Hungarian city installs over 6200 LED street lights

Tungsram-Schreder has supplied over 6200 LED luminaires to replace all of the street-lighting installations in the Hungarian city of Hodmezovasarhely.

The city of Hodmezovasarhely in south-east Hungary has replaced all of its street lights with more than 6200 LED luminaires supplied by Tungsram-Schreder, a Hungary-based member of the Belgium-based Schreder Group.

The new lighting scheme is expected to generate energy savings of between 35% and 40% for the city, and will also dramatically reduce maintenance costs. It has also enabled the city to cut CO2 emissions by 415 tonnes - the equivalent of turning off approximately 6,500 television screens or 8,000 washing machines.

Hodmezovasarhely launched a tender in 2010 to replace all of its street-lighting installations. The local authorities wanted an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly solution that would make use of modern technologies.

After analysing the different products available on the market, the local general contractor (E-OS Innovative) selected Tungsram-Schreder to develop a high-quality, cost-effective lighting scheme for the city.

Tungsram-Schreder developed two luminaires- the Sapphire LED and the Aresa LED. Over 6,200 luminaires have been installed throughout the city, dramatically improving the urban landscape.

The lighting manufacturer worked closely with the local authorities on this project since, as it points out, simply choosing a LED luminaire will not guarantee a successful installation. Each city has different lighting infrastructures: various parameters such as the road surfaces, electrical network, and pole distances and heights, need to be considered.

Bjorn Brandt, General Manager at Tungsram-Schreder, explains: "The trick is to create a so-called lighting master plan, street by street, which will ensure that the long-term goals and expectations are really achieved. The final solution must be durable and should only require minimal maintenance."

The new lighting scheme has improved lighting levels, making roads and public spaces more secure. The luminaires are fitted with LEDs with a carefully-selected color temperature of 4200K. The aim, says Tungsram-Schreder, was "to provide a white light with excellent visual comfort and with a high color-rendering index which creates a much more pleasant environment - buildings have recovered their true colours!"

A survey carried out after the first installation revealed that the inhabitants are delighted with the new lighting, especially in terms of visual comfort.

Linksys Wi-Fi devices

The cut throat world of home data networking is a dog-eat-dog business, and standing still is much like going backwards.

Linksys, Cisco's house brand is acutely aware of this and have been working overtime to develop a raft of new gear. With the inclusion of zippy 802.11n wireless and gigabit ethernet, these new Linksys goodies are designed from the ground up to keep pace with our growing appetite for bandwidth as we sling HD video and 5.1 channel surround audio around our homes with wild abandon thanks to the growing number of gizmos such as ultrabooks, tablets, game consoles, smart TVs that are busily consuming data.
SE2550 5-Port Switch

First cab off the rank is the Linksys SE2500 5-port Gigabit Switch which gives existing wired networks an upgrade to Gigabit networking, significantly improving performance in the process by shunting data around at speeds up to 10x faster than 10/100 ethernet. This said you'll need gigabit ethernet capable devices to realise these speed benefits. Looks-wise the SE2500 is a sleek yet understated bit of gear.

Perhaps the first question you'd need to ask is just what is a network switch and why would I need one? Where routers are designed to move traffic around your network, a network switch acts a lot like a multi-plug power strip outlet, allowing you to plug multiple ethernet connected devices into your network.

In short, if you're running out of ethernet ports on your router, odds are that you'll probably need a network switch.

Speaking of getting set up; installing the SE2500 was a quick and pain-free process. Un-boxing the SE2500, I connected it to the one remaining ethernet port on my router, hooked up all the networked widgets that I'd previously not been able to connect and powered it on. It simply worked, so good riddance to plug 'n' pray.

Using to video conference used to be a pretty painful experience involving stuttery audio and slow-mo video slideshows (especially when my network was already under load), this has however become considerably less commonplace as the SE2500 comes with a rudimentary form of Quality of Service or QOS which prioritises network traffic to ensure that Skype and other capacity sensitive data is not impacted as load on the network grows.

Another biggie for me, and my wallet, is power usage. Thankfully the SE2500 features auto-sensing ports that'll not only adjust their data throughput for each connected device, but will also power down when unused. Better still, the SE2500 will also enter a power saving sleep mode when all ethernet ports are inactive.

Another feature that impressed with the E2500 was the inclusion of a port status switch for control LED lights so I didn't end up with an impromptu light show in my lounge.

World's first light bulb recycling machine launched

REVEND RECYCLING LIMITED, a UK corporation, announces today the launch of an innovative reverse vending recycling machine for the collection and recycling of domestic light bulbs and domestic batteries. From Steve Stothard.

The patented reVend reverse vending recycling machine is the "FIRST" domestic light bulb reverse vending recycling machine of its type in the World and has been jointly designed and developed by Revend Recycling Ltd and Repant ASA, a corporation listed on the Norwegian Stock Exchange.

The light bulb recycling machine has an add-on unit, as an option, for the collection and recycling of domestic batteries which contain valuable and scarce natural mineral resources.

Increased demand for recycling light bulbs and the international change over to CFL and LED domestic light bulbs and the recycling of domestic batteries is a key environment policy for all Governments, the EU Commission and the United Nations.

Recycling rates in the domestic lighting industry is in "sharp focus" internationally as significant waste tonnage amounts remain untreated and unprocessed. Used light bulbs frequently end up in "landfill" sites at considerable environmental and financial cost.

The new range of light bulb recycling machines from Revend will help to increase national recycling rates and assist companies and organisations comply with their recycling targets and environmental recycling obligations.

Revend Recycling will sell & market unique reverse vending recycling machines throughout Europe, USA & worldwide under its brand name Revend.

Revend Recycling recently concluded a supply agreement with IKEA of Sweden, a leading international retailer, and will install a significant number of machines in several IKEA stores throughout Europe, including the UK, Germany, & Denmark.

