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Custom Airplane And Wheel Pendants

This is a project we completed for a Custommade client. Basically taking inspiration from a photo and turning it into jewelry. Here is a look of how are process goes from starting inspiration, CAD model, wax millings, rough castings, and then finished pieces.

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Made in St Petersburg, FL

By Rock My World, Inc.

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Fishing Boats Sconce

This sconce shows a couple of fishing boats that have just come back to harbor in the late afternoon. Segulls have caught the scent of the days catch and are hoping to share in the spoils. Measuring 20" wide by 9" tall by 5 1/2" deep.

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Nightmare Before Xmas, Jack Skellington And Sally, Whimsical, Gift Pendant Necklace

Get this stylish necklace for your collection! Also makes a wonderful gift for a friend or someone special. Pendant includes chain!

Shown is our "JacknSally" pendant.

(actual pendant will not include watermark)

Pendants are 1" diameter actual size. Image shown is larger to view detail. Pendant artwork is sealed under beveled glass magnifying the intricate detail. Absolutely stunning to see!! Pendant comes with the matching 22" chain as shown in photo.

This pendant comes complete with a little gift bag tied with a ribbon and ready to gift or enjoy. Available in Antique Silver, Gold or Black Pendant and matching Chain.

Also available are shabby chic, butterflies, Dragonfly, alternative, Tree of Life, Yoga, Spiritual and Steampunk models!!! View more in our West End Store!!!

*Pendant is water resistent but not waterproof and not recommended for younger children.

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2.87 Ct Padparaja Mounted In Platinum

Rare...and one of the most alluring of gems. A sapphire at heart, showing hues of pink and orange. The best are bright, lively and costly.
This 2.87 ct. Pad is mounted in platinum, accented with diamonds, all hand fabricated.

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Help Others.
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Private Mortgage

What is a Private Mortgage?

Private mortgages can help when institutional lenders like banks are unable or unwilling to lend money. They offer an alternative source of financing to the unsuccessful borrower. Traditional lending institutions tend to have structured lending guidelines where as private mortgages are based primarily on the equity a client has in their home.  Another difference between private mortgage lenders and traditional lenders is that private mortgage lenders often specialize in certain types of investments, like commercial or residential, or based on the reason for the mortgage (refinance for renovations or debt consolidation are two specializations.)

A good mortgage broker can help you navigate the specializations and guidelines to find the right lender for you.

Characteristics of a Private Mortgage

Private mortgages are generally short term (from one to three years), interest only loans which mean they typically do not require the borrower to pay the principal down, instead requiring that a borrower pay only interest each month.  There are costs that borrowers might not expect with a private mortgage – lender fees, mortgage broker fees and legal fees are just a few of the costs that a borrower will be expected to cover. These are often rolled into the mortgage amount, which leads to a higher interest payment each month. Fees can range from 1-3% of the loan’s total, depending on the mortgage lender. notes that the interest on a private mortgage can range from 10-18%, and that this is the highest rate, behind prime lenders and bad credit lenders.

When it comes to a private mortgage, it’s not the borrower who gets the most attention, it’s the property itself. Location is an important consideration, as is the overall condition of the property itself. If a property looks like it’s easy to sell, that’s a point in favor of a private mortgage. If those things are satisfactory to a private lender, then the lender looks at the purpose of the funds and the character’s ability to repay. Available down payment and equity are also considerations in whether a lender will offer a mortgage or not. Typically though, a lender will be most concerned about a borrower’s actual equity in the property and the property itself.

Why would I use a private mortgage lender?

You would use a private mortgage under any of the following circumstances:

  • You need fast financing and don’t want to wait for the typical approval process
  • You are being turned down by conventional lenders due to prior poor credit history
  • You only need a short-term loan.
  • You have non-confirmable income that is preventing you from obtaining a traditional mortgage.
  • You want to purchase an unconventional property that a prime lender or bank won’t finance.
  • You have an emergency situation
  • You are in power of sale

 Where to Get a Private Mortgage

There are several types of private mortgage lenders. Each has their own expectations and sources of funding. Some may be able to provide larger private mortgages than others. The three types of private mortgage lenders are:

  • Individuals: a single person that is lending their own funds in an effort to earn a return
  • Syndicate: a group of single investors form a group, pooling their funds and investing on a case by case basis from that pool of funds
  • Mortgage Investment Company: a group of investors who pool their funds and invest into multiple mortgages at any given time as long as it meets lending requirements.

You may want to go through a mortgage broker, such as Colin Eby at CVE Mortgage Group, to find the right private mortgage lender for your situation.  A broker often has a wide range of connections to lenders who are willing to finance private mortgages. CVE Mortgage Group, Inc. can help you find the right lender for your mortgage and get you the best deal possible.

 Tips for Working with Private Mortgage Lenders

When you find that mortgage lender, there are a few things that you can do to protect yourself and your investment.

Experts suggest that you need to act with caution and that you should be sure you’re comfortable with your broker and all aspects of your mortgage. Ask questions when they come up and be sure that you’ve reviewed the contract with a lawyer to ensure that everything is on the up and up.

Use your relationship with your mortgage broker to find other financing quickly, because private mortgages are short term options, typically for 1-3 years.

Make sure you know what this mortgage will cost you, in terms of interest payments and all of the fees. Find out what the prepayment penalty or exit fee is and budget for all of those things.

CVE Mortgage Group Inc., has a team of trained mortgage professionals who are ready to help you find the right private mortgage lender and terms to fit your situation. Contact us today to learn more.


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Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Bathinda

Bathinda Hotel
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ChainRadisson Hotel Group
Country Inn & Suites by Radisson
Total Meeting Space1,698 sq. m
Guest Rooms83
HBN Sunrise City, Mansa Road
Bathinda 151001

2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence winner.

Room Features and Guest Services

  • Internet Access
  • Luggage Storage
  • Room Service

  • Onsite Catering
  • Onsite Restaurant
  • Wheelchair Accessible

  • AV Capabilities
  • Business Center

Recreational Activities

  • Health Club
  • Outdoor Pool
  • Spa or Salon

Venue Accessible By

  • Bus
  • Taxi
  • Train

Meeting Space

Total Meeting Space1,698 sq. m
Meeting Rooms8
Largest Room282 sq. m
Second Largest Room279 sq. m

Guest Rooms

Total Guest Rooms83

  • Paid Parking

The brand new Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Bathinda is located on Mansa Road surrounded by a lush green landscape and just a few minutes drive from the railway station/bus stand. Area attractions include the Qila Mubarak fort, the Dhobi Bazaar and the Rose Garden, and companies such as Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil are conveniently located nearby. Additional companies including National Fertilizers Limited, Gurunanak Dev Thermal Plant, Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited are just a short drive from the hotel. During your stay, relax inside one of the 83 modern rooms and suites equipped with home comforts like coffee and tea makers, hair dryers and cookies. Dine inside the on-site, world-class Mosaic restaurant or enjoy drinks at the Big Shot poolside bar. Host meetings for up to 1,000 attendees inside the hotel's conference facilities. With premium amenities such as free high-speed Internet access, an outdoor pool and a fitness center with a spa, the Country Inn & Suites offers guests a level of comfort not found at other hotels in Bathinda, Punjab.

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University of Phoenix - Yuma

Yuma, AZ Educational Facility
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Total Meeting Space90 sq. m
Standing Capacity
Seating Capacity
899 East Plaza Circle
Yuma, AZ 85365-2033
Onsite Catering
Outside Caterers Allowed
899 East Plaza Circle
Yuma, AZ 85365-2033

  • AV Capabilities
  • AV Capabilities (Bring your own)
  • Furniture
  • Internet Access
  • Space (Private)

Alcohol and Catering

  • Onsite Catering
  • Outside Caterers Allowed

Meeting Space

Total Meeting Space90 sq. m
Meeting Rooms1
Largest Room84 sq. m
Space (Private)Available

  • Complimentary Parking

Cancellation Policy

We require advance notice of 6 business days to cancel space at no charge.

Facility Restrictions

Our space is primarily for organizations who need them for meeting/training space. We do not rent space for wedding venues, birthday, anniversary or graduation parties.

Additional Information

University of Phoenix has over 50 campus locations available for daytime rental Monday-Friday, 8AM–5PM. Any organization that needs a professional environment for their meeting or training needs is encouraged to call. Our classrooms (each campus varies) can accommodate groups between 14- 25 attendees and offer amenities such as wireless internet, ceiling mounted projectors, instructor podiums & whiteboards. Benefits include: - Work with one person for all your needs - Bring outside catering onsite - A monthly billing cycle and competitive pricing We look forward to hearing from you!

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Dear Mr 4x4...

Discussion in 'Commuting' started by Arch, 22 Aug 2007.

  1. Arch

    Arch Married to Night Train

    Salford, UK
    I'd like to apologise for me and my two friends being on the otherwise empty road and preventing you from just swinging out of your drive as you liked without looking. Perhaps you did actually attempt to brake in time to give way, but the weight of your obese girlfriend in the passenger seat had increased your braking distance so that we had to swerve out to avoid you. Perhaps that's why she tutted and shook her head at us as if it was somehow our fault?

    Even the guy's car was fat - one of those bulgy shaped ones....
  2. alecstilleyedye

    alecstilleyedye nothing in moderation Moderator

    they were probably muttering something about road tax as well…
  3. frog

    frog Guest

    First time I read it I saw ' She butted and shook her head' as in banged her head on the windscreen because she wasn't belted in.

