Sunday, September 30, 2012

Using Live SDK in Windows 8 ? C# + JavaScript

Introduction

Live SDK provides a set of controls and APIs that enable applications to integrate single sign-on (SSO) with Microsoft accounts and access information from SkyDrive, Hotmail, and Windows Live Messenger on Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Live SDK support several platforms such as: iOS, Android and of course Windows Phone and Windows 8 applications using C# and JS.

In this demo I?ll show how to use Live SDK with Windows 8, so in order to follow this article you need to have the following installed:

  1. Windows 8 ? Download
  2. Live SDK -Live SDK downloads

Also you can assist Interactive Live SDK?

Step 1: Building Our App??

I?ve create a C#\JavaScript Blank App called ? ?LiveSdkDemo?, and add a reference to ?Live SDK? we just installed.

Step 2: Adding a ?Sign In? Button?

Before we can do anything with Live SDK we first need to ?Sign In? using our Window Live ID. To do that we need to add the ?SignInButton? control coming with Live SDK.? But just before we'll add the control let's talk about a very important thing when using Live SDK:?

Scopes:?

Before your app makes requests of the Live Connect APIs to work with Live Connect info, in most cases you must get permission from the user to access that info or to create new objects on behalf of the user. In the Live Connect APIs, this permission is called a scope. Each scope grants a different permission level.?

Live SDK Scope Types?

In this demo I?m using three Scopes:?

  • wl.signin?- ?Single sign-in behavior. With single sign-in, users who are already signed in to Live Connect are also signed in to your website.
  • wl.basic?- Read access to a user's basic profile info. Also enables read access to a user's list of contacts.
  • wl.skydrive_update?- Read and write access to a user's files stored in SkyDrive.
?
Beside Scopes I've also registered ?onSessionChange? event this will let us know when we made a successful connection and when we received an Sign In error.?

JavaScript?

I've?created a html element called ? ?signin?, in JS we need to populate the element from code.?

<p id="signin"></p> 

Now just before we can populate the ?signin? element with Live SDK button we need to call WL.init with the Scopes for this session, this function initializes the JavaScript library. An application must call this function before making other function calls to the library except for subscribing/unsubscribing to events.?

WL.Event.subscribe("auth.login", onLoginComplete);
 WL.Event.subscribe("auth.sessionChange", onSessionChange);
 WL.init({ scope: ["wl.signin", "wl.basic", "wl.skydrive_update"] });
 WL.ui({
     name: "signin",
     element: "signin"
 });  

C#?

So I?ve added a using to Microsoft.Live.Controls and add ?SignInButton? control.?

I?ve also add a TextBlock to display any errors coming from the SignIn operations.??

<Page
     x:Class="LiveSdkDemo.MainPage"
     xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
     xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
     xmlns:local="using:LiveSdkDemo"
     xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
     xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
     xmlns:live="using:Microsoft.Live.Controls"
     mc:Ignorable="d">
 
     <Grid Background="{StaticResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}">
         <live:SignInButton x:Name="btnSignin" Scopes="wl.signin wl.basic wl.skydrive_update" 
                            Branding="Skydrive" SessionChanged="OnSessionChanged" 
                            VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="141" HorizontalAlignment="Left" 
 			   Margin="100,100,0,0" />
         
         <TextBlock x:Name="txtStatus" HorizontalAlignment="Center" Margin="0" 
  	TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Center" Foreground="Red" FontSize="24"/>
     </Grid>
 </Page> 

Now let?s run our application and see what?s happens.

You?ll notice that you receive the following error:

"The app is not configured correctly to use Live Connect services. To configure your app, please follow the instructions on http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=220871."?

The reason is before we begin building this app, you need to register it with Windows Live. ?You can register your app by going to the application management site.

Then you have two steps in order to register your application:

1. You need to enter the application name and publisher (you can find it in ?Package.appxmanifest? located under project solution).??

?

After you click ?I accept?, we?ll receive a new ?Package name? and Client secret (I?ll talk about this in later posts).

?

For now all you need to do is copying the ?Package name? from the site and adding it instead the current in Package.appxmanifest.?

?

Now let?s run the application again, and after you click the ?Sign In? button you?ll see this message: (this will only appear one time)?

?

After clicking ?Yes? you should see that ?Sign In? changed to:

?

Step 3: Getting User Data?

After we made a successful Sign In we can start using Live SDK, the first thing I?ll show is how to get user data from his Live Account.

JavaScript?

Using global WL (Windows Live) object we?ll can call ?api? function to perform Ajax Requests to LiveSDK REST services. You can always use other Ajax libraries to use LiveSDK REST just call this url passing the access token:?

https://apis.live.net/v5.0/me/albums?access_token=ACCESS_TOKEN?

  • path - Required. Contains the path to the REST API object. For information on specifying paths for REST objects, see REST reference.
  • method - Optional. An HTTP method that specifies the action required for the API call. These actions are standard REST API actions: "COPY", "GET", "MOVE", "PUT", "POST", and "DELETE".
  • body - Optional. A JSON object that specifies the REST API request body. The body property is used only for "POST" and "PUT" requests.?
WL.api("me", function (data) {
     $("#txtStatus").innerHTML = "Full Name:" + data.name +
         "<br/>First Name:" + data.first_name +
         "<br/>Last Name:" + data.last_name +
         "<br/>Profile Link:" + data.link +
         "<br/>Gender:" + data.gender +
         "<br/>Locale:" + data.locale;
     $("#btnBrowse").disabled = false;
 });  

Add getting my profile picture, same goes here first define the user I want to get his picture and then the string ?picture??

WL.api("me/picture", function (data) {
     $("#userImg").src = data.location;
 }); 

Full Code:?

function onSessionChange(response) {
     var session = WL.getSession();
     if (!session.error) {
         WL.api("me", function (data) {
             $("#txtStatus").innerHTML = "Full Name:" + data.name +
                 "<br/>First Name:" + data.first_name +
                 "<br/>Last Name:" + data.last_name +
                 "<br/>Profile Link:" + data.link +
                 "<br/>Gender:" + data.gender +
                 "<br/>Locale:" + data.locale;
             $("#btnBrowse").disabled = false;
         });
         WL.api("me/picture", function (data) {
             $("#userImg").src = data.location;
         });
     }
     else {
         $("#txtStatus").textContent = session.error.message;
     }
 } 

C#?

Using?LiveConnectClient object (using our Access Token) we get the following abilities:?

  • GET?Returns a representation of a resource.
  • POST?Adds a new resource to a collection.
  • PUT?Updates a resource at the location pointed by the URL or creates a new resource, if it doesn't exist.
  • DELETE?Deletes a resource.
  • MOVE?Moves the location of a resource.
  • COPY?Duplicates a resource.?

