renovation, the highlights of the Golden Age have been on display in the Philips Wing, attracting an average of 950, 000 visitors a year since it opened in 2003. Starting in 2014, major exhibitions will be held in the wing, which will be permanently named the Philips Wing. From 2013 onward, the Rijksmuseum expects to welcome about 2 million visitors each year.
The 5-year extension of the partnership was sealed this afternoon in the Rijksmuseum by Frans van Houten, CEO of Philips, and Wim Pijbes, General Director of the Rijksmuseum. The Night Watch was relit for the occasion by Philips, combining innovative LED lighting with an advanced light control system. The new lighting will help reduce the Rijksmuseum's energy consumption.
LED technology has been developed to the point that the Rijksmuseum felt it needed to adopt this innovation. The new lamps ensure optimal color rendering, lending an even greater expressive quality to the objects. In terms of light quality, the LED solution easily outstrips the halogen spot, praised for its warm color and broad spectrum.
A key element in the partnership between Philips and the Rijksmuseum lies in the intensive exchange of knowledge between the two parties with regard to the development of LED solutions for lighting art and architecture.
As Founder, Philips has been involved since 2001 in the biggest restoration and renovation project in the 126-year history of the Rijksmuseum. During the renovation, the highlights of the Golden Age have been on display in the Philips Wing, attracting an average of 950, 000 visitors a year since it opened in 2003. Starting in 2014, major exhibitions will be held in the wing, which will be permanently named the Philips Wing. From 2013 onward, the Rijksmuseum expects to welcome about 2 million visitors each year.
Thursday 27 October 2011
Lights on the Lake to open a week early
The Christmas lights are coming a week early to Onondaga Lake Park.
Wegmans Lights on the Lake, the holiday season light show that draws thousands of visitors annually, will kick off with walk-throughs Nov. 14 and 15 and a dog walk Nov. 16. Cars can begin rolling in the night of Nov. 17, launching a seven-week run, officials announced this morning.
Record attendance last year led to the decision to open the show early, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said. She attributed the boost to the county’s collaboration with partner Galaxy Communications and sponsor Wegmans.
Lights on the Lake features animated light displays along the park’s paved walking, biking and skating trail from the Salt Museum to Long Branch, a stretch of about 2 miles. Residents whose homes back up to the trail frequently decorate their yards, too, adding to the fun.
Entry is from Onondaga Lake Parkway.
According to the county Department of Parks and Recreation, 38,554 vehicles toured the display during its 2010-11 run.
This year, the pedestrian-only walks are scheduled for 5 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 14 and 15, followed by a dog walk 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 16.
Drive-throughs 5 to 10 p.m. nightly will begin Nov. 17 and continue through Jan. 8.
Admission will be $8 per car Monday through Thursday, $12 per car Friday through Sunday.
Visitors who present Wegmans Shoppers Club cards on Mondays and Tuesdays will pay $6; those with Driver’s Village or Burdick Automotive license plate frames will pay $6 on Wednesdays.
Also, $6 advance sale tickets will go on sale Tuesday at Wegmans and at the Griffin Visitor Center at Onondaga Lake Park. They will be available through Nov. 16 and will be good any night of the show except New Year's Eve, Dec. 31.
The park will play host New Year’s Eve to the second annual First Night CNY. New Boyz is scheduled to perform. Visitors also will be able to play laser tag and glow-in-the-dark miniature golf outdoors or play video games and sing karaoke under heated tents. A ball drop at midnight and fireworks over Onondaga Lake will cap the event.
Wegmans Lights on the Lake, the holiday season light show that draws thousands of visitors annually, will kick off with walk-throughs Nov. 14 and 15 and a dog walk Nov. 16. Cars can begin rolling in the night of Nov. 17, launching a seven-week run, officials announced this morning.
Record attendance last year led to the decision to open the show early, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said. She attributed the boost to the county’s collaboration with partner Galaxy Communications and sponsor Wegmans.
Lights on the Lake features animated light displays along the park’s paved walking, biking and skating trail from the Salt Museum to Long Branch, a stretch of about 2 miles. Residents whose homes back up to the trail frequently decorate their yards, too, adding to the fun.
Entry is from Onondaga Lake Parkway.
According to the county Department of Parks and Recreation, 38,554 vehicles toured the display during its 2010-11 run.
This year, the pedestrian-only walks are scheduled for 5 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 14 and 15, followed by a dog walk 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 16.
Drive-throughs 5 to 10 p.m. nightly will begin Nov. 17 and continue through Jan. 8.
Admission will be $8 per car Monday through Thursday, $12 per car Friday through Sunday.
Visitors who present Wegmans Shoppers Club cards on Mondays and Tuesdays will pay $6; those with Driver’s Village or Burdick Automotive license plate frames will pay $6 on Wednesdays.
Also, $6 advance sale tickets will go on sale Tuesday at Wegmans and at the Griffin Visitor Center at Onondaga Lake Park. They will be available through Nov. 16 and will be good any night of the show except New Year's Eve, Dec. 31.
The park will play host New Year’s Eve to the second annual First Night CNY. New Boyz is scheduled to perform. Visitors also will be able to play laser tag and glow-in-the-dark miniature golf outdoors or play video games and sing karaoke under heated tents. A ball drop at midnight and fireworks over Onondaga Lake will cap the event.
Veeco's Q3 growth suppressed by slowdown in TV demand and China push-outs
“Veeco has continued to execute within the challenging overall business environment, particularly in China, where customer facility readiness and credit tightening remain significant issues,” says CEO John R. Peeler. Since opening in May, the number of engineers trained at Veeco’s China Training Center is now more than 200 and should be over 300 by the end of 2011. “Veeco’s new MaxBright MOCVD system represented nearly half of the quarter’s MOCVD revenue, including broad-scale customer acceptance at tier-one LED manufacturers,” he adds.
Gross margin was 46.6%, down on 49.6% a year ago and 51.1% last quarter due to a high concentration in the revenue mix of MaxBright MOCVD systems (for which first shipments carry higher costs). “We’ll begin to see cost improvement early next year,” notes executive VP & chief financial officer David D. Glass. Non-GAAP net income was $53.3m, down from $63.4m last quarter and $65.4m a year ago, but at the high end of the guidance range of $41.3–57.7m.
During the third quarter, Veeco purchased $154m in stock at an average price of $38.63 per share, completing a $200m board-authorized share buy-back program initiated in August 2010. The firm also used $31m of cash in contractual settlements for closure of the CIGS Solar Systems business. With working capital changes roughly offsetting the positive cash flow generated from operating income, during the quarter Veeco’s cash and short-term investments hence fell overall from $633m to $449m.
“Veeco’s third quarter orders were impacted by weak near-term LED industry demand [particularly from the TV sector], low MOCVD equipment utilization rates in Asia [50-70%], and decreased business activity in China [due to credit tightening and funding availability],” says Peeler. “In addition, negative global macro-economic data points caused customers to slow or cut their capacity expansion plans.”
In particular, by application sector, of Veeco’s MOCVD system shipments in Q1-Q3/2011 of more than 280 (versus more than 330 for full-year 2010), 54% were for lighting (up from just 28%) and just 11% were for backlighting (down from 43%).
Third-quarter bookings were $133m, down 57% on the record $311m last quarter and down 52% on $278.2m a year ago. Of total bookings, 16% came from Data Storage orders of $21m, down 44% on $37.5m last quarter and down 39% on $35m a year ago. Of the other 84%, LED & Solar orders were $112m, down 59% on the record $273.3m last quarter and down 54% on $243.2m a year ago. This includes MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) orders of $9m (down on a strong $24m last quarter) and MOCVD orders of $103m, down on $250m last quarter. After recording backlog adjustments of $34m during the quarter (due mainly to several MOCVD customers who cancelled or pushed out the dates for tools on order), total order backlog has fallen from $558.2m to $389m (about $303m of which is for MOCVD).
Gross margin was 46.6%, down on 49.6% a year ago and 51.1% last quarter due to a high concentration in the revenue mix of MaxBright MOCVD systems (for which first shipments carry higher costs). “We’ll begin to see cost improvement early next year,” notes executive VP & chief financial officer David D. Glass. Non-GAAP net income was $53.3m, down from $63.4m last quarter and $65.4m a year ago, but at the high end of the guidance range of $41.3–57.7m.
