Redwood City, CA (PRWEB) March 25, 2014

Room 5, a leading software consulting firm, announced today that Patrick Mahaffey, an experienced software and product development expert, will join the talented Room 5 team as their new Chief Executive Officer. Patrick Mahaffeys knack for finding new ways and solutions to difficult problems, as well as his extensive experience, are valuable assets to the Room 5 team.

Patrick Mahaffeys passion for building high performing teams that deliver extraordinary value to customers is a strong addition to the Room 5 team and to our clients, as they tackle the Internet of Everything.

Patrick Mahaffey studied at University of California, Berkley and is a proud veteran of the United States Navy. Before joining the Room 5 team, he served as the Managing Director for Valens Resource Group.

About Room 5 Room 5, a leader in embedded software consulting, specializes in illuminating solutions that bridge the divide between concept and execution. Room 5 works with the most exciting companies in the areas of consumer electronics, defense, silicon manufacturing, and mobile devices. At Room 5, clients find an excited, talented source of technical expertise willing to work shoulder to shoulder to meet their goals and a true technology partner. Our talented teams unite a variety of disciplines to produce products and technologies that are unique and elegant. Room 5 has development facilities located in Silicon Valley, San Diego and Portland. For more information, visit: http://www.room5.com.

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Room 5 Strengthens its Team with the Addition of New CEO

A safe room able to hold 600 students and faculty will be added to the first new school in the downtown Oklahoma City area in several decades.

Were still working through whether its going to be above ground or below ground, said Kirk Humphreys, board chairman at John W. Rex Charter Elementary School at N Walker and W Sheridan avenues.

The school is scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2014-15 school year, but timing on the safe room is not yet known, Humphreys said.

Construction began before deadly tornadoes hit central Oklahoma in May. After seeing the importance of having shelter during dangerous weather, school leaders made plans for the addition.

Still in the design phase, the safe room will be a separate structure by the playground. If a redesign of the school was possible, they may have included the safe room inside the building, Humphreys said. Given the schools stage of construction, this was the best alternative to insure students safety.

This $12 million, tuition-free, public charter school is being funded with a combination of MAPS for Kids money, other city funds and private donations, he said. The safe room is going to be paid for strictly with private donations and grants. An official cost of the safe room is yet to be determined.

When the school opens in August, it will offer pre-K through second-grade classes. It will have 280 spots available the first year, and it will add a grade level every year up to the sixth-grade. At that time, the school will hold about 500 students.

Boundary and enrollment

The general attendance boundary for JRCES is NW and NE 13th St. to the north, the Oklahoma River to the south, Lottie Ave to the east and N Western Ave to the west. Any child living in this attendance boundary is considered first priority and will be enrolled if they apply, Humphreys said.

Second priority is children living in the Oklahoma City Public Schools district, third is children living outside the OKCPS district with a parent or guardian working in the JRCES attendance boundary and lastly is everyone else, he said.

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New OKC elementary will add safe room

By J.O. PARKER joparker@dmreg.com

The Montezuma weight room improvement project will soon be completed.

The Montezuma Board of Education approved a total bid of $57,059.81 to complete the project.

The board, which met on Wednesday, March 19, accepted the following bids:

Ogan Enterprises, $46,832.78; A-One Boring, $6,375; and Winegarden Hardware, $3,852.03 for a total of $57,059.81 to finish the work.

The work includes adding footings to the new addition, pouring a sidewalk, installing new windows and doors, framing the restroom, finishing inside of the building and adding siding to the outside of the building.

The State Fire Marshals office halted the project in July 2012, after it was discovered that the proper paperwork had not been filed. It was also discovered that two restrooms were to be included in the new addition.

Since that time, the district has received a waiver and is only required to install one handicap restroom in the new addition.

Staff

In business related to staff, the board: Approved the resignations of secondary science teachers David Brondyke and Carrie Weber.

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Monte Board OKs finishing weight room addition

FOR PEOPLE of a certain age who appreciate a certain genre of motion picture, nitroglycerin played a frequent role.

Nitro, stored in glass jars and protected by cotton wadding in a rickety crate in the back of a buckboard, provided a thrill in the stock scene: The wagon goes out of control, putting some precious cargo in terrible danger.

If that nitro got bumped too hard, or if the wagon careened over the cliff . . . BOOM!

