LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Steve Harvey is hosting next month's NAACP Image Awards.
The organization said Tuesday that presenters will include "Django Unchained" nominees Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Foxx. Queen Latifah and Tony Goldwyn also will be among the presenters. Dennis Haysbert will be the announcer for the live broadcast.
Comedian-TV talk show host Harvey said he's honored to host the ceremony and promised "great things in store for the night."
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Awards honor diversity in the arts. Contenders for the top movie prize are "Flight," ''Django Unchained," ''Beasts of the Southern Wild," ''Red Tails" and "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds."
The 44th annual ceremony is scheduled to air Feb. 1 on NBC.
Stephen Hook and his beloved Ida arrived at the English seaside resort town of Eastbourne for an unconventional photo shoot. He had to ply her with food and give her a gentle prod before Ida would cooperate.
Ida is a dairy cow, and Hook wants to introduce town folks to the virtues of raw milk -- some of the sweetest around with no pasteurization or additives. He claims it can help cure eczema, lower blood pressure and keep cholesterol at bay.
"She leads a stress-free life," says Hook, 47, who with his father runs Hook and Son Dairy in partnership with Longleys Farm on the edge of the Pevensey Levels. "We are relaxed with the cows and don't push them too hard and it comes through with their milk."
But Ida enjoys the attention of strangers so much that she refused to go home, and Hook and his farm hands patiently coaxed, cajoled and eventually pushed her back end up the ramp in the van.
Cows are stubborn and at times unruly creatures, we learn in a new documentary, "The Moo Man," which had its premiere in the World Cinema Documentary category at Sundance on Monday. But Hook, a bovine whisperer of sorts, clearly understands and loves them as his children -- and as his livelihood.
Independent film producer Andy Heathcote ("The Lost World of Mr. Hardy," 2008) followed Hook's family for three years, watching birth, illness, death and renewal unfold on the farm.
"Andy was there every day and the cows got to know him," said Hook, who with his father, Phil, attended the festivities at Sundance. "Nothing was ever scripted."
The documentary is next headed for a showing at Berlinale, the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, in February.
With her black and white splotches, Ida could be the poster child for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. But the Hooks sell their unprocessed milk directly to consumers.
The Hooks' ancestors have farmed for at least 250 years, but their way of life is dying. Supermarket chains have undercut local farmers who must sell their products at a loss, according to the film.
Hook has gone the organic route, selling the raw milk at his own price. By law, he can only sell at farmer's markets, on milk rounds and through an Internet service, but not at supermarkets.
Courtesy of Trufflepig Films
Heathcote said many consumers have lost touch with the connection between food and the farm.
"The farm is a fantastic microcosm of the cycle of life," said Heathcote, 48, who, with his co-director and partner Heike Bachelier, were customers of Hook and Son in southeast Sussex.
"When Steve started doing raw milk we had rounds delivered to our door, which we found fantastic," he said. "The bottle had a picture of each cow. We found it so intriguing and he seemed a very different kind of farmer."
Bachelier surprised Heathcote with a visit to the dairy farm and the idea for the film was born.
In an attempt to save his family farm, Hook and his father Phil keep their business small and organic, but it comes at an emotional price.
Ida, Hook's favorite cow, nearly died during a difficult childbirth. Her good milking genes are lost on male calves, which are ultimately sent off to the slaughterhouse for meat.
Hook shows off the rolls of beef that arrive at his door. They were once Kato, a 3-year-old steer he said led a "pretty good life" on the farm.
"At most dairy farms, that fellow would be shot at birth," says Hook in the film.
He has noticed that his cows live to 9 or 10; those on regular dairy farms live only to about 6. "Having a stress-free life makes them very healthy," he said. "They don't get mastitis or lameness."
Hook is raw milk's biggest fan. "I drink a pint without thinking about it," he says. "When I drink shop milk, it's horrible. The milk the consumer gets is, in my eyes, pretty unpleasant -- not what I think milk should be."
