Ever since Zillow evolved into.. well, whatever it is now (some sort of real estate search, AVM, mortgage rate and discussion forum Frankenstein Hydra, as far as I can tell), the controversy over Zestimates seems to have quieted down.
Maybe it’s that the novelty of seeing what your home is worth has worn off as housing prices crash.
Perhaps it’s that the PR pros at Zillow have done such a phenomenal job positioning the company in the media as a legitimate data source that the Zestimate has become an accepted statistic.
Or more likely, maybe it’s that the industry has been successfully wooed with the promises of easy, cheap marketing online tools (which are especially seductive in a down market) and any remaining resistance has slipped by the wayside.
In either case, Zestimates just don’t seem to be the point of contention they once were.
But today Zillow launched an iPhone app. One that, I suspect, promises to bring the debate over Zestimates (and their accuracy) back to the forefront.
Upfront – it’s a very slick app. The app’s location awareness (as demonstrated on the video embedded above) is truly a killer feature – fire it up, and the app immediately shows you where you are and then displays all the data on homes nearby. As you move around, the map and associated values update too. Freakin’ cool.
(That said, it was a little sluggish this morning however, not sure if was AT&T’s network or Zillow’s servers struggling to keep up).
Having had a chance to play with it a bit – I can vouch that as a potential buyer it is incredibly cool to be able to walk around my neighborhood and see what each home is worth and gauge what I could get for my money.
Sure, I know. A Zestimate is just a “starting point”. But here’s the thing, seeing that number while standing outside the home is a powerful physical association to price. One that as more and more people have access too (through other mobile platforms, see A House They Found on Zillow…) it’s going to start to have a greater impact; on negotiations and much more.
Having the power of the Zestimate in your hand is a mighty weapon to wield. Personally I can’t wait to walk into a home on a buying tour with my agent and being able to instantly call up how much Zillow says that home is worth and then compare it to the list price.
Given that scenario, I suspect the debate over Zestimates, long dormant – may just have woken up again.
The Zillow app is free and available in the App Store.
More: Read 1000Watt Consulting’s take on the app.


GREENCASTLE – Waynesboro can beat you in a lot of ways.
Friday night inside a raucous Greencastle-Antrim High School gymnasium, the Indians did it from beyond the arc, shooting past the rival Blue Devils for a 65-45 Mid-Penn Colonial Division boys' basketball victory.
For the game, the Tribe drained 10 total 3-pointers, transforming a relatively tight contest at the break into a 21-point cushion entering the fourth quarter.
Cole Rhyne and Aidan Campbell headlined Waynesboro's clinic from downtown, as Rhyne hit four 3's en route to a game-high 22 points while Campbell buried a trio of deep attempts during his 17-point performance.
Perhaps most impressive, the Tribe's top offensive threat Jay Alvarez was held to just nine points. And, Waynesboro still won by 20.
"We keep talking about setting a new bar, because I'm not sure we know exactly how good this team can be," Waynesboro coach Tom Hoffman said. "We can win different ways, which is the exciting part. We weren't at our best tonight, but we'll take it, especially in this environment."
Although not prominent in the scoring column, the energy of Derek Buhrman was another decisive difference for the Indians. Showcasing a relentless motor, Buhrman was all over the floor on both ends, finishing with 10 assists and six rebounds to go along with one 3-pointer. His lone field goal in the second half was simply an added bonus to a stellar night.
"He does so many winning things for us, he's just invaluable," Hoffman said of Buhrman. "He's our heartbeat. You're not going to see him in the box score. He just makes winning plays every single game."
Hunter Clever added eight points and 12 rebounds in the victory, helping Waynesboro improve to 8-1 overall.
Despite contrastingly falling to 2-8, G-A showed plenty of promise early against a superior opponent.
Feeding off the crowd, the Blue Devils cut their deficit to 26-21 late in the second quarter, clearly getting the Indians' attention. Ultimately, Waynesboro's wealth of firepower put the game out of reach after the break.
Still, Friday's effort provides something to build on for a Greencastle squad growing on the fly.
"We played our hearts out," G-A coach Rick Lewis said. "We're continuing to improve, and if we play with that kind of effort, I can sleep at night. I was very proud of our effort against a very good basketball team."
Taylor Noblit and Thomas Lewis both finished with nine points for the Blue Devils, who face a quick turnaround as they host McConnellsburg Saturday evening.
"I saw a lot of positives," Rick Lewis said. "That's how we need to play. We can certainly build on this."
The win was Waynesboro's sixth straight after the Tribe suffered its only loss to Northern York on Dec. 14. The Indians return to action Monday night at home against Mechanicsburg.


According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, four out of five car seats in the United States are not installed properly.
An important motivation for fostering the growth and development of our community is to make it a better place for our children to grow up. The successes of this community mean nothing if we cannot pay it forward to make a better life for our children. Ultimately, we want to keep them safe as they grow up, and, in today’s world, children are all too often faced with numerous challenges to their safety and health.
With all the potential dangers and risks in the world, it may be a surprise to learn that the leading cause of childhood injury and death in the United States is motor vehicle crashes. Not only that, but the percentage of children killed from a motor-vehicle crash is higher on average in South Carolina than it is in other states across the country. If we are truly trying to protect our children and build them a better future, we must keep them safe on the road.
The best way to prevent childhood injury or death in these accidents is by what you can control: safe car seats. But, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, four out of five car seats in the United States are not installed properly. Infant and toddler car seats are designed with safety in mind, but a seat that is not installed correctly will not protect the child. Correctly installed car seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers.
Car seat safety is a passion for our family. We have been proud to partner with Safe Kids Upstate, a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, to raise awareness of childhood injury prevention here in the Upstate over the past 20 years. Since 1988, when Safe Kids was founded by Dr. Marty Eichelberger, a pediatric trauma surgeon in Washington, D.C., the organization has helped reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by 60 percent.
It’s encouraging that so much progress has been made. But as long as there are new babies, and new parents, there is a need for education and support. Today, Safe Kids Upstate is a part of the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health & Advocacy and we are leading the charge locally to create inspection stations where parents can have car seats checked by certified technicians to ensure they are installed correctly.
Thanks to support from Kohl’s, nine inspection stations are available across the Upstate, and we have inspected more than 15,000 car seats. There are Upstate families who have had their seats inspected, experienced an auto accident and, because of their correctly installed seat, the children in the seats did not sustain serious injuries. This direct positive outcome is exactly what we are hoping for with the creation of this program. To find a location near you, visit www.safekidsupstate.org/carseat.
Earlier this month, we celebrated the opening of a permanent car seat inspection station at Greenville Memorial Hospital. This is the first hospital-based station in South Carolina and is the result of collaboration with several partners, including Kohl’s and Safe Kids Upstate.
Our hope is that this location will allow new parents to get their car seats inspected before ever leaving the hospital. It will keep children safe from day one, give parents peace of mind and ensure that they begin their parenting journey with knowledge about road safety and injury prevention.
We can’t stop accidents from happening on the road, but we can take steps to prevent serious injuries or even fatalities. A correctly installed car seat is a highly effective vaccine against automotive accident injuries. We sincerely hope that Upstate parents will take the time to protect our children.
William Bradshaw is president and owner of Bradshaw Automotive Group and a leading advocate of child passenger safety. William and his wife, Annette, are the namesakes for GHS’ Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health & Advocacy, which aims to improve the well-being of all children in S.C. through innovative education and prevention programs, clinical research and academic partnerships.


The other day, Michelle Obama went full Wal-Mart in her outfit on the First Family's taxpayer-funded Grand Canyon excursion, and the journalistic fashionistas are having the vapors. I am almost, but not quite, sympathetic to the First Lady. It seems she wore short shorts and what might be charitably described as a casual top.
Avoiding the appearance of queenly behavior is politically wise. But it does American culture no favors if a first lady tries so hard to be average that she winds up looking common.
If the First Lady had not been sold to the American public as a fashion icon, a woman of elegance and grace, and if she had not willingly catered to this claque with bizarre Spider Woman outfits and queasy-making colors and textures juxtaposed, I would truly pity her plight. We all sometimes head out the door with too little thought to how we look.
But having made well-publicized shopping sprees in Paris, and willingly catered to the fashion idolatry directed her way for purely political reasons, I think that Mrs. Obama has accepted the mantle of clothing exemplar. It is a crown that will not rest easy on her head.
I suppose there must be some people who genuinely regard Michelle Robinson Obama as beautiful, elegant, and tasteful. But I am not among them. I have yet to meet a heterosexual male who finds Michelle a hottie. The media hype portraying her as the heir to Jackie Kennedy may persuade a few, but in most instances I believe that it only reinforces the reputation of such media outlets as purely propagandistic organs, the same folks selling the equally implausible narrative of the town halls as full of Nazis and astroturfers.
Mrs. Obama is the mother of two children, with a million dollars' worth of staff, including, reportedly, a full time makeup artist. Having accepted the mantle of Jackieship, she can do better.


