Checking for residual fuel in a 70 year-old sunken wreck without opening the tanks and risking an environmental catastrophe needed a clever solution.
The ingenious answer came from Global Diving and Salvage who created a unique sampling system that is mounted on a Saab Seaeye Cougar XT ROV and can penetrate a sealed container and extract a sample without creating a leak point.
They were contracted by the United States Coastguard to determine if oil was present aboard the S.S. Montebello, a tanker torpedoed in 1941 off the coast of California.
During their investigations Global fitted-out the Cougar with a range of tools to perform 3D modelling, sonar inspection, thickness gauging, a backscatter investigation, the physical sampling of the ship’s fuel tanks and sediment sampling of the general area.
To prepare for the assessment, Global first had to clean off areas of the surface, which meant removing over 70 years of debris. For this process they used the Cougar’s power and tooling capability to clear the tank with a wire wheel and barnacle buster fitted to the manipulator arms.
A Tracerco neutron backscatter system was used to help determine the likelihood of oil in the wreck’s cargo holds. This backscatter tool is a non-invasive contents-sensing device, something like an x-ray that emits neutron particles capable of passing through insulation material and carbon steel to determine the presence of content. It was mounted on a skid attached to the ROV and integrated with the vehicle’s control package. The ROV’s powerful and responsive thrusters held the system steady whilst the backscatter operation was carried out.
Due to depth of water - 275 metres (900 feet) - and the potential risk of leakage of the tank contents, the development of Global’s unique sampling tool system to extract a sample was paramount to the success of the operation. The innovative feature meant that when the hole was drilled through the tank and a sample taken, the hole was then sealed – all in one leak-proof operation without fittings or valves.
The success of this procedure required the reliability and capability of the Cougar’s hydraulic tooling package; for once the sampling operation is underway, a breakdown or glitch can be disastrous. It was essential that the sampling system was held steady by the ROV’s responsive power and suction cups whilst the sample was taken and the surface sealed.
The happy outcome of the mission was to discover that no oil was present in the wreck and that it offers no threat to the ecological environment.
2012年4月27日星期五
2012年4月26日星期四
Art offers connection to healing process, say those who create art for recovery
Carole walks the beach collecting bits and pieces of sea shells that, in turn, she molds with intricate detailing into a masterpiece she simply calls “the fish.” Her pallet is the beach itself, and only Carole and perhaps a few beach trekkers will enjoy this lovely work of art before the tide comes into to take “this fish” back out to sea. “I don’t mind losing my fish art,” Carole told Huliq during an early morning interview April 26, “because it’s already done its job of helping me to heal a bit. When I create the fish, it’s a time of forgetting when all my worries slip away.” In turn, famed Brooklyn cartoonist Roz Chast – whose been published in The New Yorker since 1978; while also recently publishing her own book titled “What I Hate: From A to Z” – explains how her art (cartoons and words) has real healing for her. For instance, she writes: “If you are the sort of person who never worries about spontaneous combustion, has fun at carnivals, and thinks that the shape of a hammerhead shark’s head is just fine the way it is, that’s terrific. I’m happy for you, but this (her) book is for everyone else.” Chast's cartoons also carry the message that art can open the door to find both the humor and reasons for many of life’s troubles.
Roz Chast writes in her new bestseller - “What I Hate: From A to Z” – that art has the power to heal lots of stress; while also using her art talents to both draw and then explain those things that tend to anoy or stress her out in this crazy world.
For instance, Chast writes in opening pages of her new book that “for many years I thought that people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens were either desperate attention-seekers or just nuts. Why else would they say that they were spirited out of their beds and through walls and roofs and into a flying saucer? I changed my mind after attending an abductee conference. Maybe they were lunatics, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t onto something.”
Also, the cartoon "art" of Chast asks the question "why?"
In turn, her cartoons that question the "why" of things that make us either crazy and stressed in life, can be better understood, states Chat's cartoons because they expose our fears and stress having mostly being caused by our own worried minds. Thus, we can make a change once we realize that we're doing our own heads in.
Also, on pages 7-8 of her book “What I Hate,” Chast both explains and draws a cartoon about elevators. She writes: “The perfect storm of claustrophobia, acrophobia and agoraphobia” is found in elevators; while stating these thoughts next to funny drawings of people in elevators. “You can get stuck by yourself,” or “You can get stuck with a crowd,” or “You can get stuck with a psycho,” and then “there’s the obvious: getting stuck in an elevator with spiders.”
Chast also fears “general anesthesia,” and to help vent her fears of having to get anesthesia when in hospital, she drew a cartoon of herself with fear on her face stating: “what if you’re lying on the operating table, aware – i.e., watching, hearing and smelling everything? But you’ve been paralyzed by the anesthesia, so you can’t call out? And what if the anti-memory drug that is part of your anesthesia cocktail then erases this experience? Except it’s not really erased. It’s just been buried really deeply, like a ticking time bomb.”
At the end of the day, “we’re all sort of sitting with a ticking time bomb,” adds Carole while walking the Florence, Oregon, beach collecting sea shells to create more of her “fish art.” This accidental artist then quips: “The time bomb that Roz Chast is talking about is “stress,” and we all have it and need to deal with it. I think art is one good way to help rid yourself of stress and those worries in your life.”
Roz Chast writes in her new bestseller - “What I Hate: From A to Z” – that art has the power to heal lots of stress; while also using her art talents to both draw and then explain those things that tend to anoy or stress her out in this crazy world.
For instance, Chast writes in opening pages of her new book that “for many years I thought that people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens were either desperate attention-seekers or just nuts. Why else would they say that they were spirited out of their beds and through walls and roofs and into a flying saucer? I changed my mind after attending an abductee conference. Maybe they were lunatics, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t onto something.”
Also, the cartoon "art" of Chast asks the question "why?"
In turn, her cartoons that question the "why" of things that make us either crazy and stressed in life, can be better understood, states Chat's cartoons because they expose our fears and stress having mostly being caused by our own worried minds. Thus, we can make a change once we realize that we're doing our own heads in.
Also, on pages 7-8 of her book “What I Hate,” Chast both explains and draws a cartoon about elevators. She writes: “The perfect storm of claustrophobia, acrophobia and agoraphobia” is found in elevators; while stating these thoughts next to funny drawings of people in elevators. “You can get stuck by yourself,” or “You can get stuck with a crowd,” or “You can get stuck with a psycho,” and then “there’s the obvious: getting stuck in an elevator with spiders.”
Chast also fears “general anesthesia,” and to help vent her fears of having to get anesthesia when in hospital, she drew a cartoon of herself with fear on her face stating: “what if you’re lying on the operating table, aware – i.e., watching, hearing and smelling everything? But you’ve been paralyzed by the anesthesia, so you can’t call out? And what if the anti-memory drug that is part of your anesthesia cocktail then erases this experience? Except it’s not really erased. It’s just been buried really deeply, like a ticking time bomb.”
At the end of the day, “we’re all sort of sitting with a ticking time bomb,” adds Carole while walking the Florence, Oregon, beach collecting sea shells to create more of her “fish art.” This accidental artist then quips: “The time bomb that Roz Chast is talking about is “stress,” and we all have it and need to deal with it. I think art is one good way to help rid yourself of stress and those worries in your life.”
2012年4月25日星期三
Healthier buildings for healthier occupants
It is estimated that people spend at least 90 percent of their lives indoors. Much of this indoor time may be spent working inside of an airtight office building without operable windows, where exposure to air pollutants is significantly greater as compared to being outdoors.
Over the past several decades, office buildings have become increasingly airtight in order to maximize comfort and improve energy efficiency through central heating and cooling systems. But this effort has also translated into little control of one's physical environment, and ongoing exposure to potential allergens and materials used in such things as carpeting, furniture, printers, etc., and components of the building itself.
In the 1970s, the term "sick building syndrome" was coined to describe collective symptoms experienced by people working in the same environment, typically an office building. These workers would complain of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, eye, nose or throat irritation, and sensitivity to odors not linked to any specific disorder other than time spent in the building. The World Health Organization suggested that up to 30 percent of new or remodeled buildings worldwide have sick-building complaints.
Although data is not always sufficient to make a conclusive link between symptoms and time spent in the building, some potential causes for the syndrome are thought to be due to inadequate ventilation -- combustion pollutants such as carbon monoxide from malfunctioning heating systems, or the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from elements such as formaldehyde, which can be found in some carpet backings, resin finishes, and many other indoor materials or equipment. VOC levels may be up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors.
With the advent of the green movement and LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification, buildings are rapidly becoming "healthier." LEED recently certified its 12,000th commercial project that incorporates LEED standards for energy and water conservation, and promotion of indoor environmental quality, among other requirements.
Ironically, although many historic buildings have inadequate insulation and need to become more energy efficient, many already incorporate health-friendly features such as natural ventilation and light, and have greater cubic feet per minute (cfm) of outside air for each building occupant.
Building ventilation standards of the early to mid-1900s called for 15 cubic feet per minute of outside air for each occupant. With the oil embargo of 1973 and spurred efforts to conserve energy, these standards were reduced to five cfms per building occupant, thereby increasing indoor pollution. The cfm ventilation standard was recently revised upwards by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers to a minimum of 15 cfms per person, and 20 cfms in office spaces.
