Just when the local authority needs to maximise income from matches, the pitches are under water. Just when the course manager hopes to increase pay-and-play rounds, there is a lake on a fairway and the greens are waterlogged. Just when gardens open to show off daffodils and early-spring flowers, the paths are muddy and the tractor has to pull visitors' cars out of the swamp that used to be the car park - if they turn up in the first place.
It does not stop there. If play does take place, there are the muddy changing rooms and clubhouses with which to contend. After touring the gardens, visitors may proceed to trample dirt into the old, expensive carpets of the historic house.
What happens when the rains eventually stop? What if this spring and summer are dry and sogginess turns into drought? How will players respond to brown, baked-hard ground and visitors to wilting shrubs and poor flower displays? Should that drought then end in sudden downpours, will it mean flooding all over again? As we continue to experience more intense and extreme weather, the role of drainage and irrigation in keeping facilities functional and able to generate income has never been so important.
Since the words "drought" and "hosepipe ban" were mentioned - and in some places enforced - in late spring last year, the UK has seen phenomenal rainfall. More recently, the situation has been compounded by thawing snow. It is not surprising then, despite the economic climate, that contractors are reporting increases in enquiries for sports turf and golf drainage.
Shelton Sportsturf Drainage Solutions designs and builds specialist machinery that can be bought or hired and offers a contracting service. General manager Mick Claxton describes last year as "busy". He adds: "The heavy rain after a drought has highlighted drainage problems and machinery sales and hire have been on the up."
Enquiries are one thing, but drainage work has to cope with the weather and contractors found the wet autumn and winter challenging. "It's certainly a question of dealing with jobs according to the weather," Speedcut Contractors contracts manager Kevin Smith confirms. "The wet weather has played havoc with our work patterns, but we have been meeting the demands of clients by switching between jobs according to the ground conditions."
Speedcut has installed drainage at Chislehurst, Royal Mid Surrey, Old Fold Manor, Barnet and Highgate Golf Clubs. At Hadley Wood in Barnet, north London, Speedcut re-levelled a football pitch and installed drainage for Old Stationers' FC. The appalling weather also led to more requests for treatments using the Gwazae deep-probe aerator to decompact root zones and inject materials to help grass survive.
Drainage does not always have to be done in one go. Waterlooville Golf Club in Hampshire is benefiting from an upgrade of drainage carried out over the past five years by sports turf drainage specialist MJ Abbott. Completed in stages to suit budgetary requirements, the scheme has improved drainage across all parts of the 18-hole parkland course and, importantly, enables to winter play to continue uninterrupted.
Inspection of the existing system showed soil contamination of the gravel above the primary drainage pipes was seriously restricting water flow. Over two years, supplementary piped drainage was installed between the existing laterals, along with an additional main drain on part of the course. Further upgrades were carried out in 2012 accompanied by upgrades to outfalls.
"It's taken time to achieve, but the end result is a golf course that can remain open in virtually all weathers, despite sitting on very clay soil," according to MJ Abbott contracts director Steve Biggs.
Managing director Duncan Ross says: "The answer lay in constructing additional lateral drains at 0.55m deep with 80mm pipes allowing the water to be redirected to the main drainage system. Soil was excavated and removed straight away to avoid any contamination, then we backfilled the 820m of trenches with 6mm stone at 150mm depth from the surface. Then we topped with a sand and soil mix before seeding."
Gravel or sand banding can be a quick and cost-effective way of installing a secondary drainage system - especially for sports fields. It is installed perpendicular to the primary system to help the removal of surface water and allow water to move more speedily to the primary drainage system. Trenches are cut into the turf and simultaneously backfilled with gravel, Lytag or sand before being rolled flat.
AFT Trenchers' Sandbander proved to be the solution at Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands Golf Club, where shared "in" and "out" routes accommodate 600 pairs of feet a day. Incessant rainfall caused problems but the one-man-operated AFT Sandbander coped with the most challenging part of the course, successfully dispersing water on the greens and redirecting it to drains.
Cheaper than installing a new system, mole draining could provide the answer to poorly draining pitches and other waterlogged sites. The technique involves pulling a bullet-shaped steel foot through the soil to create a drainage channel and it has been studied by Cranfield University. It was found to provide similar drainage performance to sand slit but at a much reduced cost.
Mole draining, however, is not a panacea for all sports-surface drainage problems. It is limited to heavy clay soils of a particular type, but it is that very type of soil that has the biggest drainage problems. Technically, there are also important aspects of machinery design and operation that are critical to the success of the mole drainage scheme.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Buckeye Catholics settle into new place to adore the Lord
The town, the nation’s second-fastest growing suburb in 2006, has ballooned eight-fold since 2000 and acquired a larger planning area to go with it. So the “old church,” which will house parish administration and meetings until the next phase is complete, was no longer widely accessible. Largely rural areas and general commerce lie south of it.
Future communities are planned as far north as Happy Valley Road and the Carefree Highway. The new parish property is about four miles north of the old one, on Lower Buckeye Road just south of Interstate 10 and Miller Road.
A couple of hundred parishioners joined in the eucharistic procession from a neighboring high school to the new church. They sang, “Bendito, bendito, bendito sea Dios” as they walked, the sun setting around them.
Parishioners with a collection of camera phones, stand-alone cameras and iPads awaited the procession in the courtyard. Six Knights of Columbus in regalia and another six men supporting a tent for the Blessed Sacrament led the way into the chapel.
“Blessed be God. Blessed be His holy name,” Fr. Kosco began, the first words uttered to a group of Catholics gathered in the chapel.
He went on to lead the “Prayer for a new parish home,” which many St. Henry churchgoers had memorized in at least one language. The parish has a fair mix of English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics.
After benediction, Fr. Kosco encouraged others to explore the new 150-seat chapel with a high ceiling and a tile floor.
The chapel also features Stations of the Cross, tastefully hung lights and rafters for aesthetics. Ecce Agnus Dei, or Latin for “Behold the Lamb of God,” is engraved in front of the wooden altar.
“The new space is beautiful. It’s very modern, but still very peaceful and reverence-based,” said Elisia Gaiza, who has been a St. Henry parishioner for 30-some years.
The hall, which also features a large kitchen, is a replica of what St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Parish in Anthem opened as its temporary church nearly three-and-a-half years ago. The hall will seat 600 for Mass and any missions or catechesis talks on the horizon.
Some ministries and groups might meet at the new property on a trial basis. Parish ambassadors will “staff” the new location during the day and offer tours and parish information.
Gaiza is excited to see the parish grow and welcome new faces. Deacon Victor Leon is also eager to embrace growth. The parish already offers religious education in Tonopah. Fr. Kosco hopes to ultimately build the church followed by a school or adult education center.
And while the upgrades included new countertops, floors and appliances, the project also included a $2,700 built-in, state-of-the-art coffeemaker the governor’s office later decided will be paid for with private donations rather than with taxpayer funds.
“Hope it makes damn good coffee,” said Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, when told of the expenditure, which was initially paid for with public money.
The governor’s residence was built in the 1950s and features a public wing and private wing. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her husband live in the smaller, cozier private wing that has its own kitchen, living room and bedrooms.
The public side of the mansion plays host to state dinners honoring visiting leaders and dignitaries, as well as private events put on by non-profit organizations. Caterers mainly use the kitchen. No serious work had been done to the public kitchen since the 1960s or 70s, and it was showing its age, according to pictures and Mike Unthank, deputy secretary of the General Services Department.
“You can imagine having 200-300 people here at an event and we have caterers that are cleaning out pots and pans outside” because the sinks were too small, Unthank said. “(Caterers) would take food trays and put them on the floor” because there wasn’t enough counter space.
Besides the sinks and counters, the floor was uneven and hard to keep clean, the lighting was poor, the stove leaked gas and water had leaked behind the backsplash tile behind the counters, he said. In short, it was deteriorating and shabby.
“We found issues with water leaks, which would lead to mold, which would lead to bacteria,” Unthank said.
One of the worst deficiencies was the gas stove. At one point, Martinez said she was walking through the home during winter with a member of her security detail and noticed open doors.
“I said, ‘Why are these doors open?’ ” she told News 13. “And he said, ‘Because of the gas leak.’ He said, ‘The stove is leaking,’ and I said, ‘We’re going to blow up. What are we doing here?’ ”
So officials at GSD, which is charged with maintaining public buildings, began looking at possible sources of funding to pay for the renovation. That was when officials discovered that the New Mexico Board of Finance had allocated close to $137,000 during former Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration specifically for repairs to the governor’s mansion. That money had never been spent, Unthank said.
Future communities are planned as far north as Happy Valley Road and the Carefree Highway. The new parish property is about four miles north of the old one, on Lower Buckeye Road just south of Interstate 10 and Miller Road.
A couple of hundred parishioners joined in the eucharistic procession from a neighboring high school to the new church. They sang, “Bendito, bendito, bendito sea Dios” as they walked, the sun setting around them.
Parishioners with a collection of camera phones, stand-alone cameras and iPads awaited the procession in the courtyard. Six Knights of Columbus in regalia and another six men supporting a tent for the Blessed Sacrament led the way into the chapel.
“Blessed be God. Blessed be His holy name,” Fr. Kosco began, the first words uttered to a group of Catholics gathered in the chapel.
He went on to lead the “Prayer for a new parish home,” which many St. Henry churchgoers had memorized in at least one language. The parish has a fair mix of English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics.
After benediction, Fr. Kosco encouraged others to explore the new 150-seat chapel with a high ceiling and a tile floor.
The chapel also features Stations of the Cross, tastefully hung lights and rafters for aesthetics. Ecce Agnus Dei, or Latin for “Behold the Lamb of God,” is engraved in front of the wooden altar.
“The new space is beautiful. It’s very modern, but still very peaceful and reverence-based,” said Elisia Gaiza, who has been a St. Henry parishioner for 30-some years.
The hall, which also features a large kitchen, is a replica of what St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Parish in Anthem opened as its temporary church nearly three-and-a-half years ago. The hall will seat 600 for Mass and any missions or catechesis talks on the horizon.
Some ministries and groups might meet at the new property on a trial basis. Parish ambassadors will “staff” the new location during the day and offer tours and parish information.
Gaiza is excited to see the parish grow and welcome new faces. Deacon Victor Leon is also eager to embrace growth. The parish already offers religious education in Tonopah. Fr. Kosco hopes to ultimately build the church followed by a school or adult education center.
And while the upgrades included new countertops, floors and appliances, the project also included a $2,700 built-in, state-of-the-art coffeemaker the governor’s office later decided will be paid for with private donations rather than with taxpayer funds.
“Hope it makes damn good coffee,” said Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, when told of the expenditure, which was initially paid for with public money.
The governor’s residence was built in the 1950s and features a public wing and private wing. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her husband live in the smaller, cozier private wing that has its own kitchen, living room and bedrooms.
The public side of the mansion plays host to state dinners honoring visiting leaders and dignitaries, as well as private events put on by non-profit organizations. Caterers mainly use the kitchen. No serious work had been done to the public kitchen since the 1960s or 70s, and it was showing its age, according to pictures and Mike Unthank, deputy secretary of the General Services Department.
“You can imagine having 200-300 people here at an event and we have caterers that are cleaning out pots and pans outside” because the sinks were too small, Unthank said. “(Caterers) would take food trays and put them on the floor” because there wasn’t enough counter space.
Besides the sinks and counters, the floor was uneven and hard to keep clean, the lighting was poor, the stove leaked gas and water had leaked behind the backsplash tile behind the counters, he said. In short, it was deteriorating and shabby.
“We found issues with water leaks, which would lead to mold, which would lead to bacteria,” Unthank said.
One of the worst deficiencies was the gas stove. At one point, Martinez said she was walking through the home during winter with a member of her security detail and noticed open doors.
“I said, ‘Why are these doors open?’ ” she told News 13. “And he said, ‘Because of the gas leak.’ He said, ‘The stove is leaking,’ and I said, ‘We’re going to blow up. What are we doing here?’ ”
So officials at GSD, which is charged with maintaining public buildings, began looking at possible sources of funding to pay for the renovation. That was when officials discovered that the New Mexico Board of Finance had allocated close to $137,000 during former Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration specifically for repairs to the governor’s mansion. That money had never been spent, Unthank said.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Affordable Tile Announces the Launch
For over 15 years, Affordable Tile has been the retailer of choice that many people have relied on for all of their home tile needs. Because the company specializes in tile only, it offers an amazing selection of high-quality materials at affordable prices. In fact, customers can find beautiful styles of outdoor ceramic tile and kitchen tile as well as porcelain tile floor, natural stone, glass mosaic tile and more. By placing an order with Affordable Tile, they can easily update the look of a home without spending a fortune. Now, the company is offering a special for free shipping on select orders, and this offer can help customers to save even more money when remodeling or renovating a home.
