Bringing Storytime Home for Your Little Ones
by Jennifer Bergen, Program and Children’s Services Manager
The Children’s Room of the library was eerily quiet the afternoon I went in to gather as many storytime supplies as I could tote out to my car. After I delivered some puppets, books and silly hats to my co-workers, we set about creating a few online storytimes. Our hope is to reconnect in this way with the families we miss seeing at the library, and with new families who are looking for something fun for their young children to do. Our “Storytime Online” sessions will be released on Thursdays in April on the library’s Facebook page, @manhattanpubliclibrary, and you can view the first two on our youtube channel at https://bit.ly/3bUhcjM.
If you’ve got young children at home, you may be looking for more ways to keep them interested and happy, as the usual diversions of trips to the zoo or days at daycare are not available. Here are a few of our favorite places to look for early literacy activities for children ages 0-5 to help them get ready for kindergarten. The great news about teaching young children is that it is super fun, and this is what our storytimes are all about.
Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy, or CLEL (clel.org), is a well-organized website that covers everything from tips to reading with your child to early STEM experiences. One spot our librarians like to visit is the “Every Child Ready to Read” section. If you’ve attended a storytime, you might have noticed the storyteller throwing out little tricks to incorporate rhyming into your day, or encouragement to talk and sing to your baby and basically “narrate” all your activities. These tips have been found to increase a child’s vocabulary exponentially, and to prepare them for sounding out words when they learn how to read. This site may provide you with fresh, fun ideas you can add to your regular routines. Here’s a simple one – “Play ‘I Spy’ in the car using descriptive words to give clues.” You could also do this on walks or even around the house. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of remembering the things you used to enjoy doing when you were a kid, and knowing that it is more than just a game: it’s learning while having fun.
Here’s a little secret – most of the storytellers at our library had zero experience doing storytimes when they started their jobs (including me). Anyone can learn how to be a great storyteller with some practice, good advice, and a lack of fear of embarrassment. Storytime Underground (storytimeunderground.org) is one of those spots where you can find expert-level ideas and advice in under 5 minutes if you’re feeling a little humdrum about daily reading time. Why not create your own “storytime” at home? Get goofy – grab a stuffed animal and make it your storytime mascot. Sit in a chair in front of your kids and read a book or make up a story. Overly dramatize the characters’ voices in the story, and then sing a silly song. You can let your child have a turn as the storyteller. Even if they cannot read, they will probably put on a pretty good show.
For those who may be experiencing a heightened level of stress with young children at home 24/7, plus other responsibilities and worries, the Zero to Three webpage offers guidance and support for the emotional aspects of parenting. You can find brief videos, fact sheets and a special section of Coronavirus resources for families. Single parents, parents in the military, and others in unique situations will find helpful information about fostering relationships, self care, and developmental milestones.
Reading Rockets is a packed website with headings like “teaching reading,” “helping struggling readers,” and a wide range of topics related to early literacy and reading. The section on children’s books and authors includes booklists, award winners, and excellent videos. Check out Kansas author Bill Martin, Jr., reading (actually singing) his most popular book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? during his interview. This is just another way to add reading connections.
The library has several great options for viewing, streaming or downloading kids’ books from BookFLIX, Hoopla, Libby app, TumbleBooks, and more options on the state library’s Digital Book eLending page with TumbleMath and AudioBookCloud. If you need to get a library card so you can access thousands more children’s books online, just visit our webpage to find out how Manhattan residents can now register for an eCard online. Then, try out all our digital book options, and contact firstname.lastname@example.org if you need assistance.


Control your Meccano models (or anything else) from your Windows PC!
Diodes allow electricity to flow in only one direction. The arrow of the circuit symbol shows the direction in which the current can flow. Diodes are the electrical version of a valve and early diodes were actually called valves.
Forward Voltage Drop
Electricity uses up a little energy pushing its way through the diode, rather like a person pushing through a door with a spring. This means that there is a small voltage across a conducting diode. It is called the 'forward voltage drop' and is about 0.7V for all normal diodes which are made from silicon. The forward voltage drop of a diode is almost constant whatever the current passing through the diode so they have a very steep characteristic (current-voltage graph), as shown in figure 1.
When a reverse voltage is applied a perfect diode does not conduct, but all real diodes leak a very tiny current of a few μA or less. This can be ignored in most circuits because it will be very much smaller than the current flowing in the forward direction. However, all diodes have a maximum reverse voltage (usually 50V or more) and if this is exceeded the diode will fail and pass a large current in the reverse direction; this is called 'breakdown'.
Ordinary diodes can be split into two types:
In addition, there are also Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and Zener diodes (discussed later in this article).
Connecting and Soldering Diodes
Diodes must be connected the correct way round, and circuit diagrams may be labelled 'a' or '+' for anode and 'k' or '-' for cathode (yes, it really is 'k', not 'c', for cathode!). The cathode is marked by a line painted on the body of the diode. Diodes are labelled with their code in small print, and you may need a magnifying glass to read this on small signal diodes! Figure 2 shows the orientation of two common diodes, the 1N4148 and the 1N4001.
Small signal diodes can be damaged by heat when soldering, but the risk is small unless you are using a germanium diode (codes beginning OA...) in which case you must place a heatsink, such as a crocodile clip, on the lead being soldered. Rectifier diodes are quite robust and no special precautions are needed for soldering them.
Signal Diodes (low current)
Signal diodes are used to process information (electrical signals) in circuits, so they are only required to pass small currents of up to 100mA. General purpose signal diodes such as the 1N4148 are made from silicon and have a forward voltage drop of 0.7V.
Germanium diodes such as the OA90 have a lower forward voltage drop of 0.2V and this makes them suitable to use in radio circuits as detectors which extract the audio signal from the weak radio signal.
For general use, where the size of the forward voltage drop is less important, silicon diodes are better because they are less easily damaged by heat when soldering, they have a lower resistance when conducting, and they have very low leakage currents when a reverse voltage is applied.
Protection Diodes for Relays
Signal diodes are also used with relays to protect transistors and integrated circuits from the brief high voltage produced when the relay coil is switched off.
Figure 3 shows an example of how a protection diode is connected across the relay coil - note that the diode is connected 'backwards' so that it will normally not conduct. Conduction only occurs when the relay coil is switched off, since at this moment current tries to continue flowing through the coil and it is harmlessly diverted through the diode. Without the diode no current could flow and the coil would produce a damaging high voltage 'spike' in its attempt to keep the current flowing.
Rectifier Diodes (high current)
Rectifier diodes are used in power supplies to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), a process called 'rectification'. They are also used elsewhere in circuits where a large current must pass through the diode.
All rectifier diodes are made from silicon and therefore have a forward voltage drop of 0.7V. The table shows maximum current and maximum reverse voltage for some popular rectifier diodes. The 1N4001 is suitable for most low voltage circuits with a current of less than 1A.
There are several ways of connecting diodes to make a rectifier to convert AC to DC. The bridge rectifier is one of them and it is available in special packages containing the four diodes required. Bridge rectifiers are rated by their maximum current and maximum reverse voltage. They have four leads or terminals: the two DC outputs are labelled '+' and '-', the two AC inputs are labelled '~'.
The operation of rectification circuits are discussed in detail in the article The Rectifier.
Zener diodes are used to maintain a fixed voltage. They are designed to 'breakdown' in a reliable and non-destructive way so that they can be used in reverse to maintain a fixed voltage across their terminals. Figure 4 shows how they are connected, with a resistor in series, to limit the current.
Zener diodes can be distinguished from ordinary diodes by their code and breakdown voltage which are printed on them, as shown in figure 5. Zener diode codes begin BZX... or BZY...
Their breakdown voltage is printed with V in place of a decimal point, so 4V7 means 4.7V for example. Zener diodes are rated by their breakdown voltage and maximum power. The minimum voltage available is 2.7V. Power ratings of 400mW and 1.3W are common.
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Remember the ‘two tree-length rule’
A 55-year-old logger was seriously injured when struck by a section of a falling tree.
The worker was helping during the break-out phase of a logging operation. Edge trees were being felled by pushing them with a skidder after they were scarfed and back-cut.
Thinking he would be safe, the worker stood to the rear of the skidder.
As the skidder operator pushed the trees, one small tree fell away from the intended direction over the skidder canopy. The top section broke on impact and struck the worker standing at the rear of the skidder.
The investigation determined that the accident was caused by:
- the operator because he failed to ensure that other workers were in a safe position at least two treelengths away before pushing the trees
- the worker because he positioned himself within two tree-lengths of the trees being felled.
WorkSafe New Zealand advice
Section 18.9 of the Logging Code applies. Rules as stated in the: Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Forest Operations
14: Rules for tree felling
3. SAFETY AREAS
1. Tree fallers shall ensure that no:
- other person
- operating ropes
- other operations
is/are within two tree-lengths of the tree being felled.
2. No person shall be closer than two tree-lengths to a tree being felled, unless:
- assisting with felling
- training others
- being trained.
To which industries/sectors or matters will this information be relevant?
- Mobile plant
Published: December 2010. Updated August 2017.
While this bulletin has not been updated to reflect current work health and safety legislation (the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and regulations), it may still contain relevant information and practices to keep workers and others healthy and safe. Please read this guidance in conjunction with all relevant industry standards that apply to you as a PCBU. This guidance will be progressively reviewed and either updated, replaced with other guidance, or revoked.
Media contact details
For more information you can contact our Media Team using our media request form. Alternatively, you can:
Phone: 021 823 007 or