Over the past several decades, office buildings have become increasingly airtight in order to maximize comfort and improve energy efficiency through central heating and cooling systems. But this effort has also translated into little control of one's physical environment, and ongoing exposure to potential allergens and materials used in such things as carpeting, furniture, printers, etc., and components of the building itself.
In the 1970s, the term "sick building syndrome" was coined to describe collective symptoms experienced by people working in the same environment, typically an office building. These workers would complain of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, eye, nose or throat irritation, and sensitivity to odors not linked to any specific disorder other than time spent in the building. The World Health Organization suggested that up to 30 percent of new or remodeled buildings worldwide have sick-building complaints.
Although data is not always sufficient to make a conclusive link between symptoms and time spent in the building, some potential causes for the syndrome are thought to be due to inadequate ventilation -- combustion pollutants such as carbon monoxide from malfunctioning heating systems, or the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from elements such as formaldehyde, which can be found in some carpet backings, resin finishes, and many other indoor materials or equipment. VOC levels may be up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors.
With the advent of the green movement and LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification, buildings are rapidly becoming "healthier." LEED recently certified its 12,000th commercial project that incorporates LEED standards for energy and water conservation, and promotion of indoor environmental quality, among other requirements.
Ironically, although many historic buildings have inadequate insulation and need to become more energy efficient, many already incorporate health-friendly features such as natural ventilation and light, and have greater cubic feet per minute (cfm) of outside air for each building occupant.
Building ventilation standards of the early to mid-1900s called for 15 cubic feet per minute of outside air for each occupant. With the oil embargo of 1973 and spurred efforts to conserve energy, these standards were reduced to five cfms per building occupant, thereby increasing indoor pollution. The cfm ventilation standard was recently revised upwards by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers to a minimum of 15 cfms per person, and 20 cfms in office spaces.
2012年4月24日星期二
Restoring Ecosystem Health Will Fight Climate Change and Allergies
What do itchy eyes, runny noses, and asthma have to do with the weather events you hear about on the TV, or even have experienced personally? It sure seems as if there are more violent and unpredictable storms and severe weather events in recent years.
Most scientists point to global climate change as the underlying cause of the increased frequency and intensity of such events. But regardless of cause, the actual numbers of weather-related disasters, like the tornadoes that blew down the entire community of Joplin, Missouri, are undeniably on the increase. From flooding, to hurricanes and tornadoes, to blizzards, NOAA reported a record-breaking 14 weather events in 2011 that topped a billion dollars in damages. Typically, 2-4 are recorded.
Dollar amounts only tell a fraction of the story. Damage and disruption are not confined to human communities. The same kinds of winds that destroy a town, also blow down tens of thousands of acres of forests. The droughts that destroy agricultural crops, also bake and stress natural communities. After such disturbance, the land is left vulnerable to erosion from hard rains that carry away topsoil, depleting the land and impairing adjacent water bodies. Strong winds likewise mobilize dust, carrying it long distances, contributing to degraded air quality, and exacerbating allergic respiratory illnesses.
Then, after warm rains have watered disturbed lands, conditions are ripe for the establishment of annual weeds. Alas, a large proportion of these annual weeds, so favored under cycles of storm-created disturbance, are prodigious producers of pollen —the bane of allergy sufferers. In croplands also, when extreme weather causes farmers to miss their window to plant crops, the land lies fallow. What flourishes in these fallow lands? The same pollen-producing annual weed species known to wreak havoc with human allergies!
Ragweed, an annual weed notorious for its ubiquitous nature and large releases of wind-dispersed pollen, is one of the plant species experiencing a longer growing season correlated with the warming conditions of the earth. The resulting earlier flowering, as well as longer seasonal growth facilitated by longer and warmer growing seasons, translate to more pollen for a longer period of time, and increased discomfort and suffering for those with allergies. It may also increase the number of sufferers by sensitizing more people. In short, the synergy of land disturbance, disrupted crop cycles, and prolonged growing season is “made to order” for a wide variety of allergen-producing weedy plants like ragweed.
More severe and prolonged precipitation events also lead to increased erosion, particularly on disturbed lands, and significantly more flooding. As floodwaters recede, the residual organic material facilitates increased growth of molds, among the most common human allergens. Water quality is also impaired by runoff that increases when healthy, intact plant communities are absent. In a related health threat, polluted water, warmed during increased ambient temperatures, creates a fertile medium for the growth of pathogens.
Stormwater and sanitary water treatment facilities are often inadequate to meet this challenge from new stresses caused by weather events. Waterborne illnesses, such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993, can be the debilitating and even lethal, result.
Most scientists point to global climate change as the underlying cause of the increased frequency and intensity of such events. But regardless of cause, the actual numbers of weather-related disasters, like the tornadoes that blew down the entire community of Joplin, Missouri, are undeniably on the increase. From flooding, to hurricanes and tornadoes, to blizzards, NOAA reported a record-breaking 14 weather events in 2011 that topped a billion dollars in damages. Typically, 2-4 are recorded.
Dollar amounts only tell a fraction of the story. Damage and disruption are not confined to human communities. The same kinds of winds that destroy a town, also blow down tens of thousands of acres of forests. The droughts that destroy agricultural crops, also bake and stress natural communities. After such disturbance, the land is left vulnerable to erosion from hard rains that carry away topsoil, depleting the land and impairing adjacent water bodies. Strong winds likewise mobilize dust, carrying it long distances, contributing to degraded air quality, and exacerbating allergic respiratory illnesses.
Then, after warm rains have watered disturbed lands, conditions are ripe for the establishment of annual weeds. Alas, a large proportion of these annual weeds, so favored under cycles of storm-created disturbance, are prodigious producers of pollen —the bane of allergy sufferers. In croplands also, when extreme weather causes farmers to miss their window to plant crops, the land lies fallow. What flourishes in these fallow lands? The same pollen-producing annual weed species known to wreak havoc with human allergies!
Ragweed, an annual weed notorious for its ubiquitous nature and large releases of wind-dispersed pollen, is one of the plant species experiencing a longer growing season correlated with the warming conditions of the earth. The resulting earlier flowering, as well as longer seasonal growth facilitated by longer and warmer growing seasons, translate to more pollen for a longer period of time, and increased discomfort and suffering for those with allergies. It may also increase the number of sufferers by sensitizing more people. In short, the synergy of land disturbance, disrupted crop cycles, and prolonged growing season is “made to order” for a wide variety of allergen-producing weedy plants like ragweed.
More severe and prolonged precipitation events also lead to increased erosion, particularly on disturbed lands, and significantly more flooding. As floodwaters recede, the residual organic material facilitates increased growth of molds, among the most common human allergens. Water quality is also impaired by runoff that increases when healthy, intact plant communities are absent. In a related health threat, polluted water, warmed during increased ambient temperatures, creates a fertile medium for the growth of pathogens.
Stormwater and sanitary water treatment facilities are often inadequate to meet this challenge from new stresses caused by weather events. Waterborne illnesses, such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993, can be the debilitating and even lethal, result.
2012年4月23日星期一
Area leaders see need for trained workers
A group of about 25 Rockford-area manufacturers met Monday morning with elected officials at Sunrise Restaurant on Wansford Way. Represented by the Tooling and Manufacturing Association, these are business owners who don’t often have time to go to an 8 a.m. breakfast because they’re already at work.
Winnebago, Boone and Ogle counties have hundreds of these small factories making all sorts of high-precision gizmos out of metal. They’re worried, not just about high taxes and mind-numbing regulations, but about the lack of young people trained in industrial skills needed to make up for retiring baby boomers.
Brian McGuire, president of the association, explained the situation to U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Shannahon, state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, and Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey, a conservative independent.
“Manufacturers have been notified that did not fund the Employee Training Initiative Program, which many manufacturers take advantage of to help train their workers,” McGuire said. At the federal level, manufacturers are concerned because the Department of Education reforms put through by the No Child Left Behind Act actually gave an incentive to dismantle vocational training in high schools. “We are very concerned with the shortage of skilled workers that is already here, and by the massive retirements that will come. It will affect the recovery of the economy because there’s just not going to be new workers to put into these positions.
Production will go offshore simply because of lack of manpower,” McGuire concluded.
Sosnowski noted that his brother Doug, six years older than he is, “went to high school and was able to take shop, a carpentry class, an electrical class. The only thing left when I came along was automotive class,” he said.
Not all students are college-bound, Sosnowski continued. “There’s a whole lot more out there than going to a four-year college,” he said, asking what the schools are doing to offer students who aren’t going to college “the opportunities that are out there.”
The reason state-funded training programs are being cut out, Sosnowski said, “is that we are dumping our cash into a variety of other entitlement programs, and now we’re at the point this year where we’re starting to trim back on every single area so we can continue to fund other programs that aren’t producing well.”
Syverson said “there are important (training) programs that our manufacturing caucus is trying to get legislators to understand we need to keep those going.”
Kinzinger, who beginning in January will represent much of Rockford in Congress, said No Child Left Behind is a dud.
“My mom’s a public school teacher, and she told me when this law was passed that ‘there’s a train wreck coming,’” Kinzinger said. “It looked good on paper but in practicality, it doesn’t work.” It needs to be repealed or drastically changed, he said.