    The Imp of Perversity which inhabits my soul was rolling on the floor laughing it's little spiked tail off. :blush:
  4. OP

    Arch Married to Night Train

    Salford, UK

    Nah, she just looked daggers at us. I looked daggers back. I had my riding crop in my hand (It had threatened to fall out of my pannier earlier, so I was just carrying it across my bars) and wished afterwards I'd done a u-turn and pursued them, swishing it, and given their fat car a jolly good thrashing. But I didn't think of it in time, luckily...
  5. Wobbles

    Wobbles Senior Member

    Obviously your fault!

    Yeah, your fault for delaying them for precisely one nanosecond:angry:

    The sooner you realise that his 3 ton lardwagon trumps your weedy little bicyle by 500 burgers and a heart attack the better.

    Perhaps you've learned your lesson!
  6. Cab

    Cab New Member

    Maybe you should go there with lots of riding chums and wait till the horses cover the whole area outside their house in horse crap?
  7. John Ponting

    John Ponting Über Member

    Arch, I'm 100% sure that your comments are just as it happened but ...

    wouldn't it be nice (even if just once) if the "obese girlfriend in the passenger seat" "tutted and shook her head" at her driver for not looking correctly and endangering another road user.

    Wouldn't it be nice if ALL road users (applies more to drivers, and I am one, on 2 & 4 wheels) remembered the simple mantra "never cause another road user to change speed or direction"

    Glad you were OK :blush::girl: and let's hope that the errant driver is a member of CC and gets to read your appology. Maybe a swift u-turn and a swish with your crop would have been a better response ... although a crop against a 4x4 reminds me of Basil Fawlty birch trashing his non starting car.
  8. LLB

    LLB Guest

    Everyone makes mistakes from time to time behind the wheel and in the saddle. Making it out to be you fault is not on irrespective of whatever they are driving.

    Look o the bright side - you know where they live :blush:
  9. John Ponting

    John Ponting Über Member

    May have been sarcasm? Or post-near miss relief?
  10. Tynan

    Tynan Veteran

    seems to be a rash of this lately

    especially violation of the cardinal 'never reverse from a minor to a major'

    someone reversed out their drive onto the A41 last night, a fast bit, incredible
  11. Cheddar George

    Cheddar George oober member

    Location: Location
    On this mornings commute a little old lady (the split of miss marple) pulled out in fromt of me after looking straight through me, i hit the brakes and narrowly avoided the rear bumper. She then decided she wanted the next left and promptly started to drift back into the kerb pushing me onto the pavement (fortunately there was a dropped kerb).
    I saw at least 3 other drivers staring at her while she chugged on oblivious to the world around her.

    It feels better to share these things.
  12. frog

    frog Guest

    :blush::biggrin: Now, how do I get this image of Basil Fawlty taking a tree branch to his car out of my mind :ohmy:
  13. BentMikey

    BentMikey Rider of Seolferwulf

    South London
    Phoar Arch!!!!
  14. OP

    Arch Married to Night Train

    Salford, UK
    Yeah, in a great big block of flats, sorry, luxury appartments. I bet they even have fat carpet...

    I have to say it wasn't one of those heartpounding "just an inch more and I'd be a goner" near misses. But I and the friend behind both had to swerve out, convinced that the guy wasn't going to stop. We weren't going that fast, but I do suspect that if he hadn't jammed the brakes on when he finally noticed us, it might have been nasty. And with several litres of blackberries in our panniers, potentially messy....

    Funnily, his inattention, I'd probably have just shrugged off. It was the look on the face of the girlfriend as I glanced back I really resented...
  15. Jacomus-rides-Gen

    Jacomus-rides-Gen New Member

    Guildford / London
    Whats wrong with luxuary apartments?!?! (Not that I live in one, mind)

    Some people genuinely believe that cyclists don't belowng on the roads. They will never change. All I hope for is that I live long enough to see them die out as cycling becomes more and more popular. Unlikely I know!!
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Postby Lordo » Wed Jan 21, 2015 12:12 pm

this is not in the joke section bugger off skillo
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IMF Warns That Trade War Is In Nobody’s Interest

Donald Trump’s current fixation is that the USA has trade deficits with many nations. He has determined that this is because of “unfair” trading practices that his predecessors signed up to; yet the US economy is the biggest in the word. Something like two-thirds of US output is consumed within the USA. Levying tariffs on goods from overseas, of course, pushes the prices up for those goods in the US market, meaning consumers must pay more. The logic is that if imports are dearer, consumers will turn to US producers for their needs, but this is not always possible or desirable.

Mr Trump is of the opinion that the US will easily win a trade war and that to have one is a “no brainer”. This rhetoric is remarkably similar to the claims of Brexiteers that nations would be queuing up to sign trade deals with the UK and that the EU needs the UK far more than it needs them.

The latest body to differ with the opinion of the President is the IMF who, quite reasonably, point out that a trade war is in nobody’s interest and will hurt global growth. The body is maintaining forecasts for 2018, but thinks that trade wars are the “greatest near-term threat”. It sees the prospect as already dampening future growth: The possibility for more buoyant growth than forecast has faded somewhat. Downside risks, on the other hand, have become more salient." The IMF is suggesting that an escalation of the current dispute to a wider base could knock 0.5% of global trade by 2020 – global trade is worth something like $15.6 trillion (exports), so the sum is very significant.

The IMF points out that the US economy is vulnerable to countermeasures to its tariffs on imported goods in its own export markets. It is unlikely that any trade war will be the quick, easy and decisive US victory that Mr Trump has predicted.

Dr. Mike Campbell is a British scientist and freelance writer. Mike got his doctorate in Ghent, Belgium and has worked in Belgium, France, Monaco and Austria since leaving the UK. As a writer, he specialises in business, science, medicine and environmental subjects.


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South Africa

UN women’s session: Xingwana’s excellent adventure and the real issues of rights vs culture

By Rebecca Davis 19 March 2013

The 2013 UN Commission on the Status of Women ended last Friday, with a declaration on the matter of gender-based violence finally being agreed upon after two weeks of tense wrangling between liberal democracies and conservative governments. Our own Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities Lulu Xingwana led a delegation of big cheeses to New York for the occasion, though we haven’t yet heard what Xingwana took home from it. By REBECCA DAVIS.

This year marked the 57th session of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, which meets annually to discuss issues related to women globally. The 57th session carried the theme “Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls”: a lofty goal, and a timely one in a year which has seen a number of high-profile attacks against women which have drawn global outrage. Executive director of UN Women Michele Bachelet – who has since announced her resignation – opened proceedings with reference to 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai, shot in the head last October for daring to attend school. “It is for Malala – and for every girl and women, and every human being – that we must come to a strong action-oriented agreement to prevent and end violence against girls and women,” Bachelet said.

It is also a theme with strong relevance for South Africa, a mere two months after the gang-rape and murder of Anene Booysen shocked the country. No doubt it was a testament to the timeliness of the theme in a South African context that a weighty delegation was dispatched to the UN to represent the country: aside from Xingwana, also in attendance were Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini; deputy minister of correctional Services Ngoako Ramathlodi; deputy minister of police Maggie Sotyu, a number of representatives from the National Prosecuting Authority and – rather perplexingly – the CEO of the Film and Publication Board, Yoliswa Makhasi.

We don’t yet know what Makhasi’s role was, what the trip cost, or whether the gang flew “lala-class”. (That’s Xingwana-speak for economy, you might recall, following criticisms of her jaunt  to New York in 2011 at a cost of R6,8 million.) We were waiting with bated breath for the answers to these questions and more to be revealed at a media briefing by Xingwana on Monday morning, but the event was unexpectedly cancelled. All that Xingwana’s spokesman Cornelius Monama would tell the Daily Maverick was that, “As a result of unforeseen circumstances, it was not possible to continue with the briefing.”

We do know that Xingwana gave an address to the session on 6 March 6. You would think that she might have been feeling a fair amount of pressure on the global stage: after all, just two days later, a Huffington Post headline shrieked: “South Africa Violence Against Women Rate Highest In The World”. But there was little sense of crisis in her statement, available on the UN website.

Indeed, Xingwana gave a pretty peppy account of South Africa’s attempts to tackle gender-based violence, and gender inequality more widely. With regards to the latter, she drew attention to the progress made by South Africa in female political representation: 44% of parliament and 43% of the cabinet are women, figures which are among the highest in the world.

With regards to the less sunny topic of gender-based violence, Xingwana checked off a (short) list of measures taken to tackle the problem: among a few others, the roll-out of the Thuthuzela Care Centres, which provide services for rape survivors; the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Violence against Women and Children; and the launch of the National Council against Gender-Based Violence. The Thuthuzela Care Centres are indeed highly regarded internationally, and gender activists welcomed the provisions made in this year’s budget to extend their roll-out. It’s hard to make as unequivocal a success story out of the establishment of the two other bodies Xingwana proudly listed, however.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Violence Against Women and Children is led by Xingwana and the ministers of social development, justice, health, home affairs, police and basic education. A powerful bunch, but they’ve yet to show their teeth yet. The committee was set up in May last year but appears to have little concrete to show for itself in terms of demonstrable outcomes thus far. In February this year it met again, and released a statement thereafter calling for the “move from policy to action”, without specifying what this action might be.