During the third quarter, Veeco purchased $154m in stock at an average price of $38.63 per share, completing a $200m board-authorized share buy-back program initiated in August 2010. The firm also used $31m of cash in contractual settlements for closure of the CIGS Solar Systems business. With working capital changes roughly offsetting the positive cash flow generated from operating income, during the quarter Veeco’s cash and short-term investments hence fell overall from $633m to $449m.
“Veeco’s third quarter orders were impacted by weak near-term LED industry demand [particularly from the TV sector], low MOCVD equipment utilization rates in Asia [50-70%], and decreased business activity in China [due to credit tightening and funding availability],” says Peeler. “In addition, negative global macro-economic data points caused customers to slow or cut their capacity expansion plans.”
In particular, by application sector, of Veeco’s MOCVD system shipments in Q1-Q3/2011 of more than 280 (versus more than 330 for full-year 2010), 54% were for lighting (up from just 28%) and just 11% were for backlighting (down from 43%).
Third-quarter bookings were $133m, down 57% on the record $311m last quarter and down 52% on $278.2m a year ago. Of total bookings, 16% came from Data Storage orders of $21m, down 44% on $37.5m last quarter and down 39% on $35m a year ago. Of the other 84%, LED & Solar orders were $112m, down 59% on the record $273.3m last quarter and down 54% on $243.2m a year ago. This includes MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) orders of $9m (down on a strong $24m last quarter) and MOCVD orders of $103m, down on $250m last quarter. After recording backlog adjustments of $34m during the quarter (due mainly to several MOCVD customers who cancelled or pushed out the dates for tools on order), total order backlog has fallen from $558.2m to $389m (about $303m of which is for MOCVD).
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Learning about climate change
ENERGY saving light bulbs and more than 200 fruit trees were distributed in Orange Farm yesterday to mark International Day of Climate Change.
This initiative was led by the City’s environmental department, City Power, Joburg Water, City Parks and emergency management services under the theme “Mobilising Joburg citizens to act today and save tomorrow.”
International day of climate change focuses on raising awareness about the effects of global warming. The day was introduced by 350.org, an international environmental pressure group, in 2009. The goal is to build a global grassroots movement to raise awareness and slow down the rate of global warming.
With Joburg in the grip of a heat wave, it was an opportune day to observe the issue. In yesterday’s sweltering heat, City officials bearing banners reading “Go green” and “Save energy” spoke to people about the consequences of global warming.
They also handed out energy saving light bulbs and trees to residents. The campaign generated a lot of interest among the people of Orange Farm, who asked many questions about global warning.
The City’s managing director of climate change and air quality, Barney Kgope, said immediate action needed to be taken against climate change. “Global warming is happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. Just a few degrees [difference] in temperatures can completely change the world.”
Several initiatives would be organised throughout the city to raise awareness of climate change. “We need to change our lifestyle completely to stop harming the environment.”
Sipho Ndlovu, an Orange Farm resident, thanked the City. “I am going to choose a nice spot at my home and plant this tree immediately.”
The activities were also part of the build-up to the 17th Conference of the Parties which will be held in Durban from 28 November to 9 December. More than 20 000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend this important international conference.
This initiative was led by the City’s environmental department, City Power, Joburg Water, City Parks and emergency management services under the theme “Mobilising Joburg citizens to act today and save tomorrow.”
International day of climate change focuses on raising awareness about the effects of global warming. The day was introduced by 350.org, an international environmental pressure group, in 2009. The goal is to build a global grassroots movement to raise awareness and slow down the rate of global warming.
With Joburg in the grip of a heat wave, it was an opportune day to observe the issue. In yesterday’s sweltering heat, City officials bearing banners reading “Go green” and “Save energy” spoke to people about the consequences of global warming.
They also handed out energy saving light bulbs and trees to residents. The campaign generated a lot of interest among the people of Orange Farm, who asked many questions about global warning.
The City’s managing director of climate change and air quality, Barney Kgope, said immediate action needed to be taken against climate change. “Global warming is happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. Just a few degrees [difference] in temperatures can completely change the world.”
Several initiatives would be organised throughout the city to raise awareness of climate change. “We need to change our lifestyle completely to stop harming the environment.”
Sipho Ndlovu, an Orange Farm resident, thanked the City. “I am going to choose a nice spot at my home and plant this tree immediately.”
The activities were also part of the build-up to the 17th Conference of the Parties which will be held in Durban from 28 November to 9 December. More than 20 000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend this important international conference.
LED lighting moving towards patent-dominated market
The big LED lighting pie has been attracting many firms to enter the market, heating up competition between traditional and new firms. Fierce competition can lead to patent wars as the top five LED firms in the world have been expanding the range of patents. These patents will become obstacles to small- and medium-size firms' survival in the long-run.
Currently, Europe-based large-size lighting firms Philips and Osram have been issuing patent permits on LED technologies. According to Philips, when LED lighting customers buy LED light source components from Philips, within the range of the patent permit, customers do not have to pay patent fees. Osram and Philips have also reached an agreement that the former can obtain patent permit from the latter in the future, which means customers of Osram can also enjoy such privilege.
Cree also has an agreement with Osram for the mutual use of LED patents. This agreement includes patents over technologies such as blue LED chips, white LED and items such as phosphor, packaging, LED light bulbs, lighting fixtures, and LED lighting control systems. Cree and Osram also have agreements with Japan-based Nichia and Toyoda Gosei.
According to industry sources, the agreements over patents can help accelerate the growth of LED technologies in applications and lower the risk of infringing on other companies' patent rights.
Philips, Osram, Cree, Nichia and Toyoda Gosei make up the top five LED firms in the world. These firms have long used patented technologies as competitive advantages. But as LED applications have been expanding, the old patents are no longer sufficient to fend off newcomers. Hence the cooperation between these firms.
Nevertheless, the top five firms have been facing challenges from firms such as Samsung, and LG. Osram was the first to file patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung over white LED patents. Samsung and LG returned with a lawsuit against Osram to prevent the sales of any automobiles that are equipped with Osram products in China and South Korea.
Taiwan-based LED packaging house Everlight recently won a lawsuit against Nichia for invalidation of patents.
Small- and medium-size Taiwan-based LED firms are likely to suffer more than strongly funded Samsung and LG if they trip over the landmines of lighting patents owned by large-size international firms. Paying patent fees seems inevitable.
Currently, Europe-based large-size lighting firms Philips and Osram have been issuing patent permits on LED technologies. According to Philips, when LED lighting customers buy LED light source components from Philips, within the range of the patent permit, customers do not have to pay patent fees. Osram and Philips have also reached an agreement that the former can obtain patent permit from the latter in the future, which means customers of Osram can also enjoy such privilege.
Cree also has an agreement with Osram for the mutual use of LED patents. This agreement includes patents over technologies such as blue LED chips, white LED and items such as phosphor, packaging, LED light bulbs, lighting fixtures, and LED lighting control systems. Cree and Osram also have agreements with Japan-based Nichia and Toyoda Gosei.
According to industry sources, the agreements over patents can help accelerate the growth of LED technologies in applications and lower the risk of infringing on other companies' patent rights.
Philips, Osram, Cree, Nichia and Toyoda Gosei make up the top five LED firms in the world. These firms have long used patented technologies as competitive advantages. But as LED applications have been expanding, the old patents are no longer sufficient to fend off newcomers. Hence the cooperation between these firms.
Nevertheless, the top five firms have been facing challenges from firms such as Samsung, and LG. Osram was the first to file patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung over white LED patents. Samsung and LG returned with a lawsuit against Osram to prevent the sales of any automobiles that are equipped with Osram products in China and South Korea.
Taiwan-based LED packaging house Everlight recently won a lawsuit against Nichia for invalidation of patents.
Small- and medium-size Taiwan-based LED firms are likely to suffer more than strongly funded Samsung and LG if they trip over the landmines of lighting patents owned by large-size international firms. Paying patent fees seems inevitable.
Monday 24 October 2011
Light making a bid as Republican candidate for 38th Senate seat
The bitterness of recent campaigns hasn’t stopped the flow of negative campaigning, but the public reaction to the political divisiveness that has characterized a new political party — the Tea Party. Their positions aren’t very sexy to a national media that likes either-or situations like National League versus American League, left versus right, evil and/or good versus good and/or evil.
That said, Tea Party members don’t appear to really care about what the national or local media thinks about them. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate in his unsuccessful race for president against President Barack Obama in 2008, doesn’t seem to care about what her candidacy might mean to a national campaign. Although he’s running as the Republican candidate in Virginia’s 38th Senatorial District, Adam Light is the Tea Party guy in Virginia’s 38th Senatorial District race.
In his opening statement to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph editorial board, Light, 41, a Buchanan County native who now lives in Pounding Mill, Tazewell County, Va., Light said he wanted to focus on the three fundamental aspects of his campaign, jobs, education and taxes.
“What we do best in Southwest Virginia is mine coal, drill for gas and cut timber. We use our natural resources,” Light said. After saying he thinks the jobs of the future are there, Light shifted the content of his opening statement to explain that the region needs to put an emphasis on vocational education.
“We shouldn’t train everyone to go to college,” he said. “That way, you have kids that are going to college and a bunch of square pegs left over that can’t fit into a round hole. I was one of those square pegs, but I was fortunate because I have vocational education so I could get a job.”
Light graduated from Richlands High School in 1988, and earned a certificate in electronic technology along the way. He won a state championship in the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America job skills demonstration competition and, after marrying his wife Jennifer, worked several jobs including warehouseman and vacuum cleaner salesman in the Tri-Cities area. The family returned to Richlands, and Light got a job as a rodman on an underground survey crew.
Some of Light’s campaign billboards, direct mailing items and radio spots appear to link his opponent with President Obama who didn’t make many friends in the coalfields with his positions on coal mining. In response to a question about advertising linking his opponent with the president, Light said: “It’s negative only if you supported (Obama). Did you campaign for him? Did you donate to his campaign? I wouldn’t want to be tied to him.”
Light said that the present boom in the coal mining industry is unprecedented, “but I think the demand for energy will increase,” he said. “I don’t see it bottoming out.” He said that schools in the region should work to prepare students with technical skills they need to be successful in the energy-related jobs.
“A lot of young men who come out of high school and don’t go to college feel lost,” Light said. “They get caught up in drugs and it limits their futures. We need to reach these kids before they finish high school and get them in a vocational education program and work with some of these coal companies to get them into an apprentice program. If we’re all doctors and lawyers, who’s going to build houses, run the wiring and install the plumbing?”
That said, Tea Party members don’t appear to really care about what the national or local media thinks about them. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate in his unsuccessful race for president against President Barack Obama in 2008, doesn’t seem to care about what her candidacy might mean to a national campaign. Although he’s running as the Republican candidate in Virginia’s 38th Senatorial District, Adam Light is the Tea Party guy in Virginia’s 38th Senatorial District race.
In his opening statement to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph editorial board, Light, 41, a Buchanan County native who now lives in Pounding Mill, Tazewell County, Va., Light said he wanted to focus on the three fundamental aspects of his campaign, jobs, education and taxes.
“What we do best in Southwest Virginia is mine coal, drill for gas and cut timber. We use our natural resources,” Light said. After saying he thinks the jobs of the future are there, Light shifted the content of his opening statement to explain that the region needs to put an emphasis on vocational education.
“We shouldn’t train everyone to go to college,” he said. “That way, you have kids that are going to college and a bunch of square pegs left over that can’t fit into a round hole. I was one of those square pegs, but I was fortunate because I have vocational education so I could get a job.”
Light graduated from Richlands High School in 1988, and earned a certificate in electronic technology along the way. He won a state championship in the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America job skills demonstration competition and, after marrying his wife Jennifer, worked several jobs including warehouseman and vacuum cleaner salesman in the Tri-Cities area. The family returned to Richlands, and Light got a job as a rodman on an underground survey crew.
Some of Light’s campaign billboards, direct mailing items and radio spots appear to link his opponent with President Obama who didn’t make many friends in the coalfields with his positions on coal mining. In response to a question about advertising linking his opponent with the president, Light said: “It’s negative only if you supported (Obama). Did you campaign for him? Did you donate to his campaign? I wouldn’t want to be tied to him.”
Light said that the present boom in the coal mining industry is unprecedented, “but I think the demand for energy will increase,” he said. “I don’t see it bottoming out.” He said that schools in the region should work to prepare students with technical skills they need to be successful in the energy-related jobs.
“A lot of young men who come out of high school and don’t go to college feel lost,” Light said. “They get caught up in drugs and it limits their futures. We need to reach these kids before they finish high school and get them in a vocational education program and work with some of these coal companies to get them into an apprentice program. If we’re all doctors and lawyers, who’s going to build houses, run the wiring and install the plumbing?”
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Baseball, St. Louis go hand in hand
Times like these bring me closer to my father, as they do for so many St. Louisans. Baseball here has a connection like that, perhaps not in an exclusive sense but certainly in a nourishing way.
Baseball had a unique vitality in my boyhood home. It was ever-present, in stacks of newspapers and publications, paperbacks and Baseball Digests. It was chronicled in thick scrapbooks, filled by neatly trimmed articles and black and white photos, corresponded with personal letters from former participants and writers like Fred Lieb and Dick Young.
Baseball came to life through a Zenith radio and a tall glass of Pepsi. It occupied one corner of the living room to itself, furnished with a small table, a porcelain lamp and a reclining leather chair, accessorized with Elmer's glue, paper clips and scissors.
It sometimes sounded like Radio Free Europe, choked by extreme distances and primitive technology, penetrating the environment with waves of static interference and fragments of play-by-play. It arrived late at night, from New York, Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. It was Morse code only he could decipher, and he would do so, sitting in the chair, sipping the Pepsi, keeping a scorecard.
Baseball was about the Cardinals only in a begrudging sense, because it could no longer be about the Browns. Baseball was just a game like "The Honeymooners" was just a show, like Kay Starr was just a singer, like the "Iron Claw" was just a hold.
Baseball was a theology that sustained my father through a lifelong physical impairment, through several wars and nine children, through the rise and demise of his livelihood — the St. Louis shoe business — and ultimately through chipped beef on toast.
Football? That was the time between the end of the season and the start of spring training. Golf, fishing and tennis ... the "most boring activities in the world." Baseball was bulletproof, something noble, something honest, something safe. Baseball was gospel.
The game and its relationship with St. Louis has never been about appearances. Wearing red, "Nation" building, squirrel-chasing, clapping to Clydesdales ... that's all ceremonial. St. Louis didn't become the "best baseball town in America" until some marketing genius decided it mattered.
It doesn't. If you have to tell someone what kind of baseball town you are, you're not a baseball town at all. There is so much beneath the surface here, so much more than product persuasion and self-promotion.
Organized ball has been played here for more than 150 years. We were a baseball village long before we began agonizing over a baseball village, when the town ran north and south instead of east and west.
We had pennants before we had television, before we had airports. By the time baseball arrived in Arlington, Texas, St. Louis had been to the World Series 12 times. In October 1944 we had two teams in one World Series, played entirely at one ballpark. Travel-taxed sportswriters get a chill when you tell them that.
Baseball hasn't always been the clean, decorous, symmetrical package it is now. It was gritty, quirky, even awkward at times. It was choked by bus exhaust and cluttered with pavement-pounding streetcars. It was segregated by skin color and limited views, filtered through right-field screens and operated by hand. It smelled like cheap cigars, felt like sticky concrete and sounded like exploding paper cups. It was a neighborhood hangout, not a civic parade.
Baseball had a unique vitality in my boyhood home. It was ever-present, in stacks of newspapers and publications, paperbacks and Baseball Digests. It was chronicled in thick scrapbooks, filled by neatly trimmed articles and black and white photos, corresponded with personal letters from former participants and writers like Fred Lieb and Dick Young.
Baseball came to life through a Zenith radio and a tall glass of Pepsi. It occupied one corner of the living room to itself, furnished with a small table, a porcelain lamp and a reclining leather chair, accessorized with Elmer's glue, paper clips and scissors.
It sometimes sounded like Radio Free Europe, choked by extreme distances and primitive technology, penetrating the environment with waves of static interference and fragments of play-by-play. It arrived late at night, from New York, Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. It was Morse code only he could decipher, and he would do so, sitting in the chair, sipping the Pepsi, keeping a scorecard.