Kinzinger said that around the year 2000, a national attitude developed that manufacturing was passe.
“It became cool to go work on Wall Street. A financial job isn’t bad, but it doesn’t create wealth, it just shuffles money around. Now it’s OK again to want to go into manufacturing. It’s the biggest driver of the middle class we have. We talk about a disappearing middle class, and it’s not because of tax inequity, it’s because of disappearing manufacturing and jobs,” Kinzinger said. The federal government can help with funding, but “let’s allow state and local governments to educate kids as they see best.”
Kinzinger and U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Western Springs, are introducing a bill to develop “a manufacturing strategy, basically a way for the federal government to take all the entities associated with manufacturing and to figure out ways to streamline those, bring them together and make those more effective, and make a report to Congress, to get a grip on how the federal government can better help manufacturing.”
Winnebago, Boone and Ogle counties have hundreds of these small factories making all sorts of high-precision gizmos out of metal. They’re worried, not just about high taxes and mind-numbing regulations, but about the lack of young people trained in industrial skills needed to make up for retiring baby boomers.
Brian McGuire, president of the association, explained the situation to U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Shannahon, state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, and Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey, a conservative independent.
“Manufacturers have been notified that did not fund the Employee Training Initiative Program, which many manufacturers take advantage of to help train their workers,” McGuire said. At the federal level, manufacturers are concerned because the Department of Education reforms put through by the No Child Left Behind Act actually gave an incentive to dismantle vocational training in high schools. “We are very concerned with the shortage of skilled workers that is already here, and by the massive retirements that will come. It will affect the recovery of the economy because there’s just not going to be new workers to put into these positions.
Production will go offshore simply because of lack of manpower,” McGuire concluded.
Sosnowski noted that his brother Doug, six years older than he is, “went to high school and was able to take shop, a carpentry class, an electrical class. The only thing left when I came along was automotive class,” he said.
Not all students are college-bound, Sosnowski continued. “There’s a whole lot more out there than going to a four-year college,” he said, asking what the schools are doing to offer students who aren’t going to college “the opportunities that are out there.”
The reason state-funded training programs are being cut out, Sosnowski said, “is that we are dumping our cash into a variety of other entitlement programs, and now we’re at the point this year where we’re starting to trim back on every single area so we can continue to fund other programs that aren’t producing well.”
Syverson said “there are important (training) programs that our manufacturing caucus is trying to get legislators to understand we need to keep those going.”
Kinzinger, who beginning in January will represent much of Rockford in Congress, said No Child Left Behind is a dud.
“My mom’s a public school teacher, and she told me when this law was passed that ‘there’s a train wreck coming,’” Kinzinger said. “It looked good on paper but in practicality, it doesn’t work.” It needs to be repealed or drastically changed, he said.
Kinzinger said that around the year 2000, a national attitude developed that manufacturing was passe.
“It became cool to go work on Wall Street. A financial job isn’t bad, but it doesn’t create wealth, it just shuffles money around. Now it’s OK again to want to go into manufacturing. It’s the biggest driver of the middle class we have. We talk about a disappearing middle class, and it’s not because of tax inequity, it’s because of disappearing manufacturing and jobs,” Kinzinger said. The federal government can help with funding, but “let’s allow state and local governments to educate kids as they see best.”
Kinzinger and U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Western Springs, are introducing a bill to develop “a manufacturing strategy, basically a way for the federal government to take all the entities associated with manufacturing and to figure out ways to streamline those, bring them together and make those more effective, and make a report to Congress, to get a grip on how the federal government can better help manufacturing.”
2012年4月22日星期日
NJ ASK stakes raised for teachers
At Manalapan’s Pine Brook School, kids were learning to argue. Students at Ridgeway Elementary in Manchester were urged to log onto game sites. And at Stafford schools, they’ll be throwing pep rallies.
It may not be how their parents prepped for a test decades ago. But readiness for the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge, or NJ ASK, is the name of the game at many events and in skill-building exercises being held at schools throughout the state this month, educators say.
The hours of open-ended and multiple-choice math, language and science proficiency testing for third- through eighth-graders are set to begin Monday. The test will continue in four- and five-day schedules separated by grade level through mid-May.
NJ ASK was launched in 2003 after the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. New Jersey applied for and received in February a waiver from the federal requirements, which critics said were too lofty and imprecise.
But a new state school accountability system — and expectations that the scores will be part of teacher and principal evaluations tied to tenure and salary — have raised the stakes yet again, some educators say. They insist, however, that the prep programs are just a supplement to already rich curricula.
“The reality is if teacher evaluation is connected to test scores then, yeah, the stakes are higher for the teachers. I think each year we all feel the pressure,” Pine Brook Principal John Spalthoff said. “But at the end of the day, the stakes are higher because we’re trying to provide the best we can for our most important assets — for our future.”
To that end, about 35 special-education students here meet 40 minutes before the morning bell for the school’s Project Achievement program. The classes were launched after Pine Brook, now considered a focus school in need of improvement, was found to have a significant proficiency gap between mainstream and special-education students. The program at Pine Brook, which cost the district about $8,650, was extended from 10 weeks last year to 15 this year.
It may not be how their parents prepped for a test decades ago. But readiness for the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge, or NJ ASK, is the name of the game at many events and in skill-building exercises being held at schools throughout the state this month, educators say.
The hours of open-ended and multiple-choice math, language and science proficiency testing for third- through eighth-graders are set to begin Monday. The test will continue in four- and five-day schedules separated by grade level through mid-May.
NJ ASK was launched in 2003 after the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. New Jersey applied for and received in February a waiver from the federal requirements, which critics said were too lofty and imprecise.
But a new state school accountability system — and expectations that the scores will be part of teacher and principal evaluations tied to tenure and salary — have raised the stakes yet again, some educators say. They insist, however, that the prep programs are just a supplement to already rich curricula.
“The reality is if teacher evaluation is connected to test scores then, yeah, the stakes are higher for the teachers. I think each year we all feel the pressure,” Pine Brook Principal John Spalthoff said. “But at the end of the day, the stakes are higher because we’re trying to provide the best we can for our most important assets — for our future.”
To that end, about 35 special-education students here meet 40 minutes before the morning bell for the school’s Project Achievement program. The classes were launched after Pine Brook, now considered a focus school in need of improvement, was found to have a significant proficiency gap between mainstream and special-education students. The program at Pine Brook, which cost the district about $8,650, was extended from 10 weeks last year to 15 this year.
2012年4月19日星期四
Crafty Mom: Recycled crayons
In anticipation of Earth Day, I finally attempted a project that’s been on my to-do list for quite awhile: recycling crayons.
I’ve had a container in our art cabinet collecting broken crayons for some time now. Whenever I hear an, “Oh no!” while the kids are coloring, I simply remove the paper from the broken crayon and toss it into the bits bin. I also save all those freebie crayons the kids are given at restaurants for this purpose. Occasionally I have been known to forget them in my car on a hot day. Trust me when I say that your vehicle’s cup holder is NOT the place you want to make recycled crayons!
I have read many times about recycling crayons by baking them in muffin tins in the oven, but for Earth Day, I wanted to try something a little more earth-friendly: Melting them in the sun!
We picked a really warm day and started by choosing the color combinations for our crayons. We picked various shades of blue and green, hoping they’d look like Earth when they were finished. Then we broke and cut the crayons into small pieces and put them into the molds we were going to use. Since we wanted circles, we used emptied and cleaned single-serving-sized yogurt containers, but you can use just about anything; containers that would otherwise be recycled or trashed are perfect for the job because they aren’t going in the oven, so they don’t need to be oven-safe. Plus it won’t matter if they get messed up in the process.
We put the containers with the crayon bits in the warmest spot we could: Inside a pot with a glass lid, outside in direct sunlight. From experience, another idea that might speed the process would be to stick them in a vehicle parked in the sun!
Despite our best efforts, the 80 degree day didn’t quite melt our crayons enough, so we put them directly under a light bulb in the house until they were more thoroughly melted. (I’m pretty sure we won’t have any trouble melting crayons outside in another month or two!)
Once melted, we stuck the cups in the freezer since we were in a hurry to see how they turned out. It didn’t take long at all for them to harden. Then we were able to gently squeeze the sides of the containers, turn them upside down, and press on the bottom like a button until our new crayons popped out! From trash to treasure!
I’ve had a container in our art cabinet collecting broken crayons for some time now. Whenever I hear an, “Oh no!” while the kids are coloring, I simply remove the paper from the broken crayon and toss it into the bits bin. I also save all those freebie crayons the kids are given at restaurants for this purpose. Occasionally I have been known to forget them in my car on a hot day. Trust me when I say that your vehicle’s cup holder is NOT the place you want to make recycled crayons!
I have read many times about recycling crayons by baking them in muffin tins in the oven, but for Earth Day, I wanted to try something a little more earth-friendly: Melting them in the sun!
We picked a really warm day and started by choosing the color combinations for our crayons. We picked various shades of blue and green, hoping they’d look like Earth when they were finished. Then we broke and cut the crayons into small pieces and put them into the molds we were going to use. Since we wanted circles, we used emptied and cleaned single-serving-sized yogurt containers, but you can use just about anything; containers that would otherwise be recycled or trashed are perfect for the job because they aren’t going in the oven, so they don’t need to be oven-safe. Plus it won’t matter if they get messed up in the process.