Chip Kelly is driving the wagon.

His Eagles have cast DeSean Jackson as an expendable malcontent . . . after he completed his best season, and did so with a minimum of insubordination.

The most stable player on the team, Evan Mathis, a modestly underpaid guard, reportedly asked for, and was denied, a raise . . . even as two linemates had their contracts extended.

And, now, the Eagles have replaced the most controversial quarterback in league history with the second-most controversial quarterback on the East Coast. They agreed to terms with Mark Sanchez in a QB swap with the dysfunctional Jets, who lured Michael Vick with the chance to steal Geno Smith's starting job. Vick was easy to lure.

Sanchez was in town last night so the Eagles could make sure his bad arm wasn't going to fall off when OTAs start next month. Sanchez joins 2013 fourth-round pick Matt Barkley as Nick Foles' backups.

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Room on Kelly's wagon?

CLINTON, Tenn. (WVLT) Inside the new addition at the Anderson County Jail, computer systems control almost everything.

Captain Larry Davidson explained "It makes officers safe, it's also safer for the staff here. And for the inmates."

Overcrowding is a major problem at the current detention facility-- and at one point was on the verge of losing state accreditation.

At times, 30 inmates are housed in on area-- violent and non-violent criminals together.

But, the new addition adds 212 room, putting the facility back up to state standards.

"We'll be able to separate inmates according to their classification which will be much safer," said Captain Davidson.

The new facility is designed with a pod layout, meaning all inmates can be watched 24-7.

Davidson said, "This will be what we call direct indirect. Not only will it be cameras, but the officer will also be present walking in and out of the pods."

All of these renovations come with a price tag of more than 10 million dollars. It is all being paid for by the taxpayers.

Emily Parfitt said, " It will make me feel more safe. You don't have to worry about anyone breaking out of the jail. It's just better for the community. I don't mind paying extra."

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Anderson County Jail addition opening soon

The Shining came back in big way last year, with the theatrical release and subsequent Netflix availability of Room 237, a documentary on some of the fan theories that have gathered around Stanley Kubrick's psychological horror classic since its 1980 release. According to the interviewees, The Shining could be anything from a retelling of the mythological tale of Theseus and the Minotaur to Kubrick's apology for having helped fake the moon landing, but what most of them have in common is an insistence that the decor of the fictional Overlook Hotel has a lot to do with what the director really means. No surprises there, given that the Overlook is iconic enough to inspire architecturally focused tributes.

Though the Overlook presented in The Shining is actually a set built at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England, it was inspired by a number of real-life hotels. Aerial shots of Oregon's Timberlane Lodge were used in the film's opening scene, as well as a few establishing shots that follow, but it was the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park (pictured above) that served as a template for much of the Overlook's interior.

Like any classic Alpine resort in America, the Ahwahnee incorporates plenty of designs inspired by Native American artwork; tapestries, carpets, and the like. When these made their way into the Overlookwith the addition of a large Navajo-style mural that Jack Nicholson's writer's block-tortured Jack Torrance likes to bounce a tennis ball off ofthey helped inspire journalist Bill Blakemore to write a 1987 article for the Washington Post entitled "Kubrick's Shining' Secret: Film's Hidden Horror Is The Murder of the Indian."

Image via IWDRM

How did Blakemorewho elaborates on his theory in Room 237jump to that conclusion, based on a few Mojave saddle blankets? The Shining incorporates a few other pieces of Native American iconography, including cans of Calumet baking powder embossed with the silhouette of a man in a feathered headdress, but it was a few lines of dialogue that got Blakemore connecting the dots. There's Jack's first conversation with Lloyd, his possibly ghostly, possibly nonexistent bartender: "You set 'em up and I'll knock 'em back Lloyd, one b'one. White man's burden, Lloyd my man. White man's burden." There's the horror story trope, inserted into two lines at the beginning of the film, about the Overlook being built on an Indian burial ground. But it's the decor that inspired the associative heavy lifting that turns a story about supernaturally induced cabin fever into one about the genocide of the Native Americans.

The geometric 70s-era carpet pattern in the upstairs hallway is easily the most iconic and theorized-upon decor element in The Shining. In Room 237 alone it's said to stand for a "beehive hexagon, but down the whole corridors of history" representing "the family of man," as well as the overhead shape of Launchpad 39A, the starting point of America's moon landing mission. (This, combined with the fact that Danny is wearing an Apollo 11 sweater in one scene, provides particularly juicy fodder for 237 subject Jay Weidner's moon landing theory.)

