title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: The Royal Artillery units at Tobruk were spearheaded by the anti-tank 25-pounders of the 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. The 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade also played an important role in the defence of the garrison, which was under incessant air attack, particularly by "Stuka" dive-bombers. Some of its units were relieved as the siege wore on, but 153rd (London) and 235th (Kent) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Batteries (of 51st (London) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, and 89th HAA Regiment, RA, respectively), regimental HQ and 40 and 57 Light AA Batteries of 13th Light AA Regiment, RA, and 39 LAA Battery of 13th Light AA Regiment saw the whole siege through. The Siege of Tobruk was finally relieved on 10 December 1941 in the later stages of Operation Crusader.


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: The Rats of Tobruk hold an identifiable place within the ranks of returned servicemen, particularly in Australia, where there is the Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Canberra.


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: On 22 March 1944, the original members of the Rats of Tobruk formed the North Bondi Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia and it is still known in modern times as Tobruk House or The Rathouse. In 2003, "The New York Times" ran an article on The Rathouse calling it "an ideal beachside hang out."


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: Their overarching international association, The Rats of Tobruk Association, is partly responsible for the erection of numerous monuments in Australia and the UK and involvement with official memorial services. The association also organised with the Royal Mint of Australia the striking of a 50-year anniversary medallion in 1991.


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: The association's insignia shows the elements of a large uppercase letter 'T', for Tobruk, a long-tailed desert rat, and a crown. The crown depicted is variously the Tudor Crown or St Edward's Crown (since 1953), representing allegiance to the Australian Sovereign, or a crown mimicking Tobruk's official pre-war city flag which was liberated from the city's hall during the siege.


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: In April 2007, the Victorian contingent of the Rats of Tobruk Association concluded that it could no longer afford the upkeep of Tobruk House, the inner-city Melbourne meeting hall that had been purchased by the Association in the 1950s. Back then, the Victorian Association had 1,800 members. By 2007, there were just 80 left, all aged in their 80s and 90s, who decided to sell the hall. From the sale, they hoped to raise up to A$1.5 million to be used for research at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, where a neuroscience ward, the Rats of Tobruk Ward, had already been named after them. Bill Gibbons, who made his wealth out of trucking, went well beyond the expected price to outbid a Sydney developer for A$1.73 million. As reported by "The Age", "in an act that stunned the old diggers, Mr Gibbons... then told the veterans they could keep the hall as long as they wanted."


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: The first memorial was built in the Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya, built circa January 1942, subsequently replaced, but later destroyed.


title: The Rats of Tobruk

text: In Australia, there are a number of memorials, some of which are built as replicas of the memorial in the Tobruk War Cemetery. The replicas include:


title: UFO sightings in the United Kingdom

text: This is a list of notable alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the United Kingdom. Many more sightings have become known since the gradual release, between 2008 and 2013, of the Ministry of Defence's UFO sighting reports by the National Archives. In recent years, there have been many sightings of groups of slowly moving lights in the night sky, which can be easily explained as Chinese lanterns. Undertaken between 1997 and 2000, Project Condign concluded that all the investigated sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena in the UK could be attributed to misidentified but explicable objects, or poorly understood natural phenomena.


title: North East MRT line

text: The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the northeast, serving 16 stations via Chinatown, Little India, Serangoon and Hougang. Coloured purple on official maps, it is the country's first fully automated underground rail line.


title: North East MRT line

text: The third MRT line in Singapore, the NEL was conceptualised in the 1980s and 1990s. The line was planned to alleviate traffic congestion on the roads leading to the northeast suburbs. The alignment and stations were finalised in 1996. Completed at a cost of S$5 billion, the line began operations on 20 June 2003, with the exception of two stations. Buangkok station opened on 15 January 2006, and Woodleigh station began operations on 20 June 2011. A one-station extension to Punggol Coast station is under construction and expected to be completed in 2024.


title: North East MRT line

text: Being driverless, the line adopts the moving-block Alstom Urbalis 300 CBTC signalling system. Two rolling stocks supplied by Alstom – C751A and C751C – run the line, and are powered by an overhead catenary system. The NEL also saw the launch of the Art-in-Transit programme, with eighteen artworks displayed across the 16 stations.


title: North East MRT line

text: The Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) first proposed an additional MRT line serving the northeastern areas of Punggol and Jalan Kayu in September 1984. In its preliminary studies, the Communications Ministry concluded that roads would be insufficient to serve the future housing estates that will be built in the 21st century. To minimise the impact on other developments, plans for the line were developed early to determine the parcels of land needed for the line's construction. In December, a British consultancy team, consisting of Sir William Halcrow and Partners, Merz & McLellan and London Transport International, was appointed to look into possible routes for the line.


title: North East MRT line

text: In March 1986, the British firm drew up a tentative route from Outram Park to Punggol. The line would interchange with the existing MRT system at Dhoby Ghaut station and pass through Kandang Kerbau and Hougang, paralleling the major roads of Serangoon Road and Upper Serangoon Road. A branch line from Hougang to Jalan Kayu was also proposed. The segment of the line in the city would be underground, while the portion after Braddell Road would be elevated. The MRTC, which approved the project in October, had proposed that the line be linked with Bishan Depot, which would maintain and service trains running on the future line. In February 1991, it was further proposed to extend the line to Pulau Tekong via Pulau Ubin. The extension would serve future residential and industrial developments outlined in the long-term plans for these islands.


title: North East MRT line

text: While the government approved the NEL "in principle" in January 1989, Communications Minister Yeo Ning Hong said the line's construction was dependent on developments in the northeast. The Woodlands line extension, costing S$1.35 billion (US$ billion), took precedence over the S$4.3 billion (US$ billion) NEL. Yeo's successor, Mah Bow Tan, had explained that, given the low population of the northeast area, it would not be financially viable to build the NEL in lieu of the Woodlands extension. Mah had also earlier explained in 1992 that the Woodlands extension was built because, unlike the northeast, plans were already "firmed up" for developments in Woodlands. Mah said the line would be built when housing developments in the northeast were completed. The four Members of Parliament (MPs) in the northeast, however, called for the line to be built earlier, stating that there would be sufficient demand given the area's population. They also said the MRT line would resolve the area's traffic congestion.


title: North East MRT line

text: Reviewing the line's feasibility, the Communications Ministry stated in 1995 that if construction on the NEL started promptly, it could be completed in 2002. However, the line was projected to cost S$5 billion (US$ billion) and would operate at a loss of S$250 million (US$ million) during its first four years of operation, with lower daily passenger numbers of 240,000. Nevertheless, the Communications Ministry recommended to the Cabinet that the NEL be constructed, citing "wider benefits" such as enhanced travelling time and reduced reliance on cars for Singaporeans.


title: North East MRT line

text: Due to the line's higher costs and the projected deficit, Mah, in his engagements with the grassroots leaders in October, suggested that the residents would have to be prepared to pay higher fares on the NEL to cover the initial losses. The decision was divisive among the leaders. Some felt it would be unfair for the residents, while others were confident that the residents would be willing "to pay for a better quality of life". Increased fares for the entire network were also suggested, but Mah replied that it would be more difficult to apply such a principle. During the engagements, Mah assured the leaders that the government was willing to bring the line's construction forward and that he would make the recommendation to the government for the line to be constructed.


title: North East MRT line

text: The 1996 White Paper, unveiled on 2 January 1996, outlined that the NEL would be built earlier to address congestion on the northeast corridor, which would also be enhanced by express bus services. Shortly after on 19 January, during the debate on the White Paper, the government announced it had decided to build the NEL "immediately", which was met with applause in the Parliament.


title: North East MRT line

text: The 16 NEL stations and their locations were announced on 4 March 1996. Many residents and politicians welcomed the announcement, as the line was expected to relieve traffic congestion, improve transport connections in the northeast and stimulate developments around the station sites. Thirteen civil contracts for the trackwork and for construction of the stations, Sengkang Depot and associated tunnels were awarded at a total sum of S$2.8 billion (US$ billion). Sixteen more contracts related to electrical and mechanical works were awarded at a total sum of S$1 billion (US$ billion).


title: North East MRT line

text: To construct the line, of private land was acquired, while of government land were returned to the State. Several rental HDB blocks, private homes and shophouses had to be acquired, which dismayed many affected residents. Those who had been asked to relocate in July requested more time to seek new premises. Construction of the line began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Farrer Park station on 25 November 1997. On 20 May 1999, SBS Transit (then Singapore Bus Service Ltd) was appointed to operate the line along with the Sengkang and Punggol LRT systems. With bus operations in the area handed over from Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) to the newly appointed operator, SBS then had control over both bus and rail services in the northeast, allowing the inter-modal integration that the government aimed for.


title: North East MRT line

text: Construction challenges on the line include having to divert the Eu Tong Seng canal into pipes for the construction of Chinatown station and having to avoid flooding the tunnels and station while boring the tunnels underneath the Singapore River between the Clarke Quay and Dhoby Ghaut stations. At Outram Park station, to minimise any movement to the East West line (EWL) tunnels, an arch roof of steel pipes filled with cement were laid underneath the EWL tunnels. Jet grout arches were also used to support the North South line (NSL) tunnels when explosives were used to remove the hard rock while tunnelling from Clarke Quay to Dhoby Ghaut. Various roads around the line's route had to be temporarily diverted for the line's construction.


