Bug Off My Guacamole

Bug Off My Guacamole Bug Off My Guacamole Bug Off My Guacamole Guacamole has been popular for a long timewell before there was even an orchard in Florida The name has been handed down to us from an Aztec word that means avocado sauce. In the U.S., football fans go through about 8 million pounds of the stuff each Super Bowl Sunday.But in Florida, the No. 2 avocado-growing state, a deadly fungus is attacking the avocado trees. The fungus, carried by redbay ambrosia beetles, causes a vascular disease called laurel wilt more than 90 percent of trees die within six weeks of infection. The infection has killed about 9,000 trees in the past three years, out of approximately 700,000 trees in the state.A team at Florida International University, however, has developed a detection program involving drones and dogs to help counter the spread of the fungus.FIU provost and executive vice president Kenneth G. Furton and biological sciences professor DeEtta Mills, a forensic chemist, came up with t he scheme, which uses commercially availablemulti-rotor helicopters to scan orchards for signs of infection. Suspect trees are then tested by trained dogs.Once suspected trees are spotted, dogs are used to sniff out the disease pathogen.Ty Rozier, owner of a company called Elevated Horizons LLC, operates the drones. Each drone carries a modified Canon Sure Shot camera with filters that will capture images in the near infrared and other wavelengths. The drones are given flight plans through an iPad and, although they are automated, remain in sight of the pilot.Multi-rotor power systems can give the drone more than 30 minutes of flight time and lift up to 10 pounds of equipment, Rozier said. The model that is used was manufactured in 2013 by a company called Infinite Jib in Ontario, Canada. The drones can cover about 5 to 10 acres in about 15 minutes, flying above the trees between 50 and 200 feet in the air to capture data.The images recorded during the flights allow for the calculat ion of a vegetation index. The object is to spot differences in chlorophyll content and densities that distinguish stressed trees from healthy trees. The data is analyzed, and once the researchers see a tree that appears stressed, they can bring in dogs trained to detect the odor of the disease pathogen.The team has one Belgian Malinois named Cobra and two Dutch shepherds named Candy and One Betta. If the dogs find that a tree is infected, it will be removed so it does not serve as a reservoir for the pathogen.Mills said that she and her colleagues came up with this interdisciplinary project from each of their areas of expertise. As a team of researchers, we have a higher probability of being ableto stop the spread of the disease until they can find a solution/fungicide that will stop it, she wrote in an e-mail. The inspiration came from seeing the avocado trees dying within the growing area and knowing how the loss of this agro-industry would impact the local and national economy.T he fungus can also spread to surrounding trees via the roots, without inoculation by beetles. When a diseased tree is identified and removed, the common practice is to treat neighboringtrees, if they appear healthy, with a fungicide that can prevent infection, although it is not a cure.View the current and past issues of Mechanical Engineering Magazine. For Further Discussion The inspiration came from seeing the avocado trees dying within the growing area and knowing how the loss of this agro-industry would impact the local and national economy.Prof. DeEtta Mills, Florida International University

Turn your strengths into superpowers in 4 steps

Turn your strengths into superpowers in 4 stepsTurn your strengths into superpowers in 4 stepsAsk a woman to name her signature strengths and shell often squirm in her chair, look away or hesitate. Try asking her what shes an expert in, and she may just leave the room On a daily basis, women juggle important demands yet talking about our talents can be downright unnerving.Five years ago, I realized the full importance of strengths while interviewing 30 C-level women for my first book. I was flat-out amazed that not one or two - but fruchtwein every woman I sat down with - noted that she didnt just hammer herself for her weaknesses, but she actively, strategically cultivated her gifts so she could call on them in any situation.The good news is that you can do the same. It takes a little time, and for some - a level of self-permission - to really harness your superpowers and then capitalize on them to benefit your career. You can use this checklist to get going1. SpecifyBeyond lis tening to feedback from others, how can you identify where youre particularly adept? Karl Staib, author of the book Work Happy Now, offers some insight People love coming to you for this thing because they know you will do an amazing job. Career superpowers are actions that come easily to you, are fun and you can do them for hours on end.Are you especially skilled at bringing a room of people with different agendas together to focus on one unified vision? Can you sell so effectively because youre able to make a personal connection with each prospect? If so, take a cue2. Cross-trainJust as an athlete trains in a new sport (that supplements their main sport) for dexterity, so too should you. Jodi Glickman, author of Great on the Job What to Say, How to Say It. The Secrets of Getting Ahead, recommends, Use your strength in a situation thats higher stakes than prototyp - such as presenting to an audience of 100 rather than a smaller sized one - or use it in a new or different environ ment. If youre great at presenting to clients, but have never pitched new business, ask to present in a business development context.Glickman adds that one hallmark of skill mastery is being able to teach it to others try training someone junior to you on your superpower.3. InvestYour strengths wont have much growing power if you ignore them. Mitch Shepherd, founder of the Women in Real Life (WiRL) Summit, an online skill building conference for women advised, Continuous improvement needs to be an area of focus or it simply falls off the radar until theres a problem. The biggest thing is finding something you want to learn and develop, so youll stay motivated to dedicate the time.Whether you read a blog, watch a TED talk or attend a topical seminar, you need to consider new angles of your strength. How is this skill likely to be needed in the future? In what areas are you most enthused about having an even bigger impact?4. PromoteThe final step involves in getting others to associat e you with your superpowers. After all, theyre pointless if no one knows you have them. Rather than being passive in your approach, decide that the keywords youre associated with are in your hands. Do you want to be called upon for your knowledge of a particular industry trend, methodology or technology? Spearhead a task force in that area, offer a brown bag lunch to teach others on the topic or ask if your project can be featured along with a QA of you on the company Intranet.Says Peggy Klaus, author of Brag The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It. Talk about yourself and your accomplishments in a conversational, story-like manner. The more you do it, the less forced it will feel.Women who make it to leadership roles have abilities that are valuable in the marketplace, personal awareness of what they are, and then they flex those muscles in all kinds of highly visible situations.This article was originally published on BeLeaderly.

