MAUGHAN's REPLY TO BUENSUCESO's DEC 30, 2013 E-MAIL

Dec 30 (2 days ago) Maughan, James@Waterboards
to me, Liz.Haven, Jonathan.Bishop, shellresearchw.

Mr. Antonio Buensuceso Jr.,

I want to be clear to you, because I do recognize that this exchange of emails from you has gone on for a very long time.

First we did not receive any other documents from you other than the ones that we have sent back to you already per your request.  We have not kept the “Original” ERES document, so the only conclusion is that you sent us a copy.  You will notice that the ERES document that we sent back to you has our original stamp of receipt by our office.  The stamp has the date and time we received that document from you.  This confirms that was the document we received from you and have returned to you.

Concerning the request for educational transcripts from you, this is a request that we make to all applicants and all comply with this request in order to take the exam.  It is the only way we can make a determination of educational credits that can be awarded to the applicant.

Section 3700(a)(3)- of the operator certification regulations states “ a copy of a high school diploma or equivalent; college transcripts; graduate school transcripts; report cards; certificates of completion for wastewater treatment and management courses; and chemical, civil, or mechanical engineering registrations issued by California or another state, a territory, or Indian tribe, to verify completion of educations requirements.” (This except is found on page 32 of the regulations).  Here is the link to the regulations:

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/operator_certification/docs/ocr_clean.pdf

We do not have the reviewers sign a copy of your documents and return them to the applicants.  The country of origin was circled to make highlight that the education was received in a foreign country.  I again sincerely apologize if that caused you any distress.  We do not discriminate against anyone wishing to take the exam.  We have many applicants who apply from other countries and all are welcome.

Mr. Buensuceso, I honestly do not know what else I can do for you if you are unwilling to submit your transcripts to us.  I wish you the best in your pursuits.

Sincerely

James Maughan

Acting Deputy Director,  Division of Financial Assistance

916-341-5694

jmaughan@waterboards.ca.gov

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Auld Lang Syne

                 Auld Lang Syne by Sisse

          A special welcome to the New Year!

Landscape ... exquisite!
Animals ... superb!
Soloist ... excellent!

                New Year wish ...

          Welcome with love and promising!
           Beautiful photography and music!

               HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SHARED BY ALFRED CLAYTON

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

SHELL OIL SPONSORED BELGIAN GRAND PRIX PRANKED

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

PALM OIL DEFORESTATION

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

SAMPLE OF EMPLOYEES "DEDICATION" TO SERVICE

YOU ARE AS IF A VOLLEY BALL 
BEING TOSSED AROUND HERE....

Hernandez, Anna@Waterboards Anna.Hernandez@waterboards.ca.gov via va3outboundpool.messaging.microsoft.com	1:50 AM (13 hours ago)
to me

I am currently out of the office, I shall return on Tuesday, December 31, 2013.  For immediate assistance, please contact Wes Wilkinson at (916) 341-5131. Thank you.

Wilkinson, Wes@Waterboards Wes.Wilkinson@waterboards.ca.gov via va3outboundpool.messaging.microsoft.com	1:50 AM (13 hours ago)
to me

I am currently out of the office.  If this needs immediate assistance please contact Anna Hernandez at(916) 341-5909.  I will be returning on Thursday, January 2, 2014.   Thank you.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

FROM AMAZINGLY TIMED PHOTOS DOT COM

What is going on here

Beautiful Purple Snail

Ant pushing a water droplet

Bubble with a lake in the back

Two header cattle

Punching through water

Owl under the moon

Moon creates a nice waterfall

Beautiful Transparent fish

Birds are beautiful to see

Airplane passes over an eclipse

Love their white mustachesMoon creates a nice waterfall

Amazing kayaking trip at sea

Amazing photo of Waterspout Strikes, Tampa Bay, Florida

The Coolest Science of 2013

December 24, 2013

The Coolest Science of 2013, in GIFs

||

|SHARE ON REDDITREDDIT|SHARE ON DIGGDIGG|SHARE ON STUMBLEUPONSTUMBLE|SHARE ON EMAILEMAIL|MORE SHARING SERVICESMORE

An electronic circuit that dissolves in the presence of water. From video by University of Illinois

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a GIF is easily worth a million. The file format—which uses a series of images to produce a looping video, like a flip book—is a tremendous way to convey all sorts of moving wonders, and 2013 was the year that the GIF truly went mainstream, with GIFs of celebrities, sports and politicians filling the Web.

But 2013 was also a banner year for science—so much so that the word ‘science’ was Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. It’s appropriate, then, that we use the GIF to explore some of the coolest, weirdest, most remarkable science stories of 2013. What follows is a non-exhaustive list of amazing science GIFs from 2013, in no particular order.

Top: Dissolving Electronics

Over the past few years, the University of Illinois lab led by John Rogers (one of Smithsonian magazine’s American Ingenuity Award Winners) has engineered all sorts of amazing devices that bridge the gap between biology and technology: stretchable batteries that could be used in wearable gadgets or medical implants, tiny LEDs that can be implanted in the brain to manipulate individual neurons and ultrathin electronics that can graft circuits onto human skin.

