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In the television show "The Expanse", we see the Solar System having been partially colonized and developed during the 23rd century. The spacecraft in the show appear to depend on conventional chemical rocket engines (or possibly a much more efficient high-thrust ion drive). Ceres has been colonized as a primary station within the asteroid belt and various spacecraft are depicted as hauling ice from other parts of the Solar System. In particular, we see an "ice hauler" spacecraft in orbit around Saturn which then departs to return to Ceres.

Although there has not been any explicit timeline shown, it is essentially implied that this type of mission is commonplace and simply a way of life for many of the colonists (known as "belters"). However, considering the expected trajectories for transferring between Ceres and places such as Saturn, I would have thought that it would be unrealistic to expect a crew to commit to this kind of lifestyle -- most importantly the time it takes to go back and forth between those two locations (or others).

A Hohmann transfer from Ceres to Saturn would take about 7.64 years (one-way) at a minimum Delta-V of about 7.57 km/s, but you can reduce that duration immensely at the cost of more fuel by transferring with higher-energy trajectories. Here is a plot of the one-way transfer time as a function of Delta-V:

Note that a Delta-V above 19 km/s corresponds to an escape trajectory from the Solar System.

enter image description here

And here is a look at the family of trajectories -- each rendezvous with Saturn occurs at the same anomaly location, whereas the departure anomaly from Ceres varies. I'm assuming that Saturn and Ceres are in circular orbits (they have eccentricities of about 0.055 and 0.075, respectively), and that they are coplanar (Ceres is at about 7.5 degree inclination compared to Saturn, so that is not insignificant but neglected anyway).

enter image description here

So what we see here is that a mission from Ceres to Saturn and back would take somewhere between about at least 4 years and at most about 15 years. Clearly there are careers on Earth that take people away from their homes and families for a year or two at a time, but the travel time for these missions does not seem like something that would be undertaken as a career choice. Does this suggest that the kind of rough-and-tumble crewed space mining concepts are unrealistic?

This question is rather broad, so I'll say that answers should really focus on (a) the elements of propulsion and orbital mechanics that define how long these transfers would take, and (b) what kind of outlook we might expect for manned spaceflight as a career (probably most comparable to tours in the military or jobs at sea).

  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Any response on this that occurs to me moves away from the matter of transfer time and careers on the road, into matters of autonomous robots, and giant cycler ships that contain whole communities. My inclination is to say the series isn't realistic and the days of small human crews will be brief and of a pioneer nature. $\endgroup$ – kim holder Dec 21 '15 at 17:17
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ 7.57 km/s is sum of Ceres departure Vinf and Saturn arrival Vinf. That's not necessarily the delta V budget. If going from Ceres surface to Saturn capture orbit, the budget can be as low as 4.23 km/s $\endgroup$ – HopDavid Dec 21 '15 at 17:47
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Just want to mention: according to the story background (both books and TV show), for mining and development of the belt to be economically viable, humanity had to invent an advanced drive. The details of this drive aren't given anywhere that I can remember, but it appears to be a high-thrust drive rather than a high-endurance one (which seems odd, for human space travel). $\endgroup$ – CBHacking Dec 21 '15 at 21:10
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Vinf is explained here: hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2013/03/what-heck-is-vinf.html For a Ceres to Saturn Hohmann, departure Vinf is 4.39 km/s, arrival Vinf is 3.18 km/s. Assuming circular coplanar orbits. $\endgroup$ – HopDavid Dec 22 '15 at 3:33
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Arriving at Saturn, Vinf is 3.18 km/s. Speed of hyperbola is $\sqrt{V_{inf}^2 + V_{esc}^2}$ At a near Saturn (300 km altitude) periapsis, this would be 35.52 km/s. Periapsis speed for a Saturn capture orbit with this periapsis is 35.36 km/s. So only .16 km/s is needed to achieve capture. $\endgroup$ – HopDavid Dec 22 '15 at 3:48

Short answer: Maybe, if you allow for an engine like used in the series.

Long answer:

The spaceships in The Expanse do not use Hohmann transfers. Instead they just start to accelerate continuously to the point of intercept with their target, flipping midway and deccelerating again. This reduces both traveled distances (because your path is far less arced) and increases average travel speed, both reducing travel time by large amounts.

This type of travel is available because the ships do not use "conventional chemical rocket engines" but something called a epstein-drive. This is, according to the books, a high efficiency fusion engine.

How efficient would we have to get this thing to do maneuvers like in the series? Let's do some numbers:

A typical travel in the books is in the order of a two week travel, accelerating with 1/3 g, flipping over midway. (this maneuver would bring us from Earth to Jupiter, if Jupiter/Earth is roughly at their median distance.)

1/3 g ~ 3m/s²
2 weeks ~ 1,206,600 seconds

So for this maneuver to work, we need enough fuel for
1.206.600s * 3m/s² = 3.628.800 m/s delta V.
(For comparison: our current rockets are like 90% fuel and manage to do ~10.000 m/s delta V).

Obviously, our rockets can't do this at all. But remember the epstein drive! Fusion drives are in the very early development state here on real Earth...but Wikipedia gives us some numbers for a prototype here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_rocket

700 km/s exhaust velocity is stated there, let's see what this gives us:

Exhaust velocity/Earth gravity gives us the Specific Impulse of an engine, which basically tells us how much fuel we have to spend to change our speed by an set amount.

Using this site:
we can find out how much delta V we get for a rocket of weight X, with fuel y available and a specific Impulse of z.

Using the Wikipedia-fusion-engine we get a specific impulse of 70,000. But what about ship mass and fuel mass? For ease of imagination, let's use a Boeing 747 as example:
An empty 747 weights 178,756 kg and has a maximum weight of 396,890 kg. Assuming that all the extra weight is fuel, we get a delta V of 547,179 m/s. That's only 15% of the delta V we need.

So no direct continuous thrust travel to jupiter...but we can always add a coasting phase into the middle. and if we want "only" to go from Mars to the asteroid belt...and assume that our Wikipedia-fusion-drive can be upgraded a bit...

So the answer is: Maybe not exactly like in The Expanse. But if we get any type of fusion drive working we will use maneuvers much closer to the expanse-like travel than to our current "fuel-save"-mode Hohmann-transfers.

  • $\begingroup$ For a continuous-thrust rocket to do what you describe, you need a fuel fraction of 99.5%, or 199 units of fuel for each unit of payload -- somewhat higher than the 95% typical of current rockets. $\endgroup$ – Mark Apr 27 '18 at 20:34
  • $\begingroup$ If you re-read my answer carefully you can see i used a propellant-fraction of around 45% ;-). $\endgroup$ – m.fuss May 3 '18 at 11:42
  • $\begingroup$ If you plug in the numbers from the wiki (courtesy of @cybernard) then the delta-v is about 7.5Mm/s, which would be enough. It would even be enough to do the round trip on one tank of "gas". That boost in exhaust velocity by a factor of 15 really helps! $\endgroup$ – craq Dec 20 '18 at 3:41

I'll start by mentioning the times and acceleration given in the books for this series. The claim is that this ice hauler is capable of 1/3 G continuous acceleration, and in fact much higher acceleration is possible (mentioned in the attempt to escape incoming missiles, but no numbers are given). A claim is also made that the ship makes 2 round trips a year.

Given that a relatively high constant acceleration is used an elliptical orbit is not a good model for this travel.

I do not know how to model orbits with continuous acceleration, so i will fall back on straight line travel just to demonstrate what 1/3G makes possible.

Ceres and Saturn have orbital radii 445,410,000km and 1,509Gm (as per Wikipedia), which gives 1,954Gm apart at the farthest distance. Assuming the ship accelerates for the first half of the distance at 1/3G and then flips to apply the same accel in reverse we get a travel time over a straight line of 25.4 days by the following method:

t=sqrt(2x/a) where x is 977Gm and a is 9.8/3

t=1093767 seconds, which is 12.7 days for half of a one way trip

We must double this time again to get the round trip of 51 days, small enough to achieve the authors claim of 2 round trips a year.

The trip times calculated allow us to compare this to existing sea freight times such as 2 weeks to 1 month for crossing the Pacific as given at the following site: https://www.reference.com/business-finance/long-cargo-ship-china-united-states-b7c6214e137c2e0a

If the travel times can be compared to the existing cargo ship travel times, then the career issues associated can also be compared. At only 2 times longer round trip, I think they can be compared.

Who pays for medical care at sea while working a cargo ship? What happens if I quit my job part way through a voyage? Is my employer required to drop me off at the same port they picked me up? Issues of mutiny and discipline? Any other considerations?

I am aware of a number of problems with my answer, like the travel path going through the sun, the failure to match the origin or destination orbital velocities and the general ignoring of orbital mechanics in an orbital problem. But these numbered were only meant to give an order of magnitude to discuss the affects of the voyage on career choices.

  • $\begingroup$ Later in the book the Rosinante is said to be accelerating with 6g for hours on end while the crew is laying in their acceleration chairs and pumped full with drugs to help them cope with the effects. $\endgroup$ – ventsyv Jul 19 '16 at 19:36

See this article for details on these engines.