The National Council against Gender-Based Violence, meanwhile, is made up of 30 members drawn from sectors ranging from the NGO world to academia. When the Daily Maverick spoke to one council member – UCT’s Law Race & Gender Research unit head Dee Smythe – last December, she warned that the council’s powers would likely be limited. “We won’t have powers of implementation,” she said at the time. “So the idea that 30 people can somehow coordinate the national strategy on gender-based violence is obviously not the case.”

Well, as long as the rest of the world bought it. Xingwana’s address made no mention of South Africa’s high rape rates in particular, preferring to focus on “the global nature” of the problem of violence against women and girls. Nonetheless, her statement wasn’t entirely without substance: for one thing, she condemned “in the strongest possible terms the targeting of the LGBTI community”, and stressed the need to provide access to “reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health”. (Read what Xingwana really feels about Lesbian art here. – Ed)

However commonsensical you might consider these utterances, deep divisions emerged early on in the UN’s session on the matter of issues like these. The last time the Commission on the Status of Women tackled gender-based violence was 2003, and on that occasion delegates could not agree on a declaration, due to religious and cultural differences of opinion on issues ranging from gay rights to contraception. UN Women head Bachelet was evidently well aware of this possibility going in this time. From the outset, Bachelet made it clear that she would be willing to accept a declaration drafted with weakened language which nonetheless reflected the spirit of the issues. Language has been a particularly thorny issue at these conferences before. At the Rio+20 conference last year, the term “reproductive rights” was replaced in the outcome document with “reproductive health” as a sop to conservative delegates, to the disappointment of activists.

The secretary-general’s report on violence against women and girls, released in advance of the session, painted a sobering picture of the global situation. UN-Women country data reveals that as many as seven in 10 women in the world report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives – and, crucially, that statistics indicated this was “a universal phenomenon, irrespective of income, class and culture”. For those moved more by money than bruises, a cost analysis of the economic impact of violence against women (carried out in countries including Australia, England and the US) revealed that the annual cost of such violence ranges from $1, 6 billion to $32,9 billion.

While progress has been made globally in improving criminal justice systems for dealing with perpetrators, and providing services for survivors, the report points out that there has been far less work done towards preventing violence against women. Preventative approaches are usually inextricable from wider social issues; consequently, the report cited a number of measures adopted by various countries which intersect with other contextual considerations. In Senegal, for instance, a national action plan has been adopted to address poverty as a means to address violence against women and girls. In Finland, a plan has been developed to address alcohol abuse as a means of limiting such violence. In Argentina, a law has reportedly been adopted which mandates the portrayal of men’s and women’s images in the media “in a way that promotes gender equality”. Let’s hope Lulu was taking some notes.

The draft declaration put before the member states over the past two weeks urged a number of steps in addition to the development of holistic preventative measures like the above. Namely, the strict prosecution of perpetrators of violence; allowing women access to sexual health care; outlawing practices like female genital mutilation; and allowing the survivors of violence access to emergency contraception and safe abortion where permitted by law.

But, inevitably, the mention of contraception and abortion – regardless of the circumstances – raised some hackles. From the session’s beginning, it became clear that an alliance between the likes of Iran, Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and the Vatican had serious reservations about references to reproductive rights and women’s sexual rights. (The Vatican has a permanent observer seat on the UN.) It was not altogether clear why Russia had aligned itself in this manner, although some suggested it was an attempt by leader Vladimir Putin to curry favour with Islamic states.

Egypt’s governing Muslim Brotherhood took a particularly hard line: last Thursday it put out a declaration on its English-language website announcing that the declaration, if ratified, “would lead to complete disintegration of society, and would certainly be the final step in the intellectual and cultural invasion of Muslim countries, eliminating the moral specificity that helps preserve cohesion of Islamic societies.”

Examples of the “decadence” provided for in the declaration that the Muslim Brotherhood objected to included granting girls sexual freedom; granting equal rights to gay people; outlawing marital rape; and the sharing of home chores between women and men. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood wasn’t able to stand in the way of the declaration eventually because the chief Egyptian official at the meeting, Mervat Tallawy – the head of the country’s National Women’s Council – backed the declaration.

On the other side of the fence, it was reportedly Scandinavian countries, together with the US, which led the charge for gay rights and sexual rights to be enshrined within the declaration. By last Thursday night, there was still no agreement. But in the end, on Friday, the 18-page document was adopted – and its wording explicitly criticises the use of culture or religion to justify gender-based violence. “The commission urges states to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination,” the declaration says.

In addition, it agrees on the need for emergency contraception and abortion for survivors of violence, as well as encouraging governments to promote and supply female condoms. Nonetheless, many were left dissatisfied on both sides. The US didn’t like the fact that no particular references were made to lesbian and transgender women, a point also raised by civil society activists who would have liked to see stronger provisions on the topic of gender identity. The declaration was also criticised for containing no concrete targets, such as the Millennium Development Goals, and for not setting any clear steps as to how and when to implement recommended measures.

UK NGO Action Aid felt that the wrangling over the declaration had thrown up some worrying indications. “The process has raised some clear red flags about the state of global thinking on women’s rights,” the NGO stated. “A small but significant number of countries, led by Iran, Russia, Syria and the Vatican, have pushed hard to roll back language on women’s rights to where we were decades ago.”

But Bachelet declared herself satisfied with the outcome, and many others hailed the declaration as “historic”, given the particular difficulty of getting Muslim states to come to the table on the matter of women’s rights. Of course, as we see endlessly in South Africa, talk is cheap, and it remains to be seen whether any of this will translate to concrete action.

Perhaps Minister Xingwana returned home brimming with new ideas. DM

Read more:

  • Muslim states agree to ‘historic’ UN statement on women, in Global Post

Photo: Then Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulu Xingwana addresses delegates on the third day of the Food and Allied Workers Union’s (Fawu) national conference in Johannesburg, Thursday, 13 September 2007. Picture: Werner Beukes/SAPA

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The filming of The Beach permanently damaged the ecosystem on the Thai island it was located on.


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South Africa

AG Report: one step forward, three steps back as R30.8 billion is blown irregularly

By Rebecca Davis 14 November 2013

Your approach to the 2012/2013 audit outcomes of government departments and public entities is likely to be determined by whether you’re a glass half-full type of person. If you are, you’ll focus on the “slight but welcome improvement”, as Auditor-General Terence Nombembe did on Wednesday. If you’re not, you may find it hard to ignore the more worrying signals: that the government has spent about R30.8 billion irregularly in various ways over the last year, and that the critical departments of Health, Education and Public Works are particular trouble-spots. By REBECCA DAVIS.

Outgoing Auditor-General Terence Nombembe is one of those independent figures with an eye on government who, like Thuli Madonsela, is widely respected. Within government he appears to be better liked than Madonsela, at least judging by the plethora of senior figures who lined up at his farewell dinner earlier this month to pay tribute to his work. Perhaps that’s because Nombembe hasn’t seemed to rock the boat very much: in a recent interview with Business Report he defended the high salaries of senior public servants and described the deployment of under-performing ANC cadres into the public service as “the nature of politics”.

Nonetheless, Nombembe leaves the one and only term he is permitted to serve as Auditor-General with his head held high. “There can be few office bearers who are so universally admired across the political spectrum,” the M&G wrote in an editorial earlier this month. “He is, indeed, the very model of what a conscientious civil servant in a modern democratic state should be”.

But there’s a limit to what even the most conscientious civil servant can achieve in a watchdog role, especially when there appears to be few repercussions for transgressors. Nombembe has previously expressed concern about the lack of state response to his reports. At Wednesday’s media briefing it was pointed out that no public officials found guilty of flouting the law appear to have been successfully prosecuted, to which Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu responded that the government was working on ways to close this “loophole”.

Perhaps this sense of a consequence-free environment is why the improvement in audit outcomes has only been minor between 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The latest report shows 105 clean audits in total: 24 departments and 81 public entities. The problem is that there are 450 in total, with 26 outstanding audits. That means just 22% received a clean audit, which is an improvement on last year’s 17%, but it suggests that progress is painfully slow.

There is a particular problem within the Education, Health and Public Works departments. (Public Works, incidentally, is obviously the government department fingered for the Nkandla expenditure, but there’s no explicit mention of Nkandla within the report.) 57% of these three departments’ financial statements received qualified audits, whereas only 17% of the other departments’ financial statements were qualified. What makes this doubly problematic, as the report points out, is that Education, Health and Public Works make up almost 80% of the spending by departments.

These sectors receive the biggest portion of the budget and are responsible for implementing key programmes to improve the health and welfare of the citizens,” the report notes. “Their poor audit performance should receive urgent attention from all role players.”

So what’s going wrong in these departments in particular? Within Public Works, the report points to supply chain management, with irregular expenditure being at an “unacceptable” level. There’s also an issue to do with human resource management, whereby vacant posts are still not being filled by suitably qualified candidates. Another major root cause of problems is identified as being the “lack of consequences for poor performance and transgressions”. The report suggested, among other measures, that parliament’s portfolio committee needs to step up its oversight of the department.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga doesn’t come off gloriously when her department is placed under the AG’s spotlight. A “lack of effective oversight, monitoring and evaluation by leadership” is highlighted as a vital cause of poor audit outcomes. The report notes that the audit was delayed at the request of the minister to allow management to correct “several account balances” that negatively impacted on the audit outcome. Despite this, “not all of the commitments previously made by the minister were implemented due to a lack of follow-up and implementation of action plans”, particularly around performance reporting and risk assessment.