Study Finds Novel Gene Involved in Muscular Dystrophy
A study recently published in the journal PNAS revealed new insights into a gene called Smchd1 that is involved in muscular dystrophy development. The study is entitled “Genome-wide binding and mechanistic analyses of Smchd1-mediated epigenetic regulation” and was conducted by a team led by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Australia.
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an inherited form of muscular dystrophy characterized by progressive muscle weakness. The disorder affects the skeletal muscles of the face (facio), shoulders (scapula) and upper harms (humeral). FSHD is a rarely fatal disorder although it can be very debilitating. It is most commonly diagnosed in teenage or early adults, and is estimated to affect 1 in every 8,000 children. Currently there is no cure for the disease.
The gene Smchd1 is involved in DNA management and plays an essential role in X chromosome inactivation. In the study, researchers analyzed this gene as it has been reported to be dysfunctional in patients with FSHD2, a rare form of the disease that accounts for up to 5% of all FSHD cases.
“Our colleagues at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands work with patients who have FSHD2 and have been studying the genetic changes in these families,” explained the study’s co-lead author Kelan Chan in a news release. “We reproduced in the lab the genetic change to Smchd1 found in one of the families to better understand how this mutation alters Smchd1 and its ability to function in the cell. We discovered that just a single change to one molecule that makes up the DNA can affect the ability of Smchd1 to reach and bind to the DNA properly, and it is no longer able to do its job.”
Smchd1 encodes an epigenetic factor that can switch off genes, suppressing their function. “Epigenetic factors are like the punctuation marks on the DNA that enables the cell to read and comprehend it correctly for the functioning of the cell,” explained the study’s co-lead author Dr. Marnie Blewitt. “We knew that Smchd1 was an epigenetic suppressor — a factor that switches off genes that are unnecessary for that particular cells’ function — but we were in the dark about where and how it was acting on the DNA.”
Researchers have now discovered how Smchd1 interacts with the DNA molecule. “Smchd1 is enormous, I think of it as a massive ‘Goliath’ molecule,” said Dr. Blewitt. “So I had expected that this Goliath molecule would be greedy and crude, spreading out across the DNA to ‘exert its power. (…) In fact the opposite was true. Smchd1 is still a Goliath, but it very delicately squeezes itself into a tiny ‘seat’ on the DNA. It binds at just a few discrete sites on the DNA, then draws these pieces together to ‘shield’ them from being activated.”
The team believes that their findings can be of value in the development of future therapies for FSHD. “FSHD is a progressive disease, and we don’t begin to see symptoms until the affected person is in their teens or early 20s,” noted Dr. Blewitt. “By understanding the function of Smchd1 and how mutations affect its function, we could in the long term develop drugs that would substitute for its activity and prevent the debilitating muscle wasting which occurs in FSHD.”


Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
For more information about the project or additional project publications, visit the Research Project Page
This project began in January 2004 and was completed in December 2007. We developed benthic habitat maps for shallow (<30 meters) areas around the main islands of the Republic of Palau to help local managers and researchers develop reef fish management strategies, optimize biological monitoring sampling design, and develop place-based action strategies to address key issues and remedy specific threats to coral reefs. For more information about this projects data contact Steve Rohman, Tim Battista or John Christensen.
A Marine Biogeographic Assessment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Data and Maps
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Atlas
Assisted Files and Data for All Islands
Process of map development described in detail
Shapefiles - Arc and PCI legend files for the NWHI maps/shapefiles. When (.avl and .rst extension) added to your Arc or PCI project, these files will cause the vector colors to match the geotiffs.
Map products for NWHI include georeferenced truecolor images derived from IKONOS satellite data, estimated bathymetry (in meters) derived from the imagery, benthic habitat cover, and detailed benthic habitat classes. Files are available for download on the individual atoll pages.


|Pretty good semaphore!|
Helmet-orchids are popping out of the ground in our Boho South, Manna Gum-Peppermint-Blue Gum forest in exceptional numbers this year. Even in the last few dry years we’ve usually found a few, but this year there seem to be plenty.
This species has a single, shiny, flat leaf up to 20mm diam. and the helmeted flower shines like a light advertising a runway. The helmet has toothed lower margins. There are several similar species of Helmet-orchid that are all very similar and several new species have been recently described. This species used to be in the genus Corybas, but is now Corysanthes (as far as I can tell). Its similar to both Corysanthes diemenica and C. dilatatus.
But like so many orchids, they’re small and easily overlooked; they often occur as colonies. Orchids are very special plants.
|A colony of Helmet-orchids|
Did you know that…
- Orchid seed germination & growth relies on ‘infection’ by mycorrhizal fungi Some orchid species have even lost the ability to photosynthesize, being completely dependent on their fungi for energy.
- Most orchids have specialised relationships with pollinating animals, with many species each only pollinated by a single species.
- Deceptive pollination systems are common among orchids, the most common form of deceit being food mimicry. At least six lineages of Australian orchids have independently evolved sexual deception. In this syndrome, a flower mimics the female of the pollinating insect species. Male insects are attracted to the flower and attempt to mate with it, and pollinate it in the process.


What Is The Best Way To Enroll in Osteoarthritis Clinical Trials?
The clinical trial definition describes it as a research process in which researchers subject humans to different procedures to reach a medical breakthrough regarding a specific condition, like osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that affects the cartilage in the joints and the underlying bone tissue. The condition can occur in any joint, but it usually affects the knees, hips, neck, back, fingers, and toes.
Clinical trials on osteoarthritis focus on alleviating different symptoms with methods that can vary depending on the phase.
Why Are Clinical Trials for Osteoarthritis of the Knee Important?
Osteoarthritis is the prevalent type of arthritis, usually affecting the knee joints.
The condition causes symptoms such as joint pain and stiffness, loss of movement, swelling, deformity, or crackling of the joints, and is also one of the major causes of disability.
If you are suffering from this condition, you can find clinical trials focused on discovering various treatment options, a potential cure, diagnostic procedures, or preventive measures. Pain management clinical trials are also quite common when it comes to this particular health problem.
Osteoarthritis clinical trials work by testing different drugs and methods and can range from simple osteoarthritis medical surveys to innovative full-term research, like stem cell knee cartilage clinical trials.
How Do Osteoarthritis Clinical Studies Work?
Osteoarthritis studies are randomized clinical trials, which means that the participants are split into two groups.
One group receives the drug that is being tested depending on the type of clinical study. There are two options for the other (control) group.
The randomization can take three approaches:
- The open-label trials establish a full disclosure of the treatment program—everyone is familiar with who is receiving the treatment/placebo
- The single-blind research constitutes that only the researchers know who receives the tested treatment
- The double-blind method keeps any info on who gets which drug hidden. The randomization is done automatically
What Are the Phases of Clinical Trials for Knee Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis trials develop in four stages. Each stage has a particular purpose, criteria for selecting participants, and its own set of rules.
Regardless of the stage, the participants have to sign an ICF (clinical trial informed consent form). It’s a document that provides complete info on the clinical trial, addressing any ethical issues, and ensuring that the clinical trial is safe.
The phases of a clinical trial are:
|Phase One||The purpose of phase one is to find the highest dose that a healthy person can take without any side effects.
The subjects are usually healthy people taking part in the clinical study for money
|Phase Two||This stage involves several hundred people.
The goal is to check if the drug has the desired effect on osteoarthritis.
Participants in phase two are usually in a similar stage of the disease
|Phase three||The aim is to compare the tested drug with the best one already available on the market.
Following this phase, the drug has to receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to be distributed further
|Phase four||Follows the participants over an extended period to establish any long term effects of the drug|
How To Sign Up for Osteoarthritis Knee Clinical Trials
There are better ways to find clinical trial databases or platforms providing lists of drugs currently in clinical trials than hitting Google with “clinical trials near me” or “highest-paid clinical trials near me” queries.
Here is a list of trustworthy websites offering clinical trials for osteoarthritis:
- ClinicalTrials is one of the largest clinical trial registries in the world. You can find info on the participants, deadlines, conditions, locations, and more
- CenterWatch is a platform that promotes trials actively looking for participants
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a website with a section dedicated to Bethesda-based publicly supported clinical trials
- ResearchMatch is a nationwide clinical trial index created to match volunteers with research teams
- PolicyLab is a U.S. based clinical trial resource center with the goal to connect patients and available research studies
- Mayo Clinic is a website with a listing of Mayo Clinic clinical trials implemented within the institution
- Pfizer is one of the largest research-focused pharmaceutical companies in the world. The website hosts an assortment of Pfizer clinical trials for various conditions
How To Sign Up for Clinical Trials for Osteoarthritis With DoNotPay
If you don’t want to surf the internet in search of a perfect study on osteoarthritis, the good news is—you don’t have to.
DoNotPay is your all-in-one app created to find the osteoarthritis clinical trial suitable for you.
Our extensive database covers anything from psychological surveys to full-term clinical trials.
Our app is powered by a matching algorithm and a fully customizable search engine—you can filter the search based on your preferences.
Here is how it works:
- Open DoNotPay in your web browser
- Tap the Clinical Trials feature
- Select Get Started
- Set up your filters—you can customize the search based on the location, estimated compensation, safety measures, type, and other factors.
- Click on the osteoarthritis clinical trial you want to join
- Tap Contact
DoNotPay will email the research team on your behalf to maximize your chances of enrollment.
The researchers should respond in a few days, but you can also check the status on our homepage.
It is constantly updated with the latest studies, which means you can use it as an info point. Another option is to bookmark any trial to keep track of it. You can also enable the text-notification feature, and the app will notify you about new trials as soon as they appear.
Discover Other DoNotPay’s Features!
DoNotPay is created to manage any annoying task you would rather avoid.
In case you need help with managing medical bills and paying hospital bills after insurance, DoNotPay will provide you with smart and effective solutions for those problems. We can also show you how to get favorable loans for medical bills.
We can also cut down the time you waste on research and present you with clear and straightforward information about the consequences of not paying medical bills and whether you can go to jail in certain cases.
We can do a lot more for you. Check out how by opening DoNotPay in your web browser.
Here are some of the tasks we can take over:
- Protecting yourself from stalking and harassment
- Booking appointments with the DMV
- Appealing parking tickets
- Obtaining refunds and compensation from airlines for delayed or canceled flights
- Fighting robocall scammers
- Getting refunds and chargebacks from companies
- Putting an end to email spam
- Dealing with credit card issues
- Terminating unwanted subscriptions or memberships
- Disputing traffic tickets
- Jumping the phone queue when calling customer service reps
- Fighting speeding tickets
- Suing anyone in small claims court
- Dealing with bills that are impossible to pay
- Protecting your work against copyright infringement
- Subscribing for free trials without a credit card
- Preventing spam texts
- Discovering suitable clinical trials