We put the containers with the crayon bits in the warmest spot we could: Inside a pot with a glass lid, outside in direct sunlight. From experience, another idea that might speed the process would be to stick them in a vehicle parked in the sun!
Despite our best efforts, the 80 degree day didn’t quite melt our crayons enough, so we put them directly under a light bulb in the house until they were more thoroughly melted. (I’m pretty sure we won’t have any trouble melting crayons outside in another month or two!)
Once melted, we stuck the cups in the freezer since we were in a hurry to see how they turned out. It didn’t take long at all for them to harden. Then we were able to gently squeeze the sides of the containers, turn them upside down, and press on the bottom like a button until our new crayons popped out! From trash to treasure!
2012年4月18日星期三
Artistic license set loose at the All About Art exhibit
Art lovers will have a heyday this weekend when the All About Art Club hosts its annual art show and sale in the Yemassee Craft Center Art Room. Original oils, acrylics, ceramics, watercolors, pastels, photography and more will be on display, all from the eyes and hands of Sun City’s vast corps of talented artists.
Among the many artists preparing to hang their work are three who depict their vision in different media.
Pat Everson, who has worked in different formats, from oil to acrylic paints, now focuses on PanPastels, a palette-style method of creating paintings with chalk.
Denis Reshetar works on a very large scale, building wooden frames in various shapes around which he stretches canvas he then paints.
Mary Ann Putzier works in watercolor and porcelain, learning each time she prepares to teach a new class.
“Teaching always gets me going because if I am going to teach floral painting, then I have to paint fresh ones. I can’t bring up old paintings as examples,” Putzier said in her well-lighted studio. Among the classes she has taught at the community’s art room are “Saving your Whites” and making a watercolor canvas. Next year, she expects to teach how to paint reflections and possibly portraits, her favorite subject.
“Portraits are the most satisfying. Not only to capture the likeness but the personality,” she said.
Her mother and grandmother were quite artistic, Putzier said, and she and her eight siblings were raised on drawing.
“All of us have some kind of artistic skills, especially the girls,” she said. It taught her to see, to observe. “If you can’t see it, you can’t draw it and you can’t paint it. Of course, once you see it, you can take liberties like Picasso and others. They weren’t copyists. They took the truth and bent it.”
Reshetar thinks in the summer and then creates in the fall and winter.
“I usually have thoughts on paper — the shapes I want to do and the designs I want to paint on them,” he said. He builds his own wooden frames, sometimes taking one completely apart after the design fails to come together.
“It usually takes me a week of 10-12 hours when I get going,” he said. “I like big stuff, different shapes. Big or narrow, horizontal or vertical. And usually difficult to put into a house.”
He said he repainted one square vision four or five times until he finally started all over from scratch, scrapping the canvas and rebuilding the canvas frame into a different shape.
“I usually spend as much time making the frame as doing the painting,” he said. Originally a ceramicist and sculptor in college, Reshetar has taken some of those skills and reapplied them to both his frames and his painting technique.
One painting has a 3D effect as one side seems to pull away from the wall. A few paintings Reshetar has hanging in his home were created by what he calls the “lost wax” technique, a process used in making molds. Across the surface of the painting — a blending of colors that graduate to more intense hues from the center out — he adds the finishing touch, a deliberate splash or dripline of black paint.
“When it has dried enough that the edges are hard, I take it outside and hose it off,” he said. What remains behind is an outline of the splash, the painting’s colors popping back out.
Everson began attending the Silvermine Guild of Art in Connecticut when she was 12 and studied art through high school. An argument she no longer recalls with an art instructor turned her against her training and she earned a degree in psychology in college.
“Art was always with me. I couldn’t get away from it,” Everson said. “Even in the two 10-year stretches I abandoned it, it was always behind me, nagging me.”
Now concentrating on the use of pastels, she finds that keeping up with the ever-evolving techniques and resources is just a small part of being an artist.
“You have to keep current,” she said. Originally an oil painter, Everson acquired adult asthma and found that being in the presence of the chemicals used was unhealthy. She had to change her medium and moved to acrylic and has taught the subject to Sun City students.
That, too, became a problem with her asthma and now she has moved to pastels, a medium that uses no chemicals with which to create. In the process of researching these tools, Everson discovered a whole new concept in the use of PanPastels, a set of colored chalk discs that have low dust issues, one of the challenges of using chalk.
Rather than create the painting with pastel sticks, Everson is able to apply the chalk with sponge-tipped applicators. The different shaped heads allow for various results on the paper and stick pastels may still be used to provide an opaque sharp line, if desired.
It’s all part of Everson’s pursuit of perfection through practice.
Among the many artists preparing to hang their work are three who depict their vision in different media.
Pat Everson, who has worked in different formats, from oil to acrylic paints, now focuses on PanPastels, a palette-style method of creating paintings with chalk.
Denis Reshetar works on a very large scale, building wooden frames in various shapes around which he stretches canvas he then paints.
Mary Ann Putzier works in watercolor and porcelain, learning each time she prepares to teach a new class.
“Teaching always gets me going because if I am going to teach floral painting, then I have to paint fresh ones. I can’t bring up old paintings as examples,” Putzier said in her well-lighted studio. Among the classes she has taught at the community’s art room are “Saving your Whites” and making a watercolor canvas. Next year, she expects to teach how to paint reflections and possibly portraits, her favorite subject.
“Portraits are the most satisfying. Not only to capture the likeness but the personality,” she said.
Her mother and grandmother were quite artistic, Putzier said, and she and her eight siblings were raised on drawing.
“All of us have some kind of artistic skills, especially the girls,” she said. It taught her to see, to observe. “If you can’t see it, you can’t draw it and you can’t paint it. Of course, once you see it, you can take liberties like Picasso and others. They weren’t copyists. They took the truth and bent it.”
Reshetar thinks in the summer and then creates in the fall and winter.
“I usually have thoughts on paper — the shapes I want to do and the designs I want to paint on them,” he said. He builds his own wooden frames, sometimes taking one completely apart after the design fails to come together.
“It usually takes me a week of 10-12 hours when I get going,” he said. “I like big stuff, different shapes. Big or narrow, horizontal or vertical. And usually difficult to put into a house.”
He said he repainted one square vision four or five times until he finally started all over from scratch, scrapping the canvas and rebuilding the canvas frame into a different shape.
“I usually spend as much time making the frame as doing the painting,” he said. Originally a ceramicist and sculptor in college, Reshetar has taken some of those skills and reapplied them to both his frames and his painting technique.
One painting has a 3D effect as one side seems to pull away from the wall. A few paintings Reshetar has hanging in his home were created by what he calls the “lost wax” technique, a process used in making molds. Across the surface of the painting — a blending of colors that graduate to more intense hues from the center out — he adds the finishing touch, a deliberate splash or dripline of black paint.
“When it has dried enough that the edges are hard, I take it outside and hose it off,” he said. What remains behind is an outline of the splash, the painting’s colors popping back out.
Everson began attending the Silvermine Guild of Art in Connecticut when she was 12 and studied art through high school. An argument she no longer recalls with an art instructor turned her against her training and she earned a degree in psychology in college.
“Art was always with me. I couldn’t get away from it,” Everson said. “Even in the two 10-year stretches I abandoned it, it was always behind me, nagging me.”
Now concentrating on the use of pastels, she finds that keeping up with the ever-evolving techniques and resources is just a small part of being an artist.
“You have to keep current,” she said. Originally an oil painter, Everson acquired adult asthma and found that being in the presence of the chemicals used was unhealthy. She had to change her medium and moved to acrylic and has taught the subject to Sun City students.
That, too, became a problem with her asthma and now she has moved to pastels, a medium that uses no chemicals with which to create. In the process of researching these tools, Everson discovered a whole new concept in the use of PanPastels, a set of colored chalk discs that have low dust issues, one of the challenges of using chalk.
Rather than create the painting with pastel sticks, Everson is able to apply the chalk with sponge-tipped applicators. The different shaped heads allow for various results on the paper and stick pastels may still be used to provide an opaque sharp line, if desired.
It’s all part of Everson’s pursuit of perfection through practice.
2012年4月17日星期二
"Made in Japan" engineers find second life in China
"My profession is going out of business in Japan," said 59-year-old Masayuki Aida, who made molds for a Tokyo-based firm for 30 years but has spent most of his 50s in Dongguan, a gritty manufacturing hub in southern China's Pearl River Delta.
With the incessant noise of car horns and a pervasive smell of chemicals, the dusty streets of industrial Dongguan are a far cry from Tokyo or Osaka. Construction sites dot the city while beggars clutching tin cans approach cars at every intersection.
For Aida and many like him nearing the national retirement age of 60 the choice was simple - face a few years without an income as Japan raises the age at which employees get their pension or work for mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies.
"People aren't making products in Japan anymore," said Aida, who makes molds for goods ranging from toys and earphones to coffee machines. "I wanted to pass on to younger generations all the knowledge and technology about molds I had obtained."
For Japan, marred by two decades of economic stagnation, the little reported exodus of engineers means rival Chinese firms are getting an injection of the technology and skills behind "Made in Japan" products.
Japanese government data shows 2,800 Japanese expats living in Dongguan alone, a city of more than 8 million people.