Revend Recycling pioneered the supply agreement with IKEA following a successful "pilot" installation in IKEA, Lakeside Shopping Centre near London, UK.

IKEA is the first to install the unique light bulb reverse vending recycling technology in its stores starting with IKEA Wembley and IKEA Wednesbury, West Midlands.

Customers of IKEA who recycle used light bulbs will automatically receive a reward incentive voucher to use in-store and also have the option to make a donation to Charity – UNICEF; Save the Children; WWF and the Woodland Trust.

A major sales and PR marketing campaign internationally has been launched to promote the unique light bulb recycling machine and battery collection unit.

Are LED's the future?

Are LED's the future?
With power bills going ever upwards Gippslanders are thinking laterally in search of solutions. Carolyn Crossley from the Cowwarr Art Gallery has introduced LED lighting and is confident it will cut her power bill by 90 per cent.
With lighting being the major cost to the gallery's budget each year Carolyn began looking for a lighting system that was more cost effective more than a year ago.

With the help of both a local electrician and a lighting consultant, she has recently installed a $5,000 LED lighting system which both showcases the art works on display and also promises significant reductions in the gallery's power bill.

Carolyn believes the future of lighting will be vastly different to what we currently have on offer with new 'greener' lighting systems becoming available.

CEO of Lighting Council Australia, Bryan Douglas says that while LED lights are an addition to the market place, consumers should do their research before investing in the technology.

"LED's will permeate just about every feature, every lighting application including at the domestic level but the technology is still maturing, costs are still quite high but perhaps they're not quite ready yet for domestic applications."

While urging caution Mr Douglas says that a home owner determined to make the change to LED should follow some simple guidelines.

"There are good products available that will replace the down lights but it's a case of buyer beware. I'd recommend that your listeners only buy reputable product...my organisation has developed a certification program, in the absence of... (international) standards. You can look for a label with Lighting Council Australia. We're a not for profit organisation. We do not promote one brand over another... We see test reports on the products before we issue that label."

Hella to Develop and Market LED Lighting Systems With Hubbell Lighting

Hella to Develop and Market LED Lighting Systems With Hubbell Lighting

Hella, a global automotive supplier of electronics and lighting, is partnering with Hubbell Lighting to develop and market a non-automotive application of its LED lighting technology in North America.


The strategic partnership between the two companies is defined as a traditional cross-branding relationship in which Hella designs, develops and manufactures the light module or "engine", while Hubbell Lighting markets and distributes the lighting fixture into municipal markets.

The commercial LED light engine is designed for installation into existing cobra head style roadway fixtures. The LED light engine will be manufactured at Hella's facilities in Flora, Illinois.

The Hella LED module will be integrated into Hubbell's RM series roadway fixture at the company's plant in Christiansburg, Va., and also will be marketed as a retrofit kit for existing roadway luminaires. The product is an ideal entrant into the LED roadway market and is intended to replace 150-Watt high-pressure sodium and 175-Watt mercury lamps and fixtures. Hubbell Lighting will manage product marketing and distribution through its global sales network. The companies expect to introduce the new LED product line during the third quarter of 2011.

"We see tremendous growth opportunities for LED lighting in North America," said Steve Lietaert, vice president of program management for Hella Electronics Corporation who announced the partnership during a media briefing at Pine Lake Country Club in suburban Detroit. "LED technology offers an energy-efficient, low maintenance alternative to conventional lighting."

According to Richard Abernethy, vice president of Hubbell Outdoor, Industrial and Emergency Lighting, "The opportunity to retrofit existing street lighting provides municipalities a simple, cost-effective, sustainable solution for the growing need to conserve energy and control maintenance costs."

It is estimated there is an installed base of 34 million streetlights in place in the US. 

Known as an innovator in lighting technology, Hubbell Lighting leads the industry with the first LEED? Silver certified corporate headquarters in the lighting industry, which they located in Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) Millennium Campus in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Hella:  Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. develops and manufactures lighting and electronics components and systems for the automotive industry. Its joint venture companies also produce complete vehicle modules, air-conditioning systems and vehicle electric systems. In addition, Hella has one of the largest automotive aftermarket organizations in the world, with its own sales companies and partners in more than 100 countries.

Hella Group sales were $4.98 billion in fiscal year 2009-2010. Hella is one of the top 50 automotive parts suppliers in the world and one of the 100 largest industrial companies in Germany. Nearly 23,000 people work at 70 locations in more than 30 countries, including more than 3,500 research and development engineers and technicians. Additional information is available at www.hella.com.

About Hubbell Lighting:  An industry leader in lighting technology since 1888, Hubbell Lighting, www.hubbelllighting.com is one of the largest lighting fixture manufacturers in North America. The company provides a full range of indoor and outdoor lighting fixture products that serve the commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential markets. Hubbell Lighting brands include Alera Lighting. Architectural Area Lighting, Beacon Products, Columbia Lighting, Compass Products, Devine Lighting, Dual-Lite, HomeStyle Lighting, Hubbell Building Automation, Hubbell Industrial Lighting, Hubbell Outdoor Lighting, Kim Lighting, Kurt Versen, Prescolite, Progress Lighting, Security Lighting, Spaulding Lighting, Sportsliter Solutions, Sterner Lighting Systems, Thomasville Lighting and Whiteway.

Fear of 'phase-out' for incandescent bulbs fuels hoarding

Fear of 'phase-out' for incandescent bulbs fuels hoarding
Bunny Williams, the no-nonsense decorator known for her lush English-style rooms, is laying in light bulbs like canned goods. Incandescent bulbs, that is — 60 and 75 watters — because she likes a double-cluster lamp with a high- and a low-watt bulb, one for reading, one for mood.

