FIS has announced a partnership with

Savevid.com is a tool which gives you the ability to download videos from streaming video sites. You can download videos from Youtube, Google Videos, Metacafe, Spike and more in FLV, AVI, MOV, MPG or WMV formats.

Josip Heit, GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG: "GSB Group develops high-tech block chain and cryptotechnical products for communication networks under the aspect of a climate-friendly orientation

I recently wrote that Facebook should be regulated like a utility, but maybe social media is more like an addictive, harmful drug than a utility. The companies that push social media on us are like drug dealers. Given my libertarian sympathies, adults should generally be free to use the drugs they want, but society should regulate promotion and distribution of the substance and protect children from being preyed upon by the dealers.

The real problem with Facebook's behavior is the revelation of its rampant institutional lying. In the XCheck story, we learned that after Facebook spent more than $130 million to create an Independent Oversight Board to oversee its content-moderation decisions, Facebook executives routinely lied to that board. Facebook told the Oversight Board that XCheck was only used in "a small number of decisions," even though the program had grown to include 5.8 million users in 2020.

"We're not actually doing what we say we do publicly," and the company's actions constitute a "breach of trust," reads a confidential internal review done by Facebook.
We also learned -- shockingly -- that the CEO and COO of the trillion-dollar behemoth are regularly involved in decisions of what posts to remove when such posts are made by certain people who are exempted from Facebook's community guidelines and content-moderation procedures. This is all while Facebook asserted that it applied the same standards to everyone.

Apparently, XCheck was created to mitigate "p.r. fires" or negative media attentions when Facebook takes the wrong action against a high-profile VIP. Even worse than the existence of the XCheck program was Facebook's dishonesty about it, reflecting the state of mind of a company that knew it was doing something wrong -- and still did it anyway.

These revelations strengthen the case that Facebook likely serves increasingly as the censorship arm of the US government, just as it does for other governments around the world.

That last sentence gets to the heart of the matter, and explains why collective action against social media dealers has been so slow: the elite class wants to control our speech, and is happy to use social media dealers to do it.

Facebook is soma.

What is soma in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? In the context of the novel, soma is a recreational drug that several of the main characters take throughout the story. The government in Brave New World strongly encourages individuals to take soma as a way to increase the happiness and complacency of the population. Soma can be taken as a pill or as a powder and can also be released as an aerosol. It is freely available to everyone in the novel. Its inclusion in the text is central to the novel's themes of complacency and resistance in society as well as the theme of escapism.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 11, 2024 ) The report "Industrial Utility Communication Market by Technology (Wired, Wireless), Component (Hardware, Software, Services), End-use Industry( Power Generation, , AC Transmission, Oil & Gas, Transportation), and Region - Global Forecast to 2028" The global Industrial...

A new utility that resolves an IP address from a given hostname (and vice versa) has just been released.

Sometimes Excel spreadsheets contain locked sheets that cannot be updated without entering a password. This free online utility removes the password protection from any Excel spreadsheet.

E-government serves as a vital channel for citizen interactions with the public sector, where user enjoyment is of paramount importance. To date, few studies have comprehensively examined the determinants of citizen enjoyment in e-government. To address this research gap, we administered a survey and gathered data from 363 Australian residents using myGov for tax filing. Our analysis revealed a pronounced discrepancy between reported enjoyment and the intention to continue using the services. Although users demonstrated a strong intent to use e-government services, this intent did not uniformly align with enjoyment. Additionally, informed by self-determination theory, we developed and tested an e-government service enjoyment model to study the impacts of effort expectancy, technophilia, technology humanness, and engagement in fostering user enjoyment. Unexpectedly, the results showed that information privacy concerns, commonly seen as a deterrent in e-government adoption, did not significantly affect enjoyment. Our findings advance the discourse on e-government service improvement.

Iperius is a complete backup utility for Windows that can be used by both home users and Company servers (without any time/license limitation). Iperius also has different paid editions available, which allow for making advanced backup types, su...

New for fall ’24, KEEN Utility’s Overton is a versatile, throwback-inspired work shoe that is safe, comfortable and unexpected.

The Slice 10558 Smart-Retracting Utility Knife features Smart Retract technology and the Ergo Pull slider.

The Slice 10490 Manual Metal-Handle Utility Knife has the feel of a traditional utility knife, with a thick, heavy-texture metal handle for a comfortable grip.