Baseball was about the Cardinals only in a begrudging sense, because it could no longer be about the Browns. Baseball was just a game like "The Honeymooners" was just a show, like Kay Starr was just a singer, like the "Iron Claw" was just a hold.
Baseball was a theology that sustained my father through a lifelong physical impairment, through several wars and nine children, through the rise and demise of his livelihood — the St. Louis shoe business — and ultimately through chipped beef on toast.
Football? That was the time between the end of the season and the start of spring training. Golf, fishing and tennis ... the "most boring activities in the world." Baseball was bulletproof, something noble, something honest, something safe. Baseball was gospel.
The game and its relationship with St. Louis has never been about appearances. Wearing red, "Nation" building, squirrel-chasing, clapping to Clydesdales ... that's all ceremonial. St. Louis didn't become the "best baseball town in America" until some marketing genius decided it mattered.
It doesn't. If you have to tell someone what kind of baseball town you are, you're not a baseball town at all. There is so much beneath the surface here, so much more than product persuasion and self-promotion.
Organized ball has been played here for more than 150 years. We were a baseball village long before we began agonizing over a baseball village, when the town ran north and south instead of east and west.
We had pennants before we had television, before we had airports. By the time baseball arrived in Arlington, Texas, St. Louis had been to the World Series 12 times. In October 1944 we had two teams in one World Series, played entirely at one ballpark. Travel-taxed sportswriters get a chill when you tell them that.
Baseball hasn't always been the clean, decorous, symmetrical package it is now. It was gritty, quirky, even awkward at times. It was choked by bus exhaust and cluttered with pavement-pounding streetcars. It was segregated by skin color and limited views, filtered through right-field screens and operated by hand. It smelled like cheap cigars, felt like sticky concrete and sounded like exploding paper cups. It was a neighborhood hangout, not a civic parade.
Michael Giltz: Theater: "The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs"
The storyteller Mike Daisey is new to me. I'd been hearing about his work for years -- The Last Cargo Cult, How Theater Failed America and so on -- all of them invariably intriguing and well-reviewed. He's clearly a Spalding Gray 2.0, combining stories with autobiography and journalism in a unique and fascinating manner.
And what awkward, wonderful serendipity. Daisey has been touring and refining this piece about his love of Apple and how it collided with the company's use of child labor in China for more than a year. Now he's opening in New York just days after Jobs died and the world has turned the tech titan overnight from a brilliant and wealthy businessman into a cross between Thomas Edison and Gandhi (but better!).
We were assured by the Public that the show would go on, while respectfully offering its condolences to the Jobs family, the staff at Apple and those who knew him. It needn't have worried. This show is first and foremost a love letter to technology in general and Daisey's obsession with Apple. That love may be disillusioned by the end (Daisey compares it at one point to a battered wife and he'd only reached his frustration over "forced updates" for software). But love it is.
The set is stark and simple, with a glass-topped desk, a chair, a glass of water and a neat stack of paper, apparently with notes on them. If they were written in Daisey's own hand, consider that one more nod to Jobs, who Daisey tells us was profoundly inspired by a college course on calligraphy. Behind Daisey is a stark metal frame that soon is illuminated with l.e.d. lights for a vaguely technological aura that's straightforward and effective, if a little too reductive towards the end when the lights break down briefly into random patterns to reflect Daisey's confusion and unhappiness.
Daisey takes to the stage and launches into his tale. He's in a lawless area of Honk Kong that I've visited and which he describes well, an area where you can purchase literally anything from drugs and sex in various combinations to pirated copies of anything and everything. Daisey's drug of choice? An iPhone that can be "jail-breaked," or set free so it can be used all over the world and be unconstrained by the limits Apple would place on it.
Daisey's style is at first a little manic, but it's just like the loud Hawaiian shirts he dons when trying to bumble his way into interesting conversations a la Columbo. Daisey addresses each part of the audience, side to side and front to back, with an almost carnival barker air, transparently letting you into the pleasures of his performance. His voice rises and falls, he lets out a yowlp when necessary and after a dramatic peak is reached and a change in setting is due, Daisey quietly turns over one sheet from that stack of papers and we prepare for the switch.
And what awkward, wonderful serendipity. Daisey has been touring and refining this piece about his love of Apple and how it collided with the company's use of child labor in China for more than a year. Now he's opening in New York just days after Jobs died and the world has turned the tech titan overnight from a brilliant and wealthy businessman into a cross between Thomas Edison and Gandhi (but better!).
We were assured by the Public that the show would go on, while respectfully offering its condolences to the Jobs family, the staff at Apple and those who knew him. It needn't have worried. This show is first and foremost a love letter to technology in general and Daisey's obsession with Apple. That love may be disillusioned by the end (Daisey compares it at one point to a battered wife and he'd only reached his frustration over "forced updates" for software). But love it is.
The set is stark and simple, with a glass-topped desk, a chair, a glass of water and a neat stack of paper, apparently with notes on them. If they were written in Daisey's own hand, consider that one more nod to Jobs, who Daisey tells us was profoundly inspired by a college course on calligraphy. Behind Daisey is a stark metal frame that soon is illuminated with l.e.d. lights for a vaguely technological aura that's straightforward and effective, if a little too reductive towards the end when the lights break down briefly into random patterns to reflect Daisey's confusion and unhappiness.
Daisey takes to the stage and launches into his tale. He's in a lawless area of Honk Kong that I've visited and which he describes well, an area where you can purchase literally anything from drugs and sex in various combinations to pirated copies of anything and everything. Daisey's drug of choice? An iPhone that can be "jail-breaked," or set free so it can be used all over the world and be unconstrained by the limits Apple would place on it.
Daisey's style is at first a little manic, but it's just like the loud Hawaiian shirts he dons when trying to bumble his way into interesting conversations a la Columbo. Daisey addresses each part of the audience, side to side and front to back, with an almost carnival barker air, transparently letting you into the pleasures of his performance. His voice rises and falls, he lets out a yowlp when necessary and after a dramatic peak is reached and a change in setting is due, Daisey quietly turns over one sheet from that stack of papers and we prepare for the switch.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Vital Signs shows us vital statistics
The Grande Prairie Vital Signs report earlier this month shone a light into several shadowed places not many of us usually think about – the number of foreclosures, for example, or bicycle collisions.
Or the disturbing fact that almost 27% of 18-and-overs in the region are obese – and we don't mean just overweight. It's going to kill more of us than smoking ever did.
The compact in-a-nutshell report by the Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie was included in an issue of the DHT and is available online at buildingtomorrowtoday.com/vital signs.
The DHT has already discussed some aspects. It is sparking welcomed debate in board rooms, living rooms and on coffee row.
For example, the report says Grande Prairie is one of two cities in Alberta that has yet to see a decline in homeless shelter use. The city's multi-year plan to end homelessness, which council implemented in 2010, is currently under review. The goal is to have 550 new affordable housing units made available over the next five years. There is progress being made.
The issue, according to one City Hall official, is not necessarily how many places are vacant, but the affordability. The city has been working with the province and developers on this aspect.
Grande Prairie was one of 22 Vital Signs participants this year. The snapshot of people's perceptions of our community involved just 489 survey participants, two-thirds of them women, 81% city residents, most of them living here more than 10 years. You have to take that into consideration when looking at the findings.
The most important issues cited were access to a physician, the time it takes to see a doctor, the cost of living including utilities, and taxes. Those have been with us for years.
Far down the list was poverty, undoubtedly due to the demographics of survey participants.
But a discomfiting factor is child poverty.
In 2009, in the city and county, the child poverty rate was 17.3%, up 1% from eight years earlier. A city report that Vital Signs cited said while poverty decreased for all ages in 2006, it "remained exceptionally high for children."
It is no surprise who the bulk of Grande Prairie's poor are: Single-parent families with kids under 18.
There are several agencies aware of this and who do what they can to assist, including schools and churches. But most of us do not see it as we trundle along on our comfortable, merry way.
Of the 22 participants in Vital Signs 2011, Grande Prairie and area's child poverty rate was third-lowest on a percentage basis, equal in fact to Calgary's. That's nothing to be smug about. How many children does this mean?