Affordable Tile specializes in provides the best selection of tile to its customers. The tiles are suitable for indoor and outdoor use, so you can easily find styles to meet the needs of all customers. The selection includes beautiful outdoor ceramic tile that is suitable for patios, outdoor kitchen areas and other areas that require a decorative touch. Ceramic kitchen tiles and borders are available in various colors and styles to meet various needs. These are most commonly used for backsplash, and ceramic tile may also look great on the floor, in the bathroom and in other areas inside the home.Porcelain tile floor is a highly durable, stylish choice, and Affordable Tile offers many sizes and colors of porcelain tiles to choose from. In addition, customers can also selection from gorgeous natural stone and glass mosaic tiles. With so many options to choose from, Affordable Tile is the ultimate resource for many home tile needs. In addition, all tile is ensured to be superior in quality. Before an order is shipped, samples will go through a five point process, and all shipments will be securely packaged to prevent damage while shipping.
Affordable Tile strives to provide its customers with an amazing selection of tiles at low prices. Whether customers are shopping for ceramic kitchen tiles, natural stone tiles or other types of tiles, they will find the prices to be highly competitive. In addition, Affordable Tile goes a step further to ensure that its customers can enjoy the beautiful look of tile in their home on a budget. The company is now offering free shipping on orders of 600 square feet of tile or more. This offer is valid for outdoor ceramic tile, mosaic tile and other types of tile. With this special offer, customers will initially pay for shipping on the order. After 30 days, Affordable Tile will issue a rebate on the customer’s credit card or debit card. This is a great way for customers to save money on high-quality tile. “We want to make our tile accessible to anyone anywhere”, Affordable Tile said.
Customers who have been thinking about remodeling their home and installing a beautiful porcelain tile floor, ceramic kitchen tiles for the backsplash, durable tile in the outdoor patio area or tile in another area of the home, Affordable Tile provides an budget-minded and high-quality solution. Homeowners as well as contractors, designers and others are invited to browse through the amazing selection of tiles on the website and to take advantage of the free shipping offer today.
The Villas of Traditions at Grey Oaks is a collection of residences ranging from 2,642 to 4,476 square feet base-priced from $705,000 to $870,000. The collection includes three floor plans, each with three available elevations. Each home comes with architecturally designed landscaping and mahogany front entry doors. Fully-furnished models are available for viewing.
A global chic, soft contemporary interior is featured in the Alegria villa model. The floor plan offers 2,642 square feet with formal living and dining rooms, two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a study, island kitchen and family room, an outdoor living area and a two-car garage with golf cart storage.
Walnut floors throughout the Alegria add warmth to the space while adjacent marble floors in polished royal oyster convey additional elegance. A subdued natural pallet of papyrus beige, pewter grays and rice paper ivories provides a sense of calm. Indochine fabrics focus on an earthy color pallet of plum, cinnamon, sage, nutmeg and burnished bronze. The wall colors are flaxen tan, parchment gray and creamy beige with painted white wood and distressed maple accent moldings. White-on-white custom ceiling trays are found in every room and include distressed and stained details mixed with traditional painted crown. The Alegria floor plan is base-priced at $705,000.
One move-in ready Alegria 3 residence is available for purchase and priced at $818,841, including the lot premium and upgrades. Twelve-foot ceilings and porcelain tile flooring are featured in the main living areas. The den is finished with a hardwood floor while designer carpeting with a premium cushion is utilized in the bedrooms. A Jenn-Air stainless steel appliance package, including a 30-inch gas cook top and a double convection oven, is featured in the kitchen. The living areas, kitchen and bedrooms are trimmed with crown molding. The outdoor living area and heated pool offer a western exposure.
The Bregante villa model’s European classic design is inspired by nature. Walls in soft moss green, ivory and faint gray colors play against crown and applied molding details. Creams, taupes, browns, linens, bronze, teals and blues are included in the color palette. Custom tray ceilings are finished with white washed and glazed designs. Cream and taupe honed marble floors with brushed and chiseled edges resemble old-world cobblestone flooring. Furnishings include traditional European pieces in a wide range of styles. The Bregante floor plan is base-priced at $795,000 and provides 3,319 square feet with formal living and dining rooms, three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a study, island kitchen and family room, an outdoor living area and a two-car garage with golf cart storage.
Affordable Tile specializes in provides the best selection of tile to its customers. The tiles are suitable for indoor and outdoor use, so you can easily find styles to meet the needs of all customers. The selection includes beautiful outdoor ceramic tile that is suitable for patios, outdoor kitchen areas and other areas that require a decorative touch. Ceramic kitchen tiles and borders are available in various colors and styles to meet various needs. These are most commonly used for backsplash, and ceramic tile may also look great on the floor, in the bathroom and in other areas inside the home.Porcelain tile floor is a highly durable, stylish choice, and Affordable Tile offers many sizes and colors of porcelain tiles to choose from. In addition, customers can also selection from gorgeous natural stone and glass mosaic tiles. With so many options to choose from, Affordable Tile is the ultimate resource for many home tile needs. In addition, all tile is ensured to be superior in quality. Before an order is shipped, samples will go through a five point process, and all shipments will be securely packaged to prevent damage while shipping.
Affordable Tile strives to provide its customers with an amazing selection of tiles at low prices. Whether customers are shopping for ceramic kitchen tiles, natural stone tiles or other types of tiles, they will find the prices to be highly competitive. In addition, Affordable Tile goes a step further to ensure that its customers can enjoy the beautiful look of tile in their home on a budget. The company is now offering free shipping on orders of 600 square feet of tile or more. This offer is valid for outdoor ceramic tile, mosaic tile and other types of tile. With this special offer, customers will initially pay for shipping on the order. After 30 days, Affordable Tile will issue a rebate on the customer’s credit card or debit card. This is a great way for customers to save money on high-quality tile. “We want to make our tile accessible to anyone anywhere”, Affordable Tile said.
Customers who have been thinking about remodeling their home and installing a beautiful porcelain tile floor, ceramic kitchen tiles for the backsplash, durable tile in the outdoor patio area or tile in another area of the home, Affordable Tile provides an budget-minded and high-quality solution. Homeowners as well as contractors, designers and others are invited to browse through the amazing selection of tiles on the website and to take advantage of the free shipping offer today.
The Villas of Traditions at Grey Oaks is a collection of residences ranging from 2,642 to 4,476 square feet base-priced from $705,000 to $870,000. The collection includes three floor plans, each with three available elevations. Each home comes with architecturally designed landscaping and mahogany front entry doors. Fully-furnished models are available for viewing.
A global chic, soft contemporary interior is featured in the Alegria villa model. The floor plan offers 2,642 square feet with formal living and dining rooms, two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a study, island kitchen and family room, an outdoor living area and a two-car garage with golf cart storage.
Walnut floors throughout the Alegria add warmth to the space while adjacent marble floors in polished royal oyster convey additional elegance. A subdued natural pallet of papyrus beige, pewter grays and rice paper ivories provides a sense of calm. Indochine fabrics focus on an earthy color pallet of plum, cinnamon, sage, nutmeg and burnished bronze. The wall colors are flaxen tan, parchment gray and creamy beige with painted white wood and distressed maple accent moldings. White-on-white custom ceiling trays are found in every room and include distressed and stained details mixed with traditional painted crown. The Alegria floor plan is base-priced at $705,000.
One move-in ready Alegria 3 residence is available for purchase and priced at $818,841, including the lot premium and upgrades. Twelve-foot ceilings and porcelain tile flooring are featured in the main living areas. The den is finished with a hardwood floor while designer carpeting with a premium cushion is utilized in the bedrooms. A Jenn-Air stainless steel appliance package, including a 30-inch gas cook top and a double convection oven, is featured in the kitchen. The living areas, kitchen and bedrooms are trimmed with crown molding. The outdoor living area and heated pool offer a western exposure.
The Bregante villa model’s European classic design is inspired by nature. Walls in soft moss green, ivory and faint gray colors play against crown and applied molding details. Creams, taupes, browns, linens, bronze, teals and blues are included in the color palette. Custom tray ceilings are finished with white washed and glazed designs. Cream and taupe honed marble floors with brushed and chiseled edges resemble old-world cobblestone flooring. Furnishings include traditional European pieces in a wide range of styles. The Bregante floor plan is base-priced at $795,000 and provides 3,319 square feet with formal living and dining rooms, three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a study, island kitchen and family room, an outdoor living area and a two-car garage with golf cart storage.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Emirates ID releases electronic linkage booklet
The project linking government organisations in the UAE is aimed at maintaining the accuracy of the population register, which was completed recently. It supports decision-makers and the ways to ascertain the data of citizens and expatriates to provide services through advanced, secure and reliable applications that take into account the highest standards of security and confidentiality, the Emirates ID statement explained.
The electronic linkage project helps update the civil and individual data files of the UAE population, thereby reducing duplication and repetition of data and enhancing national and individual security by strengthening the personal identity in the UAE through the interdependent databases of the UAE organisations, notably the ministries of interior, justice, education, higher education, health and labour), these being responsible for such major civil incidents as birth, marriage, divorce, citizenship, residency, death, education, health record and supporting documents.
The Emirates ID statement pointed out that the strategy of electronic linkage with the UAE government entities, 2012-2015, would contribute to streamlining government services, easing transactions and procedures, reducing costs, minimising paper consumption and providing ID management services to the UAE federal and local government organisations through engineering a range of flexible services that can be developed and harmonised.
This strategy helps the federal government and the local government entities in the UAE achieve its objectives in establishing a government that is available round-the-clock, thereby contributing to the prosperity of the UAE and its economy and helping citizens and residents get highly efficient and secure government services.
The booklet contains many themes that explain the strategy and describe the aspects including the global trends in ID management and electronic linkage among government entities, the challenges faced by governments, the UAE’s experience in developing the unified ID project and the need for electronic linkage among government entities.
The booklet provides an overview of the electronic linkage strategy and its objectives and priorities. It explains the framework of electronic linkage as well as its models, services, structure and governance. It also highlights the key projects and initiatives of the strategy, the electronic linkage roadmap and the key elements of success of the strategy.
Carter, 8-0 with four knockouts as a middleweight since turning pro in late 2010, was scheduled to face 41-year-old Antwun Echols (32-19-4, 28 KOs), who is originally from Davenport, for the CABA North American middleweight title at Davenport’s Danceland Ballroom.
However, Echols, a three-time world title contender in the late 1990s and early 2000s, withdrew from the fight on Tuesday due to a contract dispute.
“Well of course, I didn’t like it. It’s a terrible thing. A lot of people wanted to see me fight Antwun,” said Carter, who won the Illinois Golden Gloves championship in 2006. “You owe it to your fans and me. You signed the contract even if it’s not what you wanted.
“He signed it and hasn’t fought in his hometown in 13 years,” added Carter. ”If it was me and I got a chance to come home and box like he had I would. I don’t think it was the contract personally. He knew what he was getting into six weeks ago and I don’t think he was prepared for the fight. It’s kind of crazy. Childish if you ask me.
“The thing is, I don’t know anything about my new opponent, so the first round I have to see what he can and can’t do. Basically, the same approach I’d take,” he added. “Most of the guys I box are right-handed. I’m left-handed and right-handed boxers are southpaw killers. I just have to be smart about things and make adjustments as they come.”
Carter’s longtime coach and trainer, Carlos Duncan, doesn’t have any issues with his pupil’s new opponent.
“I think we need to fight. I would much rather have Antwun for the name recognition, but I feel George is ready for any opponent within a certain range,” he said. “We have a good game plan. I don’t see any problem with the opponent. It doesn’t look like he has much power but that doesn’t mean much.
The electronic linkage project helps update the civil and individual data files of the UAE population, thereby reducing duplication and repetition of data and enhancing national and individual security by strengthening the personal identity in the UAE through the interdependent databases of the UAE organisations, notably the ministries of interior, justice, education, higher education, health and labour), these being responsible for such major civil incidents as birth, marriage, divorce, citizenship, residency, death, education, health record and supporting documents.
The Emirates ID statement pointed out that the strategy of electronic linkage with the UAE government entities, 2012-2015, would contribute to streamlining government services, easing transactions and procedures, reducing costs, minimising paper consumption and providing ID management services to the UAE federal and local government organisations through engineering a range of flexible services that can be developed and harmonised.
This strategy helps the federal government and the local government entities in the UAE achieve its objectives in establishing a government that is available round-the-clock, thereby contributing to the prosperity of the UAE and its economy and helping citizens and residents get highly efficient and secure government services.
The booklet contains many themes that explain the strategy and describe the aspects including the global trends in ID management and electronic linkage among government entities, the challenges faced by governments, the UAE’s experience in developing the unified ID project and the need for electronic linkage among government entities.
The booklet provides an overview of the electronic linkage strategy and its objectives and priorities. It explains the framework of electronic linkage as well as its models, services, structure and governance. It also highlights the key projects and initiatives of the strategy, the electronic linkage roadmap and the key elements of success of the strategy.
Carter, 8-0 with four knockouts as a middleweight since turning pro in late 2010, was scheduled to face 41-year-old Antwun Echols (32-19-4, 28 KOs), who is originally from Davenport, for the CABA North American middleweight title at Davenport’s Danceland Ballroom.
However, Echols, a three-time world title contender in the late 1990s and early 2000s, withdrew from the fight on Tuesday due to a contract dispute.