 Thrust: 1,000,000 N
Specific Impulse (Isp): 1,100,000 seconds
Exhaust Velocity (Vex): 11,000,000 m/second (~3.7% of light speed)
Mass Flow (mdot): 0.09 kg/second
Thrust Power: 5,500,000 MWatt
Engine's Thrust to Weight Ratio: ~140
Propellant mass fraction (yacht's mass fueled / mass empty): ~4
  • $\begingroup$ While this may theoretically answer the question, it is preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. $\endgroup$ – Nathan Tuggy Apr 20 '17 at 1:57

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Party Food

Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

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This easy Blueberry Cobbler Recipe bursts with flavor.

This incredible, homemade dessert offers the best delicious flavor in one easy, simple recipe you’ll want to make again and again.

You can create this old-fashioned cobbler with fresh blueberries or frozen making it a quick option anytime. It’s also great for last minute guests!

My Southern grandma taught me this classic recipe. She told me it was award-winning and I believe her. The filling comes out perfect everytime after baking. I’m drooling just thinking about it. It’s a traditional dessert that everyone should make.

Keep reading to find out how to make blueberry cobbler for yourself!

The first blueberry recipe I learned to make was actually an easy blueberry cobbler. My love of blueberries started young and hasn’t quit since.

(I suggest trying this blackberry cobbler soon, too!)

Blueberry Cobbler

To me, blueberries scream celebration.

They’re so bright and full of flavor. I love how they pop in your mouth and burst.

When I was growing up, I can remember going blueberry picking with friends. There was a you-pick-farm not far from my childhood home and we would head there for blueberries and strawberries.

I’m pretty sure we ate our weight in berries every time we visited. It was so much fun to have races and see who could pick the most or who make it to the end of an aisle fastest.

I would arrive home with bunches of blueberries, ready to head into the kitchen and make something yummy. I loved the kitchen, even as a little girl.

When my boys were really little, I would often give them handfuls of fresh blueberries to munch on in their highchairs while I was making the rest of the meal. They love the texture and flavor as much as their mama.

This last weekend, my boys had a friend over for a play date.

Since they were busy playing in the living room, I decided to head into the kitchen to surprise them with a family favorite: easy blueberry cobbler.

This recipe is the best.

You can make the berry mixture with fresh or frozen blueberries, making it versatile year round.

My boys clamor for this dessert and I knew they’d be excited to enjoy it with their pal.

What is Blueberry Cobbler?

A cobbler can describe a variety of dishes. We know it as a fruit or savory filling poured into a baking dish with batter or biscuits before being baked. I actually have a wonderful peach cobbler recipe you can try as well.

I’ve always thought of it as kind of a Southern thing.

And the possibilities are endless because there are so many filling choices!

Personally, I feel like this blueberry cobbler is the best ever — especially when served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

The warm, sweet blueberries with hot dough and cool, creamy vanilla ice cream… seriously. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.

Blueberry Cobbler Ingredients

My blueberry cobbler recipe is crazy simple.

You can put it together so easily yourself, but it’s also great to have little ones help with because it’s so simple. A great introduction to the kitchen!

If you’re in a time crunch or have last minute guests, be sure to keep this recipe handy, because you’ll surely want to pull it out and make it again and again and again.

Here’s all you need: a box of yellow cake mix, 6 cups of blueberries, 2 tablespoons of sugar, a stick of butter and 1 1/4 cups of water.

I’m not kidding. That’s all it takes to create this mouth watering magic.

How to Make Blueberry Cobbler

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grab a 9×13 baking dish and pour on box of yellow cake mix in the bottom.

Best Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

Next, spread your blueberries over the top of the cake mix.

Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of sugar over the blueberries.

Homemade Blueberry Cobbler

Pour the 1 1/4 cup of water over the top of the berries and cake mix.

Gently toss the berries and cake mix to allow the water to settle towards the bottom of the baking dish. You can give it a little shake if you need to.

If the berries aren’t very juicy, you’ll want to add a little more water. If they are plump, you’ll want to add a little less water.

How to Make Blueberry Cobbler

Cut the stick of butter into 8 pieces and spread evenly over the top.

Pop in the oven to bake for 45-50 minutes.

Things to note…

The amount of sugar and water you use will vary on the berries themselves.

Before you start, make sure you taste the berries so you add the right amount. I know. Twist my arm to eat blueberries.

If they’re sweet, you won’t want as much sugar. If they’re tart, you might want a little more.

This is one of those recipes where you can have a little fun and get a little creative with the amounts.

It’s also really important to pour the water over the top and then be sure everything is mixed. You want the berries and the water to settle into the pan before baking!

How to Freeze Blueberry Cobbler

I love popping things into my freezer. It can be such a time saver!

Plus, it helps me save money since I’m not wasting ingredients, so I really appreciate that aspect as well.

If you’re going to freeze your blueberry cobbler, make sure it’s in an airtight freezer safe container.

Once you’re ready to serve, it’s best to thaw in your fridge over night.

Then, pop into the oven and bake at 350 degrees until everything is warm and bubbly.

Easy Blueberry Cobbler

And don’t forget the delicious, sweet vanilla ice cream — it’s the perfect cobbler topping.

Easy Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

This easy, delicious blueberry cobbler recipe is a breeze to make and wonderful to eat!
4.43 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: blueberry cobbler
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6
Calories: 414kcal

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 6 cups blueberries
  • 1-2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 ¼ cup water

  • In the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, pour one box of yellow cake mix.
  • Spread the blueberries over the top of the cake mix.
  • Sprinkle on 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (depending upon how sweet they are)
  • Pour 1 1/4 cup of water over the top of the berries and cake mix. Gently toss the berries and cake mix to allow the water to settle towards the bottom of the pan. (Sometime I give it a little shake too) If they berries aren’t very juicy, add just a little more water. If they are plump, a little less.
  • Cut a stick of butter into 8 pieces and spread out over the top.
  • Bake at 350 for 45-50

Note: some of the ingredients, like sugar and water can vary on the berries themselves. Before you start, make sure and taste the berries so you can be sure and add the right amount! It’s also really important to pour the water over the top and shake the pan. You want the berries and the water to really settles into the pan!

Calories: 414kcal
Tried this recipe?Follow me on Pinterest @spaceshipslb

Melodee Fiske

Melodee is a mom of two energetic and independent boys who fuel her need for coffee. She is a foodie who loves creating and photography so has combined her passions to share with the world. When she’s not behind the camera, she’s giving piggy back rides, building car tracks or running to Target…again.

    1. Hannah Griffin

      May 15, 2018 at 12:55 pm

      • Deborah

        July 16, 2018 at 6:53 pm

        Can I use frozen berries

    2. Cheryl

      May 17, 2018 at 7:53 am

      Can I use frozen blueberries?

    3. Tin Lopez

      May 21, 2018 at 3:03 am

      This Blueberry Cobbler Recipe is one of the best!

    4. Dianna Hibner

      June 15, 2018 at 7:43 am

      Cant’wait to try this recipe
      Iti is straight and to the point. Only think stoping me is the heat
      Yesterday it was 1002* heat index of 105*

    5. Joni Addis

      June 24, 2018 at 6:24 pm

      Can I use canned blueberry pie filling?

    6. steve smith

      June 28, 2018 at 5:37 pm

      tried this but my cake mix didn’t bake. its was runny. i bake it at 350 for 50 minutes andam rebaking it for another 10. any suggestion why it did that ?

      • Layne Henderson

        Layne Henderson

        July 2, 2018 at 4:50 pm

        Hi, Steve – I’m not sure. We haven’t had that issue at all. Maybe too much liquid?

    7. Mona

      June 30, 2018 at 8:36 pm

      will this work with other berry … Raspberry , blackberry ? I am not in favor of blueberry

    8. Marcella

      July 1, 2018 at 1:39 pm

      can you use milk instead of water

    9. Roseann

      July 4, 2018 at 9:44 pm

      6 cups of berries? Is that correct?

      • Brenda

        July 18, 2018 at 11:30 am

        I use less. 4 cups are too much. I use a pint and a half

    10. Kerry

      July 9, 2018 at 3:58 pm

      I made the blueberry cobbler with yellow cake mix the first time and the second time my daughter made it with lemon cake mix. Both versions were a hit with my family! Thank you for the easy and delicious recipe!

    11. Sandi

      July 26, 2018 at 9:10 am

      WOW, Love how well inviting this Cobbler looks, mouthwatering

    12. Aaron

      July 26, 2018 at 11:14 am

      I’ve seen a few people ask if you can use frozen and other berries… Has anyone e tried it yet and does it work?

      • Layne Henderson

        Layne Henderson

        July 26, 2018 at 2:54 pm

        It definitely will work – you just might need to add a little more sugar. Enjoy 🙂

    13. Rachael

      July 30, 2018 at 7:53 pm

      I did this but with strawberries. Only used about a pound of them and also only used 1 cup of water. Turned out so good. Thanks for this recipe.

    14. L Swan

      July 31, 2018 at 10:01 am

      Great recipe when staying in vaca home with limited ingredients. Used freshly picked blueberries. Yum

    15. Simone Shea

      August 13, 2018 at 10:42 am

      Do you mix the cake mix first??

      • Layne Henderson

        Layne Henderson

        August 13, 2018 at 11:20 am

        Nope! 🙂 Enjoy!