Determining how best to speed ethanol and other alternative fuels from refinery to gas pump would rest with the government under legislation the House passed Thursday.
President Bush is promoting such fuels as a way to reduce dependence on foreign oil and cut air pollution. But their widespread use has been hampered by problems with the current system of transporting and storing the fuels.
Ethanol and some biodiesel blends, for example, can corrode tank and pipeline materials, build up sediment, clog filters and cause emissions volatility. In addition, it costs tens of thousands of dollars for the nation's 160,000 gas stations to refit pumps to dispense biofuels.
The bill, which passed by a 400-3 vote, directs the Environmental Protection Agency to study new technologies that would eliminate some of these infrastructure problems.
The bill by House Science Committee chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., also directs the government to develop an affordable and quick way to test the sulfur content of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel.
At issue is whether such low sulfur diesel may absorb enough residual sulfur as it moves from the refinery through pipelines and trucks to exceed EPA limits.
"This bill not only addresses our energy independence issues but it also addresses clean energy issues by working to mitigate potential problems that can rise from transporting clean fuels," said Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, the committee's top Republican.
The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Bush said in his State of the Union address last month that alternative fuels are essential to his goal of cutting U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next 10 years. He said there should be a requirement of 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017, nearly five times the current target.
The House spent nearly two hours on an amendment supporting the use of domestically produced alternative fuels on aircraft.
The measure, which passed 385-23, gave Republicans a platform to complain about the expense of the Pentagon's supplying Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a jet large enough to travel nonstop to her home in California.
House Republicans also demanded second votes on four amendments to protest a new Democratic-generated rule that allows the delegates from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and three territories to vote on amendments, but not on final passage of legislation.
"We're creating the record in case there is a lawsuit" regarding the constitutionality of the new rule, said Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.
On the Net:
Information on the bill, H.R. 547, can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov/
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.


From Superstition to Scientific Reasoning
The seventeenth century was a time of great advancement for science, but it also presented a curious juxtaposition between superstition and science. A part of Europe's Early Modern period and the birth of the Baroque cultural movement, the 1600s also encompassed the early years of the Scientific Revolution, when superstition and religion gave way to scientific reasoning. Furthermore, the Enlightenment, which attempted to replace ideas based on faith or tradition with scientific method, began to take hold later in the century.
|Monsters! Physica Curiosa.|
By the end of the 17th century, electricity, the telescope and microscope, calculus, universal gravitation, Newton's Laws of Motion, air pressure and calculating machines had entered the scene. And yet, as with all great shifts in cultural thinking, the transition from superstition to science was not instantaneous. Many of the era's great thinkers attempted to reconcile previous beliefs with new discoveries. Case in point: Monsters.
Monsters and the 16th and 17th Centuries
Many of the publications of the 17th century, while beginning to embrace scientific method and conclusions based on experiments, still also accepted fantastical explanations for marvelous occurrences. Books depicting monsters were extremely popular, and many recycled the same illustrations repeatedly, introducing them to new generations (case in point: Gessner hydra, 1560; Aldrovandi hydra, 1640; Joannes Jonstonus hydra, 1657). Furthermore, global exploration had begun on an unprecedented scale, and those that traveled published accounts of biodiversity from regions they visited. However, they recorded not only the creatures they saw with their own eyes, but also those described by locals - many of which were beings of myth and folklore. While fantastic to us today, for most during this time, there was no division between magic and reality - they simply coincided. Thus, these fabulous beasts could be a reality. Many were based on briefly-glimpsed real creatures given religious or superstitious twists. What's more, many "monsters" heralded during the time were actually humans or animals with deformities.
For example, Ambroise Paré, a surgeon of the 1500s, authored "the" monster book of the Renaissance: Des Monstres et Prodiges (1573). Translating to "Monsters and Marvels," the work depicted malformed humans and animal-human hybrids. Conjoined twins were a popular example of human "monsters." For instance, Paré illustrates a pair of 15th century female pygopagus conjoined twins that were exhibited in Italian cities for curious spectators.
|Conjoined Twins. Physica Curiosa.|
Gaspar Schott: Jesuit, Mathematician, Natural Historian, Monster Authority
An exceptional example of the "monsters" proliferated during the 17th century can be found in Gaspar Schott's Physica Curiosa. Schott (1608-1666), a German scientist and Jesuit, specialized in the fields of physics, mathematics, and natural philosophy. He wrote extensively on the mechanical developments of his time, and produced the first published account on Otto von Guericke's experiments on vacuums. His most famous works include Magia Universalis, Technica Curiosa, and Physica Curiosa - essentially encyclopedias magical, mechanical, and natural history knowledge. Schott was a great compiler, and relied on an extensive library for his own research. Most of Schott's publications are aggregations of the writings and research existing on various topics.
|Centaur and Satyrs, Physica Curiosa.|
Physica Curiosa's target audience was other scholars, educators, and the rich nobility of the time, as this was the demographic that could afford the publication. Though books were beginning to be more prolifically published in relation to the previous century, they were still made by hand and very expensive. The illustrations in this work are copper engravings, which were very practical for scientific illustration as they allowed for much more detail than wood blocks. A single printing of 500-1,000 copies concluded the run of this publication.
|Monk Fish (Upper Left), Bishop Fish (Lower Right), Sea Devils (Upper Left, Lower Right).|
Physica Curiosa not only depicts deformed humans as monsters, but also Centaurs, Satyrs, Monk and Bishop Fish, and Sea Devils, to name a few. Human deformities as monsters has been discussed at length, but many other creatures presented by Schott exemplify the practice of misrepresenting real creatures, or imposing religious elements on natural entities. For example, the monk and bishop fish, which were popular beings illustrated throughout the 16th-17th centuries, demonstrate how religious tensions resulted in the association of clerical figures with monsters. Nevertheless, many authors still purported these creatures to be real. In the late 1600s, Johann Zahn wrote that the bishop fish he illustrated in Specula Physico-Mathematico-Historica was fished out of the Baltic Sea in 1531.
The Sea Devil was also a popular monster, which Conrad Gessner, in the 16th century, recorded as having been captured in both Norway and Rome. Historians today postulate that this creature was actually based on the monk seal. Seals were extremely disliked by both fisherman and farmers as nuisances. Aristotle recorded accounts of seals raiding orchards, which Gessner and Ulisse Aldrovandi maintained.
While Schott clearly saw a distinction himself between fantastical creatures and those found in the natural world (as evidenced by the division within his book), he still asserts some incredible beliefs associated with real animals. For instance, he claims that "both fish and bird are made from water," barnacle geese are born from rotting wood, and that angels may have carried men and animals to the New World and distant islands. This demonstrates the tie between magic and science that still permeated Baroque Europe.
Impact on Science
|Mermaids, Demons and Monsters, oh my!|
Thus, Physica Curiosa represented a critical step along the journey of accepting science over superstition. Furthermore, this work and the others of its time, by aggregating the fanciful beliefs of the era in a single publication, presented an excellent body of work against which those of the Enlightenment could react. By comprehensively recording what was accepted as truth during the time, the authors made it easier for future scholars to pinpoint and address widespread, unscientific doctrine.
In conclusion, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were a fascinating time in history, as we watch science battle superstition, and see scholars like Schott struggle to make sense of their cultures and their reasoning. Monsters were a inherent part in this discovery process. Deciphering truth from myth, and exploring medical and natural explanations for the unexplained, is what science is all about.
Physica Curiosa Illustrations
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
You can see more books about the Curious and the Bizarre in BHL and our iTunes U collection. See a collection of fascinating "monster" illustrations in Flickr. See illustrations from the first six parts of Physica Curiosa in Flickr and the slideshow above.
Special thanks to Lilla Vekerdy, Head of Special Collections, Smithsonian Libraries, for her consultation on this post. The Smithsonian Libraries' collection contains 16 books by Schott. The version of Physica Curiosa digitized for BHL is from the Smithsonian Libraries' collection.
Program Manager | Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Gillispie, CC. "Schott, Gaspar." Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980.
- Thorndike, L. A History of Magic and Experimental Science. New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1923. 596-608.
- Michon, Scott. "Sea Monsters." Strange Science, 16 May 2013. 17 May 2013. http://www.strangescience.net