This hexagonal pattern is the backdrop for a turning point in the film, right before Danny enters the forbidden room 237, a moment that kicks off the family's downward spiral. Much is made in the documentary about an inconsistency between two shots, where the same tennis ball that Jack plays wall-ball with rolls to Danny, leading him to a room 237 whose door is mysteriously ajar. As laid out by Room 237 interviewee Juli Kearns on her website, a cut between two shots reveals a seeming continuity error, with the carpet flipping its orientation under Danny. If Kubrick threw this inconstancy in on purposewhich a few of Room 237's subjects pretty convincingly arguethe seeming suggestion is that, as Kearns, the proponent of the labyrinth-and-minotaur theory, puts it, now that "the hexagon is closed, it's almost like he's been closed in."

Photo via MoviefoneThe meaning behind the Overlook ballroom's abundance of gold is another point where the superfans diverge. Naturally, the color scheme lends itself nicely to Blakemore's theory, signifying the gold rush that drove the American settlers West. According Rob Ager, a Shining obsessive with a 21-chapter analysis up on his website and a personally produced six-volume DVD set called Kubrick Decoded, the inclusion of this room makes the film a polemic against the U.S. government's de-pegging of the dollar from the gold standard. All of that hinges somewhat precariously on the final shot, which shows Jack in an old picture taken at the hotel in 1921, which Ager asserts that he looks a good deal like Widrow Wilson in. Erm... yeah.

Photo via Clockwork BrothersJack's second trip to the Gold Room leads him to the most out-of-place interior in the Overlook, a harshly modern bathroom done up in a startling shade of red (which has inspired more than a few tributes over the years). It's where Jack finds Grady, the old caretaker who suggests he "correct" his family. Taken as an instance of Kubrik using color to suggest the inner workings of his characters, this room is generally agreed upon as a kind of "direct projection of Jack's violent mind." That one's simple enough, but then again, it doesn't even touch on the school of thought based primarily on how Kubrick portrays bathrooms.

The Shining could mean a lot of things. One takeaway to add to the list: watch what you do with your interiors, because you can't always control what people read into them.

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Hotels Week 2014: Exploring the Fan Theories Inspired by The Shining's Decor

Pardon our dust: Construction goes on apace into the new year

Highland Community News photos by Charles Roberts - Taking shape. The In-N-Out restaurant on Greenspot Road is taking shape, expected to open in March.

Civic Center Plaza, across the street from City Hall, is getting a new face. Most businesses are open during construction.

Final grading is being constructed at the Chevron station next door to In-N-Out.

Posted: Thursday, January 5, 2012 12:00 am

Pardon our dust: Construction goes on apace into the new year By Charles Roberts, Editor Highland Community News HighlandNews.net |

Big plans and big hope are ushering Highland into the new year with several projects under construction and more waiting in the wings.

The long-awaited In-N-Out restaurant is expected to be serving burgers and fries at its new Highland location in March, with the next-door Chevron station expected to open by then.

A new small office complex is under construction at the corner of Greenspot Road and Church Street.

The new Dairy Queen is now training its 22 employees and is expected to open in about a week.

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Pardon our dust: Construction goes on apace into the new year

Houston, TX /PRNewswire-iReach/ - Level Construction, a full-service general contracting and construction management firm specializing in hotel construction, recently broke ground on a 5-story, 94,091-square-foot Holiday Inn located at 18616 Kenswick Drive, near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Construction is anticipated to last 12 months and will provide the area with one of its largest hotel.

Level Construction has already successfully completed a Quality Inn & Suites, Best Western Plus, and a Baymont Inn & Suites in this region, and is currently working on a Holiday Inn Express, Baymont Inn & Suites, and a Marriot Springhill in the same area.

The 144-room hotel will feature amenities such as a conference room, restaurant, fitness room, and a bar. This Holiday Inn is representative of the continued commercial boon seen in the greater Houston region, with developments sprouting up throughout the area due to emphasis on North American oil production and investment.