Higher Education also came in for a drubbing, having undergone a regression in audit outcomes. The report sternly observes that Minister Blade Nzimande met with the AG’s office three times over the past year “and these interactions had minimal impact on the audit outcomes”. Ineffective leadership, incompetent officials and, again, a lack of consequences for transgressions were pointed to as causes.

When it comes to the Health department, it was noted that the quality of financial statements submitted by the department had regressed. There were also supply chain management issues, particularly to do with department employees taking up paid work outside their employment without permission. The relevant parliamentary portfolio committee was again singled out as supplying insufficient oversight.

The ministerial portfolio which received the cleanest audit was Social Development, under the stewardship of Bathabile Dlamini. The report commended the department for a marked improvement, saying that leadership controls and financial and performance management had all been tightened.

The aspect of the report which is likely to get most airplay, and attract the most dramatic headlines, is the manner in which government is spending money. AG classifies three types of government spending as problematic. First, there’s unauthorised expenditure, which means expenditure “not made in accordance with the approved budget”. Education and Health together accounted for 68% of the R2.284 billion in unauthorized expenditure over 2012/2013.

The second type is irregular expenditure, which is spending “not incurred in the manner prescribed by legislation” – although, the report is at pains to note, this doesn’t necessarily mean it was fraudulent or wasteful. Irregular expenditure over the past year is marginally down, at R26.379 billion in total.

The third category is the most egregious: fruitless and wasteful expenditure, which was “made in vain and could have been avoided had reasonable care been taken”. It’s really worrying that this is up dramatically from the previous year, now at R2.133 billion.

Another worrying aspect is the amount of backsliding in audit outcomes. It’s clearly not the case that when a government department or public entity gets a clean audit one year, they’re then set on a clear path to go forward and do likewise forever. Although 96 improved their performance, 61 regressed.

If all the auditees that achieved clean audit opinions in 2011/2012 had maintained these outcomes…South Africa would be celebrating a picture of even brighter audit outcomes today”, the AG’s media summary chirpily suggested.

Nombembe has repeatedly stressed the importance of leadership, and called on top officials to lead by example. The report states that ministers and MECs are “well placed to bring about improvements in the audit outcomes by becoming more actively involved in key governance matters”. But this is quite clearly not happening to the desired extent yet – or, in the euphemistic terms of the report, “executive authorities are not yet providing the required level of assurance”. The report calls on ministers and MECs to keep meeting with the AG’s office regularly, pointing to a link between improvement in outcomes and frequency of communication.

The AG’s report may make for dry reading, but it’s vitally important because, as it reminds us, the AG is “the only institution that, by law, has to audit and report on how government is spending taxpayers’ money”. Judging by the latest report, there’s still a mighty long way to go in that regard. DM

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  • General report on the PFMA audit outcomes of national and provincial government, on

Photo: Auditor-General Terence Nombembe is seen during a news conference in Pretoria, Monday, 16 January 2012 on reports relating to audits of national and provincial government departments. Picture: Werner Beukes/SAPA

2018 Media Gathering, live from Cape Town International Convention Centre

By Daily Maverick

The filming of The Beach permanently damaged the ecosystem on the Thai island it was located on.


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WHEN did Mitsubishi suddenly become fashionable?

Celebs such as Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom and darts icon Phil Taylor are driving their cars and annual sales have soared in the UK by 102 per cent from 7635 to 15,414, making them the fastest-growing mainstream brand.

A key figure in their recent boom is undoubtedly the Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The nation’s favourite plug-in vehicle continues to dominate the sector, accounting for almost half of their sales.

Sales of the ASX crossover are up by 70 per cent compared with August last year, while even the Shogun is up by 41 per cent.

Not far behind is the vehicle most people associate with Mitsubishi – the L200 pick-up has seen sales roar up by 30 per cent.

The Mitsubishi L200

Expect that success story to blossom even further thanks to the new model, with the very understated promotion of “showing the world how it’s done”.

But Mitsubishi have good reason to be bullish.

The L200 pick-up, sold these days in four-door double cab guise, has for years been THE double cab to have.

At one stage, it commanded 70 per cent of the total marketplace – possibly the biggest class domination by any vehicle in the world.

Sales swelled due to the early 2000s company car tax break boom and, although they faded a little after 2008, they’ve recently been growing once again – up by 17 per cent last year and 23 per cent 12 months earlier.

And that’s with the old and rather gruff 2006 Series 4 model. With this new Series 5, Mitsubishi expect big things from a vehicle that makes up one in seven dealer sales.

No wonder they are confident when they claim further class leadership for fuel economy, emissions, performance, 4WD tech, safety, utility, manoeuvrability and driving dynamics.

The Mitsubishi L200

Mitsubishi say never before has a car been launched that leads the class in so many ways.

Wow, that’s some introduction. But does it live up to the hype? In one word: Yes.

It doesn’t look remarkably different from its predecessor at first glance but, on closer examination, it’s a far more refined affair.

It has a classier, more sculpted appeal, daytime LED running lights and bulging wheelarches make it more dynamic and distinctive.

Mitsubishi are selling it with an all-new, all-aluminium 2.4-litre DI-D diesel engine producing 151 or 178PS. It’s offered with a new six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic with paddleshifters.

The L200 has been on the agricultural side – and that’s been acceptable for a workhorse. But this is night and day compared with the previous model.

It’s lighter, more agile, quieter and the ride is far more accomplished, dealing with potholes and road imperfections with much more aplomb. It’s a magic carpet compared with the Series 4.

The Mitsubishi L200

On the inside, it’s also a massive leap in quality, with a far more comfortable, modern, car feel thanks to better materials and a touchscreen display. There’s also far more room in the back for passengers.

Even the base car has air con, alloys, cruise control and seven airbags. The new Titan adds DAB, keyless start, 17in alloys, privacy glass and DAB for £1000 more.

But what about the real acid test – the loading bay. The rear deck is 1470mm long, 1470mm wide and 475mm deep (15mm up on before), and will carry a tonne in weight (and tow a further 3.1 tonnes on top).

Mitsubishi offer a range of truck load covers that make it a more usable space – they turn it into a lockable boot as well.

Prices start from £19,749 plus VAT (although both fleets and small businesses are VAT exempt), or £20,749 for that Titan and £23,049 for the Warrior.

Mitsubishi have done an amazing job on this new L200. In the pick-up world, it’s Lord of the blings.


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A Look Inside Amazon's Data Centers

Amazon.com held a technology open house this week, where Distinguished Engineer James Hamilton discussed the company's infrastructure, including a modular data center design used by Amazon.

A look at the Amazon Perdix container, included in a presentation at Amazon Technology Day.

Amazon Web Services doesn't say much about the data centers powering its cloud computing platform. But this week the company held a technology open house in Seattle, where AWS Distinguished Engineer James Hamilton discussed the company's infrastructure. The presentation (PDF) included an image of a modular data center design used by Amazon, which is the first official acknowledgement that the company uses modular infrastructure.

Hamilton also shared a factoid that provides a sense of the rapid growth of Amazon's cloud platform. "Every day Amazon Web Services adds enough new capacity to support all of Amazon.com's global infrastructure through the company's first 5 years, when it was a $2.76 billion annual revenue enterprise," Hamilton states in one of the slides.

Growth Driving Data Center Expansion Plans

Even without the exact numbers, that's an indicator of how rapidly Amazon's infrastructure is growing, and why the company has recently began acquiring additional sites in Ireland, northern Virginia and Oregon for data center expansion.

In his research at Microsoft and now at Amazon Web Services, Hamilton has focused on cost models for operating hyper-scale data centers. His presentation at the Amazon open house reviewed cost assumptions for an 8 megawatt data center, which could include 46,000 servers.

Hamilton estimated the cost at $88 million (about $11 million per megawatt), and presented a pie chart outlining monthly operating costs for a facility, which is dominated by the cost for servers (57 percent), followed by power and cooling (18 percent) and electric power (13 percent).

These percentages are consistent with Hamilton's earlier published research on data center costs. His example assumes power costs of roughly 7 cents per kilowatt hour and a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), which both suggest that the example data center is a composite  of Amazon's global footprint rather than its best-performing data center.

Amazon and Modular Design

Hamilton was an early advocate of using shipping containers to deploy large volumes of servers in a tightly-controlled environment, first discussing this approach in a series of 2007 presentations that preceded Microsoft's decision to use modular units to deploy its cloud computing infrastructure. When Hamilton moved to AWS, it prompted speculation that Amazon might also be using containers.

At Tuesday's open house Hamilton displayed a slide of modular data centers, including the Amazon Perdix. The unit appears to be a custom-built unit that is wider and taller than standard ISO containers. While it's hard to glean much from the exterior, vents at the side and top suggest cooling is managed in the upper section of the unit, which is air-cooled. Why Perdix? It's the name of a character in Greek mythology known for inventing useful tools.

Is this Amazon's current technology? Perhaps not. An Amazon affiliate that builds the company's data centers has submitted building plans for a new facility in Umatilla, Oregon featuring six modules, according to local media. Plans show the structures will be about 20 feet wide and 108 feet long, situated side by side on the property, according to the East Oregonian.

Amazon continues to deploy infrastructure on raised floor, as seen in this photo shared by Hamilton.

A slide of a data center from a presentation at the Amazon Technology Open House.