“Well of course, I didn’t like it. It’s a terrible thing. A lot of people wanted to see me fight Antwun,” said Carter, who won the Illinois Golden Gloves championship in 2006. “You owe it to your fans and me. You signed the contract even if it’s not what you wanted.
“He signed it and hasn’t fought in his hometown in 13 years,” added Carter. ”If it was me and I got a chance to come home and box like he had I would. I don’t think it was the contract personally. He knew what he was getting into six weeks ago and I don’t think he was prepared for the fight. It’s kind of crazy. Childish if you ask me.
“The thing is, I don’t know anything about my new opponent, so the first round I have to see what he can and can’t do. Basically, the same approach I’d take,” he added. “Most of the guys I box are right-handed. I’m left-handed and right-handed boxers are southpaw killers. I just have to be smart about things and make adjustments as they come.”
Carter’s longtime coach and trainer, Carlos Duncan, doesn’t have any issues with his pupil’s new opponent.
“I think we need to fight. I would much rather have Antwun for the name recognition, but I feel George is ready for any opponent within a certain range,” he said. “We have a good game plan. I don’t see any problem with the opponent. It doesn’t look like he has much power but that doesn’t mean much.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
County moves forward with renovation plans
A long-considered plan to renovate the Exhibition Building at the Finney County fairgrounds took a step forward Tuesday after the county commission asked the project’s architect to prepare documents in advance of seeking bids.
“We’ve been talking about this now for close to five years,” Commissioner Dave Jones said. “At some point, we need to make a decision.”
Blaine Davis, the project’s architect, told the commission it will take a few weeks to prepare bid documents for the project. Once they are ready, the commission will have a better idea of costs associated with the project, and they can decide whether to bid it as one large project, or as a base bid with several alternates.
According to October’s estimate, the renovation would cost about $707,000, generally split evenly between interior and exterior improvements. On the outside, work would include improving the south vestibule and canopy, the east vestibule and table/chair storage, doors and hardware and painting. Interior work includes an insulation retrofit of roof and walls, catering kitchen improvements and painting, mechanical unit heaters and lighting.
County Administrator Randy Partington believes enough money is available in the budget for the project from reserve funds and county sales tax.
The county has about $339,000 saved in a capital reserve fund from previous budget years that were meant for building maintenance, he said. Additional funding could come from the county’s sales tax. The county collects about $850,000 per year in sales tax and spends about $800,000 per year on road projects and building maintenance.
Partington said the county ended 2012 with a cash balance of $509,000 in the sales tax fund and the proposed 2013 budget includes more than $1 million in budget authority.
Commissioner Cliff Mayo expressed concern about the building’s ventilation system, which isn’t currently in the proposed project. The current system is loud and doesn’t do a good job of taking hot air out of the building in the summer.
Mayo said there may be additional options to consider to make the building more useable.
“We want to make sure what we put out for bid is what we really want to do,” Mayo said. “I’d rather spend a little more right now. ... rather than leaving ourselves so short that we can’t use it for anything.”
Other than improvements to the kitchen, Davis said the project currently doesn’t really expand the building or its use, it mostly addresses cosmetic and maintenance-type issues.
Other commissioners are ready to start the project.
“We’ve kicked this thing around for quite awhile. I think we need to go ahead and get it out for bid and then look at options for maybe splitting some of it out if needed,” Commissioner Roman Halbur said.
Jones suggested the county could bid the projects as interior and exterior improvements. When the numbers come in, the commission could decide whether something could be taken out of the exterior plan to do something else with the interior, like improving the ventilation system.
One thing the county won’t need to worry about is the building’s roof. In November, the commission postponed putting the project out for bids due to concerns about the roof.
But a recent inspection found the 37-year-old roof is in good condition and should be serviceable for quite awhile. Inspectors observed some minimal hail damage and indicated the skylights are still serviceable with little degradation from ultraviolet light.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how good it looked,” Davis said. “It doesn’t show any signs of rust or seams opening up. Everything about it looked good. We’re safe to spend some money under that roof.”
The air can be described as … well … “chewy.” It's thick, and you feel it in your lungs with some actual heft. And it has a flavor — metallic, with hints of charcoal and just a touch of grit, it’s long on the palate. Every day I walk my fiancée to her office about a mile away. On a clear day, it’s an easy walk that I enjoy, taking in the hustle-and-bustle of one of the planet’s most vibrant cities. On a bad day – well, it’s kind of like running a marathon. Your lungs burn, your eyes sting, and you push through it to get to the finish line. We both wear masks – the industrial-grade kind that filter out very fine particulate matter. You’ve probably seen them before in the U.S. — in construction sites, or hospitals or asbestos-removal projects. Now, imagine that about half the people you encounter, everywhere you go, are wearing them all of the time. That’s Beijing. Well, Beijing, or a scene from “Outbreak.”
The funny thing is, I’ve grown really accustomed to my mask. It fits snugly and has a soft lining, keeping my face warm against the bitter winter cold. It looks kind of cool in a Darth Vadery way. And there’s something comforting about the hiss-click sound the filter makes as I inhale and exhale while cutting my way through the pea-soup haze. I’m going to miss it when I inevitably return to the U.S., and I often picture myself wearing it in Atlanta traffic and wonder if I’ll be able to pull that off.
Apparently I’m not alone in liking the mask either. As mentioned, at least half of the folks these days are wearing them, and being the hottest fashion accessory, many people have taken to accessorizing accordingly. This morning’s walk revealed several themes, from Hello Kitty, panda, to kitten and puppy masks. I even saw a young woman wearing a cotton “Juicy Couture” mask. I was tempted to stop her and let her know that not only was the cotton mask virtually useless in filtering out the dangerous particulates in the air, but it was painfully out of vogue as well.
Mask or not, most folks I know have cut their outdoor time to a minimum. You go where you have to go and head back home. Restaurants seem less crowded, cafes are nearly deserted, and the parks are practically empty as people bunker down and wait for a rare clear-air day. I pity the poor restaurant delivery guys who are especially busy these days. Chinese culture eschews the notion of tipping, which is a shame, as most of these guys should probably be saving up for the inevitable lung transplant.
“We’ve been talking about this now for close to five years,” Commissioner Dave Jones said. “At some point, we need to make a decision.”
Blaine Davis, the project’s architect, told the commission it will take a few weeks to prepare bid documents for the project. Once they are ready, the commission will have a better idea of costs associated with the project, and they can decide whether to bid it as one large project, or as a base bid with several alternates.
According to October’s estimate, the renovation would cost about $707,000, generally split evenly between interior and exterior improvements. On the outside, work would include improving the south vestibule and canopy, the east vestibule and table/chair storage, doors and hardware and painting. Interior work includes an insulation retrofit of roof and walls, catering kitchen improvements and painting, mechanical unit heaters and lighting.
County Administrator Randy Partington believes enough money is available in the budget for the project from reserve funds and county sales tax.
The county has about $339,000 saved in a capital reserve fund from previous budget years that were meant for building maintenance, he said. Additional funding could come from the county’s sales tax. The county collects about $850,000 per year in sales tax and spends about $800,000 per year on road projects and building maintenance.
Partington said the county ended 2012 with a cash balance of $509,000 in the sales tax fund and the proposed 2013 budget includes more than $1 million in budget authority.
Commissioner Cliff Mayo expressed concern about the building’s ventilation system, which isn’t currently in the proposed project. The current system is loud and doesn’t do a good job of taking hot air out of the building in the summer.
Mayo said there may be additional options to consider to make the building more useable.
“We want to make sure what we put out for bid is what we really want to do,” Mayo said. “I’d rather spend a little more right now. ... rather than leaving ourselves so short that we can’t use it for anything.”
Other than improvements to the kitchen, Davis said the project currently doesn’t really expand the building or its use, it mostly addresses cosmetic and maintenance-type issues.
Other commissioners are ready to start the project.
“We’ve kicked this thing around for quite awhile. I think we need to go ahead and get it out for bid and then look at options for maybe splitting some of it out if needed,” Commissioner Roman Halbur said.
Jones suggested the county could bid the projects as interior and exterior improvements. When the numbers come in, the commission could decide whether something could be taken out of the exterior plan to do something else with the interior, like improving the ventilation system.
One thing the county won’t need to worry about is the building’s roof. In November, the commission postponed putting the project out for bids due to concerns about the roof.
But a recent inspection found the 37-year-old roof is in good condition and should be serviceable for quite awhile. Inspectors observed some minimal hail damage and indicated the skylights are still serviceable with little degradation from ultraviolet light.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how good it looked,” Davis said. “It doesn’t show any signs of rust or seams opening up. Everything about it looked good. We’re safe to spend some money under that roof.”
The air can be described as … well … “chewy.” It's thick, and you feel it in your lungs with some actual heft. And it has a flavor — metallic, with hints of charcoal and just a touch of grit, it’s long on the palate. Every day I walk my fiancée to her office about a mile away. On a clear day, it’s an easy walk that I enjoy, taking in the hustle-and-bustle of one of the planet’s most vibrant cities. On a bad day – well, it’s kind of like running a marathon. Your lungs burn, your eyes sting, and you push through it to get to the finish line. We both wear masks – the industrial-grade kind that filter out very fine particulate matter. You’ve probably seen them before in the U.S. — in construction sites, or hospitals or asbestos-removal projects. Now, imagine that about half the people you encounter, everywhere you go, are wearing them all of the time. That’s Beijing. Well, Beijing, or a scene from “Outbreak.”
The funny thing is, I’ve grown really accustomed to my mask. It fits snugly and has a soft lining, keeping my face warm against the bitter winter cold. It looks kind of cool in a Darth Vadery way. And there’s something comforting about the hiss-click sound the filter makes as I inhale and exhale while cutting my way through the pea-soup haze. I’m going to miss it when I inevitably return to the U.S., and I often picture myself wearing it in Atlanta traffic and wonder if I’ll be able to pull that off.
Apparently I’m not alone in liking the mask either. As mentioned, at least half of the folks these days are wearing them, and being the hottest fashion accessory, many people have taken to accessorizing accordingly. This morning’s walk revealed several themes, from Hello Kitty, panda, to kitten and puppy masks. I even saw a young woman wearing a cotton “Juicy Couture” mask. I was tempted to stop her and let her know that not only was the cotton mask virtually useless in filtering out the dangerous particulates in the air, but it was painfully out of vogue as well.
Mask or not, most folks I know have cut their outdoor time to a minimum. You go where you have to go and head back home. Restaurants seem less crowded, cafes are nearly deserted, and the parks are practically empty as people bunker down and wait for a rare clear-air day. I pity the poor restaurant delivery guys who are especially busy these days. Chinese culture eschews the notion of tipping, which is a shame, as most of these guys should probably be saving up for the inevitable lung transplant.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Next generation research
If marketers are the architects of brand solutions, researchers are the engineers. The former can’t operate without the latter. The most imaginative designs, strategies and executions fall flat without the relevant facts, figures and insights to shape and guide them; it’s construction, and marketing, 101.
But in today’s ultra-competitive landscape, where consumers have more choice, less time and tighter wallets than ever before, research is increasingly critical.
Whether testing advertising, preparing to launch new products or testing products already in market, brands are forking out millions to get the scoop on what their consumers like and don’t like well before they lose out in market share, or bare the brunt on Facebook.
And, as the importance of research grows, so too do the scope of its objectives, data sources and collection methods.
The fragmentation of media channels over the last five years has opened up vast oceans of data which both research companies and businesses are working to translate into actionable insights.
Furthermore, the proliferation of new media, particularly social media and mobile devices, has revolutionised the way brands can find, interact with and analyse their sample audiences, making contemporary research fast, economical and far more fun for the consumers involved.
“The amount of change in the last three years has been amazing,” says Peter Harris, MD of Vision Critical. “Research has always been about making sure every ‘i’ is dotted and ‘t’ is crossed. It’s been slow and steady and accurate but the speed of decision-making in business has increased very quickly in the last three years, so now market research has to evolve to keep up.
Simplistically put, research provides brands with data and insights to help them understand consumers’ behaviour and spending patterns. It helps marketers build audience profiles and consequently target marketing efforts to relevant consumer communities.
Market research, as an industry, sprung to life in the 1960s in line with advertising’s ‘golden age’. Its mainstays were face-to-face surveys, telephone questionnaires and focus groups – the type where 20 people were lumped in a room to be observed by a brand scientist from behind a mirrored glass pane.
Then advent of the internet in the late 1990s turned the industry, like so many others, on its head. Since then, online and digital have become its linchpins both in terms of both data creation and collection.
The uptake of personal devices, like mobile phones and tablets, and the advent of social media mean clients now have far more behavioural and sales data at their fingertips.
“The research function is basically moving from a ‘we need to ask some questions and conduct surveys to inform marketing management’ to ‘what are all the different sources of data and touch points we have to our target audience? And how are we going to form that into a coherent knowledge and insights program to help meet our overall business objectives?’” says James Burge, MD of Research Now.
Five years ago a brand’s annual research would consist of implementing a traditional brand tracker, running a number of usage to attitude studies and a few big segmentations during the year. The projects were fewer, slower and of much larger value.
