For Petaluma pastor Tom Freitas, the 24-hour flight to Kenya, several-hour van ride to the small village near the Tanzania boarder and week-long stay in a small hut was nothing new. He has made this journey almost annually since 1999.

What made this trip different was the nature of the work he did on the ground. Freitas, the assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel in Petaluma, and five other members of the congregation spent part of this summer building a church in the village of Kehancha, Kenya, and building friendships among the villagers.

People there eek out a subsistence living. A lot of people live in one-room huts, Freitas said. The work itself was very labor-intensive. Unlike construction here, it is all manpower.

The crew of six men from Petalumas Calvary Chapel Freitas, Michael Belfor, Ebin Koenig, Tim Tillman, Art Adams and Ryan Lee were invited by a Kenyan pastor who became affiliated with the church through Freitas ministry work in the east African country. He was looking for volunteers to help reconstruct the village house of worship.

In Kenya, sometimes a structure doesnt last very long, Freitas said. His church was a mud and stick building. He decided he wanted to build a more permanent structure that wouldnt get degraded over time. Wed never done anything like a construction project before.

Besides Freitas, the five other men on the trip had never visited Africa before, but they had a life changing experience learning about a new culture, eating different foods and making friends.

Tillman, a tile contractor, said he had never considered a trip this far from home. But, he said, it was a life changing experience.

Once we got there, it was pretty amazing, he said. It was a real eye-opener.

The men spent their days pouring concrete, bending rebar and moving loads of bricks to make the frame for the villages new church. At one point, they ran out of the wood they were using to make frames, and, without any lumber stores, the local men went into the forest to cut down some more wood, Tillman said.

It was quite different from the way we do things, he said. Made you go back 40, 50 years. It was amazing.

Tillman said he plans to go back to help lay tile in the church sometime in the future.

At night, the group hung out with the Kenyan pastor and his family and were hosted at dinner parties.

The trip in late June coincided with the run up to Kenyas presidential election this month, and Freitas said they saw signs of the campaign throughout the country.

There was some tension, he said. People get inflamed easily.

The closely contested poll, won by incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta, was proceeded by several days of riots, though nothing close to the post-election violence that Kenya experienced after the 2007 presidential election that killed 1,500 people and displaced thousands more.

Despite Kenyas potential for political violence, Freitas said the country on the whole is stable. He said the potential instability has not kept him from traveling to and working there for nearly 20 years, and he plans to return again next year.

On the way back to the capital, Nairobi, the group from Petaluma stopped off at one of Kenyas famed wild game parks, the Maasai Mara. There they spotted most of the countrys characteristic animals, including elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos, and were treated to the spectacle of a million wildebeest migrating across the Serengeti plains.

Read this article:
Petaluma church group visits Kenya on work trip - Petaluma Argus Courier

Tech Review: The Tile line of Bluetooth trackers has evolved to include new form factors and extended range and features.

Im a fan of the Tile line of Bluetooth trackers.

Tiles are small, battery-powered Bluetooth trackers that you can slip into a wallet or computer bag or attach to your keychain to help you find them when they get separated from you.

The original Tile was not as streamlined as todays models, but it worked well. Today, Tile has evolved to include several new form factors, but they all work the same way.

You download the Tile app to your smartphone or tablet and add the individual Tiles to the app. Then you attach the Tile to whatever it is you dont want to lose.

If you do lose track of the item, you can call up the Tile app on your phone get some help finding it. If the Tile is within Bluetooth range, youll be able to make the Tile play a ringtone so you can locate it. This is what usually happens when Ive misplaced my keys inside my house.

But what happens if the keys are lost away from home, or left on the counter at the bank? What happens if you are not conveniently within Bluetooth range?

Your phone cant signal a Tile that it cant connect to via Bluetooth, but it can start a lost Tile search. If you tag your Tile as lost in the app, the Tile servers will add it to a database of lost Tiles that is broadcast to everyone who uses the Tile app.

If anyone with the app on their phone comes within range of your lost Tile, their app will tell the Tile servers where your tile was discovered. The users wont know they are helping locate your lost tile, as the locating of lost Tiles is not transparent to the user community.

You will receive a message from your Tile app telling you where your lost Tile is located. Its up to you to go track it down and retrieve it.

The original Tile didnt have a very wide range for Bluetooth communications, but it would work pretty well.

If you had a big house and needed to locate your keys, you might have to walk around to different parts of the house before the Bluetooth connection was made so you could hear the ringtone.

Newer versions of the Tile, called the Tile Mate ($25) and Tile Slim ($30) added a button that could be used to locate the connected smartphone, so if you had your Tile, but misplaced your phone, the Tile can make a ringtone on the phone, even if the phone is on silent mode.

The Tile Mate has a hole so you can attach it to your key chain or computer bag. The Tile Slim is thin like a credit card, and it can be easily slipped in a wallet or purse.

The latest models called the Tile Pro, have really upped the ante.

The Pro models come in gray (called the Sport) or white and gold (called the Style). The Tile Pro costs $35 or two for $60.

The Pro models have a range of up to 200 feet, which is much better than the previous models. The Pros are also the only Tiles that are waterproof, and their speakers can play a ringtone that is twice as loud as older Tiles.

The Tile Pro Sport is 1.57 inches square and weighs just half an ounce.

Tiles are pretty inexpensive, but I need to explain how their life cycle works.

The Tiles do not have a user-replaceable battery. They are sealed. To make the Tiles the small size they are, the batteries only last for a year before you have to replace the Tile, which is called reTiling.

When your Tile expires, you send it back to the company, and you can replace it with a new Tile at a discount.

For instance, my Tile Slim in my wallet is due to expire in eight days. When I launch the Tile app, Im given a button to press to start the reTile process.

When you reTile, you get a discount of between 28 and 40 percent, so to replace the Tile Slim with a new one would cost $21 (instead of $30).

I realize some people will be turned off by this model of planned expiration, but its really just a subscription model that includes new hardware every year.

There are other brands of Bluetooth locator. Some have replaceable batteries and crowdsourced locating like Tile.

I guess the choice comes down to quality, Bluetooth range, additional features and the tracking of lost devices, which would depend on the number of users walking around with the app.

Ive been happy using Tile for a few years now, and the upgrade to the Tile Pro brings some useful additions. Being able to find it from longer distances and hear it with a louder speaker are just what I wanted.

Original post:
Tend to misplace your keys? Tile Pro can help you track them down - The Seattle Times

ONTARIO Further work on the Plaza Inn Restaurant and the Saint Alphonsus Health Plaza in Ontario is at a standstill, awaiting the results of an air quality test which will be an indication on how clean the facility is.

Jason Jungling, assistant manager, said he thought the test would start Monday with the results known at the end of the week. It will take five days to conduct the test with no one going in or out of the building.

At this time, a reopening of the Plaza Inn is not expected until at least Oct. 1. Jungling said, That is tentative.

Those waiting for the Health Plaza to reopen, will need to wait a bit longer as Ken Hart, president of Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Ontario, expects to reopen sometime mid-October.

The restaurant and health facility, formerly the location of the Park Center, was flooded about a month ago, after an 8-inch underground pipe broke. Water ran for an estimated five to six hours, Jungling said in a phone interview.