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Roundup: IBM, NetApp, SGI

IBM testing 50-kilowatt solar array optimized for data centers, NetApp announces SPEC benchmark results, SGI selected for HPC system at university in Japan.

Here’s our review of noteworthy news in the data center industry:

IBM introduces Solar designed for the Data Center.  IBM announced that it is rolling out a solar power array designed specifically to run high-voltage data centers, integrating AC and DC-based servers, water-cooled computing systems and related electronics. A 6,000 square foot rooftop houses the array at IBM's India Software Lab in Bangalore. The solar array is capable of providing a 50 kilowatt supply of electricity for up to 330 days a year, for an average of five hours a day. "The technology behind solar power has been around for many years, but until now, no one has engineered it for efficient use in IT," said Rod Adkins, senior vice president, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "We’ve designed a solar solution to bring a new source of clean, reliable and efficient power to energy-intensive, industrial-scale electronics." IBM plans for the Bangalore solar-power system to connect directly into the data center’s water-cooling and high-voltage DC systems. IBM also recently announced that in collaboration with scientists at ABB, the world's largest builder of electricity grids, they are using supercomputers to study and potentially develop a new type of high-voltage insulator that will improve the efficiency of transmitting electricity.

NetApp sets SPECsfs2008 NFS world record.  NetApp (NTAP) announced six high-performing SPECsfs2008 NFS benchmark results, including a world record. The SPEC (Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation) standard SPECsfs2008 measures file server throughput and response time. NetApp scalable storage architecture achieves world-record NFS performance for demanding NAS workloads with 1,512,784 ops per second and an overall response time of 1.53 milliseconds. Benchmarks were achieved using NetApp FAS6200 series, running on the Data ONTAP 8 operating system. “Companies today require IT that helps grow their business by providing support for enterprise business applications, big data, and cloud computing," said Chris Cummings, vice president of Product and Solutions Marketing at NetApp. "These SPEC benchmark results validate that NetApp can provide companies with a high-performance storage infrastructure for their demanding business-critical workloads that require always-on availability. Additionally, NetApp delivers on-demand flexibility to start with a small storage solution and easily, nondisruptively scale as their demand grows."

SGI selected in Japan for 32.6 Teraflops HPC system.  SGI announced today that the Institute for Chemical Research at Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan, has selected an SGI high performance computing (HPC) and storage system to advance genomics research at the Institute. Once operational the HPC system is expected to be 32.6 teraflops, using SGI UV 1000 systems and will deliver up to 6.6x performance increase over the previous system. The new system will consist of more than 3072 cores of Intel Xeon processor E7 series, 48 Terabytes of total memory and 840 Terabytes of total storage. "Researchers at the world's leading scientific, academic, government and commercial laboratories are using SGI computers to achieve important advances in science, medicine, and genomics," said Ryutaro Ishimoto, president of SGI Japan. "Kyoto University and the Institute for Chemical Research are among the most respected institutions of advanced research and higher learning in the world. The results of their genomics research will lead to exciting new learning and discoveries that will impact scientific communities around the world for years to come."

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Switch Reports Record Sales at Vegas SuperNAP

Switch Reports Record Sales at Vegas SuperNAP

Switch, the operator of the SuperNAP in Las Vegas, had its strongest month ever in September, selling 533 cabinets of colocation space and 7.6 MVA of power over a single 30-day time period, the company said today.

An illustration of the SuperNAP-8, the latest high-density data center being built by Switch in Las Vegas. (Image: Switch)

It's getting hotter in Vegas - at least in the market for data center space. Switch, the operator of the SuperNAP in Las Vegas, had its strongest month ever in September, selling 533 cabinets of colocation space and 7.6 MVA of power over a single 30-day time period, the company said today. The record-breaking sales were distributed across approximately 40 new clients and will serve to bring the SuperNAP up to 84 percent occupancy.

“Companies are finding that by partnering with the multi-trillion dollar buying power of the Switch technology business ecosystem, they can substantially improve their tech ROI while staying in lock-step with the newest offerings in connectivity and cloud services,” said Rob Roy, CEO and founder of Switch. During the last year, Switch has delivered 40 megawatts to its clients at the Switch SuperNAP-7 facility.

Even as it fills SuperNAP-7 (the original SuperNAP), Switch is busy building its next huge data center, known as SuperNAP-8, on an adjacent property. The new facility is scheduled to begin accepting new tenants in May 2013, and Switch says it will feature several new design innovations developed by Roy, who has earned patents for many of the technologies seen in Switch's data centers.

New Innovations Planned for SuperNAP-8

Switch has been a leader in developing its own custom infrastructure. As it expands, it has developed a standardized design known as SwitchMOD (shot for Modular Optimized Design) that can be built and deployed in modules from 25,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet of space. The design integrates Switch’s T-SCIF high-density airflow containment systems and WDMD custom cooling units, which can switch between four different types of cooling based on outside conditions.

Switch has released new illustrations of the SuperNAP-8 that show some revisions to the WDMD units. The company says this it will release design documents next month that will include information on  new chiller units and a new sealed roof dubbed "SwitchSHIELD."

Switch has already begun preparations to build a ninth SuperNAP on its site in south Las Vegas, and has also announced plans for a new data center campus in northern Las Vegas that will feature another 300,000 square feet of data center facilities.

"We continue to see extremely high demand for the high-density, high-efficiency, highly resilient deployments that Switch provides," said Missy Young, Executive Vice President of Sales at Switch. "With our modular designs, massive campuses and highly available power, we are well situated in Las Vegas to continue to build the most advanced modular data center technology ecosystems for the most demanding clients."

Modularity at Scale

As the builder of one of the world's biggest colocation facilities, Switch has maintained that discussions of the "largest" data centers should use metrics based on actual services and resources being delivered, rather than available floor space. Young said the key criteria should include the amount of deliverable, critical load that the UPS system can support (MVA of UPS), and the deliverable amount of CFM/tons of cooling that the HVAC system can supply.

"The SuperNAP-7 design has 84MVA of UPS and over 10 million CFM available to deliver to its clients," Young said. "No other data center on Earth can match it. These numbers should end the debate on what facility is the world’s largest modular data center.”

The discussion highlights the different ways in which "modular" designs are being described and defined within the data center community. Some data center builders define modular data centers as the use of factory-built container-style enclosures, while others view modularity as an approach to a phased deployment of space using highly-standardized elements. Switch's approach uses elements of both approaches.

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Alibaba Shows Open Source Support by Joining The Linux Foundation and Xen Advisory Board
Alibaba headquarters in Hangshou, China. (Image: Alibaba)

Alibaba Shows Open Source Support by Joining The Linux Foundation and Xen Advisory Board

Aliyun uses Xen to power its cloud computing offering

This article originally appeared at The WHIR

Online retailer and cloud computing provider Alibaba has joined the Linux Foundation as a silver member, and its cloud computing subsidiary, Aliyun, is a new advisory board member of the open-source Xen hypervisor project, which is hosted by the Linux Foundation.

Xen is used by some of the largest clouds in production today. Aliyun joins other advisory board members, including Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, and Verizon. Members donate financial support, technical contributions, and high-level policy guidance.

Aliyun uses Xen to power its cloud computing offering. According to its Thursday announcement, Aliyun had already been contributing vulnerability fixes to the Xen project for some time, and will continue to use Xen virtualization to run different operating systems and applications off the same physical infrastructure.

“As an advisory board member, Aliyun is looking forward to deeper interaction and collaboration with the Xen Project board and community,” Aliyun CTO Wensong Zhang said in a statement. “We have been working with Linux for a long time, and Xen virtualization is increasingly important to enhancing our cloud and marketplace technology offerings in China and abroad.”

Xen Project advisory board Chairman Lars Kurth said, “With cloud computing still in its infancy in China, Aliyun’s support is a gateway for major growth in Asia for Xen Project virtualization.”

Also announced Thursday, Alibaba joined the Linux Foundation along with container-based solutions provider DCHQ, Taiwan-based chip supplier MediaTek, payment provider PayPal and Chinese Linux software provider Wuhan Deepin Technology.

Wuhan Deepin Technology specializes in Linux R&D and develops software based on Linux technology, and produces Deepin, a Linux-based operating system. With nearly a million users across more than 50 countries, Deepin is the first Chinese OS with real overseas influence.

Linux Foundation CMO Amanda McPherson remarked on how Linux is being used worldwide for a range of purposes, and that contributions also reflect its international scope. “There are more first-time contributors and paid developers than ever, contributing to how fast Linux is built,” she stated. “Our new members reflect just how importance, significance and wide reaching Linux is today. From central China and Taiwan, no corner of the world is untouched by Linux.”

The Linux Foundation has been very active in recent months fostering collaboration on a range of technologies between a variety of stakeholders including independent developers and companies.

Last year, the Linux Foundation announced it would be hosting Open Platform for NFV, a project aimed at standardizing a way of virtualizing entire networks. Last month, it began hosting the Cloud Native Computing Foundation whose task is to validate reference architectures for integrating various technologies built on top of Docker containers.

The presence of more Asian organizations within open-source projects in general adds new perspectives and useful technical knowledge. It also helps add legitimacy to initiatives like the Linux Foundation, which are aimed at building bridges between stakeholders worldwide to produce better technology. And forming these connections between companies in the cloud space is especially remarkable given that many of the companies involved are and continue to be fierce competitors – even if they contribute to the same projects.