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Urgent health warning: Do not bathe in lakes and rivers in Southeast Asia.
(27.08.2010) The Center for Travel Medicine (CRM) is currently warning of bathing in rivers and lakes in the countries of Southeast Asia. Numerous cases of leptospirosis have been reported from the areas. Leptospirosis is a dangerous infectious disease that is caused by bacterial pathogens. If the disease or secondary illnesses take a severe course, the liver and kidneys can fail, which in turn leads to death.
The pathogens of the disease are found mainly in waters such as rivers and lakes. The infection occurs through open wounds on the skin. Even mosquito bites can be enough to pave the way for the leptospirosis pathogen. As reported by the travel center, several people have died of the disease in Malaysia, and two tourists have already been infected in Laos.
Travelers who have returned from vacation and complain of flu-like symptoms such as fever and body aches should definitely see a doctor. This also applies if a few weeks after the return from vacation. Because the incubation period of leptospirosis can vary widely. In some cases, the disease appears after a few days after infection, in other cases after a few weeks.
The CRM particularly advises backpackers ("backpackers") to seek advice from a travel doctor or qualified pharmacist before traveling to Southeast Asia. The symptoms resemble flu, patients complain of fever, muscle and joint pain. Very severe forms are found in Weil's disease, where the liver and kidneys can fail completely. The disease can then lead to death. Conjunctivitis as a result can last up to 4 weeks. Other complications of leptospirosis include meningitis, jaundice and liver function disorders. A disease is usually treated with penicillin, which however is only effective up to 5 days after the onset of the disease.
Around 170 people in Germany contract leptospirosis every year. The disease is therefore very rare in our latitudes and was mostly introduced from Far Eastern countries. (sb)
Image: Rosel Eckstein / pixelio.de


Police brutality is the intentional utilization of extreme power, normally physical, completed amid law implementation exercises with the populace. This kind of conduct likewise involves verbal assaults and mental threats by a cop. Extensive police brutality occurs in numerous nations, even those that indict it. It is one of a few types of police wrongdoing, which involve: false capture; threats; ethnic profiling; political constraint; reconnaissance insults; sexual mishandle; and police defilement. Albeit unlawful, it can be performed under the shade of law.
There have been various prominent instances of asserted police cruelty, including 2010 G-20 Toronto talks’ dissents, the 2012 Quebec understudy dissents and the shooting of Sammy Yatim.
Amid the 2014 Hong Kong dissents, there have been various cases of police cruelty. Seven cops have been gotten on video kicking and beating a noticeable political extremist who was at that point chains.
In the United States, main political and social activities have included extreme power by police, including the social liberties actions of the 1960s, anti-war exhibitions, the battle on Drugs, and the Total War on Extremism.
Cops are legitimately allowed to utilize power, and their bosses and the populace anticipate them to do as such. In managing to a great extent with confused factors of the general public, a few individuals working in law implementation might slowly exploit an opinion or feeling of power over society, especially under customary response based policing display; in some instance the cops trust that they are exempt from the acts.
There are numerous reasons regarding why cops can at times be too much forceful. It is felt that some identity qualities make a few officers more vulnerable to the utilization of extreme power than others. A wide cover the reasons for offense in order calls it "a shortsighted clarification that allows the association to accuse defilement for people and individual flaws – behavioral, foundation reasons, mental, instead of tending to general causes.
In Serbia, police cruelty happened in various instance amid dissents against Milošević, and has likewise been documented amid challenges against governments since Milošević lost force.
Police brutality scenes against serene demonstrators showed up amid the 2011 Spanish dissents
Some late scenes of police cruelty in India incorporate the Rajan case, the demise of Sampath and of Udayakumar.
The 2007 Amnesty International account on human rights likewise records across the board police delinquency in numerous different nations, particularly nations with dictator administrations..
Lastly, Police cruelty is marked based off the record of individuals who have encountered or seen it, along with the juries who are available for trials including police cruelty instances. This is due to the fact that there is no real way to measure the utilization of extreme power for a specific circumstance. Since police cruelty is with respect to a circumstance, it relies on if the alleged individual(s) is (are) fighting back.