In 2007, when he first began, Hook sold 12 pints a week; now he sells 6,000 a week. With a new bottling machine, he can cap 200 pints of milk in 25 minutes.
"We can't produce enough," he said. "You can't compare it."
The three dangers in raw milk are tuberculosis, undulant fever and pathogens from poor cow health, milking hygiene or storage, according to Hook.
"TB has been eradicated and our tests for pathogens are far and above what is required by the government," said Hook.
Despite its growing popularity, unsterilized or unpasteurized milk can be a threat to public health, according to Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Rules are the same in the United States: Farmers can only sell raw milk directly to the consumer.
"The reason we pasteurize milk is to make it safe," said Schaffner.
Life-threatening bacteria like e coli, salmonella, shigella and listeria, among others, are carried in the intestinal tract of the dairy herd and can be transmitted to the milk.
"The back end of the cow is so close to the udder, and you can't put the cow in an autoclave and sterilize it," said Schaffner. "No matter how hygienic you are, bacteria, which are microscopic, can find their way into the milk readily."
Milk can be tested, he said, but when they are small in number pathogens "can evade the test and be falsely negative, so it's not an absolute guarantor of safety."
These bacteria-borne infections are communicable and can spread to others in a household, including children, even if they do not consume the milk, according to Schaffner.
Just this year, a multi-state outbreak of listeriosis from Italian ricotta cheese hospitalized 20 and killed four, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mexican style cheeses have also been implicated in similar deaths.
Over the weekend, I had the displeasure of visiting my very first (and absolutely the last) bridal expo. It seemed silly to spend money to go to a place where vendors are asking you to spend more money, like paying to watch commercials. Also, I?m paying to GIVE them my personal information, which seems like I?m getting stiffed here, since they?re the ones who find my information valuable for sending junk and spam.
So, I was essentially paying money to give them information THEY valued so that THEY could entice me to spend MORE money. Wait, why was I doing this again? Oh, right. In case I missed something from my own wedding planning.
I figured it was a good opportunity to find inspiration and maybe see if I?d missed anything in the planning. I was also somewhat enticed by the giveaways. I even armed myself with printed labels, because I heard it could get really tiring having to fill in your information for every single giveaway.
I was warned that it would be crowded and probably unpleasant. I wouldn?t say it was unpleasant. It was downright awful. It was like walking in circles at the zoo on a Sunday in May, except there wasn?t anything really worth looking at. I was also getting motion sickness from moving through waves of people on miles of carpet that had some weird optical illusion pattern that seemed to make the floor sway and undulate before me. It was hard to enjoy the free cake tastings because I was so queasy from the motion sickness. Vendors were everywhere, like crows to carcass, putting on fake smiles and trying to convince you that now was the time to make a decision about spending money with them.
If you?re after a minimalist style for your wedding and you?re not interested in all the frills of an overpriced vendor, there?s no need to sign up for a bridal show.
It turns out, only the most expensive and frivolous vendors come to these giant bridal expos. None of the vendors that my fianc? and I had ever considered were there, and we had considered them for their sincerity, level of professionalism and realistic rates, which were still rather high but justifiable. I have yet to determine if their bridal show discounts make this experience worthwhile.
However, I did come away with a fresh perspective. It began with a rude vendor.
I approached ?Thuyen? at the Kay Jewelers booth to inquire about wedding bands. After she showed me two bands, I told her I wanted something with fewer stones, that it was too much sparkle for me. She replied that my ring was dirty and that all her diamonds were higher quality than mine; therefore, they would always sparkle more. My fianc? was standing right behind me and I hope he didn?t hear her.
When I had first considered the possibility of marriage, I started researching diamonds and found myself hung up on details about the four C?s, the setting, the band color, etc, as well as incredibly conflicted about the source of the diamond. In that time, my fianc?, armed with no knowledge about any of those things, nor any care in the world, went out and picked out a ring that looked like something I would like.