This first ran at

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Infomart Portland
Infomart’s Portland data center in Hillsboro, Oregon, housing one of the latest LinkedIn server farms (Photo: Infomart Data Centers)

Top 5 Data Center Stories, Week of December 6th

Here are some of the most popular stories on Data Center Knowledge this week

For your weekend reading, we present a recap of five noteworthy stories that appeared on Data Center Knowledge this past week.

LinkedIn Data Center in Oregon First to Use Next-Gen Design - Its next-generation data center design includes 400-volt power distribution, cabinet-level heat rejection, and twice the energy density it had elsewhere.

Data Center Startup Vapor IO Raises Series A Funding Round - Vapor IO, which came out of stealth earlier this year with a radical new design of the data center rack and sophisticated rack and server management software, has closed a Series A funding round, led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from Austin’s well-known VC firm AVX Partners.

Understanding the Different Kinds of Infrastructure Convergence - As company computing demands change, what will the architecture that supports modern businesses and their cloud initiatives look like?

Google Buys 842 MW of Renewables for Google Data Centers - On the rare occasion that the public eye turns to the issue of carbon emissions associated with watching puppy videos, Google has a good story to tell. This week, that story got even stronger.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Rethinks Enterprise Computing - Fighting to hold on to a leading position in the data center of the future, Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveiled a vision of enterprise computing infrastructure that is very different from the world of computing of past several decades, where the company earned its current dominance.

Stay current on data center news by subscribing to our daily email updates and RSS feed, or by following us on Twitter,Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.


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(Photo by Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images)

Sponsored: Designing PDU Density for Next-Gen Digital Data Centers

What can data centers do today to support power and PDU density requirements of a demanding market?

There is a digital revolution happening within the modern data center. New types of workloads – IoT, Big Data, cloud – are all changing the way we deploy and control our data center infrastructures. Through it all, demand around resources continues to increase as well. In fact, data centers have grown from virtually nothing 20 years ago to consuming about 3% of the global electricity supply.

Because of these demands, we’re also seeing greater utilization around data center resources. With that in mind, power consumption in the data center continues to be a rising trend. Consider this, a recent Data Center Knowledge article pointed out that the demand for data center capacity in the US grew tremendously over the last five years:

US data centers consumed about 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2014, the most recent year examined, representing 2 percent of the country’s total energy consumption, according to the study. That’s equivalent to the amount consumed by about 6.4 million average American homes that year. This is a 4 percent increase in total data center energy consumption from 2010 to 2014, and a huge change from the preceding five years, during which total US data center energy consumption grew by 24 percent, and an even bigger change from the first half of last decade, when their energy consumption grew nearly 90 percent.

Efficiency improvements have played an enormous role in taming the growth rate of the data center industry’s energy consumption. Without these improvements, staying at the efficiency levels of 2010, data centers would have consumed close to 40 billion kWh more than they did in 2014 to do the same amount of work, according to the study referenced in the DCK article, which was conducted by the US Department of Energy in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

The latest AFCOM State of the Data Center report showed that 70% of respondents indicated that power density (per rack) has increased over the past three years. And 26% indicated that this increase was significant.

With that in mind, it’s important to ask: What can data centers do today to support power and PDU density requirements of a demanding market?

Well – there’s good news. The future of rack PDUs is here.

  • Leveraging High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT). High power densities and reduced cabinet space require new and innovative PDU systems. Now, there’s a new outlet technology that provides industry standard C13 and C19 outlets in a drastically reduced footprint. In planning for future designs, HDOT helps combat the limited physical space that PDUs compete for in the data center rack. Solutions like those from Server Technology now leverage High Density Outlet Technology (HDOT).
  • Utilize “super” small form factor PDUs. The HDOT PDU technology leverages the smallest form factor outlet. This design significantly increases real estate in the back of the rack by fitting as many as 42 C13’s in a 42U high network managed PDU device—that’s over 20 percent smaller than a comparable PDU using standard outlets
  • Incorporating smart cabling designs. The HDOT design also provides high native cord retention of over 12 pounds pull strength, reducing or eliminating the need for custom and costly ancillary locking cord devices.
  • Working with PDU systems that can scale with power, density, and heat demands. With increasing outlet density comes increased power, and potentially increased heat. HDOT is manufactured with robust high-temperature materials carrying a UL94 V-0 flame rating, making these outlets ideally suited for the harshest data center environments.

Remember, with growth in cloud come new requirements around rack, server, and power density; placing even more requirements around advanced PDU systems. A 2015 NRDC report indicates that data center electricity consumption is projected to increase to roughly 140 billion kilowatt-hours annually by 2020. This is the equivalent annual output of 50 power plants, costing U.S. businesses $13 billion annually in electricity bills.

Organizations must design their data center power systems around new digital requirements. A major part of that is creating density without giving up performance or capabilities around scale. With increasing outlet density comes increased power, and potentially increased heat. Server Technology’s HDOT is manufactured to meet all the modern data center challenges. Keep in mind - small form factor PDUs and HDOT solutions aim to specifically ease density challenges while still allowing both the business and the data center to remain very agile.

 This article was sponsored by Server Technology. Please visit their solutions page for more information.

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(Photo by Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images)

TierPoint Now Has a Huge Rival in Secondary Markets

ViaWest deal makes Peak 10 one of America’s two largest secondary-market colo players

If there was one easy critique to make about Peak 10 before it announced the agreement to acquire ViaWest earlier this month it would be that it didn’t have any data centers west of Kentucky.

“They didn’t’ have anything very far out west so disaster recovery possibility and overall reach could’ve been better. The ViaWest acquisition solves that,” Dan Thompson, senior analyst at 451 Research, said.

If and when it closes, the $1.67 billion deal to take Denver-based ViaWest off the balance sheet of its current owner, the Canadian telco Shaw Communications, will not only give Peak 10 nation-wide reach, it will make it one of the two biggest player in so-called tier-two US data center markets. The only other player in those markets of comparable size is TierPoint, according to analysts at Structure Research, who were hard pressed to determine which of the two companies would actually be bigger post-merger, concluding at the end that they would share the number-one spot among secondary-market players in terms of colocation revenue.

See also: How TierPoint Quietly Built a Data Center Empire in Secondary Markets

The acquisition expands Peak 10’s reach from 16 data centers in 10 markets to 40 data centers in 20 markets, reaching as far west as Portland. The combined company’s total data center capacity will be 2.7 million square feet and 90MW of power, Mike Fuhrman, Peak 10 CTO, said in an interview with Data Center Knowledge.

What’s the Big Deal with Scale Anyway?

So, why is scale so important for a data center provider? Mergers by companies targeting top markets and those focusing on secondary markets have accelerated recently, with most of the deals made primarily to expand the buyer’s scale.

Besides the obvious benefits of economies of scale, expanding into new geographic markets is a key way for providers to grow revenue. “There’s a tremendous pressure to continue to grow,” Thompson said. “That’s why you see a lot of them scaling out.”

After being in any single market for five or so years, your growth potential in that market starts to wane, and entering new markets is a way to counter that.

Specifically in Peak 10’s case, expanding geographic reach is also a way to attract larger customers than its traditional small and mid-size business base. Larger enterprises typically need data center capacity in more than one or two locations, so they naturally gravitate toward national players.

Peak 10 has been adding larger customers to its base over the last two to three years, and broadening its geographic reach was necessary to continue that trend, Fuhrman said.

TierPoint has been on a similar trajectory, according to Philbert Shih, managing director at Structure, and it now has a rival to compete with toe-to-toe. “Both companies have trended toward bigger customers over time, with bigger spend,” he said.

New Skills

Both companies also have a variety of cloud and managed services capabilities, and so does ViaWest, which in addition to scale also bulks up Peak 10’s skill set in that department. Such up-the-stack services, integrated with colocation, are important for a service provider catering to SMBs and larger enterprises who don’t necessarily have those skills in-house.

Roughly 60 percent of Peak 10’s revenue today comes from colocation services, Fuhrman said. The rest is split about evenly between cloud (including private cloud and multi-tenant disaster recovery) and managed services. He expects the non-colocation portion to increase over time but doesn’t forecast a slow-down in the colocation business.

While ViaWest and Peak 10 have many similar capabilities, the area where the deal brings net new skills is consultative professional services around security and infrastructure. The bulk of ViaWest’s capabilities in this area came when it acquired AppliedTrust in 2015. Now, 70-plus experts across business intelligence, voice, video, and other enterprise IT infrastructure domains join Peak 10, which would otherwise rely on partners for that expertise, Fuhrman said.

A growing area within the managed services category for companies like Peak 10 is managed public cloud. ViaWest adds a managed Amazon Web Services capability to Peak 10’s portfolio, including professional services to help clients integrate public cloud into their architecture. Fuhrman said the company plans to grow that capability by adding more cloud providers to the mix, such as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. “I definitely see that as an opportunity for us,” he said.

A Wave of Consolidation

This is the latest in a string of acquisitions in the data center provider industry as it goes through a wave of consolidation. Also this month, Digital Realty Trust announced its blockbuster $7.6 billion acquisition of the pure-play wholesale data center landlord DuPont Fabros Technology. Earlier this year, CenturyLink offloaded its data center business to a group of investors that later launched a data center provider called Cyxtera, and Equinix closed its $3.6 billion acquisition of a massive Verizon data center portfolio. The CenturyLink, Verizon, and Shaw deals are similar in that the three telcos all have sold data center companies they acquired a few years ago.