"Every time I go to Costco, I buy more wattage," Williams said the other day. She is as green as anybody, she added, but she can't abide the sickly hue of a twisty compact fluorescent bulb, though she's tried warming it up with shade liners in creams and pinks. Nor does she care for the cool blue of an LED.

It should be noted that, like most decorators, Williams is extremely precise about light. The other day, she reported, she spent six hours fine-tuning the lighting plan of a project, tweaking the mix of ambient, directional and overhead light she had designed, and returning to the house after dusk to add wattage and switch out lamps like a chef adjusting the flavors in a complicated bouillabaisse.

She is aware that there is legislation that is going to affect the manufacture of incandescent bulbs, but she's not clear on the details, and she wants to make sure she has what she needs when she needs it.

So does John Warner, a restaurateur in Washington, D.C., whose new bistro, Le Zinc, will open next month on Wisconsin Avenue. He has signed a 15-year lease on the place, which is layered in warm woods, with lots of art and photographs and 50 light fixtures, 16 of them designed to hold a 40-watt Soft White GE incandescent bulb. By estimating that his lights will be on for 15 hours a day, and factoring in the package's promise of a 2,000-hour life span per bulb, Warner has calculated that he will need 600 of these bulbs to last through his lease.

"I have a light-enough carbon footprint in the other aspects of the design," he said, "so I can allow myself a lighting splurge."

Darren Henault, a Manhattan decorator, has already splurged on light fixtures in his Millbrook, N.Y., farmhouse, which dates from the early 19th century, and he is fearful that the bulbs sold in the future won't be up to snuff.

"We went to great pains to keep it looking like an 1800s farmhouse," he said. "We used reclaimed woods, kept the old hardware and the old doors." He also added a dozen custom light fixtures, he said, including "one in particular that cost an arm and a leg, and only works with these particular incandescent bulbs."

He has filled the basement with antique-style Edison bulbs — the clear bulbs with the fuzzy filaments that restaurant designers are so fond of — as well as silver-bottomed incandescent bulbs, which throw light on the ceiling in an appealing way, both of which he buys in bulk at Gracious Home. (The former cost $19 each; Gracious Home is no Costco.)

"My electrician said they were being phased out," he said. "If he's wrong, I'm going to kill him."

As it happens, Henault's electrician is wrong.

Late in his second term, George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires light bulb makers to improve the efficiency of incandescent bulbs by 25 percent. The details of the law dictated a phase-out of the manufacture of certain bulbs in their current incarnation, starting with 100-watt bulbs next January.

The law does not ban the use or manufacture of all incandescent bulbs, nor does it mandate the use of compact fluorescent ones. It simply requires that companies make some of their incandescent bulbs work a bit better, meeting a series of rolling deadlines between 2012 and 2014.

Furthermore, all sorts of exemptions are written into the law, which means that all sorts of bulbs are getting a free pass and can keep their energy-guzzling ways indefinitely, including "specialty bulbs" like the Edison bulbs favored by Henault, as well as three-way bulbs, silver-bottomed bulbs, chandelier bulbs, refrigerator bulbs, plant lights and many, many others.

Nonetheless, as the deadline for the first phase of the legislation looms, light bulb confusion — even profound light bulb anxiety — is roiling the minds of many. The other day, Ken Henderlong, a sales associate at Oriental Lamp Shade Co. on Lexington Avenue, said that his customers "say they want to stockpile incandescent bulbs, but they are not sure when to start. No one knows when the rules go into effect or what the rules are."

の強力な電流ACまたはDCと営業のSpotlight対応のLED

の強力な電流ACまたはDCと営業のSpotlight対応のLEDラーソンエレクトロニクスMagnalight.comは、新しいハイパワーの添加は、頑丈な、プロアプリケーション用に設計されたLEDが点灯しそのシリーズにスポットライトをLEDを発表した。 Magnalight PMLの- 90LED - DPの- 120 90ワットのLEDスポットライトは、光ビームの長さは2400フィートに達することができる8100ルーメンを生成し、120ボルトのAC電源または 12ボルトのDC電流を使用するために機能をユーザーに提供しています。 90 - 295VACから実行することができます耐候インライン変圧器が含まれ、このスポットライトに一般的な120ボルトのAC電源だけでなく9 50VDC、現在と同じように動作する能力を提供し、マウントして動作するこのLEDスポットライトをどこACまたはDCの演算子に多彩な機能を提供しま す電源は入手可能です。九十ワットソウルZ -パワーは、エミッタのLED搭載し、Magnalight PMLの- 90LED - DPの- 120 90ワットのLEDスポットライトは8100ルーメン、光ビーム約2,400フィートの長さと幅が140フィートを生成します。 LED のスポットライトのMagnalightの行にこの強力なほかは、IP68準拠防水定格され車両、建物やヒンジは、ユーザーは一度完全にマウントされてラ ンプを配置できるようにテンション含まれています4インチの正方形の取付板アセンブリを使用して任意の平らな面に取り付けるために設計されています。固体ポリカーボネートは削除したり、任意のピンを設定したり、任意のつまみネジをロックダウンすることなく、代わりにご利用いただけます光の調整が簡単、一度設定調節機能取り付けブラケットに組み込まアセンブリを処理します。必要に応じて、ユーザーは単にライトの方向を調整することができます部は、ユーザが変更するまで、その位置を保持します。 Magnalight は、本機ではIP67定格DCPの- 11 - DPの防水電源コンバータが含まれており、ハイパワーは、典型的な120VAC家庭の現在だけでなく、低電圧を実行することができますスポットライトを LEDの製造には、このLEDスポットライトの電源コードが付属してラインで実行するDC電源より車とボートと共通。このコンバータを含めることは、このスポットライトを完全にACまたはDC電流が可能となりますユーザーのみ電力が供給されているモバイルアプリケーションでは、この光を実行することになりますVDCは、このような車や船などの場所でと同じように12VDCが90から50利用できないか、不便なだけ電力が利用できる通常の120VACです。このLEDスポットライトは、DCだけコンバータからそれを抜いて、9電流50VDCのソースに接続することによって、現在使用して実行することができます。現在の12ボルトで実行して、この90ワットLEDスポットライトは7.5アンペアはまだ同等のハロゲンスポットライトよりもワット当たりのより多くの光を生成する描画します。アルミニウムと粉体塗装の建設は、このユニットのハウジングは、影響と腐食による損傷に抵抗する。固 体ポリカーボネート調整は、めっき鋼板のハードウェアに接続されているハンドルは、取付けベースは重いゲージ鋼で形成されているLEDはすべてが頑丈な使 用や乱用環境なしに立ち上がることができるLEDスポットライトを生成するのに役立ちますポリカーボネートレンズにより保護されていますビートをスキップします。このLEDスポットライトがよく安全保障、法の執行および軍事用だけでなく、任意のユーティリティワーカーまたは重大な機器のアウトドアの配列には理想的なほかにも適しています。
"90 ワットは、我々の最も人気のあるLEDライトは、範囲と消費電力に起因するLEDライトなので、このマウントされたサーチライトのアプリケーションに理想 的なコンポーネントを作り、"ラーソンエレクトロニクスmagnalight.comとロブブレスナハンは言った。 PMLの- LED90は、277V ACおよびそれは非常に多機能です42VのDCの9VのDCに至るまでの低電圧アプリケーション110V AC電源に至るまでの標準電圧に適用されます。 50000での生活時間は、前例のない耐振動性、高出力光出力、兵士たちは、ボート事業者やハイエンドのスポーツマンこのLEDライトのアプリケーションを見つけることになります。
ラーソンエレクトロニクスMagnalight製造し、40年以上にわたり、商業、工業産業への高電力スポットライトや照明器具を配布し、LEDライトバー、LEDのスポットライト、電源トランス、ボートが点灯し、携帯の電源をLEDの包括的な販売を行っています。 Magnalight.comはMagnalightスポットライトの行全体を表示するために、参照してください