Or the disturbing fact that almost 27% of 18-and-overs in the region are obese – and we don't mean just overweight. It's going to kill more of us than smoking ever did.
The compact in-a-nutshell report by the Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie was included in an issue of the DHT and is available online at buildingtomorrowtoday.com/vital signs.
The DHT has already discussed some aspects. It is sparking welcomed debate in board rooms, living rooms and on coffee row.
For example, the report says Grande Prairie is one of two cities in Alberta that has yet to see a decline in homeless shelter use. The city's multi-year plan to end homelessness, which council implemented in 2010, is currently under review. The goal is to have 550 new affordable housing units made available over the next five years. There is progress being made.
The issue, according to one City Hall official, is not necessarily how many places are vacant, but the affordability. The city has been working with the province and developers on this aspect.
Grande Prairie was one of 22 Vital Signs participants this year. The snapshot of people's perceptions of our community involved just 489 survey participants, two-thirds of them women, 81% city residents, most of them living here more than 10 years. You have to take that into consideration when looking at the findings.
The most important issues cited were access to a physician, the time it takes to see a doctor, the cost of living including utilities, and taxes. Those have been with us for years.
Far down the list was poverty, undoubtedly due to the demographics of survey participants.
But a discomfiting factor is child poverty.
In 2009, in the city and county, the child poverty rate was 17.3%, up 1% from eight years earlier. A city report that Vital Signs cited said while poverty decreased for all ages in 2006, it "remained exceptionally high for children."
It is no surprise who the bulk of Grande Prairie's poor are: Single-parent families with kids under 18.
There are several agencies aware of this and who do what they can to assist, including schools and churches. But most of us do not see it as we trundle along on our comfortable, merry way.
Of the 22 participants in Vital Signs 2011, Grande Prairie and area's child poverty rate was third-lowest on a percentage basis, equal in fact to Calgary's. That's nothing to be smug about. How many children does this mean?
Monday 17 October 2011
Pittsburgh uses $816,000 from rate settlement toward light replacement
Pittsburgh isn't using federal money to replace 40,000 streetlights with light-emitting diode, or LED, lights. At least not yet.
The city is digging into its budget and using $816,000 in state money from a Duquesne Light Co. rate settlement to pay for the estimated $2.1 million first phase, which involves replacing 3,200 streetlights in business districts throughout the city, including Downtown.
BetaLED of Racine, Wis., and King Luminaire of Jefferson, Ohio, got the contract for the first phase work, which will begin in November, Joanna Doven, spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, told the Tribune-Review.
Though not the lowest bid, their LED lights were deemed to be more in line with the city's "Made in America" policy than the dozen other proposals, she said.
It is unclear where the city will get money to continue the switch and which areas would get new lights next, said Jim Sloss, Pittsburgh's energy and utilities manager.
City officials will "look for potential grants out there from other areas and from the state" and seek private partners to help pay for other phases, he said.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl originally announced the city would spend $1 million from $3.4 million in federal stimulus dollars for streetlights, but the money went to heating and cooling system work at the City-County Building, according to federal documents.
Since 2008, Pittsburgh politicians have planned to switch streetlights from high-pressure sodium lights to LED because the latter are brighter, use less energy and last longer
Although LED streetlights then cost about $1,000 each, that cost now for the most used fixtures is under $400 per fixture, Sloss said.
If prices continue to fall, he said the cost for replacing city streetlights during the next five years could be under the estimated $24 million.
The city is digging into its budget and using $816,000 in state money from a Duquesne Light Co. rate settlement to pay for the estimated $2.1 million first phase, which involves replacing 3,200 streetlights in business districts throughout the city, including Downtown.
BetaLED of Racine, Wis., and King Luminaire of Jefferson, Ohio, got the contract for the first phase work, which will begin in November, Joanna Doven, spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, told the Tribune-Review.
Though not the lowest bid, their LED lights were deemed to be more in line with the city's "Made in America" policy than the dozen other proposals, she said.
It is unclear where the city will get money to continue the switch and which areas would get new lights next, said Jim Sloss, Pittsburgh's energy and utilities manager.
City officials will "look for potential grants out there from other areas and from the state" and seek private partners to help pay for other phases, he said.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl originally announced the city would spend $1 million from $3.4 million in federal stimulus dollars for streetlights, but the money went to heating and cooling system work at the City-County Building, according to federal documents.
Since 2008, Pittsburgh politicians have planned to switch streetlights from high-pressure sodium lights to LED because the latter are brighter, use less energy and last longer
Although LED streetlights then cost about $1,000 each, that cost now for the most used fixtures is under $400 per fixture, Sloss said.
If prices continue to fall, he said the cost for replacing city streetlights during the next five years could be under the estimated $24 million.
Thursday 13 October 2011
OLED100 results and demonstrator coming soon
OLED100 - the EU-funded collaborative R&D project tasked with improving OLED lighting technology for general lighting applications - has wrapped up and results will be disseminated in November 2011.
33cm x 33cm OLED lighting panel developed by the OLED100 project consortium. Image: OLED100For general lighting, OLEDs have to compete with existing and upcoming lighting, achieving power efficacies of up to 100 lumens per watt, which fluorescent tubes are capable of, and operational lifetimes of up to 100,000 hours, which are now possible with commercial inorganic LED lighting. As well as improving efficacies and long operational lifetimes equivalent to commercial general lighting technologies, the project has also focused on fabrication on larger glass substrates.
As part of the dissemination of the project next month a press event will be held where a demonstrator based on nine 33cm x 33cm panels connected together will be unveiled. OLED100 was completed at the end of August.
OLED100 coordinator Stefan Grabowski works at Philips in Aachen, Germany, where the company's OLED lighting pilot facility is also located. Grabowski presented an overview of the project's final results earlier this week at the Plastic Electronics 2011 conference and exhibition in Dresden.
In due course, Philips should be able to indicate how the project results will be transferred to enhance production. Philips, which produces OLED lighting products for lighting designers and architects, announced a 40 million expansion of its OLED pilot production facilities earlier in 2011.
Grabowski says to develop OLED lighting for general illumination applications the emphasis needs to encompass R&D, to design more advanced OLED lighting technology, as well as investment in manufacturing capacity. Challenges include getting more light out of the OLED stack, enhancing efficacies, lifetimes and transferring to production.
Under OLED100 the 33cm x 33cm panels have been made on the Gen. 2 line at Fraunhofer IPMS, a pre-pilot production facility in Germany. Other project partners include materials supplier Novaled, Osram and Siemens.
33cm x 33cm OLED lighting panel developed by the OLED100 project consortium. Image: OLED100For general lighting, OLEDs have to compete with existing and upcoming lighting, achieving power efficacies of up to 100 lumens per watt, which fluorescent tubes are capable of, and operational lifetimes of up to 100,000 hours, which are now possible with commercial inorganic LED lighting. As well as improving efficacies and long operational lifetimes equivalent to commercial general lighting technologies, the project has also focused on fabrication on larger glass substrates.
As part of the dissemination of the project next month a press event will be held where a demonstrator based on nine 33cm x 33cm panels connected together will be unveiled. OLED100 was completed at the end of August.
OLED100 coordinator Stefan Grabowski works at Philips in Aachen, Germany, where the company's OLED lighting pilot facility is also located. Grabowski presented an overview of the project's final results earlier this week at the Plastic Electronics 2011 conference and exhibition in Dresden.
In due course, Philips should be able to indicate how the project results will be transferred to enhance production. Philips, which produces OLED lighting products for lighting designers and architects, announced a 40 million expansion of its OLED pilot production facilities earlier in 2011.
Grabowski says to develop OLED lighting for general illumination applications the emphasis needs to encompass R&D, to design more advanced OLED lighting technology, as well as investment in manufacturing capacity. Challenges include getting more light out of the OLED stack, enhancing efficacies, lifetimes and transferring to production.
Under OLED100 the 33cm x 33cm panels have been made on the Gen. 2 line at Fraunhofer IPMS, a pre-pilot production facility in Germany. Other project partners include materials supplier Novaled, Osram and Siemens.
Car Tab Fee Foes Call for Investigations Into McGinn Friend Transpo Groups
The Cascade Bicycle Club and the Transportation Choices Coalition--two close allies of Mayor Mike McGinn--are being accused by a familiar face of illegally using city money to fund a political campaign.