See also: DuPont Fabros Acquisition Gives Digital Realty More Firepower in the War for Cloud Deals

Also this year, a company called Digital Bridge continued the buying spree it started in 2016, acquiring Silicon Valley wholesale heavyweight Vantage Data Centers, the regional Utah player C7 Data Centers, and two individual facilities from 365 Data Centers. In April, 365 was itself acquired by a group of investors intent on growing it by buying up more data center companies.

See also: Meet Digital Bridge, a New US Data Center Market Consolidator

No Plans to Enter Top Markets

While its strategic focus has been in tier-two markets, the ViaWest acquisition gives Peak 10 presence in the red-hot Dallas-Fort Worth market. But Fuhrman doesn’t expect the company to enter into more top markets any time soon. He sees a significant growth opportunity in secondary markets today, as the Internet of Things drives demand for compute capacity everywhere, and on the map of the two companies’ combined footprint, almost every tie-one market has a facility that’s tethered to a Peak 10 or a ViaWest data center, he said. “We’re pretty happy with the reach that we have with these 40 data centers in 20 markets.”

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly said Peak 10 derived 60 percent of its revenue from non-colocation services. Colocation services are where it derives 60 percent of revenue from, and the article has been corrected accordingly.

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181 Chase StreetBarnstable, MA 02601MLS Number 21716886

  • Sale Price: $379,900The price has recently decreased
  • Listed at $399,000
  • 146 Days Since Sale
Price Down Payment Interest Rate Years

Est. Mortgage: $/month

Federal 30-year interest rate: 4.59% last updated on 2018-08-09

This product uses the FRED® API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

  • 3Bedrooms
  • 2Bathroom
  • 1420Square Feet
  • 0.43Acreage

Beautifully updated and charming cape on large nearly half acre wooded lot in quiet prime Hyannis area which is less than a mile to Veterans Beach and close to Kalmus Beach and Sea St. Beach as well. Also just a half mile to the harbor, ferries and downtown. The interior is charming, featuring wood floors, beams, built-ins and lots of fine detailing. There's a spacious living room with fireplace, updated kitchen with dining area, large formal dining room or family room, master suite with private bath, 2 additional bedrooms and bath plus a walk-up potentially expandable attic and full dry basement. There's a garage under, 2 decks, large patio, dollhouse shed, gas heat, town sewer and lots more in this great home! Perfect as a primary or vacation home or mainland base for Nantucketers.

Listed by Richard F Martin of ERA Cape Real Estate, LLC

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More Info

  • Parking DescriptionImproved Driveway
  • GarageYes
  • Garage DescriptionUnder

  • Year Built1937
  • Year Built DescriptionApproximate
  • Bathroom2
  • Bathrooms2
  • Full Bathrooms2
  • Level 1 Baths2
  • Bedrooms3
  • Number of Fireplaces1
  • Total Rooms7
  • Laundry RoomLaundry Room
  • Stories1
  • FoundationBlock, Concrete Perimeter
  • Square Feet1420
  • BasementYes
  • Basement DescriptionFull, Garage Access, Interior Access, Walk Out
  • FoyerFoyer
  • Lead PaintUnknown
  • AsbestosUnknown
  • SQFT Source DisplayField Card
  • Separate Living QtrsNo

  • Heat SystemForced Hot Water
  • Hot Water Water HeatTank
  • CoolingNone
  • Water Sewer UtilityPublic Sewer
  • Fuel TypeNatural Gas

  • Number of Photos25
  • Last Picture Change Date2017-12-19T08:20:25

Basic Information

  • Virtual TourClick Here
  • StatusSLD
  • Property TypeA
  • Property Subtype 1Single Family Residence
  • List Price$399,000
  • Sale Price$379,900
  • Sale Date03/22/2018
  • MLS Number21716886

  • Acreage0.43
  • TownBarnstable
  • Lot Size SourceField Card
  • Lot Size Square Feet18731
  • Flood ZoneNo
  • Topography Lot DescriptionGentle Slope, Level, Wooded
  • Street DescriptionDead End Street, Paved, Public
  • Underground Fuel TankNo
  • Number of Cars1
  • RenovatedYes

  • Exterior FeaturesDeck, Garden, Outbuilding, Patio, Yard
  • Roof DescriptionAsphalt, Pitched
  • Property StyleCape
  • Siding DescriptionShingle

  • AppliancesDishwasher, Dryer - Gas, Range - Gas, Refrigerator, Washer
  • Convenient ToBike Path, Conservation Area, House of Worship, In Town Location, Marina, Medical Facility, School, Shopping
  • PoolNo
  • Pool DescriptionNone

  • Total Assessments$256,400
  • Improvement Assessment$93,800
  • Other Assessments$25,400

  • Building Number181
  • Unit Number
  • StreetChase
  • Street SuffixStreet
  • LocationDescriptionSouth of Route 28
  • VillageHyannis
  • StateMA
  • Zip02601
  • CountyBarnstable
  • Street Direction
  • Directions to PropertyOcean or South Streets to Old Colony to right on Foster to corner of Chase St. Driveway is off Foster.

  • FireplaceYes
  • Interior Features
    • Attic Storage
    • Dryer/Hookup - Gas
    • HU Cable TV
    • Hookup Washer
    • Linen Closet
    • Recessed Lighting
  • Bedroom 2 FeaturesBedroom 2, Closet
  • Bedroom 3 FeaturesBedroom 3, Closet
  • Family Room FeaturesBay/Bow Windows, Family Room, HU Cable TV, Wood Floor
  • Master Bedroom Features
    • Built-Ins
    • Closet
    • Deck
    • HU Cable TV
    • Master Bedroom
    • Private Full Bath
  • Living Room FeaturesBuilt-Ins, Fireplace, Living Room
  • Dining Room FeaturesDining Room
  • Kitchen FeaturesBuilt-Ins, Countertops, Kitchen

Water Body

  • WaterfrontNo
  • Water Body NameKalmus Beach, Sea St Beach, Veterans
  • Water ViewNo
  • Miles to Beach.5 - 1
  • Beach DescriptionNantucket Sound
  • Water AccessPublic
  • DockNo
  • Dock DescriptionNone

  • Modification Date2018-05-03T13:09:20
  • Original Price$439,000
  • Year RoundYes
  • Publish to Internet1
  • IrregularNo
  • DOM104
  • Land Court Certification Number173170
  • Special List CondNone
  • Date Listed11/02/2017
  • View Count3

broker reciprocity The data relating to real estate for sale on this site comes from the Broker Reciprocity (BR) of the Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service, Inc. Summary or thumbnail real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Davenport Realty are marked with the BR Logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing broker. Neither the listing broker nor Davenport Realty shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, or misprints and shall be held totally harmless.

This site was last updated August 15, 2018. All properties are subject to prior sale, changes, or withdrawal.

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Faille Empire Waist Plus Size Wedding Dress

David's Bridal Collection

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One of the many beautiful things about this unembellished faille plus-size ball gown is that it's a perfect blank canvas for you to accessorize. The pleated bodice and waistband, empire waist, and full, sweeping skirt let you create a look that's all your own.

  • David's Bridal Collection
  • Polyester
  • Sweep train
  • Lace-up back; fully lined
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  • Also available in regular, extra length, and plus size extra length
  • Coordinates with flower girl dress FG3707
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Oleg Cassini All Over Lace Beaded Wedding Dress

Oleg Cassini

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Make a striking entrance in this majestic ball gown!

  • Strapless tulle ball gown with sweetheart neckline features allover lace appliques and dazzling crystal and sequin beading and button back closure.
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  • Shown wearing sash style G21878, $59 sold separately.
  • Also available in Plus Size. Check your local stores for availability.
  • Fully lined. Center back button closure. Imported polyester. Dry clean only.

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Global lecturer and French economist to speak at DCCC about European Union’s impact on the U.S.

DCCC will host a public lecture featuring Dr. Olivier Peyré, a Business Administration faculty member at Nicolas Brémontier Technical College in Bordeaux, France on June 22 at 6 p.m. in Room 110 of the Mary E. Rittling Conference Center. His talk will cover topics including the Greek crisis, Brexit, the increase of migrants, the Common European Defense Project, the rise in populism and other impacting changes in the European Union. Peyré will also offer commentary on France’s recent election and its global impact on society and culture.

Peyré, who holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Toulouse 1 Capitol, has led his students in virtual video conference exchanges with DCCC students for more than a decade. “The world is now interconnected like never before. It's invaluable for our students to virtually meet people across the world who are like them in many ways, but different in others. We're honored to have him here in 'real life' this summer,” said Suzanne LaVenture, director of International Education.

Peyré will lead the audience through shared connections between the U.S. and the world by focusing the similarity of issues being faced in the U.S. and abroad. He will bring to light how the European Union’s current state could impact the world’s economy. “My talk could be the opportunity to introduce today and tomorrow’s main challenges,” said Peyré.

Passport events offer cultural enrichment to DCCC students and the public through enlightening presentations that focus on the customs and perspectives of other countries and their citizens. Several events throughout the year provide students, faculty and the community the opportunity to learn more about other cultures all within their own backyard.

 “The fact is we're all global citizens whether we realize it or not. What happens in the rest of the world affects us and vice-versa,” LaVenture offered. “The more understanding we have about the impact of this interdependence, the better able we are to navigate our path in life.”