For now I?ll use GetAsync method passing the string ?me? telling Live SDK I want to receive my information.?

this.liveClient = new LiveConnectClient(e.Session);
 var myData = await this.liveClient.GetAsync("me");
 txtStatus.Text = string.Format("Full Name:{0}\nFirst Name:{1}\nLast Name:{2}\nProfile Link:{3}\nGender:{4}\nLocale:{5}", myData.Result["name"],
                                     myData.Result["first_name"],
                                     myData.Result["last_name"],
                                     myData.Result["link"],
                                     myData.Result["gender"],
                                     myData.Result["locale"]); 

Add getting my profile picture, same goes here first define the user I want to get his picture and then the string ?picture??

var myPic = await this.liveClient.GetAsync("me/picture");
 var bmp = new BitmapImage(new Uri(myPic.Result["location"].ToString()));
 imgProfile.Source = bmp; 

Full Code:?

private LiveConnectClient liveClient;
 private async void OnSessionChanged(object sender, LiveConnectSessionChangedEventArgs e)
 {
     if (e.Status == LiveConnectSessionStatus.Connected)
     {
         this.liveClient = new LiveConnectClient(e.Session);
         var myData = await this.liveClient.GetAsync("me");
         txtStatus.Text = string.Format("Full Name:{0}\nFirst Name:{1}\nLast Name:{2}\nProfile Link:{3}\nGender:{4}\nLocale:{5}", myData.Result["name"],
                                             myData.Result["first_name"],
                                             myData.Result["last_name"],
                                             myData.Result["link"],
                                             myData.Result["gender"],
                                             myData.Result["locale"]);
         var myPic = await this.liveClient.GetAsync("me/picture");
         var bmp = new BitmapImage(new Uri(myPic.Result["location"].ToString()));
         imgProfile.Source = bmp;
     }
     else
     {
         if (e.Error != null)
         {
             txtStatus.Text = e.Error.Message;
         }
     }
 } 

Result?

?

Accessing a user's public info?

There is an exception to the rule that you must get the permission from the user before you can access his or her info: your app can access a user's publicly available info without requesting any scope. Public info includes the user's ID, first and last names, display name, gender, locale, and picture. The user's Messenger friends list is also available if the user has elected to make it public.?

For example:?I've?changed ?me? to my friend Gil Fink Live Id and here is the result:?

Step 4: Uploading File To User Folder

In this part we?ll see how to upload a file to SkyDrive using Live SDK, first I?ve added to more buttons and a progress bar so we can see the upload progress.

The first button for picking a file and the second one for starting the upload process.

Pick a File??

Because of SkyDrive file restrictions you can upload any file you want (you basically can but you need to change file extension to txt, doc or any kind of picture extension), so right now?I've?create a File Picker just for text files and word.?

JavaScript?

function openFile() {
         var openPicker = new Windows.Storage.Pickers.FileOpenPicker();
     openPicker.viewMode = Windows.Storage.Pickers.PickerViewMode.list;
     openPicker.suggestedStartLocation = Windows.Storage.Pickers.PickerLocationId.documentsLibrary;
             openPicker.fileTypeFilter.replaceAll([".txt", ".docs", ".doc"]);
         openPicker.pickSingleFileAsync().then(function (file) {
         if (file) {
                         _file = file;
             $("#btnStart").disabled = false;
             WinJS.log && WinJS.log("Picked photo: " + file.name, "sample", "status");
         } else {
             _file = undefined;
             $("#btnStart").disabled = true;
             WinJS.log && WinJS.log("Operation cancelled.", "sample", "status");
         }
     });
 } 

C#?

private async void btnPickFile_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
 {
     var fp = new FileOpenPicker();
     fp.ViewMode = PickerViewMode.List;
     fp.SuggestedStartLocation = PickerLocationId.DocumentsLibrary;
     fp.FileTypeFilter.Add(".txt");
     fp.FileTypeFilter.Add(".doc");
     fp.FileTypeFilter.Add(".docx");
     var file = await fp.PickSingleFileAsync();
     if (file != null)
     {
         _file = file;
         txtFilePath.Text = file.Path;
         btnStartUpload.IsEnabled = true;
     }
     else
     {
         _file = null;
         txtFilePath.Text = string.Empty;
         btnStartUpload.IsEnabled = false;
     }
 } 

Start Upload

JavaScript??

To Upload file using Live SDK we?ll use - WL.backgroundUpload method.

  • path - Required. The path to the file to upload.
  • file_name - Optional. The name of the file to upload.
  • file_input (StorageFile) - Optional. The file input object to read the file from.
  • stream_input - Optional. The file input stream to read the file from.
  • overwrite - Optional. Indicates whether the uploaded file should overwrite an existing copy. Specify true or "true" to overwrite, false or "false" to not overwrite and for theWL.backgroundUpload method call to fail, or "rename" to not overwrite and enable SkyDrive to assign a new name to the uploaded file.

backgroundUpload returns a Promise so we can implement code for onError and onProgress (to update the progress bar)?

WL.backgroundUpload({
     path: "me/skydrive",
     file_name: _file.fileName,
     file_input: _file,
     overwrite: "true" }).then(function (args) {
     $("#txtStatus").textContent = "Upload Completed!";
     toggle(true);
 },
 function (err) {
     $("#txtStatus").textContent = e.response;
     $("#pb").className = "hidden";
 },
 function (e) {
     $("#pb").value = Math.round(e.progressPercentage);
 }); 

C#?

Once we got a file to upload we?ll first create new Progress object of type LiveOperationProgress using this object we?ll see the upload progress and assign it to our ProgressBar.?

In order to upload the file we need to get the file Stream so just call ? OpenStreamForReadAsync to get file stream.?

Last we?ll use a built in method ?BackgroundUploadAsync?, passing the following parameters:?

  • Upload Location
  • File Name
  • File Stream
  • Overwrite Option?
  • Cancellation Token
  • Progress Handler?
private CancellationTokenSource cts;
 private async void btnStartUpload_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
 {
     if (_file == null) return;
     btnPickFile.IsEnabled = btnStartUpload.IsEnabled = false;
     txtStatus.Text = string.Format("Uploading Backup...");
     this.pb.Value = 0;
     var progressHandler = new Progress<LiveOperationProgress>(
         (progress) => { this.pb.Value = progress.ProgressPercentage; });
     var stream = await _file.OpenStreamForReadAsync();
     this.cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
     LiveOperationResult result =
         await this.liveClient.BackgroundUploadAsync("/me/skydrive", _file.Name, stream.AsInputStream(), OverwriteOption.Overwrite, this.cts.Token, progressHandler);
     txtStatus.Text = string.Format("Upload Completed!");
     btnPickFile.IsEnabled = btnStartUpload.IsEnabled = true;
 }  

Result

Step 5: Get SkyDrive Files

Now before downloading files from SkyDrive you need to know their ID, name is not enough for download using Live SDK, so to makes things simpler let?s first get all files from our SkyDrive.