After further investigation, Hart said the rupture occurred underground after a 2-inch hole appeared in the water main that supplied water to the fire sprinkler system. The hole in the pipe appeared to have been caused by age it was not from construction or otherwise related, Hart said.

The rupture happened underground which is why we got mud and silt in the building, he added.

National disaster team Belfor Property Restoration, responded to the flooding of the building and has remained on scene as they work to prepare the building for the reopenings.

As of now, the main concern is the air quality.

We have to make sure to terminally clean the building, Hart said.

That includes determining there is no mold from the water that poured into the two facilities.

Inside the restaurant, crews have sectioned off areas so if there is a zone that does not come back clean, the whole restaurant does not have to be re-cleaned, Jungling said.

However, the facility as a whole must be deemed clean for any restoration work to continue, he added.

Up until now, work in the restaurant has included removing all the carpet, tile and sheetrock up to 2-feet up from the floor, Jungling said. There are plans to install the same pattern of carpet that was installed in 2016.

Theyre planning on opening our building first, he said, before the Health Plaza. The main focus is getting our operation up and running.

In the meantime, Plaza Inn employees are being paid, Jungling said, noting the restaurants insurance covers employee wages for 60 days.

Much of the same work performed inside the restaurant is true with the Health Plaza, where carpet, equipment and sheetrock has been removed. All of the equipment is in the process of being analyzed to determine if it will be brought back to the facility, Hart said.

Much like the building itself, Hart said the equipment also has to be determined terminally clean.

As a health-care facility, our standards are really high, he said.

Once the building is determined safe after the mold spore analysis, the Health Plaza will have the green light to begin construction of the building.

Of the cost of damage, Hart said its a lot and wont have final numbers until everything is completed.

Picking up the tab for the damage caused to the building by the flooding is Saint Alphonsus, Hart said.

We are the landlord, so we take care of the building, he said.

However, equipment inside the Plaza Inn restaurant is exempted from their tab.

Most services provided by the health facility have transferred to Saint Alphonsus Health Plaza Fruitland with the exception of cardiac rehabilitation those services were moved to Nampa. All of the staff has also relocated to Fruitland, with some extended hours at the office, Hart said.

See original here:
Update on plazas - Ontario Argus Observer

Eight weeks ago, The Sunroom opened in Clintonville at 3337 N. High St. Owned and operated by Suzanne Riska and Chloe Crites, the eco-conscious boutique houses a wide variety of goods from womens clothes, to candles, to handmade jewelry, to macram planters.

Both Riska and Crites have backgrounds in retail, having worked for bigger companies. Bothered by the lack of transparency about where the goods came from, they teamed up to launch an open, honest company that is completely upfront about where they get their goods. Apart from one line from a small company in France, all of their clothes are made in the U.S. Everything in their store is ethically made, and Riska and Crites are ready and eager to tell their customers about it. In addition to their clothes, The Sunroom also carries Stockholm shoes, One Six Five jewelry, and fair-trade home goods from the U.S., Mexico, Guatemala, India, and Morocco.

Riska and Crites acknowledge their clothes are not fast fashion and are therefore priced a little higher than one might find on a clearance rack at a chain retailer. Their clothes are handmade by designers and are more sustainable and durable. Riska and Crites strive to stay true to why they opened The Sunroom to offer ethically made goods. Within that goal, theyre retail inclusive, meaning they do not cater to a specific body type. Instead of being a Big & Tall or Plus or Petite store, The Sunroom offers all shapes and sizes of clothing.

The store is a welcomed addition to their Clintonville location. They have hosted and participated in a number of workshops, such as how to make a macram planter, and are looking forward to hosting a variety of other workshops. Riska and Crites hope to someday have a bigger space that will allow them more room for workshops, as well as offer the opportunity to expand their clothes into mens and childrens.

More information can be found at thesunroom.co.

Read more:
Shop Talk: The Sunroom - columbusunderground

A tasty salad of tender pea shoots. Handfuls of fragrant herbs for the stew. Snack vegetables for lunch boxes.

Keeping a fresh supply of greens and herbs on hand can be challenging as the growing season winds down, or if you don't have a garden. But now you can plop a planter anywhere in your house, set a few timers, and in about 10 days you'll be nibbling greens like a contented rabbit.

There are a variety of indoor grow gardens on the market that come with everything you need: planter, planting medium, seeds, fertilizer and a high-intensity grow light. Smart tech and remote controls adjust lighting and moisture levels, so even if your thumb's not the greenest, you can still find success.

Linnea and Tarren Wolfe of Vancouver, British Columbia, decided to design a home grower after watching their kids gobble up sunflower and pea-shoot microgreens "like potato chips."

Their Urban Cultivator looks like a wine refrigerator. It comes as a free-standing unit, topped with a butcher block, or it can be installed under the counter and hooked up like a dishwasher. The company offers an extensive seed selection, but anything from your local garden center will grow. (urbancultivator.net)

The indoor garden trend is part of an expanding movement, says New York landscape architect Janice Parker.

"The technology of these kits simplifies hydroponic gardening at its best, and makes it available to all," she says. You don't need a yard, or favorable weather.

"What a pleasure to have fresh herbs, flowers and vegetables, and experience a connection to nature no matter where you are," Parker says.

She thinks these kits shouldn't just be relegated to the kitchen.

"I'd put them anywhere -- dining room tables and coffee tables come to mind. Or in 'dead' spaces that have no light or interest," she says.

Miracle Gro's line of Aerogarden indoor planters includes the Sprout, which is about the size of a coffee maker and suitable for herbs, as well as a larger model in which you could grow just about anything. Pre-packaged seed pods of lettuces, cherry tomatoes, herb blends and petunias come ready to pop in the planter. An LCD control panel helps adjust lighting and watering needs. (bit.ly/2xdKHZE )

Click & Grow's planter is compact. It has room for three plants, and an integrated LED light pole and special lightweight soil are included. The planter comes in white, gray or beige. There's a walnut wood case available for the herb model. (clickandgrow.com)

LA Farms' vertical garden would make a vibrant addition to a sunny kitchen or sunroom. A circulating pump brings a soothing burble of water up and through the tower-shaped planter.

So what to grow in it, if you're a novice?

"Leafy greens such as arugula, kale and butter lettuce, and herbs such as parsley, cilantro, thyme and oregano prove to be easiest for indoor growing," says LA Farms' founder, Wendy Goodman, of Los Angeles.

HomeStyle on 08/26/2017

Read the original post:
Bringing a garden inside the kitchen - NWAOnline

BUILDING PERMITS

PMT2016-05023 1806 17th St.; $125,000.00; 17th 1806; Anderson-Garcia Construction; Remodel and addition to a residential duplex. Scope includes reconfiguration of existing spaces (1,176 sf) and 545 square-foot addition for a total of three bedrooms in unit A and 3 bedrooms in unit B. Includes associated MEP. See HIS2016-00243. Associated with floodplain development permit PMT2016-05021 and LUR2016-00030.