By Bruce A. Smith
The DB Cooper skyjacking is a stunning true-crime mystery – one of the top whodunits of American lore.
The case is unsolved for decades, but now new investigatory techniques are being used, such as DNA testing, but the most exciting – and controversial – is the use of remote viewing, most commonly known as ESP.
But first, the background of the case and why it has been so difficult to solve using traditional means:
In 1971, a man known as DB Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient airliner and after exchanging the passengers for $200,000, he parachuted into the night skies north of Portland, Oregon. He has never been seen since.
Additionally, we don’t know who Cooper was or if he survived, and nothing has ever been found of the skyjacking—no parachutes, no body or clothes, nor any of the money except for $5,800 that a kid found eight years later buried on a Columbia River beach.
Adding to the intrigue, no one knows how the money got there or when.
The DB Cooper case remains the only unsolved skyjacking in the history of the United States – and the Big Question these days is, why.
The case has become resurgent in recent years as new technology is added to the hunt, and besides DNA testing, the power of the Internet, where citizen sleuths have unprecedented access to information, is also changing the investigatory landscape. These private eyes have revealed that the FBI has bungled its Cooper investigation.
In response, the FBI has grown exceptionally tight-lipped.
Fortunately, a truly dynamic forensic tool has entered the Norjak case, a process called “remote viewing,” which some might call it psychic sleuthing or Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP).
This process might be able to bypass the informational restrictions from the FBI, or even reveal if a cover-up at work. Imagine talking to DB Cooper, or viewing the events of the skyjacking directly via enhanced conscious awareness!
Despite the controversial nature of these techniques, the scientific legitimacy of remote viewing is substantive. Dr. Hal Putoff of the Stanford Research Institute organized the first large-scale investigation of ESP, and eventually his research attracted the interest of the CIA.
By the 1980s, the agency had placed Puthoff in charge of their remote viewing research, and several years later that effort coalesced into the US Army’s Stargate Program.
Several of the early Stargate “RV’ers,” as they are called, have written extensively about their work, especially David Morehouse in Psychic Warrior, and Joe McMoneagle in Mind Trek: Exploring Consciousness, Time and Space Through Remote Viewing.
Additionally, I have spent over twenty years studying the methodology of remote viewing at Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment (RSE), in Yelm, Washington, and what I learned there I have encompassed with my undergraduate studies in biology and my current research on the New Physics.
The New Physics is an expanding field of study that explores how consciousness influences physical reality. In effect, the New Physics asks, how do your thoughts effect your life?
This research suggests that thoughts interact with physical reality in a dynamic manner, even changing it materially, and this science is the underpinning of remote viewing.
Further, our thoughts can transcend the usual boundaries of time and space, so a successful remote viewer would be able to re-visit November 24, 1971 and observe Norjak unfolding in person.
Here is my understanding of how this radical science works:
The customary five senses of perception, sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste, involve the higher brain functions of the neocortex, frontal lobes and the complex part of the brain known as the cerebrum.
However, recent neuro-physiological research indicates that there is another part of the brain that is much different, and its capacities are very unusual. This section is deep within the center of the brain and is called the limbic system. It is filled with glands and tissues that specialize in emotions and feelings.
Further, the limbic system also has the capacity for a deeper level of perception – one that is often characterized as psychic awareness. As a result, it is hypothesized that the limbic system gives us to access expanded realms of consciousness.
But what exactly is consciousness, and how can the limbic system overcome the barriers of time and space? That in turn begs the question: what exactly is time and space?
Einstein’s Theory of Special relativity shows us that time and space are not static or concrete. Time changes as one moves differently through space, and the 2014 movie “Interstellar” portrays the phenomena exquisitely.
Further, PBS’ Dr. Brian Greene offered simple and concrete examples of how time changes relative to movement through space in a recent Town Hall meeting in Seattle.
Greene said that if two people had absolutely synchronized watches and sat together on a couch watching TV, when one of them went over the television set and changed the dial and returned, their watch would read a different time than the person still sitting.
Greene said the concept has been proven many times by flying clocks around the world non-stop. When they get back to their airport of origin, the clocks aboard the aircraft read differently than those at their home base. Similarly, the clocks on the International Space Station have to be re-calibrated periodically to get back into synch with their earth-surface bases.
As for consciousness, it seems to be a vast awareness that spreads beyond what we usually consider to be time and space, even if those concepts are mutable.
Specifically, as I understand Ramtha the Enlightened One, thoughts are created by consciousness interacting in our brain. Similarly, mind, and a concept Ramtha calls “deeper mind” seem to be various levels of consciousness. Further, all of reality actually exists in a kind of eternal, endless “Now.”
With that model it is possible to envision moving through the Eternal Now via consciousness; in particular, being in another time and space through focused thought.
In essence, we shift our conscious awareness and relocate to a different position within the Eternal Now. Thus, with a precise, focused change of consciousness we could travel back to the night of the skyjacking and visit Flight 305 for ourselves.
I have attempted to do just that, and then aided by a hypnotherapist named Gloria Peach.
I have also contacted RV’ers Morehouse and McMoneagle and asked them if their programs investigated Norjak, or if they would like to join my efforts. Unfortunately, they have not replied. I have also been unsuccessful in enlisting other professional remote viewers to joint this effort.
I leave it to you to judge the validity of my experiences. To me they are earnest, initial steps in penetrating the veils that surround Norjak.
Additionally, I am ever-mindful that the Stargate guys considered their best work to be only 20% accurate. I suppose the big question is: how does one know which remote views fall into the 20%. As a result, I consider all of my experiences as possibilities and use them as a place from which to conduct more conventional investigatory efforts.
In March 2010, I began my remote viewing sessions. Despite its fancy name, my sessions would appear to most folks as a typical meditation routine –I sat crossed legged in a comfortable position, closed my eyes, and breathed slowly and deeply.
As I entered my meditative trance, I envisioned Flight 305 flying through the clouds. I felt excited. Soon, I saw the red tail of a Northwest Orient 727 in my mind’s eye.
Next, I heard the roar of the engines, and then the smell of jet fuel. At that point I focused on the sketch of DB Cooper’s face, and I felt myself inside the cabin of Flight 305. I was immediately enveloped into an environment that I can only describe as a “70’s vibe.” Specifically, I looked around and saw men with long side burns and 1970s dress – polyester clothing and bell-bottomed trousers. Oddly, I felt oppressed by these sensations and began getting nauseous.
To counter that experience I re-focused on DB Cooper’s face. I sensed him sitting next to Tina and I tried to envision what they were doing and saying, but little came from it. I kept trying to drill into the focus but I only got more nauseous. After a couple more attempts I stopped. I was surprised how difficult the experience was and how awful I felt.
I ended the meditation. However, I needed several more time than usual to come back to my normal state of mind, or even open my eyes. When I did, I got dizzy if I moved too quickly.
Later, I found it very difficult to write any notes. At best, I scribbled cursory notes before the memory faded, somewhat like recording a dream.
I repeated these meditative efforts for several more days, through March 2010, but received little new information. Oddly, to this day I can re-visit these “in-flight” scenes easily, but I can’t get any more detail. It always makes me nauseous, too.
As a result, in subsequent meditative sessions I shifted my focus slightly. In my mind I merely focused on the sketch of DB Cooper. Within a few moments I saw a face. Then I asked questions, and the first was obvious: “Who are you?”
“I am Charles!…Bar…ka…ley…clay,” I heard the face say, pronouncing his first name quite loudly. But his last name was garbled to me, and I heard variations of Bar-Clay, Bark-Lee and Berkley. I wondered if I was superimposing my memory of the famous basketball player over what I was receiving through my limbic system.
This confusion persisted, but I returned to the meditation several times over the next few days. Finally I heard him say, “Barclay, like the bank in Great Britain.”
Clear, I proceeded and asked, “Where are you?”
Spontaneously, in a little squeaky voice like a child, I heard, “I’m in heaven.”
A couple weeks later I re-visited Charles. He confirmed he was Charles Barclay and was now out of his body and in a place he called heaven. I continued with my questions.
“Where did you land?”
“In a field,” he replied.
I saw an image of a flat, open terrain with a small stand of older saplings thick along the perimeter to the east. I heard road noises nearby. The scene felt rural, but not wilderness. Seeking more detail I asked again.
“Can you tell me where you landed exactly? What state or area?”
I heard no reply, so I offered a prompt. “Washington or Oregon?”
Again, I received no response, but the visualization of the field came back into my mind. After a long pause, I received a thought from Charles.
“I’m protecting someone who is still alive,” I heard him say, and I sensed the person he was shielding was a woman.
I thought of the relationship between Clara and DB Cooper, as described in Max Gunther’s novel, DB Cooper – What Really Happened.
In this book a character known as Clara was house-sitting a cabin in the Cooper’s LZ and met the skyjacker in the woods shortly after he landed. He had a sprained ankle and Clara took him home to nurse his injury. Eventually they fell in love and moved to New York, spending the ransom money after laundering it in Atlantic City casinos.
Although I maintained my focus on the face of DB Cooper, no other information came forward. I felt like I was interviewing a very reluctant witness, and I wondered how reliable any of this was.
Several months later, a hypnotherapist named Gloria Peach volunteered to me search for DB Cooper. I heartedly agreed.
Over the next few weeks we had six sessions. Gloria put me into a trance-like state reminiscent to my solo work, and then used guided-imagery techniques to lead me through successive levels of consciousness. Eventually, I was able to interact with DB Cooper and others in the case, such as Tina Mucklow and Ted Braden.
Our first session was September 19, 2011. Gloria guided me back to the plane in flight, and I found it very helpful to have a guide.
Here is my report:
“The smoke – UG! – the cigarette smoke.”
I lingered and observed the cabin, especially Cooper and Tina. I saw that Tina was in control of the situation even though Cooper had the bomb on his lap. She looked and acted confident, smooth but not flirty. She appeared to be emotionally neutral.
Gloria put me a little deeper into trance:
“I can’t get a good read on his face,” I wrote later in my notes. “He’s leaning into her. Tina jokes with Cooper, they light cigarettes. She is comfortable. He seems comfortable, or ‘not tense.’ He’s tall and lean.”
I asked Cooper why he hijacked the plane.
“Airline safety improved didn’t it!” he said emphatically, following the line that is espoused by Bob Knoss.
I asked about the hijacking and got the following tidbits:
I was told Cooper boarded in Pittsburgh and got off in Chicago, but this was not the actual itinerary of Flight 305.
I asked him his name again, and I was surprised when he said “Richard.” I have no idea what happened to the Charles Barclay persona.
Cooper, or “Richard,” confirmed that the hijacking was a quasi-military operation, with a “General Sherman” in charge.
“He was a major at the time,” Richard told me.
Richard told me about his upbringing and background. He said that his father was in WW II as an intelligence officer, a “General Brack” or “Brock.” Again, it came across garbled.
However, no family was involved in the skyjacking, but Richard was “part of a team.”
Richard said that he had died in 1986 and that he was in heaven. I asked him to describe it.
“You can say that I’m on a cloud,” he said, smirking and chuckling.
My second session with Gloria occurred a week later. I was able to go more deeply into “absolute elsewhere,” as Ramtha describes the experience, and covered a range of topics pertaining to Norjak. First, I visited Ralph Himmelsbach.
I saw a basement filled with lots of file cabinets. It was dark, and file cabinets surrounded a conference table. I opened a cabinet drawer and was surprised to see it was mostly empty. The files themselves were skinny.
Not much in here, I told myself.
Gloria told me to “see something new,” and I left Himmelsbach. Within moments I encountered a dark haired woman who told me her name was Doris.
She was an older woman and seemed like she was a WAC in WW II, or she looked like a picture of a WAC pilot – short curled hair, styled. But I knew she was something else.
“Are you a flight attendant?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered. I heard her last name as “Berdanke,” or Bern-Danks.”
She said she knew DB Cooper from the composite drawings, and she was part of 305’s originating crew from Washington, DC. Doris told me she had served Cooper drinks as they flew into Chicago from Pittsburgh, and said the skyjacker had a bag in the overhead compartment. She said she remembered Cooper getting off in Chicago, and has never told anyone this information. She said she was never questioned by the FBI.
Gloria told me to move on. I encountered DB Cooper, who again called himself “Richard.” I looked him in the eye.
“Can I talk with you?” I asked.
Richard didn’t answer; then he shrugged.
“Why?” I asked. The following is what I received:
“It was a job. It was an operation. Our identities were totally protected. We never talked about it. We never talk about jobs. To talk is like deciding not to breathe – it’s just not done. It’s not a problem. I don’t need to talk and never have. It’s how things are, in my world. Lots of us are like this. Keeping quiet is part of the job, part of who we are. It’s like looking in a mirror and seeing that we are physically fit – that our workouts keep our bodies in tip-top shape. Our training is top-notch, too. Keeping your mouth shut and not needing to talk, is all part of the conditioning, the make-up of who we are. Nobody is flabby and gabby. Nobody. Nobody ever talks about any job. Nobody would think to do that. If they did, they’d never be here.”
I asked Richard where “here” is. He launched into another soliloquy on his professional life. He told me his “world” is an isolated, hidden one, cloaked by the rural geography of military bases and veiled by the culture of military life. He said he has “minimal interaction with the world,” meaning life outside the military. He continued and said the military world is so separate from the civilian world that it’s easy to stay silent.
“No one ever asks, so no one ever has to say anything,” he told me.
“Why?” I ask.
“It’s a warrior’s code,” he tells me. “It’s what we do. Why did I do it? (the skyjacking). Because that’s what we do, that’s what I do. I had a job to do and I did it. It’s like counting coup. Am I prepared enough? Is my gear good enough? Is my team organized and smart enough? Am I tough enough? It’s a personal challenge.
“You (reporters) will never find us,” he added. “The only way is to do what you’re doing now (remote viewing).” He continued:
“It was a military job. We eat the FBI’s lunch. They’ll never know. It was an operation. Purpose? I don’t know. Could have been a lot of reasons – test the SAGE radar? Improve airlines safety? Check out the radios? Test law enforcement on the ground? Who knows? It could have been a lot of reasons depending on who was involved. It’s a game, a test of one’s skills. It’s all a game – our dreams, our jobs, whatever we do.
Richard continued and told me he has no particular pride in being DB Cooper.
“Why did you pick the name, Dan Cooper?” I asked.
Richard laughed loudly. “I liked the name,” he said, and laughed again. “But it got changed right away! DB Cooper – who the fuck is that? Unless others changed the name on purpose.”
Richard then appeared very somber and serious, even a little anxious.
Is the game still afoot? I wondered.
I asked Richard if he will re-incarnate. He shrugged.
“I might be an intelligence operative,” he says. I always had a job, always had a pay check – that’s how the world is. If the world doesn’t want you, they don’t pay you.”
Richard told me about his father, again, and said, “military intelligence is a father-son thing. It’s like passing down a trade. You know how it is.” He told me his brother was also in military intelligence.
He said his unit was part of the army, but that his particular outfit was not SOG. “It’s deeper than that,” he said, meaning that it was more covert and hidden. However, he acknowledged that his unit was under the same command as SOG.
I asked Richard how he died. He shrugged. I asked again. He hesitated, but realized I was going to be insistent.
“I was drinking. I got tired of living and died.”
“Can we talk again?” I asked.
“If you can find me,” he said smiling.
My next session with Gloria was special – I visited with Tina Mucklow, the flight attendant who spent five hours with Cooper and is considered the primary witness to the skyjacking.
Actually, I felt I spoke with only a part of Tina, the not-angry-at-Bruce part, since she and her family have been exceptionally frosty to me.
Tina told me first about her life and then the hijacking. She also told me that she feels that she “never really disappeared.”
“People were looking for Tina Mucklow,” she told me, explaining that her main cover was using her ex-husband’s name.
However, to reveal anymore of this session I feel that I must get Tina’s consent.
A few days later I went looking for Ted Braden, the Vietnam Special Operations Group commando touted by many in the Special Forces as DB Cooper. It was a very difficult session, even with Gloria’s help. I felt I went into a very deep trance and was very groggy afterwards. I believe one of the reasons for the difficulty is that I sought more specific information, not just general impressions. I wanted facts that could be verified.
After Glory put me into a trance, I focused on an image of Ted in a Vietnamese field. Here is what I received in response:
Ted said he was dead, having passed away in 2006.
“2007 was a mistake,” he told me, apparently correcting some clerical error that still haunted him. He added that he died of a heart attack.
I asked him if he actually drove a truck in the second half of his life.
“Yeah, I needed a job,” he told me.
Continuing, I asked him if he was DB Cooper, and he denied it. Ted told me that the skyjacker was a covert CIA operative named “John Romano.” Ted also said that he wanted to be part of John’s group but was denied. He also said that John is still alive.
At this point something unusual happened – a silvery hue enveloped the figure I knew to be Ted Braden. He was back-lit, and I saw an opening that appeared to be a staircase.
The aft stairs to a 727? The Stairway to Heaven? I wondered.
Then, the scene shifted back to Vietnam. Ted was on bivouac and seemed aware of how I was communicating with him.
“You would have learned a lot in Vietnam,” he told me. “That’s how we stayed alive there – we had to focus!”
After a long hiatus from remote viewing caused by family visits, financial difficulties and my heart attack, I resumed my sessions with Gloria in June 2012. I re-visited DB Cooper, and received my fourth name change.
Now, Cooper said he was “Richard Bengstrom.” However, he did confirm that he died in 1986.
We spoke at length about his team. He called it “The Group.” He said they had all served in covert ops in Vietnam together, and had been stationed at Fort Lewis before deploying.
Richard told me that The Group had three members, and they acted as his ground retrieval team. He identified them as Ralph Munce, a second soldier named Jim – whose last name I never got – and a third trooper, Pete Stupinski.
According to this Richard, Munce found him in a field and took him to the Portland airport, where Richard flew home to Fort Bragg.
Richard said that The Group buried the money and chutes in a field just south of Ariel, near a line of trees. He said that they communicated with radios.
Richard also said that he didn’t know either Sheridan Peterson or Ted Braden. Richard characterized the skyjacking as a “private job done on military time.” He added that most of the preparation for the skyjacking was done as part of their normal covert training in the military.
“The taxpayers paid for it,” he said simply.
After these sessions I decided to stop the remote viewing. Frankly, the information seemed too chaotic for me to corroborate, nor did I have the resources to investigate more fully.
Nevertheless, I needed to start somewhere on this remote viewing business, as it has the potential to circumvent all of the people and events that have thwarted the hunt for DB Cooper.
And I did have a lucid dream that touched upon this work:
I was walking down the aisle of Cooper’s Flight 305 and approached seat 18-E.
“Excuse me, Mr. Cooper,” I said, “my name is Bruce Smith, and I’m a reporter with the Mountain News. Do you mind if I sit down and talk to you about what is going on?”
He looked at me in a non-plussed manner, and nodded to his left, sure, sit down.
He looked me over a bit and eyed my lanyard and credentials, my short hair and polar fleece jacket.
“You’re from the future, aren’t you,” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” I replied.
DB Cooper sat back in his seat and smiled. “Then you’re my ticket out of here.”
Editor’s Note: The above article is an excerpt from my book, DB Cooper and the FBI – A Case Study of America’s Only Unsolved Skyjacking, which is available at Amazon Kindle:
© 2015 Bruce A. Smith
The Mountain News-WA