Getting all files using Live SDK will also bring the file ID so we?ll be able to save those files locally.?

JavaScript?

I?ve added a ListView to our body to present the files.

<div id="fileTemplate" data-win-control="WinJS.Binding.Template">
 <div class="file">
     <span data-win-bind="textContent: id"></span>
     -
     <span data-win-bind="textContent: type"></span>
     -
     <span data-win-bind="textContent: name"></span>
     -
     <span data-win-bind="textContent: created_time"></span>
 </div>
 <div id="fileList" data-win-control="WinJS.UI.ListView"
     data-win-options="{ selectionMode: 'single',layout: { type: WinJS.UI.ListLayout}, 
                         itemTemplate:select('#fileTemplate')}">
 </div>              

Now all we need to do is using the ?api? method passing ?me/skydrive/files?, this will return all folder and files under my main folder. Once we?received?the files list from the server?I've?converted the response into List and assigned its dataSource to out ListView itemDataSource property.?

function getFiles() {
     toggle(false);
     WL.api("me/skydrive/files", function (response) {
         var skyDriveFiles = response.data;
         var dataList = new WinJS.Binding.List(skyDriveFiles);
         var files = $('#fileList').winControl;
         files.itemDataSource = dataList.dataSource;
         toggle(true);
     });
 } 

C#?

First?I've?create new object called ? SkyDriveFile to save the important data we get from SkyDrive.?

public class SkyDriveFile
 {
     public string ID { get; set; }
     public string Name { get; set; }
     public string Type { get; set; }
     public string Link { get; set; }
     public DateTime CreationDate { get; set; }
     public SkyDriveFile(dynamic fileData)
     {
         this.Name = fileData.name;
         this.ID = fileData.id;
         this.Link = fileData.link;
         this.Type = fileData.type;
         this.CreationDate = Convert.ToDateTime(fileData.created_time);
     }
 } 

I've?added a ListView to our XAML to present the files, now all we need to do is using the GetAsync method passing ?me/skydrive/files?, this will return all folder and files under my main folder.

private async void btnGetFiles_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
 {
     this.cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
     LiveOperationResult Aresult =
             await this.liveClient.GetAsync("me/skydrive/files", this.cts.Token);
     var fileList = new List<SkyDriveFile>();
     dynamic data = Aresult.Result;
     foreach (var dd in data)
     {
         foreach (var d in dd.Value)
         {
             fileList.Add(new SkyDriveFile(d));
         }
     }
     listFiles.ItemsSource = fileList;
 } 

Result?

Step 6: Download File

Now that we got all file ids we can proceed to downloading them into our machine.?

JavaScript??

To download a file using Live SDK we?ll use the ?backgroundDownload? method almost in the same way we use the ?backgroundUpload? method, but is time we need to pass the file id that we want to download and adding ?/content? after it.?

First let?s get the selected file from the fileList and create new file under Temp folder with the same name.?

list.selection.getItems().then(function (selectedFiles) {
     var fileToDownload = selectedFiles[0].data;
     list.selection.clear();
         Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.current.temporaryFolder.createFileAsync(fileToDownload.name,
         Windows.Storage.CreationCollisionOption.replaceExisting).then(function (localFile) { 

Now that we have new file under temp folder we can start the?download:

var properties = { path: fileToDownload.source, file_output: localFile, overwrite: "true" };
 WL.backgroundDownload(properties).then(function (args) {
                  $("#txtStatus").textContent = "Download Completed! - " + localFile.path;
                  toggle(true);
               }, function (err) {
                  $("#txtStatus").textContent = e.response;
                  $("#pb").className = "hidden";
               }, function (progress) {
                  $("#pb").value = Math.round(progress.progressPercentage);
               });
           });  

C#

To download a file using Live SDK we?ll use the ?BackgroundDownloadAsync? method almost in the same way we use the ?BackgroundUploadAsync? method, but is time we need to pass the file id that we want to download and adding ?/content? after it.
I?ve create a new file under Temp folder and using Stream.CopyToAsync method I?ve copied the stream I got from SkyDrive into the new file I?ve created.?

private async void btnDownloadFile_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
 {
     this.pb.Value = 0;
     var progressHandler = new Progress<LiveOperationProgress>(
         (progress) => { this.pb.Value = progress.ProgressPercentage; });
     var file = listFiles.SelectedItem as SkyDriveFile;
     txtStatus.Text = string.Format("Downloading Backup...");
     LiveDownloadOperationResult result =
         await this.liveClient.BackgroundDownloadAsync(string.Format("{0}/content", file.ID), this.cts.Token, progressHandler);
     var stream = await result.GetRandomAccessStreamAsync();
     var temp = Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.Current.TemporaryFolder;
         var localFile = await temp.CreateFileAsync(file.Name, CreationCollisionOption.GenerateUniqueName);
         var fileStream = await localFile.OpenStreamForWriteAsync();
         await stream.AsStreamForRead().CopyToAsync(fileStream);
     await fileStream.FlushAsync();
     fileStream.Dispose();
     stream.Dispose();
     txtStatus.Text = string.Format("File Save! - " + localFile.Path);
 } 

Result?


History?

Shai Raiten is VS ALM MVP, currently working for Sela Group as a ALM senior consultant and trainer specializes in Microsoft technologies especially Team System and .NET technology. He is currently consulting in various enterprises in Israel, planning and analysis Load and performance problems using Team System, building Team System customizations and adjusts ALM processes for enterprises. Shai is known as one of the top Team System experts in Israel. He conducts lectures and workshops for developers\QA and enterprises who want to specialize in Team System.
?
My Blog: http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/shair/

Source: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/468182/Using-Live-SDK-in-Windows-8-Csharp-plus-JavaScript

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Harris County Flood Insurance Rate Map and Info ? Register Real ...

Do you want information about the Harris County Flood Insurance Rate Map? Periodically the maps are updated and you can get the unofficial floodplain map if you request it. You can find out if a property you are interested in is in a flood plain (or a Special Flood Hazard Area.) If you are interested in a property in the Special Flood Hazard Area there is additional information that can help you with getting a mortgage on a property.

To get information you will need the complete legal description (Subdivision, Section, Block and Lot and/or Survey Name with Abstract Number along with a copy of the metes and bounds), the street address, and Harris County Appraisal District Tax Identification Number. Bring your documents to the Permit Office Monday-Friday at 10555 Northwest Freeway, Suite 120. It?s free and the Permit Office has completed Federal Emergency Management Agency?s (FEMA) Elevation Certificates for buildings receiving permits in the floodplain.