PMT2017-00664 624 Pearl St. 304; $117,000.00; Sean and Susan Conway; Flatirons Construction Company; Interior remodel and small addition to an existing multi-family unit. the remodel will be of the entire unit resulting in two bedroom suites with an additional half bath. The addition will capture 55 square feet of the exterior inset deck. See ADR2016-00329 for Minor Modification approval of exterior changes.

PMT2017-01811 405 Hawthorn Ave.; $1,685,000.00; LLC Bl2017; Morningstar Homes; New two-story single-family home with walk-out basement and attached garage. Scope includes associated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing.

PMT2017-02207 1955 28th St.; $50,000.00; Relocation of cart corral from inside Hazel's, to the bike storage location in the front of the store. Relocation will include enclosing approximately 195 square feet (.54 percent of previously approved floor area) to the north of the foyer, behind the existing north wing door, demolition of interior walls and relocation of the fire alarm panel from the north wall of the foyer to the west wall of the foyer. Corral will not be visible from parking lot. Reference ADR2016-00356.

PMT2017-03335 2233 Mariposa Ave.; $10,000.00; Erika Blum; Permit for the conversion of an existing front sunroom into a front entry porch for a single-family detached dwelling. Deck above the front entry to be decreased in size so that the only upper deck is under existing roof line.

PMT2017-03460 880 Gapter Road; $55,000.00; Victor Saouma; Bailey Custom Homes; Remodel to an existing single-family detached dwelling to include electrical and plumbing work and removal of walls on lower and upper level.

PMT2017-03469 2065 Alpine Drive; $84,000.00; John Goldsmith; Legault, Inc.; Master bath remodel for a single-family dwelling. Scope includes addition of a freestanding tub. Existing door to be replaced with new window. Wall to be in-filled below with brick to match on exterior.

PMT2017-03539 2170 Hillsdale Circle; $17,100.00; Paul and Bonnie Spyers-Duran; Homeowner as GC for main level kitchen remodel that includes removal of existing island, relocation of existing fixtures, range, and relocation of garage/house door, new garage stairs with handrail. Scope also includes three new egress windows in basement. See engineer's letter for specifications. Includes associated MEP, approximately 100 square feet.

PMT2017-03541 2860 17th St.; $13,518.00; David Williams; James W. Lyon Contracting; Kitchen remodel for a single-family detached dwelling. Scope includes replacement of two windows in existing openings and replacement of an interior bearing wall with an LVL dropped beam. No change in plumbing fixture count and appliances/fixtures remain in existing locations.

PMT2017-03550 3335 25th St.; $12,650.00; Timothy and Emily Mcmurray; Melton Construction, Inc.; Replacement of an existing deck for a single-family residence with a patio and new deck. Scope includes 160 square-foot deck, electrical conduit for future exterior lighting, and gas line for future grill and fire pit.

Continue reading here:
Boulder building permits, Aug. 28, 2017 - Boulder Daily Camera

Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Ganpati with great fervor and joy. Ganesh Chaturthi 2017 will be celebrated on August 25, 2017, in India. The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi and is marked with the installation of Ganesha clay idols in several homes. There are several easy decoration ideas to prepare for the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. From ordering and setting up beautiful makhars to making easy and visually stunning flower assemblies and other DIY projects, people take a lot of efforts to make Ganpatis stay in their house as pleasant and aesthetic as possible.Ganesh Chaturthi 2017: Date, Muhurat, Puja Vidhi, Fasting & Auspicious Timings of Ganpati Festival.

While there are extravagant pandals that house Lord Ganesha idols in different styles and designs. The Ganpati decoration ideas range from the simple and easy DIYs which are eco-friendly and give a unique look to the whole settings to the traditional decorations using LED string lights and flowers. Florists come up with beautiful flower assemblies especially for Vinayaka Chaturthi, and some innovative artists also enjoy making anything from the classic mount Kailasa with plaster of Paris to beautiful backgrounds with quilling and origami designs.

In the recent times, people have shifted from the thermocol designs to settle for something more environmentally friendly like paper and wood based designs. Some people have also chosen to opt for innovative Ganpati idols that can be immersed at home and will not pollute the ponds, lakes and other water bodies. Ganpati Idols made completely with chocolate or mud based idols are now preferred as people try to live an eco-friendly life and celebrate a green Ganpati. Whether it is a green Ganpati or some simple and basic Ganpati decorations, the options are endless. Here are a few Ganesh Chaturthi Decoration Ideas to prepare in time for Ganeshotsav.

Origami arts have a certain charm that ties the whole look together. While there are various intricate designs in Origami and paper crafts that need a lot of precision and experience, it is extremely easy to make a few simple designs like the Origami Swan, Umbrella, butterflies etc. Make a bunch of these origami designs and stick them to a plain wall or decorative cloth to get a custom made Ganpati decoration. You can also go for a specific colour design that will bring the whole look together.

A post shared by Hopasholic (@hopasholic) on Aug 14, 2017 at 7:03am PDT

If buying the customised flower decorations for Ganpati seems unreasonable there is an easier way of making your own flower assemble by simply arranging different coloured flower torans as well as decorative torans to fall down a wall. This effect gives the wall a lot more definition and placing the Ganpati idol in front of such decorations with some string lights attached will bring the whole look together.

This ganesh chaturthi go green decorate ganeshji with live plants #ganesh#jaiganesh#ganeshchathurthi #ganeshdecoration#ganeshchaturthidecorationideas#ganeshchaturthi2017#ganeshchaturthi

A post shared by The Garden Shop Indore (@thegardenshops) on Aug 21, 2017 at 5:58am PDT

While eco-friendly Ganpati decorations are a thing, some environmentalists enjoy taking this a notch higher and decorate their house with live plants and their leaves for Ganpati. There are several beautiful Ganesh idols made from leaves, bamboos and special mud Ganpati idols that can be immersed in a bucket of water and used to water plants as well. Using live plants to decorate for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Paper quilling art is a craft that is easy to make and can be completely mesmerising. This craft can be used to either make small Ganpati as well as some decorative designs for the wall. The quilling flowers are a less expensive and easily manageable alternative to the designer flower bouquets and assemblies that are often bought to compliment the Ganpati idol. Much like the Origami art, these quilling art ideas can also be twisted according to personal preferences, and if you feel like thinking out of the box is not your things, following videos and books as is will give equally stunning results.

A post shared by Precious Momentss (@preciousmomentss_events) on Sep 7, 2016 at 1:25am PDT

For those who cannot make these easy and pretty decorations, there is always a ready made option that works wonders. Makhars made with flowers, or thermocol are easy to install and give the perfect backdrop for your Ganesh idol. Accessorising this makhar with some colourful fairy lights and focus lights will give you spectacular effects and make your Ganpati idol stand out.

These decorative ideas can all be done last minute, and even the DIY ideas will not take more than an hour. While we have other options like making paper mesh and plaster of Paris mountains and other decorative with a 3d effect, they are bound to take much longer. We hope that these Ganesh Chaturthi decoration ideas will come in handy and help you to prepare for the grand celebrations of Ganeshotsav 2017.

Originally posted here:
Ganesh Chaturthi Decoration Ideas: Innovative & Eco-friendly Designs for Decorating Homes This Ganpati Festival - India.com

Broken water mains, frozen sewer lines, failing manholes, degraded streets, sub-grade gravel failures, and broken, uneven pavement in the streets are finally being addressed.

