The Amazing J. Lawrence Cook of Tennessee

From the SEMLA report of the conference: Alan Wallace of the University of Tennessee gave a presentation on The Amazing J. Lawrence Cook of Tennessee that encouraged attendees to broaden their thoughts on the nature of artistic creation and recorded music. J. Lawrence Cook was a composer and arranger who throughout the course of his life created between 15,000 to 20,000 piano rolls for player pianos. Wallace discussed how the piano roll was the most common medium for recording and replaying music in an era before the widespread use of the phonograph and argued that the jazz music Cook cut into his piano rolls helped to interest people all across the nation in jazz. While the presentation focused on Cook and his creations, Wallace also recounted how his interest in Cook sprang from his inheritance of a player piano and purchase of rolls created by Cook, and how his research was furthered by his discovery of an international internet community sharing an interest in Cook. The work this primarily non-academic group of dedicated researchers has done to record and make available the history and contributions of the little-known Cook is impressive and showcases an emerging research model practically impossible before the advent of the internet

SCIENTIFIC AND BUDDHIST VIEWS OF ENERGY

In 2004 Alan Wallace presented a Keynote Address at the ISSSEEM Fourteenth Annual Conference titled, "Scientific and Contemplative Views of Energy." This article addresses topics included in that address: A discussion is made of (1) energy as a primary attribute of the objective, physical world, (2) energy as a secondary attribute of the subjective, sensory world, and (3) a nondual contemplative view of energy in the world of experience. Included are explicit references to ways the body-mind can be healed and balanced energetically, suggesting a complementary relation berween scientific and contemplative views of energy. A brief overview of the history of modern scientific concepts of energy, beginning with the debate berween Newton and Leibniz is addressed and the evolution of these concepts through Helmholtz, Maxwell, Michelson and Morley, Einstein, and Feynman, are traced. Readers will see how the concept of energy has slipped from the status of a real substance in objective space to a mathematical abstraction. But it remains an elusive concept that is central to the physicists' view of the origins and nature of the cosmos as a whole. Science, since the time of the absolute Cartesian split berween subject and object, has sought to understand the nature of the real world, existing independently of human experience, beyond the "veil of appearances. The implication is that subjective experiences of all kinds, including experiences of subtle energies, are secondary to, and derivative of, objective, physical processes. This metaphysical assumption has led to a radical imbalance berween scientific knowledge of the physical world and of subjective experience, including the nature of consciousness itself. Many contemplative traditions of the world, including Buddhism, have sought to understand a unified world of experience, which includes a spectrum of subjective and objective phenomena, with no absolute division within this spectrum. Within this world of experience emerged the Greek concept of pneuma, Indian prana, Tibetan loong, Chinese qi, Japanese ki, and Native American mana in their respective medical traditions, all of which are present in the body and the environment at large. Such intersubjective energy, like the energy of the physicists, is thought ro underlie, empower, and regulate all physical and mental phenomena. Practical applications have been found for these theories of energy in the field of healing and balancing both the body and mind. The bodymind effects of the meditative refinement of attention in the Buddhist tradition are noted, with explanation on how it is related to the experienced subtle energies within the body and their relation to the mind

Prediction of the effects of compositional mixing in a reservoir on conversion to natural gas storage

Most existing gas storage fields have been developed from depleted natural gas and oil production reservoirs. It is not uncommon for gas storage fields to be developed in water bearing aquifer zones where the presence of conventional type reservoirs is limited. Natural Gas Condensate reservoirs are typically not found in the eastern United States where most gas storage facilities are developed close to the colder market and increased population centers. Therefore, data is limited on how the lean dry storage gas will interact with the remaining residual gas condensate liquid and wet gas at reservoir pressure and temperature conditions.;Data concerning fluid analysis and production records can be somewhat difficult. Gas Condensate reservoirs contain multi-component hydrocarbon mixtures that require equation of state models to predict phase behavior under differing conditions. Therefore, adequate initial gas and liquid sampling is necessary that can then have laboratory PVT analysis performed to establish fluid properties such as (dew point, z-factor, viscosity, oil relative volume, etc.). Obtaining this data can sometimes be a challenge due to divesture company\u27s poor recordkeeping and not wanting to incur the expense of extended analysis. Also, acquiring accurate production history records on the liquid and gas production volumes can sometimes be difficult to obtain and assimilate.;Another objective of this study and research is to look at some of the development challenges in the conversion of a gas condensate reservoir to gas storage and how these challenges affects the overall design in storage facilities.;In this study compositional reservoir simulators coupled with equation of state models was used to evaluate a natural gas condensate reservoir under storage development and operating conditions. The Equation of State (EOS) models was used to perform initial fluid analysis and compare to what laboratory data is available to initialize the reservoir fluid set in the model. The compositional reservoir simulator was then built utilizing a certain geologic characterization for the reservoir properties. The phase behavior model can then be used along with the reservoir simulator to validate the primary production history matching and then perform storage scenario analysis.;After an accurate compositional reservoir model was developed and the model has validated the original production history, the storage scenarios were simulated to look at how well configurations and rate profiles affect mixing and the impact on condensate yields.;Since this project will be in service and operating, the actual storage operating data can be integrated into the reservoir design model to further enhance the predictive capabilities of the reservoir model. It is estimated that full development will take several years allowing the model to be calibrated and improved over time.;When a gas storage field is developed, typically there is a need to drill more active injection and withdrawal wells to meet the deliverability design parameter. When a field is discovered there is no immediate need to drill excess wells into the field when for production purposes a few wells will suffice. However, when a gas storage field is being developed depending the areal extent and volume of the reservoir a significant number of new wells may be required to meet the deliverability design. When the wells are designed they can be completed in three ways: vertically, directional and horizontally. Each completion has its pro and cons that need to be considered and with a condensate depleted reservoir more emphasis needs to be placed on how the individual well completions will affect field deliverability performance and residual condensate recovery.;Another consideration in the development of storage is an accurate prediction of the condensate yield rates and the ultimate condensate recovery under gas storage cycling operations. This is important due to the requirement to build adequate surface facilities and project the anticipated yearly condensate production. After a reliable composition reservoir simulator was built the reservoir properties were adjusted to evaluate the impact the storage scenarios have on mixing and condensate recovery. With the calibrated model the effects of resident time on fluid diffusion as a result of mixing were evaluated.;The reservoir simulator was able to predict the impact of surface facilities on condensate recovery and gas deliverability. Condensate blockage around the wellbore is a common problem with mature condensate fields. The wellbore representations in the model were evaluated for the effects of this problem on storage operations.;The reservoir simulator was also used to optimize the number of wells needed to achieve the desired storage field design requirements. The simulator was used to estimate the number of years that condensate production will be a limiting factor in reaching 100% storage field development. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Differences in Dolphin Mortality Rates in Night and Day Sets for the U.S. Eastern Tropical Pacific Tuna Purse Seine Fishery