It was a huge relief. I assumed the stones weren?t of great quality as there were too many of them (haha) but it didn?t matter. I still think about the care he put into choosing the design, how excited he was to bring it home and how much he anticipated giving it to me. I think about how proud he gets seeing me wearing it, how excited he gets about us being together always, how his eyes dance and sparkle whenever he looks at me, how he literally seems starved if he can?t say he loves me enough times or kiss me enough times a day. All this added more value to the ring than any gem ever could.
So, amidst all the visible superficiality of the wedding expo, with its multitude of greedy sharks and its cold, commercialized industrialization of wedding planning, when this woman basically called my ring worthless to my face without knowing anything about who my fianc? and I were, I realized what mattered more to me about this wedding. I also realized how superficial I had been, even though I had convinced myself all this time that I knew what really mattered. It?s one thing to say you know what?s important and another to really apply it to your actions.
I always knew that you can?t determine how true and loving a relationship is by the amount of money spent on it, but I still got caught up in the details anyway. I was worried about embarrassing us with mismatched colors or the wrong decor. I even let myself believe that having a flawlessly put-together wedding would make my relatives see that my fianc? and I had a great relationship.
After having to put up with the wedding expo, I was also forced to reflect on other couples who had been married before us. There is no correlation whatsoever between how well-planned a wedding is and how successful in a relationship a couple are. Some couples chose not to marry at all, but have been devoted in their relationships far longer than most married couples I know. I also realized I had never let what my relatives might think influence my life decisions and this was not the time to start changing that.
I guess you could consider this my excuse for being lazy, cheap and half-assing everything as of now. Also having long ago come to terms with the fact that I HATE DIY-ing anything, this will have to be a very minimal affair. I decided it was enough to have tablecloths, votives and maybe *a flower* but that?s probably the extent I?ll go in decor. If I have time to do more and I feel like it, then I will have fun with it. Otherwise, who cares if the chairs at the venue are ugly? Our asses are farting into them all through night, why pretend it?s more than that? Who cares what people might think about the lack of floral decor? I don?t even like having plants at home; what do you expect?
If the USO took over production of the MTV Music Awards, the result would be something like the Kid?s Inaugural Concert that First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden hosted Saturday in tribute to military families. Several thousand children and their parents?many functioning both as chaperones and stepladders?filled the hall of the Washington Convention Center to capacity to hear the likes of Usher and Katy Perry.
Lt. Col. Kevin Schmiegel (Ret) of Frederickberg, Va., who spent 20 years in the Marines and now runs a program for hiring veterans and their spouses, came with his 12-year-old son Jack and one of Jack?s friends.
?I have two sons who are 18 and 16 who were too cool to come,? Schmeigel said as one of the Washington Nationals mascots, George Washington, sauntered by. Of the star-studded lineup, Jack expressed hope that Usher would perform ?OMG? and that Perry would sing ?Firework.?
Jack got his wish: Usher performed ?OMG? third in his set, after ?Yeah? and ?Without You.? While he appeared to gloss over the more overtly sexual portions of the lyrics, the closed captioning on the monitors did not. Perry ended with "Firework," set to a slideshow of President Barack Obama shaking hands and talking on the phone.
Usher was followed by the Far East Movement, who somewhat awkwardly incorporated the message of military gratitude into their Black Eyed Peas-flavored hip-hop. A gospel fusion group called Soul Children of Chicago performed as well, but neither Stevie Wonder nor Smokey Robinson, both originally reported to be on the docket, made an appearance.
La aplicaci?n ?Big Jamaica? es la ideal para personas fan?ticas del festivo pa?s del Caribe (un pa?s ?talawa?, le dir?an ellos), pues en una colorida aplicaci?n uno puede acceder a diversos art?culos sobre Jamaica como GoldenEye, el resort de Chris Blackwell ? un productor musical ingl?s que se le considera quien lanz? a la fama al reggae ? y antigua casa de Ian Fleming y Bob Marley; como tambi?n la historia del atleta Usain Bolt, y todas aquellas cosas relevantes del pa?s.