In 1964 Jagsonpal started from humble beginnings with Jagmohan S. Kochhar operating a chemists shop in Delhi. Soon he expanded into making formulations. Mr. Kochhar?óÔé¼Ôäós vision was to spread health and healing in India on a larger scale. He was at the helm of the company from its inception, through the startup phase. Even though Jagsonpal was a small business at the time, his vision was to create one of India?óÔé¼Ôäós premiere pharmaceutical companies.
In 1978, Fourteen years later, the company had outgrown the startup phase and was incorporated as a private limited company. Jagsonpal was now a fast growing pharmaceutical company. The firm was committed to healing India with quality pharmaceutical products and had its eyes firmly set on becoming one of the country?óÔé¼Ôäós leading pharmaceutical companies.
In 1986 Jagsonpal went public on the BSE. This was the first time the firm had tapped the capital markets.
In 1994 the company was listed on the NSE. This trait of not being content with the status quo has become a core part of Jagsonpal?óÔé¼Ôäós company culture. Commitment to growth is ingrained in the very soul of the company and this is reflected in the Jagsonpal?óÔé¼Ôäós current aggressive growth strategy.
Jagsonpal is among India?óÔé¼Ôäós premiere pharmaceutical companies. Jagsonpal has substantial research and development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution facilities. An impeccable track record of growth and profitability spanning over 4 decades, makes Jagsonpal an ideal company to partner with. The company specializes in developing and manufacturing bulk drugs and pharmaceutical formulations. The firm is committed to sustainable growth and is aggressively pursuing growth through market penetration, market expansion and multi–national expansion.
The firm?óÔé¼Ôäós objective is to increase market share and become a dominant player in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry.Jagsonpal has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and representative offices across the globe making it a truly international operation.


L.B. MARINA SPORTFISHING (Alamitos Bay) – 8 anglers on 1 boat caught 2 sand bass, 7 rockfish, 2 whitefish, 9 sheepshead, 1 perch, 5 red snapper.
L.A. HARBOR SPORTFISHING (San Pedro) – 26 anglers on 1 boat caught 59 red snapper, 37 rockfish, 4 sheepshead, 3 sculpin.
L.B. SPORTFISHING (Berth 55) – 29 anglers on 1 boat caught 3 sand bass, 1 calico bass, 15 sculpin, 5 halibut, 6 halibut released.


On May 1, the center was once again open for business.
The crisis drew attention to a situation that is far from resolved.
"Forest Service budgets have been coming down because we're not cutting as much timber," said Linda Turner, a spokeswoman for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The monument received just $750,000 from Congress last year, compared with $2.7 million in 1994.
To help deal with budget shortfalls, Congress created the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program in 1996, Turner said, which let Mount St. Helens, along with 100 other federally managed recreation sites, charge fees and keep 80 percent of the proceeds.
The fee system worked well at the monument in 1997, Turner said, but because of bad weather and lower fees, they came up short in 1998 and 1999.
Total fee revenue dropped from $2.3 million in 1998 to $1.4 million last year, according to Forest Service figures.
The Silver Lake center will stay open this summer, but beyond that, its future is uncertain. The Forest Service is looking into the option of privatizing operations, Turner said, possibly through special-use permits and concessionaires.
Rep. Baird says the answer is more federal funding.
In a letter to the heads of the Forest Service and Agriculture Department last month, Baird said, "We shouldn't be cutting back on services to this wonderful national treasure, especially in this significant anniversary year."
Estimated number of people who visited Mount St. Helens last year.
Number of people who visited Mount Rainier.
Number of people who climbed Mount St. Helens last year.
Cost of three federal visitor centers at the mountain.
Miles of roads destroyed in the eruption.
Miles of new roads built since the eruption.
Percentage of visitors to Mount St. Helens from other countries.
Average amount spent per day by each international tourist.
Price of a Blast Burger at the Coldwater Ridge Visitors Center.
Originally published on May 16, 2000.


YORK COUNTY, Pa. – The York County Industrial Development Authority (YCIDA) announced today that it has sold the Harley-Davidson West Campus, the original site of the York plant, to NorthPoint Development.
The YCIDA purchased the 58 acre property in 2012 as part of Pennsylvania’s strategy to retain Harley-Davidson in the Commonwealth. The site’s location, accessibility and high profile made it an important redevelopment project for the county.
NorthPoint has submitted Land development plans to Springettsbury Township to develop a 750,000 sf industrial building. The $40 million project will be built as a speculative project as NorthPoint works to site a tenant for the property.
“NorthPoint’s investment in York County was premised on the strong transportation and logistics network, along with a strong skilled workforce in the area. From the beginning, we were impressed with the work of the YCIDA and their ability to make this transaction happen. As an organization we believe that capital goes where it is welcome, and we felt welcomed by the YCIDA and all the other governmental entities in the area. We look forward to a successful project that will provide positive economic development for the community,” stated Larry Lapinski, Vice President of Development for NorthPoint Development.
NorthPoint Development is a Kansas City based real estate development, management and leasing firm that is principally focused on industrial, multi-family, and senior living markets in the central part of the United States.
The YCIDA is a governmental entity that champions redevelopment projects within York County. Projects of note include the creation of three industrial parks, Santander Stadium, Marketview Arts and the Harley-Davidson West Campus redevelopment project. To learn more about the York County Industrial Development Authority, please visit www.ycida.org.


Smoking Ban Hurting Small Taverns?
Lawyers for Colorado bar owners say the eight-week-old statewide smoking ban has devastated some smaller taverns, slashing their incomes by up to 80 percent.
In a court filing Friday, the lawyers also said the ban has triggered layoffs and caused fights among patrons who go outside to smoke.
The bar owners are suing in federal court, saying the smoking ban is unconstitutional. They say they're being treated unfairly because they are covered by the ban but casinos are not.
Attorneys for the state also filed motions Friday. They argue that casinos aren't like bars and can be treated differently.
The state also argues the Legislature had valid reasons for exempting casinos, including the 100 million dollars they generate for the state every year.
The ban went into effect July 1. It prohibits smoking in bars and most other public places but exempts casinos, cigar bars that opened before 2006 and the Denver International Airport smoking lounge.
Private workplaces with three or fewer employees are also exempt.


The witnesses directed San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies to where parolee Enrique Frausto, 22, of Rialto was leading to his arrest on the afternoon of Saturday, July 7, according to a sheriff’s statement.
A sheriff’s helicopter found Frausto in the 12600 block of Third Street were he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and violation on the terms of his parole. He was booked into Central Detention Center and is being held without bail.
Just after 2:30 p.m., sheriff’s dispatch received multiple 911 calls about the shooting in the 12300 block of Fourth Street, the news release said.
The victim was shot in the stomach, arms and back. Paramedics took the wounded man to an area hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, the Sheriff’s Department said. The man is in critical condition and is expected to survive.
As the 22-year-old ran from the shooting scene, investigators said Frausto tossed the handgun and despite a search using an evidence detection dog, the gun has not yet been found.
Authorities ask anyone who may have found the firearm or who may have information on the case to call the Yucaipa sheriff’s station at 909-918-2305.