title: North East MRT line

text: When the 16 stations were announced, Potong Pasir (then named Sennett), Woodleigh and Punggol were not to be built along with the other stations due to the lack of developments around the stations' sites at the time. The timeline for constructing Punggol station was brought forward to serve the upcoming Punggol 21 developments. The decision not to build and open Sennett station, however, generated political controversy, with claims by residents and opposition MP Chiam See Tong that the station would only open if the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) secured the constituency. In 2002, following a revised study on ridership numbers, the government decided to open the station when the other NEL stations opened, citing projected developments around the site. The station was also given its present name.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2002, with various SBS staff being trained on train maintenance and the various technical aspects of the fully automated system. However, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in September 2002 stated that the line might be opened later, in April 2003, to allow sufficient time for tests on the line. The line's systems were handed over to SBS Transit on 16 December, with the operator carrying out further tests. Due to a glitch in the signalling system, however, the NEL's opening was delayed further to June, with tests briefly being handed over to the LTA. As it had to bear the cost of maintenance and manpower, SBS Transit sought compensation from the government for the delay.


title: North East MRT line

text: With the exception of two stations (Buangkok and Woodleigh), the NEL commenced operations on 20 June 2003. About 140,000 people visited and took the NEL on its opening day. Many who visited were impressed by the comfort and fast speed of the new line. However, two delays occurred on the opening day. A train, stalled between Boon Keng and Potong Pasir, had to be manually steered to Farrer Park. Another train failed to depart Dhoby Ghaut station, as its sensors mistakenly indicated that a set of doors remained open, and hence was pulled from service. The line's official opening ceremony took place on 28 August.


title: North East MRT line

text: Though the NEL has seen a few glitches since its opening, it has been very reliable and generally well received by commuters, with operations running smoothly. In July 2003, the International Association of Public Transport heralded the NEL as a model public transport system for the future, with other driverless systems being planned around the world. In June 2004, SBS Transit reported that it had only experienced one 15-minute delay every six weeks, compared to the expected twice-a-week delay.


title: North East MRT line

text: On 17 June 2003, operator SBS Transit announced that two stations – Woodleigh and Buangkok – would not open along with the other NEL stations. Due to the lack of developments, the operator said keeping the stations closed would reduce operating costs by S$2–3 million. Residents around the system were upset by the sudden decision to keep Buangkok station closed, having been previously assured by MPs and grassroots leaders that the station would be opened.


title: North East MRT line

text: The government initially stood by SBS Transit's decision to keep the station closed, with plans to open the station only in 2006 when there were more residential flats built in the area. It was further pushed to 2008, following projections for the housing development plans for the area. With public pressure and after residents promised to use the station, SBS Transit announced at the end of 2005 that it would open the station on 15 January 2006.


title: North East MRT line

text: The station opened "with much fanfare", with various activities, including a walk-a-jog, organised for the opening event. Since its opening, however, the station only had 1,386 daily riders on average, as opposed to the expected 6,000 daily riders. Many residents still traveled to the adjacent stations of Sengkang and Hougang due to the amenities around these stations. Nevertheless, SBS Transit, after stating that it was still "too early to draw a conclusion" on the ridership, remained committed to keeping the station open so it could serve future developments nearby.


title: North East MRT line

text: Woodleigh station, built near the former Bidadari cemetery, was scheduled to be opened about seven or eight years after the rest of the NEL opened. In January 2011, "The Straits Times" reported that preparations for the station's opening had been ongoing since the second half of 2010; the newspaper speculated that the station would open in mid-2011 to serve new developments in the area. In a parliament session in March, Transport Minister Raymond Lim confirmed that Woodleigh station would open on 20 June 2011. On the opening day, however, several commuters alighted at Woodleigh station by accident, having intended to alight at the adjacent Serangoon station and being unaware that Woodleigh had opened. The operator deployed several staff to assist the confused commuters. Other curious commuters alighted to view the station interior or try an alternative route from the station.


title: North East MRT line

text: On 17 January 2013, then-Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew announced that it would construct a one-station extension to the NEL to serve the upcoming developments in Punggol North. While it was initially planned to extend the line by 2030, then-Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng announced on 7 June 2017 that the extension would be accelerated to 2023 in conjunction with development plans for the area.


title: North East MRT line

text: The contract for the construction of the extension was awarded in December, and construction began that month. While tunneling works were completed on 13 November 2020, transport minister Ong Ye Kung announced that Punggol Coast station's completion would be delayed to 2024 due to delays from the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: North East MRT line

text: As of July 2021, the NEL has a daily ridership of 230,852. The NEL generally operates between 5:30am and 12:30am daily. On weekdays and Saturdays, the first train on the line departs from the northern terminus Punggol at 5.42am, while the last train on the line departs from the southern terminus HarbourFront at 11:56pm. Trains on the NEL run every 2.5 to 5 minutes. The total travel time between the NEL's termini is 32 minutes.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL initially had a higher fare structure compared to the North South and East West lines due to the higher operating costs. On 30 December 2016, however, fares on the NEL were lowered to match the other modes of transport under a "purely distance-based approach". This revision, undertaken following a fare review by the Public Transport Council, was intended to minimise confusion for commuters.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL is the first line to be operated by SBS Transit. Since 2018, the NEL has transited into the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF). Previously, the operator, being the owner of the rail assets, had to bear the full cost for maintaining and upgrading trains and the signalling system. Under the NRFF, the LTA and SBS Transit will share the profits and financial risks in operating the line, with LTA taking control of the operating assets from 1 April. SBS Transit will operate the line under a 15-year license that is set to expire on 31 March 2033.


title: North East MRT line

text: As the name implies, the fully-underground North East line runs from Singapore's city centre to the northeastern parts of the island. Beginning at HarbourFront station, the line runs northeast, paralleling the New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Street in Chinatown between Outram Park and Clarke Quay stations. Passing underneath the Singapore River and Fort Canning Hill to Dhoby Ghaut station, the NEL continues north to Little India station, cutting underneath Bukit Timah Road. Following Race Course Road and Serangoon Road through Little India and Boon Keng, it cuts through Whampoa River and Kallang River before reaching Potong Pasir.


title: North East MRT line

text: Between the Potong Pasir and Kovan stations, the line parallels Upper Serangoon Road before curving north to Hougang station. The line then runs along Hougang Avenue 6 and Sengkang Central to Sengkang station in Sengkang and further extends to Punggol station in Punggol town, where the line terminates. The NEL will continue towards Punggol Coast station in 2024, curving eastward past Punggol.


title: North East MRT line

text: The line serves 16 underground stations from HarbourFront to Punggol. Six of the stations interchange with other MRT lines. It is coloured purple on official maps. Punggol Coast, the seventeenth station on the line, will open in 2024. A reserved station "NE2" between the HarbourFront and Outram Park stations, may be built in the future depending on the developments between the two stations.


title: North East MRT line

text: The 16 NEL stations have their own unique design that reflects their locations. HarbourFront station, being located by the sea, has a maritime theme with the ship hull elliptical motif used for the ceiling and the concourse openings to the platforms. At Little India station, the metal grills of the station walls have leaf-shaped patterns similar to the door patterns to the Hindu prayer rooms. The station design is intended to reflect Indian traditions.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL station entrances utilise glass that allows natural light into the station during the day. Exit A of Chinatown station features a pavilion-style transparent roof structure which allows natural light into the station and provides an unobstructed view of the shophouses along Pagoda Street. At Serangoon, each of the four triangular-shaped entrances is painted with a unique colour and encased in a cubic structure. Unlike the other NEL stations, the entrances of Buangkok station do not employ glass in their design; white Teflon sheets supported by metal frames envelop the entrances.


title: North East MRT line

text: Dhoby Ghaut station is the largest station on the MRT network. The five-level underground station is also integrated with the twin-towered office complex Atrium@Orchard above the station. The first such integration on the MRT network, it allows for more efficient land use while improving access to public transport. The NEL platforms at the station were one of the deepest platform on the network at underground.


title: North East MRT line

text: The four-level Sengkang station is an integrated hub with the three modes of transport – MRT, LRT and bus – serving the Sengkang area. The MRT/LRT station was the first intermodal station on the MRT network for all three modes of transport. The simple layout, the spacious interior and transparency in the station design allow easier navigation in and out of the station. Besides the transport facilities, the station is fully integrated with the property developments of Compass Heights and Compass Point by CentrePoint Properties (now Frasers Property).


title: North East MRT line

text: Designed by two architectural firms – 3HPArchitects and Farrells – Punggol station is intended to be integrated with the LRT station and the bus interchange. The station's curved aluminium and stainless steel cladding gives it a futuristic outlook, best reflecting the developments of Punggol 21. As the station spans over Punggol Central at to accommodate the bus stops, taxi stands and passenger drop-off points along that road, Punggol station is the longest station on the NEL.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL saw the first launch of the Art-in-Transit (AiT) programme – a showcase that integrates public artwork in the MRT network. Across the 16 stations, 18 artworks by 19 artists are featured. The artists involved were selected through the Art Review Panel, which reviews the artists' portfolios and manages the development of the art concepts. Considered a "significant milestone" for public art in Singapore, the artwork project aims to enhance the commuters' experience when travelling. Unlike previous artworks featured in the original NSEWL stations, the artwork has to be integrated into the station design, while reflecting the history and heritage of the station's locality.


title: North East MRT line

text: The rolling stock for the North East Line uses electric multiple unit (EMU) trains operating in a six-car configuration, with four doors per side on each carriage and can accommodate of up to 1,920 passengers in each trainsets. It consists of 25 first-generation Alstom Metropolis trains were supplied under contract C751A. They are built in France by Alstom between 2000–2001. To increase the capacity of the North East Line, an additional 18 second-generation Alstom Metropolis trains were supplied under contract C751C, a modern version of the first-generation trains, were delivered to Singapore from July 2014. They are also built in Shanghai, China by Alstom between 2014–2016. To increase the capacity of the North East Line for the North East Line Extension, an additional six third-generation Alstom Metropolis trains were supplied under contract C851E with the first train set arriving in Singapore on 4 April 2021. They are also built in Barcelona, Spain from 2020 onwards.