Energy saving projects focus on measureabl

Energy saving projects focus on measureable results
Businesses throughout Connecticut are finding innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint while saving money on energy expenditures. Many are taking advantage of incentives offered by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund — a Peter Staye, associate director of utilities at Wesleyan University in Middletown, explains an energy monitoring display to Anna Sears, a freshman.partnership between the state’s utility companies designed to help businesses, homeowners and government entities save energy — to implement greener technologies and encourage others to think more carefully about their own energy use.

From solar panels at Webster Bank to a culture change at Wesleyan University, programs are showing measureable results. Here’s a look at a few:


Culture change

Since 2005, Wesleyan University has invested more than $6.5 million in a variety of measures on its 360-acre Middletown campus. The university began by focusing on “the traditional stuff” and now has moved into more innovative measures, said Peter Staye, Wesleyan’s associate director of utilities.

Lighting has been retrofitted with more energy-efficient options, occupancy sensors have been installed, and new management software automatically powers down computers and monitors during the night. The heating and cooling system in the Exley Science Center has been converted to an energy-efficient air volume system with computer-based temperature controls, and the Freeman Athletic Center now injects ozone into the water used by its laundry service, enabling the use of cold water for all laundry while cleaning more efficiently and fighting bacteria.

Through all its combined projects, Wesleyan has reduced energy use by about 22 percent since 2005, but the focus is now shifting to a more challenging initiative, but one with significantly greater potential for savings — changing the culture of energy use on campus.

“Not that long ago, energy was abundant and cheap. Now it’s neither, but there is still the feeling that everyone should have their own refrigerator and coffee machine and so on,” Staye said. Although those conveniences are still allowed, the school has mounted an effort to make students, staff and faculty more aware of the amount of energy they consume.

Wesleyan’s large dorms now have monitors that display information on how much energy is being used. Each month, all dorms compete with each other to achieve the greatest reductions, and they compete with themselves to achieve better numbers than the previous month. Regular reports track energy use in all campus buildings and a Sustainability Advisory Group comprised of students, faculty and staff is working to develop a campus-wide action plan and research additional measures for reducing the school’s impact on the environment.

Effecting culture change in the face of long-held habits and assumptions is “a long haul and we do encounter some resistance from time to time, but we try to take baby steps and never go back,” Staye said. “General concern for the environment is becoming more profound every day, and there is far more opportunity in changing our culture than in any other measures we could take.”


Solar panels

Waterbury-based Webster Bank has also entered the green revolution by installing solar panels on the roof of its New Britain office facility. The building houses 325 employees and includes back-office functions such as human resources and training as well as serving commercial banking customers.

The panels, which have been placed on one-third of the roof on the building’s south side, are expected to produce more than two million kilowatt hours of electricity over the next 25 years, according to Mark Johnson, assistant vice president and manager of corporate real estate. That’s enough energy to supply more than seven homes with electricity for 25 years and the carbon-reduction equivalent of taking more than 11 passenger vehicles off the road each year.

To help raise employees’ awareness of environmental issues, Webster has placed a video display in the building’s lobby showing real-time energy generation from the solar panels along with other information on energy savings.

The decision to go solar also meant putting a new roof on the building, and Webster used the opportunity to do some major recycling. The old roof was a ballasted system using small stones to hold the roofing components in place, so when the stones were removed, they were given to a local landscaper, Johnson said.


Energy conservation

The Massachusetts-based Stop & Shop grocery chain has begun taking steps to reduce energy at its 217 stores, including 93 in Connecticut, by installing energy-efficient lighting and new motors for its freezers.