Joseph Thornton, a graduate of Eastside Prep, stands outside of the Meyer Library at Stanford University, where he is busy studying for upcoming finals on December 3, 2013. It is Thornton's first semester at the university. Photo by Veronica Weber.
Joseph Thornton could have been another statistic.
As a sixth grader living in San Francisco with a single father who worked nights, he was on his own a lot of the time, cooking dinners and getting himself to bed.
But his public school teacher spotted his unusual work ethic and "through a blessing and good luck" introduced him to a private school in East Palo Alto, where he could live in a dorm and get round-the-clock support.
Thornton today is a Stanford University freshman, working at the tech help desk in the undergraduate library, singing in the Black Men's Chorus a cappella group and preparing to declare a major in computer science.
Though he always aspired to attend college and his father supported the dream, Thornton says without the extraordinary preparation he got in his six years as a student at Eastside College Preparatory School, things might have turned out very differently.
"It definitely wouldn't have been the same -- I would have been on my own in the whole process," he said.
Now in its 18th year, Eastside Prep is a one-of-a-kind institution, combining rigorous academics, an uncommon level of teacher and volunteer support and sustained investment by private donors toward a razor-sharp objective: getting first-generation college students to succeed in four-year colleges and beyond.
"We believe every student who becomes the first member of his or her family to go to college has a profound impact not just on that student but on the whole family," says Principal and co-founder Chris Bischof.
Starting with that conviction and little else, Bischof and Eastside co-founder and Vice-Principal Helen Kim -- friends from their Stanford undergraduate days in the early 1990s -- have built this unusual school from scratch, learning and adapting along the way.
The two teachers had eight students when they launched their startup in 1996 at a park picnic table in East Palo Alto, later moving to borrowed office space and eventually to a few portable classrooms on a donated 1.6-acre parcel on Myrtle Street.
From the picnic-table beginnings, Bischof over the years has corralled donor support to build state-of-the-art classrooms, a computer lab, a theater, a gym, a cafeteria and even a dorm -- all surrounding an open, grassy quad.
Enrollment has grown to 300 from the original eight, with every one of Eastside's 388 alumni so far accepted by a four-year college.
Eighty-two percent of Eastside students come from East Palo Alto or eastern Menlo Park, though some of those are among the one-third of Eastside students who live in the dorm because of the extra structure and support offered there. Bischof himself has resided on campus for nearly the entire history of the school.
It may be only slightly accidental that many amenities available to Eastside students -- hot meals, tutorials, dorm-room inspections -- resemble those at the New England boarding school where Bischof spent his own high school years, Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.
"There are some common elements, and differences as well," said Bischof when asked about the comparison.
"We've tried to create a school that has high expectations and is really rigorously going to prepare our students for college across the board. Having been in those environments, it helps to know what those expectations are like. And we hope that with the same expectations and the right type of support, our students can be equally successful."
Vice-principal Kim oversees Eastside's faculty and curriculum, including unique features like "Friday Night Homework" and an intensive middle-school reading program.
Receiving no public funds, Eastside is free from the strings and bureaucracy that accompany them, allowing it wide berth to customize teaching to student needs.
The flip side is that Bischof must constantly fundraise -- to the tune of $17,000 per student per year -- to keep the operation afloat, a task he calls "a huge struggle, and a real challenge from year to year."
Parents, most of whom are low-income, are asked to pay $250 a year -- plus an extra $100 if their child lives in the dorm -- and contribute 20 volunteer hours.
With 55 staff members (38 full-time-equivalents), the school's operating budget is $6.4 million, covering the year-round program, the residential program and the alumni support. It costs $10,000 to house a child in the dorm. Ninety percent of Eastside's support comes from individuals, with the balance from foundations and corporations.
In the case of Joseph Thornton and many others who've gone through the school, financial support came from donors who agreed to sponsor an individual student.
While many of his classmates wrote their thank-you letters to anonymous sponsors, Thornton said he felt lucky that his sponsors -- a San Francisco couple with a young daughter who took him on as a seventh-grader -- wanted to get to know him personally.
They met for lunches and visits and, the following year, invited Thornton to an event at their home to speak about his Eastside experiences with prospective donors to the school.
"It went well actually," he said. "I had a lot of fun, met a lot of people, and did more of it. It's a great experience because you learn how to interact with people of different backgrounds, understand their experiences and understand the whole experience of networking."
The San Francisco family kept on sponsoring him every year through high school, Thornton said, and the relationship continues today.
As word about Eastside has spread, admission inevitably has grown more selective.
First and foremost, says Bischof, the school is looking for first-generation college-bound students from low-income families. "Within that subset, we're looking for students who want to be here."
Students must commit to an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. school day -- plus homework -- and an academic calendar that runs year-round, including summer school or other summer activities deemed worthy. Bischof personally interviews every applicant.
"They're really looking for that spark in kids," said John Jacobs, a retired public school teacher now in his seventh year of volunteering at Eastside.
"Not necessarily the smartest ones, but kids they feel they can keep on a college track. They have a lot of kids -- maybe even a majority of sixth-graders -- who are not working at grade level when they come in."
Academics at Eastside combine rigor with an elaborate support structure.
"There are no shortcuts," Spanish teacher Shaneka Julian said.
But "confidence-building -- defining students as intellectuals and scholars -- is a huge part of the culture," said Marianne Chowning-Dray, who taught calculus at Gunn High School for nine years before joining the Eastside faculty in 2005.
"It's assumed that everyone will participate, everyone can do this, that all students can achieve at a high level. We don't take no for an answer," Chowning-Dray said.
That culture felt strange to Thornton when he first arrived as a student. "Normally students fear seeking help or talking to the teacher because they don't want to seem stupid or dumb for asking questions or not knowing something, but at Eastside we expected ourselves to ask these questions, we expected to meet the teacher outside of the class.
"They give you their email address; they give you their number. They do like sleeping, so they prefer that you contact them earlier, but if you contact them even at 10 p.m. and they're still awake they'll definitely help you out."
Eastside relies on volunteers to staff an intensive middle-school reading program, in which students begin their day with an hour and a half of intensive reading and writing.
Volunteers like John Jacobs make it possible to break the students into small groups of four. "Each morning we read a chapter out loud," Jacobs explained. "We monitor the reading, we do vocabulary and comprehensive exercises and the kids do a writing response every day."
Vice-Principal Kim oversees "Friday Night Homework," a routine that helps ensure no assignment is left undone. Students with incomplete work in any give week are required to stay on campus Friday evening until it is finished.
Since Eastside's early days, Kim has tracked which students are missing which assignments. Now it can be done by computer.
"Friday afternoons we run a report of all missing assignments of all students," she explained. "I do a lot of rounding up and calling parents to tell them not to pick up their student at 5 because they have to stay and complete assignments."
She considers the Friday night routine a "safety net" for kids who otherwise may consider the incomplete assignments "out of sight, out of mind."
"Here, the work doesn't disappear, and if they've turned in all their assignments they're much less likely to do poorly in a class," she said.
Chowning-Dray, the math teacher, made the switch from Gunn to the Eastside faculty after becoming familiar with the school through helping, as a volunteer, to establish its calculus program.
"We built the program for AB calculus, and then they decided to expand to a BC sequence," she recalled, referring to the more advanced course. "At that time I thought that would be a great match for me. It was an opportunity to reapply my skills and the knowledge I'd amassed over the years and put it toward this great mission."
"What might be assumed at another school we're very intentional about here," she said. "If a student isn't doing their homework or outside assignments we notice that and try to figure out what's going on and get that student back on track.
"Students can fall through the cracks in a lot of schools, but I'd say Eastside is sealed really tight.
"I think a lot of efforts are being made in public high schools to create that sort of environment, but it's tough. What works here isn't necessarily scalable, but parts of it are. It's a lot about the people -- the longevity of the leaders, the vision of the people who work here."
Chowning-Dray has a total of about 100 students in her section of BC calculus and three sections of algebra II-trigonometry, as well as an afternoon study hall. At Gunn she might have had five classes with 30 students each.
But while they may have fewer students to keep track of, Eastside teachers and staff wear many hats.
Shaneka Julian, who teaches first-, second- and third-year Spanish to non-native speakers, also advises Eastside's Engineering Club, coaches the girls JV basketball team and fills in as a substitute dorm adviser. Bischof coaches boys basketball.
One of many lessons Bischof and Kim have learned is that, for first-generation students, college admission is only the start of the journey.
"At the beginning I was very naive and just thought if we could get them to college it would be a ticket to a better life and the rest would take care of itself," Bischof said. "But we learned that first-generation college students face challenges that most of us who went to college can't even imagine.
"We saw some students able to be successful but others who did struggle, especially in that first year making the transition from the highly supportive environment here to a larger institution where they really were pioneers in their family and it was very easy to opt out if they didn't get off to a good start. That was eye-opening to us," Bischof said.
These days Eastside grads who are college freshmen, such as Thornton, get weekly or biweeky emails and calls from the school.
"They visit all the freshmen on their campuses," Thornton said. "And they call you and ask 'How's everything going? What's new? Are your classes too demanding? Is everything fine at the dorm? Is anything surprising you?'"
Freshmen and sophomores are a particular focus, says Eastside's Alumni Program Director April Alvarez.
"Those first two years in college are crucial, and once they make it past that they're very likely to finish," she said.
Eastside staffers such as Kate Hiester also work year-round to help grads find summer internships and job leads -- much like a well-connected parent would.
Another post-graduate "stabilizing force" for Eastside alums is the fact that most enter college with some academic credit already under their belts.
Longtime English teacher Amy Reilly recently went through the hiring process at Foothill College and now offers Eastside seniors a year of college-credit English.
The class, recognized by most UC campuses and all California State University campuses, is taught at Eastside but runs on Foothill's calendar. It adheres to Foothill guidelines, which include a 750-word minimum on assessed papers and a requirement that students generate at least 6,000 words per term. The first semester draws on nonfiction to cover different modes of writing -- observational, autobiographical, position papers, speculation about cause and effect and evaluation. The second semester is fiction-based, with students reading and analyzing "Crime and Punishment," "In Cold Blood," "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone."
"Our students are very well prepared in the humanities and this gives them even more confidence, and also room -- if they make a mistake at the beginning -- not have their financial aid frozen after a quarter or two," Reilly said.
All Eastside seniors also are required to produce a 25-page research paper using peer-reviewed literature and make a 30-minute presentation on the topic.
After three decades of public school teaching -- mostly middle-school math in a tough, East Bay district -- longtime Eastside volunteer Jacobs is in a position to make comparisons.
"I was in a school full of tough kids. We had a good staff, good administration, but we were always plugging up holes in the dike. We couldn't do it fast enough -- you always felt you were a couple of steps behind.
"You have a lot of kids in the school ready to jump at a quality education, but it's very hard to provide it at the level we want to. Ten percent of the kids take up a lot of everybody's time, and you never have enough people."
The small scale of Eastside mitigates many of those factors, Jacobs said.
Cofounders Bischof and Kim are widely revered on campus.
At Eastside, Jacobs said, "Kids can't walk across campus without several people saying hello and meaning it. Chris and Helen will stop and talk to them about whatever, make a connection.
"And they don't sit still. They're always pushing the envelope, trying to level the playing field."
Parent Mimi Pearson said, "Any time Chris or Helen ask me to do anything I'm dropping everything to do it. They gave my daughters a chance, and they didn't have to. I'm never taking that for granted."
At this point the cofounders have no plans to expand or try to replicate their school but, having graduated 14 classes, are starting to see some of the long-term impact of their enterprise come into focus.
"We can see (graduates) advancing in their careers in the short time they've been out of college," Bischof said. "They serve as role models and stay closely connected to the school."
Some have remained in their college communities or moved away for professional opportunities but, he said, a majority return to the area, with many working in education. Some are teaching in East Palo Alto's Ravenswood City School District, and one even moved into the dorm along with his wife to take on the job of resident fellows.
"The feedback from our alumni really informs what we do at the high school level," he said. "We'd be the first to say that this is a work in progress, and we continue to learn."
I volunteer SS a tutor at the Project read Adult Literacy Program. One of my students, who only had 6 years of schooling in her native country, has enrolled her three children at Eastside Prep. Her two oldest are now on full scholarship at UC Riverside-one studying pre-law the other engineering and her youngest is in 9th grade. Her children have traveled the globe and have excelled. Hip Hip Hooray for Eastside Prep.
Wonderful reporting on all the great things East Side Prep is doing!
My husband and I have been tutoring in the middle school reading program (mentioned above) for many years. The program is amazing, and it always welcomes new tutors. If you, reader, found this article even slightly interesting, go visit Eastside and ask for a tour - you'll be glad you did! It's inspirational.
The reading program is very flexible. Most of us tutor just once a week, and we fill in for each other if other tutors need to be away.
And the kids are GREAT!
What a great story! All the best to the teachers, kids and volunteers!
What a wonderful article! I teach 5th grade at EPACS and have many eager Eastside applicants this year. Thank you to all the teachers, administrators, volunteers, and donors that make this incredible work possible.
preparing students to go to a four year university and helping my community.
Why can the administrators at East Side teach our PAUSD administrators to set the expectations high for all Students in PAUSD even if they come from EPA, are Latino, African American, or belong to a minority group?
But "confidence-building ï¿½ defining students as intellectuals and scholars ï¿½ is a huge part of the culture," said Marianne Chowning-Dray, who taught calculus at Gunn High School for nine years before joining the Eastside faculty in 2005.
Take that, Radu Toma [portion removed.] I for one have not forgotten that letter nor that this school board did nothing and you are still the Math IS at Paly.
We are a "freshman" Eastside College Prep family who on bended knees thanks God everyday for the blessing that Eastside has been and continues to be. Thank you Chris, Helen, all the faculty (especially residential faculty), and extended staff for your grit, passion, dedication, motivation, encouragement, support. Words alone fail in our families expression of gratitude.
I often leave the Eastside campus awe-struck as a witness of the many tireless education warriors. You guys not only light the torch you continue to carry it very far.
Thank you Eastside students for your continued passion to rise and surpass the bar that Eastside sets for you.
I was a member of Eastside's 7th graduating class in the year 2006. To this day, I can say that Eastside's commitment to my personal growth definitely changed my life for the better. In 2010, I graduated from MIT with a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering. This past May, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a Master of City Planning, focusing on economic development. I have dreams that someday my education will prepare me for a high position in energy leadership. These dreams would not be possible without the impact that Eastside had on my confidence and self-awareness. Having grown up in East Palo Alto, nobody ever believed in me as much as my teachers from Eastside did. Someday, I hope to repay them for the wonders they have brought to my small, poor community. Helen and Chris are truly a blessing for East Palo Alto.