The modern approach to research, however, is about “using existing intelligence, technology and capabilities to extract insights now rather than waiting for the perfect solution,” says MCN Multiview insights and analytics director, Murray Love.
Why? Because marketers need to be faster to market than ever before and that pressure, in turn, is passed on to their research teams.
“The speed to market is much faster than it was ten or 15 years ago,” says Kate Platter, New South Wales director of Ipsos ASI. “The speed at which you can launch a product is much faster, and the speed at which somebody can copy it is much faster, so your window of opportunity as a marketer has become much smaller. We have to match that now.”
Today too, marketing research is more and more about “integrative learning” and ongoing conversations. The typical research approach may be to ask your sample five questions, find out the answers two days later, change something in the business accordingly, measure the effects of that change, then come up with another few questions for your sample.
Surveys can be written, distributed and answered all in a matter of hours online. Brands can also create “closed communities” of consumers to whom they can refer again and again at short notice – something brands like Telstra and Nestle – two of Vision Critical’s clients, are already doing.
Nestle’s is called the Nestle Kitchen Conversation and allows the brand to conduct survey discussions and qualitative research in a dedicated online forum which replaces the traditional focus group.
While the digital shift may provide the biggest opportunities for brands, it also presents some major hurdles.
In the words of Ipsos’ Platter, “The proliferation and fragmentation of media channels is one of the biggest challenge for marketers [because] brands need to integrate and push their product across all these different platforms.”
Media fragmentation, in turn, means researchers have to be broader with their data collection.
Now, instead of just looking at paid media like TV, print and radio, research needs to be across owned media – like Facebook, Twitter and branded microsites, and earned media – which includes people retweeting, sharing emails and posting messages on their Facebook pages.
But in today’s ultra-competitive landscape, where consumers have more choice, less time and tighter wallets than ever before, research is increasingly critical.
Whether testing advertising, preparing to launch new products or testing products already in market, brands are forking out millions to get the scoop on what their consumers like and don’t like well before they lose out in market share, or bare the brunt on Facebook.
And, as the importance of research grows, so too do the scope of its objectives, data sources and collection methods.
The fragmentation of media channels over the last five years has opened up vast oceans of data which both research companies and businesses are working to translate into actionable insights.
Furthermore, the proliferation of new media, particularly social media and mobile devices, has revolutionised the way brands can find, interact with and analyse their sample audiences, making contemporary research fast, economical and far more fun for the consumers involved.
“The amount of change in the last three years has been amazing,” says Peter Harris, MD of Vision Critical. “Research has always been about making sure every ‘i’ is dotted and ‘t’ is crossed. It’s been slow and steady and accurate but the speed of decision-making in business has increased very quickly in the last three years, so now market research has to evolve to keep up.
Simplistically put, research provides brands with data and insights to help them understand consumers’ behaviour and spending patterns. It helps marketers build audience profiles and consequently target marketing efforts to relevant consumer communities.
Market research, as an industry, sprung to life in the 1960s in line with advertising’s ‘golden age’. Its mainstays were face-to-face surveys, telephone questionnaires and focus groups – the type where 20 people were lumped in a room to be observed by a brand scientist from behind a mirrored glass pane.
Then advent of the internet in the late 1990s turned the industry, like so many others, on its head. Since then, online and digital have become its linchpins both in terms of both data creation and collection.
The uptake of personal devices, like mobile phones and tablets, and the advent of social media mean clients now have far more behavioural and sales data at their fingertips.
“The research function is basically moving from a ‘we need to ask some questions and conduct surveys to inform marketing management’ to ‘what are all the different sources of data and touch points we have to our target audience? And how are we going to form that into a coherent knowledge and insights program to help meet our overall business objectives?’” says James Burge, MD of Research Now.
Five years ago a brand’s annual research would consist of implementing a traditional brand tracker, running a number of usage to attitude studies and a few big segmentations during the year. The projects were fewer, slower and of much larger value.
The modern approach to research, however, is about “using existing intelligence, technology and capabilities to extract insights now rather than waiting for the perfect solution,” says MCN Multiview insights and analytics director, Murray Love.
Why? Because marketers need to be faster to market than ever before and that pressure, in turn, is passed on to their research teams.
“The speed to market is much faster than it was ten or 15 years ago,” says Kate Platter, New South Wales director of Ipsos ASI. “The speed at which you can launch a product is much faster, and the speed at which somebody can copy it is much faster, so your window of opportunity as a marketer has become much smaller. We have to match that now.”
Today too, marketing research is more and more about “integrative learning” and ongoing conversations. The typical research approach may be to ask your sample five questions, find out the answers two days later, change something in the business accordingly, measure the effects of that change, then come up with another few questions for your sample.
Surveys can be written, distributed and answered all in a matter of hours online. Brands can also create “closed communities” of consumers to whom they can refer again and again at short notice – something brands like Telstra and Nestle – two of Vision Critical’s clients, are already doing.
Nestle’s is called the Nestle Kitchen Conversation and allows the brand to conduct survey discussions and qualitative research in a dedicated online forum which replaces the traditional focus group.
While the digital shift may provide the biggest opportunities for brands, it also presents some major hurdles.
In the words of Ipsos’ Platter, “The proliferation and fragmentation of media channels is one of the biggest challenge for marketers [because] brands need to integrate and push their product across all these different platforms.”
Media fragmentation, in turn, means researchers have to be broader with their data collection.
Now, instead of just looking at paid media like TV, print and radio, research needs to be across owned media – like Facebook, Twitter and branded microsites, and earned media – which includes people retweeting, sharing emails and posting messages on their Facebook pages.
Escalating tax credit proposed to boost WNY film production
Angelina Jolie almost filmed an elaborate fight scene in Buffalo for the action thriller “Salt,” using the Skyway, the I-190 ramp and the railroad tracks below as a backdrop.
A location scout wanted it to happen, but it was just too costly to film here.
So the production went to another city.
It’s a problem that has kept many film studios away, despite the enticement of Buffalo’s picture-perfect settings, according to film promoters here.
“The things we have that always blow these filmmakers away – and it’s probably a testament to the preservationists here – is that our architecture is so preserved and so pristine. They see our grain mills, the grittiness of the First Ward, the Cobblestone District with real cobblestone streets,” said Tim Clark, head of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.
It is just the costs that stop movie crews from coming here.
Big productions must bring in crews from New York City, and that means paying additional costs for transportation, rental vehicles, hotel rooms and per diems.
“The experts tell me it’s close to a 45 percent difference between shooting a movie in Buffalo versus shooting a movie in Staten Island,” Clark said.
Now State Sen. Patrick Gallivan has proposed legislation that he feels could level the playing field and make Buffalo much more competitive with other cities. His bill calls for raising the state’s 30 percent film production tax credit – the amount of expenses a film studio can deduct in taxes – on an escalating scale upstate. For Western New York, it would be 45 percent.
“The farther you get from New York City, the more expensive it is to bring films to Buffalo,” the Elma Republican said. “But over time, we can build the industry and workforce, and the costs will naturally go down.”
His proposal follows a change last year that boosted the state’s tax credit for post-production work – such as titling, color correcting and special effects – from 10 to 30 percent, with an additional 5 percent bump for upstate and Western New York.
“We have a very good number of small-budget films being made in and around this area. But we’re relegated to the non-union, smaller-budget movies,” Clark said. “They are good bread-and-butter kinds of projects for us, but we’re likely not to see the bigger stuff until we get some sort of relief in the tax credits here.”
For example, a little over a week ago, director Ivan Reitman and a location scout were in town to consider making “Draft Day,” which would star Kevin Costner as a fictitious Buffalo Bills general manager.
But Lionsgate studio also is considering Cleveland for the movie because it offers a variety of incentives not available in Buffalo. Another example: Producer Don Carmody, whose credits include “Good Will Hunting” and “Chicago,” set his latest film, “The Factory,” which came out direct-to-video on Tuesday, in Buffalo.
But the movie, which stars John Cusack, was filmed in Montreal.
“There is huge competition with the tax credits all over the place, and when we made ‘The Factory,’ even the New York State rebates weren’t that big a deal. It was just better for us to shoot the thing in Montreal and take advantage of their tax credits,” Carmody said.
Gallivan said he is hopeful fellow lawmakers will support the four-tiered film production tax credit boost – from 30 to 45 percent – that would give upstate and Western New York the maximum boost.
It’s the only way, he said, that regions outside New York City can have a level playing field.
“I don’t know if we need four or three tiers, but the general concept essentially is to level the costs so every region can compete equally to bring film production to upstate and Western New York,” Gallivan said.
His bill has the support of John Ford, president and business manager of Motion Picture Studio Mechanics Local 52, based in New York City. More than 100 members are between Buffalo and Rochester in the various locals and he would welcome the chance to add more, he said.
“You need the employers to bring the work here. Once the shows start coming, then you get as many local people on as you can and they learn over time,” Ford said.
Clark said the legislation to provide equity is overdue.
“In 2006, ‘The Savages’ shot here two or three days and went to Staten Island, where it was made to look like Buffalo,” Clark said, referring to the film that co-starred Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney.
Clark said representatives from several major movie studios have assured him that they would shoot more pictures throughout New York State if the production tax credit went up.
Other upstate movie promoters agree.
Based on conversations with line producers who budget movies, “the magic tax credit number is 42 percent,” said Nora Brown, who heads Rochester’s film commission.
That would help Rochester retain films she said have been lost lately to Massachusetts. Some other states, for instance, allow a portion of salaries paid to the director, writer and leading cast members to be deducted from taxes.
Downtown Rochester is slated for 10 days of shooting this spring for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” according to John Scardino, regional representative for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees 52. But the amount of film, which reprises Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, being shot there was cut in half due to added costs.
Efforts also are under way to increase critical post-production work in parts of the state outside of New York City.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last July signed legislation that raised the state post-production tax credit for upstate and Western New York to 35 percent – 5 percent higher than for New York City, where most of the industry is located.
The governor announced his support in January for extending the tax credit five years, something the Legislature still has to approve.
Increasing the post-production tax credit is working, said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of Empire State Development Corp.
“For the first couple of years that the post-production credit existed, there were 17 projects that sought support. In the six or seven months since, we’ve had 34 projects sign up for the credit, indicating there is strong interest,” Adams said.
Later this year, the school plans to begin a visual-effects certificate training program to train students to work in the post-production industry.
Sam Hoyt, a member of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, said there have been “advanced discussions” about how to support what Daemen is doing.
“We think Daemen has something that is very unique based on our discussions and our due diligence, and we’re in discussions with the team there as to how we can make it become a reality,” Hoyt said.
Adams said the growing industry could help retain a highly skilled and well-trained technical workforce in Buffalo.
“If this works, it’s another strategy in keeping young people in Western New York. It’s a very cool industry,” Adams said.
Ben Porcari, who operates IBC Digital, a production company in Buffalo specializing in post-animation and digital effects, said the post-production tax credit makes Buffalo much more competitive.
“Companies can benefit from the low cost of operation in Buffalo and take advantage of the extra 5 percent tax credit. On a $1 million job, that’s a decent amount of money,” Porcari said.
With possible changes to production tax credits along with the change last year in the post-production credit, Buffalo and Western New York’s film industry could be turning a corner, said Clark of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.
“I truly believe we are on the cusp of something really big here,” Clark said. “It’s also really sexy. You have movie stars in town, you have lights, camera, action. It’s a great way to boost the economy.”
A location scout wanted it to happen, but it was just too costly to film here.
So the production went to another city.
It’s a problem that has kept many film studios away, despite the enticement of Buffalo’s picture-perfect settings, according to film promoters here.
“The things we have that always blow these filmmakers away – and it’s probably a testament to the preservationists here – is that our architecture is so preserved and so pristine. They see our grain mills, the grittiness of the First Ward, the Cobblestone District with real cobblestone streets,” said Tim Clark, head of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.
It is just the costs that stop movie crews from coming here.
Big productions must bring in crews from New York City, and that means paying additional costs for transportation, rental vehicles, hotel rooms and per diems.
“The experts tell me it’s close to a 45 percent difference between shooting a movie in Buffalo versus shooting a movie in Staten Island,” Clark said.
Now State Sen. Patrick Gallivan has proposed legislation that he feels could level the playing field and make Buffalo much more competitive with other cities. His bill calls for raising the state’s 30 percent film production tax credit – the amount of expenses a film studio can deduct in taxes – on an escalating scale upstate. For Western New York, it would be 45 percent.
“The farther you get from New York City, the more expensive it is to bring films to Buffalo,” the Elma Republican said. “But over time, we can build the industry and workforce, and the costs will naturally go down.”
His proposal follows a change last year that boosted the state’s tax credit for post-production work – such as titling, color correcting and special effects – from 10 to 30 percent, with an additional 5 percent bump for upstate and Western New York.
“We have a very good number of small-budget films being made in and around this area. But we’re relegated to the non-union, smaller-budget movies,” Clark said. “They are good bread-and-butter kinds of projects for us, but we’re likely not to see the bigger stuff until we get some sort of relief in the tax credits here.”