For an official flood plain status of your property, you may contact a flood plain determination consultant. A list of Flood Zone Determination consultants can be found at http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/fzone.1.shtm. An official determination is often required by mortgage and insurance companies. Information provided by this office is only for properties located in unincorporated areas of Harris County, Texas.

Liked this post? Share it!

Tags: elevation certificates, federal emergency management agency, FEMA, flood plain, flood plain determination consultant, flood plain map, flood plain status of a property, flood zones, Harris County, harris county flood insurance rate map, maps, permit office, special flood plain hazard area, texas

About the Author...

Shannon Register, Broker/Owner

A native of Columbus, Georgia, and a graduate of the University of Georgia, Shannon has lived in the Houston area since 2004. She holds over nine real estate Certifications and Designations. Shannon is the host of "Houston Real Estate Radio" on am700 KSEV in Houston.

Source: http://rrea.com/blog/harris-county-flood-insurance-rate-map-and-info/

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

30 billion watts and rising: balancing the internet's energy and infrastructure needs

A new report by The New York Times on the internet's energy consumption estimates that data centers worldwide use 30 billion watts of electricity, including as much as 10 billion watts in the United States alone. According to McKinsey & Company, in a report commissioned by the Times, between 6 and 12 percent of that energy powers actual computations; the rest keeps servers running in case of a surge or crash. "This is an industry dirty secret," an anonymous executive told the Times. Other sources quoted in the story call the growing energy needs of servers unsustainable and a "waste," the result of building up servers beyond current demands by companies that want "too many insurance policies" to avoid even a millisecond of downtime.

The cloud now costs 30 billion watts

"Power, Pollution and the Internet" is the first entry in a multi-part investigative series on the environmental impact of cloud computing. Judging by this opening salvo, the series promises to be sharply critical of the technology industry. It calls the industry secretive, slow to change its practices, and unrealistic in its presentation of the internet as an environmental boon ? taking particular care to single out Google, Amazon, and Facebook for specific consideration.

The report also presents a distorted and outdated view of the internet and cloud computing. It focuses on frivolous media and entertainment, or "fantasy points and league rankings, snapshots from nearly forgotten vacations kept forever in storage devices." It doesn't really grapple with the cloud as an increasingly-essential element of infrastructure, powering industry, government, finance, and commerce, as well as personal communication and data storage.

The irony is that if the cloud weren't essential, we could just give it up or scale it back

In turn, that dilutes the story's impact. It's only when we recognize that the internet isn't a pointless distraction, but is becoming as fundamental to our lives as roads, plumbing, and petroleum, that we understand why data usage and energy costs continue to grow and grow. At that point, the environmental efficiency of data centers turns into an undeniable problem. If the internet weren't so important we could just scale it back, like styrofoam containers and aerosol cans. We can't do that.

This should be what fills us with urgency. We have to make data centers more efficient; we don't have any other choice.

Concern over the growing energy costs of the internet is not new. In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a report to the US Congress predicting that data center energy usage would double by 2010, urging Congress and the industry to push for increased energy efficiency. A year ago, The New York Times asked Stanford University's Jonathan Koomey, an energy policy expert and one of the primary authors of that EPA study, to write a follow-up. That report showed that between 2005 and 2010, energy usage had increased by 56 percent worldwide and 36 percent in the US ? a much more modest increase than predicted, and attributable to both the global recession and new energy-saving measures.

Now, at the Times' Room for Debate blog, Koomey is back with a response, arguing that the benefits of information technology outweigh the costs. New servers, laptop computers, and tablets are all more energy efficient than their predecessors. Today, says Koomey, data centers use only 1.3 percent of electricity worldwide. On the same blog, Google senior VP Urs H?lzle compares that number to the 25 percent used by transportation, touting Google's improvements to server technology, and citing claims that cloud computing can save billions of dollars in energy costs and millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide.

When we use the internet, are we being environmentally reckless?

So the issue isn't that the cloud is consuming more energy and costing more money than it once did. Clearly it is, and it's a significant share of total energy costs. The issue is the overall trend line of energy consumption and whether we're realizing a net savings worth the costs. It's whether the technology industry is meeting or falling short on its claims to improve energy efficiency. Ultimately, it's whether the behavior of consumers and companies ? given the real energy costs and environmental impact of the internet ? is reasonable or reckless.

Now, it's overwhelmingly likely that for many New York Times readers much of this is new. The better infrastructure works, the more likely it will be taken for granted. Much of what we do on the internet is free, frictionless, and yes, even fun.

'It just works' isn't a great recipe for critical self-reflection

But the reason servers aren't using 100% of their energy for computation, and server farms aren't constantly running at the limits of their capacity, isn't because (as the Uptime Institute's Bruce Taylor tells the Times) "if you tell somebody they can?t access YouTube or download from Netflix, they?ll tell you it?s a God-given right." It's because that infrastructure powers our businesses, our schools, our police and fire stations, our banks and stock exchanges, and yes, our media. It's because those zippy data transfers help drive our economy, in the same way that the boom in turnpikes, canals, and railroads did 200 years ago. It's because the principle and policy of net neutrality doesn't distinguish between the goofy and the life-saving. It's because the failure of the internet, like the collapse of a bridge, can lead to genuine disasters.

Complaining that a server is only using 10 percent of its electricity on computing is like complaining that only ten percent of the human brain's neurons are firing at any given time. It's forgetting that a sharp spike in that electrical activity usually causes a seizure.

This is why the internet needs redundancy and resiliency. It's also why we need to make that redundancy count. Like any insurance policy, we've taken it out because we simply have too much to lose.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/23/3377868/cloud-internet-infrastructure-waste-energy-new-york-times

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d r i f t g l a s s: Wireless Perversity in Chicago, Ctd.

CivicNet may boost property values and redevelopment projects?

by Tom LaPorte | June 17, 2002
i-Street Magazine

Even though the city is still months away from awarding the CivicNet contracts, some leaders of the effort are already looking around the next curve on the information superhighway. CivicNet may change more than the speed of neighborhood data connections. It may have an impact on everything from property values to the alignment of suburbs.

CivicNet, of course, is the City of Chicago's strategy for bringing high-speed Internet connections to all the city's neighborhoods. By "bundling" demand across all government agencies, a single provider gets a big contract for voice
and data services. Fast connections are installed in schools, libraries and other government buildings. The result is a wired city.

Scott Goldstein, [vice president for policy and planning for the Metropolitan Planning Council]...also suggested that CivicNet in the city's neighborhoods could hold a key to redevelopment of business districts. Many neighborhoods lost retail trade to regional shopping malls and Walmart-type discount stores. But if a CivicNet strategy results in high-speed connectivity in an older business district, there could be a return migration by businesses needing or wanting high-speed access. In the same way that businesses locate near concrete highways and sources of water, they now will have to consider proximity to a network hub as a factor in their choice of locations.
...