title: North East MRT line

text: The trains are fully automatic and controlled by an Operations Control Centre (OCC) at Sengkang Depot. The fleet's brake systems, more efficient than other fleets, allow smoother and quieter braking. Train speeds can reach up to . Various safety features are installed, such as Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) for monitoring the trains' interiors, and a passenger emergency communication system that allows communication between passengers and the OCC. The trains are spacious with wider seats and dedicated spaces for wheelchair users.


title: North East MRT line

text: Each train is made of fire-resistant materials, with fire and smoke detectors and a fire barrier underneath the frame. On each train is a pair of beams (rail guards) that detects obstacles in the train's path. While smaller debris could be swept away, the train would automatically stop should the beams detect larger objects. A 1500V Overhead Catenary System (OCS) powers the trains, the first such electrical system on the MRT network. The OCS allows a safer environment for maintenance workers on the tracks and is cheaper with a smaller conductor. In case of emergencies, when the train is stationary, the doors on both sides can be opened easily and without the need for electricity, with ramps lowering for passenger evacuation into the tunnels.


title: North East MRT line

text: The first-generation trains are undergoing a mid-life refurbishment that began in 2019 and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2024. The upgrades include replacements of interior parts and the installation of a new condition monitoring system that will monitor the train's performance. The first refurbished train entered service on 28 February 2022.


title: North East MRT line

text: Alongside the passenger trains, the NEL rail tunnels and tracks are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The four types of engineering trains are: the locomotive, for towing wagons with equipment; the heavy crane vehicle, for changing tracks; the multi-functional vehicle, for detecting flaws on the rails and tunnel structures; and the rail-grinding machine, for grinding rails "back into shape". These trains are manufactured by Plasser & Theurer, Speno International and Harsco Track Technologies. A new fleet of engineering trains have been supplied by CRRC Zhuzhou Machinery Co Ltd.


title: North East MRT line

text: The Sengkang Depot, located along Sengkang East Avenue, is the service and storage area for NEL trains. It is between the Buangkok and Sengkang stations. Built by Hyundai Engineering and Construction at S$350 million (US$ million), the depot includes the OCC, which monitors the trains' and stations' operations on the line.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL depot can accommodate up to 44 trains. Three additional stabling tracks are being built at the depot for the NELe. The depot also houses LRT trains for the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines above the NEL depot.


title: North East MRT line

text: The facilities at the depot include the four-storey administrative building, maintenance bays, a workshop and a fully automated warehouse. The depot workshop has equipment that can lift up an entire train for repairs – the first such workshop in Singapore. Utilising the NEL signalling system, train movement in the depot is mostly automatic. Staff members access the area via three dedicated tunnels for safety reasons.


title: North East MRT line

text: The OCC also controls the equipment and systems of tunnels, stations, power substations and the depot, which are all integrated into one terminal. The systems are managed by four to five rotating teams working 24/7. Alongside a training and software development room, the OCC has a depot control centre to monitor and supervise operations in the depot.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL is a fully automatic rapid transit line utilising the Urbalis 300 moving-block signalling system provided by Alstom. Automatic Train Control (ATC) for the line is based on Alstom's MASTRIA software, which also manages the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO) for the line. The Urbalis system also includes the Computer-based Interlocking system that controls the track switches and interfaces with the ATC and the Data Management System. The DMS oversees the signalling equipment, platform screen doors and trains, monitored by station staff.


title: North East MRT line

text: The ATP system maintains a buffer between trains that prevents them from getting too close to one another. The minimum distance allowed is , though the average distance between trains is at least . Using microwave technology, the IAGO waveguide (Informatisation et Automatisation par Guide d’Onde or waveguide transmission line system for computer and automation applications), which allows two-way communication between the trains and the track tubes emitting the microwaves, monitors the trains' positions and movements. If a train were to enter the buffer, the ATP would automatically adjust the train speed accordingly.


title: North East MRT line

text: At least 500 computer systems control the various aspects of the NEL. Should there be a glitch, backup systems would take over. The system would "go to sleep" should it experience a severe malfunction. In the case of system failure, drivers would be deployed to take manual control over the trains. The reliability of the signalling system ensured that the line maintained its "mean kilometres between failures" target of one million train-km ( train-miles). As part of the NEL refurbishment programme announced on 17 December 2018, parts of the power and signalling systems were being renewed, along with the installation of new rail crossings and tracks. These renewal programmes are to ensure the line's continued reliability even as it ages.


title: North East MRT line

text: Every station has a Passenger Service Centre (PSC) at the concourse. Generally, the PSCs are curvilinear, unlike the more "boxy" designs of other PSCs in older MRT stations. Besides assisting passengers and helping check and top up their fare cards, the PSC monitors and controls the functions in the connecting tunnels. The PSC communicates with the OCC at the depot. When the station is used as a civil defence (CD) shelter, the PSC becomes the Command Centre for the station.


title: North East MRT line

text: Each of the NEL stations is equipped with "energy-smart" Otis escalators connecting the various levels of the station. When not in use by commuters, their speed is reduced by half, reducing energy consumption and wear and tear. Woodleigh station features one of the longest sets of escalators at . Besides escalators, Dhoby Ghaut station is the first MRT station to feature a set of travellators that links between the NEL and NSL platforms.


title: North East MRT line

text: All the NEL stations have lifts that provide step-free access to the platforms. Most of the lifts have glass doors that not only gives an improved look for the lifts but also enhance the security and safety of users. Each of the lifts has a communication system connected to the station's PSC. In case the lift stalls during a station blackout, a battery-operated power backup will provide lighting and ventilation for the lift car for four hours.


title: North East MRT line

text: In compliance with the Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility, the NEL stations have wheelchair-friendly facilities. Each station has an entrance allowing barrier-free access via lifts and ramps, in contrast to the older stations on previous lines, which lacked such amenities.


title: North East MRT line

text: The NEL also features Singapore's first tactile system on the network. Consisting of tiles with rounded or elongated raised studs, the tactile system intends to guide visually impaired commuters through the station, with a dedicated route from the entrance to the platforms. The station seats also have armrests to assist those who have difficulties in getting up.


title: North East MRT line

text: These accessibility features were part of the recommendations from a working group set up by the LTA to improve accessibility on the MRT network. Other associations representing the disabled were also consulted. As the group only completed its findings in 1999, only some of the recommendations were adopted as the stations' infrastructure was already at an advanced stage of construction.


title: North East MRT line

text: Full-height Platform Screen Doors (PSDs) supplied by Westinghouse serves as a safety barrier between passengers on the platforms and the trains. The PSDs also enable climate control within the station, minimising the loss of cool air from the platforms and preventing warm air from entering the station from the tunnels. A total of 768 doorways were supplied for the 16 stations on the NEL. For Punggol Coast station, the PSDs will be supplied by ST Engineering Electronics Ltd under Contract 852F. The platforms also have Emergency Stop Plungers (ESPs) that will halt the trains in an emergency.


title: North East MRT line

text: More than 10,000 smoke and heat detectors are installed in all of the NEL stations as part of the line's fire alarm system. The alarm also automatically alerts SBS Transit if there are any faults in the system. The alarm system is integrated with the public announcement system. Hence, instead of alarm bells, there would be pre-recorded messages delivered that would direct commuters for evacuation. Besides the detectors, there are sprinkler and hose reel systems, dry riser pipeworks and an Inergen gas system that will contain the fire spread.


title: North East MRT line

text: During a fire, the escalators could be shut down remotely from the PSC, with the fare gates opened for evacuation. The air-conditioning system would be shut down to minimise re-circulation of smoke. The "smoke curtain" system, installed in the station, controls the smoke movements. Smoke extraction fans, which are automatically activated, would remove any contained smoke.


title: North East MRT line

text: With the exception of three stations (Dhoby Ghaut, Sengkang and Punggol), the NEL stations are designated as Civil Defence (CD) shelters. Each of the CD stations is designed to accommodate at least 7,500 people and withstand airstrikes and chemical attacks. Equipment essential for the operations in the CD shelter is mounted on shock absorbers to prevent damage during a bombing. When electrical supply to the shelter is disrupted, there are backup generators to keep operations going.


title: North East MRT line

text: During emergencies, the large sliding doors would seal the entrances, while the tunnel portals would be sealed by tunnel blast doors. The shelters also have dedicated built-in decontamination chambers and dry toilets with collection bins that will send human waste out of the shelter. These toilets are located next to an exhaust ventilation outlet to prevent the accumulation of smell in the shelter.


title: Garbage discography

text: Garbage is an American rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1993. The group's discography consists of seven studio albums, three compilation albums, one remix album, one extended play, 37 singles, four promotional singles, three video albums, and 38 music videos (many of which are alternate versions to the same song). The line-up consists of Scottish-born Shirley Manson and Americans Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and Butch Vig. They have amassed worldwide album sales of over 17 million units.


title: Garbage discography

text: Garbage released a string of increasingly successful singles in 1995 and 1996, including "Queer", "Only Happy When It Rains", and "Stupid Girl". Their debut album, "Garbage", charted in the top 20 in six countries and was certified double platinum in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Garbage spent two years working on their follow-up album, "Version 2.0", which charted in the top 20 in 12 countries and was certified platinum in four countries and the European Union.