The project, which is being rolled out as time and budgets allow, also enables the company to take advantage of utility rebates and reduce maintenance expenses, according to Mark Macomber, energy project manager for Ahold USA, Stop & Shop’s parent company.

In 2010, Stop & Shop retrofitted 20 Connecticut stores with LED track lighting throughout the facilities, and the lights will be installed in another 24 stores this year, resulting in a 40 percent reduction in energy use. Fluorescent lights in frozen food cases are also being replaced with LED lighting. Five Connecticut locations are slated to be completed this year, which will bring the total number of retrofittings to 46. Also by the end of 2011, 86 Connecticut stores will have new electronically-commutated motors in its freezers and walk-in coolers, cutting previous energy usage in half.

In addition, solar energy panels have been installed at eight Stop & Shop stores, including the one in Fairfield, three in Massachusetts and four in New Jersey, netting a 9 percent reduction in electricity use, Macomber said.

“We’re anxious to do more solar projects in the future, and also install LED lighting in our parking lots,” he said. “Right now, it’s quite expensive, so we’ll do that once the costs come down.”

Through programs supported by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund in partnership with Connecticut Light and Power, Stop and Shop expects to save nearly 30 million kilowatts and avoid more than 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the life of the measures. That’s enough to provide more than 3,500 homes with electricity for a year, according to figures provided by CL&P.

Lancers, Spartans Light Up Scoreboard Versus Lupus

Lancers, Spartans Light Up Scoreboard Versus Lupus
On an evening when battling a lesser known disease, lupus, was the theme, cross-town girls’ softball opponents West Springfield and Lee high schools brought their bats out and gave the large group of supportive fans a hitting showcase in an exciting, never dull, 13-12 contest that was won by the home team Lancers. The Patriot District game took place Tuesday evening, May 3 at Lee High School in the heart of Springfield.

“That was absolutely the cherry on top,” said Lancers’ head coach Suzy Willemssen, thrilled with her young team’s triumph that capped a special Lupus Awareness Night benefit in which those in attendance gave more than $400 to the Lupus Foundation of America, an organization that helps fight the disease that affects 80,000 individuals, mostly women, throughout the local metropolitan area.

The guest of honor during pre-game ceremonies which put the spotlight on fighting lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation which can damage major organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain and skin, into the forefront of spectators’ minds on the evening was former Lee High girls’ soccer coach Janice Wolfe-Easley, a Fairfax County teacher of 33 years who most recently, before going on medical disability in October 2009, served as an adaptive physical education teacher, for special need students. Wolfe-Easley, diagnosed in May 2009, was on hand to mingle, educate and enjoy the ball game, being played in her honor, along with everyone else in attendance. She even threw out the first pitch, an underhand, softball-style strike to Lancer catcher Manal Assad, much to the pleasure of the fans.

“Aside from tonight’s fundraiser, awareness is what’s so important,” said Wolfe-Easley, who later in the same day in which she was diagnosed with lupus gained permission from her doctor to participate in a benefit walk event for the fight against breast cancer.

But in recent years, Wolfe-Easley, the former Lancers’ head girls’ soccer coach, who led the Lee team to the state crown in 1985, has been unable to be nearly as physically active as she once was as a result of her illness.

“So many don’t know what lupus is. I didn’t until two years ago,” said Wolfe-Easley, who, during her 11-year head-coaching career, also coached and led the W.T. Woodson High girls’ soccer team to a state finals appearance.

Joan Tadlock, who coached Lee High softball the past few years and is currently an assistant coach for the Lancers, was thrilled to have Wolfe-Easley on-hand. The two originally got to know one another in their work as adaptive P.E. teachers. The popular and loved Tadlock, an advocate for both her special education students as well as for causes such as lupus and breast cancer, set up the benefit night in honor of Wolfe-Easley, her good friend. She was the emcee of the pre-game awareness night program and introduced Wolfe-Easley, along with the guest’s husband and sister, to the crowd.

Also introduced was Lori Barb, the Lee High director of student activities, and Lee junior softball player Alissa Fetterholf, who spear-headed the effort to design and wear special home style softball T-shirts, designed with a whirlwind color scheme of purple, the color that symbolizes the hope and determination to one day conquer the debilitating lupus disease, and white. Players themselves wrote their handwritten names and numbers on back of the special, one-day uniform tops.

THE LEE HIGH TEAM, throughout the high-scoring game, played with the enthusiasm and energy befitting of the night’s special meaning. The visiting Spartans did the same, creating a game, which, while far from being mistake-free, was entertaining and played with passion.

With the game tied at 10-10, Lee, which at one time had led West Springfield, 10-3, came up with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 13-10 lead. Jess Harmon led off the inning with an infield single and ultimately came around to score the go-ahead run. Later that inning, a key two-run single into center field off the bat of senior Sarah Wilber plated two more runs to give the Lancers a three-run advantage.

West Springfield, though, kept the game exciting by scoring two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Alissa Dwyer started the rally with an infield base hit and later scored on a groundout RBI by teammate Carisa Chaplin to make the score 13-11. Later in the inning, Hannah Tomey singled and ultimately scored from third on a wild pitch to get the Spartans within 13-12.

West Springfield pitcher Marissa Johnson, who pitched the entire game for the Spartans and got better and better as the contest went on, held Lee scoreless in the bottom of the sixth.

That set up West Springfield’s final at-bats. With one out, Calli Douglas, the potential tying run, earned a walk and stole both second and third base. But Lee pitcher Ashley Robinson, who entered the game in the fourth inning after Lancer starting pitcher Amanda Layton had gone the first three innings, buckled down, coaxing an infield pop-up for the second out and a groundball out to end the ball game. Lancer second baseman Beth Clay made all three put-outs — two groundball outs, one pop-up catch — in that final inning, including a scorching groundball pick-up and throw-out on a ball hit off the bat of Lindsey Kellogg to begin the inning.