Oh boy! I like money!

It then limped along for a little while (from March, 2004, with emphasis added):

Portions of the network could be built with local government fiber already deployed along roads and Chicago Transit Authority lines. Unfortunately, to the frustration of local business and civic leaders, the city has done very little with the project since its' conception in the late 1990s.
and eventually vanished
Kinks in plan to wire city for speed; Economy, timing strand CivicNet.(News)

Byline: JULIE JOHNSSON

A city-sponsored proposal to lace Chicago with fiber optic lines from 138th to Howard streets is stalled and appears unlikely to be revived.

The telecommunications crash, politics and a city budget crunch have combined to mothball CivicNet, a project that was supposed to put broadband within reach of every business and home in Chicago.
...

without a trace.

There were no survivors, and no one was ever rude enough to mention above a whisper that Da Mare's Big Internet Plan had turned out to be mostly boondoggle, double-talk, and political moonshine.

Then, a few years later...

March, 2006. (emphasis added) ??[Ed Note: The "Midwest Business" publication from which this quote was taken in 2009 has ceased to exist]


"After serving the post of Chicago CIO for six years, Chris O?Brien felt it was his time to move on. Hardik Bhatt, who officially succeeded O?Brien on March 13, said in an interview with ePrairie that he sees a fully Wi-Fied Windy City in 2007.

?We don?t have to be the first city,? Bhatt said about the vision of Chicagoans being able to walk a laptop from Starbucks to their laundromat and to their home without disconnecting from the high-speed Web. ?We just have to get there. I see the city being fully interconnected sometime next year.?


Yay! I still like money!

June, 2006

Chicago Takes Bids for Citywide Wi-Fi Service
In an effort to bridge the ?digital divide,? the City of Chicago is moving forward with plans to offer Internet access to all residents. On May 30, Mayor Richard Daley announced a request for proposals from vendors competing for a 10-year contract to provide wireless Internet access throughout the city.

Wi-Fi - short for Wireless Fidelity - enables mobile communications devices, like laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs), to connect to the Internet without the use of any wires or cables. A citywide wi-fi system would allow residents to have online access from virtually anywhere in the city.

June, 2007 (Video from the "City That NetWorks" summit, at which the Dukes and Duchesses of the Great City wished real hard and clapped reeeeeal loud, so that Broadband Tinklerbell would live again! I do believe in fairies!! I do! I do!)

However, Eight Weeks Later...

Chicago scraps plans for citywide Wi-Fi
Officials say it's too costly and too few residents would use it

CHICAGO - An ambitious plan to blanket the city with wireless broadband Internet will be shelved because it is too costly and too few residents would use it, Chicago officials said Tuesday.

"We realized ? after much consideration ? that we needed to reevaluate our approach to provide universal and affordable access to high speed Internet as part of the city's broader digital inclusion efforts," Chicago's chief information officer, Hardik Bhatt, said in a statement.
...

So how could someone go from promising the world to delivering nothing and still keep their job?

One might speculate that very, very lavish flattery might have helped:
?[Ed Note: The "Midwest Business" publication from which this quote was taken in 2009 has ceased to exist]

...
In working with Daley, Bhatt asserts that the mayor bleeds technology. He added: 'In a 15-minute meeting, he always gives me five or 10 points I didn't even think about. He understands very quickly and gives me a good direction. He's on top of a list of all the visionaries I've worked with at Oracle and anywhere.'

Then, a few years later...

July, 2009

Mayor Richard M. Daley today announced new initiatives to help close the ?digital divide? in Chicago neighborhoods, guided by a city-commissioned study that says that 25 per cent of Chicagoans are completely offline and that another 15 percent have limited internet access.

?The study tells us that the magnitude of the digital divide separating low-income Chicago neighborhoods is comparable to the rural-urban divide in broadband use,? Daley said in a news conference held at The Resurrection Project, 1814 S. Paulina St.

?If we want to improve the quality of life for everyone, we must work to make sure that every resident and business has access to 21st century technology in their own neighborhoods and homes,? the Mayor said.
...

Yay! Money! And so forth!

Which brings us pretty much up-to-date, except for one little-known fact: that Da Mare's people had a virtually identical proposal for a small, well-reasoned pilot program in their hands five years ago (Full disclosure; I am acquainted with some of the people who contributed to the proposal. They are, to put it mildly, a trifle cranky.) It was designed to do almost exactly what this latest plan is supposed to do: technologically uplift a specific, geographic region, then carefully test and measure the efficacy of providing near-universal high-speed internet access to that area.

It was summarily rejected not because of the price tag, but because it wasn't splashy and spectacular enough. Because it was wouldn't guarantee complete, wall-to-wall coverage of the entire city in one year and at virtually no cost.

In other words, because it didn't promise a big, steaming heap of technological magic and economic voodoo with political miracles sprinkled on top.

And because, as is all too often the case, Da Mare's people were far more interested in headline-generating gimmicks than in real solutions, in the end they went with the nice man who promised them they could have the city "fully interconnected sometime next year?, while the other other plan was sent off to rot on some forgotten library shelf.

Another of the great mysteries about this strange tale is the behavior of Da Mare's people at this critical juncture: that rather than being righteously indignant at being led down the primrose path by someone whose resume would indicate that they damn well should have known better, they instead very generously decided to let that nice man keep his new job and politely ignore the fact that the very lavish promise he made in order to secure that job was yet another cocktail of boondoggle, double-talk, and political moonshine.

Weird, isn't it?

Of course, all Chicagoans of good will should wish City Hall godspeed and good luck with this latest iteration of the Neverending Project, because:

  1. This is simply too important to fuck up again, and
  2. They are the only game in town.
However if past performance is any indicator of future outcomes, anyone who has watched the last 10 years of promises, excuses, failure, rinse and repeat should now be permanently locked into "Trust, But Verify" mode.

Because the one, clear lesson lesson which can be drawn from the last 10 years is, sadly, pretty simple: If you want to get ahead in City Gummint, when Hizzoner has one of his Special Mayor Moments and suddenly announces that the City's grave financial and structural problems can be fixed by, say, selling all of its parking meters to corporate grifters...

...or blowing hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsor a three-week sports extravaganza seven years from now...

...or, WTF, maybe inducing city pigeons into pooping out 100,000 tiny ingots of gold...