"From Japan's perspective, emerging countries are getting a free ride of the benefits we nurtured. So yes, it is a problem," said Yasushi Ishizuka, director of the intellectual property policy office at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Japan suffered its first tech brain drain about 20 years ago when South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc poached scores of front-line semiconductor and white goods engineers from big Japanese electronics firms.
Since then South Korean electronics manufacturers have bounded into the global top ranks, helped along by this human technology transfer.
Japan's tech giants, meanwhile, have floundered. Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp, Japan's three main TV makers, are expected to have lost $21 billion between them in the fiscal year that ended March 31, partly because of Korean competition.
Many of the Japanese engineers finding a second life in China do not have the cutting-edge technology that would deal another crushing blow to Japan Inc yet, analysts say, but the long-term impact could be severe because they will give Chinese manufacturers the skills to make high-quality goods efficiently.
China has pushed its own companies to innovate, but many experts cite an educational system that prizes rote learning as an obstacle. For many firms, buying talent is the quickest fix.
"Skills related to production, like making moulds, are something that companies obtained after years of trial and error," said Morinosuke Kawaguchi, associate director at management consultancy Arthur D Little in Tokyo.
For example, the slightest tweak to a mould could lead to mass production of faulty items, said Kawaguchi, himself a former Hitachi Ltd engineer who used to make household appliances.
"This exodus of Japanese engineers will raise the quality of products made by Chinese companies and allow them to produce efficiently," he added.
Aida said the skills of Chinese engineers have improved over the past 10 years.
"When I first came to China, a product was considered good as long as it didn't fall apart," said Aida, one of seven Japanese engineers in Dongguan interviewed by Reuters. "They've caught up rapidly since then."
That shows in recent trade numbers. China's exports of higher valued machinery and electronic products rose 9.1 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, when they gained 7.6 percent, to $253 billion, according to trade data.
Stemming the outflow of engineers to Chinese manufacturers appears to be impossible.
Sany Heavy Co Ltd, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd and BYD Co Ltd all told Reuters they had employed Japanese engineers to boost their technological know-how. They declined to comment further.
In addition to the large companies, there are thousands of smaller manufacturers across China. While not all have the deep pockets to hire expat engineers, some might find the cost of importing technology may not be as high as it used to be.
For one, there is no shortage of supply. Millions of Japan's "baby boom" generation which makes up nearly a 10th of the country's population are starting to retire, with many engineers among them.
It is not just financial considerations, but a desire to keep working beyond the rigid retirement age in Japan that prompts many to take up the offer of a move to China.
"I'm working longer hours but actually making less now than I was making back in Japan," said Aida, puffing on a cigarette in a simple conference room at his Chinese company's office.
Tomio Oka, an engineer who specializes in making molds for components used on items such as mobile phones that require precision to one one-thousandth of a millimeter, quit his job at a unit of what is now Panasonic Corp in 1998, to work for a Taiwanese company in Dongguan.
"Everyone in my family opposed this. I was working at a reputable company, making a stable income. My wife even threatened to divorce me at one stage," Oka said, grimacing as he recalled what happened.
"But I wanted to open the doors to my future myself. I didn't want to lead a life on some rail track set by others."
With the incessant noise of car horns and a pervasive smell of chemicals, the dusty streets of industrial Dongguan are a far cry from Tokyo or Osaka. Construction sites dot the city while beggars clutching tin cans approach cars at every intersection.
For Aida and many like him nearing the national retirement age of 60 the choice was simple - face a few years without an income as Japan raises the age at which employees get their pension or work for mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies.
"People aren't making products in Japan anymore," said Aida, who makes molds for goods ranging from toys and earphones to coffee machines. "I wanted to pass on to younger generations all the knowledge and technology about molds I had obtained."
For Japan, marred by two decades of economic stagnation, the little reported exodus of engineers means rival Chinese firms are getting an injection of the technology and skills behind "Made in Japan" products.
Japanese government data shows 2,800 Japanese expats living in Dongguan alone, a city of more than 8 million people.
"From Japan's perspective, emerging countries are getting a free ride of the benefits we nurtured. So yes, it is a problem," said Yasushi Ishizuka, director of the intellectual property policy office at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Japan suffered its first tech brain drain about 20 years ago when South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc poached scores of front-line semiconductor and white goods engineers from big Japanese electronics firms.
Since then South Korean electronics manufacturers have bounded into the global top ranks, helped along by this human technology transfer.
Japan's tech giants, meanwhile, have floundered. Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp, Japan's three main TV makers, are expected to have lost $21 billion between them in the fiscal year that ended March 31, partly because of Korean competition.
Many of the Japanese engineers finding a second life in China do not have the cutting-edge technology that would deal another crushing blow to Japan Inc yet, analysts say, but the long-term impact could be severe because they will give Chinese manufacturers the skills to make high-quality goods efficiently.
China has pushed its own companies to innovate, but many experts cite an educational system that prizes rote learning as an obstacle. For many firms, buying talent is the quickest fix.
"Skills related to production, like making moulds, are something that companies obtained after years of trial and error," said Morinosuke Kawaguchi, associate director at management consultancy Arthur D Little in Tokyo.
For example, the slightest tweak to a mould could lead to mass production of faulty items, said Kawaguchi, himself a former Hitachi Ltd engineer who used to make household appliances.
"This exodus of Japanese engineers will raise the quality of products made by Chinese companies and allow them to produce efficiently," he added.
Aida said the skills of Chinese engineers have improved over the past 10 years.
"When I first came to China, a product was considered good as long as it didn't fall apart," said Aida, one of seven Japanese engineers in Dongguan interviewed by Reuters. "They've caught up rapidly since then."
That shows in recent trade numbers. China's exports of higher valued machinery and electronic products rose 9.1 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, when they gained 7.6 percent, to $253 billion, according to trade data.
Stemming the outflow of engineers to Chinese manufacturers appears to be impossible.
Sany Heavy Co Ltd, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd and BYD Co Ltd all told Reuters they had employed Japanese engineers to boost their technological know-how. They declined to comment further.
In addition to the large companies, there are thousands of smaller manufacturers across China. While not all have the deep pockets to hire expat engineers, some might find the cost of importing technology may not be as high as it used to be.
For one, there is no shortage of supply. Millions of Japan's "baby boom" generation which makes up nearly a 10th of the country's population are starting to retire, with many engineers among them.
It is not just financial considerations, but a desire to keep working beyond the rigid retirement age in Japan that prompts many to take up the offer of a move to China.
"I'm working longer hours but actually making less now than I was making back in Japan," said Aida, puffing on a cigarette in a simple conference room at his Chinese company's office.
Tomio Oka, an engineer who specializes in making molds for components used on items such as mobile phones that require precision to one one-thousandth of a millimeter, quit his job at a unit of what is now Panasonic Corp in 1998, to work for a Taiwanese company in Dongguan.
"Everyone in my family opposed this. I was working at a reputable company, making a stable income. My wife even threatened to divorce me at one stage," Oka said, grimacing as he recalled what happened.
"But I wanted to open the doors to my future myself. I didn't want to lead a life on some rail track set by others."
2012年4月16日星期一
If high gas prices keep you home this summer, re-floor with Tuftwick
High gas prices this summer will cause many families to travel less in order to save money. If you’re staying close to home, summertime is a great time to re-floor with Tuftwick Carpet!
Check out all of the deals they have going on right now in their showroom at 4602 34th St. There you’ll find their usual wide selection of flooring, plus new wood, ceramic and carpet samples that have just arrived!
If what you’re looking for is not in stock, Tuftwick will gladly order it for you.
Looking for something small? Tuftwick’s entire inventory of remnants is on sale! Add warmth and color to a dorm room or apartment with a stylish remnant or use a remnant as an area rug on hardwood floors. Remnants start at just $5 per yard!
If you have rental property, you can freshen up the interior with affordable flooring before new tenants move in. Consider new carpet for the living area and vinyl for the kitchen or bathroom. Also available for the kitchen or bathroom is a new line of backsplash tile.
With more than a half a century of experience, Tuftwick Carpet can help you make the right choice for your flooring needs. Recently, they’ve added a new salesperson to their staff. Jeff Cumby has more than 15 years of industry experience, and would love to talk to you about any of today’s popular flooring options.
Tuftwick also carries the latest flooring trend – Arko ceramic tile that mimics the look and feel of hardwood.
Also available is vinyl wood plank flooring. There are numerous advantages to installing vinyl wood plank floors. The cost savings makes it an affordable choice, and manufacturers are capable of producing realistic looking wood floors out of vinyl material, so you get a lot of style for a lower price. Another important aspect of vinyl wood flooring that makes it attractive is the ease of maintenance. A damp mop with an all-purpose cleaner is all it takes to clean these floors.
For maintaining carpet’s original beauty, there’s nothing better than the Capture Carpet Cleaning System. Tuftwick is one of the few places in town where the Capture system is still available. It deep cleans and deodorizes dirty carpets with powder instead of shampooing or steaming – in just 30 minutes!
Come by and ask the staff at Tuftwick Carpet about 12 months, no interest, no payment financing on all Shaw products!
From sales to installation and even after the work is finished, the crew at Tuftwick Carpet will make sure you are happy. Remember, everything is backed by a warranty, including installation. Tuftwick’s installers have been with the store for 20 years, and their work speaks volumes about the store’s high standards.