The L-5 Heavy-Duty Fiberglass-Reinforced Ratchet-Lock Utility Knife with Multi-Pick has a fiberglass-reinforced handle and wraparound anti-slip grip that stand up to everyday rigors on the toughest jobsites.

The Leather Utility Wide Cuff glove features an extra-wide 6-inch cuff for improved comfort, airflow and accommodation of winter clothing. It is made from 100 percent durable goatskin leather and has knuckle reinforcements to protect against scrapes and bumps. The glove meets NFPA 70E standards, and is ARC-rated to 20.8 cal/cm², giving it a HRC 2 Level rating.

Youngstown Glove Co.

Made of synthetic rope, this 50-foot lifeline is designed for electricians, linemen, arborists and other workers who need to climb ladders that are leaning on a pole.

Tallahassee, FL – Florida legislators have expanded the state’s “Move-Over Act” to include protections for workers who operate or ride in or on sanitation and utility service vehicles.

The System Clean Up Utility feature effectively enables a swift and thorough cleanup of invalid or outdated access control data, resulting in enhanced system management and security.

Safety+Health looks at some of the common hazards that workers from different types of utilities face on the job.

St. Paul, MN — Legislation recently signed into law by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) updates excavation safety statutes with utility worker safety in mind.

The Slice Smart-Retract Utility Knife combines a patented ceramic blade with the next advancement in safety features: smart-retract technology.

Cincinnati — Utility workers have the highest occurrence of hearing loss among noise-exposed workers in all industries, results of a recent NIOSH study show.

The Slice Auto-Retractable Squeeze-Trigger Utility Knife is integrated with a proprietary finger-friendly blade that’s designed to be safe to the touch.

Defining the fundamentals of vacuum and discussing the utility applications of oil-sealed vacuum technology.

NW Natural talks up its climate strategy, but new legal challenges say the company has spent years lying about the environmental impact of natural gas. by Taylor Griggs

For years, environmental advocates have said NW Natural attempts to obfuscate the negative climate and health impacts of natural gas utilities in order to remain dominant in the market. NW Natural, Oregon’s largest gas utility operation, has responded to such allegations with fierce resistance, promoting its service as more climate-friendly than electric alternatives and talking up plans to go greener in the future. 

But two lawsuits filed against NW Natural earlier this month put a spotlight on its alleged greenwashing practices, arguing the company has knowingly disenfranchised customers and contributed to the climate crisis. The first lawsuit, filed on October 7, adds NW Natural to Multnomah County’s existing legal challenge against several other oil companies for their role in perpetuating the deadly 2021 heat dome event. Just two days later on October 9, two NW Natural customers filed a class action suit against the company for falsely representing a program it says will offset the carbon emissions caused by customers’ natural gas use. 

Many Oregonians rely on gas heat appliances, whether to heat their homes or power their stoves, and nearly all of them have NW Natural as their service provider. NW Natural serves more than two million people across Oregon and southwest Washington, and is the only gas utility company serving Multnomah County. 

Proponents of natural gas say gas utilities are economical, efficient, and reliable in the case of power outages. But scientists and environmental experts say there are major downsides, too. Residential and commercial energy use accounts for about 20 percent of Oregon’s carbon emissions—the second largest category after transportation—and natural gas combustion accounts for a sizable portion of those emissions. Methane leaks from gas appliances also have a major climate impact, with gas stoves in particular emitting planet-warming greenhouse gasses even when they’re not in use. 

And if the environmental harm wasn’t enough, recent studies also show gas stoves are worse for human health than previously thought, with clear connections to carcinogenic pollutants. Long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves has also been shown to lead to tens of thousands of cases of childhood asthma. 

As experts have sounded the alarm on all the impacts of gas utilities, environmental advocates and lawmakers have ramped up efforts to move Oregonians away from natural gas. The Portland Clean Energy Fund, for example, has invested tens of millions of dollars in deep energy retrofit projects, which will replace fossil fuel-reliant heating and cooling systems with electric systems. The program has invested millions more into building new, energy-efficient housing and commercial buildings. 

In resisting being pushed out of the market, the recent lawsuits say NW Natural has duped customers and pushed false propaganda about natural gas and the environment. 

Environmental advocates hope the legal challenges will have a practical impact on the company’s bottom line and enlighten the public.

Part of NW Natural’s public outreach strategy has been its sponsorship of community events, including those hosted by environmentally-minded organizations. In an effort to limit the gas utility’s greenwashing message, environmental advocates want local groups to cut ties with NW Natural, or think twice before accepting a future sponsorship deal. 