title: Garbage discography

text: The band recorded the theme song of the 1999 James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough". The band's third album, "Beautiful Garbage" (2001), failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors. Garbage quietly disbanded in late 2003, but regrouped to complete their fourth album "Bleed Like Me" in 2005, peaking at a career-high number four on the "Billboard" 200. The band cut short their concert tour in support of "Bleed Like Me" announcing an "indefinite hiatus". Garbage reconvened in 2007 and released a greatest hits compilation "Absolute Garbage". The band's fifth studio album, "Not Your Kind of People", was released on 14 May 2012 through the band's own label, Stunvolume.


title: Garbage discography

text: Garbage also remixed a number of their own singles, while drummer Butch Vig remixed a number of artists while Garbage were active.


title: ASM International

text: ASM International is a Dutch headquartered multinational corporation that specializes in design, manufacturing, sales and service of semiconductor wafer processing equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor devices. ASM's products are used by semiconductor manufacturers in front-end wafer processing in their semiconductor fabrication plants. ASM’s technologies include atomic layer deposition, epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition and diffusion.


title: ASM International

text: The company was founded by Arthur del Prado (1931-2016) as ‘Advanced Semiconductor Materials’ in 1964. From 2008 until 2020, son of Arthur del Prado, Chuck del Prado was CEO.


title: ASM International

text: ASM pioneered important aspects of many established wafer-processing technologies used in industry, including lithography, deposition, ion implantation, single-wafer epitaxy, and in recent years atomic layer deposition. Semiconductor equipment companies ASML, ASM Pacific Technology and Besi are former divisions of ASM.


title: ASM International

text: ASM International headquarters is located in Almere, the Netherlands. The company has R&D sites in Almere (the Netherlands), Helsinki (Finland), Leuven (Belgium, near IMEC), Phoenix (Arizona), Tama (Japan), and Dongtan (South Korea). Manufacturing primarily occurs in Singapore and Dongtan (South-Korea). ASM also has sales & service offices across the globe, including United States, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and Israel. As of 2019, it has 2,337 staff, located in 14 countries.


title: ASM International

text: The shares of the company are listed on the Euronext Amsterdam. In March 2020, ASM was promoted to the AEX index. ASM International has a minority stake in ASM Pacific Technology, a Hong Kong-based company active in semiconductor assembly, packaging and surface-mount technology.


title: ASM International

text: To create a semiconductor chip, many individual steps are performed using various types of wafer processing equipment, including photolithographic patterning, depositing thin layers, etching to remove material, thermal treatments, and other steps. ASM’s systems are designed for deposition processes, when thin films, or layers, of various materials are grown or deposited onto the wafer. Many different thin-film layers are deposited to complete the full sequence of process steps necessary to manufacture a chip.


title: ASM International

text: ASM’s technology development is driven by its customers’ goal to build faster, cheaper, and more powerful semiconductor chips with reduced energy consumption. This goal drives the need to shrink the dimensions of components on the chip, targeting to double the number of components per unit area on a chip every two years (Moore’s law). As part of this scaling of dimensions, ASM supplies its customers – chip manufacturers – with machines that deposit ever thinner films of semiconductor materials. ASM also develops deposition processes for new materials to be used in semiconductor fabrication.


title: ASM International

text: During the past 15 years, an increasing array of new materials has been introduced in the fabrication of chips. These new materials were required to achieve the necessary performance improvements of chips, as outlined by Moore’s Law. For instance, in 2007 in a MOSFET transistor, the silicon oxidegate dielectric was replaced with a high-κ, a material that has a higher electrical resistance than silicon oxide. In this particular case, ASM pioneered the chemical process and the new deposition method called atomic layer deposition during nearly a decade of R&D. In addition, increasingly precise deposition methods are required as components on a chip such as transistors moved from planar to 3D structures, like FinFETs in the past decade. ASM has a leading position in single wafer atomic layer deposition (ALD).


title: ASM International

text: ASM offers a number of methods and accompanying machines to deposit these thin films of materials. The company tries to expand the applicability of its deposition technologies and machines as much as possible. R&D is critical in that effort. In 2019, the company spent 111 million euro on R&D (or 9% of its annual revenues). R&D activities stretch from basic research of new materials to the application of new materials in chip manufacturing.


title: ASM International

text: ASM designs and sells both single-wafer deposition tools, in which the process is performed one wafer at a time, as well as so-called batch tools, in which the deposition is performed on multiple wafers at a time. The prices of the company’s systems varies, but typically are multiple of million euros per system.


title: ASM International

text: Atomic Layer Deposition is a layer-by-layer process that results in the deposition of thin films one atomic layer at a time in a highly controlled manner. Layers are formed during reaction cycles by alternately pulsing precursors and reactants and purging with inert gas in between each pulse. ASM offers single wafer ALD tools in two technology segments: thermal ALD and plasma enhanced ALD (PEALD). ASM’s ALD tools include Synergis, Pulsar and EmerALD. PEALD tools include Eagle XP8 and the XP8 QCM.


title: ASM International

text: Epitaxy is a process that is used for depositing precisely controlled crystalline silicon-based layers that are important for semiconductor device electrical properties. The silicon epitaxy process can be used to modify the electrical characteristics of the wafer surface to create high-performance transistors during the manufacturing of semiconductor chips. ASM’s epitaxy tools are single wafer tools and include Intrepid and Epsilon.


title: ASM International

text: Chemical Vapor Deposition is a chemical deposition process in which the wafer is exposed to one or more volatile precursors, which react and/or decompose on the substrate surface to produce the desired film. Within Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) ASM offers two types of tools: single-wafer plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD) and batch low pressure CVD (LPCVD). ASM provides single-wafer PECVD processes on the Dragon XP8 tool. ASM provides batch LPCVD/diffusion processes on the vertical furnace A412 Plus and the A400 DUO tools.


title: ASM International

text: 1960s: In 1964, founds ASM as ‘Advanced Semiconductor Materials’ in Bilthoven, the Netherlands. Initially the company operates as a sales agent in semiconductor fabrication technology in Europe. In 1968, the company was formally listed as a private limited company.


title: ASM International

text: 1970s: ASM starts to design, manufacture and sell chemical vapor deposition equipment. In 1974 it acquires Fico Toolings, a Dutch manufacturer of semiconductor molds. A Hong Kong sales office ASM Asia, now known and traded as ASM Pacific Technology, is established in 1975. ASM America is founded in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1976. Sale of ASM’s horizontal plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition furnaces drive the company’s growth.


title: ASM International

text: 1980s: Following an initial public offering on the Nasdaq in May 1981, the company expands. In 1982 ASM Japan is established. ASM invests in new semiconductor fabrication technologies, like lithography, ion implantation, epitaxy, and wire bonding. In 1988, the company divests ASML Holding N.V., ASM Ion Implant, and it lists its Hong Kong based activities as ASM Pacific Technology on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1989.


title: ASM International

text: 1990s: The company reorganizes thoroughly between 1991 and 1994. In 1993, ASM divests ASM Fico to Berliner Electro Holding, now known as Besi. ASM focusses on vertical low-pressure chemical vapor deposition furnaces by ASM Europe, single wafer plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition by ASM Japan and single wafer epitaxy by ASM America. From 1996 onwards, the company is also listed on the Euronext, Amsterdam.ASM retains a majority stake in ASM Pacific Technology.


title: ASM International

text: 2000s: ASM expands again with investments in 300-mm wafer technology and atomic layer deposition. In 2007, the company successfully brings atomic layer deposition from R&D to high-volume production via the high-κ metal gate application. At the same time, hedge funds question the company’s stake in ASM Pacific Technology. In 2008 Arthur del Prado is succeeded as CEO by his son, Chuck del Prado. In 2009 headquarters move from Bilthoven to Almere, the Netherlands.


title: ASM International

text: 2010s: The company returns to structural profitability after execution of a worldwide restructuring program, that includes the implementation of a product driven organization, a single global sales organization, consolidation of manufacturing in Singapore, and the establishment of a global human resources, finance, IT, operational excellence and environment, health and safety organization. The application of (plasma enhanced) atomic layer deposition in multiple patterning and high-κ metal gate drives ASM’s growth. Other products include epitaxy, PECVD and vertical furnace. Its stake in ASM Pacific Technology is reduced to 25%.


title: ASM International

text: 2020s: In 2020, on the Euronext, the company is included on the AEX index. which includes the top-25 of companies listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The same year, after 12 years as CEO, Chuck del Prado decided to step down, and was succeeded by Benjamin Loh.


title: ASM International

text: ASM sells its equipment to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide, with the majority of its revenues from Asian customers. In 2019, 1.07 billion euro of the total 1.28 billion euro in revenues was generated through equipment sales, the rest came from spares and service.


title: ASM International

text: Shares of ASM are traded on the Euronext stock exchange since 1996. Since March 2020, ASM is included on the AEX index. The market capitalization of ASM Pacific Technology is no longer consolidated after ASM’s interest in ASM Pacific Technology decreased to 25 percent in 2013. Between 1981 and 2015 ASM was also listed on the Nasdaq.


title: ASM International

text: In 2018 share price averaged at € 48,62 resulting in an average market capitalization of 2.53 billion euro. In 2019 average closing price was € 68.98, resulting in an average market capitalization of 3.38 billion euro. Over 2020 H1 the average share price was € 105.47 with an average market capitalization of 5.41 billion euro.


title: German folklore

text: German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Partially it can be also found in Austria.


title: German folklore

text: It shares many characteristics with Nordic folklore and English folklore due to their origins in a common Germanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of Norse mythology; magical characters (sometimes recognizably pre-Christian) associated with Christian festivals, and various regional 'character' stories.