Final update (1:40 a.m.): Following a first-half scoring barrage, neither team could get on the board in the first ten minutes of the third quarter. Aside from a missed field goal by kicker Trent Domingue, Texas and California traded punts with both teams failing to find the endzone.
Neither squad scored throughout the quarter, entering the fourth quarter at 35-33. While Texas continued to find success on the ground, it struggled through the air. With 15 minutes to play, Buechele was just 13-26 for 142 yards. He had one touchdown and one interception.
Texas struck first in the game’s final quarter, scoring on its first possession. Foreman sprinted 47 yards into the endzone for his second score of the night, giving Texas a 40-35 lead with just over 13 minutes to play.
But California rebounded on its next drive. Webb led the Bears down the field, connecting with sophomore Chad Hansen. The Idaho State transfer hauled in a 28-yard pass on the sideline, preceding an 18-yard touchdown toss from Webb to Veasey. California converted the two-point conversion, giving it a 43-40 lead with just under 11 minutes to play.
The Longhorns answered on their next possession, driving into Bears territory. Texas was stopped short of the endzone, but Domingue connected from 35-yards out to tie the contest at 43-43 with 5:29 to play.
The Bears kept up the pace after Domingue’s field goal. Webb led California down the field once again, connecting with Chad Hansen for the wide receiver's second score of the night. Hansen tallied 12 catches for 196 yards following the score, placing Texas in a seven-point hole with 3:41 to play.
The Longhorns failed to stop California as it attempted to run out the clock. The Bears took three knees to end the game, winning 50-43 in Berkley.
Texas fell to 2–1 on the year with the loss. The burnt orange will have a bye week next Saturday prior to facing Oklahoma State on Oct. 1 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Halftime update (11:58 p.m.): Texas dug itself a hole from the first possession, as California drove the ball through the Texas defense en route to a 7-0 lead. Senior quarterback Davis Webb found wide receiver Jordan Veasey from 29 yards out, putting the Bears on top.
The Longhorns wouldn’t trail for long. Texas found the endzone on its first drive of the game, as sophomore Chris Warren scored from four yards out. Warren had five carries for 25 yards on the burnt orange’s opening possession.
The burnt orange defense stepped up in the game’s next possession, stopping the Bears on fourth down. Texas gained the lead upon receiving the ball, as kicker Trent Domingue connected from 38-yards out. With just over seven minutes to go in the first quarter, the Longhorns led 10-7.
But it wasn’t all good news for the Longhorns. Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele headed to the locker room after receiving a hit on third down. He had his chest examined by the Longhorn medical staff as senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes entered the game.
With Buechele on the mend, Warren shouldered the load for the Longhorn offense. He ran it in from 12-yards out, extending Texas lead to 17-7. Warren compiled nine carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns by the end of the first quarter.
California answered on its next possession. The Bears marched down the field on the Longhorns’ defense, highlighted by a 16-yard pass from Webb to freshman wide receiver Demetris Robertson. The Bears then punched it in from two-yards out, cutting Texas’ lead to 17-14.
Texas’ rushing attack continued to gash the Bears on its next drive. This time, the offense wasn’t led by Warren, but junior running back D’Onta Foreman. He compiled 37 yards on three carries, including a four-yard touchdown carry. Texas led 24-14 with over 13 minutes left in the second quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Longhorns made their first mistake of the evening. Swoopes overthrew freshman Collin Johnson over the middle, resulting in an interception. California promptly moved down the field, scoring on a touchdown run from Vic Enwere. With just under ten minutes to go in the first half, Texas led 24-21.
Buechele took the reigns at quarterback following the Bears touchdown, and quickly answered. The freshman led the Longhorns down the field for another score, connecting with senior Jacorey Warrick from 41-yards out.
The shootout continued as California regained possession. The Longhorn secondary was torched once again, this time surrendering a 29-yard touchdown from Webb to freshman Melquise Stovall. The touchdown cut Texas’ lead to three at 31-28.
There was more scoring to be had near the end of the half. Freshman safety Brandon Jones bursted through the California offensive line to block a punt, resulting in a safety.
But Buechele made his first mistake of the evening upon regaining possession, tossing an interception. The Bears’ capitalized on the freshman's mistake, scoring two plays later. Webb hit junior wide receiver Chad Hansen for a 23-yard touchdown, giving California a 35-33 lead.
Original story: No. 11 Texas heads on the road for the first time this season at California. The Longhorns look to improve to 3–0 on the season for the first time since 2012.
The burnt orange face a potent Bears passing attack, led by senior quarterback Davis Webb. A transfer from Texas Tech, Webb is second in the nation with 963 passing yards through two games.
Stay tuned for live updates on this page and on Twitter: @TexanSports.


June Kelly was awarded an MBE for her work coaching children in the local area and starting up football club Abraham Moss Warriors.
The club was born out of frustration at the lack of activities for children in the local area, it has now become a central part of the local community. Abraham Moss Warriors had two teams in the semi-finals of the FA Peoples Cup.
June tells us: "I'm nick named as the Pied Piper of Cheetham Hill. We're much more than a football club, I would say we're like a social project, if we can keep the young people and adults out of Cheetham Hill and give them something positive to do.
We want to be known as the hub of the community. We're like one big massive family really."


It might have been different. Fresh off the settlement of the Union Station lawsuit — his initial cause célèbre — Chastain’s focus on light rail might have prompted an important community discussion about the funding and design of mass transit in Kansas City.
Sure, his drawings were wacky and unrealistic, and his funding mechanisms absurdly confused and inadequate. But Kansas City had a chance to use his enthusiasm and focus to engage the community in a workable light-rail approach.
Instead — partly because of his style, partly because of hard-headed and misguided politicians — the discussion became about Chastain, not light rail. Indeed, the merits of light rail turned into a secondary concern, so much so that voters today probably have stronger opinions about him than they do about building commuter transit in the area.
Kansas City’s leaders want votes this year on an expanded streetcar system. Those votes will be difficult. Sales taxes are already high, and the benefits of a streetcar aren’t clear.
But the proposal may also be in trouble because Chastain has soured voters on any plan for rail transit — even though he actively opposes the streetcar in favor of his own plan.
Even if the court orders that plan on the 2014 ballot, Chastain’s general unpopularity may doom it.
There’s a price for this tangled debacle. For example, all three cities competing with Kansas City for the 2016 Republican National Convention have light rail.
You may be OK with that, or not. But Chastain’s crusade has clearly left light rail adrift with little hope of reaching the shore in his lifetime — or ours.