Perhaps the most amazing creation, though, is their entirely dissolvable electronic circuit, which could someday be used in environmental monitoring and medical devices so that circuitry disappears after it’s no longer needed.

A Solar Eruption

From video by NASA

Solar activity, as you might imagine, can get pretty intense. In February, NASA released a video of a particularly turbulent day in the life of the sun, as a trio of events—a solar flare, a coronal mass ejection and shifting of magnetic field lines in the Sun’s atmosphere—all occurred at the same time.

Pitch Drop

From video via Trinity College, GIF via It’s Okay To Be Smart

In 1944, Trinity College physicist Ernest Walton set up one of two pitch-drop experiments worldwide, seeking to experimentally prove that pitch is a viscous, flowing material. Walton has since died, but 69 years after his legendary experiment began, Trinity researchers finally managed to catch a drop of pitch falling on camera this past July.

Chelyabinsk Meteor

Video and GIF via Gifric

In February, a massive, 12,000-ton meteor—the largest known to hit Earth since 1908—flew through the skies above Chelyabinsk, Russia at 60 times the speed of sound and shattered into pieces. The meteor caused damaged to about 7,200 buildings and caused nearly 1,500 people to seek medical attention for injuries. Luckily, no one was killed; luckier still, dozens of local residents caught the event on camera.

A Thought Moves Through a Fish’s Brain

From video via Current Biology, Muto et. al.

This one seriously sounds like science fiction: In the GIF above, that tiny purple blip zigging and zagging around is an individual thought of a zebrafish, moving around its brain.

Japanese scientists captured it by using a probe sensitive to florescence, relying upon a particular gene called GCaMP that reacts to the presence of calcium ions by fluorescing brightly. Because calcium concentrations fluctuate when neurons fire, the florescent spot is the location of neuron activity in the fish’s brain.  This was confirmed by the fact that the pattern above occurred after the researchers released a paramecium into the fish’s environment—and the particular brain areas activated matched the neurons that fired when the fish visually tracked a dot moving around in the same directions.

A Washcloth is Squeezed in Space

From video by Canadian Space Agency, GIF via io9

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who spent 166 days at the International Space Station before returning in May, is the ideal astronaut for the social media era: he frequently tweeted photos from space and posted videos to his followers on YouTube, who number just over one million, to show what life in space is really like. In April, in response to a question submitted by high school students, he posted a video showing what happens when you try to wring out a washcloth in the space station’s zero-gravity environment. Spoiler: it’s not too easy.

Artificial Muscles Dance

From video courtesy of Dr. Mingming Ma

Put these thin black polymer films down on a moist surface, and they’ll dance around of their own accord. In January, a group of MIT researchers revealed a special polymer that can move on its own, harnessing the energy present in water. They envision the material someday being useful in powering tiny electronics, utilizing an energy source that’s already abundant in the environment.

A Red Batfish Eats

From video by Enoshima Aquariaum

In October, our Smart News bloggers called attention to one of the ocean’s most peculiar creatures: the red batfish, found on the continental shelves of the Pacific. The GIF above, taken from a video filmed at Enoshima Aquarium in Fujisawa, Japan, shows the creature feeding on a piece of krill.

A Pineapple Rots

From video by Temponaut Timelapse

A pineapple, a time-lapse camera, and two months of time: That’s all you need to document the process of decomposition in a uniquely clear (and revolting) way. The video above, released in August, shows bacteria, fungi and ants hard at work, breaking down succulent pineapple flesh that was left out to be filmed as it decomposed.

The folks at Temponaut Timelapse have created all sorts of remarkable timelapses, of subjects both beautiful (New York City’s skyline, for instance) and wonderfully repulsive (rotting strawberries, bananas and grapes).

A Chain Levitates

From video by Earth Unplugged, GIF via io9

In June, a video that made the rounds seemed to depict the impossible: Earth Unplugged showed how a bead chain can appear to levitate as one end falls out of a beaker. As it turns out, there’s no magic involved, but rather a fascinating scientific explanation. Once some beads are dropped out of the container, their momentum pulls more beads along with them, and the limited flexibility of the chain causes it to assume shapes that appear to defy gravity as it falls.

***

Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week.

Posted By: Joseph Stromberg — Biology,Fish,Physics,Solar System,Space exploration,Technology,Wildlife | Link | Comments (0)

Read more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2013/12/the-coolest-science-of-2013-in-gifs/#ixzz2ohzhJtkf 
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12!: http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv 
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter



The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Merry Christmas from John Donovan

Merry Christmas from John Donovan

Dec 25th, 2013 

by John Donovan. 

No comments yet

The vast majority of people at Royal Dutch Shell are decent hard working individuals. I would like to wish them and all of the contributors and visitors to this website, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

From John Donovan

The TRUTH will set you FREE.