La revista Big describe a Jamaica como ?la isla m?s glamorosa y culturalmente estimulante del Caribe. Desde su incomparable m?sica y legado cultural, hasta sus paisajes ic?nicos y sus atletas de nivel mundial. Jamaica no es s?lo incomparable, es universalmente simb?lica?.
La aplicaci?n tiene un costo de US$ 2,99 en su versi?n para iPhones, y?US$ 4,99 en su versi?n para iPad.
Sin embargo, quiz?s quieras ver realmente el proyecto ra?z de esta variante jamaiquina. La revista Big ? as?, a secas ? tiene una aplicaci?n gratuita con contenido general que resulta muy llamativo. Es contenido de calidad y muy relevante para ciertos grupos, presentado de una forma muy elegante tanto en tu iPhone como en el iPad.
Un favorito personal que, quiz?s, tambi?n te guste a ti. Tambi?n est? disponible a $0 en la App Store de iOS? Dale una mirada.
Links:
-BigJAMAICA para iPhone?(App Store) -Big Jamaica para iPad?(App Store) -Revista Big (App Store)
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INDIANAPOLIS ? Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma plans to spearhead efforts to create a new statewide jobs council and give families scholarships so children can attend pre-school as part of an agenda focused on fighting Indiana's stubborn unemployment rate by closing the state's "skills gap."
The Indianapolis Republican laid out the details of the House Republican agenda for the first time Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. Republican and Democratic leaders have long talked about training Indiana residents to fill advanced manufacturing and high-skill jobs that are already available in the state, but the details of how they achieve that goal are only now being released.
Indiana's unemployment rate has hovered, stubbornly, around 8 percent over the last year, even as Indiana-based companies say they have plenty of jobs available. The "skills gap" ? the metaphorical chasm between the skills those jobs require and the training Hoosiers have received at school and in previous jobs ? is something new Gov. Mike Pence brought up throughout the campaign.
It's also an area where leaders in every state are competing to find more work for their residents, Bosma said.
"There's no doubt that the overarching issue of this session will be workforce development and aligning our workforce training system, from kindergarten through doctorate, with available and projected jobs within the state," Bosma said.
The 15-member Indiana Career Council would be led by the governor and lieutenant governor and gather the heads of the state agencies, Ivy Tech Community College, and other leaders in the education and business communities to study the state's workforce training programs and available jobs.
The panel would meet throughout the year and report back to the General Assembly in November with changes to the state's education and jobs training systems that would get Hoosiers employed in jobs already available in the state.
Bosma said he talked with executives from Arcelor Mittal on Tuesday who have jobs at their northwest Indiana mill that pay $120,000 but lack applicants with the skills necessary to fill them. And there are plenty more jobs like that, he said, pointing to an estimate that there are 2.4 "STEM" (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs available for every unemployed state resident.
House Republicans will also seek $7 million a year to run a two-year pilot program giving scholarships to low-income families to cover the cost of pre-school. Early childhood education was a key theme in the governor's race last year, and Bosma pointed out that Indiana has one of the lowest enrollment rates for 3- and 4-year-olds in preschool.
"We're seeing kids who show up for kindergarten and first grade who are ill-prepared to succeed and who are unable to meet the read-at-third-grade requirement or many of the other goals we have for students," he said. "We have one of the highest percentages in the nation in the portion of kids at 3 and 4 who are not enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs."
The money would pay up to $6,800 per child for 1,000 children to attend private programs and establish the Early Learning Advisory Committee to evaluate the program and report back to the state's Division of Family Resources.
Pence has championed both these issues, early childhood education and jobs training, but has not formally said yet how he will accomplish either goal. Senate Education Chairman Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, said last week he was carrying Pence's measure to create nine regional works councils around the state.