...rather than being one of those annoying, dour, ?reality based? buzz-killers and pointing out that his visionary pigeon plan might not be 100% biologically viable, instead reach deeeep into the biggest sack of horseshit you can find and say, with absolute sincerity;

?You know, Mr. Mayor, I sincerely believe wit all my heart dat doze pigeons could shit 200,000 ingots of gold ? and piss liquid platinum ? if only da right person were to be, y'know, put in charge of managing your brilliant vision.

"On behalf of all da poor children.

"An' hardworkin' mudders.

"An' old people.

"Of da Great City of Chicago.

"Dat we all love so much."


Or, as Evilene eloquently explained 30 years ago in ?The Wiz?, if you want to succeed in the viper pit of City Hall office politics, the one thing you never, ever want to do is bring Hizzoner no bad news:

?Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News?
When I wake up in the afternoon
Which it pleases me to do
Don't nobody bring me no bad news
'Cause I wake up already negative
And I've wired up my fuse
So don't nobody bring me no bad news

If we're going to be buddies
Better bone up on the rules
'Cause don't nobody bring me no bad news
You can be my best of friends
As opposed to payin' dues
But don't nobody bring me no bad news

No bad news
No bad news
Don't you ever bring me no bad news
'Cause I'll make you an offer, child
That you cannot refuse
So don't nobody bring me no bad news

When you're talking to me
Don't be cryin' the blues
'Cause don't nobody bring me no bad news
You can verbalize and vocalize
But just bring me the clues
But don't nobody bring me no bad news

Bring some message in your head
Or in something you can't lose
But don't you ever bring me no bad news
If you're gonna bring me something
Bring me, something I can use
But don't you bring me no bad news

* (Title respectfully pilfered from this early play by David Mamet, and subsequently abused by me)

Source: http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2012/09/wireless-perversity-in-chicago-ctd.html

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Friday, September 21, 2012

Buying the Stuff Your Stuff Needs | Umbral Ciencia

You need stuff, and your stuff needs stuff. So much stuff! But buying the right stuff for your stuff can help you need less stuff in the long run. You like your stuff, so take care of it. This is the stuff you need.

Nobody ever seems to have enough money. Why do we need so much money? To pay for our stuff. Even if you don?t spend frivolously, you still buy stuff ? much of it important for survival and the continued acquisition of money, which enables you to buy more stuff.

So how can you ease the financial burden? Buying less stuff? Well, yeah ? but only to a point. An even better bet is to take really good care of the stuff you already have, so you don?t need to replace it so often. Shoppers rejoice ? this approach requires more stuff. But mostly little stuff that will pay for itself in the long run.

Let?s take a look at your biggest expenses, and the little things you can do that pay off big:

Home

You?re probably already well-versed in cleaning supplies, so we won?t go into that here. But don?t overlook the other tools that can help you take care of your house. Yes, tools as in tools. Like, a basic tool set, at least. Accumulate a hammer, a couple of screwdrivers, a set of pliers, a drill, and you can take care of most minor repairs yourself (with some Google help). Add additional power or specialty tools as interest/need dictates.

Don?t spend big bucks for one-time need equipment, because your local home improvement store rents them out by the day. If you have young kids or pets, however, a carpet cleaner of your very own might actually be a better investment than frequent rental.

Outside, you need a lawn mower and various gardening tools depending upon the size of your yard. Spring for the trimmer tool with interchangeable heads ? it?s a larger up-front investment, but it?s multifunctional and will save both space and money. A pressure washer is also a handy little thing to keep around, and an instant gratification way of keeping algae and mildew off your house and patio.

Food

It?s easy to overlook food as a thing that needs care, but think about how your grocery expenditure relates to your other bills. It?s likely a pretty big percentage, and it?s not something that can be canceled. You need food to survive. No getting around it. But taking care of your food can help it last longer, so you can buy in bulk and throw less stuff away.

Make sure your fridge is set at 36-38 degrees Fahrenheit, and set your freezer between 0 and 5 degrees. A full fridge cools more efficiently than an empty one, so there?s that. Don?t put hot foods in the fridge until they cool because it raises the inside temperature. Use your crisper drawers to store produce ? that?s what they?re for, and they regulate humidity to keep fresh things fresh for a longer period of time.

Invest in a vacuum sealer ? it?s not only fun to do, but it?s a great way to store foods long-term without risking freezer burn. At the very least, stock up on quality plastic containers with properly fitting lids ? these are especially handy for storing dry goods like grains and pasta. Store spices in a cool, dry place (not over the stove) to retain flavor and color, and keep oils in dark glass bottles away from direct light.

Clothing

Keep a sewing kit around to replace buttons, repair rips and mend fallen hems. An ironing board with a nice padded cover helps keep your clothes looking neat ? ironing on the bed doesn?t quite cut it. If you wear lots of tailored clothes, invest in a few ironing forms to help maintain the shape of your garments.

Speaking of shape, throw away all wire and tubular plastic hangers and pick up some thick wooden ones. Bulkier hangers support your clothes better and not only help with shaping, but also prevent delicate straps and sleeves from stretching out. A lingerie bag helps keeps delicates safe in the wash by preventing friction and snagging with other clothing.

Remember that vacuum sealer from the kitchen? The same concept works for clothes. For long-term storage, grab some vacuum seal bags to pack your stuff in, attach your vacuum hose and suck out the air. It saves space and also prevents moths and other critters from munching your delicious threads.

Vehicle

If you?ve invested in a car, it only makes sense to take care of it. Car problems are much cheaper to prevent than repair, and it really doesn?t take much. Learn to change your oil yourself ? about $ 20 at the local auto parts store will replace the $ 50 lube shop run ? and it?s not that hard, so don?t be intimidated. You will get dirty, though!

There?s no need for specialty car washes and such, but do pick up a can of wax and learn to apply it. This will protect your top coat and keep your car looking new. Don?t spend money on car-specific vacuums and cleaning tools, because the stuff you use in your home works just as well.

Most budget car care is less about buying stuff and more about avoiding the mechanic. Google is your friend. Learn to replace belts, light bulbs, tires, etc., and your car will run beautifully on the cheap. Stop being intimidated by all the grimy parts under the hood, and learn what they are. Plunge your hand in there (not while it?s hot) and explore. It?s not rocket science.

With a little regular maintenance, your old stuff can be the best-looking stuff around. Who needs new stuff?

Source: http://www.umbralciencia.net/buying-the-stuff-your-stuff-needs/

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Khloe Kardashian in running for "X Factor" host

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Friday, September 7, 2012

Few jobs, dim hopes feed circle of strife in South Africa

[JOHANNESBURG] With the largest reserves of more than a dozen minerals, South Africa is not about to run out of riches. Yet the unrest rumbling through its mining industry reflects the deepening failure of Africa's largest economy, almost two decades after the end of apartheid, to tap its natural wealth for the lasting benefit of all its citizens.