"Our ability to break into such an exciting and competitive market here in Houston is a testament to our professional approach and the consistency of our work," said Alex Johnson, Level Construction Managing Partner. "Texas as a whole is teeming with opportunities, and I'm happy we have a presence in its largest city."

Level's success within the hotel industry is due to its full-service capabilities, including procuring property, cost-effective budgeting, working collectively with architects and engineers, as well as project implementation. "Our goal is to ultimately build prominent, high-profile hotels," said Johnson. "The process we've created for these projects has been successful and I hope we can continue influencing the construction landscape in the Houston area."

About Level Construction Level Construction is a full-service general contracting and construction management firm with offices in Houston, TX and Chicago, IL. Level specializes in various commercial construction disciplines, including franchise construction, health care, hotels, office and retail build-outs, and education facilities. Level Construction provides consistent, detail-oriented construction services while maintaining open lines of communication with their clients. Level's all-inclusive approach has led to over 1000% growth since 2005, and they've continued to expand into new markets. For more information on Level Construction please contact their Chicago office at 773-930-4695 or Houston office at 832-242-3456, or visit http://www.levelconstruction.net.

SOURCE: Level Construction. Inc.

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Level Construction Continues Increased Presence In Houston Market With Construction Of Holiday Inn Hotel In Houston, TX

5:45 p.m. update: A pump used to pour wet cement malfunctioned on the 16th floor of a downtown construction site Tuesday evening, causing some of the material to fall and hit a man sitting at a nearby restaurant, an official said.

Joe Garza, the regional safety manager with DPR Construction, said that workers were using a pump to pour the wet cement into a column when pressure built up, causing it to overflow and fall. He said the company is still investigating the incident, but that it is considering putting up more nets on the construction site and to coordinate times for when workers pour wet cement so they have a spotter in place downstairs to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Police said Tuesday night that the man was sitting at the Market, 319 Colorado St., when the incident happened.

Earlier: A man who was hit by wet cement Tuesday evening had been sitting at a nearby restaurant, officials said.

The incident occurred about 6:40 p.m. near the site where the Colorado Tower is being built at 303 Colorado St. The man was taken to a hospital with bleeding to the head, but his injuries were described as minor, an official with Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services said.

Construction is being performed on the mixed retail/office space by DPR Construction. Workers had been pouring cement into a column when some fell onto the man, an official said.

Were in the process of investigating it, said Joe Garza, regional safety manager with DPR Construction.

Further details were not immediately available.

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Pump malfunction caused wet cement to fall from building, official says

Ken Grassi looks over rsums for a new wait staff at the new Grassis Ristorante and boutique Monday in the space formerly occupied by Affairs Cafe & Bakery on Bridgeport Way in University Place. Grassi moved his longtime restaurant and boutique near UWT to University Place, where he already has deep community connections. PHOTOSBYDEANJ.KOEPFLER/STAFFPHOTOGRAPHER

After closing his restaurant and boutique near the University of Washington Tacoma, Ken Grassi figured it would take another six months to open a new edition in University Place.

It took almost double, he said last week.

He cited negotiations, permits, indoor construction and exterior improvements planned during winter weather.

Where his downtown ladies boutique occupied 1,000 square feet, the new Grassis fills 1,500, and it is in a space next door but separated from the restaurant if only so the Italian aromas of garlic and onions do not cling to the cottons and silks.

The restaurant occupies the space that formerly housed Affairs cafe and truffle emporium at 2811 Bridgeport Way. So well-remembered is Affairs that Grassi said of owner Gay Landry, She had a great reputation. We love her. She left such a heritage. Were grateful for what she did here. Well have a blessing ceremony, and I am going to ask her to that.

Gone is the case where the truffles were, and in their place sits a counter where the specialty will be wine. The dining room remains, upgraded to embrace an air of the Italian countryside.

A portrait of Grassis father, Julio, graces one wall so intensely that the son said, I feel like hes watching me.

Uncle John looks across the room from a sepia-tinted photo, and theres another that records the wedding of Grassis sister, Bonnie. Wife Kim and daughter Melanie look across from a hutch.

The wine counter is supported by a brace of ancient radiators, and an Italian accordion stands beside a lamp made to resemble a vertical bouquet of hydrangeas. Nearby, cherubs watch over a burbling fountain. Windows circa 1850 hang from the ceiling near an elderly Hotpoint electric range.

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New Grassis sets sights on April opening dates