This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics.
Nations have reached a historic agreement to protect the world's oceans following 10 years of negotiations. The High Seas Treaty aims to place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, to safeguard and recuperate marine nature.
The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights. The last international agreement on ocean protection was signed 40 years ago in 1982 - the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
These new protected areas, established in the treaty, will put limits on how much fishing can take place, the routes of shipping lanes and exploration activities like deep sea mining - when minerals are taken from a sea bed 200m or more below the surface.


What is Endometrial Cancer?
Cancer occurs when cells in the body change and start growing out of control. Cancer cells can form lumps of tissue called tumors. Cancer that starts in the lining of the uterus is called endometrial cancer.
Understanding the uterus and endometrium
The uterus is part of the female reproductive system. It's the organ that holds the baby when a woman is pregnant. The endometrium is the inside lining of the uterus. Each month, from puberty to menopause, the lining grows and thickens to prepare for pregnancy. This thickened lining helps to nourish a growing baby. If a woman doesn’t become pregnant, the lining of the uterus is shed. This is her period.
When endometrial cancer forms
The endometrium is the most common place in the uterus for cancer to begin. It's the most common type of gynecologic cancer (cancer in the female reproductive system). Cancer can destroy tissue in the uterus. Cancer cells may spread to nearby organs. They can also spread to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads, it is called metastasis. In general, the more cancer spreads, the harder it is to treat.
Treatment options for cancer of the uterus
You and your healthcare provider will discuss your treatment options. These may include:
Surgery to remove the uterus (hysterectomy).
Radiation therapy. This uses directed rays of high-energy to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy. This uses strong medicine to kill cancer cells.
Hormone therapy. This may help slow the growth of cancer cells.
Biologic therapy (immunotherapy). This uses medicines that act like your body's own immune system to fight cancer. (In clinical trials)


Digging a tunnel is a big deal. Excavating something so large underground may cause some impacts above-ground, especially during construction. DART wants you to have all the information before we hit the ground (literally) in the construction phase. As a member of the North Texas community, we want to create transit projects that bring value to our entire region, while making sure we remain a conscientious neighbor during the construction process.
Creating a safe and serviceable tunnel is an engineering feat, and DART is pulling back the curtain, letting you in on some of the thinking and strategy we use when we consider different excavation methods. Last week we told you about the tunnel-boring method. This week, we are looking at the two other excavation methods DART will employ when building the D2 Subway.
Sequential Evacuation Method
You may have already guessed, the Sequential Evacuation Method (SEM) is a construction method that is executed just like it sounds. A tunnel is divided into sections and the soil in the tunnel is moved in a specific order to create space underground. Equipment, such as a backhoe, is used to help mine this space sequentially. Conditions must be dry in order to complete this type of excavation. Why would DART consider using this method when building the D2 Subway? While this process is slower than the tunnel boring method, it can be useful when trying to navigate around underground infrastructure such as a sewer system or utilities.
Cut and Cover Method
Finally, the cut and cover tunneling method is very common in subway construction, especially for digging shallower tunnels, creating stations, or inserting portals. This method starts by breaking through the surface and utilizing trenches to remove soil. Most similar to road construction, this method starts from the ground and goes MUCH deeper than your normal freeway. When a large portion of a subway is constructed using the cut and cover method many times, a temporary road deck is used to allow traffic to continue to flow above the work site. DART may use the cut and cover method when creating stations or when creating portals that shift the tunnel from below-ground to an above-ground track.
Curious about how stations are constructed? What should North Texans expect to encounter below ground when hopping aboard the D2 Subway and what parts will they see above-ground? Stay tuned for our next piece in the series Anatomy of a Subway: Exploring Stations!