        • Simone Shea

          August 13, 2018 at 12:16 pm

          Thank you!

    16. Oga

      November 4, 2018 at 6:10 am

      I am on LCHF and cake mix is not allowed. How can I substitute it? Almod flour and what else?

    17. Pamela Stallings

      November 20, 2018 at 6:51 am

    18. Treena

      February 1, 2019 at 8:30 pm

      This cobbler was a hit with my fam. The kids are crazy for blueberries!

    19. Treena

      February 3, 2019 at 9:54 pm

      Loved this recipe! Will definitely be making it again.

    Leave a Reply

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text:
Spark Mag

Spark Mag

Providence, United States · 31 items

Spark Mag Selected Articles Vol. 1

We printed some of our favorite pieces from the past year into a full color zine!

24 pages printed on heavy stock. All money goes back into sustaining the site. Help support independent radical culture.

-Forward by Franklin Fisher of Algiers

-The Kominas remain defiant in Trump era, by Hana Jama

-Punk and Apartheid states do not mix, by Michael Fiorentino

-The fight to save all ages music in McAllen, David Sackllah

-Sammus talks album, politics, inspirations, by Victoria Ruiz

-Teri Gender Bender on art, life, and survival, by Karen Gwee

Buy this
  • $ was $7.50


text:
Vets in the Fight Continue the Mission

Dateline Pensacola, Florida 28 August 2018. It was a valiant effort. It showcased a principled and accomplished America patriot throughout. Winning his run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Florida’s Congressional District 1 was not to… Read More

Study Shows How Younger Veterans Feel About Trump and GOP

According to new analysis published in Sociological Spectrum, while military veterans were more likely to be affiliated with the Democrat party throughout the 1970s and into the early 1990s, their affiliation is now in a state of flux…. Read More

Starship Warriors

We recently launched our series on the 21st Century Warrior Veteran Health Service, and have gotten good exposure and commentary. Today we’ll touch on a couple of aspects of the next installment.  The nature of military service has… Read More


text:
Chip-Scale Spectrometers Compete With Performance of Standard Versions

Inspired by a balance scale, researchers built a chip-scale spectrometer operated by an optical switch

A collection of mini-spectrometer chips are arrayed on a tray after being made through conventional chip-making processes.
Photo: Felice Frankel
A collection of mini-spectrometer chips are arrayed on a tray.

We’ve seen a variety of complicated and expensive high-tech equipment be reduced to chip-scale devices: an atomic force microscope on a chip and even a particle accelerator on a chip.

One high-tech device that has been difficult to scale down effectively is the optical spectrometer, which analyzes wavelengths of light to determine the chemical composition of an object. While nanomaterials have technically made it possible to reduce the size of spectrometers to the chip scale, these devices have not worked very well. Spectrometers must spread out wavelengths of light in order to be effective. The more you scale down the size of a spectrometer, the more you degrade its performance because the light cannot be spread out enough.

Researchers at MIT have found a way around this problem with a new approach to manipulating light on a chip-scale spectrometer. They’ve used optical switches that send the light down different pathways of varying lengths and, in so doing, have made on-chip spectrometers that rival the performance of their large-scale cousins in terms of spectral resolution and channel count, as well as signal-to-noise ratio.

The inspiration for this optical-switch approach was the good old balance scale, where just a few standard weights can be used to determine any weight, according to Juejun Hu, an associate professor at MIT and coauthor of the research described in the journal Nature Communications. In this analogy, just a few different light paths of varying lengths take the place of those standard weights. Using just a few different light paths makes it possible to determine a wide variety of wavelengths.

To clarify how this analogy relates to the actual device, Hu explains that the device consists of an interferometer, which interferes with the beams of light. Optical switches are placed on each arm of the interferometer so that light is directed to waveguides of different path lengths. The key function of this interferometer-type spectrometer is the ability to generate a large number of optical path length (OPL) differences between the two interferometer arms. In this way, each OPL difference will roughly correspond to one data point on the final spectrum (also known as the “spectral channel number”).

“Our switch network allows us to pick OPL differences from a set of fixed wave-guide lengths and combine them in arbitrary ways, just like putting multiple weights on a scale,” explained Hu.

In this arrangement, the accessible number of OPL differences will scale exponentially with the number of fixed wave-guide lengths and switching elements. A small number of switches can generate a large spectral channel number needed for precision spectroscopy, according to Hu.

This approach marks a big change from traditional on-chip spectrometers that have linear scaling, in which their performance increases only linearly with size. This is a severe penalty for on-chip spectrometers (or miniaturized spectrometers in general) due to their small size.

“We demonstrated this exponential scaling architecture such that we can realize high performance within a small on-chip footprint,” said Hu. “While our current prototype has only 64 spectral channels, we can scale our next-gen device to 1,024 channels with an only 40 percent increase of the chip area. The significance is that the technology points to a way for on-chip spectrometer[s] to truly compete with their bulk counterparts in terms of performance.”

It appears that Hu and his colleagues—Derek Kita, a doctoral student and coauthor, along with research assistant Brando Miranda—have built their device with industry in mind. They have developed their prototype spectrometer through a commercial silicon photonics foundry service, meaning the device can be readily manufactured at a large scale using standard technologies.

“We also packaged the chip to become a sort of ‘plug-and-play’ module—all one needs to do in measurement is to connect the fiber connector to the light source and click a few buttons on the computer to get a spectrum, so it can be fairly easy to use,” added Hu.

For the device to start measuring objects, it will need a sensing element where the samples interact with the optical field. The spectrometer was designed with this in mind and can be seamlessly integrated with on-chip wave-guide sensors to detect different targets of interest.

At the moment, the device must be plugged into power. However, Hu believes that its power consumption is so small (less than 0.1 watts) and the acquisition time is so short (less than 0.1 seconds, even for a 1,024-channel device) that it could potentially be powered by a battery.

Whether battery powered or plugged in, the most likely applications for this on-chip spectrometer will be in spectroscopic sensing, radio frequency spectrum analysis, and optical coherence tomography, which ophthalmologists use to image the different layers of a patient’s retina.

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text:
Officials exhibiting DPA solar unit

DPA Solar to save Zimbabwe millions in foreign exchange

Targets new industrial, mining investors in $250 power investment

Distributed Power Africa (DPA), the solar power business of the Econet Group, has said its Zimbabwean venture will save the country millions of dollars in foreign exchange on electricity power imports and on the costs of the importation of diesel generators and diesel fuel.

DPA project director Norman Moyo said DPA had worked with top global companies, including US-based tech and renewable energy giant Tesla, to develop its solar solutions.

“We have undertaken training in the US and we have taken on board international experts. And so we are very confident in what we can do,” said Moyo, whose company recently announced $250 million investment plans in Zimbabwe.

Describing DPA’s solar system, Moyo said the system uses solar panels that capture the sun’s energy.

“The system uses the sun’s energy and stores it in special batteries. While such a system would be very expensive to deploy, DPA uses a lease finance model in which the customer only pays a monthly lease amount,” Moyo said, adding that the system comes with a highly sophisticated on-board management system.

“It is important to stress that it is not connected to the electricity grid at all, but is like a diesel generator, except that it is able to generate clean power all times – come rain, nightfall or cloud cover,” said Moyo, adding that there were no maintenance costs, as the entire system was clean and silent, and would provide uninterrupted power for at least 15 years.

Moyo said DPA was initially focusing on large corporate and industrial users, including mining, manufacturing, and telecoms infrastructure companies.

He reassured investors concerned about the country’s power challenges, saying DPA would prioritize new investments and would be happy to discuss new investors’ energy needs directly with them.

“Our power solutions will meet the needs of any investment anywhere in Zimbabwe,” he said.

MEANWHILE, DPA has offered to provide any new investor in industrial or mining activities in Zimbabwe “guaranteed power supply” from its $250 million facility for solar power.

The company said it did not want unreliable power supply to be a hindrance to anyone wishing to invest in Zimbabwe as DPA could build solar power systems quickly anywhere in the country.

“We guarantee any investor who wants to set up in Zimbabwe an independent solar power system which can provide electricity 24 hours per day,” said Moyo.

“This will be done at no additional cost in capital investment for them and they will just pay a fixed monthly charge,” he said, adding that their system could provide anything from as little as 10KW to up to to 10MW.

Moyo said Econet founder and group chairman, Mr Strive Masiyiwa, had directed the Econet Group companies to step up efforts to make it easier for investors, both existing and new ones, to do business in Zimbabwe.

“This $250 million investment in power is just the start,” said Moyo. “If demand exceeds this amount, we will invest more”.

Meanwhile, Moyo said DPA’s model would not be the utility scale model, where a solar power system can be connected to the ZESA grid.

“We are not building for the national power grid. Our focus and target market will be organization that currently use diesel generators, which we will replace with a more reliable system based on solar and lithium batteries,” he said, clarifying that their system did not connect to ZESA’s power grid, although they could sell ZESA excess capacity in the future, once the legal and financial framework was put in place.

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Asian Le Mans Series

Ave: “I’ll Do Whatever it Takes to Get LMP3 to Race in the U.S.”

Ave-Riley LMP3 car targeting end-of-season ELMS debut…

Image: Riley Technologies

Image: Riley Technologies

Progress continues to be made on the first American-built LMP3 car, with the joint Ave Motorsports/Riley Technologies AR-2 prototype set to begin on-track testing later this summer.

“We’re full speed ahead,” Tony Ave told Sportscar365. “I decided to not rush the first [car] and get it homologated until we could run it a little bit. Hopefully we end up with a better product. That’s our plan.”

The Riley-designed, Ave-built LMP3 car marks the group’s first joint venture into prototype racing, following the successful AR-1 Trans-Am chassis run in the TA class.

Ave said the AR-2 project has already generated interest from prospective customers, with plans to establish a European support base at the Nürburgring in association with Roehrig Engineering.

The car could make its competition debut by as early as the European Le Mans Series season finale at Estoril in October, in the hands of a to-be-announced customer.

“We have a fair amount of customer interest from people that don’t race [in the TUDOR Championship], people that race with me in Trans-Am and stuff like that,” Ave said.

“Once we announced it, the guys that are racing here, obviously because it’s a Riley design, are very interested. I’m excited about it.”

Ave is hopeful the LMP3 platform becomes eligible in the TUODR United SportsCar Championship.

IMSA recently hosted an exploratory test with a Ginetta-Nissan at Watkins Glen, marking the first LMP3 car to be run in North America as a potential replacement to the Prototype Challenge class.

“I think it should race here and it would just change the size of the business a little bit,” Ave said. “It makes a big difference to me obviously.

“Some of the [U.S.-based] guys that are buying stuff from me are willing to take a chance and just track day it if they don’t race it here.

“They’ve been longtime customers of mine so they’re making sure that I can get the project done right.”

The LMP3 test arguably proved that changes would have to be made to the current concept, should it replace PC, as the car was more than eight seconds off the pace from the Oreca FLM09.

“The horsepower side of it needs to be looked at in terms of making them a little bit faster,” said Ave, who attended the test.

“The car we’re building is certainly capable of a lot more horsepower than they put in them.

“I’m all for saying, ‘Look, if you want to bump it up a little bit, that’s a better deal.’

“It’s a double-edged sword because if you keep it at the P3 rules exactly, it’s more economical to build them because you’re sending some to Europe and some here.

“But to be honest, I’ll do whatever it takes to get them to run in this country and be popular over here.

“If that means we have to have a different [engine] package, either we tune up the engine that comes in it or we utilize a different engine for this country, then it’s very easy for us to do.”

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365 as well as the recently launched e-racing365 Web site for electric racing. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for Channel, and contributes to other publications worldwide. Contact John

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It’s not easy being green (and gluten- or allergy-free)

Happy Earth Day! Yesterday in Prospect Park I saw two young guys tromping around the lake, drumming on reclaimed water cooler jugs and chanting “Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!,” with a group of kids and parents following behind and half-heartedly shaking the little recycled maraca-things they’d clearly made earlier in the outing. I’m sure Mother Nature found it cute. I found it a good reminder to write this blog post.

Gluten-free often gets lumped in with organic and green in marketing and in popular imagination. I find this odd. Sure, reading labels on processed foods may make you more aware of what weird chemicals you’re putting into your body, and from there you might make the leap to increased awareness of what those chemicals may do to, say, bodies of water. (Dana at Celiac Kiddo wrote a great post about beaver butt in breakfast cereal and what exactly “natural ingredients” means—related and definitely worth a read.)

But overall, I find it’s not that easy to be both green and gluten-free. I’m sure anyone who’s ever had to worry about gluten and allergy contamination can relate; maintaining a clean, contamination-free environment can involve a lot of waste.

There’s the inevitable pantry cleaning at the start and the rallying cry, “When in doubt, throw it out!” Might you have dipped a spoon into first the flour and then the sugar? Toss the sugar. Did a knife go onto toast and then into the jam? Ditch the jar. And while you’re throwing out food right and left, go ahead and buy yourself a new dedicated cutting board, and try not to think about plastic and landfills.

We’re encouraged to buy designated gluten-free toasters, which means double the appliances to plug in, using double the electricity—and no, I don’t believe you remember to unplug your appliances when they aren’t in use.

My sponge usage went through the roof when I went gluten-free, as I’ve written before. Besides that, there’s paper towels for cleaning, parchment paper for baking, and ziploc bags for everything. I also use a lot more soap, which may or may not be harmful to the environment.

And all that is just at home. There’s more! At the grocery store, where before I might have skipped bagging my potatoes and apples, now I worry about those mystery stains on the conveyor belt and opt for the extra plastic. Packaged ingredients, with their FDA-regulated ingredients labels and airtight seals, are my friends. And shopping from the bulk bins to reduce packaging? Forget about it! You don’t know where those scoops have been!

We nod approvingly at muffins being baked in a separate facility and shipped to our local bakeries in individual shrinkwrap. We ask that Chipotle employees wear new gloves while preparing our burritos. And when we can’t find safe places to dine out, we buy individually packaged power bars to see us through.

I’ve even started using more plastic utensils and cups, because I bring meals with me when I’m out instead of stopping off somewhere to eat, and because I don’t trust these items to be clean enough at friends’ homes (no offense).

If you seek organic and non-GMO foods, you may find it harder when purchasing gluten-free products, many of which include corn (here’s a pretty recent list of foods, maintained by a gluten-free, vegan mom blogger, that are non-GMO and gluten-free). I can’t seem to get worked up about GMOs myself, but I understand there’s a lot of anxiety surrounding their health and environmental impact—an anxiety that may be compounded by gluten or allergen concerns.

Organic, natural body care products may also be more likely to include wheat or dairy proteins because these are “natural” alternatives to the chemicals in the big guys. This means if you’re avoiding those proteins, you must reject the purportedly greener options.

For people with severe seasonal allergies to, e.g., pollen, there’s a whole other set of energy expenditures to add into the mix: more laundry-washing, more vacuuming, more air conditioning. Those with serious allergies may also drive their cars during this season more often than they walk or bike. (Amanda at Celiac and Allergy Adventures has written here about the measures she takes during asthma/allergy season.)

So you see? It’s not that easy being green! When we’re expending lots of extra energy ourselves to rigidly control our immediate environment, it’s harder to maintain some of those little footprint-reducing habits we once cherished. Luckily, this doesn’t mean you can’t be green.

The safest foods in the world for most allergies and the gluten-free diet are fresh fruits and vegetables—whole foods that (as long as you buy in season) are pretty darn low in environmental impact. You can even consider going meatless for at least some meals, which is touted far and wide as a simple way to reduce one’s environmental impact. Yes, it can also be a bit harder to maintain a balanced diet while avoiding gluten or allergens and meat and dairy/eggs, but it’s nowhere near as tough as some will have you believe.

You can still keep an eye on your overall energy and water usage (and a dishwasher, widely considered the most effective way to clean contaminated dishes for those lucky enough to own one, is also often more energy- and water-efficient than hand-washing).

And (unless you do have the aforementioned severe seasonal allergies) you can always plant a tree or make an effort to walk or bike more, use public transportation more, and drive less, none of which have much of anything to do with gluten.

Tell me: Do you consider yourself an environmentalist? What do you do to reduce your footprint, if so? Do you find it harder to do while on a gluten- or allergy-free diet? What are your tips for managing both at once? And how are you celebrating Earth Day?

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How to expand your appliance repair business

If you’ve got an appliance repair business, then you already know how satisfying the work can be. However, as with most people who need to make a living with their hands, it’s not always easy to know how you can grow your business, and, consequently, earn a higher salary. If this is your current predicament, then take a read below. We outline some useful tips for expanding your appliance repair business, which will have you getting more customers and bringing in more cash in no time.

New Territories

You’re currently serving your hometown, but wouldn’t it be something if you could double the number of people that you service? Well, actually, you might be able to – simply by expanding your territories. You’ve got a vehicle, and it won’t take long to drive to one town over, so why not give it a go? It’s the easiest way to expand your business, and it costs next to nothing – only the added fuel for your car will have to be factored in.

Add More Staff

You’ve made a successful go of it by yourself, but now that you’re established, it might be time to look at adding more staff to your business. There’s every chance that you’ve currently had to turn work done because there’s only been you there; with more people on your team, you won’t need to turn down work ever again. Indeed, having a few employees will mean that you’re able to concentrate on growing your business in other ways. When you get a job, you can send one of your team, while you’re sat in the office taking care of all the duties that go along with being a business owner.

Getting the Word Out

To expand, you’ll need more customers, and to get more customers, you need to ensure that people know that you’re there. You can do this in a number of ways. You can work with a company that specializes in appliance repair leads. You can establish and update social media channels, and you can create a website – one that’s modern, is SEO friendly, contains a blog, and so on. If you do all of these things, then you’ll have no problem finding customers for your business. The more people know about your business, the most work you’ll get – it’s that simple.

Diversify Your Offerings

Most appliance repair experts specialize in one particular type of item, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to only working with, say, washing machines. Look at becoming an expert in other products, as well as ones that are coming on the market. If you’re able to fix anything and everything, then you’ll be increasing your chances of getting more work.