Members of Bassa, the British Airways cabin crew section of the Unite union, have voted to be balloted over a new offer from BA management.
The new deal, if agreed, will see staff win serious concessions—but there are also important omissions.
Over 500 union members gathered for a mass meeting about the deal in West London today (Thursday).
The deal offers full reinstatement of staff travel that bosses took from strikers, based on original terms of seniority.
Previous BA chief executive Willie Walsh had said this would happen 'over my dead body'. And workers cheered Walsh's departure as BA boss.
There will also be a pay increase totalling 7.5 percent over two years—4 percent this year, backdated, and 3.5 percent next year. It is unclear whether there are productivity requirements attached.
Management has also agreed that there will be no unilateral imposition of any new terms and conditions without full negotiations with the union.
But a thread of uncertainty ran through the contributions from cabin crew during and after the meeting.
Dozens of cabin crew have been sacked during the dispute.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey told the meeting the sackings were 'nonsensical'. But the agreement does not include the full reinstatement of the sacked staff.
All it agrees to is binding arbitration. And those who have already been through an employment tribunal and are waiting for results, will be, in McCluskey's words, 'dealt with separately'.
The original cause of the dispute—BA's cutting of jobs and introducing a new mixed fleet with new workers on worse pay and conditions—remains untouched.
Many workers were unhappy with the praise McCluskey and Bassa reps heaped on new BA chief executive Keith Williams.
McCluskey described the new executive as a 'genuine and honest man', saying to cabin crew, 'he values you'.
He said the agreement was 'honourable', although he admitted that the union hadn’t won all of its demands.
He also described a 'change within management psyche'. It is no surprise that this psychobabble left crew feeling unsettled.
McCluskey left early before crew were given the chance to ask questions. And he asked the meeting to vote on putting the agreement out to ballot before the questions.
This angered some workers. One stood up and said she voted against the deal going to ballot because there should have been questions before the vote. 'We need to have our democratic say,' she argued.
Another expressed concern over the way in which the union was trying to 'push a deal' on crew rather than allow an open discussion about pros and cons.
Many asked how Bassa would survive when the mixed fleet remained and new starters were all employed on worse conditions.
After nearly two years of a media witch-hunt and abuse from BA, it is no surprise that many cabin crew feel relieved to have a deal.
But no deal should be agreed without the reinstatement of every sacked worker, and without the issue of new starters being resolved.
Solidarity, something cabin crew have fought hard for, cannot be dropped now. Allowing BA to employ workers on worse terms will weaken the position of the union.
Although the agreement includes concessions from management, cabin crew are right not to trust them.
Bassa members have shown their willingness to fight in five ballots. The latest vote, in March, was more than 83 percent for strikes.
Management are making concessions because they are desperate for things to quieten down. The strikes have hit BA hard.
But Unite has said it will not call more strike dates. Instead the union’s 10,000 members at BA will now be balloted on the deal.
McCluskey said the union would be making a 'strong recommendation' that members accept it, and that he was 'very confident' they would.
But without full reinstatement and an agreement not to undermine pay and conditions of all workers, it should be rejected.


A motorcyclist who claimed he was returning the bike to a friend was caught riding without a licence and insurance.
Jason Clarke, 28, of Nether Springs Road, Bolsover, was stopped by police on Moorfield Avenue, Bolsover, according to a Chesterfield magistrates’ court hearing on December 5.
Clarke pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and without insurance after the incident on November 25.
He told police he was returning the bike to a friend. Clarke also told the court his “missus” wanted the bike moving from their garden.
Magistrates fined Clarke £120 and he must pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge. His licence was endorsed with eight points.


CHICAGO: When a team is losing, its closer can be the forgotten man.
But he can�t forget how to save a game. If he did, he wouldn�t be the closer for long. So Chris Perez entered to pitch the ninth Tuesday afternoon and preserve the Indians� 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
On his first pitch, Paul Konerko rocketed a fly ball over the fence in left for his 25th home run of the season, erasing half of the Tribe�s two-run advantage. Two outs later, Perez walked two batters before inducing Alexei Ramirez to bounce into a force play on the first pitch.
A reporter asked Perez about the excitement level of closing out a game.
But Perez hasn�t had many opportunities to do his job since the end of July, when Tribe leads have been few and far between. So how does he stay sharp between outings? Relief pitchers seldom throw on the side.
Perez emphasized that there is no way to keep relievers on a regulated schedule.
By contrast, members of the rotation pitch on a strict schedule and throw bullpen sessions between starts.
�I�m not a pampered starter,� Perez said.
In retiring the White Sox in the ninth Tuesday, Perez earned his 37th save of the season, establishing a personal best.
Perez has been the subject of controversy all season, because when someone asks for his opinion, he lets fly. He seemed wary Tuesday of being caught up in another firestorm when he was asked an innocuous question about what can be learned from a disappointing season.


A New Hampshire man yelled profanities as he faced charges in a courtroom Tuesday after police say he tried to take down a building with an excavator.
Jordan Ingram, 28, of Franklin was arrested Monday after he was found in a vehicle on I-89 in New London.
Authorities had previously responded to 15 Tannery St. for a report of a subject damaging the property.
Ingram's mother, who would not go on camera, told necn she was in the process of buying the building before her son, who has a history of mental illness, decided to take an excavator, which she owned, and attack the building, leaving a large portion of it in rubble.
After attempting to take down a building in Franklin, New Hampshire, Jordan Ingram appeared in court Tuesday and began yelling obscenities at the judge and lawyer.
Ingram, who is well-known to Franklin Police Department, was arraigned felony reckless conduct and felony criminal mischief.
It's unclear if Ingram has an attorney.


At least 14 people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a mosque in the town of Gamboru in Borno state, near Nigeria's border with Cameroon, civilian vigilantes told AFP. The incident reportedly took place shortly before morning prayers. "Fourteen bodies have been pulled out of the rubble,” said Umar Kachalla, a civilian militiaman, adding that the death toll may rise. The mosque was completely destroyed, Kachalla said.


"Cabin Fever" is a virtual conversation between two friends who come from the opposite ends of the political spectrum but share a belief in the power of public education to improve lives and brighten our collective future. The focus of the conversation is the federal K-12 education law known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind), which is in progress in Congress. Our initial post on February 4 reflected areas of agreement around annual testing and transparency. Additional posts focus on areas of disagreement and will run simultaneously through February 19 every other day on Rick's blog at Education Week and on Education Post.
Should Congress require that state goals for adequate school performance be approved by the U.S. Department of Education?
Peter Cunningham is the Executive Director of Education Post, a Chicago-based nonprofit supporting efforts to improve public education. He previously served as Assistant Secretary for Education in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2012.
Given our history of unintended consequences stemming from education policy decisions, let's ask how the incentives would play out if the federal government stopped approving performance goals for states. Would states do the right thing and set responsible, achievable, and ambitious targets? History suggests otherwise.
A state that wants to look good and protect the status quo might set easily achievable targets to weaken the case for change. A state that wants to make the case for choice might set impossible targets so schools consistently fall short.
America cannot leave educational outcomes to chance, politics, or ideology. High expectations for all kids—low-income, minorities, students with disabilities, English language learners, and every other child at risk—should not be optional for states or subject to the whims of the political leadership in power at the time.
Our job is to protect every child and give him or her the best education possible. That's a national imperative that warrants a meaningful federal role to ensure that all children are making progress every year.
The challenge, however, is for performance targets to reflect the aspirations and realities on the ground—to be more "bottom-up" than "top down." To that end, and recognizing that NCLB's one-size-fits-all goals were unrealistic and led to a variety of unintended consequences, we should build on the work of the current administration and negotiate performance targets at the state level.
Any state or district that believes lower or higher performance targets are in the best interests of kids should be required to make the case to parents, educators, taxpayers, and the federal government. That way, everyone will own it.
It's a good thing for every state to be clear and public about how it gauges adequate school performance. However, while Congress should require this transparency, Congress should not require that the U.S. Department of Education play any role in approving these state decisions. As I see it, there are four key problems with that kind of prescriptive federal role.
First, performance targets can be powerful motivators when they are concrete, when they are shared, and when the goal-setters are accountable for the results. The problem with federal involvement is that federal officials have no responsibility for meeting the goals they insist upon and no accountability if schools fail to do so. All the blame falls on local educators and on local and state officials. The result is that it's all too easy for D.C. officials to insist upon ridiculous goals. In fact, the inclination to aim high (as with NCLB's 100% proficiency targets) yields aspirational goals that are more a symbolic statement than a serious tool for improving schools or systems.
Second, when federal officials promulgate grand goals, real people are then required to treat these as a practical gauge of success. The Soviet Union showed where this tends to lead, as decades of ludicrous five-year plans that promised heroic increases in agricultural production produced little grain, but lots of cynicism, deception, and lies.
Third, a federal sign-off inevitably means federal guidelines or requirements. Given the need to fit fifty states with 100,000 schools, any meaningful parameters will be too rigid to be a good fit for many systems and schools (as with NCLB's requirement that any school was failing to make AYP if any single subgroup failed to hit a proficiency bar).
Finally, giving the feds a role in approving state targets presumes a false certainty and science when it comes to determining adequate performance. There's simply no rational basis for federal officials to insist there is a best-practice system or set of expectations. These are open questions, and we're best served by states exploring a diverse array of systems.
Let me put it this way. The NFL season just ended. Over the next couple months, coaches should sit with their executives and owners in order to set goals regarding the kind of performance they expect to see. That process is valuable and I heartily endorse it. At the same time, I don't think it would be constructive for the Pennsylvania legislature to declare that the Eagles and Steelers need to go at least 11-5 next year.


The members of this polygamous cult, located in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, are in no doubt that God exists – he lives right next door to them.
Ziona Chana is famous for having the largest family in the world. It totals 163 members, including 38 wives. His polygamous family is not unique, however, as Ziona also leads a polygamous cult of over 1000 people, where male members can have as many wives as they please.
Known as the “New Generation”, the cult was founded by Ziona’s father and uncle when they had an epiphany, and came to believe that the human body is immortal. Both are now dead, but the cult’s followers believe Ziona will live forever and worship him as their God.
Related: One woman's account of leaving a Siberian religious cult led by the infamous self-proclaimed messiah "Vissarion"
The “New Generation” community was once a part of the neighbouring village of Baktwang, but the villagers decided to distance themselves from the cult members. Baktwang’s residents are wary of the cult’s ideology but envy its organisation and economic success. The latter is explained by tough discipline within the commune, where every member is expected to contribute to its prosperity. Besides, the unusual community with the record-breaking family is a honey pot for tourists, who give money to the cult.
Related: Russia's "Old Believers" escape modernity by living according to the religious rules of the pre-reform Orthodox church .
RT Doc visits the “New Generation” cult to find out whether its followers really believe in immortality, how life in the commune is organised and what a man does to become God.