title: German folklore

text: As in Scandinavia, when belief in the old gods disappeared, remnants of the mythos persisted: Holda, a "supernatural" patron of spinning; the Lorelei, a dangerous Rhine siren derived from 19th-century literature; the spirit Berchta (also known as Perchta); the Weiße Frauen, a water spirit said to protect children; the Doppelgänger, supernatural beings said to resemble the exactly similar appearance of determined person; the Wild Hunt (in German folklore preceded by an old man, Honest Eckart, who warns others of its approach); the giant Rübezahl; changeling legends; and many more generic entities such as the elf, dwarf, kobold and erlking.


title: German folklore

text: Popular folklore includes Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht, a rough companion to Santa Claus; the Lutzelfrau, a Yule witch who must be appeased with small presents; the Osterhase (Easter Hare – the original Easter Bunny); and Walpurgisnacht, a spring festival derived from pagan customs.


title: German folklore

text: Character folklore includes the stories of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the Godfather Death, the trickster hero Till Eulenspiegel, the Town Musicians of Bremen and Faust.


title: German folklore

text: Documentation and preservation of folklore in the states that formally united as Germany in 1871 was initially fostered in the 18th and 19th centuries. As early as 1851, author Bernhard Baader published a collection of folklore research obtained by oral history, called "Volkssagen aus dem Lande Baden und den angrenzenden Gegenden". The Saxon author Johann Karl August Musäus was another early collector.


title: German folklore

text: Study was further promoted by the Prussian poet and philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder. His belief in the role of folklore in ethnic nationalism – a folklore of Germany as a nation rather than of disunited German-speaking peoples – inspired the Brothers Grimm, Goethe and others. For instance, folklore elements, such as the Rhine Maidens and the Grimms' "The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear", formed part of the source material for Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.


title: German folklore

text: Some of the works of Washington Irving – notably "Rip van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" – are based on German folktales.


title: German folklore

text: Within Germany, the nationalistic aspect was further emphasized during the National Socialist era. Folklore studies, "Volkskunde", were co-opted as a political tool, to seek out traditional customs to support the idea of historical continuity with a Germanic culture. Anti-Semitic folklore such as the blood libel legend was also emphasized.


title: User Account Control

text: User Account Control (UAC) is a mandatory access control enforcement feature introduced with Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, with a more relaxed version also present in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, and Windows 11. It aims to improve the security of Microsoft Windows by limiting application software to standard user privileges until an administrator authorises an increase or elevation. In this way, only applications trusted by the user may receive administrative privileges and malware are kept from compromising the operating system. In other words, a user account may have administrator privileges assigned to it, but applications that the user runs do not inherit those privileges unless they are approved beforehand or the user explicitly authorises it.


title: User Account Control

text: UAC uses Mandatory Integrity Control to isolate running processes with different privileges. To reduce the possibility of lower-privilege applications communicating with higher-privilege ones, another new technology, User Interface Privilege Isolation, is used in conjunction with User Account Control to isolate these processes from each other. One prominent use of this is Internet Explorer 7's "Protected Mode".


title: User Account Control

text: Operating systems on mainframes and on servers have differentiated between superusers and userland for decades. This had an obvious security component, but also an administrative component, in that it prevented users from accidentally changing system settings.


title: User Account Control

text: Early Microsoft home operating-systems (such as MS-DOS, Windows 95-98 and Windows Me) did not have a concept of different user-accounts on the same machine. Subsequent versions of Windows and Microsoft applications encouraged the use of non-administrator user-logons, yet some applications continued to require administrator rights. Microsoft does not certify applications as Windows-compliant if they require administrator privileges; such applications may not use the Windows-compliant logo with their packaging.


title: User Account Control

text: Tasks that require administrator privileges will trigger a UAC prompt (if UAC is enabled); they are typically marked by a security shield icon with the 4 colors of the Windows logo (in Vista and Windows Server 2008) or with two panels yellow and two blue (Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and later). In the case of executable files, the icon will have a security shield overlay. The following tasks require administrator privileges:


title: User Account Control

text: Common tasks, such as changing the time zone, do not require administrator privileges (although changing the system time itself does, since the system time is commonly used in security protocols such as Kerberos). A number of tasks that required administrator privileges in earlier versions of Windows, such as installing critical Windows updates, no longer require administrator privileges in Vista. Any program can be run as administrator by right-clicking its icon and clicking "Run as administrator", except MSI or MSU packages as, due to their nature, if administrator rights will be required a prompt will usually be shown. Should this fail, the only workaround is to run a Command Prompt as an administrator and launch the MSI or MSP package from there.


title: User Account Control

text: User Account Control asks for credentials in a "Secure Desktop" mode, where the entire screen is temporarily dimmed, Windows Aero disabled, and only the authorization window at full brightness, to present only the elevation user interface (UI). Normal applications cannot interact with the Secure Desktop. This helps prevent spoofing, such as overlaying different text or graphics on top of the elevation request, or tweaking the mouse pointer to click the confirmation button when that's not what the user intended. If an administrative activity comes from a minimized application, the secure desktop request will also be minimized so as to prevent the focus from being lost. It is possible to disable "Secure Desktop", though this is inadvisable from a security perspective.


title: User Account Control

text: In earlier versions of Windows, Applications written with the assumption that the user will be running with administrator privileges experienced problems when run from limited user accounts, often because they attempted to write to machine-wide or system directories (such as "Program Files") or registry keys (notably HKLM). UAC attempts to alleviate this using "File and Registry Virtualization", which redirects writes (and subsequent reads) to a per-user location within the user's profile. For example, if an application attempts to write to a directory such as "C:\Program Files\appname\settings.ini" to which the user does not have write permission, the write will be redirected to "C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\appname\settings.ini". The redirection feature is only provided for non-elevated 32-bit applications, and only if they do not include a manifest that requests specific privileges.


title: User Account Control

text: Command Prompt windows that are running elevated will prefix the title of the window with the word "Administrator", so that a user can discern which instances are running with elevated privileges.


title: User Account Control

text: A distinction is made between elevation requests from a signed executable and an unsigned executable; and if the former, whether the publisher is 'Windows Vista'. The color, icon, and wording of the prompts are different in each case; for example, attempting to convey a greater sense of warning if the executable is unsigned than if not.


title: User Account Control

text: Internet Explorer 7's "Protected Mode" feature uses UAC to run with a 'low' integrity level (a Standard user token has an integrity level of 'medium'; an elevated (Administrator) token has an integrity level of 'high'). As such, it effectively runs in a sandbox, unable to write to most of the system (apart from the Temporary Internet Files folder) without elevating via UAC. Since toolbars and ActiveX controls run within the Internet Explorer process, they will run with low privileges as well, and will be severely limited in what damage they can do to the system.


title: User Account Control

text: A program can request elevation in a number of different ways. One way for program developers is to add a requestedPrivileges section to an XML document, known as the manifest, that is then embedded into the application. A manifest can specify dependencies, visual styles, and now the appropriate security context:


title: User Account Control

text: Setting the level attribute for requestedExecutionLevel to "asInvoker" will make the application run with the token that started it, "highestAvailable" will present a UAC prompt for administrators and run with the usual reduced privileges for standard users, and "requireAdministrator" will require elevation. In both highestAvailable and requireAdministrator modes, failure to provide confirmation results in the program not being launched.


title: User Account Control

text: An executable that is marked as "codice_1" in its manifest cannot be started from a non-elevated process using codice_2. Instead, codice_3 will be returned. codice_4 or codice_5 must be used instead. If an codice_6 is not supplied, then the dialog will show up as a blinking item in the taskbar.


title: User Account Control

text: Inspecting an executable's manifest to determine if it requires elevation is not recommended, as elevation may be required for other reasons (setup executables, application compatibility). However, it is possible to programmatically detect if an executable will require elevation by using codice_2 and setting the codice_8 parameter to codice_9. If elevation is required, then codice_3 will be returned. If elevation is not required, a success return code will be returned at which point one can use codice_11 on the newly created, suspended process. This will not allow one to detect that an executable requires elevation if one is already executing in an elevated process, however.


title: User Account Control

text: A new process with elevated privileges can be spawned from within a .NET application using the "codice_12" verb. An example using C#:


title: User Account Control

text: In the absence of a specific directive stating what privileges the application requests, UAC will apply heuristics, to determine whether or not the application needs administrator privileges. For example, if UAC detects that the application is a setup program, from clues such as the filename, versioning fields, or the presence of certain sequences of bytes within the executable, in the absence of a manifest it will assume that the application needs administrator privileges.


title: User Account Control

text: UAC is a convenience feature; it neither introduces a security boundary nor prevents execution of malware.


title: User Account Control

text: Leo Davidson discovered that Microsoft weakened UAC in Windows 7 through exemption of about 70 Windows programs from displaying a UAC prompt and presented a proof of concept for a privilege escalation.


title: User Account Control

text: Stefan Kanthak presented a proof of concept for a privilege escalation via UAC's installer detection and IExpress installers.


title: User Account Control

text: Stefan Kanthak presented another proof of concept for arbitrary code execution as well as privilege escalation via UAC's auto-elevation and binary planting.


title: User Account Control

text: There have been complaints that UAC notifications slow down various tasks on the computer such as the initial installation of software onto Windows Vista. It is possible to turn off UAC while installing software, and re-enable it at a later time. However, this is not recommended since, as File & Registry Virtualization is only active when UAC is turned on, user settings and configuration files may be installed to a different place (a system directory rather than a user-specific directory) if UAC is switched off than they would be otherwise. Also Internet Explorer 7's "Protected Mode", whereby the browser runs in a sandbox with lower privileges than the standard user, relies on UAC; and will not function if UAC is disabled.