Have a Stellar Reputation

Finally, don’t discount the power of a stellar reputation! The best way to grow is to ensure you’re doing an expert job, that you’re delivering first-class customer service, and so on. Take care of the basics of your business, and you’ll find that growth comes easily to you in time.

*This is a contributed post

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Advanced Improv Workshop

The Advanced Improv Workshop is for improvisers that have ample skills and chops to endure a more pointed and constructive assessment of their improv comedy. The workshop requires the student to not just have a solid grasp of the basics improvisation, but demonstrate the spark that may lead to performing improv comedy on stage. Selection is carried out by reference from other established improv schools, or through the suggestion of our instructors at either Boot Camp classes or Intermediate Intermediate Intensives. Students that do not maintain the standards required to participate in the advanced workshops will be asked to withdraw until their chops return.

Mondays at 7pm sharp. $5.

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Yesterday after work, I went in the pool for a bit and it was sooo nice. The water is getting warmer again (it had been 78, but then dropped down to 67!) I love summer.

I also watched 3 episodes of Sex and the City from Season 1 with my mom. Yey for HBO on Demand. I then wrote thank you notes from my party and did some basic accounting and organizing of my life.

I'm really not sure what's going on for the holiday weekend. Everyones' plans keep changing, and I'm just going to sit and wait and see what happens.

Yeh - I guess that is all I have to say today. That's pretty boring. Meh.


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Here's a photo of Dave and I from the wedding the other night. I went with the Project Runway dress and it was fun wearing it since I hadn't in a while, with the new silver J Crew shoes:

Last night, Dave came over with flowers for me, which was absolutely adorable. We picked up a pizza, ate, and then went food shopping. We bought the ingredients to apple crisp, and then made it! It came out well, and we had fun cooking in the kitchen together. We then spent the remainder of the evening watching Me, Myself and Irene which was dumb, but funny.

I feel kinda bad cause there were 2 birthdays on Saturday night (both in Hoboken) for close friends, and I just didn't make it. On Saturday afternoon, I had a Spins and Turns class for ballroom dancing that went really well - the teacher complimented me a lot, and I learned a lot as well too. As for the parties, oops - but after a wedding Friday night, I needed an evening to just lounge around. I just can't do everything. We also don't really have the money - we can't have two major events each weekend, ya know?

Next weekend is another wedding, another ballroom class and a halloween party. Busy, but fun!

Today I have been doing cleaning and web work, and am going to go see Dave at some point so he can fix a light on my car. He also has some web work he needs to do as well for a client.

I painted my nails black for halloween. I like it.

( 6 comments — Leave a comment )
Oct. 26th, 2008 08:16 pm (UTC)
I love your dress! And you both look gorgeous.
Oct. 26th, 2008 08:40 pm (UTC)
Great choice! And the silver JCrew shoes look great with it, too. : )
Oct. 26th, 2008 08:41 pm (UTC)
Beautiful pic :) Is that the actual dress from PR? I'm a dork, but I'm not sure if they sell them or what lol. (Haven't watched the show in a long time.) I really like the ones you made as well! Esp the yellow/black/white one w/ the detail on the neck.
Oct. 26th, 2008 09:07 pm (UTC)
Yeh - Episode 6, season 2 was a challenge to design day to evening clothing for Banana Republic - this design won, and I purchased it from BR. It's number (I think I have #222 of 450 or something like that)

That is the link to the episode.

This link also has pictures - the 4th picture is one of the designers working on it. It was two designing - Daniel Vosovic and the guy in the picture, I don't remember his name.

Oct. 26th, 2008 10:40 pm (UTC)
You both look great! :)
Very sweet that Dave bought you home some flowers,lucky girl!
Oct. 27th, 2008 02:10 am (UTC)
You always look so beautiful, Alexa. :)
( 6 comments — Leave a comment )

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Manchester and London

The story of how a school in Philadelphia, Orlando United Day and international organizations came together to bring HOPE to Manchester.

Tragedy strikes in Manchester, U.K. at an Ariana Grande concert. Stars of Hope begin plans to spread hope to those impacted by this horrific attack. Sungard Availability Services in Philadelphia wants Manchester to know they are thinking of them and decide to do a Stars of HOPE project with the students at Bodine High School for International Affairs to create inspirational messages for Manchester.

In the same timeframe, Stars of HOPE was invited to participate in Orlando United Day, a day of love and kindness to honor the memory of the 49 innocent Pulse victims on the one-year anniversary of the nightclub shooting. Survivors, friends, family & visitors of all ages attending the Pulse Memorial painted messages of hope and healing. Over 800 stars were created, and the painting only stopped when it started to pour!

Thanks to a generous donation from DENTON’S, Stars of HOPE was able to bring volunteers from the US and Canada to Manchester to spread hope throughout the city.

New York Says Thank You Foundation board member, Suzanne Bernier, connected Stars of HOPE to U.K.-based Dr. Liz Royle, Director of KRTS International, a globally-recognized author & trauma psychotherapist, with clinical experience working across the full range of psychological trauma (be that responding to traumatic incidents or working therapeutically with PTSD and historical trauma).

Over a whirlwind three-day visit, Dr Royle arranged for the group to meet, present and/or hang Stars with the Manchester LGBTQ community, first responders working near London’s Grenfell Tower, London Bridge, Greater Manchester Police Service, Manchester Paramedic Services, as well as a memorable visit with the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councilor Eddy Newman.

“Thank you for everything you and your team do! People like you allow us to keep faith in humanity and the role you play in society is vital to ensuring people like me, my colleagues and your normal person on the street feel supported and cared for by the public. Please pass on my thanks to your team and 1000’s heart felt thank you to you for what you do for people you don’t know, never met and treating them with dignity and respect.”

Tyler O’Hare

Police Constable, London Metropolitan Police, England


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North Carolina National Guard Seal

North Carolina
National Guard

The North Carolina Army National Guard is a military force comprised of citizen Soldiers sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the state of North Carolina. We trace our heritage back to the 1663 Carolina Charter.  In recent years, the NCARNG has reshaped itself in a process known as “Transformation."  This transformation has changed the Guard’s focus and structure from that of a strategic reserve to a modern operational force. As requirements evolve, The NCARNG continues to posture itself for success in meeting future mission requirements, while accomplishing current missions, by remaining relevant and ready.  You’ll get a lot out of serving in the National Guard.  In addition to the pride of serving your Country and community, you’ll learn career skills from one of 150 jobs, a paycheck, and receive educational opportunities and benefits you can’t get anywhere else.

Open Positions

Armories and Recruiting Stations

  • 30th Armor Brigade Combat Team
  • 113th Sustainment Brigade
  • 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
  • 139th Regiment
  • 449th Theater Aviation Brigade
  • 60th Troop Command

State Education Benefits

Varies: amount set by the NC State Education Assistance Authority each fiscal year; Making SAP at the school, active drilling member of NCNG prior to start of classes, have 2 years remaining on contract with the Guard at the end of the academic period for which tuition assistance is provided, based on availability of funds.

''GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website athttp://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill."

Am I eligible?
What are the benefits?
Be more. Earn more.

Get Started

  • Fill out this form and a Guard recruiter will contact you to answer all of your questions.
  • Get the conversation started, with no obligations on your part.

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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Annunaki ×

  • Are the Avians / Sphere Beings are of the Central Race?

    No, They are not what has been referred to as "The Central Race". They do not come from a Star System or Star Cluster within our Density or "Reality". These beings come from the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Density Realm that is not through a stargate, dimensional rift or out of phase star system. Their "Reality" or Density/Realm is on another plane of existence than our own. From what I have been told what has been referred to as "The Central Race" is a 4th/5th Density group that is much closer to our 3rd/4th Density "Reality" and they still depend on Technology. The Sphere Beings are apart of a "Confederation of Higher Density Beings" who are being of Service to Others and assisting lower vibrational/density beings in their "Transitions" to the higher vibrations/densities. I have received all kinds of emails stating they are the "Velon", "Annunaki" and "Reptilians" that are "Masquerading as Angels" or are known 4th/5th D Groups that are traveling here from the Central part of our Galaxy on behest of the "13" to assist "US" in breaking free from the "Custodian Gods/Aliens" who have ruled and manipulated our existence for melinea... I want to be very clear and go on record that the Sphere Beings have communicated to me that this is not the case and they are not only not affiliated with these other groups mentioned but have "Refused All Communication Attempts" from these groups as well as "Various Human Groups". Thank you for giving me an opportunity to clear this up once and for all... Hopefully.

    02 Apr 2015
  • One "Source" says the Sphere Being Alliance is a part of the "Andromeda Council" & their spheres make up part of the "Sphere Alliance". That the "Blue Avians" are Annunaki ("Annuans") from the planet "Nibiru". How can this be if they are 6th Density?

    This is the second question in a row on this subject.

    This "Source" is mistaken,

    The group they mention is not related to the Sphere Alliance nor would they be from the same Density. These spheres are not physical craft as this source describes. I do not know how to make this more clear.

    The "Andromeda Council" is not apart of the "Sphere Alliance" which is a group of 5 6th - 9th Density beings. They are not here to evacuate the planet in Spheres nor are there here to save us, or directly interfere in our affairs.

    They also stated that the Blue Avians were "Cousins" of the Anunnaki and were from Nibiru. These beings do not originate from any physical location in our time/space or Galaxy/Universe.