Gene Hoglund of Citizens Against Raising Car Tabs filed a complaint with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, which in turn opened an investigation.
According to KOMO, both TCC and CBC get city money--$190,000 apiece this year--to do outreach activities, and former CBC member David Hiller was hired recently by McGinn as a policy adviser.
Hoglund says that some, if not all, of that money has gone toward promoting the Prop 1 car-tab fee ordinance that's being pushed by McGinn and others.
Hoglund, you may recall, accused TCC of the same thing back in 2008, only then it was a replacement elevated highway for the Alaskan Way Viaduct on the table and an expansion of bus and light rail being argued by TCC as an alternative.
That complaint was eventually dismissed.
In this case, it's unclear what evidence besides a hunch that Hoglund has, though the thorough combing that the Ethics Commission's auditors will be giving the two pro-tab groups is likely something they'd rather do without.
By way of reaction, KOMO quotes CBS member Craig Benjamin saying "The CBC did not use any money from the city for any political work," and the TCC's Rob Johnson calling it a "frivolous waste of taxpayer money."
Hoglund, meanwhile, says "it doesn't smell right."
We'll reserve judgment for when the ethics commissioners finish their work. Whatever the case, a bit more detail as to where taxpayer money goes never hurt anyone who didn't deserve hurting.
Gene Hoglund of Citizens Against Raising Car Tabs filed a complaint with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, which in turn opened an investigation.
According to KOMO, both TCC and CBC get city money--$190,000 apiece this year--to do outreach activities, and former CBC member David Hiller was hired recently by McGinn as a policy adviser.
Hoglund says that some, if not all, of that money has gone toward promoting the Prop 1 car-tab fee ordinance that's being pushed by McGinn and others.
Hoglund, you may recall, accused TCC of the same thing back in 2008, only then it was a replacement elevated highway for the Alaskan Way Viaduct on the table and an expansion of bus and light rail being argued by TCC as an alternative.
That complaint was eventually dismissed.
In this case, it's unclear what evidence besides a hunch that Hoglund has, though the thorough combing that the Ethics Commission's auditors will be giving the two pro-tab groups is likely something they'd rather do without.
By way of reaction, KOMO quotes CBS member Craig Benjamin saying "The CBC did not use any money from the city for any political work," and the TCC's Rob Johnson calling it a "frivolous waste of taxpayer money."
Hoglund, meanwhile, says "it doesn't smell right."
We'll reserve judgment for when the ethics commissioners finish their work. Whatever the case, a bit more detail as to where taxpayer money goes never hurt anyone who didn't deserve hurting.
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Lebih Indah dengan Lampu Sorot
Seiring dengan semakin berkembangnya seni mendesain rumah, beberapa alat rumah tangga mengalami penambahan fungsi. Salah satu contohnya adalah lampu. Lampu biasanya digunakan sebagai alat penerang rumah. Namun, beberapa waktu belakangan, lampu banyak difungsikan sebagai elemen pelengkap dekorasi di rumah. Saat ini telah banyak jenis dan bentuk lampu untuk estetika rumah.
Salah satunya adalah lampu sorot (floodlights) yang digunakan di luar rumah. Lampu ini berguna untuk menyinari pilar di teras rumah. Umumnya lampu jenis ini digunakan untuk membangun kesan romantis dan membuat hunian lebih semarak dan berkilau.
“Lampu sorot adalah lampu intensitas tinggi yang jika digunakan dapat bertahan untuk jangka waktu panjang,” kata Melissa Davidson dari The Lighting Warehouse.
The Lighting Warehouse adalah toko peritel penjual aneka jenis lampu yang berbasis di Johannesburg, Afrika Selatan.
“Memasang lampu sorot di luar rumah adalah sebuah pengembangan properti yang mudah dan berbiaya murah sehingga akan memberikan nuansa eksterior rumah menjadi lebih indah, meningkatkan fungsionalitas, dan memberikan rasa aman pada malam hari,” katanya seperti dikutip dari laman Property24.
Saat ini banyak jenis lampu sorot yang tersedia dalam berbagai gaya, ukuran, dan intensitas untuk membantu menghilangkan suasana gelap di sekeliling bagian luar rumah. Salah satunya adalah lampu sorot CFL (compact fluorescent lamp). Lampu jenis ini merupakan alat penerangan yang ramah lingkungan dan tidak membuat saku Anda bolong.
“Apakah Anda tahu bahwa menggunakan lampu pijar halogen 500 watt akan menggunakan setengah kilowatt setiap jamnya. Ini adalah pemasok energi yang besar. Dari semua alat kelengkapan penerangan di rumah, lampu tersebut adalah pilihan yang buruk. Menggantinya dengan lampu sorot CFL merupakan langkah yang sangat bijaksana,” kata Davidson.
Dia menganjurkan Anda melakukan gerakan go green saat memasang lampu sorot dengan mengganti bola lampu pijar halogen (yang 500 watt atau 300 watt) dengan pilihan yang lebih hemat energi.Anda dapat menggunakan lampu sorot CFL 24 watt dua tuas, kekuatannya setara dengan lampu pijar 150 watt.
Penggunaan CFL akan menghemat listrik dan membantu mengurangi tagihan, serta memperkecil pengeluaran Anda pada biaya pemeliharaan karena bohlam jenis ini bertahan lebih lama.
Anda juga bisa mengubah lampu pijar halogen 150 watt dengan lampu sorot CFL 9 watt dua tuas, yang sama dengan lampu pijar 50 watt. Atau, Anda dapat mengganti lampu sorot seluruhnya (baik fitting dan bohlam). Jenis lain lampu sorot adalah yang bertekanan tinggi .
Salah satunya adalah lampu sorot (floodlights) yang digunakan di luar rumah. Lampu ini berguna untuk menyinari pilar di teras rumah. Umumnya lampu jenis ini digunakan untuk membangun kesan romantis dan membuat hunian lebih semarak dan berkilau.
“Lampu sorot adalah lampu intensitas tinggi yang jika digunakan dapat bertahan untuk jangka waktu panjang,” kata Melissa Davidson dari The Lighting Warehouse.
The Lighting Warehouse adalah toko peritel penjual aneka jenis lampu yang berbasis di Johannesburg, Afrika Selatan.
“Memasang lampu sorot di luar rumah adalah sebuah pengembangan properti yang mudah dan berbiaya murah sehingga akan memberikan nuansa eksterior rumah menjadi lebih indah, meningkatkan fungsionalitas, dan memberikan rasa aman pada malam hari,” katanya seperti dikutip dari laman Property24.
Saat ini banyak jenis lampu sorot yang tersedia dalam berbagai gaya, ukuran, dan intensitas untuk membantu menghilangkan suasana gelap di sekeliling bagian luar rumah. Salah satunya adalah lampu sorot CFL (compact fluorescent lamp). Lampu jenis ini merupakan alat penerangan yang ramah lingkungan dan tidak membuat saku Anda bolong.
“Apakah Anda tahu bahwa menggunakan lampu pijar halogen 500 watt akan menggunakan setengah kilowatt setiap jamnya. Ini adalah pemasok energi yang besar. Dari semua alat kelengkapan penerangan di rumah, lampu tersebut adalah pilihan yang buruk. Menggantinya dengan lampu sorot CFL merupakan langkah yang sangat bijaksana,” kata Davidson.
Dia menganjurkan Anda melakukan gerakan go green saat memasang lampu sorot dengan mengganti bola lampu pijar halogen (yang 500 watt atau 300 watt) dengan pilihan yang lebih hemat energi.Anda dapat menggunakan lampu sorot CFL 24 watt dua tuas, kekuatannya setara dengan lampu pijar 150 watt.
Penggunaan CFL akan menghemat listrik dan membantu mengurangi tagihan, serta memperkecil pengeluaran Anda pada biaya pemeliharaan karena bohlam jenis ini bertahan lebih lama.
Anda juga bisa mengubah lampu pijar halogen 150 watt dengan lampu sorot CFL 9 watt dua tuas, yang sama dengan lampu pijar 50 watt. Atau, Anda dapat mengganti lampu sorot seluruhnya (baik fitting dan bohlam). Jenis lain lampu sorot adalah yang bertekanan tinggi .