title: User Account Control

text: Yankee Group analyst Andrew Jaquith said, six months before Vista was released, that "while the new security system shows promise, it is far too chatty and annoying." By the time Windows Vista was released in November 2006, Microsoft had drastically reduced the number of operating system tasks that triggered UAC prompts, and added file and registry virtualization to reduce the number of legacy applications that triggered UAC prompts. However, David Cross, a product unit manager at Microsoft, stated during the RSA Conference 2008 that UAC was in fact designed to "annoy users," and force independent software vendors to make their programs more secure so that UAC prompts would not be triggered. Software written for Windows XP, and many peripherals, would no longer work in Windows Vista or 7 due to the extensive changes made in the introduction of UAC. The compatibility options were also insufficient. In response to these criticisms, Microsoft altered UAC activity in Windows 7. For example, by default users are not prompted to confirm many actions initiated with the mouse and keyboard alone such as operating Control Panel applets.


title: User Account Control

text: In a controversial article, New York Times Gadgetwise writer Paul Boutin said "Turn off Vista's overly protective User Account Control. Those pop-ups are like having your mother hover over your shoulder while you work." Computerworld journalist Preston Gralla described the NYT article as "...one of the worst pieces of technical advice ever issued."


title: Landauer's principle

text: Landauer's principle is a physical principle pertaining to the lower theoretical limit of energy consumption of computation. It holds that "any logically irreversible manipulation of information, such as the erasure of a bit or the merging of two computation paths, must be accompanied by a corresponding entropy increase in non-information-bearing degrees of freedom of the information-processing apparatus or its environment".


title: Landauer's principle

text: Another way of phrasing Landauer's principle is that if an observer loses information about a physical system, heat is generated and the observer loses the ability to extract useful work from that system.


title: Landauer's principle

text: A so-called logically reversible computation, in which no information is erased, may in principle be carried out without releasing any heat. This has led to considerable interest in the study of reversible computing. Indeed, without reversible computing, increases in the number of computations per joule of energy dissipated must eventually come to a halt. If Koomey's law continues to hold, the limit implied by Landauer's principle would be reached around the year 2080.


title: Landauer's principle

text: At 20 °C (room temperature, or 293.15 K), the Landauer limit represents an energy of approximately 0.0175 eV, or 2.805 zJ. Theoretically, room-temperature computer memory operating at the Landauer limit could be changed at a rate of one billion bits per second (1 Gbit/s) with energy being converted to heat in the memory media at the rate of only 2.805 trillionths of a watt (that is, at a rate of only 2.805 pJ/s). Modern computers use millions of times as much energy per second.


title: Landauer's principle

text: Rolf Landauer first proposed the principle in 1961 while working at IBM. He justified and stated important limits to an earlier conjecture by John von Neumann. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as being simply the Landauer bound or Landauer limit.


title: Landauer's principle

text: In 2008 and 2009, researchers showed that Landauer's principle can be derived from the second law of thermodynamics and the entropy change associated with information gain, developing the thermodynamics of quantum and classical feedback-controlled systems.


title: Landauer's principle

text: In 2011, the principle was generalized to show that while information erasure requires an increase in entropy, this increase could theoretically occur at no energy cost. Instead, the cost can be taken in another conserved quantity, such as angular momentum.


title: Landauer's principle

text: In a 2012 article published in "Nature", a team of physicists from the École normale supérieure de Lyon, University of Augsburg and the University of Kaiserslautern described that for the first time they have measured the tiny amount of heat released when an individual bit of data is erased.


title: Landauer's principle

text: In 2016, researchers used a laser probe to measure the amount of energy dissipation that resulted when a nanomagnetic bit flipped from off to on. Flipping the bit required 26 millielectronvolts (4.2 zeptojoules).


title: Landauer's principle

text: A 2018 article published in "Nature Physics" features a Landauer erasure performed at cryogenic temperatures on an array of high-spin ("S" = 10) quantum molecular magnets. The array is made to act as a spin register where each nanomagnet encodes a single bit of information. The experiment has laid the foundations for the extension of the validity of the Landauer principle to the quantum realm. Owing to the fast dynamics and low "inertia" of the single spins used in the experiment, the researchers also showed how an erasure operation can be carried out at the lowest possible thermodynamic cost—that imposed by the Landauer principle—and at a high speed.


title: Landauer's principle

text: Landauer's principle can be understood to be a simple logical consequence of the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease—together with the definition of thermodynamic temperature. For, if the number of possible logical states of a computation were to decrease as the computation proceeded forward (logical irreversibility), this would constitute a forbidden decrease of entropy, unless the number of possible physical states corresponding to each logical state were to simultaneously increase by at least a compensating amount, so that the total number of possible physical states was no smaller than it was originally (i.e. total entropy has not decreased).


title: Landauer's principle

text: Yet, an increase in the number of physical states corresponding to each logical state means that, for an observer who is keeping track of the physical states of the system but not the logical states, the number of possible physical states has increased; in other words, entropy has increased from the point of view of this observer.


title: Landauer's principle

text: The maximum entropy of a bounded physical system is finite. (If the holographic principle is correct, then physical systems with finite surface area have a finite maximum entropy; but regardless of the truth of the holographic principle, quantum field theory dictates that the entropy of systems with finite radius and energy is finite due to the Bekenstein bound.) To avoid reaching this maximum over the course of an extended computation, entropy must eventually be expelled to an outside environment.


title: Landauer's principle

text: Landauer's principle is based on the more general equation of Leon Brillouin (Brillouin 1956) estimating the energy of one bit of information as the minimum energy of a particle (e.g., photon) that has to overcome the energy of thermal noise to carry the information (formula below).


title: Landauer's principle

text: The principle asserts that there is a minimum possible amount of energy required to erase one bit of information, known as the "Landauer limit":


title: Landauer's principle

text: where formula_2 is the Boltzmann constant (approximately 1.38×10 J/K), formula_3 is the temperature of the heat sink in kelvins, and formula_4 is the natural logarithm of 2 (approximately 0.69315). After setting formula_3 equal to room temperature 20 °C (293.15 K), we can get the Landauer limit of 0.0175 eV (2.805 zJ) per bit erased.


title: Landauer's principle

text: The equation can be deduced from Boltzmann's entropy formula (formula_6), considering that formula_7 is the number of states of the system, which in the case of a bit is 2, and the entropy formula_8 is defined as formula_9. So the operation of erasing a single bit increases the entropy of a value of at least formula_10, emitting in the environment a quantity of energy equal or greater than formula_11.


title: Landauer's principle

text: The principle is widely accepted as physical law, but in recent years it has been challenged for using circular reasoning and faulty assumptions, notably in Earman and Norton (1998), and subsequently in Shenker (2000) and Norton (2004, 2011), and defended by Bennett (2003), Ladyman et al. (2007), and by Jordan and Manikandan (2019). Other researchers have shown that Landauer's principle is a consequence of the second law of Thermodynamics and the entropy change associated with information gain.


title: Landauer's principle

text: On the other hand, recent advances in non-equilibrium statistical physics have established that there is no a priori relationship between logical and thermodynamic reversibility. It is possible that a physical process is logically reversible but thermodynamically irreversible. It is also possible that a physical process is logically irreversible but thermodynamically reversible. At best, the benefits of implementing a computation with a logically reversible system are nuanced.


title: Landauer's principle

text: In 2016, researchers at the University of Perugia claimed to have demonstrated a violation of Landauer’s principle. However, according to Laszlo Kish (2016), their results are invalid because they "neglect the dominant source of energy dissipation, namely, the charging energy of the capacitance of the input electrode".


title: Bree Runway

text: Brenda Wireko Mensah (born 18 November 1992), known professionally as Bree Runway, is an English singer, songwriter and rapper of Ghanaian descent. She signed to EMI Records in 2018 and subsequently released her first commercial EP "Be Runway" (2019), followed by her debut mixtape, "2000and4Eva" (2020), which spawned the single "ATM" featuring Missy Elliott. Runway has won the award for Best New International Act at the BET Awards; and was nominated for the 2022 Brit Award for Rising Star award.


title: Bree Runway

text: Mensah was born on 18 November 1992 in Hackney, where she was raised. She is of Ghanaian descent. She resided on a street given the nickname "Murder mile" due to high rates of crime and conflict. Runway views her upbringing and experiences as her having to have "thick skin", resilience and "having instilled a fight in me" which she is thankful for. At the age of 9, Runway experienced bullying and colourism which caused her to bleach her skin and have a negative chemical reaction to the product. Runway credits those moments as shaping her both as a person and an artist. Runway discussed the positive shift in attitude regarding her skin when she went to a college in South London where she met model Leomie Anderson who encouraged Runway to take pictures of herself and "take charge of our situations".


title: Bree Runway

text: In an interview, she disclosed that she was only interested in music at school but never thought of herself as a musician. She enrolled in a Music technology subject which taught her the basics of music production. As a result, Runway started making beats and freestyling with her friends. Runway discussed that she purchased a "DIY home studio" setup with her first pay cheque which was where she was singing over self-produced beats and writing her own songs. Earlier material such as "RNWY 01" was recorded with her DIY setup and explained that the self-sufficiency taught her what musical sound she wanted to pursue. Runway revealed that Former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, once visited her school where she performed for her and was told to keep pursuing a musical career and that she wanted to see her performing at the White House to which Runway responded "Invite me then!".