Following the final out, the Lee players celebrated on the field, hugging one another and jumping up and down excitedly. It was the Lancers’ sixth win of the season to 10 losses.

“They never quit, and they fought back,” said Willemssen, the Lee coach, of her team’s mindset during both the game and season. “They know they have to play as a team. On this team everyone has an impact, instead of having that one stud pitcher with everyone standing back. Everyone on this team counts.”

Robinson, who pitched the final four innings for Lee, earned the win on the mound.

Lee, defensively, came up with some sparkling plays throughout the game. Robinson, who played center field over the first three innings, made a stellar first inning catch, swiftly moving to her left, on a ball hit by Johnson. In the third inning, the Lancers’ cut down a run at the plate when third baseman Natalie Heinitz, with Spartan runners on second and third, fielded a groundball and quickly threw home to catcher Assad, who applied the tag of a sliding runner. Then, on a ball hit into left field by the next batter, Lancer outfielder Fetterholf came up with a difficult, reaching catch. Late in the game, Harmon, who had been inserted in left field, caught a sizzling liner off the bat of Chandler Cole.

Gekko Technology Reports Accelerating Demand For LED Lighting At NAB

Gekko Technology Reports Accelerating Demand For LED Lighting At NAB
Gekko Technology, a leading provider of LED lighting for film, television and photographic applications, has reported a buoyant and successful NAB 2011.

Exhibiting with US distribution partner PRG in the Central Hall of the April 11-14 show, Gekko demonstrated recent additions to its expanding range of location and studio luminaires.

David Amphlett, Gekko Technology Founder and Managing Director, commented: "Demand for LED lighting continues to grow as content producers become increasingly aware of its many inherent advantages over traditional light sources. NAB 2011 was notable for the increasing popularity of DSLR cameras which combine remarkably good quality and outstanding value for money in a very compact size.

"Our product demonstration included the smallest Gekko ringlight, lenslite, mounted on a DSLR rig. lenslite is a controllable on-axis light which can fulfil a number of functions. With an integral filter housing, it can be mounted directly on the lens or 15 millimetre bars, and powered from any source which produces between 12 and 40 volts."

Ian Muir, Gekko Technology's Business Development Manager, added: "We have seen a good cross-section of people from the broadcast and film industries. NAB is becoming a very global show. We talked with existing and potential clients not only from the US but also many other countries including Britain, France, Belgium, the Middle East and Far East. We experienced a lot of interest in the kezia 50 and 200 tunable-white sources. The karesslite 6006 DD has also proved very popular because it generates a large volume of light. We can light medium size studios now quite comfortably though we would struggle to emulate the light output of the larger HMI heads employed on film sets. But give it time!"

Gekko Technology's karesslite 6006 DD is populated with twice the number of LEDs as the standard 6006 unit. Available as tungsten or daylight, it has a peak output of 4,500 lux at 10 feet. All karesslite fixtures can be operated under local control from the luminaire itself, from wires remote dimmer, or DMX. Powering options include a single V-Lock battery, 12 to 40 volts DC via an industry standard XLR4 connection, or mains transformer.

MIT Team Wins Berkeley-Stanford Green Entrepreneurship Competition

MIT Team Wins Berkeley-Stanford Green Entrepreneurship Competition
A team of MIT students took home the grand prize at the 2011 Berkeley-Stanford Cleantech (BSC) Launchpad, a prestigious green entrepreneurship competition.

The PolyChroma team includes Marnix Hollander (LGO '12), Kurtis McKenney (SB '01, LGO '12), Chunguang Charlotte Wang (SDM '11) and Jon Garrity (SB '11). Their venture is developing optics for next-generation LED lighting.

The theme of this year's competition was "Creating Jobs for a Green Economy." As the winners, PolyChroma received $10,000 in cash and services, the opportunity to pitch U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and a personal meeting with leading cleantech venture capital firms.

PolyChroma also placed first in the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition's Executive Summary Contest in February.

"We were elated to win BSC Launchpad," said Hollander. "It was a big risk for all four of us to fly out there. But thanks to the support of the Leaders for Global Operations and System Design and Management programs, we were able to make it.

"It was a great competition, and we're pleased we could keep riding this wave of success following the Executive Summary Contest."

Identifying a promising technology

The PolyChroma team came together at the onset of last fall's Energy Ventures course. Students in this course assemble teams around promising technologies in the energy sector and then build business plans to bring them to market.

In summer 2010, Hollander worked with the course TA and MIT's Technology Licensing Office (TLO) to investigate possible ideas. He found one technology to be particularly intriguing: an optics system that enables high-quality white light in LED lamps and full-color tunability in multicolored LED lamps.

Hollander pitched the idea to his Energy Ventures classmates, and McKenney, Wang and Garrity quickly signed on. The quartet worked on their business plan throughout the fall semester, meeting with venture capitalists and angel investors, legal professionals, future customers and potential partners along the way.

Wang, who was charged with exploring energy and green entrepreneurship competitions, thought BSC Launchpad would be worth entering. After submitting a video pitch and executive summary, PolyChroma survived the competition's first round (an online popular vote) and second round (in which a panel of industry experts narrowed the field from 20 to six).

Pitching the U.S. energy secretary

The final round took place April 8. Garrity gave PolyChroma's five-minute pitch to the judges and the crowd gathered at Stanford University's Old Union Courtyard. The victor was determined by the judging panel (50 percent) and the audience (50 percent).

Hollander wasn't sure which way the vote would go, but he could tell the judges and audience members were paying close attention during Garrity's pitch. So when PolyChroma won, he wasn't shocked. A whirlwind of activity immediately followed.

"The next day, we gave our pitch to the entire BSC Conference [attended by professionals in academia, policy/government and venture capitalists]," said Hollander. "There was a lot of interest and some great questions from audience members.