Posted on 8/24/17

By Lisa Nowatzki

The city of Langdon has hired Moore Engineering, Inc., to assess the streets, sewers, and wastewater problems. Andrew Aakre is the project manager. Aaker has reviewed all of Langdons infrastructures, identified the problem areas and compiled a plan to correct the damage.

Beginning sometime in October 2017, weather permitting, Langdon residents will switch over to Northeast Regional Water District (NRWD), and it will provide water services for Langdon. NRWD is the result of the merger between the former Langdon Rural Water and North Valley Water Systems.

Gordy Johnson of NRWD states, More crews will be hired for the project. The next six weeks are going to be very busy. I think Langdon customers will enjoy the taste and good quality of the naturally soft water NRWD will provide.

Besides water provisions, the citys current infrastructure consists of water treatment and supply, the sewer collection system, the four-cell pond/lagoon system for wastewater, and the storm sewer system. The city also maintains two 250,000 gallon water towers and one 500,000 gallon clear well located at the water treatment plant.

According to Aakre, The city is not able to completely move water from one pond to another, which reduces the volume available for treatment. The plan is to equip the city with a transfer pump station to allow water to be moved from one pond to another. The other improvement is to install rip rap rocks around the two western ponds to protect the ponds from the erosion that has occurred in the past.

The water system has older cast iron pipes that are susceptible to breaking, especially in the winter. Broken gate valves makes it hard for staff to isolate problems. One of the water towers also has some operational challenges.

Some of the sewers are too shallow and freeze during the winter. The city has six lift stations that pump waste water/sewage from a lower to higher elevation. Aakre plans to repair/rebuild the other lift stations so that the lift station on fifth street can be eliminated.

The citys sewer system has quite a few older clay tile pipes. The clay lines show signs of cracking, misalignment, root intrusion, and susceptibility to infiltration and inflow. Replacement is the only option.

The storm sewer system is mostly undersized and doesnt drain properly. This causes the water to back up into the streets causing streets to break down quicker. Freezing sewer problems are on 13th and 14th Avenues and areas east of Third Street.

To address all of the infrastructure problems, Aakre has developed a two phase plan. In phase one, the waste water lagoon operational challenges will be addressed. Storm sewer/drainage on 12th Avenue will be improved.

Defective gate valves will also be replaced in some areas. Replacing the aging gate valves in those areas will help determine the size and condition of the undocumented water mains. Also, sanitary sewers and water mains will be replaced and installed deeper in the ground. After the work is completed, the streets will be replaced.

During phase one, red areas on the map will have water and sanitary sewers replaced with full street replacement. Black areas will have water, sanitary sewers and storm sewers replaced, and some lagoon repairs done.

During phase two, more sanitary sewers and water mains will be placed deeper in the ground. More storm sewer mains will be replaced to improve storm water collection. Then streets will be replaced when all the other work is complete.

During phase two on the map, the black areas will have water, sewer, and storm sewers replaced. The red areas are slated for water and sewer replacement. The green areas will have the sanitary sewer replaced, and in the blue area only water mains will be replaced.

Some of the cost of all replacement and repairs has already been offset.

The grant for phase one has been approved by USDA, Aakre shared. To further pay for the improvements, the city plans on redirecting funds that have been used to pay off other infrastructure debt. These funds will be applied toward paying off this projects debt. The redirected funds will cover all of the phase one project and the majority of the phase two project that is being reviewed by USDA.

The phase one project scheduled calls for bids. Those have being taken already. Most of the construction will take place during the 2017/2018 construction season.

Phase two is slated to be surveyed and designed during the winter/spring of 2018. The final design will be completed by the summer of 2018. Bids will be taken during the summer/fall of 2018 and construction done during the 2018/2019 construction season.

SaveSave

See more here:
Langdon's streets and waste water replacement project - Cavalier County Extra

During EuroGeo 6, Dr. Ian D. Peggs, P.E., P.Eng chaired a special panel discussion on geomembrane wrinkles, bridging, uplift, and ballasting. The recorded session featured panelists Paul Guinard (SOPREMA), Adnan Berkay zdemir (Atarfil), Michael Flynn (FLI Group), Catrin Tarnowski (GSE), and Richard Thiel (Thiel Engineering). We publish here, with permission of the EuroGeo 6 organizers (the Turkish Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society) and the participating panelists, the sessions transcript, some slides from the presentations, and links to the full video record from the session.

We thank Ian Peggs and Wendy Cortez of I-CORP International for orchestrating this transcript release and all affiliated permissions.

RELATED: EuroGeo 6 Geomembrane Panel Discussion Parts 1 and 2

The transcription is comprised of 5 recording parts (18 minutes each). The opening speech is given by Ian D. Peggs, chairman of the session. All video files may be found on the EuroGeo 6 special session page: http://www.eurogeo6.org/en/EuroGeo6-Speciality-Session-2.html

The time stamps included in this transcript are in accordance with the recordings. Slide numbers are used to refer to the visual aids used during the presentation. The series of slides are available for download here (PPT 22 MB file). NOTE: Not all images from the presentation are included in this special publication on Geosynthetica.

The transcript picks up here with a continuation ofPaul Guinards presentation from Parts 1 and 2.

We have to think about the nature of the content What is in the pond or landfill? Is the geomembrane exposed or not?. The geometry of your construction also matters. Is it a big landfill or a small pond?. The location also matters, a pond in Iceland or Burkina Faso will not face the same problems.

Slide 56 => [00:00:49]

Once the geomembrane is chosen, you have to figure out how to insert it. You could limit the free length of the material to prevent wrinkles, use correct ballasting and use anchors and do not cover the material during thermic variation. Thermic protection is also important, the color of the material should be considered.

Open Floor Discussion [00:02:30]

Issue 1 [00:02:30]

Ian Peggs opens the floor for open discussion:

Audience Member 1asks the floor about sharp corners. Do you terminate both panels at that corner or do you wrap the panel around and make the weld on the flat side?

Michael Flynn [00:03:36]: I personally would terminate them at the corner but each project is different. It depends on the design. These decisions have to be made on site by the project manager depending on the circumstances. As far as I am concerned, no geomembranes have any value in a site specific project unless they are installed properly. I will go to my grave believing that you have to install the product correctly, no matter what it is. It all down to the site management and project management.

Example of sharp corner in an installation. Photo from FLI Group presentation.

Richard Theil [00:04:42]: Whenever I design ponds, I design them with round corners because we find a lot of bridging around sharp corners.

Issue 2 [00:07:46]

Audience Member 2 asks the floor what to do when wrinkles occur. Rick, in your specifications, you say to stop work but what if the wrinkles do not go away? How do you continue work?

Richard Theil: Wrinkles almost always disappear with lower temperatures. We do a lot of night covering but there is the occasional really bad wrinkle that does not disappear. Then you have to make that decision: Do I cut this and make extrusion welds (which none of us like) or can I find a way to split it up or leave it? There is not one answer for that but we go to a lot of extent to not get in that position. I find that timing is everything and color helps a lot.