    26 Jun 2015


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Record Broken!

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Most Arcade Machine Counters Rolled To 9,999,999

United States Lonnie McDonald

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Grandview, Missouri, United States / June 30, 2012

Since the end of June 2011, Lonnie McDonald traveled to 60 locations and rolled the counter on 60 classic arcade machines. Read more about the feat here.

- must play classic arcade machines
- points counter on each machine must reach 9,999,999 points
- must provide video evidence

Tags: mostgamingscorevideo gamepointarcademachine

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Acer STEAM Lab Makeover Contest Entries Due This Month

The application period for Acer's STEAM Lab Makeover contest is coming to a close in a few weeks. The contest will award a mixed-reality technology package to one school.

The prize package includes 10 Acer Aspire A7 laptops and 10 Acer Windows Mixed Reality headsets. The laptops offer a Core i7-7700HQ processor, 15.6-inch HD display powered by an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB hard drive, gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac WiFi, among other features. The headsets offer VR capabilities and also allow students to interact with the real world with a flip of the visor. The devices include wireless controllers and are designed to pair "right out-of-the-box with the Aspire 7."

Acer Windows Mixed Reality headsets

The total package value is about $13,000.

To enter, schools need to tweet @AcerEducation with the hashtag #AcerGivesBack. Entrants should include a brief statement about "why their classroom deserves to win a makeover and how the makeover would make a difference at their school." Entries may include multimedia as well, though the winner will be chosen at random.

Submissions to the STEAM Lab Makeover are due Aug. 31. Further details and complete rules can be found on Acer's site.

About the Author

David Nagel is editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Technology Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal and STEAM Universe. A 25-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

He can be reached at You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at or follow him on Twitter at @THEJournalDave (K-12) or @CampusTechDave (higher education).


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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Impression - Know everything before Buying .

in phone •  6 months ago

Here's what you need to know about Galaxy Note 9

  • It's finally here. After relentless leaks, rumors, and more, Galaxy Note 9 is officially out.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a little bigger, a little more colorful ( with 2 different Colors ) , and a little more powerful than all prior Note phones, but be warned: it’s also a lot more expensive. The device comes in two colors in the US, ocean blue (with a bright yellow S Pen) and lavender purple.

credit : CNET

Here's everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

  • Samsung took phrase " The bigger the better " phrase quite seriously. Note 9 is one of the big phones ( Screen wise and storage wise ) of 2018. With Big 6.4-inch Display and 2960x1440 (18:9) Screen Resolution. And even the 4,000 mAh battery is huge.

  • Now , Lets talk about storage. S9 comes with two different variant 6 GB RAM with 128GB Storage , another is 8 GB RAM with 512GB Storage. Do you know what is bigger than huge ? Ans- this . This, is bigger than huge.

  • Now , lets see everyone's favorite specification . You're right I'm Talking about Camera. The camera is better, with a dual 12MP rear setup that has dual-aperture technology, and can record Super Slow Mo videos. AR Emoji is back with some finer avatar customization.

S pen Magic

  • The new S Pen is the star turn of the Note 9 show, capable of performing Bluetooth-connected magic tricks from up to 30 feet away . Sm Pen can take photos from 30 feet away and even can charge while embedded in the phone.

  • When you do finally drain the Note 9, you'll be able to top it up via wired and wireless fast charging.

Samsung is listing the 128GB Note 9 at $999, and the 512GB model at $1,250 in the US. Price may be vary in different Countries .

  • So , the price is quite expensive , would you buy this phone at 1000$ price ?

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy Note 9
Operating systemAndroid 8.1 Oreo Samsung Experience 9.5
Display size, resolution6.4-inch Super AMOLED; 2,960x1,440 pixels
CameraDual 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel
Front-facing camera8 MP
Video capture4K
ProcessorOctacore Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Storage128GB, 512GB
Battery4,000 mAh
Expandable storage512GB

Would you buy this phone at 1000$ price ?

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Nice review.
Samsung hasn't disappointed, I like what they did with the pen and how they boosted their RAM.
Now we will have to wait till Apple officially unveils what they have in store for us.

Good phone but specs very similar to the Note8

Wow.. My next phone thanks my brother.

I wish your post on trend no. 1 my friend.

I have a note 8 and am quite happy with it, however. Given the information I have currently I will still be keeping mine for the next couple years. Hopefully I won't break it before then

I do hope the DeX features get rolled out to the Note 8 and older phones. I am also interested in using it as a drawpad sending info to my computer.

The most critical progression, be that as it may, will be the capacity to take advantage of the supersonic systems that the transporters are caught up with building now. That cutting edge remote innovation is ready to goad a versatile upset with improved paces and responsiveness, and the bearers are falling all finished themselves advertising up its potential.

great , nice review .I'm not sure if I would buy phone , I rather get new computer.

Yes , At this price range anyone would prefer computer or laptop over Phone .

I just purchased the S8+ when it came out, and love it. If I was in the market for a phone right now, I would probably go for the s9+. I owned the note 3 for 4 years, and found I rarely used the stylus, even though it was a feature I was really excited about. It's a Premium flagship device, so yeah, it's expensive.

s9+ is one of the best phones of samsung out there . ;)

I like what they did with the hydro cooling processor, the camera processor scene recognition is super stoked. The larger battery life and enhanced SPen is just amazing. Go note

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Yes cooling processor will help hardcore gamer.

I saw this announcement on Casey Neistat's YouTube channel because Samsung also sent him the new Note 9. Looks cool and all, but I'll wait for his review, although he already said it's "slightly" biased. lol.

Btw, not buying this though. Just curious how it performs. Ha ha ha.

With 6GB/8GB RAM performance will definitely going to be amazing . But lets see if it can beat Pixel 2 XL or Iphone X .

@shaivpidadi Congo bro👍..this is now a trending post😎

No,I wont buy the phone for 1000 dollars but i would accept it as a prove of undying love from my very own special sweet...... Hhahahahahhh

nice informative news. great job

I need to see a comparison between I Phone and the Samsung Note.

I might do it , in upcoming posts .

Wow amazing one of my favourite, its a beast.
Camera, S pen looks great, very good review done by you.
I think this has to be no.1 trending post.

thanks brother

Watched the presentation. Looks spectacular. Fortnite addition is great.

samsung is not stopping itself , it trying very hard to compete with iphone , lets see where samsung lands, but again this is good information from your side , thank you

hello! sorry for the inconvenience, could you help me with a STEEM?Everyone in this community wants to grow and i will invest that Steem to keep growing and as a motivation

Nice info

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very nice

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@shaivpidadi Is this have an installment for this phone? what are all needed guys? I badly need a cellphone for applying to have a job. 🙁

Yes , you can buy the 128 GB Note 9 from Verizon for $41.66 per month .

I've always been team iPhone but I gotta say this looks so preettty :)

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To talk about Samsung Galaxy Note9, surely no one understands me, why? because i'm working at samsung. 1 vote for you and 1 follower for me

I'm happy with my S9 plus now, but who knows :D

I really like a thing about this phone i.e S pen.
A new technology is used in this samsung note 9 phone.

I have never hear about this technology before reading your post.
Thank you very much.

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thanks brother

No, and i think its stupid to invest so much money in a phone that.. lets face not flying ..its a toy with a nice picture on it... but humans will buy it anyway because..well it makes them happy :)

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i want this phone very much

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Beautiful phone. #resteemed

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I only try to buy a new phone every 2-3 years. It's not always worth it and they are getting more expensive each time. My computer even doesn't cost that much.

How is upgrading your phone every year worth it?

very helpful information about samsung galaxy note 9

You are welcome friend

It's really useful content .But I inform you that, in INDIA it'll launch in 3 different color (ocean blue,midnight black and metallic copper)

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This is the best smartphone of Samsung.
This is also amazing with the powerful feature of spen.

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text:
Organizing to Integrate

Written By David Kirkland

New York City, not unlike other major metropolitan regions in the U.S., faces a stubborn and layered system of segregation, which separate students by socio-economic status, ability, language background, race/ethnicity, and so on. These categories predict (almost acutely) who our schools will serve well, and who they will neglect. The NYU Metro Center is committed to partnering with NYC to find data-driven ways to resolve the wicked problem of school segregation in NYC, using research to drive policy that promises to integrate NYC schools and grow greater opportunities for vulnerable communities threatened by initiatives of separation and enacted ideologies of division.

For nearly 40 years, NYU Metro Center has worked tirelessly in defense of the lives of our nation’s most disadvantaged populations. For decades, we have committed ourselves to a campaign of rigorous educational science and technical assistance to help unleash, for all people to enjoy, the bountiful promises of equity, dignity, and justice. Thus, in opposition to stubborn realities of separate and unequal schooling (particularly as it fuels and is fueled by fear, ignorance, and intolerance), the goal of our school integration/desegregation work is to reaffirm our collective commitment to advancing justice for all threatened groups and individuals, to supporting research, practice and policy that eventuates in our highest human ideals and more compassionate, humane, and integrated citizenry.

The objective of this work must be to transform NYC by setting in course data-supported recommendations that fundamentally shifts the demography of NYC schools through collaborative and principled intellectual activities that challenge the dominant logics and systems of exclusion.