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Neighbors: Hit-and-run site has dangerous medley of traffic conditions
Upper Mountain Avenue is a dimly lit thoroughfare with narrow lanes where motorists drive fast and joggers often take the bike lane, according to neighbors who reside close to where a Montclair man on foot was killed in a hit-and-run Saturday.
"Sad to say, it doesn't entirely surprise me," said Maris Davis of Upper Mountain Avenue. She resides across the street from the Van Vleck Street intersection, where the death occurred around 11 p.m. Saturday.
Douglas M. Williams, 49, was reportedly walking in the bike lane when he was hit by a car, police said. Williams was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m. Sunday in Mountainside Hospital.
Davis, who was walking her dog along Upper Mountain Avenue Sunday evening, said no one in her household heard anything when the victim was struck. Another neighbor near the crash site, Amy Putman, likewise said she did not hear the incident.
Both residents looked outside after noticing flashing lights and a large police presence along Upper Mountain Avenue. Investigators shined floodlights, similar to glaring movie-set lights, on the street as they combed over the crime scene for evidence for hours, until at least 2 a.m.
Putman said there were squad cars as far as the eye could see from her window, and she had never seen so many police vehicles at the scene of an accident in Montclair during her 12 years as a resident.
She also noticed two people guiding a body lying on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance.
Worried that the victim might have been one of the many teenagers who live in the neighboring houses - Putman has two daughters of her own living at home, who are 10 and 16 years old - she went outside for a few minutes to find out what had happened.
A plainclothes police officer told her the person on the stretcher was an adult and she walked back home. She observed that part of North Mountain Avenue had been cordoned off by orange traffic cones, which was apparently the spot where the victim's body had been found. There were objects in that coned-off area, but Putnam averted her eyes.
"It's really disturbing, upsetting, and traumatizing," she said, occasionally taking long pauses between her statements. "It could have been anyone."
She said the fact that the driver fled was "terrible."
"Who does that?" she asked. "They should turn themselves in for the family and for themselves, because they will have to live with it for the rest of their lives."
Davis said "people really race up and down Upper Mountain" since it provides a direct route from Bloomfield Avenue to northern Montclair that is free of speed-humps, stop-signs and traffic lights.
She said that could make the avenue more dangerous than the other "main drags" spanning Montclair.
"Sad to say, it doesn't entirely surprise me," said Maris Davis of Upper Mountain Avenue. She resides across the street from the Van Vleck Street intersection, where the death occurred around 11 p.m. Saturday.
Douglas M. Williams, 49, was reportedly walking in the bike lane when he was hit by a car, police said. Williams was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m. Sunday in Mountainside Hospital.
Davis, who was walking her dog along Upper Mountain Avenue Sunday evening, said no one in her household heard anything when the victim was struck. Another neighbor near the crash site, Amy Putman, likewise said she did not hear the incident.
Both residents looked outside after noticing flashing lights and a large police presence along Upper Mountain Avenue. Investigators shined floodlights, similar to glaring movie-set lights, on the street as they combed over the crime scene for evidence for hours, until at least 2 a.m.
Putman said there were squad cars as far as the eye could see from her window, and she had never seen so many police vehicles at the scene of an accident in Montclair during her 12 years as a resident.
She also noticed two people guiding a body lying on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance.
Worried that the victim might have been one of the many teenagers who live in the neighboring houses - Putman has two daughters of her own living at home, who are 10 and 16 years old - she went outside for a few minutes to find out what had happened.
A plainclothes police officer told her the person on the stretcher was an adult and she walked back home. She observed that part of North Mountain Avenue had been cordoned off by orange traffic cones, which was apparently the spot where the victim's body had been found. There were objects in that coned-off area, but Putnam averted her eyes.
"It's really disturbing, upsetting, and traumatizing," she said, occasionally taking long pauses between her statements. "It could have been anyone."
She said the fact that the driver fled was "terrible."
"Who does that?" she asked. "They should turn themselves in for the family and for themselves, because they will have to live with it for the rest of their lives."
Davis said "people really race up and down Upper Mountain" since it provides a direct route from Bloomfield Avenue to northern Montclair that is free of speed-humps, stop-signs and traffic lights.
She said that could make the avenue more dangerous than the other "main drags" spanning Montclair.
Monday 10 October 2011
Take this rare earth opportunity: Alaska can lead U.S. industry's resurrection
Last month, the state of Alaska convened a Strategic and Critical Minerals Summit in Fairbanks. More than 200 professionals were challenged by subject experts, government officials and industry leaders to expedite Alaska’s ability to become a globally dominant producer of the rare earth elements used in computers, sky lanterns, cars and exotic defense applications such as stealth fighters. Currently, China controls 97 percent of these elements worldwide.
The United States has many critical challenges, among them, minerals security. That was drilled into me in 2010, when I was privileged to attend the National Security Seminar at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pa. We discussed the many elements of national security in the context of a constantly changing global dynamic: a world where Asia nurtures an aggressively growing giant, the Middle East abounds as a hotbed for terrorism, Europe lumbers ever more independently of U.S. interests and the Arctic is becoming increasingly accessible to all.
Rare earth elements are used in the manufacturing, defense, science and technology sectors all across the globe but primarily are supplied, and restricted, by one country that does not have the United States’ best interests in mind.
Gov. Sean Parnell referenced China in his response to the Department of Energy‘s Critical Minerals Strategy report earlier this year. He noted that “the United States is far behind China and other countries in the research and development of REEs and products. China recognized the importance of this area decades ago and still does: ‘Improve the development and application of rare earth, and change the resource advantage into economic superiority,’ said President Jiang Zemin.”
In a June 8 Congressional Research Service report, Valerie Bailey Grasso said “the ‘crisis’ for many policy makers is not that China has cut its rare earth exports and appears to be restricting the world’s access to rare earths, but that the United States has lost its domestic capacity to produce strategic and critical materials” (emphasis mine).
Optimistic words flowed at last month’s summit. The challenge is to have greater action. We cannot allow this to be China’s century by default by discouraging what has always been America’s strength: the ability, by blood, sweat and tears, to invent, innovate and out-manufacture the world.
If nothing else, should the rest of America lag, this should be Alaska’s century.
We in the Interior can involve ourselves as significant players in this play to provide a stable domestic supply of strategic and critical minerals. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Advanced Materials Group, several scientists, led by Shiva Hullavarad, propose to manufacture certain synthetic REEs for specific military applications. His efforts will result in a profound breakthrough, if successful, and should be supported by the state of Alaska and this local community.
The United States has many critical challenges, among them, minerals security. That was drilled into me in 2010, when I was privileged to attend the National Security Seminar at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pa. We discussed the many elements of national security in the context of a constantly changing global dynamic: a world where Asia nurtures an aggressively growing giant, the Middle East abounds as a hotbed for terrorism, Europe lumbers ever more independently of U.S. interests and the Arctic is becoming increasingly accessible to all.
Rare earth elements are used in the manufacturing, defense, science and technology sectors all across the globe but primarily are supplied, and restricted, by one country that does not have the United States’ best interests in mind.
Gov. Sean Parnell referenced China in his response to the Department of Energy‘s Critical Minerals Strategy report earlier this year. He noted that “the United States is far behind China and other countries in the research and development of REEs and products. China recognized the importance of this area decades ago and still does: ‘Improve the development and application of rare earth, and change the resource advantage into economic superiority,’ said President Jiang Zemin.”
In a June 8 Congressional Research Service report, Valerie Bailey Grasso said “the ‘crisis’ for many policy makers is not that China has cut its rare earth exports and appears to be restricting the world’s access to rare earths, but that the United States has lost its domestic capacity to produce strategic and critical materials” (emphasis mine).
Optimistic words flowed at last month’s summit. The challenge is to have greater action. We cannot allow this to be China’s century by default by discouraging what has always been America’s strength: the ability, by blood, sweat and tears, to invent, innovate and out-manufacture the world.
If nothing else, should the rest of America lag, this should be Alaska’s century.
We in the Interior can involve ourselves as significant players in this play to provide a stable domestic supply of strategic and critical minerals. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Advanced Materials Group, several scientists, led by Shiva Hullavarad, propose to manufacture certain synthetic REEs for specific military applications. His efforts will result in a profound breakthrough, if successful, and should be supported by the state of Alaska and this local community.