The new governor has yet to say how he would improve early childhood education, but that and other details of his first-year agenda are expected to be rolled out in his first State of the State address next week.
The House Republican plan follows on the heels of departing Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene White's proposal to launch a public-based preschool program for half of the city's 3- and 4-year-olds.
Bosma said he sees room for both private and public answers to the quandary but said the state should try a modest, private-based pilot program before making any broad decisions.
Affiliate marketing is a very democratic tool that is available to both the largest and smallest businesses. Although the subject can seem threatening to those without any previous experience, the basic techniques required to do good online marketing aren?t that hard to master. The suggestions presented here can help.
TIPS! If your internet marketing plan includes analytics, you should already be familiar with your top-performing products. Advertise these products more intensely so your products that have a lower return.
One way to build a reputation as a credible business is by selling advertising spaces on your page to other vetted businesses in your market. Having your company?s name next to a well-known brand can cause your visitors to associate your company with the other, transferring the trust they have with them to you and your business. This also serves to increase traffic and makes the site more appealing to visitors.
TIPS! Think of a free service you can offer your visitors. Offering something free will give folks incentive to visit your site.
As an example, if you?re a website designer, start a partner relationship with a writer and let him offer your discounted web services to his clients. Partnering up together will help you appeal to a broader audience.
TIPS! Be careful not to go to far in advertising spending. You don?t want to pay a lot for anything that isn?t helping your business.
Look at what your competition is doing and learn what works and what does not work. If they are succeeding, you need to analyze what they are doing.
TIPS! Get frequent feedback. This is important because if you have one view of your website and your customers have a different view, your website will not be successful.
If you utilize regular emails to your customers, make sure you?re rotating the links that you include within those emails. If you information is redundant you will likely bore your customers instead of encouraging them to purchase products. Keeping things constantly changing (even just a little bit) will prevent your readers from skipping over your links.
TIPS! Be sure you are up to date on all the services and features the Internet has to offer. Keeping yourself updated on new innovations and trendy sites on the Internet will give you marketing inspiration for getting the word out about your own product and services.
You should include a chat section for customers on your website. Your website will be like a group instead of just a place where items can be purchased. A forum gives you the opportunity to learn from your customers while allowing users to make important business contacts.
TIPS! Be sure to caption all images on your website. The search engines scan keywords in the captions to determine whether or not the keywords searched will land the seeker effectively on your page.
Insert rich and original content into your site. Your site should include content that will be visible to search engines and also be one of a kind!
TIPS! To help convince your audience that they should purchase your product, link them to a page that offers relevant information in an engaging way; perhaps through a video. When you do this, people can feel more comfortable about buying any item.
When you are first setting up your Web marketing business, don?t forget to set up advertising accounts. It is worth the money in the long run because advertising your business will play a huge role in how much business you receive. The more you advertise, the more likely people are going to notice it and become potential customers.
TIPS! Allow your customers to control the content that they get from you. Do not spam your readers with information they do not want or need.
Frequently updating your content will likely affect your traffic. The goal here is to figure out what?s working the best for you and what you will need to change. It?s this type of management that ensures you?ll be able to make the most out of your marketing techniques. Remember to pay attention to what your customers are saying.
TIPS! Successful Internet marketers are enthusiastic about what it is they?re trying to do. Unless you can show just how much you love your product, nobody else is going to enjoy what you?re selling.
TIPS! Internet marketing is an ever-changing field, so you will continually need to research latest techniques and take the job seriously to succeed. Pay close attention to what techniques other successful online business owners are using.
You will avoid a lot of disappointment if you think of your Web marketing project as a hobby rather than a full-time occupation. As you progress consider making a career out of Web marketing.
TIPS! When copywriting for your website, try to use descriptive, rich words. Use adjectives and use a lot of keyword descriptors.
Post new content to your site every week if possible. Old, outdated information is going to give the viewer the impression that you do not care about your company, and therefore your customers. A well-received and current site is one which will attract more people.