Because dolphins sometimes travel with yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), purse seiners use the dolphins to locate and capture tuna schools. During the process of setting the purse seine nets, dolphins often become entangled and drown before they can be released. Data for the U.S. purse seine fleet in the ETP during 1979-88 show that dolphin mortality rates in sets made during the night are higher than mortality rates in sets made during the day. Even with efforts to reduce nightset mortality rates through the use of high intensity floodlights, night set mortality rates remain higher. The data are also used to simulate a regulation on the fishery aimed at eliminating night sets and show that dolphin mortality rates would decrease

Organizational Preparation for Terrorist Attack

In the event of a terrorist attack causing mass casualties or nuclear, biological, or chemical contamination, emergency responders easily can be overwhelmed by demands for their services. Advance planning by organizations with the advice of emergency responders to safeguard people from becoming victims, to care for victims before emergency responders arrive, and to render assistance to emergency responders once they arrive is critical to mitigating damage

Distal occurrence of mid-Holocene Whakatane Tephra on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, and potential for cryptotephra studies

The Whakatane Tephra, a rhyolitic tephra erupted ca. 5500 cal. BP from Okataina Volcanic Centre, central North Island, has been identified on the Chatham Islands which lie ˜900 km east of Christchurch, New Zealand. The visible tephra layer, ˜5 mm in thickness and preserved within peat on Pitt Island, was identified using both radiocarbon dating and analysis of glass shards by electron microprobe. Whakatane Tephra is the first Holocene tephra to be identified on the Chatham Islands, and it is the most distal Holocene tephra yet recorded in the New Zealand region, being ˜850 km from source. The Pitt Island occurrence extends the tephra's dispersal area markedly, by an order of magnitude, possibly to ˜300,000 km2. An estimated dispersal index (D) of approximately 105 km2 indicates that the eruption generated a very high plinian column, possibly exceeding ˜30 km in height, with strong winds blowing the ash plume southeastwards. This new discovery of distal Whakatane Tephra as a thin but visible layer strongly implies that cryptotephras are likely to be preserved on the Chatham Islands and within adjacent ocean floor sediments. Therefore the potential exists to develop enhanced cryptotephrostratigraphic records from these distal areas, which in turn would help facilitate precise correlation via tephrochronology of palaeoenvironmental records (such as NZ-INTIMATE) from mainland New Zealand, the southwest Pacific Ocean, and the Chatham Islands

How to Create a Great Video Tutorial (Pre Conference Workshop)

This pre-conference will cover the basics of planning, editing and publishing a video tutorial or tour. The presenters will cover the basics of creating a high quality product. We will discuss and demonstrate audio recording. Attendees will be given video samples to practice hands on editing with iMovie software. At the end of the workshop, students should be comfortable with the process and motivated to plan and produce their own videos

Whether to Grant an Individual Chapter 11 Debtor an Early Discharge

This Article provides a framework for determining whether to grant an \u27early\u27 discharge to an individual chapter 11 debtor. An early discharge permits such a debtor to receive a discharge before making all payments under the confirmed plan. The Article analyzes the circumstances that warrant issuing such an early discharge, and what information ought to be included in the disclosure statement, plan, and notice of confirmation hearing. The Article concludes that an individual chapter 11 debtor may obtain a early discharge: (1) upon confirmation of a reorganization plan where the debtor has paid unsecured creditors before confirmation, or where necessary to keep important customers or to obtain financing to pay unsecured creditors, or (2) after plan confirmation but before plan payments are finished if the unsecured creditors have received the required distribution and the debtor no longer has sufficient income to meet living expenses and to make the required payments