“NW Natural has a captive audience that trusts what their natural gas utility is telling them,” Carra Sahler, an attorney and director of Lewis and Clark Law School’s Green Energy Institute, tells the Mercury. “The more we can do to encourage skepticism, the better, and the easier it will be for people to make a switch [to electrify their homes] and to feel good about making that switch.” 

Multnomah County’s amended lawsuit says NW Natural’s carbon and methane emissions have been “a cause of enormous harm” to the county and its residents. But, the lawsuit says, you wouldn’t know that by listening to the gas utility company’s public messaging. 

The county’s lawsuit states NW Natural has emitted at least 72.1 metric tons of CO2 equivalent in the last few decades, but has “deceived the public by claiming its product is safe, clean, and environmentally friendly.” 

The lawsuit provides several examples of the company’s alleged deceitful practices. Some particularly egregious instances include attempts to influence children and the Oregon education system. In 2021, NW Natural offered activity booklets to schools containing colorful drawings and activities for children promoting natural gas. The company also tried to use a front organization to host a training session for teachers about renewable gas, offering a $200 stipend to each teacher who attended. The training was canceled after public backlash. 

The misinformation from NW Natural got so bad, state agencies had to step in.

Earlier this year, NW Natural distributed a newsletter to its customers containing misinformation about Oregon’s Climate Protection Program policy. The newsletter said the climate policy would not reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but would result in a 14 percent rate hike for all NW Natural customers. In response, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality made a statement disavowing NW Natural’s campaign against the state policy. 

“In summary, NW Natural has routinely misrepresented to the public the climate impacts of extracting, transporting, storing and burning their product while over-estimating the costs of transitioning to renewables or reducing their pollution in an effort to frighten customers and discourage policy makers from using their authority to protect the public,” the Multnomah County lawsuit states. 

Sahler commends the county for including NW Natural in the big oil lawsuit.

“NW Natural is a trusted provider of warmth in homes, part of the local fabric... It’s exciting to see the county taking action—it’s brave to take on one more fossil fuel interest, especially a local one,” she told the Mercury. “Multnomah County's lawsuit appropriately lumps Northwest Natural in with the other big fossil fuel companies that we know are problematic, and it helps people understand what we're dealing with here.” 

David Roy, NW Natural’s director of communications, told the Mercury the company is “disappointed the County is spending resources on litigation instead of on developing effective emission reduction policies that work for County residents and businesses.” 

“We will continue to pursue pathways that allow Oregonians, including low- and moderate-income customers, to have access to two energy systems—electric and gas—for their homes and businesses,” Roy said. “NW Natural will vigorously contest these claims should they come to court. Regarding the Multnomah County action, we believe adding the company to the suit at this later date is an attempt to divert attention from legal and factual flaws in the case.” 

While Multnomah County’s lawsuit hones in on misleading claims and practices, the class action lawsuit specifically targets NW Natural’s Smart Energy program, an additional monthly fee available to customers, ostensibly to offset the carbon emissions associated with their natural gas use. Upon further investigation, however, NW Natural sends this carbon offset surcharge to industrial dairy farms for questionable “manure digesters,” which generate energy from methane-producing livestock waste. 

The complaint says the relationship between “carbon offset” funds, like NW Natural’s Smart Energy program, and the industrial dairies may incentivize the expansion of factory farming and enable further livestock waste production. 

“Independent research demonstrates that, at best, the climate benefits of manure digestion are not well studied and remain unclear,” the lawsuit says. “At worst, emissions reductions are significantly overstated.” 

Nicolas Blumm, one of the plaintiffs in the Smart Energy case, tells the Mercury he signed up for the program shortly after becoming a NW Natural customer. Since he didn’t have much of a choice about his gas utility system, he wanted to be as eco-friendly as possible while doing it. 

Blumm said the additional payment for the Smart Energy program was small—last January, he paid about $5 extra on his gas bill—so he didn’t think about it much. But once he realized where the money was going, he felt taken advantage of. 

The Smart Energy lawsuit points out that “corporate claims regarding sustainability and lower climate impact are particularly difficult for consumers to verify” and “climate-conscious consumers are particularly vulnerable to climate-related ‘greenwashing.’” 