For example, a little over a week ago, director Ivan Reitman and a location scout were in town to consider making “Draft Day,” which would star Kevin Costner as a fictitious Buffalo Bills general manager.
But Lionsgate studio also is considering Cleveland for the movie because it offers a variety of incentives not available in Buffalo. Another example: Producer Don Carmody, whose credits include “Good Will Hunting” and “Chicago,” set his latest film, “The Factory,” which came out direct-to-video on Tuesday, in Buffalo.
But the movie, which stars John Cusack, was filmed in Montreal.
“There is huge competition with the tax credits all over the place, and when we made ‘The Factory,’ even the New York State rebates weren’t that big a deal. It was just better for us to shoot the thing in Montreal and take advantage of their tax credits,” Carmody said.
Gallivan said he is hopeful fellow lawmakers will support the four-tiered film production tax credit boost – from 30 to 45 percent – that would give upstate and Western New York the maximum boost.
It’s the only way, he said, that regions outside New York City can have a level playing field.
“I don’t know if we need four or three tiers, but the general concept essentially is to level the costs so every region can compete equally to bring film production to upstate and Western New York,” Gallivan said.
His bill has the support of John Ford, president and business manager of Motion Picture Studio Mechanics Local 52, based in New York City. More than 100 members are between Buffalo and Rochester in the various locals and he would welcome the chance to add more, he said.
“You need the employers to bring the work here. Once the shows start coming, then you get as many local people on as you can and they learn over time,” Ford said.
Clark said the legislation to provide equity is overdue.
“In 2006, ‘The Savages’ shot here two or three days and went to Staten Island, where it was made to look like Buffalo,” Clark said, referring to the film that co-starred Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney.
Clark said representatives from several major movie studios have assured him that they would shoot more pictures throughout New York State if the production tax credit went up.
Other upstate movie promoters agree.
Based on conversations with line producers who budget movies, “the magic tax credit number is 42 percent,” said Nora Brown, who heads Rochester’s film commission.
That would help Rochester retain films she said have been lost lately to Massachusetts. Some other states, for instance, allow a portion of salaries paid to the director, writer and leading cast members to be deducted from taxes.
Downtown Rochester is slated for 10 days of shooting this spring for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” according to John Scardino, regional representative for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees 52. But the amount of film, which reprises Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, being shot there was cut in half due to added costs.
Efforts also are under way to increase critical post-production work in parts of the state outside of New York City.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last July signed legislation that raised the state post-production tax credit for upstate and Western New York to 35 percent – 5 percent higher than for New York City, where most of the industry is located.
The governor announced his support in January for extending the tax credit five years, something the Legislature still has to approve.
Increasing the post-production tax credit is working, said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of Empire State Development Corp.
“For the first couple of years that the post-production credit existed, there were 17 projects that sought support. In the six or seven months since, we’ve had 34 projects sign up for the credit, indicating there is strong interest,” Adams said.
Later this year, the school plans to begin a visual-effects certificate training program to train students to work in the post-production industry.
Sam Hoyt, a member of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, said there have been “advanced discussions” about how to support what Daemen is doing.
“We think Daemen has something that is very unique based on our discussions and our due diligence, and we’re in discussions with the team there as to how we can make it become a reality,” Hoyt said.
Adams said the growing industry could help retain a highly skilled and well-trained technical workforce in Buffalo.
“If this works, it’s another strategy in keeping young people in Western New York. It’s a very cool industry,” Adams said.
Ben Porcari, who operates IBC Digital, a production company in Buffalo specializing in post-animation and digital effects, said the post-production tax credit makes Buffalo much more competitive.
“Companies can benefit from the low cost of operation in Buffalo and take advantage of the extra 5 percent tax credit. On a $1 million job, that’s a decent amount of money,” Porcari said.
With possible changes to production tax credits along with the change last year in the post-production credit, Buffalo and Western New York’s film industry could be turning a corner, said Clark of the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission.
“I truly believe we are on the cusp of something really big here,” Clark said. “It’s also really sexy. You have movie stars in town, you have lights, camera, action. It’s a great way to boost the economy.”
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Pamlico taxidermist debuts
When Page Nethercutt was 8, he used the skills he learned from his taxidermist father Gerald to enter a squirrel in a school science fair. He won a blue ribbon, but not the overall best of show.
He didn’t consider it the end of his world and continued to hone his skills.
Nethercutt, now 41, is not sure whatever became of the science fair winner, but television viewers will have the chance Thursday to see his vision of a real “End of the World” moment in nature when he is featured on a new AMC series entitled “The Immortalizer.”
Nethercutt, who took over his father’s business and reopened it as Moore Swamp Taxidermy in Pamlico County in 1994, is one of four taxidermist chosen for the eight-part reality show.
“The basis of the show is a competition between what they called ‘The Immortalizer,’ who they consider their master taxidermist versus a challenger,” he said.
He was first approached by the network more than a year ago and after four days of filming at his shop and more production time in Hollywood, he is The Immortalizer in the Thursday episode. The filming included Nethercutt working on the piece, interviews and some scenes of him and his family around their beehives and aviary on Moore Swamp Road near Reelsboro.
Last week, he attended a huge press party in New York City.
Nethercutt will be featured in two of the eight shows. Contractually, he can only talk about the first show with the quail and bobcat, set in a southwest United States scene. It includes a small habitat.
“It is something you add to represent the natural ground effects — dirt, trees and bushes — for color, to give it an artsy flow,” he said. “We want to see circles in the piece so that as your eye looks at the animal, it moves around to another point and back to the animal.”
“Your eye basically wants to come back to the quail, because he is the theme of the show,” he said. “He is scared out of his mind. He has his mouth open, screaming. His eyes are bugged out and his foot is slamming against the cat’s leg, trying to push away from him.”
The bobcat’s jaws are wide open, with the quail’s wing is slapping his whiskers, making that side of the cat’s face squint, with one eye half-closed.
“This is a split-second in time,” Nethercutt said. “This is a predator-prey scene.”
He decided not to go with traditionally mass-produced pedestals for the scene, instead commissioning Bayboro cabinet maker Steve Ballenger, who hand-selected the wood to match the colors of the animal and bird.
The piece is the property of AMC and is still in Hollywood, although it will be returned. But, Nethercutt cannot sell or give it away.
“We’ll find a place to put it,” he said of his shop showroom, which features his personal collection of birds and animals. At home, he and his wife Bonnie have 98 more mounts.
There is no source for mount material and it would have to be constructed by hand. But, more importantly, he said that a pet is impossible to create authentically.
“There is a look in that dog or cat’s eye that we can’t duplicate in glass,” he said. “A dog or cat can make some facial expressions and we cannot capture that to that owner’s liking, so therefore they are always going to be disappointed.”
He will do pet birds. Despite having personality, they have no facial muscles.
Page also works as a judge in other states for taxidermy competitions and has produced how-to videos.
Page’s father Gerald was a self-taught taxidermist, who opened Gerald’s Taxidermy in 1963 and retired in 1987.
The family has deep roots in the remote area where they live. Page’s grandfather, Rex Potter, bought a farm from the Moore family. When the county 911 emergency address systems were enacted, it was named Moore Swamp Road.
As a youngster growing into manhood, he worked in the taxidermy studio to pay his way on hunting trips out west. He also toiled on his grandfather’s farm and did some work as a commercial fisherman.
After high school, he joined the Air Force and spent four years in Montana.
“That’s where I got heavier into taxidermy,” he said. “When it was time to re-enlist, I decided to go into taxidermy.”
He has since won many awards for his creative waterfowl, along with African and North American mammals. He is one of just 15 designated master taxidermists by the North Carolina Taxidermy Association.
He didn’t consider it the end of his world and continued to hone his skills.
Nethercutt, now 41, is not sure whatever became of the science fair winner, but television viewers will have the chance Thursday to see his vision of a real “End of the World” moment in nature when he is featured on a new AMC series entitled “The Immortalizer.”
Nethercutt, who took over his father’s business and reopened it as Moore Swamp Taxidermy in Pamlico County in 1994, is one of four taxidermist chosen for the eight-part reality show.
“The basis of the show is a competition between what they called ‘The Immortalizer,’ who they consider their master taxidermist versus a challenger,” he said.
He was first approached by the network more than a year ago and after four days of filming at his shop and more production time in Hollywood, he is The Immortalizer in the Thursday episode. The filming included Nethercutt working on the piece, interviews and some scenes of him and his family around their beehives and aviary on Moore Swamp Road near Reelsboro.
Last week, he attended a huge press party in New York City.
Nethercutt will be featured in two of the eight shows. Contractually, he can only talk about the first show with the quail and bobcat, set in a southwest United States scene. It includes a small habitat.
“It is something you add to represent the natural ground effects — dirt, trees and bushes — for color, to give it an artsy flow,” he said. “We want to see circles in the piece so that as your eye looks at the animal, it moves around to another point and back to the animal.”
“Your eye basically wants to come back to the quail, because he is the theme of the show,” he said. “He is scared out of his mind. He has his mouth open, screaming. His eyes are bugged out and his foot is slamming against the cat’s leg, trying to push away from him.”
The bobcat’s jaws are wide open, with the quail’s wing is slapping his whiskers, making that side of the cat’s face squint, with one eye half-closed.
“This is a split-second in time,” Nethercutt said. “This is a predator-prey scene.”
He decided not to go with traditionally mass-produced pedestals for the scene, instead commissioning Bayboro cabinet maker Steve Ballenger, who hand-selected the wood to match the colors of the animal and bird.
The piece is the property of AMC and is still in Hollywood, although it will be returned. But, Nethercutt cannot sell or give it away.
“We’ll find a place to put it,” he said of his shop showroom, which features his personal collection of birds and animals. At home, he and his wife Bonnie have 98 more mounts.
There is no source for mount material and it would have to be constructed by hand. But, more importantly, he said that a pet is impossible to create authentically.
“There is a look in that dog or cat’s eye that we can’t duplicate in glass,” he said. “A dog or cat can make some facial expressions and we cannot capture that to that owner’s liking, so therefore they are always going to be disappointed.”
He will do pet birds. Despite having personality, they have no facial muscles.
Page also works as a judge in other states for taxidermy competitions and has produced how-to videos.
Page’s father Gerald was a self-taught taxidermist, who opened Gerald’s Taxidermy in 1963 and retired in 1987.
The family has deep roots in the remote area where they live. Page’s grandfather, Rex Potter, bought a farm from the Moore family. When the county 911 emergency address systems were enacted, it was named Moore Swamp Road.
As a youngster growing into manhood, he worked in the taxidermy studio to pay his way on hunting trips out west. He also toiled on his grandfather’s farm and did some work as a commercial fisherman.
After high school, he joined the Air Force and spent four years in Montana.
“That’s where I got heavier into taxidermy,” he said. “When it was time to re-enlist, I decided to go into taxidermy.”
He has since won many awards for his creative waterfowl, along with African and North American mammals. He is one of just 15 designated master taxidermists by the North Carolina Taxidermy Association.
What's your Jericho?
Tooling through the aisles of a local superstore, trying to avoid the piles of merchandise being restocked, I overheard a creative but disgruntled employee. He was explaining a great idea he had for a new display.
His idea sounded colorful, eye-catching and informative. He had me wanting to buy the product. Yet I heard hesitancy in his voice as he began to assess how to achieve his goal.
Now, this was a superstore; the hardware section, a carpenter's dream. There was even an office supply section with various kinds of staples and alternatives to staples. Staples everywhere.
Problem was in order to get the staples it required a bit of effort. It was simply too much trouble. Creativity crushed.
Talk about a "that'll preach" video from God. I wouldn't have been surprised to have heard my name being called over the intercom, "This is God letting you know, don't quit. I've given you the creativity, the dream and the means to complete it all. You may have to sweat. It may take a lot of time talking to me, and it may take longer than you think, but do not quit. Persevere."
It reminds me of the ladies and I talking in Bible study, "What if Joshua quit marching around Jericho on the sixth trip around? One thing's for sure, no walls would have come tumbling down. What's your Jericho?
How many times have you quit before you even started? Was it because it seemed like it was going to take too much of your time? Was it a lack of resources? Was it just plain puttin' your neck on the line? Maybe it was a staple that stood between you and the work God has called you to complete.
I don't know about you, but I have a new bounce in my step. If God called us to do something for Him, He knows my time schedule and my resources. He is my resource. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He is able to sufficiently supply all our needs.
God will also be with me if it requires my neck being on the line. If I stand obedient to do the task before me, even if rejection occurs repeatedly, I can stand secure. I can because I serve God who is faithful to complete the work that He began in me.
He gave us His son. He gave it all that we might have life, abundant life. That means, with Him, we can have a life of accomplishing more than we ever thought or dreamed. So are you ready? Will you join with me? Let's get going on what He's calling us each to do today.
The postal service plans to transition to a new delivery schedule beginning Aug. 5, 2013. The new schedule includes package delivery Monday through Saturday and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The purpose is to generate a $2-billion annual cost savings, the post office said in a release.
Although Redding has four post offices, only the West Redding post office delivers mail. The other three — Redding Center, Redding Ridge and Georgetown — offer window services and only have post office (PO) boxes. All four will remain open on Saturdays.
