Archives: 2008 August

Army recruiters have the task of assisting candidates through various steps before they get accepted into the army. In the United States Army, the functions of recruiters include providing prospective volunteers with the information they need as well as accompanying candidates to the testing centers.

Army recruiters are stationed in various recruitment centers in the cities. When the candidate first meets a recruiter, it’s usually just for data gathering sessions so he knows the various details that regarding enlistment before deciding, including the requirements, the jobs available, the enlistment process, and the benefits of each job. The recruiter also answers any questions that the candidate may have.

The recruiter sets the date for a candidate to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test in a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) or a local testing facility. The MEPS is where the physical examinations are done, as well as where the candidate gets to choose his/her military occupational specialty. The recruiter is also the one who provides the transportation to the MEPS.

Afterwards, when the candidate has taken the tests, the recruiter, together with the military counselor, is also usually the one who helps guide the candidate to pick the military job he wants to do. After the candidate has finished choosing an MOS and recieving his papers, he is given the date he needs to get back to the MEPS for shipping to basic training. The recruiter is also usually the one taking the enlistee back from the MEPS.

Army recruiters basically give the necessary information that all candidates must know before they make any decisions. They also guide them through the entire enlistment procedure. This is similar to the normal recruitment process of any other organization, although army recruiters do not have the same human resource-related tasks that regular recruiters have. For example, they cannot fire soldiers or decide their wages, although the army already has standards for these things.

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The political debates over climate change and pollution are getting nasty. I recently read a question in a blog asking if it is Al Gore stupid or Michael Moore stupid to believe in global warming. The arguments of the politicians have filtered down to the citizens. The attacks are getting up close and personal. With all the insults and name calling not much is getting accomplished.

I’d like to take this topic completely out of the political arena. These political arguments do nothing but cause anger and fear. I would also like to take out the words “global warming” since it puts so many people into a tailspin. The global environment and quality of life are what’s really at stake.

I am a Believer. I understand the natural cycle of climate change. I understand the changes started to increase at the start of the industrial revolution and the changes have been happening much faster in the last few decades with more industry and more cars on the road. In the past these sudden changes only happened as a result of natural disasters but I haven’t heard of Krakatoa erupting lately.

I’m pushing 60 years old and have lived in the Dallas area, off and on, most of my life. I remember when we would have two or three good snowfalls EVERY winter. I remember when people with breathing problems didn’t have to check the ground ozone level before going outside and I could walk outside without getting an “ozone” headache. I remember when being in a drought was a rare thing. I remember when, in most summers, it didn’t get really hot until late July and August. I remember when tap water tasted good and there were never days when it was brown and smelly. There are people who grew up in areas where the air and water are now cleaner. That’s because man-made fixes have cleaned up man-made messes. Although the city is now trying to remedy these problems, in the Dallas area it is quite the opposite.

If you are not quite familiar with Photoshop, this program has these wonderful little features called Actions. These Actions have many different uses from creating remarkable effects to maximizing your productivity and of course they can always be counted on to handle the common and tiresome tasks that are nothing more than time consuming.

I only just discovered the wonder of Batch Processing. I’m dedicated and detail oriented, but sitting in front of the computer adjusting the Hue/Saturation for the countless number of photos taken at my son’s first birthday was simply out of the question. I did find a more than happy solution in Batch Processing.

When you’re creating an action you need it to do one thing: Something. In my case, I needed to change the Hue/Saturation for 75+ images from blue to my “trademark” teal. Maybe you need an action for a different purpose, but humor me and tell yourself, “Hey, I need to make my image the same color as hers!” Next, you’ll need something to work on. Get a small image, like an icon, preferably the one I’m using for this tutorial.

Now go to Window > Actions and make sure it that it is checked. If it is, you should see a tab in the Layers Palette labeled Actions.

Click on the arrow button to open the Actions menu and go to “new Set.” This will create a folder for your action (you don’t really need the folder, it just helps with organization.)

Now go back to the Actions menu and choose “New Action.” Have an idea of the steps you’ll need to take and their order before recording an action. Since this is a fairly simple action, you will master this in no time at all.

People are turning to cleaner sources of energy. because of worldwide climate change and rising global temperatures. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can make the Earth a healthier place to live in. Today, there is increasing expansion in the production, distribution and use of this fuel.

Biodiesel is produced through transesterification, a chemical process where oils and fats in plants and animals are processed into the substances of the fuel. As early as 1853, scientists J. Patrick and E. Duffy had already conducted some kind of transesterification.

In 1900, Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, demonstrated a diesel engine that ran on peanut oil. However, the fuel cannot be considered biodiesel because it didn’t go through transesterification.

Interest in the use of vegetable oils for fuel remained through the 1920s and 1930s. France, China, the United Kingdom, and Japan experimented and tested these oils. However, their scientists encountered some problems because of the viscosity of the oils, which led to engine deposits.

G. Chavanne of Belgium produced the first biodiesel in 1931. Since then, various research and experimentation have been conducted to improve biodiesel. In the 1990s, European countries began installing biodiesel power plants. By 1998, 21 countries began producing commercial products. Today, manufacturers use several sources to manufacture biodiesel.

All around the world today, biodiesel use is expanding. In Australia, almost all metropolitan trains and buses in Adelaide run on 5% biodiesel mixed with petroleum. In Canada, the government has set a goal of 500 million liters of biodiesel by 2010. In Finland, an oil company plans to build a production plant with a capacity of 170,000 tons per year.

More and more these days, global warming appears to be an accepted problem in society. In some ways, this is true, but many still debate the existence and extent of the problem. Consider the following positions taken by prominent individuals and groups.

You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to. - Roger Ebert, on Al Gore’s movie about global warming.

There’s a better scientific consensus on this than on any issue I know — except maybe Newton’s second law of dynamics, said D. James Baker, administrator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The problem we are faced with is that the meteorological establishment and the global warming lobby research bodies which receive large funding are now apparently so corrupted by the largesse they receive that the scientists in them have sold their integrity. - Piers Corbyn

If you asked me to name the three scariest threats facing the human race, I would give the same answer that most people would: nuclear war, global warming and Windows. - Dave Barry

Global warming is indeed a scam, perpetrated by scientists with vested interests, but in need of crash courses in geology, logic and the philosophy of science. - Dr Martin Keeley

Global warming is not a conqueror to kneel before - but a challenge to rise to. A challenge we must rise to. - Joe Lieberman

Global warmers predict that global warming is coming, and our emissions are to blame. They do that to keep us worried about our role in the whole thing. If we aren’t worried and guilty, we might not pay their salaries. It’s that simple. - Kary Mullis, Winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry