I received my license in 2001, so I have the Under 21 Red Box around my picture. My 21st birthday, and expiration of my license are on a Saturday of this year. Since the DMV is not open on Saturdays, can I come to the DMV on the day before and receive my new license without the Red Box around my picture?
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While a growing number of countries have announced their civilian nuclear energy ambitions over the past twelve months, no other country is likely to have more of a psychological impact on the nuclear energy picture than Saudi Arabia. We believe the Kingdom’s natural gas and water problems will lead them to nuclear, sooner rather than later, probably as early as this year.
After our interview with Kevin Bambrough, which resulted in the widely read article, ‘Explosion in Nuclear Energy Demand Coming,” we began more deeply researching Bambrough’s conclusion. He believes the overwhelming growth in nuclear energy will continue to drive the uranium bull market much higher than is suspected. He believes the uranium renaissance has gone beyond the envelope of just a mining inventory shortage. We researched this further during the course of our investigation into uranium and geopolitics. We were surprised by what we discovered, and continue to be stunned by how accurate Mr. Bambrough’s forecast is likely to play out. We included the special sub-section, which follows, in our soon-to-be-published, A Practical Investor’s Guide to Uranium Stocks. Below is a sneak preview.
An April 2006 UPI news item confirmed what many have long believed. It won’t be long before Saudi Arabia launches a nuclear project. Kuwaiti researcher Abdullah al-Nufaisi told seminar attendees in Qatar that Saudi Arabia is preparing a nuclear program. He said the government was being urged to launch a nuclear project by Saudi scientists, but had not yet received the blessing by the royal family. Social, not energy, issues could help the Saudi royals embark on a large-scale nuclear program.
Of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 24 million subjects, more than 40 percent are under 18 years of age. While still manageable, the country’s infrastructure is not prepared to deal with its explosive population growth. The two biggest problems facing Saudi Arabia are potential water and electricity shortages. True, its super oilfields may also have peaked in production and might move into tertiary recovery, but that is unknown. An Islamic revolution, similar to what Iran suffered in the 1970s is probably foremost in the King’s mind. Civil unrest might come about should his subjects suffer from insufficient electricity and inadequate water supplies. One need only look at the widespread electricity shortages Syria experienced in the 1980s and early 1990s.
As reported in the October 14, 2004 issue of Arab Oil and Gas, the Saudis lag well behind Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates in per capita energy consumption. The rate of natural gas consumption, which produces Saudi’s electricity, increased less than Egypt and Syria. Total energy consumption dropped by 3.5 percent in 1999 and 2000.
The internationally heralded “Gas Initiative” of 1998 was the Kingdom’s attempt to lure major western oil companies back into the country to help develop its natural gas reserves. After major oil companies spent $100 million in due diligence to evaluate the Saudi natural gas reserves, the initiative quietly dropped off the world’s radar screen. A Shell Oil executive, whose company is exploring for gas in the country’s Empty Quarter, told Bloomberg Daily Energy News that this was a high-risk venture with a low probability of finding sizeable reserves. In Matthew Simmons’ Twilight of the Desert, he repeated what he was told by an anonymous senior oil executive, “The reservoirs are crummy.”
The Saudis need water and electricity to match their population growth. Nuclear energy is likely to be the solution to both those problems. Continued dependence upon natural gas may prove a fatal economic and social error for the royal family. Our research forecasts the Saudis should announce a large-scale civilian nuclear energy program in the near future.
Let’s discuss the water problem first. In a 2002 story reported in the Oil & Gas Journal, Saudi Arabia’s 30 desalination plants produce about 21 percent of the world’s total desalinated water production. Nearly 70 percent of the local water drunk in cities comes from desalinated sea water. As the population grows, Saudi Arabia may spend another $40 billion to build more desalination plants.
Half of the world’s desalination plants are in the Middle East. Most are powered by fossil fuels, especially natural gas. Converting sea water to potable water is energy intensive. The commonly used desalination method of multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation with steam requires heat at 70 to 130 degrees centigrade and consumes up to 200 kilowatt hours of electricity for every cubic meter of water (about 264 gallons). MSF is the most popular technology, but some are turning to reverse osmosis (RO). RO consumes about 6 kilowatt hours of electricity for every cubic meter of water.
Desalination is very expensive. The cost to generate this electricity through natural gas explains why Saudi Arabia spends about $4 billion in operating and annual maintenance costs.
There are numerous precedents in combining water desalination with nuclear energy for electrical generation. The World Nuclear Association highlights the BN-350 fast reactor in Kazakhstan, which has produced 135 MWe of electricity and 80,000 cubic meters per day of potable water for nearly 30 years. In Japan, ten desalination facilities are linked to pressurized water reactors producing electricity. The International Atomic Energy Agency is working closely with about 20 countries to implement dual-use nuclear reactors, which would also desalinate water.
According to the World Nuclear Association’s website, “Small and medium sized nuclear reactors are suitable for desalination, often with cogeneration of electricity using low-pressure steam from the turbine and hot sea water feed from the final cooling system. The main opportunities for nuclear plants have been identified as the 80-100,000 m3/day and 200-500,000 m3/day ranges.”
There are numerous examples of nuclear desalination being considered. In 1977, Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility was to also have a 200,000 cubic meter/day MSF desalination plant. Construction delays, and the subsequent Islamic revolution, prevented this from occurring. Perhaps when Iran commences its civilian nuclear program, the desalination plant will be revived. China is reviewing the feasibility of a nuclear seawater desalination plant in the Yantai area. Russia has advanced a nuclear desalination project with barge-mounted marine reactors using Canadian reverse-osmosis technology. India has begun operating a nuclear desalination demonstration plant at the Madras Atomic Power Station in southeast India. Another one may soon follow in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which perpetually suffers from water shortages. Pakistan continues its efforts to set up a demonstration desalination plant. South Korea has developed a small nuclear reactor design for cogeneration of electricity and water. It may first be tested on Madura Island in Indonesia. Argentina has also developed a small nuclear reactor design for electricity cogeneration or solely for desalination.
The Saudis have investigated dual use for nearly thirty years. Since 1978, Saudi scientists have studied nuclear desalination plants in Kazakhstan and Japan. Both studies positively assessed the feasibility of bringing the first dual-use nuclear reactor in Saudi Arabia. Since the mid 1980s, scientists and researchers at the Saudi’s Nuclear Engineering Department at King Abdulaziz University, the College of Engineering at the University of Riyadh, the Chemical Engineering Department of King Saud University, and the Atomic Energy Research Institute have researched and evaluated nuclear desalination. Saudi scientists presented their paper, entitled, ‘Role of Nuclear Desalination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’ at the First International Conference on Nuclear Desalination in Morocco in October 2002.
The country possesses a tandetron accelerator and a cyclotron capable of isotope production for medical purposes. Saudi’s nuclear scientists have been involved with many countries to help their country develop a bonafide nuclear energy program. In late March 2006, a German magazine reported Saudi Arabia has been secretly working on a nuclear program with help from Pakistani scientists. Ironically, many believe Saudi Arabia helped finance Pakistan’s nuclear program. Because Saudi scientists lack the proven experience of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, Pakistan’s expertise, over the past decade, could help accelerate the Kingdom’s pursuit of a civilian nuclear program.
While lacking proven uranium deposits, the country’s Tabuk region has low-grade amounts of uranium and thorium. However, Saudi Arabia has significant phosphate deposits, which some believe could be exploited. The country’s two largest deposits reportedly measure about 750 million metric tons, averaging between 19 and 21 percent P2O5. Mined by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company and the Saudi Basic Industrial Corporation, fertilizer plants at the Al Jubail Industrial City produce about 4.5 metric tons of P2O5 annually. While extraction of uranium from phosphates can be an expensive proposition, the phosphates could provide a ready supply of uranium for the country’s nuclear desalination plants. Then, it would be a matter of uranium enrichment, of which both the Russians and the French would be scrambling to provide the Kingdom.
While the Saudi program many not directly impact world uranium prices, the Kingdom’s decision to advance its nuclear program, beyond the research and medical stage, would signal the entire world that nuclear energy programs will be a primary growth sector for the next fifty to one hundred years. Should the Saudis also commence desalination projects using dual-use nuclear reactors, this could change the entire landscape of the water situation for the Middle East as well as Africa. And it would most likely spark a significant stampede of the Kingdom’s neighbors into the global nuclear renaissance.
James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. Read the rest of this interview and sign up for your free subscription to articles by James Finch by visiting StockInterview.com
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Birthday celebrations often call for a birthday speech. Itâs a moment when everyone around expects to hear a nice and well crafted speech. Often small mistakes ruin not only the speech but also the mood of the celebration.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you are about to deliver your birthday speech.
1. Your birthday speech should be clear, upbeat, optimistic and easily understandable by everyone around.
2. Donât mention age of the celebrant in your birthday speech unless itâs a special milestone birthday like 21st or 50th. Some people like to celebrate every birthday but donât like to disclose their real age.
3. Donât say something that might embarrass the celebrant or the guests. The celebrant might not like the guests to know that he/ she has a snoring or a drinking problem. So be careful not to raise such issues in your speech.
4. Never tell a harsh and rude story of the celebrant. Birthdays are usually family events and the senior family members might not like whatever about the birthday boy or girl.
5. Refrain yourself from talking about sad moments or events. Birthdays are special celebrations of fun and joy and the mention of a sad moment will most likely kill the merriment. However there may be exceptions, but unless you are totally sure itâs always better to avoid anything that might awaken sad memories.
6. Donât try to be too funny. Comedians are professionally skilled persons possessing excellent training and timing. Most of us are unable to write and deliver witty speeches. Itâs always better to be light-hearted and genuine rather than trying to be a jester and spoil the fun.
7. Make sure that your birthday speech doesnât offend anyone. Some things might seem obvious like friends flocking in only for a free drink or something but you should never ever insult any of the guests.
8. Never talk about deceased family members or friends unless the guest of honor does so or it is appropriate to say that the departed is surely there in spirit. Sometimes the bereavement is still fresh and it is always better to avoid saying such things than mentioning it and upsetting everyone at the party.
9. Never call the celebrant by his/ her pet name. A husband might not like all his office colleagues to know what he calls his wife by. Or a teenager might be thoroughly embarrassed to be called a mamaâs boy. Itâs okay of course to call him Jeff instead of Jefferson.
10. Avoid writing reams. The birthday guests are there to party, not to listen to you half-an-hour long speech. It would bore the hell out of them. A three to five minute speech is good enough.
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There are several ways one can get birthday cakes. Most of the time we like to order the cake from a well known store that creates the cake according to your design. The cake should be made according to your specifications.
There are other cake stores that are willing to deliver the cakes straight to your house. When looking to by birthday cakes make sure you have gone through the other stores that are out there and found out that the store that you are using is the best and deliver the birthday cakes to your place on time.
Birthday cakes are often for children who like to see the cake in the form of their favorite character. You might find cakes that look like Spiderman, batman, superman and any other cartoon or comic book superheroes and characters. Some people like to go all out and they make their cakes in form of cars they like as well as any other. You must learn how to store the cake in your refrigerator so as it stays fresh. Especially if the cake comes earlier than the due date and it has to stay overnight, getting a bakery is easy if you use the internet or find out from other what bakery they use, especially if they had a cake you enjoyed to eat at their birthday.
When celebrating a child’s birthday the first thing that should come to your mind before even what present you are buying him or her is the birthday cake because it will be the center piece and the highlight of the birthday. Just find out who your child’s favorite cartoon character or superhero is and roll with that.
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my sister is turning 19 on october 21st and i want to get her a nice gift that isn’t very expensive. she got me a thing with a bunch of pictures of us on it but i want to do something different. any ideas?
Image taken on 2008-03-16 11:32:27 by UltraCore.
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Video has been around on the Internet since broadband connection became commonplace, but its purpose was strictly entertainment. More recently, it has begun appearing as a substitute for printed User Guides and as either a substitute for, or addition to, the traditional website sales letter.
It’s the author’s firm opinion that a well written and complete printed User Guide is far superior to a video and that those who use video as a substitute for writing a guide are just being lazy. Once you’ve got the software, adding a commentary while demonstrating the product is dead simple. And the results are (usually) simply awful.
But … video to sell a product, to demonstrate its features, that’s a different story. After all, they’ve been doing it with television commercials for years. Even so, some commercials are stinkers. Here’s the last 10 tips to make sure yours aren’t:
21. Choose the images and people in your video carefully
You have to always keep in mind that this video is representing you and your company. Make sure that images and people you use are pleasant and professional. Also you want pleasant images and people because that is what people will be most interested in watching. Try to use fairly neutral accents. Also don’t talk too s..l..o..w..l..y. People can listen much faster than they can speak and slow speech is a turn-off.
22. Get ideas from commercials
Television commercials are amazing sales tools. You can use ideas from these creative advertising spots to help you develop a good video. You can get some amazing ideas that other companies pay top dollar to advertising executives to create. You can also see some really bad examples to avoid. Just be careful of one thing. A TV commercial is not a failure because you don’t like it. It’s a failure if either you don’t remember the product or if it would make you actively not buy the product.
23. Try to keep costs low
Creating a video has gotten more cost efficient with all the tools available to the average business person, but you still need to be careful. It is easy to get carried away and end up blowing your whole marketing budget on making a video.
24. Scope out other internet videos
You can get a lot of ideas online from others who are using videos to sell their products. Look at top ranked websites and see what they are doing to drive in sales.
25. Understand the power of video
Video is a very powerful tool that has the ability to really boost your traffic and sales. Make sure that you see everything that video is capable of doing for you.
26. Use emotion
One of the greatest things about video is you can finally convey emotion to your consumer. Part of selling is a passion for the product and you can really get this across in video.
27. Take full advantage of all the attention you get
When you add a video to your website you will be getting more traffic and you need to capitalize on it. Make sure you website is up to par and can turn visitors into sales.
28. Keep it simple
Keep everything simple and do not abandon everything you already know about creating online content. Follow the same rules you did when creating your website.
29. Don’t over sell
You do not want to push customers away by being too much of a sales person. Avoid the desire to yell out about the great price and to tell the consumer they must buy. Don’t be pushy, be persuasive.
30. Show, not tell
One of the best things about video is you can show the consumer why they should buy instead of telling them. There is a lot of power behind showing instead of telling. Showing is convincing. Telling risks bringing out the cynic in your audience.
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Overflowing wine, decadent cakes, and gifts of all shapes and sizes are almost never absent in birthday parties. Tied with ribbons shaped into flowers and bows or not, small or grand, we find it quite awkward to go to a birthday party without a gift for the celebrant. When in a rush, we sometimes give generic or safe gifts. While it is not exactly illegal, it should be highly avoided since birthday gifts can also define our relationships.
Birthday gift giving has never been a task these days. Online stores have even classified their items such that a quick search for say âgarden mom giftâ can give you an interesting selection of items. In giving gifts, it is still best to fine print your choices to the recipientâs gender and age, personality and interest, and of course, your budget.
People usually celebrate six birthday milestones: 1st, 7th, 18th (for women), 21st (for men), 30th (usually called the âbig 3-0â), and 50th (or the golden age) birthdays. These ages are safe to shop gifts for, as each is rather distinct from the other. You wouldnât give a seven-year-old girl French lingerie embellished with flowers and lace, correct?
Searching for the perfect birthday gift according to personality and interest is the tricky part. Adults in their 30s are usually classified into achievers, adventurers, thinkers, naturalists, geeks, fashionistas (women)/metrosexuals (men), and urban sophisticates. From these personalities, further fine print your choices by asking around what pre-occupies them or what they usually cart in their trips to the mall. Can the birthday geek live with just a camera in his pocket? A memory card will be perfect for this shooter. The office achiever will be thankful for that leadership book that has always been out of stock. Giving a metrosexual mini versions of his favorite soap, shaving cream, and hair wax will merit you instant brownie points. Even if it is only an inch big, a shoe pendant will capture the heart of your fashionista friend.
Head on to the generic gift lane only if you really cannot find ways to research on what the celebrantâs passions are. Coloring kits appeal nicely to seven year olds of both genders. Gift certificates valid mall wide are safe for female and male debutantes while wine will be highly appreciated by the junior execs who just hit thirty. Men and women in their 50s usually favor house décor such as exquisite flower vases, small sculptures, and oil burners.
For a more hassle-free gift-giving, try sending a bunch of flowers. Online florists such as Island Rose, offer flower delivered straight to you loved oneâs doorstep. It is not how much you have spent for your gift, what matters is how you remembered your loved oneâs birthday.
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I live in a small town so they are small bars nothign too spectacular from what i’m told, and i cant get to the mall to buy anything new to wear so i’ve got to work with what i’ve already got which isnt much… which BLOWS!!!
but mainly i just have jeans..
one yellow short sleeve shirt, snug but very thin… hmmm how about i just link the pictures i have…
yellow shirt: http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb254/raerae24_8/S5000875.jpg
but i got my hair cut… soo…
hair cut and orange shirt: http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb254/raerae24_8/S5003784.jpg
i also have a white shirt with a hood that i could wear something underneath..
but no picture…
i wish my hair was a tad longer, but i highly doubt anyone will think i’m a guy.
but i might get hit on by women…. i think thats probably a posibilty from what my mother has told me… haha
i like my hair better here: http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb254/raerae24_8/CopyofS5002641.jpg
Image taken on 2008-03-16 11:32:27 by UltraCore.
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