"We also had the opportunity to pitch to Steven Chu during a special VIP conference. Afterwards, he expressed interest in our plan and in the idea of LED lighting as a huge opportunity for the U.S. to reduce its energy consumption."

Support and understanding from classmates

According to Hollander, the winnings from the BSC Cleantech and MIT $100K competitions are going right back into PolyChroma. "We're putting the money toward a general fund pool for the company," he said. "We can use it to pay for any expenses we feel are important. Right now, that means generating interest in our venture and funding a developmental prototype."

The only major competition on the near horizon is the MIT $100K's Business Plan Contest, which ends May 11. And that's probably a good thing, as Hollander and company have some catching up to do.

"Our academics are definitely suffering a bit," he said. "It's been a juggling act to keep everything together. We've had to lean more on members of our class teams, and we've been fortunate to get a lot of support and understanding from our classmates."

LED Flashlights and 4 Fun Nighttime Games

LED Flashlights and 4 Fun Nighttime Games
Most people realize that you need to bring a good flashlight or headlamp when going camping. However, many are unaware of all the fun camping games that can be played with them. On your next camping trip, bring a few LED flashlights or headlamps so you can try some of these games.

Flashlight Tag

Flashlight tag is similar to regular tag, except that instead of tagging the other players with your hand, you tag them with the beam of light. All you need to get started is at least one LED flashlight or headlamp and two or more players. One person is selected to start as "IT". The "IT" person closes their eyes and waits while the other players hide. After waiting a few minutes, the "IT" player announces that the game has started and begins to look for the hiding players. When another player is tagged with the flashlight, they become IT. By the end of the game, the player who was tagged the least is declared winner. Make sure to set the boundaries of the hiding area and the game time limit before starting!

Spotlight

Spotlight is similar to Flashlight Tag, except that the goal is to tag ALL the players in order to win. The game works best when using a headlamp; with your hands free, you can spot people much easier and faster than with a handheld flashlight.

To start, choose one player to be the "warden". He or she is in charge of the spotlight; everyone else is trying to avoid getting caught by the light. Next, choose an area that will be the jail. Make sure the jail is not too close to the warden but also not too far away. Each time a player is tagged by the warden's spotlight, he or she must remain in the designated jail area near the warden.

If the warden tags all the players before time is up, the warden wins. To make things more difficult, players who are captured can assist the warden with additional LED headlamps or flashlights, making it easier to tag the remaining players. To make things less difficult, allow for jailbreaks - if someone can sneak into the jail and rescue another player, that player can rejoin the game. This game is best played in large numbers, the more the merrier!

Flashlight Limbo

Next up is flashlight limbo, a camping version of the famous dancing game. In order to form a strong beam of light that will act as the limbo pole, you will need at least two LED flashlights and four or more people. Two people will hold one flashlight each and form a concentrated beam across from one another. The other players form a line and try to limbo under the beam of light without touching the brightest part. The person who can go the lowest without falling down or touching the beam wins. Try setting up the flashlights with tables or chairs, then everyone can join the limbo line. It never hurts to have some of your favorite dance music playing in the background!

Shadow Charades

Charades can turn any party into an uproar of laughter. The same goes for shadow charades, a laugh out loud camping game. The setup is simple; all you need is one LED flashlight or headlamp, a handful of players, a few pieces of paper, a pen or pencil, and a wall to project the shadow images onto. Tear the sheets of paper into a number of small pieces; write on them a number of animals or objects that can be formed with shadow images. Then, form two teams of two or more players each. Mix the pieces of paper up in a hat or bowl. As the game commences each team will take turns drawing from that hat. Each team has one player who forms the shadow images, while the other players try to guess them. For each correct guess, the guessing team scores one point. The team with the most points wins!

This is just a small sample of the more popular and interesting camping games that people have come up with since the invention of the flashlight. Enhance your next camping party with some of these variations on traditional outdoor games. Just remember to have fun and bring extra batteries!

Add Ground Effects To Your Bed For Gentle Night Lighting

It’s the middle of the night, and you have to go to the bathroom. Sure, you can stumble to the bathroom in the dark, possibly hitting your shins or toes on anything on the floor or in the path between you and the sky lanterns bathroom door, but you don’t want to blind yourself by turning on the light. The solution? Ground effect lighting for your bed!

Over at IKEA Hackers, they use a bed model commonly purchased at IKEA, but the trick can be applied to pretty much any bed with a flat underside that’s lifted up from the ground a bit. Bonus: it looks really cool.

Pedro Farinha decided that he was tired of blinding and being blinded by his wife when one of them would get up in the middle sky lanterns of the night to feed their newborn baby.

With a little elbow grease, a kitchen-style fluorescent light, and some screws, he mounted the light on the wood bar on the underside of the bed and connected a switch to the light with enough wire that he could put the switch at the top of the bed. Now he or his wife could get up to change or feed the baby and go to the bathroom, with enough light to see but not so much that they’d wake the other person still asleep.

One of the best things about this tip is that it doesn’t require anything IKEA really; a flexible strip-light or even a set of LED Christmas lights would work just as well as the fluorescent. Any bed sky lanterns that’s up off the floor high enough for the light to spread out from around the underside and that has a place you could mount or tie in the lights would work as well. Just make sure to clean the dust bunnies out from under the bed first and make sure the light you use doesn’t generate any heat (like incandescent Christmas lights or bulbs) – you don’t want to inadvertently create a fire hazard.

We are alone after all

We are alone after all: 'UFOs' spotted in sky above Chicago turn out to be memorial lanterns from a charity vigil


As residents left their homes to gaze up at the mysterious lights in the sky, it seemed it was finally true: they were not alone.
But UFO spotters had their hopes dashed when it turned out the slow-moving orange lights above Chicago - which made it on to local news - had a more earthly origin.
They were in fact 'sky lanterns', released as a memorial to victims of child abuse at a rally organised by a city charity.


The lanterns turned into an unintentional publicity-grabber after one woman filmed the strange formation and sent it into a local television station.

UFO bloggers picked up on the sighting, and linked it to strange lights spotted over Miami the day before.
Nicole Dragozetich was driving through Chicago's southside on Saturday night when she saw about a dozen people standing on the sidewalk staring up at the sky.

She got out of her car and began filming the strange formation of blinking orange lights on her cellphone.



The lights were too close together to be aeroplanes, and too slow-moving to be a meteor shower.
She told CBS: 'I was just going to a local restaurant to pick up food, and as I was driving I saw residents out in front of their house, staring up in the sky.'
She said: 'You could see them – just moving down the street. And they took form. At one point, it looked like an arrow.'
But as television presenters mused on the possible cause and UFO spotters chalked up another sighting, a Chicago charity came forward with a more straightforward reason.

Vigils Held For Missing Cruise Ship Worker

Vigils Held For Missing Cruise Ship Worker

Candlelit vigils have taken place around the world for the missing cruise ship worker Rebecca Coriam, who has not been seen for almost two weeks.
The 24-year-old's parents and sister joined more than 150 relatives and friends in her home city of Chester at 8pm on Sunday, lighting candles and releasing 40 lanterns into the sky "to guide Rebecca home."

People from as far afield as Australia, Canada and the US pledged to do the same at 8pm in their respective time zones after a huge response to the idea on an internet forum.

Rebecca's uncle, John Jennings, told Sky News the family had been amazed by the reaction. "So many people have written kind messages about Rebecca and it's given the family real comfort," he said.

"We just feel so helpless at the moment, so when someone on the forum suggested this we were very touched."

Mr Jennings described the vigil at Chester Racecourse as "beautiful"and "incredibly emotional".

Five thousand miles away some passengers and crew on the Disney Wonder cruise ship were planning to light safe battery-operated candles to show their support for Rebecca's family.

Miss Coriam had been working as part of the youth programme on the vessel, which left Los Angeles on March 22nd for a week-long cruise along the Mexican Riviera.

The alarm was raised three days into the trip when Rebecca failed to turn up for her shift.

Despite onboard inspections and alerts to the 3,000 passengers the ship returned to LA without her.

Lantern vigils fuel farming concern

Lantern vigils fuel farming concern

Concern is mounting over the dangers posed to livestock and property from Chinese lanterns lit in memory of missing people.


A growing trend has seen hundreds of lanterns released into the night sky over England during the past fortnight.

Some 40 lanterns were released to highlight the plight of missing cruise ship worker Rebecca Coriam, who has not been seen for almost two weeks.

More than 150 relatives and friends released 40 lanterns into the sky "to guide Rebecca home" at a vigil on Sunday (3 April).

The lantern release followed a similar vigil at Swindon's Polo Ground in memory of 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan on 26 March.

Some 10,000 people attended the Swindon vigil. Many released Chinese lanterns and balloons with messages of condolence.

While the vigils have drawn attention to tragic events, farmers have long warned of the dangers posed by Chinese lanterns to livestock, standing crops and thatched properties.

The lanterns are generally made from paper supported by a wire frame that incorporates a holder at the bottom for a solid fuel cell.

Wiltshire & Swindon Fire Authority said the risk of fire caused by Chinese lanterns should be fully considered prior to use.

While lighting and launch were largely in the control of the user, the actual flight path and ultimate destination were generally not.

There was also no guarantee that the fuel cell would be fully extinguished and cooled when the lantern eventually descends.

"Any subsequent contact with a combustible surface could result in a fire developing," said the authority.

The Women's Food & Farming Union has called for the lanterns to be banned.

"The lightweight metal structures are hazardous to cattle, sheep and horses, should they eat them," it said.

"Not only that, the metal may lie dormant on the land and then gets into silage or hay at harvest time.

"This has its own added problems when it is fed as winter feed and cattle eat it as part of their forage."

Light up parties and gatherings with customized helium balloons and decorated sky lanterns

There is something about the simple balloon that attracts both adults and children to it. No birthday could ever be complete without the presence of the balloon. The joys of watching a kid hold his balloon is often inexpressible for many parents. Today, these decorative items have become better and bigger. Anshi.in offers customers a chance to purchase some of the best looking customized helium balloons and other decorative items for parties and special events. The simple use of these balloons can add to the quality of the event and catch the attention of guests.
Anshi.in has a large collection of helium balloons, which can be customized according to the interests of the host. These balloons are safe for use and are known to be lighter than other materials. This allows them to float for a longer duration of time than the ordinary balloons. This remains a source of joy and makes them an attractive piece of decoration for any party or event. The online website of anshi.in remains a party shop with a range of decorative items which add the fun and flavor back into the event.
Other than helium balloons, there are also items like the sky lanterns which have become popular among many people today. An oriental practice, these sky lanterns symbolize wishes made by people and sent into the sky to be fulfilled. Many people choose these for their housewarming parties or get together as an innovative and catchy way of spreading the good will. These have become very popular choices for people, looking to make an impression on their guests and visitors.
Anshi.in offers customers a chance to purchase personalized and customized balloons and lanterns which give a distinct and creative touch to their party atmosphere. Other than balloons and sky lanterns, there is an array of decorative items available on their online party shop. These can be chosen according to the event and the attraction required for it. There are also personalized photos which can be impressed on the balloons which have become a rage among kids. These are certain to light up children on the day of the event. From kids events to housewarming parties, there are a number of party decorations available on the http://www.anshi.in/ and can be booked online by customers. The website is easy to access and can be used by customers to make the right choice to light up their events and surprise their guests with.