SAN JOSE — Nestled in a back corner of Kelley Park off Phelan Avenue and Senter Road, Allan Greenberg squinted at a radiator on a Ford Model TT belonging to the Santa Clara Fire Department while his colleague, Bob Meneely, munched on a Snicker’s bar. The radiator had been overheating, and despite weeks of tweaking, nothing worked.
But Greenberg, and a random assortment of other retired men who meet every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the shop, refused to give up. The group, who work in a cavernous metal garage filled with electric saws and paint cans, restore antique vehicles for historical groups and law enforcement agencies, from an 1887 Studebaker Wagon and a 1905 Fire Chief’s Cadillac for the San Jose Fire Museum to a horse cart for the Saratoga Historic Museum. Some of the guys even own Model Ts.
And despite their extensive work on restoring vehicles, none of them came from such a background.
Meneely was an engineer at NASA, Frank Dorr worked in construction, Ed Del Prete, who is often found doodling sketches of project designs on pieces of paper at a bench in the middle of the shop, was a graphic designer. Greenberg worked at IBM for 30 years as an engineer.
But each man’s hobbies or their unique talents bring something crucial to their weekly meetings. Be it woodwork, carpentry or painting, somehow everybody’s abilities weld together to help restore beautiful pieces that would otherwise have been left to rot in scrap yards.
Each project that the group works on can take months, sometimes years to complete, and none of the men are paid. The projects they work on aren’t funded either, and most of the time, the group will find discarded pieces of wood or metal or brings tools, nails and screws from home to help complete a piece that would have otherwise languished until some amount of money was donated.
“Beg, borrow, steal. That’s how we get things done,” Dorr joked.
While the group waits their next project to arrive — a 1932 Twin Coach Model 15 bus, which is set to get to San Jose sometime in April — the men will continue to tinker on the pesky radiator on the Model TT and dabble in other projects that may come along.


Mortar entrepreneurial graduates will serve Cambodian tacos and soul food on the patio.
When the bar with the big courtyard at 208 E.12th St. was Neon's, there was a succession of ways to give patrons something to eat. Be it cookouts or tacos or crawfish boils. It was one of the ways of to make the neighborhood bar a good place to hang out for a whole evening.
MaHope will make their Cambodian tacos with green papaya sauce on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Wednesday and Thursday, Paityn's Place Soul Food will sell snacks like nachos with pork or chicken or vegetables and macaroni and cheese on Wednesday and Thursday.
There's a public introduction to both food stands on Saturday, March 31 from 4-8 p.m. Thereafter, they'll operate from 4-10 p.m. and when the weather is warmer, start earlier in the day.
MORTAR is a business incubator focused on helping non-traditional entrepreneurs, primarily in Over-the-Rhine and Walnut Hills.
"When I first heard about Mortar, I thought this could be really cool, " said Bob Deck, one of the owners of 3EG. "We're not taking any money from this, there's no lease. It's a way for us to give a hand-up to somebody who needs it."
They have refurbished the outdoor bar and included a permanent grill. They've also fixed up the bocce courts and added some antique cast-iron lights from Music Hall.
It's not easy taking over a bar like Neon's that was such a fixture in the neighborhood and pivotal in the redevelopment of Main Street.
"Some people have told me they appreciate what we've done," Deck said. "Others are happy with what he haven't done."


Nashville clothing designers will have some stiff competition this year. Children from Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt can give them a run for their money! Several kids decorated squares of hospital uniforms with glitter, ribbons, and paint for their new Haute for the Hospital couture line for Nashville Fashion Week.


Dallas Cowboys legend Tony Dorsett is starring in a new Dallas Police Association campaign that aims to thank police officers.
The Hall-of-Fame running back is featured in a public service announcement alongside much less famous local business people (and a kid). The 30-second spot (posted below) and the website 33thanks.com directs people to the Assist the Officer Foundation, which aids cops and former cops in need, and the families of officers killed in the line of duty.
"I'm a real stickler about little things make big things happen," Dorsett said Tuesday. "And just for a little thing like that to say, 'hey, thank you' -- that goes a long way."
Dallas Police Association President Ron Pinkston said he was "incredibly grateful" to have Dorsett's help.
Dorsett spoke Tuesday to The Dallas Morning News about the campaign.
DMN: What made you want to get involved in this campaign?
Dorsett: I thought it was a great idea just to say thank you. I also want to help people feel a little more comfortable when they see a police car or police officer, and to understand that these guys -- they have families as well. They're out here protecting our families, putting their lives on the line. So, just to create more awareness about what they do and for people to appreciate what they do.
DMN: Have you had a long relationship with law enforcement?
Dorsett: (Laughing) Man, I've been in and out of jail a few times. I've had a long rap sheet. No, but when I was approached about the whole scenario, I said, 'man, this is great.' People talk about heroes and I said, man, these are our real heroes ... There is a certain comfort level in knowing that when I leave town and something goes wrong and my wife calls 911, they're going to show up and help protect my family.
DMN: Have you done anything like this before?
Dorsett: I can't say I have. But this is long overdue ... I'm just hoping this takes off all over the country. We've lost a lot of good men over the years -- fathers, husbands who have been policemen.
DMN: Is there any reason why you're doing this now, specifically with all the negativity nationally toward policing and their tactics?
Dorsett: I don't know why it's now. All I know is that it is now. Obviously, this could come back with the negative things that are going on with police departments. But I've always felt that -- even myself, personally, I'm an old guy -- if a police car pulls up beside them I think, 'what have I done?' But for young people at an early age, it's about telling them, police officers are your friends. They're not your enemies. And the young kids today, if they can learn that and appreciate that ... it takes the stigma off police officers.
DMN: Do you think there is a lot of distrust, maybe more than normal, in police right now?
Dorsett: I haven't been paying attention to who is trustworthy as far as police are concerned. But we as a society need to understand what the big picture is with police officers. Every time you see a policeman, you think 'it's bad, it's bad, it's bad.' We need to get away from that thought process. They're not bad people. These are good people. They're here to run the bad folks away. There is good and bad in just about everything. But for the most part, the good outweighs the bad by a tremendous amount. So you get a couple bad apples, and the bad apples make it bad for everybody. We just need to let some of that go and appreciate these guys.


In the wake of mass digitisation, market consolidation and the launch of ambitious new trading platforms, experts in the out-of-home sector are calling for a boost to standards to ensure a smooth evolution away from static posters.
Speaking at the 2018 Automated Trading Debate, hosted by Mediatel, a gathering of traders and industry bosses were told without agreed standards out-of-home would be bogged down by needless complexity at a time when it was seeking to grow its share of market through investment in digital screens.
"Out-of-home has always been a complex medium to navigate, even when it was just billboards and posters," said Gavin Lee, the chief technology officer of Posterscope and the co-chair of the OOH Standards Committee - the body which is helping in the transition to a more automated future.
"With the rise of digital and an abundance of location data, the complexity is even greater. It is now critical to manage this."
Lee said settling on agreed standards for audience measurement, the meaning of an 'impact' or 'impression', and the terminology used for transacting is now vital if the sector is to reap the benefits of its recent investments, which globally now includes more than 300,000 digital screens, led by more advanced UK and US markets.
"The whole point of technology is to unblock barriers advertisers may have to buy in a different medium...for this to move forward, standardisation is critical."
The industry already has different automated or programmatic trading systems in place to deal with the influx of data and digital tech - including Posterscope's ECOS platform, and VIOOH, a new company set up by market leader JCDecaux, amongst others.
Arguing that it is good for the market to have use of an assortment of competing platforms, Lee said this will nevertheless be hindered without agreement across the sector on standards.
"We've made huge investments in physical infrastructure, but now we need to manage that technology," he said. "Agreed definitions will allow competition to flourish and different systems to connect and talk the same language."
According to Warc, spend on digital out of home advertising is expected to grow 10.1% each year between 2018 and 2021, accounting for the entirety of growth in the OOH market as spend on traditional sites begins to decline from next year.


"Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt" has hit the shelves. But what if ALL the 30 rock characters had their own flavor?
"Jenna Maroney's Marshmellow Muffin Tops"
"Jack Donaghy's Top Notch ButterSCOTCH"
"Kenneth Parcell's Clean Cut Custard"
"Cerie's Chocolate and Cherry Bon Bons"
"Dennis' Yummy Dummy De Leche"
Try Ben and Jerry's Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt Today!


ANTONIO CONTE will decide if John Terry has a future at Stamford Bridge after a face-to-face meeting with the Chelsea captain.
Conte was officially declared as Chelsea’s next permanent manager on Monday.
The current Italy boss will begin a three-year contract in west London after Euro 2016.
And one of his first jobs will be to make a decision on the future of Terry.
The long-serving defender’s contract expires at the end of the season and he is yet to be offered a new deal.
But according to The Sun, that could change after Conte holds showdown talks with the 35-year-old.
It is claimed that the new boss will have the final say on whether Terry will be offered the chance to extend his stay with the Blues into a 19th season.
Former assistant manager Ray Wilkins believes Conte will be keen to keep Terry around for his debut season at Stamford Bridge.