To learn more, visit


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Small Business Center logo

The Small Business Center exists to engage the DCCC community, businesses, local government, and the nonprofit sector in working toward their goals. Our major focus is on potential or existing small businesses in Davidson and Davie counties.  Take a look at what the Small Business Center can do for you.

Schedule a meeting to discuss writing a business plan
Request a Free Counseling Session

SBC TEAM: Left Lane Prod - 60s from GeoCore Films on Vimeo.

Register for one or all of the Entrepreneur Certificate courses

We offer:

Customized Business Consultations Reliable and Valued Business Resources
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Small Business Workshops & Events

Upcoming Events

Wed, 08/15/2018 (All day) Fall semester begins
Wed, 08/15/2018 - 9:00am Welcome Back Bash
Fri, 08/17/2018 (All day) Last day for 75% refund for first 8-week session courses
Fri, 08/17/2018 - 11:00am Workshop: GCF & Factoring Trinomials
Fri, 08/17/2018 - 12:00pm Workshop: Factoring Trinomials


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Dunnottar Castle | Day Out With The Kids

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Dunnottar Castle

Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Attraction Information

  • Castles and Palaces icon Castles and Palaces

Suitable for ages: Young Children (4-8), Older Children (9-12) and Teenagers (13-18)

Venue type: Outdoor

Dunottar Castle is in the middle of nowhere and there are quite a few steps to climb, but if you are up for it, you will not be disappointed with these mysterious ruins on a cliff top overlooking the sea.
There are several different buildings to explore from the barracks to the keep, storehouses and stables, plus the chapel and drawing room, which are in a better condition. All are atmospheric and entertaining to explore plus make great models for kids who like photography or sketching.
Royal guests of the castle include Mary Queen of Scots and the future King Charles II, but it is more famous for being a site where a small garrison held out against Cromwell for 8 months and saved the Scottish crown jewels from being destroyed! An excellent bit of secret schooling worth boning up on to share.
Even if the weather is sunny, it can still get pretty windy here so make sure you bring some warm and possibly waterproof clothes to keep you snug and dry as you investigate this amazing place. This also means however that kite flyers should bring their trusty steed along!
The walk to the castle can take over an hour and will not be suitable for most pushchairs or wheelchairs especially in dubious weather. Plan for the weather and be sure to take drinks, suncream and whatnot.

  • Picnics Allowed Picnics Allowed
  • Wheelchair Friendly Wheelchair Friendly
  • Parking Available On-site Parking Available On-site

Getting There and Contact Information

Dunottar, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, AB39 2TL, Scotland

Click here to visit Dunnottar Castle's website
01569 762173

Standard Opening Times and Pricing

Opening hours

1st April - 30th September Daily 9:00am - 6:00pm Last entry at 5:30pm

1st October - 31st March Daily 10:00am to 5:00pm or half an hour before sunset, whichever is sooner. Guided tours in July/August only.

Adult ticket: £7.00 Child ticket: £3.00 Family tickets available.

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Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

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Associate Dentist – Camborne, Cornwall

MBR Dental are currently assisting a dental practice located in Camborne, Cornwall to recruit an Associate Dentist to join their team on a permanent basis.

Independent practice.Full or part time considered - Monday to Friday.Flexible working hours.Mixed practice.Up to 9000 UDAs at £12 per UDA.55/45 private split in associates favour.Established patient list.Full clinical support.7 surgery dental practice.Off road parking.Principle Dentist onsite.Onsite digital X-rays, Radiography, Intra Oral CamerasAll dentists must be GDC registered and have an active performer number.

For more information, please call 0121 222 5640 or send your CV to [email protected] MBR Dental are your dental recruiter. For more vacancies please visit


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Express 0.27 as a fraction in its simplest form

Recurring Decimals in to Fractions. Express 0.27 as a fraction in its simplest form…Here is a question on recurring decimals that GCSE maths students usually struggle with. The key thing here is to TAKE YOUR TIME! Click here for the Answers or click here for the lesson slides.

In my experience as maths teacher and tutor, students who have difficulty with these types of questions need to work on the following:
Collecting like terms
Dividing decimal numbers Take a look at the solution to the following question. If you require GCSE maths tuition at our centre in Deptford, then please get in contact with us. If London is too far for you, then we also offer small online group lessons using Skype . Please contact us for more details.
Our YouTube Page is really helpful for students who struggle with GCSE maths topics
You can visit our main site – Deptford Tutors Tuition Centre in London

If you need an online maths tutor, then please fill out the contact form and we’ll get in contact with you.

Express 0.27 As a Fraction In Its Simplest Form recurring-decimals | practise gcse maths | Maths GCSE Questions Online | Online Maths Tutoring
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14K Yellow Gold South Sea Pearl Necklace

In Stock  |  STYLE: 968688/WSS

18" 14KY 11-12MM WHITE SOUTH SEA & DIAMOND NECKLACE*Prices are subject to change based on fluctuations in metal prices and currencies

Cultured Pearls are one of the most intriguing, stunning and beloved gems in the world. Imperial cultured pearls are fashioned into jewelry using a wide variety of pearl types. With Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, South Sea pearls, freshwater pearls, and Keshi pearls, you can clearly see what makes this collection Imperial.

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14K Yellow Gold

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New College

Ofsted Success

Derwentside College’s recent Ofsted inspection (April 2016) has proven once again that the College provides high quality education and training that focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and qualities needed by its learners to progress into sustained employment and build successful careers.

Here are just some of Ofsted’s findings…

  • Governors play a central role in setting the strategic direction of the College

  • The College’s leadership team energetically and successfully pursue the college’s mission to enable learners to secure sustainable employment

  • The College’s leadership team have successfully implemented an ambitious strategy to be a major provider of apprenticeships across the region

  • High quality teaching, learning and assessment helps learners to achieve their goals

  • Very effective partnerships with employers and subcontractors results in high achievement rates for learners and apprentices

  • Achievement rates for adults are high

  • Teachers have good vocational knowledge and industrial experience

  • Teachers skilfully plan lessons to meet the diverse needs of learners

  • Apprentices develop very good work-related skills and knowledge which employers value greatly

  • Progression from apprenticeships to sustained employment is very good. Apprentices improve their skills to enable them to progress to positions with higher levels of responsibility

  • Learners receive good support from highly experienced and committed progression advisors

  • Learners receive good careers advice throughout their course to meet the needs of their chosen career

  • Learners receive high quality work experience and work-related activities that develops their confidence and employability skills well

  • The College’s adult learning provision closely matches the needs of local industries, employers and learners intending to progress to employment or university

  • Learners are well prepared for their next step to further study or employment with the vast majority progressing to further study, higher education or employment

  • Staff have a strong commitment to the promotion of equality of opportunity and diversity


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Kristin Murphy,
BYU's Abby Boden scores a 9.100 on the vault during a gymnastics meet against the University of Utah at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018.
I tried to rally myself, and the other captains and I did the same with the team after bars. I’m proud of how we finished out the meet. —BYU gymnast Jill van Mierlo

SALT LAKE CITY — Brigham Young’s gymnastics team knows competing on the road at the Huntsman Center is always a challenge. Friday proved no different as BYU finished with a score of 194.275, while No. 5 Utah knocked out a 197.0 in both teams' opening meet.

The Cougars had a lot of bright spots on the night, which included overcoming a start that was far from what they envisioned for their opener.

“You have to hit 24 routines,” said BYU coach Guard Young. “It’s not even about scores right now, but about hitting.”

The coach has always preached sticking 24-24 routines so counting a fall on the first event did not leave a good taste in his mouth.

But the good news was, BYU hit its final three events to close out the meet. Its best effort of the night came from Kyleigh Greenlief on floor, as the senior recorded a 9.825. Fellow senior Mackenzie Douglas added a 9.8 on vault, while sophomore Shannon Hortman-Evans hit for a 9.8 on bars.

Jill van Mierlo added a 9.8 on beam and recorded solid routines on both vault and floor. The senior was one of those who fell on bars, in atypical fashion.

“I had a rocky start, maybe a lot of emotion with the start of my senior year and how loud this arena is,” said van Mierlo. “I tried to rally myself, and the other captains and I did the same with the team after bars. I’m proud of how we finished out the meet.”

The Cougars' best event was floor, where they recorded a 48.9 and didn’t count a score lower than 9.725. Beam also was a nice showing at 48.7.

“I really like our gymnastics — we have three E passes on floor and three 10.0 start value vaults,” said Young. “We are very deep on beam. We have three more girls we could put up there — it’s a beam battle for us right now.”

The Cougars have a long season ahead of them to work on sticks and to get their youthful squad more experience. Nearly two-thirds of BYU’s routines came from underclassmen in Friday’s meet.

Up next, BYU battles another ranked team when it hosts No. 11 California on Jan. 12.

Locals corner

Friday's meet featured 13 routines from local athletes. The highlight was Utah’s MaKenna Merrell-Giles, who tied for the all-around win with a 39.475. The Pleasant Grove native saved her best for last, hitting a 9.925 on floor.

Her former club teammate Hortman-Evans was BYU’s strongest local. The American Fork native finished third in the all-around despite a mess up on beam that left her starting value lower than normal.

While Hortman-Evans' favorite place to compete is in the Marriott Center, she admits coming up to the Huntsman Center is fun for locals.

“There’s really a unity across Utah,” said Hortman-Evans. “We have a gymnastics community that carries over from club to college and it was nice to have Utah’s fans cheering for all of the local gymnasts.”