“The postal service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mail habits,” said Patrick R. Donahue, postmaster general and CEO.
Over the past several years, the USPS has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent growth in package delivery (14% volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days a week, according to the release.
Maureen Marion, a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson, said the change is a “re-tooling” of postal operations and reflects what most customers consider critical for them.
Since 2006, said Ms. Marion, overall mail circulation has decreased by 20% to 25% while first class mail is down by one-third.
“It’s not just a change in the use of email, but a change in how the Internet has worked into our communications. We need to be right-sized for the way people use their mailboxes today. We still have an enormous volume of mail, but it is different than 10 years ago,” Ms. Marion said.
These deliveries will not require the same level of staff or vehicles as everyday mail delivery, Ms. Marion said. She said the mail service is not a tax-funded operation, but is paid for through mail service revenue.
Packages that will continue to be delivered on Saturdays include a wide range of items, from premium overnight express mail to priority boxes, to parcel post, to packages containing medication.
His idea sounded colorful, eye-catching and informative. He had me wanting to buy the product. Yet I heard hesitancy in his voice as he began to assess how to achieve his goal.
Now, this was a superstore; the hardware section, a carpenter's dream. There was even an office supply section with various kinds of staples and alternatives to staples. Staples everywhere.
Problem was in order to get the staples it required a bit of effort. It was simply too much trouble. Creativity crushed.
Talk about a "that'll preach" video from God. I wouldn't have been surprised to have heard my name being called over the intercom, "This is God letting you know, don't quit. I've given you the creativity, the dream and the means to complete it all. You may have to sweat. It may take a lot of time talking to me, and it may take longer than you think, but do not quit. Persevere."
It reminds me of the ladies and I talking in Bible study, "What if Joshua quit marching around Jericho on the sixth trip around? One thing's for sure, no walls would have come tumbling down. What's your Jericho?
How many times have you quit before you even started? Was it because it seemed like it was going to take too much of your time? Was it a lack of resources? Was it just plain puttin' your neck on the line? Maybe it was a staple that stood between you and the work God has called you to complete.
I don't know about you, but I have a new bounce in my step. If God called us to do something for Him, He knows my time schedule and my resources. He is my resource. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He is able to sufficiently supply all our needs.
God will also be with me if it requires my neck being on the line. If I stand obedient to do the task before me, even if rejection occurs repeatedly, I can stand secure. I can because I serve God who is faithful to complete the work that He began in me.
He gave us His son. He gave it all that we might have life, abundant life. That means, with Him, we can have a life of accomplishing more than we ever thought or dreamed. So are you ready? Will you join with me? Let's get going on what He's calling us each to do today.
The postal service plans to transition to a new delivery schedule beginning Aug. 5, 2013. The new schedule includes package delivery Monday through Saturday and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The purpose is to generate a $2-billion annual cost savings, the post office said in a release.
Although Redding has four post offices, only the West Redding post office delivers mail. The other three — Redding Center, Redding Ridge and Georgetown — offer window services and only have post office (PO) boxes. All four will remain open on Saturdays.
“The postal service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mail habits,” said Patrick R. Donahue, postmaster general and CEO.
Over the past several years, the USPS has advocated shifting to a five-day delivery schedule for mail and packages. However, recent growth in package delivery (14% volume increase since 2010) and projections of continued strong package growth throughout the coming decade led to the revised approach to maintain package delivery six days a week, according to the release.
Maureen Marion, a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson, said the change is a “re-tooling” of postal operations and reflects what most customers consider critical for them.
Since 2006, said Ms. Marion, overall mail circulation has decreased by 20% to 25% while first class mail is down by one-third.
“It’s not just a change in the use of email, but a change in how the Internet has worked into our communications. We need to be right-sized for the way people use their mailboxes today. We still have an enormous volume of mail, but it is different than 10 years ago,” Ms. Marion said.
These deliveries will not require the same level of staff or vehicles as everyday mail delivery, Ms. Marion said. She said the mail service is not a tax-funded operation, but is paid for through mail service revenue.
Packages that will continue to be delivered on Saturdays include a wide range of items, from premium overnight express mail to priority boxes, to parcel post, to packages containing medication.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Robertsdale Yacht Club delivers cannons to Texas
A few months ago, The Robertsdale Yacht Club, the only land-locked yacht club in lower Alabama, was sent a request for quote to produce six replica 17th century naval cannons by a group in Palacios, Texas. This group, which has no name, had heard of the infamous (nefarious?) RYC whose reputation has spread throughout the nautical community.
Just so you know, being landlocked, the RYC has become hugely popular with boaters who suffer from aquaphobia.
Quickly responding to the RFQ the RYC organized a new division, the Naval Ordinance Division to design, test, and manufacture the replica cannons. The “unnamed group” quickly issued a contract and fabrication commenced.
The cannons will be used on a replica of The La Belle captained by LaSalle in 1685 on a voyage from France to Mississippi. He missed Mississippi and hit Texas. I guess it was close enough. LaSalle set up a colony at present day Palacios. Things did not go well. The La Belle sank in the bay. The crew was somewhat miffed with LaSalle. So much so they killed him. Lesson learned: do not get French sailors miffed. Later, the local population became somewhat miffed with the sailors. So much so they killed the sailors. Lesson learned: don’t miff the locals.
Some years later on Matagorda Bay, allegedly, a local fisherman (reportedly of mixed French and Indian ancestry) had his shrimp net snag on what appeared to be a very old piece of timber. The local fisherman was overheard to say “This appears to be a very old piece of timber.” Actually, divers from R.V. Anomaly of The Texas Historical Commission were sent to the bottom to investigate. Upon surfacing, one diver held what appeared to be a very old piece of timber. He was heard commentating “This appears to be a very old piece of timber” and promptly took the timber to be examined. It turned out to be part of a very old ship, The La Belle.
A coffer dam was built around the ship which was eventually salvaged, preserved, and displayed at a local museum - the ship, not the coffer dam. The original cannons were also found along with human remains. The human remains have been nick-named “Dead Bob.” The La Belle will soon be displayed at an Austin, Texas, museum.
The loss, discovery, salvage, and display detailed in “From a Watery Grave” by James E. Bruseth and Toni S. Turner makes one think Clive Cussler had a hand in it.
The replica Pettit Belle is nearing completion and was launched in early December of 2012. The RYC NOD produced cannons will be aboard. In all likelihood, it will soon be recognized that the cannons are the highlight of the entire construction effort.
Having technically not previously built large bore 17th century naval weapons; we investigated the age old, tried and true methods of fabricating cannons and settled on the traditional materials. We used PVC pipe. Why LaSalle did not use this material for his cannons is still under investigation.
A later requirement from the “unnamed group” was for the cannons to actually fire. Considering that the local law enforcement community would probably take a dim view of us hurling cannon balls around Robertsdale, we decided to make carbide cannons. After developing the necessary tooling, fabrication commenced. The first cannon turned out better than expected. No snickering please. After a fashion, the ignition system performed flawlessly. These cannons are VERY LOUD! Even Dead Bob sat up and said “Dude, those cannons are VERY LOUD!”
As word leaked out that we had developed successful 17th century carbide cannons, other members of the “unnamed group” made inquiries to obtain cannons of their own. We suspect the arming of vessels other than The Pettit Belle. The RYC is not responsible for how the weapons are used. Remember, it’s not the cannons that make the VERY LOUD noises; it’s my partner putting too much carbide in that does it.
This just in: the “unnamed group” does have a name now, it’s The Palacios Area Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas.
This organization is responsible for the design and construction of the replica, The Pettit Belle. This will make a fine addition to Madagorda Bay and develop an increased awareness and appreciation of the local history and a fitting tribute to Roberta Ripke who inspired the construction of The Pettit Belle.
Casual observers at the RYC have noticed an eerie similarity in the names of Ted Riccio, one of the founding members of the RYC and Ted Riccio, part-time boat builder of Palacios, Texas. This may only be a coincidence, or it could be something we can blow completely out of proportion. We will keep you posted on any further developments.
Word has leaked of the delivery of the six cannons and people from far and wide have flocked to the Palacios area to see and hear the famous cannons of the RYC NOD. Dead Bob, ever the entrepreneur, suggested charging admission. He was over-ruled. Dead Bob has since been enrolled in the Alcoholics Anonymous for the Walking Dead. Sad story, that.
Being the enterprising lot that we are, the RYC has organized a new division to take full advantage of the newly developed naval ordinance. The new division will be known as The Pirates of Robertsdale.
Being the only land-locked yacht club in lower Alabama, we have taken a lot of flak from other yacht clubs that have water. The POR will be chartered to pillage and lay waste to all snooty yacht clubs that have water. The cannons will be mounted on Capt. Dana Hall’s and Capt. Ted Riccio’s ships in preparation to unleash devastating one gun broadsides against said snooty yacht clubs. We would have had more cannons, but the coin-drop on Route 59 did not go well. These ships-of-the-line will be trailered to local yacht clubs with destructive fire being rained down upon the hapless victims.
Destruction will begin promptly at 9 a.m. A lunch break will commence at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be comprised of cucumber sandwiches and sparkling water with lime. There will be a meet and greet with the swashbuckling captains at 12:30 p.m. The cannonades will recommence at 1 p.m. The daily activities will end at 4 p.m. sharp. However, as time and weather permits, the taking of wenches will take place.
Just so you know, being landlocked, the RYC has become hugely popular with boaters who suffer from aquaphobia.
Quickly responding to the RFQ the RYC organized a new division, the Naval Ordinance Division to design, test, and manufacture the replica cannons. The “unnamed group” quickly issued a contract and fabrication commenced.
The cannons will be used on a replica of The La Belle captained by LaSalle in 1685 on a voyage from France to Mississippi. He missed Mississippi and hit Texas. I guess it was close enough. LaSalle set up a colony at present day Palacios. Things did not go well. The La Belle sank in the bay. The crew was somewhat miffed with LaSalle. So much so they killed him. Lesson learned: do not get French sailors miffed. Later, the local population became somewhat miffed with the sailors. So much so they killed the sailors. Lesson learned: don’t miff the locals.
Some years later on Matagorda Bay, allegedly, a local fisherman (reportedly of mixed French and Indian ancestry) had his shrimp net snag on what appeared to be a very old piece of timber. The local fisherman was overheard to say “This appears to be a very old piece of timber.” Actually, divers from R.V. Anomaly of The Texas Historical Commission were sent to the bottom to investigate. Upon surfacing, one diver held what appeared to be a very old piece of timber. He was heard commentating “This appears to be a very old piece of timber” and promptly took the timber to be examined. It turned out to be part of a very old ship, The La Belle.
A coffer dam was built around the ship which was eventually salvaged, preserved, and displayed at a local museum - the ship, not the coffer dam. The original cannons were also found along with human remains. The human remains have been nick-named “Dead Bob.” The La Belle will soon be displayed at an Austin, Texas, museum.
The loss, discovery, salvage, and display detailed in “From a Watery Grave” by James E. Bruseth and Toni S. Turner makes one think Clive Cussler had a hand in it.
The replica Pettit Belle is nearing completion and was launched in early December of 2012. The RYC NOD produced cannons will be aboard. In all likelihood, it will soon be recognized that the cannons are the highlight of the entire construction effort.
Having technically not previously built large bore 17th century naval weapons; we investigated the age old, tried and true methods of fabricating cannons and settled on the traditional materials. We used PVC pipe. Why LaSalle did not use this material for his cannons is still under investigation.
A later requirement from the “unnamed group” was for the cannons to actually fire. Considering that the local law enforcement community would probably take a dim view of us hurling cannon balls around Robertsdale, we decided to make carbide cannons. After developing the necessary tooling, fabrication commenced. The first cannon turned out better than expected. No snickering please. After a fashion, the ignition system performed flawlessly. These cannons are VERY LOUD! Even Dead Bob sat up and said “Dude, those cannons are VERY LOUD!”
As word leaked out that we had developed successful 17th century carbide cannons, other members of the “unnamed group” made inquiries to obtain cannons of their own. We suspect the arming of vessels other than The Pettit Belle. The RYC is not responsible for how the weapons are used. Remember, it’s not the cannons that make the VERY LOUD noises; it’s my partner putting too much carbide in that does it.
This just in: the “unnamed group” does have a name now, it’s The Palacios Area Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas.
This organization is responsible for the design and construction of the replica, The Pettit Belle. This will make a fine addition to Madagorda Bay and develop an increased awareness and appreciation of the local history and a fitting tribute to Roberta Ripke who inspired the construction of The Pettit Belle.
Casual observers at the RYC have noticed an eerie similarity in the names of Ted Riccio, one of the founding members of the RYC and Ted Riccio, part-time boat builder of Palacios, Texas. This may only be a coincidence, or it could be something we can blow completely out of proportion. We will keep you posted on any further developments.
Word has leaked of the delivery of the six cannons and people from far and wide have flocked to the Palacios area to see and hear the famous cannons of the RYC NOD. Dead Bob, ever the entrepreneur, suggested charging admission. He was over-ruled. Dead Bob has since been enrolled in the Alcoholics Anonymous for the Walking Dead. Sad story, that.