Your Email Address Makes You Look

Your emaille Address Makes You LookYour Email Address Makes You LookQuick question why does your emaille address look like that?By that I mean your email address appears unprofessional. Yet youre using it to find a job, boost your career, and make an impression with the decision maker.News flash you dont get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.Furthermore, your email address says something about you. While it should say youre a professional and a part about his business instead it screams that you are unfamiliar with your email settings, never checked how you appear to others, or worst of all plain dont care.If you dont care about your email, why should anybody care about considering you for that $100K job?Like I said, thats just a small question I have.This is just a sampling of emails that have floated into my inbox just this week Ill lay out the offenders like the criminals they kind of are The Kindergarten Cop Email Address This is the email that shows only your 1st name, a s if you just learned how to write it in cursive using the 2 inches of lined space the teacher gave you. You know the paper with the solid line that you were supposed to rest the bottom of your letter on, then the middle line, then the top line to guide you in fixing the height of your letter. Not to mention the 2 middle dotted lines just so you could make sure everything was proportional.Another news flash recruiters are busyBusyBUSY people. So how much attention do you imagine theyre going to devote to an email from Bill and thats it? Not much I guarantee it.Can you please go into your email settings and actually write your full name in your email. Added bonus if you have any designations after your name (you got those in the 1st place, in part, to make you look important, right?), then use those as well. The Lazy River Email Address Just as offensive as The Kindergarten Cop Email, this is the email address in which you cant be bothered to capitalize your 1st and last name. Im t elling you it really and truly just looks wrong.What you need to understand is that this small matter of email is a large reflection of you, your priorities, and what you care about. You didnt write your resume without capital letters (I hope), so why did you set up your email that way. And worse, why havent you changed it yet? The Email Address Email Address say what? Another offender that frequently penetrates my inbox lists the sender as nameorsomethinginappropriategmail.com. Face facts thats just you not dealing with your email settings.Theres a very easy way to check this a lot of people have more than 1 email address. Send an email to yourself, so you can see who the sender is. If the sender is anything but 1st Name brde Name Domain.com, change it, post haste. The Vanity License Plate Email Address Listen I LOVE vanity license plates. I have had one for years, and I will never give it up. Theres something in it that represents everyone in my family. Additionally, I love dri ving around town and seeing other peoples vanity plates. Sometimes I can make out the full words other times I simply cant.However, your email address is not the time to put forth alphabet soup that confounds everyone. That just makes it harder for the people who need to contact you and of course, the people who are making decisions about hiring you to immediately determine who you are.Every second a recruiter hesitates because he wants to make sure that when hes sending to dwsmmeaol.com hey, you dont have that domain do you? thats an entirely separate article. But for now, please come out of 1992. thx that its actually the person he wants Debbie Williams.Being in job search mode literally means you have exactly 1 job to make it as easy as possible for the employer to associate you with an image of professionalism. Thats how recruiters and decisions will tend to think of you when it comes to selecting someone for the job theyre looking to fill.Make the email address your 1st and last name. Leave off the numbers, underscores, and periods. Doing so makes it easy on the employers and recruiters to find you in their inboxes and immediately know who you are.