title: Bree Runway

text: Bree Runway made her solo debut with the self-released EPs titled "RNWY 01" and "Bouji" being released in November 2015 and May 2016 respectively. Runway commercially released her debut single "Butterfly" in November 2016. A music video was released alongside the song, which was shot in Dubai, by model Leomie Anderson and directed by Runway herself.


title: Bree Runway

text: On 21 September 2017, Bree Runway released "What Do I Tell My Friends?" which debuted alongside a music video. The video would gather major attention, being her first to pass over one hundred thousand views, and praise due to its serious message of exploitation of young females in the fashion industry. Bree Runway was featured on British electronic duo Metroplane's single "Word of Mouth" which was released in February 2018.


title: Bree Runway

text: Bree Runway signed to Virgin EMI Records in 2018. In May 2019, she released the single "2ON" as her major-label debut. The track would later be included on "Paper"'s critics list of the Top 50 Songs of 2019. Car company Toyota would also use the track in an advertisement for their C-HR Leave Ordinary Behind campaign. In July 2019, the single "Big Racks" featuring Brooke Candy was released. Bree Runway released her major-label debut EP "Be Runway" on 16 August 2019 which was preceded by singles "2ON" and "Big Racks" featuring Brooke Candy. A video for the track "All Night" was released five days later, making it the third and final single from the EP.


title: Bree Runway

text: On 5 March 2020, Bree Runway released the single "Apeshit" which was met with critical acclaim and drew immediate comparisons to Missy Elliott who would later co-sign the track on Twitter. A censored version of the song titled, "Ain't It", was included on the FIFA 21 "VOLTA Football" soundtrack. During April 2020, Bree Runway was featured on the cover of Issue 87 of British magazine "Notion". On 28 April 2020, Runway announced that her next single would be titled "Damn Daniel" and would be a collaboration with American singer and rapper Baby Tate. The single was released on 30 April, alongside a "quarantine edition" music video. The song was featured on Annie Mac's Future Sounds show on BBC Radio 1 as the "Hottest Record in the World" on 30 April.


title: Bree Runway

text: On 10 July 2020, Bree Runway was featured on a remix of Rina Sawayama’s single "XS". In July 2020, Bree Runway released the single "Gucci" with American rapper Maliibu Miitch. She also released the single "Little Nokia" in September 2020, which would later go onto be ranked the fourth best song of 2020 by "Time". In October 2020, Bree Runway was the cover star for the DIY issue of British magazine "Hunger". In October 2020, Runway announced the release of her debut mixtape, "2000and4Eva", which was released on 6 November 2020 via Virgin EMI Records. The mixtape's release was preceded and supported by the singles; "Apeshit", "Damn Daniel", "Gucci", "Little Nokia" and "ATM". A music video for the mixtape's fifth single, "ATM" featuring Missy Elliott, was released on 11 January 2021. A solo version of the song, subtitled the "Breemix", was released on 25 January 2021.


title: Bree Runway

text: On 28 March 2021, Bree Runway announced the release of the single, "Hot Hot", which was released on 31 March 2021. On 20 May 2021, "Space Ghost Coast to Coast", a collaboration with English band Glass Animals was released. In the beginning of September 2021, she was featured on the Jimmy Edgar remix of "Babylon" by Lady Gaga off her remix album "Dawn of Chromatica", as well as in the music video for "Have Mercy" by Chlöe. In December 2021, Runway made her debut award show performance at the 2021 MOBO Awards, where she performed "Hot Hot" and teased a new single "Pressure". "Pressure" was released on 7 February 2022. The following month, "Somebody Like You" was released, which served as the second of three releases. On 27 September 2022, Runway announced the release of the single "That Girl", which was released on 29 September. The song served as the lead single from her fourth EP, "Woah, What a Blur!", which was released on 8 December 2022.


title: Bree Runway

text: Bree Runway has expressed her sound as "genre-bending" as well as "genre fluid" with her material experimenting with a multitude of genres including; pop, trap, dance, R&B, rock, and hyperpop. Despite being signed to a major label, Runway revealed that she is entirely in charge of her creative process. Runway explains that she tries to study genres that she doesn't listen to on a daily basis quoting that there is "inspiration everywhere". When discussing Runway's sound, she emphasizes her disapproval with genre labelling, rejecting the labels of a rapper or an "R&B sensation" and claiming that―if she weren't Black―she wouldn't be labelled as such, while insisting on being dubbed a "popstar".


title: Bree Runway

text: She cites Lil' Kim, Britney Spears, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Pharrell, Kelis and the Neptunes as her biggest influences.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin was founded in 1884 and named for Abraham P. Lufkin. It originally served as a stop on the Houston, East and West Texas Railway. It was officially incorporated on October 15, 1890. Lufkin continued to serve as a stop on the railroad until 1890. Three businessmen founded Angelina Lumber Company, which led to much of the economic prosperity Lufkin later had. When the so-called "timber boom" came to an end, a new "golden era of expansion" began. Lufkin became more industrialized with the opening of Lufkin Industries and Southland Paper Mill. In the mid-1960s, a cultural expansion began, and improvements were made to education and the way of life, including museums and the opening of a new library.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The City of Lufkin has a council–manager government, with 6 city council members, a mayor, and a city manager. The Lufkin Independent School District encompasses most of Lufkin and operates almost all of the schools within Lufkin. Additionally, Angelina College, a community college, is located in Lufkin.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The city was originally founded in 1882 as a stop on the Houston, East and West Texas Railway; it is named for Abraham P. Lufkin, a cotton merchant and Galveston city councilman. Lufkin was the father-in-law of Paul Bremond, president of the railroad, which developed the town. Lufkin continued to grow because of its proximity to the railroad and its lumber industry. The history of Lufkin can be divided into three main eras, the railroad era, the timber boom, and the golden era of expansion.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The railroad era lasted between 1882 and 1890. In 1881, the area that is now Lufkin was little more than a small settlement known as Denman Springs. A railroad surveying team began to plan a route through Angelina County, with a possible route through Homer, Texas, which at the time was the county seat. According to legend, the men in the surveying team began to get rowdy in the saloon in Homer, which led to their arrest. They paid their way out the next morning, but this infuriated the chief surveyor. He ordered the team for the rail line to bypass Homer and go by Denman Springs. Conveniently, the new route went through the property of Lafayette Denman and his son, Dr. A. M. Denman, who as the legend goes, had hosted the surveying team a few days earlier. This legend is most likely not true since the prospectus in 1879 already had the railroad planned to bypass Homer and go through the future site of Lufkin.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The railroad officially arrived in 1882, and the company began to advertise the sale of lots of land in Lufkin. During this time, many of the businesses and professionals from Homer began to relocate to Lufkin to be closer to the railroad. Some of the first stores in Lufkin included S. Abram's general store, Joseph Kerr's grocery and saddle shop, and W. H. Bonner's general store, all located on Cotton Square, which became the center of most economic activity in Lufkin. Behind the depot, which was on the cotton square, cotton was stored before being shipped on the railroad. The town continued to grow, and acquired a post office in 1882 with William A. Abney as postmaster. Soon after in 1883, a telegraph line was strung connecting Lufkin to Nacogdoches by telegraph. On October 15, 1890, the town was officially incorporated. The first mayor of Lufkin was J. M. Smith, who was the owner of Smith Hotel; he was elected on November 15, 1890. Even before the incorporation of Lufkin, the courthouse was sought to have been moved. By a vote in 1885, though, the courthouse remained in Homer. In November 1891, a fire of mysterious origin destroyed the courthouse in Homer. This prompted a petition from the citizens of Lufkin asking for a new election to be held to decide if the courthouse should be relocated to Lufkin. The election was held on January 2, 1892, and the citizens decided to relocate the courthouse to Lufkin.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The timber boom lasted between 1890 and 1920. Three main lumbering families are recognized for much of the economic prosperity in Lufkin - the Kurths, the Hendersons, and the Wieners. Joseph H. Kurth Sr., was a German immigrant, who had operated a sawmill in Polk County, Texas. He moved to a small settlement north of Lufkin known as Keltys. In 1887, Kurth obtained a sawmill from Charles L. Kelty. He was soon joined by S. W. Henderson Sr., and Sam Wiener, both of Corrigan, Texas. In 1890, the men started the Angelina County Lumber Company. The company became the forerunner of the lumber industry in East Texas, and led to much of the economic prosperity in Lufkin. At the peak of the three families' activities, nearly a dozen sawmills and several other industries were operating.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The golden era of expansion occurred between 1938 and 1945. In the late 1930s, two of the principal industries in Lufkin, the Southland Paper Mill, later known as Abitibi Bowater Inc. which closed in 2007, and Texas Foundries opened. These companies provided much of Lufkin's industrial growth. The largest industrial employer was Lufkin Foundry and Machine Company, later known as Lufkin Industries; it ceased operations in 2018.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: In early Lufkin history, most daily life revolved around churches, schools, and sports activities, but this began to change between 1965 and 1983, when Lufkin began a cultural expansion. Improvements included the Kurth Memorial Library, new museums, a civic center, Angelina College, a new federal building, a country club, municipal and city parks, two shopping malls, and the Lufkin Independent School District. Lufkin celebrated its centennial in 1982.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: A Little League Baseball team from Lufkin, locally known as the Thundering 13, won the U.S. Championship at the 2017 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. There have been many community tributes to the team.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin is at the crossroads of East Texas at the intersections of Highways US 59, future Interstate 69, which leads to Houston and the Rio Grande Valley to the south and Nacogdoches and Texarkana to the north, and US 69, which leads from the Golden Triangle of southeast Texas (Port Arthur and Beaumont) to points such as Jacksonville, Tyler, Dallas, and Oklahoma to the north.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The headquarters of all four United States National Forests and two United States National Grasslands in Texas are located in Lufkin. They are the Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston National Forests, and the Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin is a humid subtropical climate that generally has relatively high temperatures with evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. Generally, this climate is seen on the eastern side continents between 20 and 35°N or S latitude. During summer, these regions over low-latitude ocean waters are generally under the influence of hot, maritime overflow from the western side of subtropical anticyclonic cells. These higher temperatures can lead to warm, oppressive nights. Due to an increase in thunderstorms, summers in Lufkin are usually wetter than winters. Additionally, tropical cyclones can increase precipitation during the summer. Cold months are usually mild and frost is uncommon.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: "Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race."