Richard Theil [00:10:56]: I had the same thought when I heard the ratio. The fact is when you have a large installation with polyethylene and start to get 50 to 75 mm wrinkles, this ratio will always work. The ratio becomes a problem when you have a big floppy guy (wrinkle) that comes down to the toe.

Typical wrinkles during overliner placement in most of the world. Photo by Thiel Engineering

Catrin Tarnowski [00:11:54]: I can support what Rick just mentioned. The German view is the same. Installation of top soil should stop once the wrinkle is higher than 50 mm. A wrinkle of that height would not have ratio below the mentioned figure (h/w=0.6).

Richard Theil: In response to J.P. Girouds comments and questions, I never measured it but that is the feeling.

Richard Theil: I agree. Those wrinkles are the hardest ones to remove.

Ian Peggs: How do you remove them?

Richard Theil: Its not easy. Of course we could cut them.

Ian Peggs: If you cut the wrinkle and overlap it to re-weld it, would you put a little keyhole at the end of the cut youve made? What about putting compensation in for allowing contraction during cold/low temperatures?

Jacques: If you have a wrinkle at the bottom of the slope, then when it changes from hot weather to cold weather, that bump at toe of the slope doesnt disappear completely but most of it is removed. Then when it heats up again, the bump gets bigger day after day. If you cut it and repair it and then the temperature goes down again, you get bridging. Then when it heats up again, you have to backfill it. Cutting a liner is like making a surgical operation; it wont ever be as good as it was if it wasnt cut.

Paul Guinard: That is very true when you have a landfill but when you have an exposed membrane with water in a basin, movement of the membrane can create wrinkles or bridging. Once the water starts coming you cant stop it so you have to anticipate wrinkles and bridging and their consequences. We have to limit it and that depends on many things, like the product and the thickness.

PART 4

Richard Theil [00:02:47]: There is a distinction between ponds (liquid containment) and liners covered with soil and loaded. With ponds, the failures were because of bridging popping a seam. I have never had a callback because of a wrinkle in a pond. The question that I am asking is: Are wrinkles in a pond a problem?

Michael Flynn [00:04:46]: From the installation prospective, I think these problems can be mitigated on site by a competent installer. The pressure on the installer is from the cost side, the weather side, the wind and the rain. Backfilling at night has been mentioned but it is likely to get rid of the wrinkles but create many holes that you will never see. I think the importance has to be on the installation not the material since all materials are good quality and are impermeable when in panel form, but unless the installation and welding are carried out correctly, the joints will be weak points in the overall integrated project. It is the decisions made on site during the installation process that are critical to the success of the installation.

Keeping the liner relaxed with movable ballast and open toed seams. Photo by FLI Group

Ian Peggs [00:05:55]: Who makes those decisions, the installer himself or the engineer?

Michael Flynn [00:06:04]: The engineer who is not on site makes those decisions and that is wrong. It should be the installer. They should be in unison and both agree on a plan but the plan changes every day because the elements change every day and the project manager must adjust his work plan accordingly in order to make progress with the works. Therefore, the sequence of work might create bridging or wrinkling conditions that need not be there. It is all part of the installation that has to be managed.

Ian Peggs [00:06:38]: Shouldnt the kind of work that is necessary be defined by the project engineer because he knows what is going on with the installation? He knows the service conditions, the temperature and so on. Will the installer know all that to be able to direct what he does to achieve that objective?

Michael Flynn [00:07:12]: I think that if the installer has the work plan and is fully aware of all aspects of the project, he can certainly manage the on-site works much better. Any installation plan has to be renewed on a daily basis depending on the conditions, whether its wind, rain, sunshine or something else. Often there is pressure from the client to backfill when the installation is not ready for backfilling. That can then create installation problems further on. All of the synthetic products have their own natural limitations and advantages. It is the fixing of the material on site that is unnatural. This needs to be recognized and respected for what it is. It really is a skill and has to be valued but it is often forgotten and is always undervalued. The drive to get the project finished compromises the professional installation decisions that would otherwise be made if time and cost allowed.

Richard Theil [00:10:14]: In the example presented by one of the speakers today, he (Adnan zdemir) provided us the calculation that said for a 20 difference, we will get about 0.43% strain. The question in my mind is: What percent of strain is allowable to bury in a trampolining situation?

Catrin Tarnowski [00:12:24]:I would like to say that the 0.25% is a BAM (Bundesanstalt fr Materialforschung und Prfung) regulation from Germany on the maximum strain on the geomembrane and this is related with the local puncture strength of the material. This has nothing to do with the allowable, limiting strain rate. This is discussed to be for 3-5% for good quality HDPE. The lesser the quality of the material the more critical it is.

Michael Flynn [00:13:50]: I do not think that the seaming in the corners is causing the trampolining. It is not causing (trampolining), it may be the victim of trampolining. Should we avoid having seams in the areas where trampolining is likely to happen? Which is in corners, in everything angle that is concave in shape.

Paul Guinard [00:14:18]: Do you think that there is a difference in strength between a weld made in the corner and a weld 50 cm away from the corner? I do not think there is much difference.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:15:10]: I would try to avoid seams where there is a likelihood of bridging. We have good design practices which avoid corner seams. They should be placed at the bottom and should not be at the toe of the slope. That is a design approach.

Richard Theil [00:15:52]: In the corner of the pond, where you have three corners coming together, it is very difficult not to have seams. It actually occurs in the worst place. This is exactly the places where we had these problems in multiple projects.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:16:52]: An additional precaution may be to put sufficiently thick geomembranes so that even if bridging does occur, the material would not be in a critical condition. If you have to consider doing an extrusion weld with a very thin material, and you have to place it in a critical area, it becomes a critical case. In that case, you might consider a thicker material just in that area.

Michael Flynn [00:17:25]: In 30 years of installation experience, I have never seen a failed weld in a corner. It is a theoretical weakness and that exists in the theoretical world but I have not seen it on a site installation where I have been involved.

Richard Theil [00:18:52]: This is the problem. Obviously the weld was not the best but it passed all the CQA but in fact it is the weak spot. I have seen it in tanks and ponds. The corners are the problem. It is not that the fusion seam that runs down through the corner, it is the extrusion weld that occurs in the unusual geometry of the triple corner.

Boyd Ramsey [00:19:00]: Theres a group called Platypus that makes an anchoring product and they have done a lot in changing the design and the effectiveness of exposed caps and covers. My question is: Has anyone used a soil anchor as a tool for wrinkle management?

Example of percussion-driven anchor used on exposed cap. Photo by Chris Kelsey of Geosynthetica.

Ian Peggs [00:19:40]: My guess will be no but I have no real justification. Has anyone seen anything like this?

Alan [00:19:50]: Not so much as a wrinkle management tool Ive come across the Platypus anchors being used on caps and exposed dams where there is wind concentration. With the correct methods of spreading the localized stress, it worked fine.

PART 5

Peter (Gentleman from South Africa) [00:00:49]: I have had very good experience managing wrinkles through the use of relatively inexpensive co-extruded textured liner. My experience is that by using the textured liner, thermal stresses are distributed into the subgrade. My experience is that you get a greater distribution of lower wrinkles so that when you do your cover those wrinkles flatten and the chance of folding over is very low.

