The city of Glenwood Springs may have spent about $235,000 too much for fire protection and ventilation systems in its new $4 million downtown parking garage at Ninth and Cooper, according to a local engineer and architect who have been researching the matter.

Barney Mulligan, a retired engineer who specialized in fire protection systems for more than 50 years including as senior engineer for the Denver Fire Department; and longtime local architect Dean Moffatt, say the sprinkler, ventilation and related alarm systems in the partially enclosed structure alone are overkill.

A stand-alone, 4-inch dry standpipe system that was also included as part of the construction in 2012-13, at an estimated cost of around $50,000, is way over the top according to applicable fire code requirements, they claim.

City Manager Jeff Hecksel said he is having Glenwood Springs Fire Department officials review the issue, which was already investigated earlier this year after Mulligan and Moffatt first raised their concerns.

Deputy Fire Marshal Ron Biggers said at the time that, based on the architectural designs and because more than half of the parking garages lower level is underground, it is considered an enclosed structure, and that the fire protections are necessary.

But, Mulligan said in an interview following his and Moffatts appearance before City Council last week, The standpipe in this parking structure is the most ridiculous of the four non-required systems.

The sole purpose of standpipes is to expedite the application of water to fires on the upper levels of mid- and high-rise buildings, said Mulligan, who said he worked on the design of several such structures in Denver and in Alaska during his career.

Standpipe systems allow firefighters to pump water from a fire engine or hydrant into the built-in piping system so that water can travel quickly to the upper reaches and remote parts of a building, he explained.

Mulligan cites National Fire Protection Association requirements calling for standpipe systems to be installed in structures exceeding 50 feet in height. The two-level parking garage rises to a maximum height of 17 feet, Mulligan noted.

The lowest height in any type of structure requiring a standpipe starts at 30 feet, he said. This street-level standpipe system will never be used and should be removed.

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Fire code overkill at city parking garage?

Hitch Fit Lose Weight Program Client Sheds Fat and Gets in Great Shape!
Check out Stefanie #39;s Full Transformation Here-http://hitchfit.com/before-afters/hitch-fit-lose-weight-program-client-sheds-fat/ Stefanie #39;s Program Choice-Los...

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Final Stages of the Family Room Addition

By: Lane Homes Remodeling

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Final Stages of the Family Room Addition - Video

This image from Microsoft Research's "Mano a Mano" paper shows how three projector/Kinect pairs can create believable 3D virtual objects from two different perspectives.

Microsoft may be taking an official wait and see approach before following companies like Oculus and Sony down the virtual reality headset path. That isn't stopping the company's research arm from looking into interesting ways to use Kinect and projector technology to create holodeck-style augmented reality experiences in the living room, though. Microsoft Research has prepared a number of interesting demos and papers on these lines for the Association for Computing Machinery's User Interface Software and Technology Symposium, showing off just how far those efforts have come and how they could lead to interesting new forms of gaming in the future.

The first project, RoomAlive, promises to "transform any room into an immersive augmented virtual gaming experience," as the researchers put it. The system uses six paired projector/Kinect units, mounted to the ceiling so they have somewhat overlapping fields of view. These units can auto-calibrate themselves with a series of projected light patterns, transforming their individual Kinect depth maps into a unified 3D point-cloud model of the room.

From there, RoomAlive translates the point data into a series of vertical and horizontal surfaces representing the walls and furniture, then translates that into a 3D environment in the Unity game engine. Using that virtual representation of the room, the system then figures out how to project a unified image on those walls and surfaces, warping the projection so it appears correct on each surface. The effect is akin to transforming the entire room into a computer screen or monitor, complete with player-tracking through the array of Kinect cameras.

In addition to some non-interactive demos, MSR showed off a few gaming concepts that use the system. In one "whack-a-mole" game, users, tracked by Kinect, can touch or shoot at critters that appear on the wall. In another, a gun-toting character controlled with a handheld controller runs across the wall, down on to a table, and then onto the floor while being chased by robots. The final demo puts virtual spike traps on the wall for users to dodge and bathes the room in red when and ifthey are hit.

In a similar ACM demo, called Mano-a-Mano, a team of two MSR researchers uses a trio of projector/Kinect combos to create an augmented reality effect that provides correct three-dimensional perspectives for two different users. Each projector displays virtual objects against the walls, floors, and fixtures in a room in such a way that they appear to float in the middle of the room. The apparent perspective and size of those virtual objects changes as the user's position and head angle are detected by Kinectto give the illusion of real depth and position in the middle of the room.

That's a decent faux 3D solution for a single user, but how can such a system account for two people looking at a virtual object from different angles? That's where the multiple projector setup comes in, giving each user their own view of the virtual scene. By "assuming that each user is unaware of graphics projected on the wall behind them or their own bodies," as the researchers explain, the system can show two different perspectives of the same scene that look correct to each user. In the demo, the system is shown for a simple game of catch and for a "combat style game" where a user can summon fireballs in their hand and fling them at the user on the other side of the room.