TIPS! One way to improve the success of your internet marketing efforts is with a blog that you update on a regular basis. A blog is one more way to stay in touch with clients.
Customers need to feel confident that they can order from your website without having to worry about security. Many shoppers feel anxious about sharing their personal or financial information online, so make your customers feel at ease by reminding them that their info is secure.
TIPS! A great Internet marketing strategy is to offer your customers additional discounts if they spend over a certain amount of money. For instance, you can give your customers an additional 10% discount if they spend over $200.
Consider adding a hub to your website where you can list all of your products by traits. Balance the need for variety on your site with the need to keep it structured.
TIPS! Back up your claims. You can?t expect potential customers to take your word for anything.
Write and publish a press release to bring new users to your website. Writing interesting and concise press releases and announcements can often be placed on free online publications and other industry news sites. This is a quick and easy way to raise your visibility.
TIPS! Boosting the amount of subscribers you have will help you make more money. You can help to assess your site by beta testing two different versions with two different groups of subscribers.
Include words like ?simple? and ?easy? in your strategy. Your products should seem easy to use, and ordering them should be quick and easy too. This is a wonderful way to increase traffic and sales.
TIPS! Internet marketing is about staying up to date and looking for new ways to market your products. If you or your company falls behind the curve, your potential customers will catch on and begin to doubt your abilities.
Do some more research before you begin to market your online business. Keep in mind that the Internet is considered a marketplace that?s global and by following these tips, you can successful in it.
TIPS! You should aim to approach other online businesses, and ask them to consider making packaged deals with you for products or services that would be more profitable by selling them at a discount. This way you can connect several markets and boost your total sales.
Be sure you visit often learn more about internet marketing tips Delray Beach, Florida area.
Here is some more explanations of aspects of internet marketing, seo aka search engine optimization, website design, etc that may help you! Thanks for visiting Targeted Internet Marketing! If it gets too technical just come on back.
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Veterans Memorial Park, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA | Get?Directions?? $120.00
Culver City Fastpitch is a non-profit Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Fast Pitch League for girls ages 7 to 14.? We are inviting female athletes from all over the Westside to join this? all girls softball league now entering its third year.
Culver City Fast Pitch is operated by volunteers who are dedicated to building a safe, healthy and dynamic softball experience for young girls and teens. We are committed to providing every player the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of softball in a fun, family oriented environment.?AT CCFP, it's all about the players.
All coaches?are background checked and?receive?training from ASA (American Softball Assoc.)?
Online registration is going on now for the Spring 2013 season.? Enter PATCH in the coupon section for an extra discount!
Divisions 8U:? 7 - 8 year olds - 10 inch ball, coach and kid pitch 10U:? 9 -10 year olds - 11 inch ball 12U: 11 -12 year olds - 12 inch ball 14U: 13 -14 year olds - 12 inch ball
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AFP - Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 92, the spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was taken to hospital early on Saturday after falling ill, media reports said.
The all-powerful Yosef, who heads the Council of Torah Sages, the Shas party's supreme body, was taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein-Kerem hospital for a series of tests likely to last several days, the reports cited medics as saying.
Media reports say he has suffered from heart problems for several years.
The hospital spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The influence of the former Grand Rabbi of Israel is not limited to the world of Sephardic Jewry.
Political leaders are always keen to secure Rabbi Yosef's backing because of the pivotal role the Shas party can play in forming any coalition government: to ignore Shas is to alienate around half a million voters.
Shas currently has 11 members in the 120-seat Knesset or parliament, and the latest polls predict that it will win between 10 and 12 seats in the snap general election called for January 22.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to have sent one of his closest aides last August to win Rabbi Yosef's backing for any Israeli military attack on Iran.
Israel -- the Middle East's sole if unacknowledged state to have the atomic bomb -- and Western powers suspect the Islamic republic of carrying out a covert nuclear weapons programme, a charge Tehran vehemently denies.