Audience member 2 [00:04:00]: I have a comment. Should we not re-look at the value chain starting from the design and what we are really putting out there. In the sense of cost and time and also the experience of people. Over the years, in my experience, there is so much focus on the time the designer is allowed that we overlook the things during construction and CQA and also when advising the client of the extra costs. We need to start thinking about the numbers and the time needed to ensure the client is getting what they want.

Michael Flynn [00:04:57]: Id like to support that. I think all of the risk is on the project and the project cost and a bit more money spent on geomembrane and geosynthetic installation costs could make a much better project if the project site has enough time and resources to actually do the job correctly.

Jacques [00:05:34]: I am wondering why engineers continue to specify black geomembranes? We get less wrinkles with white or tan and you can still meet the specifications; especially since they cost the same.

Peter [00:07:00]: I think wind uplift is as much as a problem to the creation of wrinkles and it is more difficult to manage. It is a combination of good design and good installation practice. It requires the engineer and the client to work with the installation contractor to make sure that they avoid wind uplift. That is one thing you cannot put right. Once the wind moves 4 or 5 tons of geomembrane, you are not going to be able to get rid of the wrinkle and you are going to end up with wrinkles more than 50 mm high. That is certainly something to consider. I too have seen the Platypus anchor type to hold down liners in empty lagoons. One of the key solutions is to prevent air from getting under the material in the first place. So cut and fill reservoirs without actually sealing the bond above the ground. Those are very basic engineering principles, people forget about.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:08:09]: There is a crystallinity difference in both products so LLDPE will not show as much wrinkling as an HDPE does. If you design with anchor applications there is always a question, what may be the solution for it? You can have the same amount of wrinkles in any product but the difference is still there.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:09:21]: The experience is not that they are smaller, it is just the amount of the wrinkles is less.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:09:32]: No. That was a question that I wanted to ask the experts here. Do we measure the coefficient at different temperatures? Not every product has the same coefficient. Also, in my experience, if you have very low temperatures the coefficient is lower but I have never measured it.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:10:34]: What is missing here is that we do not specify the dimensional stability of the products and dimensional stability is important for laying flat characteristics. It is not the coefficient on its own. This is something that should be considered and GM13 does not focus on it. Its like it is not relevant and I think it is relevant. German specifications foresee such a value and they are good. Installers know if you have good dimensional stability and low shrinkage of your product you have better installation time. If you consider that you have low shrinkage on the edges and if you have high shrinkage in the middle, you will have waves which will occur during day time and they will not go away because the shrinkage behavior is different in the product and the material wants to move to the best position.

Catrin Tarnowski [00:12:39]: You can manage both. We produce both products and we know how do it.

Ian Peggs [00:12:45]: On that note, I have got 1:00 exactly, so we will wrap it up.

View original post here:
EuroGeo Transcript: Geomembrane Wrinkles, Bridging, Ballasting, Parts 3 5 - Geosynthetica.net

HTC has just released a new update for the HTC U11 bringing it up to software version1.27.400.9. The update is a 665MB download and adds 1080p video recording at 60fps, as well as the August Android Security Patch and various fixes and tweaks for better stability.

More importantly, HTC has now confirmed that the HTC U11 (as well as the HTC U Ultra and HTC 10) will be updated to the recently announced Android Oreo.

"We're excited to bring Android Oreo to HTC U11, HTC U Ultra, and HTC 10 owners worldwide! Details & additional devices to be announced soon," the firm wrote in an official Tweet.

HTC used to be one of the Android spaces shining lights. Its phone launches generated a lot of heat and punters, generally speaking, were very interested in what the company was doing on a monthly basis. New phones sold well and the company enjoyed rapid growth, which helped propel Android into the mainstream.

But then everybody else got in on the act and, well, things kind of started spiraling out of control shortly thereafter. Samsung and LG grew their share of the market and then, in recent years, we had an influx of Chinese phone makers (OnePlus, Huawei, OPPO) which made matters worse for HTC.

This fall from grace was not all HTCs fault, though it is a relatively small fish in a pond full of sharks. The fact that it has managed to hang on until 2017 is, quite frankly, a miracle. The companys financials for the last few years have read like a Cormac McCarthy novel (and not in a good way).

Still, things arent all bad. The company is now back, vying for your custom, with another flagship handset called the HTC U11.

As before it's a metal, premium-grade flagship, though this time with a bit of extra glass thrown in for good measure.

Can it fare better than 2016's all-metal HTC 10?

As time goes on I find it very difficult to critique the aesthetic design of most high-end smartphones, but particularly ones from HTC - HTC is arguably one of the earlier pioneers of luxurious metal smartphone design, but like Sony, it is also one of the Android OEMs that has remained mostly static.

In the case of the broad outlook of the smartphone industry though, it must be said that flagships are looking more and more alike than ever, and they all more or less fall into that iPhone/Galaxy S type design. Which is fair enough, clearly this is what consumers want and what they tend to buy. A kind of consumer tech natural selection has led us to this ubiquity of metal and glass slabs somewhere around the 5in size with rounded off corners, industrial style design, and neatly punched and machined grilles, ports, and buttons.

And, I dont really have a problem with this.

But from a critique perspective, the sameness does tend to blur the lines after a while, so much so that its difficult to venture any kind of useful opinion.

Im reminded of a professional wine expert friend of mine who, while we were holidaying in South Africa and tasting various locally produced wines, commented (as the rest of us tried desperately to identify the different notes and flavours) that a particular well-reputed Chardonnay tastes like a Chardonnay, much to our bemused befuddlement. Indeed, in the current market, many phones including the HTC U11, by the same token look like high-end phones.

In neither case is it a criticism, but nor is it praise; theres nothing wrong with the HTC U11 design (or indeed any other similarly designed phone), in fact its very good, but it still just looks like a high-end phone with nothing particularly spectacular about it. It cant really escape what it is. Just like that Chardonnay. Good. Very good. Great even...but not that different from the rest.

The last few successive generations of HTC flagship have not been very different from each other at all. Theyve still been pretty great when it came to aesthetic design and build, however, and the low number of units flying off the shelves could hardly be attributed to this facet of the phone.

I can totally understand why HTC went in a different direction this time around - as its sales of previous models werent doing well, it wanted to grab a bit of attention with something flashier.

Personally, for my blood (and I realise it is totally subjective), HTC went a bit too far on the flashy front - or should I say flashy rear. I just cant get past that high-sheen gloss metallic finish, its far too shiny. In and of itself I just find it garish and that is enough for me not to have any desire to use a phone like this as my daily driver, or even out in public.

But on top of that it does have many practical ramifications as well. Its more of a fingerprint magnet than even your average glass-backed phone, it is extra, extra slippery; it wont sit happily on virtually any surface you leave it on and it is unsteady in the hand. And as well as being unsightly, the mirror-finish back also reflects your face and anything else around it, but not in a nice way - remember those freaky circus mirrors from the fairground that give you a giant Franken-forehead or a huge goofy chin? Yeah, its like that and its because of the phones curvature combined with the mirror finish.