Being the enterprising lot that we are, the RYC has organized a new division to take full advantage of the newly developed naval ordinance. The new division will be known as The Pirates of Robertsdale.
Being the only land-locked yacht club in lower Alabama, we have taken a lot of flak from other yacht clubs that have water. The POR will be chartered to pillage and lay waste to all snooty yacht clubs that have water. The cannons will be mounted on Capt. Dana Hall’s and Capt. Ted Riccio’s ships in preparation to unleash devastating one gun broadsides against said snooty yacht clubs. We would have had more cannons, but the coin-drop on Route 59 did not go well. These ships-of-the-line will be trailered to local yacht clubs with destructive fire being rained down upon the hapless victims.
Destruction will begin promptly at 9 a.m. A lunch break will commence at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be comprised of cucumber sandwiches and sparkling water with lime. There will be a meet and greet with the swashbuckling captains at 12:30 p.m. The cannonades will recommence at 1 p.m. The daily activities will end at 4 p.m. sharp. However, as time and weather permits, the taking of wenches will take place.
Matchsticks and Gasoline's Gameday Coverage
I opened that post in class, you guys should have put an NSFW warning on that! Hudler has been well-received so far, although it has been a very small sample size as the Flames have only played six games heading into today's contest. It's been a while since the Flames had more than one skilled playmaker like Hudler in the lineup, especially one that they can utilize as something of a depth player, so I think Flames fans are pretty satisfied with his performance thus far while still maintaining realistic expectations. Hudler has also contributed to the depth and improvement of the Flames' powerplay, which has been humming along nicely so far with two decent units.
I think expectations in Calgary this year are similar to those of other bubble teams; while most Flames fans probably expect them to finish just outside of the post-season again, in the middle of the pack with regard to bottom-half teams, others acknowledge that a playoff berth could very well be a possibility in a shortened season if the team goes on a winning streak. The Flames have been a team of slow starters that have traditionally gone on hot streaks several months into the season for a few years now, but expectations for their performance this year depend on factors such as whether or not Miikka Kiprusoff can bounce back from a poor start to the season and whether the team can consistently get enough offence from Iginla, Tanguay, Cammalleri, and the rest of the top six. There are some Flames fans who would rather see the team finish at the bottom of the conference this season and hopefully signal the beginning of a rebuild, but I think that would be an unlikely result. The Flames did improve their team in the off-season by adding the likes of Hudler and Cervenka and partially re-tooling their blueline so I don't see a rebuild-inducing finish this year unless the Flames' goaltending continues to operate at sub-.900 levels and the rest of the team is terribly unlucky.
A microcosm of what much of the team is going through to start the season. The Flames have out-shot their opposition by a healthy measure so far and have only one win and two shootout losses to show for it, so hopefully the the team's collective luck will begin to turn around soon, including Iggy's. Obviously no one expects him to score 30+ goals again this season or embarrass the opposition's best, and there has been an ongoing acknowledgement that the aging process is finally beginning to catch up with him, but he has also been a slow starter throughout much of his career (at least recently, if my memory serves me well), and I expect he should break out of his funk soon enough. Iggy has 20 goals and 54 points in 60 career games against the Wings, so it might happen at Detroit's expense!
Following last year’s purchase of tooling equipment from Rehrig, PHS Teacrate will be promoting at the logistics event the advantages of its plastic RTP crates and trays that are suitable for a wide variety of sectors, including food, retailing, pharmaceuticals and engineering.
Sure to attract the attention of visitors will be PHS Teacrate’s 600x400mm attached lid containers produced in tough, durable polypropylene for maximum level of security and protection in both storage and distribution systems, while also on display at IMHX will be its nestable bale-arm trays which are suitable for fresh meat, processed meat, poultry, ready meals, fresh produce, frozen and chilled items.
The company will also be exhibiting plastic pallets and other material handling equipment ideal for any hygienic-driven environment. PHS Teacrate staff will be on hand to discuss value-added customer services, such as in-house integrated crate washing, crate pool management, delivery and collection from transport depots covering the entire country and a 24-hour online support and crate ordering facility.
Also available to take away at IMHX will be the innovative mini versions of PHS Teacrate’s popular nestable bale arm trays, which cleverly presents the range’s qualities for better handling, product protection and efficiency improvements which could potentially reduce costs.
Using plastic RTP removes wood, cardboard and other fibrous materials from food production promoting good hygiene with less risk of cross contamination. Plastic crates offer improved product protection during transportation because they are much more durable and stronger than single trip alternatives.
PHS Teacrate’s National Sales Manager, Patrick Sheehy, is confident that the IMHX Show will enable even more companies to learn about its extensive range of products and aftersales service which he believes is second to none.
He said: “We are delighted to be exhibiting at IMHX where we are anticipating a great deal of interest, following our recent acquisition of the full range of Rehrig tooling to complement our own range. During the show we’ll be showcasing a number of different crates specifically aimed at the food, retailing, pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors.
I think expectations in Calgary this year are similar to those of other bubble teams; while most Flames fans probably expect them to finish just outside of the post-season again, in the middle of the pack with regard to bottom-half teams, others acknowledge that a playoff berth could very well be a possibility in a shortened season if the team goes on a winning streak. The Flames have been a team of slow starters that have traditionally gone on hot streaks several months into the season for a few years now, but expectations for their performance this year depend on factors such as whether or not Miikka Kiprusoff can bounce back from a poor start to the season and whether the team can consistently get enough offence from Iginla, Tanguay, Cammalleri, and the rest of the top six. There are some Flames fans who would rather see the team finish at the bottom of the conference this season and hopefully signal the beginning of a rebuild, but I think that would be an unlikely result. The Flames did improve their team in the off-season by adding the likes of Hudler and Cervenka and partially re-tooling their blueline so I don't see a rebuild-inducing finish this year unless the Flames' goaltending continues to operate at sub-.900 levels and the rest of the team is terribly unlucky.
A microcosm of what much of the team is going through to start the season. The Flames have out-shot their opposition by a healthy measure so far and have only one win and two shootout losses to show for it, so hopefully the the team's collective luck will begin to turn around soon, including Iggy's. Obviously no one expects him to score 30+ goals again this season or embarrass the opposition's best, and there has been an ongoing acknowledgement that the aging process is finally beginning to catch up with him, but he has also been a slow starter throughout much of his career (at least recently, if my memory serves me well), and I expect he should break out of his funk soon enough. Iggy has 20 goals and 54 points in 60 career games against the Wings, so it might happen at Detroit's expense!
Following last year’s purchase of tooling equipment from Rehrig, PHS Teacrate will be promoting at the logistics event the advantages of its plastic RTP crates and trays that are suitable for a wide variety of sectors, including food, retailing, pharmaceuticals and engineering.
Sure to attract the attention of visitors will be PHS Teacrate’s 600x400mm attached lid containers produced in tough, durable polypropylene for maximum level of security and protection in both storage and distribution systems, while also on display at IMHX will be its nestable bale-arm trays which are suitable for fresh meat, processed meat, poultry, ready meals, fresh produce, frozen and chilled items.
The company will also be exhibiting plastic pallets and other material handling equipment ideal for any hygienic-driven environment. PHS Teacrate staff will be on hand to discuss value-added customer services, such as in-house integrated crate washing, crate pool management, delivery and collection from transport depots covering the entire country and a 24-hour online support and crate ordering facility.
Also available to take away at IMHX will be the innovative mini versions of PHS Teacrate’s popular nestable bale arm trays, which cleverly presents the range’s qualities for better handling, product protection and efficiency improvements which could potentially reduce costs.
Using plastic RTP removes wood, cardboard and other fibrous materials from food production promoting good hygiene with less risk of cross contamination. Plastic crates offer improved product protection during transportation because they are much more durable and stronger than single trip alternatives.
PHS Teacrate’s National Sales Manager, Patrick Sheehy, is confident that the IMHX Show will enable even more companies to learn about its extensive range of products and aftersales service which he believes is second to none.
He said: “We are delighted to be exhibiting at IMHX where we are anticipating a great deal of interest, following our recent acquisition of the full range of Rehrig tooling to complement our own range. During the show we’ll be showcasing a number of different crates specifically aimed at the food, retailing, pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Queensbury company keep eye on air quality
About three and a half years ago, McAuley started a small air quality consulting firm in Massachusetts and since then, he has moved back to Queensbury — the area where he grew up, works with clients on air quality studies all over the world out of his home office on Stonehurst Drive.
“It’s about giving people solutions, not just reasons why they should be doing something,” McAuley said. “A lot of times it’s investigative, we have a strong investigative approach to what we do.”
McAuley named his firm Change, which stands for Consulting for Health, Air, Nature and a Greener Environment.
McAuley has worked on studies that range from the air quality effects of electronic cigarette use to the prevalence of respiratory infections among children in Vietnam from different socioeconomic statuses. Last year, McAuley co-authored a Safe Routes to School study focused on reducing traffic pollution exposure to children.
The firm works with hospitals, non-profit organizations, paper companies, boards of health and others, performing indoor and ambient air quality assessments and monitoring, providing recommendations for fixing air quality problems, doing energy audits and air quality permitting.
Air quality regulations and laws vary, so the firm partners with firms overseas in China, Taiwan and New Zealand to provide services to clients there, McAuley said.
“You really need to have that local knowledge,” he said. “When opportunities come up, they have the means locally to move a project forward.”
The testing the firm does could be asbestos, mold or dust in a work place, or it could require people to wear air quality exposure monitors. McAuley can analyze data from some studies in his home office, while other results may be sent to an accredited lab. The firm studies a range of issues, and could be called in to study air quality after a gas leak or to examine potential carcinogens in areas where there is a cluster of cancer cases, McAuley said.
The study McAuley worked on recently about electronic cigarette use was published in the academic journal Inhalation Toxicology, and found that the use of the device, which mimics tobacco smoking, has a minimal effect on indoor air quality.
McAuley could see a study that looks at air quality a little closer to home — he would love to do a study in downtown Glens Falls and make some recommendations about how to cut down on pollution. He noted the outdoor seating at downtown restaurants with the congestion of nearby Centennial Circle, and said in such environments, even reducing parking along the main strip can make a dramatic difference.
“I would love to do a study in downtown Glens Falls,” McAuley said. “Studying air quality issues isn’t about picking on anybody, it’s just about making the air cleaner downtown.”
Change has associates that do work for the company in the Syracuse area, in New York City, Massachusetts and North Carolina. McAuley is able to conduct much of the business out of his home office in Queensbury, but he travels two or three months out of the year, visiting clients, he said.
McAuley and his firm were profiled in the January 2013 issue of Success Magazine, a publication that focuses on the achievements of home-based and small business entrepreneurs.
“I see it continuing to grow, I could see in five or 10 years someone acquiring the firm if I decide I want to sell it,” McAuley said. “I don’t think it’s going to be where 100 years from now the company is still going and has 10,000 employees — it doesn’t need to be that. I just want it to continue to be a stand-out company in what we provide.”
We can't really take a good look at Garrosh Hellscream without taking a look at his Alliance counterpart, King Varian Wrynn. Varian is an enigma in his own right, although for different reasons than Garrosh. Where Garrosh was a character that was introduced and shown in every aspect in the game itself, Varian is notable for being ... absent. He wasn't there for vanilla WoW. He wasn't there for Burning Crusade. Varian didn't make his first appearance in game until the launch event for Wrath of the Lich King, and exploded onto the scene with an attitude that threw a lot of players off.
Where Garrosh saw all of his development play out in-game, even the odd disconnected moments, Varian saw his play out through a series of comics and novels. Most of his history is a big question mark to many players. While not quite as big an unknown as Lor'themar Theron, people still wonder -- who is this guy? Where did he come from, and why was he so angry when he returned? And perhaps most importantly -- where did he turn from angry leader in the Ulduar cinematic to the far more patient leader we're seeing in Mists?
“It’s about giving people solutions, not just reasons why they should be doing something,” McAuley said. “A lot of times it’s investigative, we have a strong investigative approach to what we do.”
McAuley named his firm Change, which stands for Consulting for Health, Air, Nature and a Greener Environment.
McAuley has worked on studies that range from the air quality effects of electronic cigarette use to the prevalence of respiratory infections among children in Vietnam from different socioeconomic statuses. Last year, McAuley co-authored a Safe Routes to School study focused on reducing traffic pollution exposure to children.
The firm works with hospitals, non-profit organizations, paper companies, boards of health and others, performing indoor and ambient air quality assessments and monitoring, providing recommendations for fixing air quality problems, doing energy audits and air quality permitting.
Air quality regulations and laws vary, so the firm partners with firms overseas in China, Taiwan and New Zealand to provide services to clients there, McAuley said.
“You really need to have that local knowledge,” he said. “When opportunities come up, they have the means locally to move a project forward.”
The testing the firm does could be asbestos, mold or dust in a work place, or it could require people to wear air quality exposure monitors. McAuley can analyze data from some studies in his home office, while other results may be sent to an accredited lab. The firm studies a range of issues, and could be called in to study air quality after a gas leak or to examine potential carcinogens in areas where there is a cluster of cancer cases, McAuley said.