Both victims died at the scene at a Kroger grocery store on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky.
The police chief did not say whether police had determined a motive in Wednesday's shooting.
The suspect fired multiple rounds at a man inside the store, and shot a woman multiple times in the parking lot.


But it's worth stepping back from Romney's specific remarks and looking at President Obama's clean-energy track record more broadly. What sorts of green jobs programs has the Obama administration spent $90 billion on? Where does it all go? How much of the funds have been wasted? And what are we actually getting in return for all this cash?
1) The stimulus provided some $90 billion in financing for a wide array of clean energy programs. Here’s the breakdown: There's $29 billion for improving energy efficiency, including home retrofits; $21 billion in incentives for renewable generation, such as solar and wind; $10 billion for modernizing the electric grid; $6 billion to promote advanced vehicles and a domestic battery industry; $18 billion for high-speed rail and other trains; $3 billion for research into carbon capture for coal plants; $3 billion for job training; and $3 billion for clean manufacturing tax credits.
A few caveats. Not all of these programs are strictly Obama programs. Some of them were signed into law by President Bush, but didn't get funding until the stimulus was enacted. An example is ARPA-E, which conducts research into long-shot energy technologies and was first created in 2007. What's more, some programs involve loans or loan guarantees, which means the money will be repaid so long as the companies survive.
2) The vast majority of these projects are still up and running, though there have been a few notable failures. It is not even close to true that "half" of the energy companies funded by the stimulus have "gone out of business," as Romney said. Many of the programs, such as the tax credits and grants for wind and solar production, only pay out when the turbines and solar panels churn out electricity.
Romney's campaign later clarified that he was solely referring to the Energy Department's 1705 loan program, which provides about $16.1 billion to clean-energy companies. Yet of the 33 companies that have received loan guarantees, just three are in bankruptcy—including Solyndra, which could cost the government up to $535 million. (The other two firms are Abound Solar and Beacon Power, which is still operating and has largely repaid its federal loan.) Additional companies could eventually fail, but for now, the default rate is just 2.6 percent for one program in the stimulus.
It's worth noting that Congress created the 1705 loan program with the expectation that some companies would fail. The government was supposed to take risks. And, as energy analyst Gregory Kats has testified (pdf), the loan program's final cost will likely end up well below the $2.47 billion Congress set aside to cover losses.
3) The stimulus appears to have boosted U.S. wind and solar generation. Here's Mike Grunwald with a top-line summary: "Before President Obama took office, the U.S. had 25 gigawatts of wind power, and the government’s 'base case' energy forecast expected 40 GW by 2030. Well, it’s not quite 2030 yet, but we’ve already got 50 GW of wind. We’ve also got about 5 GW of solar, which isn’t much but is over six times as much as we had before Obama."
Costs are dropping, too. The price of photovoltaic systems has fallen in half, from $7.20 per watt in 2007 to $3.47 per watt in 2011, although solar is still more expensive than conventional electricity. And the cost of new wind turbines fell 27 percent from 2008 to 2011. It's difficult, however, to sort out how much of the decline was due to the stimulus and how much due to China's massive foray into wind and solar manufacturing.
Let's also put these advances in perspective: Solar and wind still generate a small fraction of U.S. electricity—just 3 percent in 2011. And it's not clear that either industry can maintain its rapid growth without further subsidies. For instance, a key tax credit for wind generation is set to sunset at the end of this year, which would slow down turbine construction dramatically, especially since wind has to compete against cheap natural gas.
4) Other green programs in the stimulus have a murkier track record, though it could take years to see results. The Obama administration spent $2.4 billion to create a new battery industry in the United States, yet many of those factories are now running idle, thanks to weak demand for electric cars. A modern "smart grid" could one day enable the country to juggle intermittent power from solar and wind, but the technologies have been slow to gain a foothold. Likewise, the federal government is chipping in $3.2 billion for high-speed passenger rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles—but it's uncertain if the line will ever get finished.
Advocates of the energy programs argue that it will take time for some investments to pan out. Electric cars, for instance, could eventually catch on. And ARPA-E is bankrolling research into novel ideas like laser drilling for geothermal energy and advanced lithium-ion batteries. Will these inventions transform the energy industry? It may take years to find out.
Other stimulus efforts are showing signs of progress after early missteps. Back in 2009, the $5 billion home weatherization program looked like an outright disaster; in Delaware, state officials were grappling with contractors doing "shoddy, unnecessarily expensive work." Since then, however, the Energy Department has managed to weatherize one million homes, saving consumers an estimated average of $400 per year on energy bills.
5) Clean energy has received the vast bulk of government since 2009, but it hasn't always been this way. Ever since the first tariffs to protect Pennsylvania coal in the late 1700s, the U.S. government has always nurtured new energy sources. And, over the decades, fossil fuels and nuclear power have received the bulk of that support, as a report last year from the venture-capital firm DBL investors showed.
A raw subsidy count, however, can be misleading. Government support for energy can manifest itself in all sorts of ways. Take the drilling technique known as "fracking," which has led to a recent surge in U.S. oil and gas production from shale rock. That was developed by private industry with vital aid from the federal government, which contributed research, key pilot projects, and mapping assistance. Fracking took 25 years to develop and fine-tune, a product of a number of programs and collaborations—a reminder that energy technology rarely develops in a straightforward, predictable fashion.
— The stimulus isn't all that Obama has done on energy. He has also ratcheted up fuel-economy standards for automobiles to 54 miles per gallon by 2025 and enacted a number of EPA regulations on carbon and mercury that will likely hamper coal plants.
— Here's a look at Romney's plan for North American oil independence by 2020. Also note that Romney supports ARPA-E, the $400 million program for long-shot energy research.


Hello Marvel movie fans! Today we have new bits to offer about two upcoming superhero films. Fox's newest installment in X-Men movie franchise, The Wolverine, now has an official synopsis - and it (in no uncertain terms) hints a truly epic movie experience.
We also have word on the shortlist of actors that Sony is eyeing to star in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as Peter Parker's friend (turned enemy) Harry Osborn, a role made famous by James Franco in the original Spider-Man movie trilogy.
Fox has been doing a good deal of PR as of late, trying hard to establish The Wolverine as a standalone film experience. Director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) and star Hugh Jackman recently did an online Q&A session, where it was firmly established that the film is NOT "Wolverine 2" by any means; it does take place after X-Men 3 and will be a sort of new starting point for the character; and the story will go deeper and the action will be more grounded (but fiercer) than any other depiction of the character, to date.
A few gems in the synopsis would be the reference to Silver Samurai, the film's big mutant antagonist, and clues to the oft-mentioned thematic arc of the film, which finds Wolverine having to deal with his own immortality after having watched so many friends and loved ones (like those in X3) die. The only lingering question I personally have is whether or not that last part, about the "new Wolverine" we'll get by the end of the film, will have any bearing on the events of Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past. With Fox now building their own Marvel Movie Universe, it's certainly possible.


Greece is conducting dialogue with the EU on the extension of the TurkStream, a natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Turkey, across Greek territory to other EU countries, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in an interview with Russian news agency TASS on Dec. 6.
Tsipras said Athens and other European countries are convinced that the EU has to move to cooperation with Russia on the TurkStream pipeline, which, according to Greece, should become not only TurkStream, but “EuroStream” as well as part of the multifaceted policy in the energy sphere.
“We are negotiating [it] in the European Union. I believe that our arguments are strong. We have persistence and patience, and I believe that we will possibly have positive results in the future,” the prime minister said.
Gazprom began the construction of the offshore section of the TurkStream in May 2017. The project envisages the construction of two pipelines, each 939 kilometers long.
The first line will be designed for the Turkish market and will meet 35 percent of Turkey’s natural gas consumption alone. The second is for gas supply to countries in southern and southeastern Europe.
The capacity of each line is 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The first deliveries are scheduled for the end of 2019.
The launch of the second branch of the TurkStream to deliver gas to southern and southeast Europe was scheduled for 2019. In November, Tsipras stated that Greece is actively agitating for this gas pipeline to pass through Greek territory to Europe.


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Citing a need to have something to thumb through while on the phone with casting or occasionally toss at an assistant in a dramatic manner, Relativity and Paramount have commissioned new scripts for their respective Stretch Armstrong and Ringling Bros. projects, which have yet to become fully completed films with merchandising back-ends despite their recognizable titles. "They're just sitting there, after I already had the posters mocked up. What more does it take?" an executive from each studio thought bitterly to themselves, before giving up and contracting writers to begin assembling enough clichés for them to start selling toys already.
Smurfs writing team David Stem and David Weiss have been drafted to handle Paramount's Ringling Bros. project, which will take a "Night At The Museum and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory" approach to using the legendary circus as a backdrop for various formulaic family comedy vignettes, potentially involving elephant dung and a dance number set to an old-school rap song, depending on the dictations of their flowchart. Meanwhile, Relativity and Hasbro have hired Dean Georgaris, writer of The Manchurian Candidate remake, to fashion vintage rubber toy Stretch Armstrong into a "plausible, action-oriented family picture," possibly out of spite. Both scripts have been asked to meet the demanding expectations that they will be written legibly on paper or, at the very least, emailed in a file that can then be printed out.