Check out all of the deals they have going on right now in their showroom at 4602 34th St. There you’ll find their usual wide selection of flooring, plus new wood, ceramic and carpet samples that have just arrived!
If what you’re looking for is not in stock, Tuftwick will gladly order it for you.
Looking for something small? Tuftwick’s entire inventory of remnants is on sale! Add warmth and color to a dorm room or apartment with a stylish remnant or use a remnant as an area rug on hardwood floors. Remnants start at just $5 per yard!
If you have rental property, you can freshen up the interior with affordable flooring before new tenants move in. Consider new carpet for the living area and vinyl for the kitchen or bathroom. Also available for the kitchen or bathroom is a new line of backsplash tile.
With more than a half a century of experience, Tuftwick Carpet can help you make the right choice for your flooring needs. Recently, they’ve added a new salesperson to their staff. Jeff Cumby has more than 15 years of industry experience, and would love to talk to you about any of today’s popular flooring options.
Tuftwick also carries the latest flooring trend – Arko ceramic tile that mimics the look and feel of hardwood.
Also available is vinyl wood plank flooring. There are numerous advantages to installing vinyl wood plank floors. The cost savings makes it an affordable choice, and manufacturers are capable of producing realistic looking wood floors out of vinyl material, so you get a lot of style for a lower price. Another important aspect of vinyl wood flooring that makes it attractive is the ease of maintenance. A damp mop with an all-purpose cleaner is all it takes to clean these floors.
For maintaining carpet’s original beauty, there’s nothing better than the Capture Carpet Cleaning System. Tuftwick is one of the few places in town where the Capture system is still available. It deep cleans and deodorizes dirty carpets with powder instead of shampooing or steaming – in just 30 minutes!
Come by and ask the staff at Tuftwick Carpet about 12 months, no interest, no payment financing on all Shaw products!
From sales to installation and even after the work is finished, the crew at Tuftwick Carpet will make sure you are happy. Remember, everything is backed by a warranty, including installation. Tuftwick’s installers have been with the store for 20 years, and their work speaks volumes about the store’s high standards.
2012年4月15日星期日
Shoulder procedure puts Hammond cop back on the streets
The interrupted sleep was annoying. And having to reposition his holster was frustrating. But, Hammond Police Cpl. Todd Larson finally turned to medical intervention for his shoulder pain when he struggled to play catch with his children.
He had coached his 9-year-old son in baseball and 12-year-old daughter in softball. "I'd have to throw it back underhand," he says.
The now 42-year-old had been weight lifting since he was 14, growing up in Highland. Behind-the-head lifting wore on his shoulders. While playing on a football scholarship at Butler University, he was injected with cortisone shots to ease the pain. But by senior year, his shoulder was being wrapped.
When he became a police officer after working five years as a pharmacist, the physical demands only compounded his pain. "My shoulders got worse, my mobility got worse," he says.
During training exercises, he couldn't put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
One doctor told him he had a frozen shoulder, but physical therapy gave little relief. He was referred to Dr. Anthony Romeo, orthopedic surgeon and head of the Shoulder Service at Rush Medical College, who also serves as team physician for the Chicago White Sox and the doctor who performed landmark surgery on pitcher Jake Peavy.
After Romeo and a medical resident reviewed X-rays of his shoulders, Larson sat in an exam room, overhearing their conversation on the other side of the door. His shoulder movements had created ridges in the joints, which was coupled with arthritis. "The resident said, 'He'll never be able to be a cop again,'" Larson says.
When the doctors came in the room, they clarified that an end to his professional career would be likely with one type of surgery. But, the surgery they wanted for Larson was different. It was expected to bring back a full range of motion.
The procedure creates a new shoulder with no plastic socket. Instead, the surgeon reams a new, deeper biological socket. That socket forms a layer of fibrocartilage. Over time, it molds itself around the metal ball of the upper arm.
With his level of activity, Larson was a good candidate for the "ream and run"—as it is known—surgery, Romeo said.
"We've learned that total shoulder replacement takes away people's desired lifestyle," Romeo says. "We needed another solution."
A traditional ball-and-socket replacement would not hold up well to powerful activities. Larson would have been restricted to lifting no more than 25 pounds per arm.
Larson had surgery on his right shoulder April 18, 2011. He was back at work four months later. Surgery on his left shoulder was October 17, and he returned to work the first week of February.
Larson, who is in his fourteenth year with the Hammond Police Department, continues to strengthen his left shoulder through rehabilitation. Increased upper body activity, coupled with medical advances, has changed the story on shoulder surgery.
He had coached his 9-year-old son in baseball and 12-year-old daughter in softball. "I'd have to throw it back underhand," he says.
The now 42-year-old had been weight lifting since he was 14, growing up in Highland. Behind-the-head lifting wore on his shoulders. While playing on a football scholarship at Butler University, he was injected with cortisone shots to ease the pain. But by senior year, his shoulder was being wrapped.
When he became a police officer after working five years as a pharmacist, the physical demands only compounded his pain. "My shoulders got worse, my mobility got worse," he says.
During training exercises, he couldn't put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
One doctor told him he had a frozen shoulder, but physical therapy gave little relief. He was referred to Dr. Anthony Romeo, orthopedic surgeon and head of the Shoulder Service at Rush Medical College, who also serves as team physician for the Chicago White Sox and the doctor who performed landmark surgery on pitcher Jake Peavy.
After Romeo and a medical resident reviewed X-rays of his shoulders, Larson sat in an exam room, overhearing their conversation on the other side of the door. His shoulder movements had created ridges in the joints, which was coupled with arthritis. "The resident said, 'He'll never be able to be a cop again,'" Larson says.
When the doctors came in the room, they clarified that an end to his professional career would be likely with one type of surgery. But, the surgery they wanted for Larson was different. It was expected to bring back a full range of motion.
The procedure creates a new shoulder with no plastic socket. Instead, the surgeon reams a new, deeper biological socket. That socket forms a layer of fibrocartilage. Over time, it molds itself around the metal ball of the upper arm.
With his level of activity, Larson was a good candidate for the "ream and run"—as it is known—surgery, Romeo said.
"We've learned that total shoulder replacement takes away people's desired lifestyle," Romeo says. "We needed another solution."
A traditional ball-and-socket replacement would not hold up well to powerful activities. Larson would have been restricted to lifting no more than 25 pounds per arm.
Larson had surgery on his right shoulder April 18, 2011. He was back at work four months later. Surgery on his left shoulder was October 17, and he returned to work the first week of February.
Larson, who is in his fourteenth year with the Hammond Police Department, continues to strengthen his left shoulder through rehabilitation. Increased upper body activity, coupled with medical advances, has changed the story on shoulder surgery.
2012年4月12日星期四
Remembering local victims of the Titanic
One hundred years ago, Boston Globe readers opened their newspapers and were shocked to learn that the unthinkable had happened: The mighty Titanic, the supposedly unsinkable, state-of-the-art luxury liner, had hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, taking about 1,500 lives.
Several passengers from Southeastern Massachusetts were aboard the Titanic on its first voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. Many of them never made it home.
On April 16, 1912, readers who turned to page 5 of the Globe would have seen the pudgy face of Jacques Futrelle, a novelist from Scituate. Wearing round eyeglasses and his hair swept neatly to the side, Futrelle looked scholarly. He was on the Titanic with his wife, Lily May, and had just celebrated his 37th birthday.
They would have read about Frank D. Millet, a Mattapoisett native who was an internationally known artist. He traveled all over, and lived in New York and Worcestershire, England. He was on his way to New York to visit his brother.
There was a black-and-white photograph of John Maguire, a salesman with the Dunbar Pattern Co. in Brockton. He was dressed smartly in a jacket and tie, with a stiff white collar. He was returning from his first trip abroad - which turned out to be his last.
Above Maguire on page 5, there was a photo of George Quincy Clifford. The 40-year-old Stoughton resident was president of the George E. Belcher Last Co., a factory that produced shoe molds. He had been traveling on business with Maguire and another local shoe industry executive.
A century has passed since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, yet the stories of these passengers and others on the ill-fated voyage still resonate.
That is why Stoughton historian David Allen Lambert decided to lead an effort to dedicate a plaque in his town in memory of Clifford. Many people in Stoughton don’t know that the town lost one of its own in the disaster, he said.
Lambert first heard of Clifford when he was 12. He said Clifford was originally from Brockton and moved to Stoughton in 1909.
In February 1912, he left for Europe accompanied by Maguire and Walter Chamberlain Porter, the president of a shoe last company in Worcester.
Clifford “was out looking for contracts,’’ said Lambert, vice president of the Stoughton Historical Society, who works as an online genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. “Sadly, when he was en route his mother died, and he was notified by telegram when he reached Europe.’’
Clifford’s shoe mold company was located in a brick building at 4 Capen St., off Route 139. The business is long gone, but the building is still there, now called the Rose Forte Apartment building. The plaque will be unveiled there on Sunday at 2 p.m. and the public is invited to attend.
A brief memorial service will be held in honor of the Titanic victims, and some of Clifford’s descendants are expected to be there to unveil the memorial.