The study McAuley worked on recently about electronic cigarette use was published in the academic journal Inhalation Toxicology, and found that the use of the device, which mimics tobacco smoking, has a minimal effect on indoor air quality.
McAuley could see a study that looks at air quality a little closer to home — he would love to do a study in downtown Glens Falls and make some recommendations about how to cut down on pollution. He noted the outdoor seating at downtown restaurants with the congestion of nearby Centennial Circle, and said in such environments, even reducing parking along the main strip can make a dramatic difference.
“I would love to do a study in downtown Glens Falls,” McAuley said. “Studying air quality issues isn’t about picking on anybody, it’s just about making the air cleaner downtown.”
Change has associates that do work for the company in the Syracuse area, in New York City, Massachusetts and North Carolina. McAuley is able to conduct much of the business out of his home office in Queensbury, but he travels two or three months out of the year, visiting clients, he said.
McAuley and his firm were profiled in the January 2013 issue of Success Magazine, a publication that focuses on the achievements of home-based and small business entrepreneurs.
“I see it continuing to grow, I could see in five or 10 years someone acquiring the firm if I decide I want to sell it,” McAuley said. “I don’t think it’s going to be where 100 years from now the company is still going and has 10,000 employees — it doesn’t need to be that. I just want it to continue to be a stand-out company in what we provide.”
We can't really take a good look at Garrosh Hellscream without taking a look at his Alliance counterpart, King Varian Wrynn. Varian is an enigma in his own right, although for different reasons than Garrosh. Where Garrosh was a character that was introduced and shown in every aspect in the game itself, Varian is notable for being ... absent. He wasn't there for vanilla WoW. He wasn't there for Burning Crusade. Varian didn't make his first appearance in game until the launch event for Wrath of the Lich King, and exploded onto the scene with an attitude that threw a lot of players off.
Where Garrosh saw all of his development play out in-game, even the odd disconnected moments, Varian saw his play out through a series of comics and novels. Most of his history is a big question mark to many players. While not quite as big an unknown as Lor'themar Theron, people still wonder -- who is this guy? Where did he come from, and why was he so angry when he returned? And perhaps most importantly -- where did he turn from angry leader in the Ulduar cinematic to the far more patient leader we're seeing in Mists?
From Durham to the big game
Bruce Huther, a standout linebacker for the University of New Hampshire in the mid-1970s and then a Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys, laughs at the notion.
Heck, he closed out his UNH career with a gut-wrenching 17-16 playoff loss at Montana State in 1976 and closed out his next season by helping legendary coach Tom Landry and his team to a 27-10 triumph over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in New Orleans.
"It was like, 'What's the big deal getting to the Super Bowl?'?" Huther said with a chuckle this week from the office of Huther Associates in Denton, Texas. "My first two years I played in it. As the years went by, I learned to appreciate it a little more and realize what it took and meant to get there."
"It was a great experience," Curtis said. "I was playing and battling through a back injury, and ended up playing most of the game at inside linebacker on top of all the special teams I was on. I was the backup to Karl Mecklenburg on the inside, and he got hurt, and I think I was one of the leading tacklers. I chalk that up to our defense being on the field most of the time."
Curtis, as the special teams player of the game in the AFC championship win over Cleveland two weeks earlier, was the Broncos' special teams captain for the Super Bowl.
He joined Elway and Mecklenburg and others - including former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was a special guest as a recent Hall of Fame inductee - at the 50-yard line for the coin toss before the game.
Curtis, who played a year at the Tilton School after high school in Lynnfield, Mass., still has New Hampshire ties. His father, Charlie, a former football standout at Dartmouth, lives in New London and goes to all the Big Green games.
Dave Rozumek, another linebacker, was drafted in the 15th round by the Kansas City Chiefs the year before and made the team out of training camp.
"I think he opened a lot of eyes of the pro scouts, and the next year six or eight teams had scouts come through," Huther said. "I think that got them thinking they've got to go through New England, maybe go to Boston College and then go north to see what UNH has."
Once he got to camp with the Cowboys, Huther said, he benefited from what he had learned at UNH, particularly from linebackers coach Dave O'Connor, who also coached hockey and later became an athletics department administrator.
"I found I knew more than most incoming linebackers from the big schools," Huther said. "I had a real tough transition to college from high school. Going to the NFL, it was amazing. Other than adjusting to the speed, it was a much easier transition. I credit Dave O'Connor for that. I could read running backs, could read linemen's blocks. It put me weeks ahead of some of the guys."
"I know Parcells really liked him," said UNH coach Sean McDonnell, an assitant to Bowes during Sabb's days in Durham. "He had two UNH guys around that time, Dwayne Sabb (with the Patriots) and Dwayne Gordon (with the Jets), and they were really his kind of guys. Hardworking guys, special-teams guys, smart football players. I saw Parcells two years ago in Saratoga at a golf course and talked to him during a rain delay. He was talking about their work ethic. It really gives you a sense of pride in New Hampshire kids."
Kreider, a punishing blocker, broke the mold in Super Bowl XL in 2006. He was the first Wildcat to start a Super Bowl, the first on the offensive side, as a fullback, and his Super Bowl was played at Ford Field in Detroit, where the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10.
"I got a call from him at 2 a.m. the night of the Super Bowl," McDonnell said. "He was with Mark Whipple, a friend of mine and the former offensive coordinator here who was the quarterbacks coach with the Steelers. The first thing Dan did was apologize and say Whip made me do it. They were celebrating."
A Wildcat is back in the big game, and McDonnell and many others will watch tonight's game with an eye on Corey Graham, in particular.
"There's just a real sense of pride of where the kid has come from and what he's accomplished," McDonnell said. "He came from a (high) school that had 52 kids in his senior class, and his was the last class, and the school closed the next year. He's come a long, long, long way from where he was to being in the biggest game there is. That's the thing with these guys from here. Most of them are free agents, and when you come from our place, you've got to earn it."
He visits flea markets the way the rest of us shop Costco for supplies. Without this influx, he said, “the house would become static,” he said. “Stuff goes out, and sometimes it comes back, and sometimes it doesn’t. Also, it’s really important to me what happens when use and function aren’t the primary things we design for: Could other roles for a house emerge once we suspend our attachment to everyday use?”
The reader will not be surprised to learn that Maher’s girlfriend recently moved out. “To share a space with someone while the whole environment was constantly collecting and reforming was, at a personal level, inspiring but also destabilizing,” he said. “I really respect the amount of time she was able to last here.”
Maher would like his house to question the functionality of architecture. “Think of a warehouse that gets turned into apartments, these things are shifting all the time,” he said. “Function is fluid.” (Take that, Modernists.)
Still, he has assigned labels to various rooms. (The capital letters are his, and recall Hogwartian terms.) Downstairs, there is the Entertainment Core, so named for the entertainment center he took apart to make his first collage, as he calls his structures. Above, watch your step in the Bridge Room, as whole sections of floor have been removed to let the aforementioned Entertainment Core bust through. The Room for the Image and Reflected Image is a kind of mezzanine space whose walls are covered with mirrors, medicine cabinets, cigar boxes and cut-up postcards. Maher opened a medicine cabinet and showed off a little stash of postcards and scissors. “I can add to it at any time,” he said.
In the Wardrobe Room, there are closet parts, deconstructed bureaus, valets and screens. Also a few suit coats. On a wall are pipes from an old organ. Maher said the man who installed the furnace wanted to find a way to hook up the ductwork to the pipes, so as to blow air through them. (Maher spent about $30,000 making the house habitable, he said, adding plumbing, a furnace and wiring.) Peering closer at a teetering sculpture made from a chair base, model airplane fuselages, a drawer and a model train station, a reporter tripped over a gewgaw at its base.
Heck, he closed out his UNH career with a gut-wrenching 17-16 playoff loss at Montana State in 1976 and closed out his next season by helping legendary coach Tom Landry and his team to a 27-10 triumph over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in New Orleans.
"It was like, 'What's the big deal getting to the Super Bowl?'?" Huther said with a chuckle this week from the office of Huther Associates in Denton, Texas. "My first two years I played in it. As the years went by, I learned to appreciate it a little more and realize what it took and meant to get there."
"It was a great experience," Curtis said. "I was playing and battling through a back injury, and ended up playing most of the game at inside linebacker on top of all the special teams I was on. I was the backup to Karl Mecklenburg on the inside, and he got hurt, and I think I was one of the leading tacklers. I chalk that up to our defense being on the field most of the time."
Curtis, as the special teams player of the game in the AFC championship win over Cleveland two weeks earlier, was the Broncos' special teams captain for the Super Bowl.
He joined Elway and Mecklenburg and others - including former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was a special guest as a recent Hall of Fame inductee - at the 50-yard line for the coin toss before the game.
Curtis, who played a year at the Tilton School after high school in Lynnfield, Mass., still has New Hampshire ties. His father, Charlie, a former football standout at Dartmouth, lives in New London and goes to all the Big Green games.
Dave Rozumek, another linebacker, was drafted in the 15th round by the Kansas City Chiefs the year before and made the team out of training camp.
"I think he opened a lot of eyes of the pro scouts, and the next year six or eight teams had scouts come through," Huther said. "I think that got them thinking they've got to go through New England, maybe go to Boston College and then go north to see what UNH has."
Once he got to camp with the Cowboys, Huther said, he benefited from what he had learned at UNH, particularly from linebackers coach Dave O'Connor, who also coached hockey and later became an athletics department administrator.
"I found I knew more than most incoming linebackers from the big schools," Huther said. "I had a real tough transition to college from high school. Going to the NFL, it was amazing. Other than adjusting to the speed, it was a much easier transition. I credit Dave O'Connor for that. I could read running backs, could read linemen's blocks. It put me weeks ahead of some of the guys."
"I know Parcells really liked him," said UNH coach Sean McDonnell, an assitant to Bowes during Sabb's days in Durham. "He had two UNH guys around that time, Dwayne Sabb (with the Patriots) and Dwayne Gordon (with the Jets), and they were really his kind of guys. Hardworking guys, special-teams guys, smart football players. I saw Parcells two years ago in Saratoga at a golf course and talked to him during a rain delay. He was talking about their work ethic. It really gives you a sense of pride in New Hampshire kids."
Kreider, a punishing blocker, broke the mold in Super Bowl XL in 2006. He was the first Wildcat to start a Super Bowl, the first on the offensive side, as a fullback, and his Super Bowl was played at Ford Field in Detroit, where the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10.
"I got a call from him at 2 a.m. the night of the Super Bowl," McDonnell said. "He was with Mark Whipple, a friend of mine and the former offensive coordinator here who was the quarterbacks coach with the Steelers. The first thing Dan did was apologize and say Whip made me do it. They were celebrating."
A Wildcat is back in the big game, and McDonnell and many others will watch tonight's game with an eye on Corey Graham, in particular.
"There's just a real sense of pride of where the kid has come from and what he's accomplished," McDonnell said. "He came from a (high) school that had 52 kids in his senior class, and his was the last class, and the school closed the next year. He's come a long, long, long way from where he was to being in the biggest game there is. That's the thing with these guys from here. Most of them are free agents, and when you come from our place, you've got to earn it."
He visits flea markets the way the rest of us shop Costco for supplies. Without this influx, he said, “the house would become static,” he said. “Stuff goes out, and sometimes it comes back, and sometimes it doesn’t. Also, it’s really important to me what happens when use and function aren’t the primary things we design for: Could other roles for a house emerge once we suspend our attachment to everyday use?”
The reader will not be surprised to learn that Maher’s girlfriend recently moved out. “To share a space with someone while the whole environment was constantly collecting and reforming was, at a personal level, inspiring but also destabilizing,” he said. “I really respect the amount of time she was able to last here.”
Maher would like his house to question the functionality of architecture. “Think of a warehouse that gets turned into apartments, these things are shifting all the time,” he said. “Function is fluid.” (Take that, Modernists.)
Still, he has assigned labels to various rooms. (The capital letters are his, and recall Hogwartian terms.) Downstairs, there is the Entertainment Core, so named for the entertainment center he took apart to make his first collage, as he calls his structures. Above, watch your step in the Bridge Room, as whole sections of floor have been removed to let the aforementioned Entertainment Core bust through. The Room for the Image and Reflected Image is a kind of mezzanine space whose walls are covered with mirrors, medicine cabinets, cigar boxes and cut-up postcards. Maher opened a medicine cabinet and showed off a little stash of postcards and scissors. “I can add to it at any time,” he said.
In the Wardrobe Room, there are closet parts, deconstructed bureaus, valets and screens. Also a few suit coats. On a wall are pipes from an old organ. Maher said the man who installed the furnace wanted to find a way to hook up the ductwork to the pipes, so as to blow air through them. (Maher spent about $30,000 making the house habitable, he said, adding plumbing, a furnace and wiring.) Peering closer at a teetering sculpture made from a chair base, model airplane fuselages, a drawer and a model train station, a reporter tripped over a gewgaw at its base.
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