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the conical drilling unit Kulluk sits grounded 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2012. The Kulluk grounded after many efforts by tug vessel crews and Coast Guard crews to move the vessel to safe harbor during a winter storm.Calls for federal scrutiny of Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilling operations in Arctic waters swelled Thursday with a request for a formal investigation by members of Congress. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the conical drilling unit Kulluk sits grounded 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2012. The Kulluk grounded after many efforts by tug vessel crews and Coast Guard crews to move the vessel to safe harbor during a winter storm.Calls for federal scrutiny of Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilling operations in Arctic waters swelled Thursday with a request for a formal investigation by members of Congress. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard the conical drilling unit Kulluk sits grounded near a beach 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2012. The Kulluk grounded after many efforts by tug vessel crews and Coast Guard crews to move the vessel to safe harbor during a winter storm. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ? The assessment of a Shell drilling rig grounded off a remote Alaska island continued Friday, with officials putting more salvagers onboard.
Officials say in a release that critical response gear was put into place for the eventual recovery operation.
The Kulluk (CULL'-uck) ran aground Monday near Kodiak Island.
Power generators also were delivered. A majority of 14 support ships are expected to be in place this weekend.
Members of the command team also met with Alaska Native leaders in the nearby community of Old Harbor to hear their concerns over the grounding.
The Kulluk performed preliminary work on a well during the open water season in the Beaufort (BOH'-fort) Sea.
It was being towed to Seattle last week for upgrades when it became separated from tow lines during a storm.
ALMA shows how young star and planets grow simultaneouslyPublic release date: 2-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dave Finley dfinley@nrao.edu 575-835-7302 National Radio Astronomy Observatory
New telescope helps resolve longstanding star-formation mystery
Astronomers have used the ALMA telescope to get their first glimpse of a fascinating stage of star formation in which planets forming around a young star are helping the star itself continue to grow, resolving a longstanding mystery. The young system, about 450 light-years from Earth, is revealing its complex gravitational dance to the ever-sharpening vision of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), scheduled for completion this year.
As young stars gather material from their surrounding clouds of gas and dust, the incoming material forms a flat, spinning disk around the star. Planets begin as small clumps within that disk that, through their gravitational pull, add to their mass. As the planets pull in more material, they also leave a wake in their trail that clears out a gap in the disk. Such gaps have been observed in the dust disks surrounding a number of still-forming solar systems.
During this process, the star also continues to grow more massive, leading to the question of how material can get through the gap cleared by the protoplanets and onto the star.
"This has been a bit of a mystery, but now we have found a process that allows the star to continue to grow despite the gap," said Simon Casassus, of the University of Chile and the Millennium Nucleus for Protoplanetary Disks, who led an international research team.
First, the scientists found that the gap is not empty, but is filled by thin, tenuous gas, as shown by ALMA detection of carbon monoxide. "Whereas dust is severely depleted within the gap, some residual gas remains," said Gerrit van der Plas, of the University of Chile. "This agrees with predictions for gap clearing by a planetary-mass body," he added.
Next, ALMA revealed streamers of dense gas (HCO+, or Formyl ion) crossing through the gap, bringing material from the outer portion of the disk, near and onto the planets, and into the disk's inner portion, closer to the star than where planets probably are forming. These streamers, the scientists say, probably are caused by the gravitational pull of the young planets.
"The most natural interpretation for the flows seen by ALMA is that the putative protoplanets are pulling streams of gas inward toward them that are channelled by their gravity. Much of the gas then overshoots the planets and continues inward to the portion of the disk close to the star, where it can eventually fall onto the star itself," Casassus said.
In the system Casassus and his colleagues studied, called HD 142527, they calculated that, without the streamers, the inner portion of the disk would be depleted in less than a year. However, the gas delivered by the streamers is sufficient to maintain the inner disk and the star's observed rate of mass growth.
"Computer simulations indicated that such a process should be happening, and now we've found it," said Sebastian Perez of the University of Chile.