The last of MSR's ACM demos that might be of interest to gamers and game makers is Handpose, a system that adds a degree of detail and articulation to Kinect-based hand and finger tracking. With a new tracking algorithm, researchers appear to be able to distinguish individual fingers and hand gestures with much more detail than was previously possible with a standard Kinect v2 sensor.

Users are shown throwing complex finger positions at many different angles while the tracking system quickly and accurately tracks those positions in a 3D model of the hand. This tracking is "robust to tracking failure," works up to "several meters" away from the sensor, and works regardless of where the camera is positioned, even if the tracking camera is moving, the researchers say. In a video demo, users are shown using the system to easily grasp and move virtual objects simply by moving their fingers together and apart.

These kinds of augmented reality experiments aren't exactly new for Microsoft and Microsoft Research. MSR's latest demos pivot off of IllumiRoom, an impressive demonstration from last year that showed projectors being used to extend game action past the bounds of a TV screen. And let's not forget that Microsoft's 2012 "Project Fortaleza" leak and subsequent patents both point to an interest in heads-up augmented reality displays.

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Microsoft Research demos our potential, holodeck-style gaming future

By Ian Bauer, Milpitas Post

Owners of Bay 101 Casino have solely funded a Nov. 4 ballot measure that if passed by voters could allow the relocation of the card room from San Jose to Milpitas, according to campaign finance reports released this week.

Bumb & Associates Inc. and affiliated entities including Bay 101 contributed nearly $314,000 in the effort to bring their card room here.

By contrast, Voters Against Measure E, the grassroots group opposed to a card room's presence in the city, raised $5,550.

Filed on Monday, state-mandated Fair Political Practice Commission statements disclosed campaign monies raised by Milpitas' mayoral and city council candidates as well as both Measure E campaigns for the filing period July 1 through Sept. 30, for all who have committees.

The Bumb family, who filed their required campaign statements Tuesday and Wednesday, hope Measure E's passage will allow a card room to operate here. Proposed is a 10.5-percent card room tax that will result in approximately $8.4 million in annual general fund revenue to the city and possibly gross $80-million each year for the card room operator. If voters pass the measure, the card room would locate on the outskirts of the city, west of McCarthy Boulevard.

To counter the card room's advances here, No on E received a $2,000 donation from the group's spokesperson, former Milpitas school trustee Mike McInerney. Group member Jerry Epps also donated $2,500.

In addition, No on E also received $100 from K & P Reed Enterprises Inc. of Milpitas; $200 from Earl Riebold of Milpitas; and $350 from Elizabeth Cilker, co-owner of Cilker Farms and Milpitas Center -- a West Calaveras Boulevard shopping center not far from the possible card room site.

Mayor and city council races

Eleven people are running for Milpitas City Council this year, with three stepping forward as mayoral contenders. They are Daniel Bobay, 59, vice president of Milpitas Unified's Board of Education; Mayor Jose "Joe" Esteves, 67, who's running for re-election; and retired engineer Robert Marini.

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Measure E campaign discloses $250,000 in donations for card room in Milpitas

Photo by Shawn Linenberger. Enlarge photo.

Tonganoxie City Fire Department built an addition to its station that provides a full kitchen, men's and women's showers and bathrooms, four bunk rooms and a living room space. Firefighters did much of the construction work themselves. Pictured, from left, are Chief Dave Bennett, full-time firefighter Alexis Shanks and Deputy Chief John Callaghan. Bennett said the department is planning for an open house later this fall.

The red button is a popular conversation piece.

Inside the Tonganoxie City Fire Stations building addition is a red button.

Fire Chief Dave Bennett said the red button triggers a popular question.

What exactly does it do?

It shuts down the kitchen, Bennett said.

If firefighters are summoned to a call in the middle of preparing a meal, a push of the button turns off the stove and oven.

With firefighters hurrying off to a fire call, a push of the button ensures theres not a fire in the kitchen upon their return.

The kitchen is part of a 2,800-square-foot addition just north of the existing station that firefighters finished building at the beginning of this year.

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Tonganoxie firefighters enjoying quarters they constructed

The flickering flames can't seem to erase the chill that pervades the campfire. The plentiful goose bumps have nothing to do with the temperature. They're the result of the ghost stories being told.

The storyteller swears these aren't far-fetched fables but all-too-true accounts. There are, of course, doubters around the circle. Perhaps a midnight trip to the morgue will change their minds.

In the Arkansas Ozarks, the proprietors don't shy away from the Crescent Hotel's dubious past as a Depression-era hospital for cancer patients hoping for miracle cures. It's fodder for hair-raising, spine-tingling tales sure to delight, and terrify, guests.

For those who don't mind spending the night with one eye open, there are haunted hotels scattered across the country. When checking in, visitors should understand they may be sharing their rooms with spirits that never checked out.