On Monday, police used tear gas to disperse strikers at a gold mine near Johannesburg. This came not long after the worst violence of the post-apartheid era: on Aug 16, police at a platinum mine owned by Lonmin Plc used live ammunition to turn back strikers armed with spears and machetes, killing 34 of them. The workers were demanding a near-doubling of their monthly pay to 12,500 rand (S$1,855). They were also fighting with one another, in a clash triggered by a breakaway union.

South Africa's mining industry - which generates nearly one-tenth of its gross domestic product and half its foreign exchange, and provides about 500,000 jobs - has been hard hit by slowing demand from China and Europe. (The price of platinum, for example, which is used in catalytic converters for cars, slumped with sluggish auto sales in Europe.)

But the country's economic problems go well beyond that. Unemployment, now at 25 per cent, has not dipped below 22 per cent since 2000; the level of inequality, as measured by South Africa's Gini coefficient, is worse now than at the end of apartheid.

Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/economy-watch/few-jobs-dim-hopes-feed-circle-strife-south-africa-20120906

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Secret Service Arrests Man For Threatening To Assassinate Obama On Twitter

6 Sep 2012, 2:56 PM PDT post a comment

Donte Jamar Sims told Secret Service agents he tweeted threats like "Ima hitpresident Obama with that Lee Harvey Oswald swag" because he hated Obama.?

Sims also said he was "high on marijuana when he made the threats," which included tweets such as ?Well Ima Assassinate president Obama this evening !...Gotta get this monkey off my chest while he's in town -_-.?.

Sims also tweeted that the Secret Service "is gonna be defenseless once I aim the Assault Rifle at Barack?s Forehead? F* the #DNC.?

A Secret Service Intelligence Specialist discovered Sims' tweets on September 3, which led to Sims arrest. Sims is currently locked up, awaiting a hearing on Tuesday.

Sims' Twitter account is @DestroyLeague_D and the tweets for which he was arrested can be seen below:


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BigGovernment/~3/w0tmXXm8rgw/Secret-Service-Arrests-Man-For-Threatening-To-Assassinate-Obama-On-Twitter

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Monday, September 3, 2012

Secret Spices create delicious range for puddings ... - Food &#39;n&#39; Drink

By Alan, on September 3rd, 2012

Secret Spices create delicious range for puddings and desserts

Secret Spices create delicious range for puddings and desserts

The first food tasting company in the UK are extremely proud at being the first to launch a seasoning mix that is sweet amongst their latest additions to their Secret Spices range.

The Secret Vanilla Pudding Spices are a clever combination of ginger, ground coriander seed, vanilla, cinnamon and their secret ingredient; roasted cassia.

Also known as Chinese cinnamon, Cassia is similar in appearance to cinnamon bark but with a stronger taste. Roasting the cassia gives is a unique and quite wonderful toasted flavour, and makes the Secret Vanilla Pudding Spices a must have for that comfort baking in the autumn and winter.

It adds a tasty twist to all desserts and puddings, and is wonderful in an English apple pie.

Phil Moran, co-founder, commented ?There are so many varieties of savoury seasonings in the market place, why not sweet? Our Vanilla Pudding Secret Spices help continue our quest to provide people with different ingredients that have a multitude of uses. You can use it as a sweet topping for drinks, mixing into custard or dusting onto popcorn or marshmallows?

Another new addition is the?Firecracker Chilli Secret Spice.?This seasoning is simply bursting with fiery flavours thanks to an authentic blend of Mexico?s ?holy trinity? of chillies. This includes the sweet and mild ancho, the dark and liquorice-like pasilla, and the red and fruity guajillo. Together with the flavours and spicy heat of cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic and Mexican oregano, this Secret Spice is so much easier to use than fresh chillies ? just ? tsp will replace one small red chilli.

Both Secret Spices are priced at ?4.49 and available from?www.mysecretkitchen.com?or through a?home tasting?via My Secret Kitchen independent team of consultants.

Related posts:

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Source: http://www.foodndrink.co.uk/christmas-food/secret-spices-create-delicious-range-for-puddings-and-desserts/

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Sunday, September 2, 2012

Small business hiring is up in Dallas in August | Biz Beat Blog

Dallas saw a slight uptick in small business hiring in August, according to a new economic indicator released today by SurePayroll.

While hiring was up 0.4 percent in August from July, the average paycheck in Dallas dipped 0.1 percent month over month, according to the?Small Business Scorecard.

Nationwide, hiring was down 0.1 percent, while the average paycheck fell 0.2 percent.

In July, Texas added 17,800 jobs, the 24th straight month of employment gains.

?

This entry was posted in Employment and tagged small business hiring, SurePayroll by Hanah Cho. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2012/08/small-business-hiring-is-up-in-dallas-in-august.html/

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Venezuela restarts two refinery units after blast

CARACAS (Reuters) - Workers have restarted two key production units at Venezuela's biggest refinery after an explosion a week ago that killed nearly 50 people, sparked a huge fire and halted operations at the facility, state oil company PDVSA said on Friday.

Firefighters battled for days to put out burning storage tanks. None of the production units were affected, but were temporarily taken off line at the 645,000 barrel per day Amuay refinery, which is part of the second-biggest refinery complex in the world.

"Operational activities have resumed safely and gradually," PDVSA said in a statement, adding that two crude distillation units with a combined capacity of 160,000 bpd were now running, and that a third was due to restart soon.

It said other smaller processing units, including ones that make naphtha and kerosene and have a combined capacity of about 58,000 bpd, were also operating normally.

The authorities are investigating what may have caused a gas leak that led to Saturday's pre-dawn blast. In addition to those killed, the explosion wrecked about 200 nearby homes.

The accident was the global oil industry's most deadly in recent years, nearing the toll of a fire that killed 56 people in 1997 at India's Visakhapatnam refinery.

Experts say PDVSA might have to run Amuay's restart process more slowly than normal following the blast, while workers continue to clear debris, cool the area affected by the blaze and check the system for any more leaks or other problems.

The water, power and steam supplies to the Amuay refinery, which by itself is the world's fourth biggest, were not interrupted by the disaster, however, which should help save some time.

One oil industry source said that the damage to the refinery could end up costing about $3 billion, but that PDVSA has yet to choose a company to carry out an audit.

As operations begin to return to normal, PDVSA said two tankers were loaded on Friday with a total of 510,000 barrels of oil products for the domestic market from docks at Amuay and the neighboring Cardon refinery.

Four more tankers were waiting to be loaded, the company said, one bound for an oil storage terminal in the Caribbean and another destined for Africa.