I do not like it, sir, not one bit.

Which is a shame, as otherwise there is a lot to like about the exterior design and build. As Ive come to expect from HTC, it is reassuringly solid and well put-together; the physical keys have excellent and satisfying clicky feedback (plus the power button is textured for easy location by feel), and best of all this is the first HTC flagship with proper IP67 waterproofing. Its great, this is the first HTC that you can take near the water - but what a price to pay that we have to put up with super shiny circus mirror finishes.

It is, aside from the shine, nicely shaped with an elegant, smooth curvature and an attractive layering of the glass and metal. I WANT to like this phones overall design - and its so closebut the finish ruins it. If HTC later releases a matte finish color option I for one will be much happier.

Battery life has been a serious sticking point of ours with past HTC flagships. I cant remember the last time we tested an HTC lead model where we were impressed with how long it could run on a single charge.

So, naturally, there was a lot of apprehension when testing the HTC U11.

In our standard video test, running a two-hour film (in this case The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug) from 100% charge, with the film pre-loaded and screen brightness set to full, the HTC U11 drained down to 69% charge.

Now, that is not bad by any means, in fact it is quite respectable. But how good or bad this actually is for you does depend on your typical use of a smartphone - and I think it's fine up until a certain level, at which point it kind of goes over a cliff.

For me, this is fairly decent power drain as Im not a power user and dont run my phones that hard outside of a testing scenario.

On a phone with this kind of battery consumption I can expect to get a good couple of days on a single charge, with my typical light-to-moderate use pattern, and I did encounter this in my non-video, day-to-day testing.

If youre a very light user who only does a bit of occasional browsing, and the odd call or text, youll find this phone will last longer, maybe three days or even a bit more.

However, if youre a bit of a smartphone fiend like Rich, youll blast through this things power reservoir in a day easily.

Id say this kind of battery life is fairly average for most high-end flagships, and for me this is fine, but for some its just not adequate. You need to factor in your own use patterns, are they light, moderate, or intensive? If you fall into the first two tiers youll probably be more than happy with the HTC U11. If youre in the third, this is a no-go.

Ultimately, its important to bear in mind that there are better options out there with much longer life even with intensive use; amongst others the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galxy S8+, the Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, and the Huawei Mate 9.

So, once again, good...but not great. In this respect it's a lot like the previous handful of HTC flagships.

The HTC U11 sports a 5.5in Super LCD 5 touch display with a Quad-HD, 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution; giving a pixel density of 534ppi.

As with the design, I have mixed feelings about the display.

On the one hand, I like to give credit where its due; and this is on the whole a high quality display.

The resolution means that image clarity is wonderfully sharp with absolutely zero in the way of jagged lines or artifacting. I also think the colour is impressive, its nice and punchy, and although white purity is never perfect on any phone, it is VERY good here.

Brightness levels are also robust, and I must say that given my grievances with some past HTC flagships having poor visibility in bright sunlight, I am tremendously impressed with the HTC U11s screen in this respect as it performs very well indeed; there are absolutely no issues web browsing outside on a sunny day.

However, it must be said that there are good reasons why plenty of smartphone OEMs are migrating over to OLED at the moment.

LCD was the mainstay of the smartphone space for a very long time, in spite of the fact that many OEMs were well aware of some of OLEDs superior qualities; lower power consumption, better contrast, deeper blacks, better readability and lower reflectivity in sunlight, and, except in the case of very high-end LCD wider viewing angles.

This is because at the time OLED hadnt yet been perfected (sharpness and colour accuracy was a bit squiffy in the early days), it still had a few disadvantages which meant the trade off wasnt worth it, and whats more, it was expensive and difficult to manufacture. Most of these issues have now been resolved, hence why big firms are switching.

Having used both OLED and LCD displays over the years and having watched the technologies gradually change, I can say that these days Im quite firmly in the OLED camp.

OLED is not perfect, no display type is, but when its well-implemented I simply find it more satisfying and rewarding to use than even the best LCDs.

Perhaps its the little things that really make a big difference, especially in the top tier where everything is so close and even the smallest infractions count when you're talking about 500+ handsets.

I mean, I understand it is nitpicking of an otherwise enjoyable phone screen experience but having got used to the very deep and pure blacks of OLED I really notice the grey-ish brown washiness of the blacks in the HTC U11s display.

Its one of those things that once it has been seen, it cannot be un-seen.

Its especially jarring given the tendency for smartphone makers to, as with the HTC U11, put a very pure black fascia surrounding the display panel - with this immediately adjacent to the display, you instantly see the screens blacks as being quite off by comparison.

I also cant help but wonder if part of the HTC U11s fairly average battery performance comes from the use of a QHD resolution LCD panel.

So where does this leave us? Well, its a tricky one. I dont want to say the HTC U11 has a bad display because it doesnt, its really rather good, its just not quite as good in some specific areas as some other offerings on the market. And at this point, I'm aware this is becoming a recurrent theme of the review.

Thus, once again, it's a question of what's important to you and whether you feel you're getting value for money.

If having very pure black depth and high contrast on a phone display isnt a big deal to you, then I think this is a great display youll be quite happy with, as in all other areas its very capable.

If on the other hand, you really value the qualities that OLED has brought to the table - and will grumble in your head every time you notice those soupy blacks - then this probably isnt going to float your boat.

Ill post the HTC U11 spec sheet below for you to have a look at and get an overview of the hardware, connectivity and so forth sequestered inside it. Then Ill give a commentary on some of the things which leap out. I won't be covering the processor and performance in this section, however, as that will get its own section later.

I cant single HTC out for doing this trick, because it seems like every other OEM also does it these days, but its bloody annoying when any of them do it and I feel it necessary to call them all out as and when, in the vain hope that eventually theyll all get the message.

As far as I can tell, the only version of the HTC U11 officially available in the UK is the 64GB storage model with 4GB of RAM, so we dont get access to the 128GB/6GB RAM edition, unless you import it at your own expense and effort.

Now, for me, 64GB of storage is more than enough, but I realise thats not the case for everybody - moreso now than ever that we find ourselves in the era of 4K multimedia and all that; file sizes are always getting bigger for everything from photos and videos, to apps and games.

Im sure a time will come when 64GB is too little storage for me also, and I suspect it wont be because my usage pattern has changed, itll be because content across the board is simply of a higher quality and therefore takes up more space.

So, in this respect its disappointing to be locked out of at least having the option to scale up to 128GB. Yes, both editions have microSD support for cards up to 256GB and this is fine if the majority of your storage gets taken up by multimedia, but if you install a lot of apps and games it can be a bit of an issue.

But I probably get more annoyed about how this locks us out of the 6GB RAM option as well. I used to run high-end gaming PCs so I know how RAM makes a difference when it comes to performance and leveraging the most out of CPUs and GPUs. Of course, the processor hardware needs to be built in such a way that it can make use of bigger quantities of RAM, otherwise theres no point.

But we know for a fact that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 can use 6GB quite happily, and it shows in benchmarking and real-world performance.

Is it a slow poke with 4GB RAM? No, not by any means, but 6GB would make things smoother and more importantly it will future proof the phone for higher-performance for longer, even as more demanding content arrives later.