“People deserve to have a chance to be honestly informed,” Blumm said. “I don’t think you should have to dig through and make sure every dollar you’re giving NW Natural is going exactly where they say it is. If they say the program is going to make your service carbon neutral, that’s how it should be.” 

In addition to the two lawsuits, NW Natural recently faced a blow from the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC). Last week, OPUC ordered the company to phase out gas subsidies by 2027. These subsidies are also known as line extension allowances, which gas utility companies including NW Natural charge existing customers in order to pay for expanding natural gas infrastructure to connect new customers to the service. 

Line extension allowances have been criticized by renewable energy advocates as environmentally damaging and economically burdensome for customers. But Roy, the NW Natural communications director, told the Mercury the company is “disappointed with the Commission’s decision,” and believes its subsidy proposal “supports the state’s goals for increased housing and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.” 

Advocates hope the recent news about NW Natural will lead to change in the community’s relationship with the company. While many consumers don’t have a choice about whether or not they can pay NW Natural for their monthly gas utility service, local organizations have more flexibility. NW Natural frequently sponsors or co-sponsors events across the region, ranging from county fairs to the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) annual Sunday Parkways open streets events. At these events, the utility company often sets up a booth to share information about natural gas, which environmental advocates say is often misleading. 

PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer told the Mercury the bureau is “aware of the concerns” and hasn’t made sponsorship decisions for the 2025 Sunday Parkways season. 

Sahler, the attorney, told the Mercury, considering the harm burning natural gas has caused to the planet and to human health, she wants to see local leaders draw a line in the sand. 

“Fossil fuel companies are like tobacco companies. You wouldn’t have a tobacco company at [events like Sunday Parkways],” Sahler said. “At some point it has to be unacceptable to support a business that is poisoning us.” 

Coordinated power shutoffs could help control the wildfires spreading across New York and New Jersey, according to a Virginia Tech expert. These shutoffs could mitigate the risk posed by unseasonably dry conditions and challenging terrain, both of which have made containment efforts especially difficult, said Professor Ali Mehrizi-Sani, a Virginia Tech electrical engineering researcher.

Will's pick this week is Random String Utility by Dan Couture. This is an oldie but a goodie. This submission is from 2012 but still works just fine in R2022b (another testament to the... read more >>

Researchers at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida are investigating how students view teachers who use artificial intelligence, and to make it more utility-driven by simplifying it.

Tasty, wholesome baked appetizers, meals and desserts that go from freezer to table in minutes are all-stars with today’s busy consumers.

The age-old question of function versus form has confounded experts in every field for countless decades.

Jeff Sweenor, president and CEO of Sweenor Builders in Wakefield, Rhode Island, looks at it differently. He asks, why not both? Function certainly comes first, but when the dust settles, his projects look as good as they work.

Who makes sure all of that water and electricity continues to flow so it’s there when we need it? There are a million people working at all hours of the day to make sure these resources are always available. 

Designed for any terrain, new boot offers style and protection. 

Dresser Utility Solutions invests in future growth with $335 million credit facility

Joanna Piatek channels years of expertise into her work with Exelon Corporation

Haltom Firefighters for Responsible Government past President Jayson Steele allegedly violated state law Utilities Code Section 182.052 when he posted utility bills of candidate he wanted to discredit

Josephine Rita Mangiapane is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Mitchell Energy Corporation

Mathew J. Garver, BSEE, is the business development manager at Beckwith Electric

James Emil Chance is a critical infrastructure compliance specialist at Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc.

Transform print with augmented reality

Global Futurist and Keynote Speaker Jack Uldrich will travel to Miami and then San Jose, Costa Rica to address the Southeast Electric Exchange and the US Soybean Export Council

Data Analytics Is an Essential Step in Current Utility Operations hsauer Wed, 11/16/2022 - 09:47

Is reducing a facility's energy consumption by over 130,000 kWh annually through HVAC optimization possible?

Flexibility, utilisation value and energy saving are the three main requirements for utility buildings (administration, office and public buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.). Apart from recouping investment costs, so-called life-cycle costs are also becoming increasingly important. These are made up of... Read more

The post Potential Energy Savings In Utility Buildings Using EIB appeared first on EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal.

The newest addition to KEEN Utility’s lineup, the San Jose 90° work boot, is designed for stability on ladders, scaffolding, and slick surfaces. With aluminum safety toes, a KEEN.DRY waterproof membrane, and air-infused cushioning, this updated style provides lightweight protection and slip resistance.

Requirements and capability framework of smart utility metering (SUM)