(Writing by Daniel Wallis; editing by Carol Bishopric)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-restarts-two-refinery-units-blast-013217358.html

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Isaac finally leaves Gulf; uncertainty fills gap

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney left, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, center, greet residents displaced by Isaac in Lafitte, La., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Isaac is now a tropical depression, with the center on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain through the regions. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney left, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, center, greet residents displaced by Isaac in Lafitte, La., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Isaac is now a tropical depression, with the center on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain through the regions. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Tony Miranda takes a break from clearing out his home after it was flooded by Hurricane Isaac in LaPlace, La., Friday Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/The Advocate. Arthur D. Lauck)

Tony Rodriguez, right, carries his baby daughter Nicole as they and his wife Jodi Clelland leave their flooded home in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac in Slidell, La., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Isaac is now a tropical depression and the center was on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain as it goes. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

An injured horse tries to free itself mud in the aftermath of Isaac Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, in Ironton, La. Isaac is now a tropical depression, with the center on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain through the regions. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Floodwaters surround a church in the aftermath of Isaac Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, in Ironton, La. Isaac is now a tropical depression, with the center on track to cross Arkansas on Friday and southern Missouri on Friday night, spreading rain through the regions. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

BELLE CHASSE, La. (AP) ? As Isaac's drenching rains and cooling winds drifted north of the Gulf Coast, heat and humidity moved back in ? along with frustration, exhaustion and uncertainty.

People stuck inside stuffy, powerless homes were comparatively lucky. Thousands of others were displaced by floodwaters and had no idea where they would end up next. Some boarded buses to faraway shelters.

"I'm with my family, and my wife's with her family," said 35-year-old construction worker Jarvis Mackey as the couple and their two children boarded a bus to Shreveport, 5? hours away from their Port Sulphur home, which lay underwater.

"All we can do is pray ? pray we come back home to something," Mackey said.

LaPlace resident Roshonda Girrad was staying in a state-run shelter in Alexandria, 200 miles from her home. She was waiting for the chest-deep waters in her neighborhood to recede.

The massive, beige, windowless shelter next to Louisiana State University's Alexandria campus is currently home to almost 1,600 evacuees who either drove themselves or were bused in from various parishes inundated by rain from Isaac and the rising water from Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas.

"The showers are horrible. The food is horrible," Girrad said. "I'm not from around here. I don't know what's going on. We're in the dark."

As the Labor Day holiday weekend got under way, so did what was certain to be a long, slow recovery for Louisiana.

Motorists ventured out as power came back on and businesses reopened, clogging intersections with no traffic lights and forming long lines at gas stations. The Mississippi River opened to limited traffic, and in New Orleans, the normally lively French Quarter awoke from its nearly weeklong slumber.

Isaac dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in some spots, and about 500 people had to be rescued by boat or high-water vehicles. Thousands remained in shelters late Friday. At least seven people were killed in the storm in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Isaac remained a powerful storm system carrying rain and the threat of flash flooding as it lumbered across Arkansas into Missouri and then up the Ohio River valley over the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

The storm knocked out power to thousands of people in Arkansas, and Ohio hotel operators said their holiday weekend business was already taking a hit as families canceled planned outings to theme parks.

Meanwhile, newly nominated Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited flood-ravaged communities, and President Barack Obama said he would arrive Monday ? appearances this part of the country is all too familiar with after Hurricane Katrina in 2007 and the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

In Lafitte, a fishing village south of New Orleans, Romney saw waterlogged homes, roads covered with brown water and debris-strewn neighborhoods. The GOP-friendly community is outside of the federal levee system that spared New Orleans and it lies on an exposed stretch of land near the Gulf.

Romney met along a highway with fellow Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and they spoke about challenges facing the stricken area, which relies on fishing for its livelihood.

"I'm here to learn and obviously to draw some attention to what's going on here," Romney said. "So that people around the country know that people down here need help."

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., had a message for Romney as she shared a podium in Belle Chasse with Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate: The $2 billion a year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has for the nation's flood protection and coastal restoration efforts is insufficient.

"We could absorb $1 billion ? at least 50 percent of that ? alone," she said.

"I realize he's all about cutting this federal government," Landrieu said of Romney, "but this is one agency that cannot ? absolutely cannot ? take any additional cuts."

The Gulf Coast needs a state-of-the-art, comprehensive flood protection system, she said, calling it "just inconceivable" that hundreds if not thousands of people still see water up to their rooftops.

To the east, officials pumped and released water from a reservoir, easing the pressure behind an Isaac-stressed dam in Mississippi on the Louisiana border. The threat for the earthen dam on Lake Tangipahoa prompted evacuations in small towns and rural areas.

Crews intentionally breached a levee that was strained by Isaac's floodwaters in southeast Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, which is outside the federal levee system. Parish President Billy Nungesser said the work was slow-going.

Workers were only able to reach one spot, he said, and 10 to 12 cuts were planned. The levee is cut as the tide goes out, he said, then patched while the tide comes back.

The storm cut power to 901,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana alone, or about 47 percent of the state, but that was down to fewer than 620,000 by late Friday.

More than 15,000 utility workers began restoring power to customers there and in Mississippi, but officials said it would be days before power was fully restored.

Farmer Matt Ranatza fled with his disabled wife from Jesuit Bend to Metairie, about 25 miles away, before the storm hit. He didn't get any water in his house but has no power. Now he fears the electricity won't be restored for at least a month ? the same length of time he was displaced after Hurricane Gustav in 2008.

"It's priorities. It's triage, you know?" he said. "I mean, the city's got to get theirs first and then ... it trickles down to us."

While Ranatza could travel back and forth to check on his more than 200-acre citrus and vegetable farm, others like Lisa Encalade found water blocking the way to their homes.

The 42-year-old stay-at-home mom was headed to Shreveport, nearly 380 miles north of her home in Pointe a La Hache, with her five sons ranging in age from 8 to 21 years old. She has no idea when she'll return.

"I'm just going to put my hand in the hand of the man up above and take it from there, have my faith in God because it's all I can do," she said.

Sixty-year-old June DeMolle was displaced from her home in Pointe a La Hache for three years after Katrina. "They're telling us it's going to be less time. They're going to get us back home as fast as they can," she said, sounding skeptical.

But others like Diamond resident Reginald Fountain, 45, said the risk of such storms comes with the territory in south Louisiana.

"This is where our home is, where we have our roots, our family," Fountain said as he also boarded a bus to Shreveport with his mother, brother, a niece and a nephew. "We know the consequences of living where we live. That's why we have homeowners' insurance, flood insurance, wind insurance. It's expensive ... but it's what we do now."

___

Plaisance reported from Lafitte. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt in Lafitte; Brian Schwaner and Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans; Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge; Kevin McGill in Houma; Sheila Kumar in Alexandria; and Holbrook Mohr in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-01-Isaac/id-f0bfc8cbd97f43bc9a0a9fcd0d941c64

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