The dedication ceremony will conclude around 2:20 p.m. - about 100 years and 12 hours to the moment the ship disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic. “The bow of the ship slipped through the waves at 2:20 a.m.,’’ said Lambert.
The sinking of the ship was vividly described by Lily May Futrelle, one of the estimated 705 survivors of the Titanic. A native of Georgia, she and her husband, Jacques, resided in Scituate in a home they called “Stepping Stones.’’
Futrelle wrote a detailed account of the sinking a few weeks after the disaster. Her two-part series “remains one of earliest and most authoritative eyewitness accounts of the catastrophe,’’ according to Donald E. Wilkes Jr., a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who has done research and written about the Futrelles.
“I think she was a fascinating person,’’ said Wilkes, in a recent telephone interview. She was married to an accomplished author and was a writer herself. She once hosted a radio program for aspiring writers, and her 1911 novel “Secretary of Frivolous Affairs” was later made into a movie, he said.
Several passengers from Southeastern Massachusetts were aboard the Titanic on its first voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. Many of them never made it home.
On April 16, 1912, readers who turned to page 5 of the Globe would have seen the pudgy face of Jacques Futrelle, a novelist from Scituate. Wearing round eyeglasses and his hair swept neatly to the side, Futrelle looked scholarly. He was on the Titanic with his wife, Lily May, and had just celebrated his 37th birthday.
They would have read about Frank D. Millet, a Mattapoisett native who was an internationally known artist. He traveled all over, and lived in New York and Worcestershire, England. He was on his way to New York to visit his brother.
There was a black-and-white photograph of John Maguire, a salesman with the Dunbar Pattern Co. in Brockton. He was dressed smartly in a jacket and tie, with a stiff white collar. He was returning from his first trip abroad - which turned out to be his last.
Above Maguire on page 5, there was a photo of George Quincy Clifford. The 40-year-old Stoughton resident was president of the George E. Belcher Last Co., a factory that produced shoe molds. He had been traveling on business with Maguire and another local shoe industry executive.
A century has passed since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, yet the stories of these passengers and others on the ill-fated voyage still resonate.
That is why Stoughton historian David Allen Lambert decided to lead an effort to dedicate a plaque in his town in memory of Clifford. Many people in Stoughton don’t know that the town lost one of its own in the disaster, he said.
Lambert first heard of Clifford when he was 12. He said Clifford was originally from Brockton and moved to Stoughton in 1909.
In February 1912, he left for Europe accompanied by Maguire and Walter Chamberlain Porter, the president of a shoe last company in Worcester.
Clifford “was out looking for contracts,’’ said Lambert, vice president of the Stoughton Historical Society, who works as an online genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. “Sadly, when he was en route his mother died, and he was notified by telegram when he reached Europe.’’
Clifford’s shoe mold company was located in a brick building at 4 Capen St., off Route 139. The business is long gone, but the building is still there, now called the Rose Forte Apartment building. The plaque will be unveiled there on Sunday at 2 p.m. and the public is invited to attend.
A brief memorial service will be held in honor of the Titanic victims, and some of Clifford’s descendants are expected to be there to unveil the memorial.
The dedication ceremony will conclude around 2:20 p.m. - about 100 years and 12 hours to the moment the ship disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic. “The bow of the ship slipped through the waves at 2:20 a.m.,’’ said Lambert.
The sinking of the ship was vividly described by Lily May Futrelle, one of the estimated 705 survivors of the Titanic. A native of Georgia, she and her husband, Jacques, resided in Scituate in a home they called “Stepping Stones.’’
Futrelle wrote a detailed account of the sinking a few weeks after the disaster. Her two-part series “remains one of earliest and most authoritative eyewitness accounts of the catastrophe,’’ according to Donald E. Wilkes Jr., a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who has done research and written about the Futrelles.
“I think she was a fascinating person,’’ said Wilkes, in a recent telephone interview. She was married to an accomplished author and was a writer herself. She once hosted a radio program for aspiring writers, and her 1911 novel “Secretary of Frivolous Affairs” was later made into a movie, he said.
2012年4月11日星期三
VPG MV-1 First Drive
Nissan made a lot of noise in New York showing off its NV200-van based "Taxi of Tomorrow," so called because it won the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission's contest of the same name. But lost in the party atmosphere was the fact that no contract has been officially signed. Why not? In part because of a court case--Christopher Noel, et al, versus New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, et al,--alleging that the TLC violated Title II, section A of the Americans with disabilities act by selecting a taxi design that is not 100-percent wheelchair accessible, as some of the contending designs were. Last December, Manhattan federal court judge George Daniels ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the city won a stay of that decision pending appeal. Oral arguments in the appeals case are scheduled for April 19. What might happen if the NV200 contract unravels?
There is a dedicated taxi/mobility vehicle option tooled, in production, and ready to step into the void, produced by a start-up American car company you may never have heard of. The company is Vehicle Production Group, of Miami, Florida -- a lean start-up funded with $350 million in private equity that began production of its Buy America-certified vehicle in a UAW-staffed plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, last September. This taxicab/limo/wheelchair mobility vehicle, called the MV-1, was on display at the New York International Auto Show. The model name reflects the company's claim that this is the first factory-built mobility vehicle. The design utilizes myriad components from Tier-1 suppliers and was tailored to fit the idled tooling that used to build the Hummer H2. AM General handles assembly, parts, and warranty logistics.
The styling looks like an SUV-ish riff on the traditional London cab, with a low-step-in (or roll aboard) flat floor and oodles of headroom. Dimensionally, it measures 8.0 inches shorter in length, 2.1 inches wider, and 18.2 inches taller than the Crown Vic. The rear doors swing open (90 degrees on the passenger side) to reveal a bench seat wide enough for three amply proportioned passengers. An optional ($349) rear-facing jump seat behind the driver accommodates a fourth, and standard anchoring plates are fitted to secure two wheelchairs, though locking down the second one precludes use of the right half of the bench seat. There is currently no provision for fitting a front passenger seat, though one is being considered, along with a passenger airbag.
Taxi fleet operators will be plenty familiar with the 4.6-liter Ford V-8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission powering the initial run of MV-1s, fueled either by gasoline or compressed natural gas. The CNG option adds $9000 and includes three 3600-psi tanks that raise the luggage-area floor by about 9 inches and provide 320 miles of range. CNG refueling stations are reportedly plentiful in NYC and the fuel is priced some $2/gallon equivalent cheaper than gasoline. Phasing in Ford's 3.7-liter V-6 will eventually stretch that range to 400 miles. The body-on-frame design was designed and developed with assistance from Roush Engineering. The ladder frame incorporates a control-arm/coil spring front suspension and a unique rear setup that combines a Chevy Camaro's differential with a leaf-sprung aluminum tube deDion axle assisted by load-leveling air springs to keep things even when approaching the 6600-pound gross-vehicle-weight rating.
There is a dedicated taxi/mobility vehicle option tooled, in production, and ready to step into the void, produced by a start-up American car company you may never have heard of. The company is Vehicle Production Group, of Miami, Florida -- a lean start-up funded with $350 million in private equity that began production of its Buy America-certified vehicle in a UAW-staffed plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, last September. This taxicab/limo/wheelchair mobility vehicle, called the MV-1, was on display at the New York International Auto Show. The model name reflects the company's claim that this is the first factory-built mobility vehicle. The design utilizes myriad components from Tier-1 suppliers and was tailored to fit the idled tooling that used to build the Hummer H2. AM General handles assembly, parts, and warranty logistics.
The styling looks like an SUV-ish riff on the traditional London cab, with a low-step-in (or roll aboard) flat floor and oodles of headroom. Dimensionally, it measures 8.0 inches shorter in length, 2.1 inches wider, and 18.2 inches taller than the Crown Vic. The rear doors swing open (90 degrees on the passenger side) to reveal a bench seat wide enough for three amply proportioned passengers. An optional ($349) rear-facing jump seat behind the driver accommodates a fourth, and standard anchoring plates are fitted to secure two wheelchairs, though locking down the second one precludes use of the right half of the bench seat. There is currently no provision for fitting a front passenger seat, though one is being considered, along with a passenger airbag.
Taxi fleet operators will be plenty familiar with the 4.6-liter Ford V-8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission powering the initial run of MV-1s, fueled either by gasoline or compressed natural gas. The CNG option adds $9000 and includes three 3600-psi tanks that raise the luggage-area floor by about 9 inches and provide 320 miles of range. CNG refueling stations are reportedly plentiful in NYC and the fuel is priced some $2/gallon equivalent cheaper than gasoline. Phasing in Ford's 3.7-liter V-6 will eventually stretch that range to 400 miles. The body-on-frame design was designed and developed with assistance from Roush Engineering. The ladder frame incorporates a control-arm/coil spring front suspension and a unique rear setup that combines a Chevy Camaro's differential with a leaf-sprung aluminum tube deDion axle assisted by load-leveling air springs to keep things even when approaching the 6600-pound gross-vehicle-weight rating.
2012年4月10日星期二
Burke eyes trade market to improve Maple Leafs
The Leafs' general manager said Tuesday during a season wrap-up press conference in Toronto that he doesn't see a lot of answers to his team's problems via free agency, so he will undertake the roster re-tooling through trades during the summer. He believes that the team has the assets to acquire the needed resources.