Being shut out of this by virtue of geography is rather irritating to say the least. Again though, this is not uniquely HTCs offence, but it is part of the same disappointing bandwagon in this regard and I feel thats worth noting.

As weve come to expect from HTC, the audio experience is top notch. Many rival OEMs have stepped up their game quite considerably, but Im still yet to encounter a smartphone audio experience as good as HTCs and this still applies to the HTC U11 as much as any predecessor.

The BoomSound stereo speakers are simply excellent, offering crystal clear sound quality and loud volumes without distortion; there still isn't anything else out there in the smartphone market that can top this kind of audio.

On the in-ear audio side of things, this is a very different setup to whats come before. Much more advanced, though there are some changes which arent going to please everyone.

Yes, you guessed it, its the big Kahuna; the 3.5mm audio jack is gone. Its gone in favour of a set of proprietary HTC in-ear headphones which connect via the Type-C USB port.

I dont consider this to be a massive negative though, because if you have your own 3.5mm headphones already then HTC has you covered; a 3.5mm-to-Type-C USB adaptor is provided in the box, so you can still use your fancy pants kit from Bang & Olufsen, Sennheiser, Bose, JBL, and the rest.

However, there are good reasons to consider using the bundled-in headphones because they can do something pretty special; customised audio via the HTC USonic technology.

Weve seen this before on the HTC U Ultra, but obviously HTC has had time to tweak and optimise it a little more since then and it really does work like a charm. The headphones are really nicely designed, some of the most comfortable in-ear ones Ive ever worn, and they feature very effective noise-cancellation. This is useful in and of itself, but it is implemented to combine with HTC USonics ability to scan your ear canal and adapt the audio profile to its unique shape for optimum sound quality.

Best of all, HTC has taken efforts to make sure this is a quick and easy setup for users of all stripes, you just go into the relevant Settings menu and press one button. Thats it. It takes about five seconds.

The process will play you a sample audio which you can toggle your custom profile from the scan on and off to hear the difference and it is quite prominent, its almost like the difference between hearing normally and underwater; such is the clarity gained.

Its also really easy to create and switch between multiple custom audio profiles, so if you share your handset with a partner or something, theyre not locked out of the custom audio experience.

All in all, Im more impressed than ever with HTCs audio tech, and considering what came before that is saying something. There really is nothing else quite like this on the smartphone market outside of HTCs stable.

Edge Sense was teased quite a bit in HTCs promotional campaign; the technology means that the lower portion of the handset is pressure sensitive, allowing you to control certain phone features with a squeeze of the phone in your hand.

The setup is easy enough, and by default it will set up to open the phones camera app even from a sleep state, while a second squeeze will capture the image; quite handy for capturing a snap at a moments notice. I found that you can set it up so the squeeze is quite hard, so theres really little concern of it activating in your pocket or bag.

The functionality is quite expandable; toggling advanced mode allows you to have the phone respond to both a short squeeze and a squeeze-and-hold control to perform different functions.

I was fully expecting the squeeze to capture to add a bit of wobble and blur to the image, as you do need to give it a bit of welly, but I was pleasantly surprised so it seems the OIS is really doing its job here.

You can also assign these controls to do other things like launching Google Voice Assistant, launching a specified app, taking screenshots, toggling the phones flashlight, recording voice, launching HTC Sense Companion, and toggling Wi-Fi Hotspot on or off. The camera and Google Voice Assistant also have several layers of extra control for short or longer squeezes once the app is opened.

I guess this is a neat trick, and perhaps more useful for some people than others, or in certain circumstances. I do think things like the camera for taking quick photos, the flashlight, and perhaps the Wi-Fi HotSpot could all be quite useful. Likewise if you make a lot of voice memos the voice recording could be a boon.

But with all of that said I cant say I felt the feature really improved my phone experience massively, and I wouldnt really miss it if it werent there. Definitely kind of cool though, so kudos to HTC for trying something new and quirky.

This is a hot topic. Cameras seem to be a very competetive battleground for lead flagships at the moment, and HTC has made a lot of noise about the capabilities of the hardware aboard the HTC U11.

To recap, here is the spec for the HTC U11 camera:

On paper HTC is certainly hitting a lot of the right notes. The firm points out that it has achieved the highest rating in smartphone camera history by independent imaging body DxOMark.

It also notes the camera is equipped with a "multi-axis optical and electronic stabilisation system", "super-fast autofocus in all lighting conditions", "more dynamic exposure range with HDR Boost", and improvements to white balance and noise reduction.

Having tested the phone I can say that none of this appears to be mere bluster.

As Samsung's recent camera offerings have proven with their dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus, autofocus speed is an incredibly important variable when it comes to fully leveraging a lot of the other camera specs - stuff like wide aperture sizes, large sensor sizes, and large pixel sizes - to get the best images.

These things make it easier for the camera to take in tons of light and detail, which will make better pictures, provided the shutter isn't open too long; which means the camera has to be able to focus, open the shutter and then close it again really, really quickly. Usually it's the focus speed that is the stumbling block.

HTC appears to have been taking notes, because addressing that is very much a key part of the HTC U11's setup.

"HTC U11 incorporates the same full sensor auto-focus technology that's found in top DSLR cameras. Typically, only a few sensors are used for focusing, but with our new UltraSpeed Autofocus, all of the pixels are used for phased detection autofocus."

And it really is fast, lightning snappy, in fact, which together with the intuitive UI makes capturing great shots really quick and easy.

Here's a couple of examples of the same shot with different focal points:

And here's the HTC U11 compared to a subsequent shot of the same flower under the same conditions by the Samsung Galaxy S8+:

As you can see, in terms of clarity, contrast and most other key variables, they are on pretty much the same level. The images are packed with detail and are rich and vibrant. A noticable difference occurs with the colour, however, with the HTC U11 being a little softer, less saturated, and more natural looking, while the Galaxy S8 goes for Samsung's typical punchy saturation and slightly more dramatic contrast.

This is really a matter of personal preference, although I'd argue it's easier to get the "Samsung look" on an HTC-captured image with post-capture editing quite quickly and effortlessly, rather than trying to tone down an image captured on the Galaxy S8+. Simply whack up the contrast and saturation and you're good to go.

Now, I've previously made it no secret that I'm a massive fan of Samsung's imaging setup. I consider the camera aboard the Galaxy S8 series (and, in the context of their then-contemporaries, the previous Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S6 series') to be one of the very best on the market. It's not just a question of image capture quality either, although it helps that it is so very high, but it's that combined with the ease of use.

There are many smartphone cameras available which can deliver as good or sometimes slightly better results, but in order to get them to deliver you have to really learn a few tricks and get to grips with fiddly elements of the controls.

You have to know a thing or two about photography, essentially.

One of the things I loved about Samsung's setup is that this simply wasn't the case - point, shoot, done; excellent quality photos and video with no fuss whatsoever. Anyone can do it.

And it's not necessarily the verybestquality, but it's so damn good that anyone but the most finicky of photography aficionados cannot complain.

Link:
HTC U11 Review: AMAZING Camera, AWFUL Design - Android Oreo Update Officially Confirmed - Know Your Mobile