Emma Smith is an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations' Center for Geoeconomic Studies. She co-writes the Council’s Geo-Graphics economics blog.
Trade deficits, you see, do not just disappear and tax revenues soar because you block imports. Donald Trump needs a new big idea.
The yen is rising. What happens if Japan tries to push its currency down?
Faced with a strong yen, Japan might look to manipulate its currency. Here's what might happen if the country decides to do so.
Going back to 1952, consumer confidence has been a fair guide to presidential election outcomes.
Global growth is stalling, and central banks are running out of options.


The Boston Celtics have an embarrassment of riches. Even with arguably the team's two best players, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, watching from the bench, the Celtics nearly qualified for the NBA Finals this past season.
Heading into the 2018-19 campaign, coach Brad Stevens has a beautiful quandary on his hands: he has too many good players. How is Stevens, perhaps the league's best coach, supposed to divvy up minutes? Inevitably, someone will probably end up upset.
Stevens is well aware of the difficult dynamics he has to manage. In a recent appearance on Chris Mannix's Yahoo Sports NBA podcast, Stevens acknowledged that his team is loaded—in fact, he thinks he may have as many as 10 starters on his roster.
"We'll just do it like we've always done it," Stevens said of allocating playing time. "Marcus Smart has come off the bench for two years, and I've never considered Marcus Smart to be a non-starter. I just think that you—we're fortunate enough on our team that we've got eight, nine, maybe 10 guys that are starters. So, we'll figure that out as the time comes."
Nine of those "maybe 10 guys": Hayward, Irving, Smart, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier, and Aron Baynes. The 10th spot is likely up for grabs between Semi Ojeleye, Robert Williams, and Daniel Theis.
Stevens had a very political perspective—as you'd expect.
"For me, it's more about, we have a unique thing, and I think we all have to recognize that," Stevens said. "The starting thing, the finishing and everything else—we're going to have different lineups out there, and everybody's going to get an opportunity and lots of opportunities to make an impact."
The NBA regular season will begin on Oct. 16.


Mrs Judith Adomako-Ofosua, the Mfantseman Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDSs) to be more transparent and accountable to people.
She said Assemblies must open up to the citizenry and their stakeholders on the processes of developmental projects to erase misconceptions and possible accusations of corruption with their work.
Transparency, accountability and participation, were key tenets of good governance, especially at the local level, where the people were affected directly by government policies, programmes and decisions, she explained.
Mrs Adomako-Ofosua, gave the advice at a town hall meeting organised by the Anomabo Parish Justice for Peace Committee (PJPC) in collaboration with the Municipal Assembly at Anomabo-Taido on Thursday.
Themed, “Community participation in local governance for rapid development”, various speakers at the forum educated the participants on the Assembly’s interventions to speed-up development and in turn, received suggestions and answered questions from the people.
The engagement among others brought together traditional and religious leaders, Assembly members, youth and women groups, professional bodies, media.
Mrs Adomako-Ofosua, said all the necessary information on the execution of any developmental project should be made available to the public, particularly the beneficiary communities right from the onset to ensure transparency and build trust between the public and the Assemblies.
The Assemblies must endeavour to account for every contract awarded so that the citizens know what their taxes were being use for to motivate them to honour their tax obligations.
She observed that lots of people often felt cheated for the lack of provision of the right and quality developmental projects and also did not understand the developmental processes because the Assemblies failed to make information available and accessible to them.
That notwithstanding, she encouraged them to be bold to report people for their corrupt and illicit deeds as part of their constitutionally mandated obligations to protect and safeguard national interest at all times.
“Don’t be intimidated by their political affiliation, financial status or fear of being terrorised and victimised. The NCCE, and it’s allied institutions are ready and determined to protect and reward to encourage and motivate others to emulate it,” she assured.
Mr Samuel Kittah, the Municipal Planning Officer, who represented the Municipal Chief Executive expressed the Assembly’s determined to go the extra mile to significantly improve the infrastructural development in the Municipality.
He outlined some infrastructural projects the Assembly had embarked on, especially; roads and schools and assured that all abandoned projects would be continued.


An European International School in Dubai (French and German bilingual) is seeking Native French, German and English Teachers to work in a co-educational environment. Candidates must have IBDP or MYP experience. Being Bilingual in French or German is an advantage.


Pilar Goncalves, 22, with her husband, was told she had Zika virus, which health authorities suspect may be linked to a rare birth defect. After a blood test, she was "desperately relieved" to be given the all-clear.
Brazil's Ministry of Health made an unprecedented announcement this month: It told women in the northeast of the country not to get pregnant for the foreseeable future.
And it's all because of a mosquito — the Aedes aegypti species, which can spread a variety of diseases, including Zika virus. Health experts in Brazil are concerned that the virus, whose symptoms are typically a low-grade fever and bright red rash, might be having a devastating impact on newborns.
"Normally in a year you'd have maybe three or four cases," he says by phone from his home city of Natal in Brazil's north. "In 24 hours when we asked around, there had been 11 in the city. And that was a shocking enough number that we realized something very serious was happening."
It's not clear when Zika arrived in Brazil, though some doctors speculate it could have come with African visitors during the World Cup.
Initially, it wasn't a concern. Normally, Zika is not a serious infection, unlike malaria and dengue, for example. People are ill for a few days and generally recover.
Brazil's Ministry of Health says there is now a suspected link between Zika and the cases of microcephaly in infants.
"Everyone involved in this is extremely concerned about what could happen," says Luz. "We don't yet understand this illness."
The Health Ministry is now working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an arm of the World Health Organization to figure out what is going on. In the meantime, six states in Brazil have announced a state of emergency. There are 1,761 cases of microcephaly; many more are expected as Brazil's Health Ministry says more than 1 million people could have contracted the virus.
"It's an enormous concern because of the children," she said.
But experts say the mosquito came back after those measures were relaxed. These days it's everywhere. Beyond Zika, Brazil is actually suffering a dengue epidemic right now as well, with over 1.5 million cases in the country.
But it's not clear why Zika virus could be having this effect on fetuses.
"It's a mystery for everyone. We only just started looking into this a month ago," says Denise Valle, a researcher and entomologist at Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, a leading scientific research center in Rio de Janeiro, who studies the Aedes aegypti.
"I've been an infection specialist for more than 40 years and I've never been through such a period of stress. If we don't get a handle on this, we are going to have a generation of damaged babies," she warns.


Mary Pezzulo over at Steel Magnificat has written an excellent piece about the problem with name-calling, contentiousness, and point-scoring in the name of “apologetics.” I agree completely with what she says, and I recommend reading her post.
I also want to offer a few thoughts from the other side of the aisle, as it were. If you spend a lot of time in ideologically motivated communities, you’re going to encounter a lot of sanctimony and self-righteousness. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a member of 300 different Catholic FaceBook groups, or you are deeply involved in the vegan community, or you made the mistake of going to a mom’s group in an upscale neighbourhood; the basic practices are the same.
A group of people gather together and someone makes an assertion that is basically intended to signal how virtuous, well-informed, intelligent, hip, woke, or generally awesome they are. Others jump in. Some just ante-up by agreeing with the original statement and affirming it’s sagacity. Others up the stakes by making a claim that builds on the original assertion, showing that they not only equal the first speaker but actually exceed them. And so it goes around the table until suddenly somebody calls.
This could take the form of a direct call-out – accusing one of the speakers of hypocrisy or bad behaviour, or showing that actually they’re exaggerating their accomplishments or commitments. It could involve pointing out a contradiction in one of the statements. It could be a flat denial of some dubious truth claim. Or it might be a pointed ‘Socratic’ question designed to expose the flaws in someone’s thinking without openly telling them that they’re an idiot.
More commonly, though, it turns out that a certain amount of bluffing was involved. And this is where things have the capacity to get ugly, because in social situations there aren’t the same kind of clear hierarchies as in poker: there’s not a rule-book that you can appeal to determine whether hearing Jesus speaking to you in your heart carries more, or less, weight than having discussed the question in a private audience with the Archbishop.
So it descends into bickering, and depending on how high the stakes are the arguments can go on for hours, or days, or months… or years… or decades. If institutional bodies get involved, a good squabble can last for centuries. The pretext is always the same: both sides insist that they are actually concerned with truth, or justice, the correction of error, or the protection of the weak. But to any onlooker with even a shred of objectivity, it’s clear that actually what’s at stake is the need to win back whatever social currency was put on the table. People’s pride, prestige, honour or reputations are at stake and so they feel that they can’t just walk away.
The more hurtful the situation becomes, the more invested people are. So they’ll stay, even if they are being bullied, name-called, shamed, or directly threatened – because all of these things cause the stakes to go further up, and up, and up. Backing down means walking away and leaving your winnings behind (you always think of the winnings as yours, even if it’s far from clear that they rightfully belong to you).
Okay, so it’s very easy to point and laugh at people who are behaving this way – and I’m not even going to argue that it’s wrong to do so. Part of the social process by which we learn that ridiculous behaviours are ridiculous is by finding that we have become an object of ridicule. When you’ve been wounded in some com-box dust-up, and instead of rushing around to sympathize, people laugh and start singing “Let it Go!” it’s unpleasant for sure…but in retrospect, these are often the moments when we learn humility.
Besides, if everybody behaved as if these absurd exchanges were actually legitimate contests being fought for important reasons, we would end up like the nobility of the 17th century: monumentally stupid slights would result in actual bloodshed, and there would be real debates over questions like whether a monk’s “right” to defend his honour justified his participation in duels.
However, it’s important to lace our laughter with at least a touch of self-derision. Whether your response is to roll your eyes and scroll past, or grab a bag of popcorn and sit back to watch the fur fly, maybe also take a moment to say a little mea culpa. Because in one way or another, this is something we all do.