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Falling icicles can cause life-threatening injuries. That is why the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) is currently warning of the acute risks for passers-by that have increased due to the permanent frost. Falling icicles pose a high risk of serious head injuries, as doctors can also confirm from their practical experience.
The meter-long and heavy icicles that are currently forming on many roof edges can pose a serious danger to the health of passers-by, according to the latest warning from the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). "House owners, pedestrians and drivers should keep an eye on the roof edges, otherwise it can be dangerous," emphasized the spokeswoman for the Techniker Krankenkasse Niedersachsen, Ulrike Fieback. Above all, "pedestrians should always look up near buildings and avoid icicles," the TK spokeswoman continued.
Professor Christian Krettek, Director of the Clinic for Trauma Surgery at the Hannover Medical School (MHH), also knows what the consequences of falling icicles can be. "Over the past few years, we have had to treat injuries of various degrees of severity every winter in the trauma surgery clinic," the physician explained, adding: "A head injury caused by icicles even led to permanent facial paralysis of a patient." In particular, severe head injuries are one of the common injuries caused by falling ice. In order to keep the risk for passers-by as low as possible, the fire brigades are deploying almost every day in most cities in Germany and removing the meter-long ice formations from the roof edges. In Hamburg, for example, the fire brigade had to deploy twelve times on Tuesday to remove threatening icicles from the roof edges. (fp)
Picture: Daniel Lucas Egger / pixelio.de


What Vegans Should Know About Vitamin Infusions and Nutrition
A Vegan’s diet does not include any meat/animal products and as a result, they do not always receive the right amount of nutrients for the nutritional balance they need to keep healthy. This could lead to various nutritional deficiencies that could wreak havoc on the body.
There are certain essential nutrients your body needs and if your plant-based diet doesn’t offer them, then you have to take the necessary steps to provide your body with these vital vitamins and minerals. Some of the common nutritional deficiencies include:
This vitamin is produced by bacteria and is mostly found in beef, lamb, shellfish, the yolk of eggs, milk and some cheeses. B12 is required for DNA synthesis, cell division and it maintains the layer that surrounds the nerve cells. Without the proper amounts of B12 in your body you can feel tired, experience poor memory, lack of concentration and even depression. If the Vitamin B12 deficiency is severe it can result in irreversible nerve damage as well as psychiatric conditions such as psychosis.
This mineral is mainly found in red meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy but also in various grains and seeds. Zinc is necessary for many biochemical reactions, cellular metabolism, promotes wound healing and also helps boosts the immune system.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
This is an essential nutrient that is not produced by the body. It can be found in fish and eggs. This fatty acid is important for maintaining heart health and helps to lower blood pressure.
Vitamin Infusion or IV Therapy
Although plant-based diets provide health benefits, it’s clear that is crucially important to keep your intake of nutrients at the proper levels to reduce the risk of health conditions associated with nutritional deficiencies.
However, though many people assume that not getting enough nutrients on a plant-based diet would be an issue, that is not necessarily the case. One way to get reliable sources of vitamins and minerals is through vitamin infusions.
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is when a liquid solution is administered directly into your vein. With Vitamin infusions, this involves the direct infusion of hydrating fluids and high-dose vitamins directly into your bloodstream.
How Does Vitamin Infusion Work?
At each appointment, the treatment is customized to your needs during a consultation with a doctor who will go over your health history with you. The doctor then administers a small thin tube to access your bloodstream, connecting an IV bag containing your chosen vitamins and minerals. This solution is drip fed into the small tube and then directly into your bloodstream. The entire treatment typically takes between 30 to 45 minutes.
Life Fusion IV Therapy at CanoHealth
Our Life Fusion IV Therapy or Intravenous (IV) Nutritional Therapy does what would not be possible through supplements. The IV Nutritional Therapy delivers a quick and safe powerful dose of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other essential nutrients directly into the bloodstream. These high doses have a 100% absorption rate. If you want to boost your vitamins intake through IV Infusion Therapy, call CanoHealth at (305) 823-2433 to make an appointment or you can request an appointment. We look forward to meeting you and helping you with your health and well-being journey.


The successful carriage of marriage equality into Australian law in 2017 reflected a triumph for LGBTIQ+ inclusion. However, the recognition of marriage equality as a right is only part of the story as LGBTIQ+ people face ongoing and entrenched social, cultural, political, religious and economic discrimination and exclusion from being full participants in society. The challenges regarding the human rights for people based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics occur in the everyday, through the lived experience at home, in the workplace and in education.
In a rapidly changing Higher Education environment, how can Ally Networks contribute to enabling and ensuring the human rights of students and staff in relation to questions of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics?
Michael Kirby observes, “LGBTIQ people continue to live with social exclusion and homophobia in the broader society, in their studies and in the workplace. It is through education and networks, such as the Ally Networks that these attitudes and experiences are changed. Australia’s universities have a significant role to play in educating their students about the importance of diversity and inclusion. Universities also have a leading role as major employers in ensuring they promote best practice and equity in the workplace. By creating a respectful and supportive culture the universities’ Ally networks contribute substantially to that environment and change.”
The 2018 Ally Conference will open up a national and international conversation on how to activate human rights in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics for all people well into the future, setting new pathways to policy, innovation and enduring change. The Conference will bring together academic and professional staff, students, activists and practitioners from across Ally and LGBTIQ+ communities in the education sectors and industry and beyond, and will showcase best practice of Ally networks in diverse institutional contexts.
We invite presentations in key focus areas that might address aspects of the following: Lived experience, education and pedagogy, workplace, theories and practices of queer solidarity and alliances, activism, queer scholarship and intersectionality.
Contributions outside these areas are also welcome.
We welcome papers/presentations from all interested persons including academics, professional staff, activists, students, industry, and others. This can include updates on projects, policies and practices; theoretical and/or applied research; creative and/or artistic explorations, creative artefacts, poster presentations; interactive Q&A, workshops, or short screenings with discussion that can be situated thematically within the list of suggested topics.
Individual paper presentations are 20 mins long. Please submit an abstract including Title, Name, Organisation, Email, Abstract (250 words), Bio (100 words).
Panel proposals are also welcome. Panels need to include 3-4 papers. In addition to submitting a 250 word abstract for each presenter, please submit an abstract (100 words) and a title (15 words max.) for the panel as a whole. Please indicate lead panel contact person.
Submission must be sent by 22 June 2018 via email to: firstname.lastname@example.org
Please include a short bio or bios (if panel) note at the end of your abstract or panel.
More details about the conference, including a list of confirmed speakers, are available here.


General Information: FAQ
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is the world's most common liver infection. It is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which attacks and injures the liver. It is transmitted through blood, unprotected sex, shared or re-used needles, and from an infected mother to her newborn baby during delivery. Most infected adults are able to get rid of the hepatitis B virus without any problems. However, some adults and most infected babies and children are unable to get rid of the virus and will develop chronic infections.
The good news is that there is a safe vaccine to prevent a hepatitis B infection and new treatments for those already infected with hepatitis B.
How many people are
affected by hepatitis B?
Worldwide, 2 billion people (1 out of 3 people) have been infected with hepatitis B. 400 million people have become chronically infected (which means they are unable to get rid of the virus). An estimated 1 million people die each year from hepatitis B and its complications.
In the United States, over 12 million people have been infected (that’s 1 out of 20 people). Almost 100,000 new people are infected with hepatitis B each year. An estimated 5,000 Americans die each year from hepatitis B and its complications.
Why is hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is dangerous because it is a “silent infection” that can infect people without them knowing it. Most people who are infected with hepatitis B are unaware of their infection and can unknowingly pass the virus to others through their blood and infected bodily fluids. For those who become chronically infected, there is an increased risk of developing serious liver disease later in life. The virus can quietly and continuously attack the liver over many years without being detected.
What is acute hepatitis
A hepatitis B infection is considered to be "acute" from the time of exposure until 6 months afterward. This is the typical amount of time it takes for a healthy adult to successfully clear a hepatitis B infection and develop the protective antibodies. During an acute infection, a person is contagious and able to pass the virus on to others.
90% of healthy adults are able to "recover" by getting rid of the virus, which is confirmed by a blood test. Once a person has recovered, they are no longer contagious and are immune to future hepatitis B infections.
What is chronic hepatitis
A person is diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B if they test positive for the hepatitis B virus for longer than 6 months. A chronic hepatitis B infection may stay with the person for a lifetime. About 10% of adults who contract hepatitis B will develop chronic hepatitis B.
a cure for hepatitis B?
For an "acute" infection, there is generally no treatment other than rest and supportive measures to manage any symptoms. For "chronic" hepatitis B, there are several approved drugs in the US:
Intron A, Pegasys, Epivir-HBV, Hepsera, Baraclude, Tyzeka and Viread. These drugs slow down the virus and reduce potential liver damage. In rare cases, they may even get rid of the virus completely. For a complete list of other promising drugs in development for hepatitis B, visit our Drug Watch.