Burke, who has had his position with the Leafs for four seasons, expressed particular displeasure over the Leafs' 8-0 loss on March 19 in which his team was pushed around by the bigger, stronger Boston Bruins.
"My view on how hockey teams are built and how hockey games are won has not changed," Burke said. "I still believe that big, physical teams win hockey games, and if you have two evenly-matched teams from a skill perspective, the bigger team's going to win. We need to get bigger. That's my top priority as far as an overall priority."
With the Florida Panthers reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, the Leafs now have the longest postseason drought of any team in the League at seven seasons. Burke said he hasn't slept in two months because of that, but as he has said in the past, the last thing he wants to do is construct a roster that's only good enough to claim the No. 8 seed and lose in the first round.
"I'm trying to build a championship team here," Burke said. "And that's very hard to see here today, but the building blocks, the keys that you need, the Phil Kessels, the Joffrey Lupuls, the Jake Gardiners, the Dion Phaneufs, the second line -- all those things have been put in place. And that's what can't be overlooked as you analyze and dissect a season. Even a season that's marked by failure. I think we're going in the right direction."
The Leafs were in contention for a playoff spot through the beginning February, but the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. They finished 7-18-4 and coach Ron Wilson was replaced with Randy Carlyle for the team's final 15 games.
While Burke addressed roster issues -- he said he believes goaltender James Reimer is the "real deal" and wasn't the same after taking a shot to the head from Brian Gionta in October -- Carlyle talked about the improvement that he feels is needed to the mental side of the Leafs' game.
"Confidence was the No. 1 thing that I would say this team did not have," Carlyle said. "We were not a confident group. It's our job as a coaching staff to force, coddle, kick -- whatever word you want to use -- to get them to believe that they can do it."
The Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery will be held Tuesday night in Toronto, and the Leafs have an 8.1 percent chance of attaining the first pick in the upcoming draft. It will be the first process in Burke's latest attempt to get the Leafs back to the postseason for the first time since 2004, although he doesn't believe anyone in the top five can provide an immediate impact.
Burke, who has had his position with the Leafs for four seasons, expressed particular displeasure over the Leafs' 8-0 loss on March 19 in which his team was pushed around by the bigger, stronger Boston Bruins.
"My view on how hockey teams are built and how hockey games are won has not changed," Burke said. "I still believe that big, physical teams win hockey games, and if you have two evenly-matched teams from a skill perspective, the bigger team's going to win. We need to get bigger. That's my top priority as far as an overall priority."
With the Florida Panthers reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, the Leafs now have the longest postseason drought of any team in the League at seven seasons. Burke said he hasn't slept in two months because of that, but as he has said in the past, the last thing he wants to do is construct a roster that's only good enough to claim the No. 8 seed and lose in the first round.
"I'm trying to build a championship team here," Burke said. "And that's very hard to see here today, but the building blocks, the keys that you need, the Phil Kessels, the Joffrey Lupuls, the Jake Gardiners, the Dion Phaneufs, the second line -- all those things have been put in place. And that's what can't be overlooked as you analyze and dissect a season. Even a season that's marked by failure. I think we're going in the right direction."
The Leafs were in contention for a playoff spot through the beginning February, but the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. They finished 7-18-4 and coach Ron Wilson was replaced with Randy Carlyle for the team's final 15 games.
While Burke addressed roster issues -- he said he believes goaltender James Reimer is the "real deal" and wasn't the same after taking a shot to the head from Brian Gionta in October -- Carlyle talked about the improvement that he feels is needed to the mental side of the Leafs' game.
"Confidence was the No. 1 thing that I would say this team did not have," Carlyle said. "We were not a confident group. It's our job as a coaching staff to force, coddle, kick -- whatever word you want to use -- to get them to believe that they can do it."
The Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery will be held Tuesday night in Toronto, and the Leafs have an 8.1 percent chance of attaining the first pick in the upcoming draft. It will be the first process in Burke's latest attempt to get the Leafs back to the postseason for the first time since 2004, although he doesn't believe anyone in the top five can provide an immediate impact.
2012年4月4日星期三
West Side Wonder
Some college courses result in a term paper. Some finish with an exam. The more involved classes require a completed project. Students in Syracuse University associate professor Marion Wilson’s social sculpture class, however, have spent 2 years transforming a two-story drug hub on Syracuse’s Near West Side into a multifunctional community center for art and education. It sure beats the hell out of multiple choice.
Wilson’s project took shape in the abandoned drug house at 601 Tully St. starting in late 2009. As a tribute to its surrounding neighborhood, the gallery was named “601 Tully” after its street address. Wilson and her students spent months developing a vision for the community center and, along with members of the neighborhood’s GreenTrain group, brought that vision to life. The completely renovated building is now home to a community garden, artist gallery and workspace, and an after-school program for students in the surrounding neighborhood.
Each semester over the past 2 years Wilson’s class has undertaken a different facet of the overwhelming project. Early classes obtained proper zoning from the city and developed a business plan. In subsequent semesters, they held focus groups with neighbors, gathered wood and materials, created the garden outside and undertook renovations including un-barricading the boarded-up doors and windows and laying new floorboards.
Wherever possible, the students used recycled materials to complete the project. “All the seating was made by the students,” Wilson says. “The benches upstairs are old beams from the Lincoln Supply building.”
Currently, students in Wilson’s class are curating the gallery—which opened June 2011—and working on arranging new artists-in-residence to continue crafting the building. As a work of art itself, the building will never truly be finished, Wilson says.
John Cardone is a senior creative writing student at SU working on a minor in sculpture. He has been taking Wilson’s class since it began in 2010; it’s one of those unusual classes that is assigned a different course number each semester, and focuses on different projects.
“This isn’t just an academic exercise for us,” Cardone says of the project. “It’s real work with a real outcome so students get very invested. It’s more time-consuming than most classes but it’s worth it.”
The current artist-in-residence is Zeke Leonard, who reveals his ongoing project to the public at a ceremony on Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m. Leonard, an artist and full-time professor of interior design at SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, is in the process of transforming 601 Tully’s narrow stairwell into a functioning musical instrument using a series of pegs, knobs and strings.
“We wanted to create an instrument that could be played sometimes,” he says. “Not an annoying chime on a doorknob that rings every time someone walks through the door.”
Leonard’s background designing furniture and theater sets inspired his affinity for using found objects to create functional art. Seeking to minimize waste wherever possible, Leonard proves one man’s trash is, in this case, another’s pleasure. He spends 10 to 12 hours a week at 601 Tully, laboring away most afternoons and weekends to complete the project.
Other projects in the works for Leonard include developing workshops that teach community members to build guitars out of cigar boxes and broom handles—something he’s been doing as a hobby for a while. “I want to make good-sounding instruments for no money using found objects,” he says. “People shouldn’t have to spend a thousand dollars to be able to make great music.”
Wilson’s project took shape in the abandoned drug house at 601 Tully St. starting in late 2009. As a tribute to its surrounding neighborhood, the gallery was named “601 Tully” after its street address. Wilson and her students spent months developing a vision for the community center and, along with members of the neighborhood’s GreenTrain group, brought that vision to life. The completely renovated building is now home to a community garden, artist gallery and workspace, and an after-school program for students in the surrounding neighborhood.
Each semester over the past 2 years Wilson’s class has undertaken a different facet of the overwhelming project. Early classes obtained proper zoning from the city and developed a business plan. In subsequent semesters, they held focus groups with neighbors, gathered wood and materials, created the garden outside and undertook renovations including un-barricading the boarded-up doors and windows and laying new floorboards.
Wherever possible, the students used recycled materials to complete the project. “All the seating was made by the students,” Wilson says. “The benches upstairs are old beams from the Lincoln Supply building.”
Currently, students in Wilson’s class are curating the gallery—which opened June 2011—and working on arranging new artists-in-residence to continue crafting the building. As a work of art itself, the building will never truly be finished, Wilson says.
John Cardone is a senior creative writing student at SU working on a minor in sculpture. He has been taking Wilson’s class since it began in 2010; it’s one of those unusual classes that is assigned a different course number each semester, and focuses on different projects.
“This isn’t just an academic exercise for us,” Cardone says of the project. “It’s real work with a real outcome so students get very invested. It’s more time-consuming than most classes but it’s worth it.”
The current artist-in-residence is Zeke Leonard, who reveals his ongoing project to the public at a ceremony on Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m. Leonard, an artist and full-time professor of interior design at SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, is in the process of transforming 601 Tully’s narrow stairwell into a functioning musical instrument using a series of pegs, knobs and strings.
“We wanted to create an instrument that could be played sometimes,” he says. “Not an annoying chime on a doorknob that rings every time someone walks through the door.”
Leonard’s background designing furniture and theater sets inspired his affinity for using found objects to create functional art. Seeking to minimize waste wherever possible, Leonard proves one man’s trash is, in this case, another’s pleasure. He spends 10 to 12 hours a week at 601 Tully, laboring away most afternoons and weekends to complete the project.
Other projects in the works for Leonard include developing workshops that teach community members to build guitars out of cigar boxes and broom handles—something he’s been doing as a hobby for a while. “I want to make good-sounding instruments for no money using found objects,” he says. “People shouldn’t have to spend a thousand dollars to be able to make great music.”
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