In the space between the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision and now, it is necessary that research be committed to publicly defending the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. As we together undertake this work, I urge us to keep in mind the intersectional identities of the new generation of students we are charged with nurturing. Many were not only Black or White or poor, they are otherwise—a new generation of people who refuse to be boxed as they perform vastly complex identities, queering and, in so many ways, upsetting the logics of homogeneity upon which segregation rests.

These new bodies embody the new civil rights campaign, which evokes a complicated set of propositions worthy of redress. Perhaps chief among them are opportunity gaps and residential segregation, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the new discrimination against people of color. This is the very work for which NYU Metro Center exists.

As an organization committed to extending more broadly the reach of justice, we have moved forward in our 40 years of existence as a research center, affirming our treatise to justice while encouraging others to join us in conversations that evoke healing from (the detrimental effects of) social intolerance and against intolerable acts social separation. Marc Lamont Hill has term this kind of work “wounded healing.” For Hill, wounded healing is a practice of rising (though fallen), of attending to the cares of our most vulnerable students while working to repair and move beyond the wounds that feed them.

Such a practice of healing is perhaps more important now because it lends a voice of hope for reconciling a trans-sectionality of identities—that is, the ways individuals move between spaces, our fluidities and unbound intersectionalities. It exposes how confusions, hardenings, and inaccuracies surround expressions of Segregation and incubate deeply within the logics of unreasonable frustrations, strifes, and even social violence—the same type of violence the new presidential administration has daily inflicted upon the vulnerable.

In this light, healing means accepting all aspects of us and, indeed, more so as we move in and out of labels historically used to trap us and others.  Like the vulnerable and trans-sectional communities and bodies we work hard to support, NYU Metro Center’s commitment to ending segregation while interrupting intolerance is unwavering.

We welcome the City of New York and the rest of our nation as our partners in this work.


text:
Click Here to proceed to the Downloads Section – PowerPoint Presentations
CP FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) Stay updated with the CP Updates RSS Feed Contact CP   Currently Available in the Coptic Presentations Software: Required fonts to view: Athanasius & CS New Athanasius. The Offering of Incense The Liturgies of St. Basil, St. Cyril, & St. Gregory The Annual, Lenten, Paschal, & Pentecostal Katameros Readings The Coptic Pascha Services Presentations The Synaxarion The Annual, Kiahk, Lenten, Palm Sunday, & Pentecostal Psalmodies The Book of the Hours The Unction The Wedding Ceremony Spiritual Songs Altar Consecration Funeral Services for Priests, Deacons, Men, Women, Boys, & Girls. As well as other church services… Many more to come soon…     The Coptic Presentations Software is free for use but donations are greatly appreciated! Please select Coptic Presentations and click the donate button on the left or send donations to the address below. This service is provided by: Coptic Presentations St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church 835 Bergen Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07306


text:
Women’s Breakfast

Event details

  • March 9, 2019
  • 9:00 am
  • 3535 Saint Ignatius Ln, Franklin, TN 37064
  • FreeRegistration

What, When, and Where:

A casual, come-as-you-are breakfast is hosted by the Antiochian Women in the St. Ignatius Parish Hall on the second Saturday of every month. All women from St. Ignatius and surrounding Orthodox parishes are invited to attend.

The monthly breakfast format is:
9:00 AM     Prayer and Fellowship;
9:40 AM     Presentation, Speaker, or Group Activity/Service Project;
10:00 AM     End.

Each month’s gathering is a time for Orthodox women to come together in a fun, no-fuss setting to spend quality time with one another.

How It Works:

Coffee and assorted breakfast items are catered by various restaurants such as Panera and Starbucks. The cost is free, but please register at least one day in advance so we’ll know how much food and drink to provide.

Monthly speakers/presenters are fellow Orthodox women from St. Ignatius and surrounding parishes who have stories, lessons, skills, education or other edifying information to share. Occasionally there are group activities or service projects in lieu of a speaker.

Purpose and Goals:

The goal of our monthly breakfast is to connect and strengthen our sisterhood, fulfilling our tri-fold mission to:

  • develop a spirit of Christian leadership, awareness and commitment among each other,
  • foster a genuine expression of love and service through works of charity, and
  • instill a sense of fellowship and deeper understanding of our heritage, traditions, and faith.

For more information, please email aw@stignatiusfranklin.org.


text:
News and Updates (4)

New Student RenWeb Application

08 January 2015

Welcome! We are honored you are considering Saint Joseph Catholic ElementarySchool. Please fill out a new student online application. Please see the link below.

Here is the link

2018 - 2019 School Supply Lists

23 May 2013

One of the fun rituals that signals the return of a new school year is the shopping for new school supplies!  Ah the joy of shopping aisle by aisle, searching item by item for the right things while you bond with your child over deciding on a new lunch bag in green or blue?  Green, or blue?  Oh, look it's in red!  Red, green or blue?

Please click on the grade level your student will be in the 2018-19 school year for a printable copy of his/her supply list.

RenWeb Re-Enrollment for the 2018-2019 School Year

10 August 2012

Please click on the following link to sign up for RenWeb enrollment, facts payments and  financial aid for the 2018-2019 school year:

Our school code is SJE-UT

Jayhawk News

23 January 2009

2018/ 2019  Jayhawk News

jayhawk blue

September 12, 2018

September 5, 2018

August 28, 2018


text:
Local Communities Struggle With Empty Houses

The Suburban Journals recently followed a Collinsville community service officer as she made her rounds citing houses desperately in need of maintenance.  Community service officers monitor neglected homes and unkept yards.  Since the mortgage crisis and the subsequent rise in foreclosures, their job has gotten a lot more difficult.  Communities all over Missouri are struggling with how to handle abandoned and foreclosed homes.

To read more about what Collinsville and other local communities are doing about empty homes, CLICK HERE

In tough times, it’s especially important to help our neighbors.  If there are vacant or abandoned properties in your neighborhood, do your part to keep your neighborhood safe—you can rake leaves, mow the lawn, or just pick up trash to keep homes clean.

For volunteer opportunities in your area, call United Way’s 2-1-1 referral service at (800) 427-4626.

Do you have stories to share about volunteering in your neighborhood?  Leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you.

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IMG 3876

Was it good? Yea. What is great? No. Many in the cigar community have raved about this smoke, and while its a solid offering, it just didn’t keep my attention or present flavors that I really liked.

Rating: Fiver

Size: 5 x 50 (Robusto)

Wrapper: Ecuadoran Habano Oscuro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan, USA (Pennsylvania)


text:
Author(s): Susi Fox

They've stolen your baby.

After waking from an emergency caesarean, you're dying to see your new baby. But when you're introduced something is wrong.

This is not your child.

The nurses assure you that the baby is yours.

Your husband believes them. And so does your father.

But how can you be wrong? You're a doctor. You know how easily mistakes are made.

When everyone is against you, do you trust your instincts?

You know only one thing . . .

You must find your baby.

'Taps into deep, subliminal fear. I was so absorbed that when a friend tapped me on the shoulder, I jumped out of my skin' Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of DAUGHTER

'I raced through, unable to stop reading until I found out what was really going on. Gripping and thought provoking about motherhood and mental health. I loved it' LAURA MARSHALL, bestselling author of FRIEND REQUEST

'Digs deep to examine the dark side of motherhood - mental illness, failure, violent thoughts - and refuses to look away. Mine throws into question the sanity of the narrator, the trustworthiness of doctors and the reader's understanding of right and wrong' THE GUARDIAN

Available Stock:

Add to Wishlist

Product Information

Susi Fox is a writer and GP from rural Victoria, Australia, who is currently completing her Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT. She received a 2015 Varuna Fellowship and was a participant in the 2015 QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program. Susi commenced her Master of Medicine at University of Sydney in 2017. Mine is her first novel.

General Fields

  • : 9780143787365
  • : penguin random house
  • : Michael Joseph
  • : March 2018
  • : 2.6 X 15.4
  • : Australia
  • : April 2018
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Susi Fox
  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • : 823.92
  • : 352


text:
11" Bayrock with end caps

11" Bayrock with end caps
enlargeclick to enlarge

Item # : PS-BAY11

Product Description

These signs are reproductions of antique signs found throughout Europe. Not only will they add beauty and charm to your home, our signs are made to stand the test of time. The decorative frames are made from solid die-cast aluminum, and finished with our special powder coating process to prevent corrosion. The number plates are constructed of heavy gauge steel with a thick porcelain enamel coating. Your numbers and artwork are applied by hand, then fired in our kilns to produce a piece of fine art that will not warp, chip or fade in direct sunlight.

• 7.5" x 15" (with end caps)
• 6" x 10" (plate only)

Text customization options
Plaque with a ring
• Holds up to four digits of text.

Plaque without a ring
• Option 1: Up to five digits of text.
• Option 3: Up to two lines of text.


text:
Finding a Dream Home

My wife and I are in the market for buying a home, but we haven’t found a house in our price range that is available. Since we were married almost three years ago, we’ve been living in an apartment that is old and run down. We had told ourselves when we moved in that we’d stay about nine months, and then try to buy a home. That was two years ago.