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,143 people, 12,755 households, and 8,277 families residing in the city.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The population of the city is estimated to be 35,021 in 2019. The racial makeup of the city is estimated to be 66.6% White, 25.2% African American, 0.7% American Indian or Alaska native, 2.2% Asian, and 2.2% of two or more races. Hispanic or Latinos of any race were estimated to be 28.6%. White alone (not Hispanic or Latino) is estimated to be 41.8%; 11.3% of the population is estimated to be foreign born. An estimated 24.4% of homes are thought to speak a language other than English.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: With an estimated 12,910 households, the city averaged 2.68 persons per household. The median household income is estimated to be $43,803, and the per capita income is $23,134; 20.9% of persons are believed to be below the poverty line.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: As of the census of 2010, 35,067 people, 12,928 households, and 8,717 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,050.7 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 56.7% White, 27.4% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 11.6% from other races, and 2.2 two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 24.1% of the population.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Of the 12,929 households, 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were not families; 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.21.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: In the city, the age distribution was 8.3% under 5 years, 7.5% from 5 to 9, 7.1% from 10 to 14, 7.2% from 15 to 19, 7.4% from 20 to 24, 7.1% from 25 to 29, 6.6% from 30 to 34, 5.8% from 35 to 39, 5.9% from 40 to 44, 6.2% from 45 to 49, 6.3% from 50 to 54, 5.5% from 55 to 59, 4.8% from 60 to 64, 3.7% from 65 to 69, 3.2% from 70 to 74, 2.7% from 75 to 79, 2.4% from 80 to 84, and 2.4% 85 and over. The median age was 34 years.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin is home to Lufkin Industries and Lufkin Gears LLC, which manufactures and services oil field equipment and power transmission equipment, and supplies of creosote-treated utility poles. It is also home to the Atkinson Candy Company, the creator of the Chick-O-Stick, and Brookshire Brothers, a chain of grocery stores in Texas and Louisiana. Lufkin received Texas's first biomass power plant in late 2009. Aspen Power is building the power plant.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: According to the city's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: September ~ Texas State Forest Festival and Southern Hushpuppy Championships. Brings net profits to the city of US$60,000.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin in comparison to the U.S. average leans more conservative politically. However, the city leans more liberal than Angelina County and the state Texas' averages. In the 2016 United States presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump dominated in the southern and western parts of Lufkin while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won by large margins in the central, northern, and northeast parts of Lufkin.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin falls under Texas's 1st congressional district, which is currently represented by Republican Louie Gohmert. The senators who represent Texas are Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who are both Republicans.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: In the Texas House of Representatives, Lufkin falls under district 57 and is represented by Republican Trent Ashby, who is a resident of Lufkin. In the Texas Senate Lufkin falls under district 3 and is represented by Republican Robert Nichols.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: According to the city's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Lufkin's various funds had $38.8 million in revenue, $43.7 million in expenditures, $85.7 million in total assets, $5.3 million in total liabilities, and $14.9 million in cash and investments.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The City of Lufkin has a council-manager form of government. The city is divided into six city council districts, and the mayor is elected by a citywide vote. All elected positions are elected on a nonpartisan ballot, as required by Texas law. The city council's responsibility is to make all legislative and policy decisions, while the responsibility of the city manager is to decide all administrative decisions.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: In 2018, Lufkin's crime rate was 4,666 crimes per 100,000 persons, which was an overall decrease by 2% from 2017; 134 violent crimes and 1,403 property crimes were reported.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: According to the United States Census Bureau 80.7% of people in Lufkin above the age of 25 are high-school graduates or higher. About 21.5% of people 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Almost all of Lufkin's public schools are operated by the Lufkin Independent School District, with a few small sections in the west within the Hudson Independent School District. A very small portion of the city on Highway 69 is within Central ISD. Lufkin also has a small charter school, Pineywoods Community Academy, that serves grades Pre-K–12 and is an early college high school. Additionally, Lufkin is served by two small private schools, St. Cyprian's Episcopal School and St. Patrick Catholic School.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Angelina College, a community college, is located in Lufkin. The college has roughly 5,000 students. Additionally, Stephen F. Austin State University is located not far away in Nacogdoches, Texas.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin will be served by the extension to Interstate 69, which is planned to run from the Canada–US border at Port Huron, Michigan, to the Texas/Mexico border.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Brazos Transit District (formerly Brazos Valley Transit Authority) provides regularly scheduled public bus service in the Lufkin area.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: The Angelina and Neches River Railroad (A&NR) runs through Lufkin. It has an approximate length of and connects with the Union Pacific Railroad lines.


title: Lufkin, Texas

text: Lufkin is served by two hospitals: CHI St. Luke's Health Memorial (formerly Memorial Health System of East Texas at Lufkin), which includes the Arthur Temple Sr. Regional Cancer Center, and Woodland Heights Medical Center.


title: Vishu

text: Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു), the traditional Malayali New Year, is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian state of Kerala, Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka, and Mahe district. The festival marks the first day of Medam, the first month of the Malayalam Calendar followed in Kerala. It therefore always falls in the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar on 14 or 15 April every year.


title: Vishu

text: The festival is marked by family time, preparing colourful auspicious items and viewing these as the first thing on the Vishu day (Vishukkani). In particular, Malayalis seek to view the golden blossoms of the Indian laburnum ("Kani Konna"), money or silver items, cloth (pattu), mirror, rice, coconut, cucumber, fruits and other harvest products. Days before Vishu, people start bursting fireworks at their houses and it concludes with lot of fireworks on day of Vishu.People wear new clothes ("Koti") and they eat a feast called "Sadhya". In "Kaineettam", elders give a small amount of pocket money to children.


title: Vishu

text: "Vishu", from Sanskrit-Malayalam "Viṣuvam", literally means 'equal', and it connoted to the celebration of spring equinox in the past. The spring equinox however occurs 24 days before the day of Vishu, on 21 March/Meenam 7, due to precession of equinoxes.


title: Vishu

text: The Vishu marks the first day of the astronomical year and hence Lord Vishnu and his incarnation Lord Krishna are worshipped on the day of Vishu, as Lord Vishnu is considered as the God of Time. It was on this day that Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakasura and because of this Krishna idols are kept in the Vishu kani.


title: Vishu

text: The current Vishu year is 01-01-5124 Vishu Vasrhsam (same year as Kali Yuga, as of April 15, 2022). Records that Vishu has been celebrated in Kerala occurred from the reign of Sthanu Ravi since 844 AD, when the new era calendar (Kolla Varsham) was initiated replacing the older calendar with 13 months in a year.


title: Vishu

text: The Malayalam word "kani" literally means "that which is seen first", so "Vishukkani" means "that which is seen first on Vishu". The traditional belief is that one's future is a function of what one experiences, that the new year will be better if one views auspicious joyful things as the first thing on Vishu. Therefore, Malayali's spend the day before preparing a setting, usually a tray, of auspicious items. This setting is the first thing they see when they wake up on the Vishu day.


title: Vishu

text: The Vishukkani setting consists of items such as rice, golden lemon, golden cucumber, coconut cut open, jack fruit, Kanmashi, betel leaves, arecanut, Aranmula kannadi ("Vaalkannadi"), golden colour "Konna" flowers ("Cassia fistula") which bloom in the season of Vishu, "nilavilakku", idol of Vishnu, and other auspicious items. Mirror in Vishukani is a symbol of seeing yourself as a part of abundance you see in the form of Pani.


title: Vishu

text: The tradition is that elders light the lamps after waking up, then wakes up juniors in the family. As soon as you wake up, you walk to the kani eyes closed, and sees Kani as the first scene of the year.


title: Vishu

text: The Sadhya (feast) is a major part of all Kerala festivals. However, special dishes called Vishu "Kanji", Thoran and "Vishu katta" are also made. The Kanji is made of rice, coconut milk and spices. Vishu katta is a delicacy prepared from freshly harvested rice powder and coconut milk served with jaggery. For Thoran, the side dish, there are also mandatory ingredients. Other important Vishu delicacies include "Veppampoorasam" (a bitter preparation of neem) and "Mampazhappulissery" (a sour or ripe mango soup) Even temple offerings called "bewu bella", include a mix of sweet jaggery, bitter neem, and other flavors.


title: Vishu

text: The mixing of sweet, salty, sour, bitter and astringent flavors for the new year Vishu meal is similar to the "pacchadi" food prepared on new year day such as Ugadi by Hindus in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the Indian subcontinent. These traditional festive recipes, that combine different flavors, are a symbolic reminder that one must expect all flavors of experiences in the coming new year, that no event or episode is wholly sweet or bitter, experiences are transitory and ephemeral, and to make the most from them.


title: Vishu

text: The word 'Padakkam' in Malayalam means firecrackers. Firecrackers are burst during Vishu the same way north Indians burst firecrackers during Diwali.