The planets, the scientists said, should be embedded in the dense streams of infalling gas, and likely are several times more massive than Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System. The dense gas in the streamers, however, obscures the planets from direct observation.
In the HD 142527 system, the inner disk extends outward from the young star about 10 times the distance from the Sun to the Earth, or just past the orbit of Saturn. The gap extends from there to more than 140 times the Sun-Earth distance. The planets, the scientists said, should lie within the gap, at a distance of about 90 times the Sun-Earth distance.
"The new capabilities provided by ALMA made this work possible, but this is just the beginning," Casassus said of the international millimeter-wave observatory still under construction in northern Chile.
The research team reported their findings in the scientific journal Nature.
###
ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
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ALMA shows how young star and planets grow simultaneouslyPublic release date: 2-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dave Finley dfinley@nrao.edu 575-835-7302 National Radio Astronomy Observatory
New telescope helps resolve longstanding star-formation mystery
Astronomers have used the ALMA telescope to get their first glimpse of a fascinating stage of star formation in which planets forming around a young star are helping the star itself continue to grow, resolving a longstanding mystery. The young system, about 450 light-years from Earth, is revealing its complex gravitational dance to the ever-sharpening vision of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), scheduled for completion this year.
As young stars gather material from their surrounding clouds of gas and dust, the incoming material forms a flat, spinning disk around the star. Planets begin as small clumps within that disk that, through their gravitational pull, add to their mass. As the planets pull in more material, they also leave a wake in their trail that clears out a gap in the disk. Such gaps have been observed in the dust disks surrounding a number of still-forming solar systems.
During this process, the star also continues to grow more massive, leading to the question of how material can get through the gap cleared by the protoplanets and onto the star.
"This has been a bit of a mystery, but now we have found a process that allows the star to continue to grow despite the gap," said Simon Casassus, of the University of Chile and the Millennium Nucleus for Protoplanetary Disks, who led an international research team.
First, the scientists found that the gap is not empty, but is filled by thin, tenuous gas, as shown by ALMA detection of carbon monoxide. "Whereas dust is severely depleted within the gap, some residual gas remains," said Gerrit van der Plas, of the University of Chile. "This agrees with predictions for gap clearing by a planetary-mass body," he added.
Next, ALMA revealed streamers of dense gas (HCO+, or Formyl ion) crossing through the gap, bringing material from the outer portion of the disk, near and onto the planets, and into the disk's inner portion, closer to the star than where planets probably are forming. These streamers, the scientists say, probably are caused by the gravitational pull of the young planets.
"The most natural interpretation for the flows seen by ALMA is that the putative protoplanets are pulling streams of gas inward toward them that are channelled by their gravity. Much of the gas then overshoots the planets and continues inward to the portion of the disk close to the star, where it can eventually fall onto the star itself," Casassus said.
In the system Casassus and his colleagues studied, called HD 142527, they calculated that, without the streamers, the inner portion of the disk would be depleted in less than a year. However, the gas delivered by the streamers is sufficient to maintain the inner disk and the star's observed rate of mass growth.
"Computer simulations indicated that such a process should be happening, and now we've found it," said Sebastian Perez of the University of Chile.
The planets, the scientists said, should be embedded in the dense streams of infalling gas, and likely are several times more massive than Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System. The dense gas in the streamers, however, obscures the planets from direct observation.
In the HD 142527 system, the inner disk extends outward from the young star about 10 times the distance from the Sun to the Earth, or just past the orbit of Saturn. The gap extends from there to more than 140 times the Sun-Earth distance. The planets, the scientists said, should lie within the gap, at a distance of about 90 times the Sun-Earth distance.
"The new capabilities provided by ALMA made this work possible, but this is just the beginning," Casassus said of the international millimeter-wave observatory still under construction in northern Chile.
The research team reported their findings in the scientific journal Nature.
###
ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
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Public release date: 2-Jan-2013
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