We’re both teachers in Idaho, living on teachers’ salaries, struggling to pay off our college loans. We also are eager to start a family. As each month passes by, it doesn’t make it any easier on us or our families to not be able to move on. We’ve felt stuck, with careers and living situation and family plans all up in the air. But if we find our Dream Home, will we be content?

Isn’t it our American culture to pursue the Dream? I have since my childhood, dreaming of living in a cozy and spacious home. My parents used to take us on a tour of the Street of Dreams, an annual curbside extravaganza in the Portland Metropolitan area where a block of the year’s most modern homes are showcased for the public. The last one I attended was in 2001, and the homes were easily retailing for $2 million or more. I remember that almost all the homes had a home theater room; one had a glass wall so the owner could showcase his Harley collection (Not me. I’d display my headless Gummy Bear collection; I mean that’s the only reason I’d purchase a four-story home like that.)

But life can’t be just about living in a spacious, cozy home, can it? It’s almost like I’ve imagined that the home I’m purchasing is a little indestructible bunker where no harm will touch me. That all of life will work out, once I have my home; and that after that, I can settle down in peace.

I suppose. But I guess it depends on the kind of home where I’m looking to live. I believe what will truly make me happy is a home so unbounded and so unlimited and so beyond comprehension as to boggle my wildest notion of comfort and safety—a space far deeper, far more amenable than the pinprick of my constant suffering.

I need a dwelling where I am renewed, whose foundation is indestructible, where I realize that if I just live here, I am okay to be weak and vulnerable. Here, I don’t have to worry about performance or doing enough to make my life profitable. In this home I’m free to rest.

I’m speaking of God, of course. He is my home. Psalm 46:1 says: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” All the security and safety I could ever hope for, and all the amenities offered to my soul by a spiritual Father, are in Him.

There’s nothing wrong with buying a home. Even a dream home. But let my Dream come true, first. That Dream is to be safe and protected in Him. Should my life crumble away or spiral out of control, God will still have me safe and secure in Him. So how do I get in? Well, Jesus, of course. He alone is the key.

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4 Responses to Finding a Dream Home

  1. Love this! Love the reference to Scripture as well!

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text:
Learning with Elmer by David McKee

Elmer is celebrating his 25th birthday this year! We have read many of the Elmer stories which have been translated into over 40 languages as well as being made into television series. The first story is still my favourite and I have used it countless times to promote learning within a variety of topics. It is particularly good to include in a topic on colour but it’s also great as a stimulus for numeracy activities, science topics as well as arts and crafts.

David McKee - Elmer - Story SnugThe Story: Elmer is a patchwork elephant with a colourful personality but he doesn’t like being different to the other elephants. One day he goes on a long walk and finds a bush covered in grey berries. Elmer covers himself in berry juice until he looks like his friends and none of the jungle animals recognises him. When he rejoins his herd all the other elephants are standing so still and serious that Elmer shouts “Boo” to make them jump. When it starts to rain Elmer’s disguise is washed away. The elephants find this so funny that they decide to celebrate Elmer Day every year by decorating themselves.

Elmer legoThe word patchwork is often new to young children and while working on Elmer activities I use the word as often as possible and show them a patchwork blanket. One of the challenges that I set is for children to make sure that each square in a craft is not stuck / painted or coloured the same as the one next to it (which can be quite difficult and requires some thought!). A fun activity is to make patchwork lego boards, often children like to look at a picture of Elmer to see if they can copy his colours on their board.

My daughter made this Elmer inspired candle holder using a jam jar, wallpaper paste and squares of tissue paper when she was two. It’s a simple activity for the littlest of children but I have also done it with children up to the age of ten. If you are worried about young children using glass you can stick tissue paper or sticky paper squares to an elephant template. I use the template from teachers.net.

Fridge ElmerAnother fun craft activity is making an Elmer fridge magnet using squares of craft foam and an elephant template. My daughter loved making her magnet and also wanted to make a patterned elephant to celebrate Elmer Day. Making their own patterns gives children an opportunity to get creative with colouring, printing, finger painting or sticking and an Elmer Day classroom display with brightly patterned elephants is always eye-catching.

Window Elmer

I’ve also used the elephant template to make window decorations. The patchwork colours look really pretty when the light shines through them. We cut out a template on a plastic sheet that is used for an overhead projector then painted our Elmer with window paints. Children can also stick squares of tissue paper onto a sticky back plastic shaped Elmer for a similar effect.

Elmer's Photo Patchwork App http://storysnug.com #MyElmerElmer’s Photo Patchwork App is a fun app which is linked to the story. It’s an easy to use, very interactive iPad / iPhone app which encourages the user to decorate elephants by observing and taking pictures of their surroundings and stimulates discussions about colours, patterns and textures in the world around them.

Elmer tries to make himself look the same as all the other elephants as he doesn’t like being different. I have used the story to stimulate discussions about looking / feeling / being different and have also explored these feelings and emotions in a drama lesson. Elmer is also fun to act out for a show or a class assembly.

Elmer is a great story to introduce looking at patterns. Initial discussions about the patterns on the elephants celebrating Elmer Day can stimulate the introduction of repeating patterns. You can create these with Lego bricks, beads, counters, different pasta shapes or children can colour a line of elephants with a repeating pattern of their choice.

Elmer squaresDiscussion about shape, squares and tessellation can also be introduced through the story. The fact that a square can be made from several smaller squares is introduced in this simple elephant making activity. Children cut out the elephant template with sixteen squares, cut along the darker lines then fold along the dotted lines to make an elephant. Making Wilbur, Elmer’s cousin, gives the children an opportunity to work with a black and white patchwork pattern. We added a wobbly eye for a final touch.

There are lots of opportunities for counting in the story, e.g. counting bunches of berries on the bush, the elephants in the herd, trees in the jungle. The Elmer template can be used to create a colour by numbers worksheet, either using single numbers or for practising simple addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. For older children you could also create an Elmer sudoku puzzle. In an Early Years classroom mathematical language can be introduced when talking about the elephants in the first picture of the story. The elephants in Elmer’s herd are all shapes and sizes – vocabulary such as big, small, biggest, smallest, tall, short, tallest and shortest can all be used.

Elmer BiscuitsGeneral discussions about where elephants live, the difference between African elephants and Indian elephants and what elephants eat can be stimulated by reading the story and can lead to some great classroom displays. One of my favourite numeracy activities is baking so on Elmer Day in the classroom we make Elmer biscuits. We bake elephant shaped shortbread biscuits then cover them with a thin layer of icing before adding coloured sprinkles or making a patchwork pattern using Smarties or M and Ms.

Elmer themed weeks in school or at home can be lots of fun. We would love to see your Elmer inspired activities in the comments.

Age Range: 3 +

Author / Illustrator: David McKee

by - [-]
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Other picture books for learning about colour in a classroom topic.

Mouse Paint is a very simple, easy to read story which introduces the primary colours and paint mixing.
Winnie the Witch is an amusing story which introduces different colours. A fun art activity is for the children to draw their own version of the multicoloured Wilbur.
Eric Carle introduces brightly coloured animals in both The Mixed-Up Chameleon and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? They’re great for introducing colour vocabulary to babies and toddlers as well as using in the EFL classroom.
Wow! Said the Owl introduces a new colour on each page and ends with a beautifully coloured rainbow.
Mix It Up
 provides an introduction to the three primary colours, the secondary colours that result from mixing them and shows how you can make colours lighter or darker.

More Elmer inspired arts, crafts and learning activities on Pinterest

34 thoughts on “Learning with Elmer by David McKee

  1. I didn’t realise Elmer was so old!!! We love the books in this house, I’ve read them with all of my children and you’re right there is a real learning element to them. thanks for linking up with #readwithme x

  2. Your post inspired me to look for Elmer on Amazon, and I’m so excited to see that this series is still in print! When I first started working in library land (late 1980s), Elmer was very popular!

  3. Wow, these are lovely! I just came across your blog on the #mmwbh
    I little projects like this with my own children all the time – hubby says I should be a teacher! I love the patchwork Duplo and the candle holder. I am looking forward to following your blog and seeing what else you come up with! It has also inspired me to blog about out Gingerbread Man project – that was great fun! x

  4. How could I have missed Elmer all these years? When I started to read I thought you were reflecting on a grown child. For head slap to self when I realized that it was a book series.
    After picking myself off the floor of embarrassment, I got really excited. These books and activities look really fun!

  5. Some great ideas there, and I’m sure my daughter and I will be having a go at them. I’m guessing that you are unaware but the director of Sparklebox is actually a convicted paedophile who has twice been imprisoned. If you Google Sparklebox and the name Samuel you will see the situation. I certainly will never visit the site again or use his resources (which is a shame for the rest of the Sparklebox ‘team’ but I feel very strongly about this)

  6. We love Elmer! What great activities – and I am loving the candleholder. She did a really great job! Thanks so much for sharing with us on the #homeschoollinkup!

  7. I had no idea Elmer was 25. Wow! I hope he is bringing learning fun to kids for many more years.

    Thank you for stopping by the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop this week. We hope to see you drop by our neck of the woods next week!

    • You’re welcome Jill. I think Elmer and the theme of the story are pretty timeless, the stories appeal to children now just as much as they did 25 years ago.

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