Sunday 9 October 2011
One-storey living on two floors
Indigenous plants will require no watering, and stormwater will be directed back into the ground. A previous Hazelwood project, Pinewood Lane, received a 2005 City of Nanaimo design award for landscaping.
The site is zoned for 355 units, including single-family strata lots and multi-family homes, as well as the town houses, but Whittaker says: "We probably will not build that many because we want to keep it unique and natural so there's lots of space."
Ocean Pearl Terrace, the main road that winds through the site, was built to skirt around the rock bluffs. It's like driving in the country, says Whittaker; however, unlike country roads, this one is made of concrete. Access roads to each phase will mean that there are no driveways off the main road and homes will be shielded from view.
Hazelwood has sought out natural building materials and local suppliers. The rock used on exteriors and fireplaces is metamorphic sandstone quarried on Vancouver Island. The maple floors are milled and finished in Canada, and the hemlock banister railings are dried and kilned on the West Coast. The maple and bamboo cabinetry is custom-made by Benson Industries in Victoria. Quartz countertops in the kitchens and ensuites are manufactured by the family-owned and -operated Cambria company in Minnesota.
There is also an emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency. The siding is moisture-and fire-resistant fibre-cement HardiPlank, and homes are being built to a Platinum Ener-Guide rating.
All have generous southern exposures for maximum light, low-E floorto-ceiling windows, HVAC heat pumps for even cooling and heating, gas-fired on-demand hot water and water-saving fixtures. Rockwood Heights homes meet the latest engineering seismic standards and include fibre optic wiring for high-speed voice, Internet and video connections.
There are a couple of variations in the floor plans, but all homes have the same number of rooms. On the ground floor, there is an open-plan living area with a kitchen, dining room and great room with a soaring 18-foot ceiling, an enclosed den, powder room, laundry room and garage. Upstairs are two bedrooms and two baths.
"We like to build something that the community is proud of and people will be comfortable in," says Whittaker, who has been in the construction industry for 50 years. Rockwood Heights is his third development in Nanaimo; the first two were Floral Woods and Pinewood Lane. Three of the Rockwood Heights town houses are built, and the foundations for the remaining nine are in place.
The site is zoned for 355 units, including single-family strata lots and multi-family homes, as well as the town houses, but Whittaker says: "We probably will not build that many because we want to keep it unique and natural so there's lots of space."
Ocean Pearl Terrace, the main road that winds through the site, was built to skirt around the rock bluffs. It's like driving in the country, says Whittaker; however, unlike country roads, this one is made of concrete. Access roads to each phase will mean that there are no driveways off the main road and homes will be shielded from view.
Hazelwood has sought out natural building materials and local suppliers. The rock used on exteriors and fireplaces is metamorphic sandstone quarried on Vancouver Island. The maple floors are milled and finished in Canada, and the hemlock banister railings are dried and kilned on the West Coast. The maple and bamboo cabinetry is custom-made by Benson Industries in Victoria. Quartz countertops in the kitchens and ensuites are manufactured by the family-owned and -operated Cambria company in Minnesota.
There is also an emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency. The siding is moisture-and fire-resistant fibre-cement HardiPlank, and homes are being built to a Platinum Ener-Guide rating.
All have generous southern exposures for maximum light, low-E floorto-ceiling windows, HVAC heat pumps for even cooling and heating, gas-fired on-demand hot water and water-saving fixtures. Rockwood Heights homes meet the latest engineering seismic standards and include fibre optic wiring for high-speed voice, Internet and video connections.
There are a couple of variations in the floor plans, but all homes have the same number of rooms. On the ground floor, there is an open-plan living area with a kitchen, dining room and great room with a soaring 18-foot ceiling, an enclosed den, powder room, laundry room and garage. Upstairs are two bedrooms and two baths.
"We like to build something that the community is proud of and people will be comfortable in," says Whittaker, who has been in the construction industry for 50 years. Rockwood Heights is his third development in Nanaimo; the first two were Floral Woods and Pinewood Lane. Three of the Rockwood Heights town houses are built, and the foundations for the remaining nine are in place.
Saturday 8 October 2011
It's time to bring travel and its associated emissions out of the closet
Delve deeply into most companies' environmental and carbon targets and the chances are that, if the company is growing, costs and emissions from travel will be increasing. Most companies will happily talk about behaviour change initiatives to cut waste or office energy use, but if the conversation moves towards travel, it all goes quiet.
When you talk to people about the reluctance to address carbon emissions from travel, you get a variety of stock answers. The CEO is wedded to his beloved car and doesn't want the debate; our high achievers are literally high flyers and we can't curb their travel; company cars and travel benefits are an essential part of our rewards package; clients demand that we meet them face-to-face. And so on.
But the times they are a-changing. Fuel prices are soaring, profits are being squeezed and hard-pressed chief financial officers are starting to demand instant solutions. Cue a range of draconian top-down initiatives, one of the current favourites being no-travel days and even weeks. These are typical of an attempt to fix a major cultural and behavioural challenge with a piecemeal sticky-plaster approach.
Global Action Plan, with support from Telefónica O2, has been bringing together a range of diverse businesses and organisations to openly discuss the transport challenges they face. The ultimate aim is to increase collaboration and provide freely available guidance as to how a more strategic approach could help organisations deal with this most obstinate of issues.
The debates have been fascinating. An overwhelming consensus quickly emerged that dressing up no-travel weeks as green initiatives, when they are really about cost saving, won't fool anybody. This is greenwash, and it can damage internal trust in the organisation's whole CSR agenda. Besides, employees will often simply move meetings to after the no-travel week, or classify their travel as essential. The sticky-plaster approach fails because it ignores the fundamental cultural change that is required if businesses are serious about changing the way in which their employees travel.
A range of other common themes have emerged. Most organisations admit that they have no strategic policy in place to cut travel without damaging business efficiency. Responsibility for the issue floats between human resources, fleet management, CSR teams and ICT departments.
This lack of strategic overview manifests itself in a mishmash of procedures and policies with no consistency. For example, encouraging people to work from home doesn't chime with line managers' expectations of bums on seats in the office. The plethora of different ways to book travel means that it is hard to track actual costs and carbon emissions. Taxis are a prime example of this; the financial and carbon cost is often lost as people claim the money back on expenses.
When you talk to people about the reluctance to address carbon emissions from travel, you get a variety of stock answers. The CEO is wedded to his beloved car and doesn't want the debate; our high achievers are literally high flyers and we can't curb their travel; company cars and travel benefits are an essential part of our rewards package; clients demand that we meet them face-to-face. And so on.
But the times they are a-changing. Fuel prices are soaring, profits are being squeezed and hard-pressed chief financial officers are starting to demand instant solutions. Cue a range of draconian top-down initiatives, one of the current favourites being no-travel days and even weeks. These are typical of an attempt to fix a major cultural and behavioural challenge with a piecemeal sticky-plaster approach.
Global Action Plan, with support from Telefónica O2, has been bringing together a range of diverse businesses and organisations to openly discuss the transport challenges they face. The ultimate aim is to increase collaboration and provide freely available guidance as to how a more strategic approach could help organisations deal with this most obstinate of issues.
The debates have been fascinating. An overwhelming consensus quickly emerged that dressing up no-travel weeks as green initiatives, when they are really about cost saving, won't fool anybody. This is greenwash, and it can damage internal trust in the organisation's whole CSR agenda. Besides, employees will often simply move meetings to after the no-travel week, or classify their travel as essential. The sticky-plaster approach fails because it ignores the fundamental cultural change that is required if businesses are serious about changing the way in which their employees travel.
A range of other common themes have emerged. Most organisations admit that they have no strategic policy in place to cut travel without damaging business efficiency. Responsibility for the issue floats between human resources, fleet management, CSR teams and ICT departments.
This lack of strategic overview manifests itself in a mishmash of procedures and policies with no consistency. For example, encouraging people to work from home doesn't chime with line managers' expectations of bums on seats in the office. The plethora of different ways to book travel means that it is hard to track actual costs and carbon emissions. Taxis are a prime example of this; the financial and carbon cost is often lost as people claim the money back on expenses.
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