The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa (75 Prospect Ave., Eureka Springs, Ark.; 855-725-5720; crescent-hotel.com) bills itself as "America's Most Haunted Hotel" and has built the business by sharing the creepy past of con man Norman Baker's Cancer Curable Hospital. Guides in period costume lead visitors on nightly tours. On the third floor, they learn of how the squeaking wheels of a stretcher have lured guests into the corridor.

"They would see a lady in a starched white nurse's outfit pushing a gurney, with a body covered with a sheet, going down the hallway," recalled Bill Ott, the hotel's marketing director. "And then she would just kind of disappear."

As with the campfire tales, the tours end in the basement, where the morgue was in the 1930s.

"There's a lot more activity down there than other places in the hotel," Ott added of spirited goings-on.

The Otesaga of Cooperstown (60 Lake St., Cooperstown, N.Y.; 607-547-9931; otesaga.com) isn't far from the former home of Louis C. Jones, author of "Things That Go Bump in the Night." Fittingly, the hotel has had plenty of inexplicably eerie happenings, many of them linked to the years when The Otesaga also housed an all-girls school.

"They claim that children are running up and down our hallways, having fun and making noise," director of sales Bob Faller said of his co-workers' experiences.

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Take a room at these haunted hotels, if you can last the night

Minecraft - EP 6 - Steampunk Roofing
Minecraft version 1.8 is out and I am excited to jump right in and start sharing my world with YouTube. We begin by colonizing a small area and building with...

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Neither rain nor sleet nor even the repaving of Ferree Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Coraopolis will keep the landmark Reas Restaurant from closing, unless of course its Monday, the only day the diner is closed.

The paving project, which is entering its fourth week, is expected to continue through the end of the month, but what makes this a headache to Joanna Rea and her mother, Connie, who have owned the Coraopolis diner since 1991, is the inconvenience it causes for her customers, some of whom have eaten there twice a day, six days a week.

Ms. Rea knows the road project is needed and said she will tough it out even though business has dropped off 15 percent to 20 percent in the past four weeks.

A lot of councilmen come in, so I knew what was going on, said Ms. Rea, who had to jump up several times during a recent interview to ring up customers.

This work was needed, she said. Everyone was complaining how bumpy the road was.

Thanks to the owners of Waynes Lounge, which is across the street, Reas diners can park in the taverns parking lot. Reas has a giant red banner at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Ferree that lets motorists coming off the Coraopolis-Neville Island Bridge know it is open during construction.

Even though Ms. Rea said business has dropped off since the closure of Ferree, it wasnt really evident during a recent Thursday afternoon visit to the diner. Despite the fact the diner was going to close in an hour, several tables were occupied, and all five of Ms. Reas employees were in constant motion.

Donna and George Lokey of Robinson just finished their tuna salad sandwiches and stopped to chat a minute with Ms. Rea. The Lokeys, who eat at the diner at least three times a month, said their favorite thing to eat there is breakfast that includes hot sausage. The Lokeys daughter, Patty, used to be a waitress at the diner.

Joe Rubino, another diner regular, said he eats at the restaurant five days a week. The Coraopolis resident said he is such a regular that he will help Ms. Rea and her staff with deliveries. In return, Mr. Rubino says, he gets his coffee half price.

The food is fantastic, said Mr. Rubino, who said he is such a regular that he has his own stool at the breakfast and lunch counter.

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Road work affects Coraopolis diner, but customers dig in

Commissioners in Upper St. Clair gave final approval for a new restaurant and office park on Boyce Road Monday, over the objections of a neighboring property owner who is concerned about worsening stormwater damage.

Our view is that the plan shouldnt be approved tonight, said lawyer Scott Cessar, representing BR Associates. The plan is defective.

But commissioners said they could no longer delay a decision on the development and voted 4-0 to approve it, with Commissioners Nicholas Seitanakis and Mark Christie abstaining due to business relationships with lawyers representing the parties. Commissioners Russell Del Re, Daniel Paoly, Glenn Dandoy and Rex Waller voted in favor. Commissioner Robert Orchowski was absent.

The issue was discussed for more than a year and a public hearing into the request was delayed last month to give neighbors time to view the plan.

Where were you a year ago? Mr. Del Re asked Mr. Cessar. Im confused.

At issue is a plan to expand Ardolinos Pizza into a 4,000-square-foot restaurant with a business park to be operated separately on the property. BR Associaties, owners of the neighboring St. Clair Plaza, object to the expansion due to ongoing concerns about flooding during storms.

Weve experienced significant stormwater damage, including $500,000 in uninsured damages that wiped out 32 tenants, Mr. Cessar told commissioners.[The new development] is going to add to the problem.

No, it wont, said Mr. Del Re, who cited an engineers report indicating that the development of the property would lessen the stormwater damage in the area due to underground water detention facilities and new infrastructure.

But Mr. Cessar said BR Associates hired an independent engineer who cast doubt on that assertion.

It is creating more impervious surface that will increase water runoff, Mr. Cessar said. His engineer said stormwater could back up in the new system during a major storm, creating more flooding and hazards than currently exist.

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Over neighbors' objection, Boyce Road construction approved in Upper St. Clair