Wave glider robots await launch from San Francisco in this first expedition blog post in Google Earth.
From the Google Earth blog:
Join a journey of discovery virtually in Google Earth, as Liquid Robotics launches four wave-powered robotic gliders to cross the Pacific ocean in their Pacific Crossing (PacX) Challenge Expedition. The wave gliders are attempting to set a new world record for the longest distance ever attempted by an unmanned vehicle and will be collecting data about the Pacific ocean for use by scientists and students back on dry land. These R2D2s of the sea will cross 25,000 miles over 300 days and collect over 2 million data points, helping build the record of oceanic knowledge.
To follow the wave gliders in Google Earth, download the expedition KML file or open the PacX Gallery page and click on the ship icon. You will be able to read updates from scientists sharing the latest robotic observations, from wave height in storms to weather measurements like barometric pressure, wind speed and air temperature. The ship icon will represent the location of the wave gliders, starting in the San Francisco bay.


(Update: This post is attracting significant traffic, so I have indicated three Austrian-School primers throughout the text. Please click the images for the publications.)
It seems everyone is talking about swine flu and the financial crisis, but they seem to be most persistently interested in what has gone wrong with the economy. After I explained the key points of this Nobel Prize Lecture by F A Hayek to my hairdresser this morning, she had confirmed in her mind what she always knew: that economists cannot discover all they need to make accurate predictions.
This is something we all need to understand.
What follows is a precis of that 1974 lecture (sometimes quoted verbatim). It explains why and how the economic policies of the time contributed to inflation and unemployment and it points the way out of our present and coming difficulties.
- Physical scientists can observe and measure the things that drive the sytems they are studying.
- Society, and therefore the economy, is not like a physical system: many of the most important factors cannot be seen or measured. Consider the thoughts and intended actions of millions of people at different times, for example.
- Economists and other social scientists, in their attempt to be scientific, ignore what they cannot measure.
- Therefore, many of the most important factors affecting the economy are not considered, while some of those factors which can be measured are deliberately controlled.
- The results are incorrect predictions and actions which positively harm society.
In a sentence: society is not a machine to be controlled, but a garden to be cultivated.
By the way, the remark about making astrologers look good is attributable to the Keynesian economist J K Galbraith:
The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.
A Precis of “The Pretence of Knowledge”
The topic of this lecture is the chief practical problem of economists, who must now explain how to stop the accelerating inflation they have caused. In imitating the techniques of the physical sciences, economists have made grave errors of economic policy.
The assertion guided policy that there exists a positive correlation between total employment and the aggregate demand for goods and services. It implies we can permanently ensure full employment by maintaining total expenditure. This is fundamentally false and very harmful.
Economics deals with fundamentally complex phenomena: we cannot obtain all the data and we may not be able to find the important ones. The physical sciences reasonably assume the important factors will be measurable but, in the market, which depends upon the actions of many individuals, the circumstances determining the outcomes will hardly ever be fully known or measurable. The social sciences often treat as important only that which is measurable, sometimes in order to fulfill a demand to state theories in those terms.
Such a demand limits the facts which may be admitted as causes of real events. It is a fiction that only the measurable factors are relevant; to think that this is scientific is naive.
The relation between aggregate demand and total employment, though approximate, is accepted as the only relation which counts because it is the only relation for which there is quantitative data. On this standard, false theories may be accepted because they are seen as more scientific and valid explanations rejected for lack of quantitative evidence.
This can be illustrated by sketching the chief cause of unemployment which appears to be the existence of discrepancies between what people want to buy and what people have been assigned to produce. We have a fairly good understanding of the forces which bring about an alignment of supply and demand, of the necessary conditions, and of the obstacles. An account of this understanding relies on the facts of everyday experience and few would disagree with the logical conclusions. We have good reason to believe that unemployment indicates that the structure of relative prices and wages has been distorted and that to restore balance requires some transfers of labour.
But when we are asked for quantitative evidence for the structure of prices and wages that would bring ‘equilibrium’, we must admit we do not know. We know the general conditions for ‘equilibrium’, but we cannot know the particular prices and wages which would be established. Ours is not a theory which can provide predictions of prices and wages.
Why should economists have to plead ignorance of the sort of facts physical scientists would have to explain? The social sciences, unlike the physical sciences, must deal with structures of essential complexity, that is, models made up of large numbers of variables.
Some fields can overcome this by using probability, but this is valid only for systems of unorganized complexity. The organized complexity dealt with by the social sciences relies on the interdependence between individual elements, not just their properties and frequency of occurrence. Statistical information about individual elements in isolation is therefore not enough: we require full information about each element in the system. Without such information, we can only predict patterns, not specifics.
This is particularly true of relative prices and wages. We cannot observe and measure the subjective information known by each person in the market, nor can any one mind fully comprehend it. This is the essential superiority of the market system. We cannot know what particular structure of prices and wages would bring about an equilibrium of supply and demand nor can we measure deviations from that order or statistically test our theory that it is those deviations which make it impossible to sell some products and services at their offer price.
The mathematical method is a great advantage in describing the general character of patterns but it has led to the illusion that we can determine and predict specific numerical values. This has led to a vain search for constants. While the founders of modern mathematical economics provided equations that could in principle predict prices and quantities, they were under no illusion that it would be possible. Pareto said it would be “absurd” to assume we could ascertain all the data. It has been historically well known that the price depends on so many factors it can never be predicted: this is not a young branch of research.
The superstition that only measurable magnitudes can be important has created few instances of positive harm in economics. However, in inflation and unemployment, it has produced policies which have made matters worse. It is preferable to have true yet imperfect knowledge instead of a pretence of exact knowledge which is likely to be false. Unwarranted credit for seemingly simple but false theories has grave consequences.
In fact, the very measures recommended as a remedy for unemployment — raising aggregate demand — have become the source of a large-scale misallocation of resources which is likely to make later large-scale unemployment inevitable. Continuously injecting additional amounts of money where it creates temporary demand, together with an expectation of continuously rising prices, draws labour and resources into use in areas which will last only as long as the supply of new money. These policies bring about not so much a raise in the level of employment, but a distribution of employment which cannot last and which eventually can only be maintained by ruinous levels of inflation. The position is precarious, in which we cannot prevent substantial unemployment from reappearing. Unemployment is not deliberately brought about to combat inflation; it is a deeply regrettable but inescapable consequence of mistaken policies as soon as inflation ceases to accelerate.
Returning to errors concerning the nature of social science, there is reason to be apprehensive about the long-run danger of the uncritical acceptance of assertions which appear to be scientific: what superficially looks like the most scientific procedure is often the most unscientific. In these fields, there are definite limits to what we can expect science to achieve. To entrust to science, or deliberately to control scientifically, more than the scientific method can achieve, may have deplorable effects. The progress of natural science has been such that there are those who will resist the insight that our increasing power of prediction and control cannot be used to mould society to our liking. It sometimes almost seems as if the techniques of science were more easily learnt than the thinking that shows us what the problems are and how to approach them.
The conflict between public hopes for the achievements of science and what is in its power is serious. Even if true scientists recognize the limits of what can be achieved in human affairs, there will always be some who wish to meet the public hope. Distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate scientific claims can be difficult or impossible. The silence of the media on the critiques of The Limits to Growth in contrast to the report itself is a a source of apprehension. Economics is not the only field in which far-reaching claims are made on behalf of a more scientific direction of all human activities in place of spontaneous processes.
If we are to safeguard the reputation of science, we must debunk the arrogations of those who make specious claims for what science can achieve in the fields of social science. In these fields, there are absolute obstacles to the prediction of specific events; to act as if we possessed transcendent scientific knowledge may hinder the advance of the human intellect.
The chief point to remember is that physical science advanced rapidly in fields in which explanation and prediction could be based on functions of relatively few variables. To derive a prediction from a large number of observed facts, we must obtain those facts. Given modern computers, deriving predictions from those facts should be easy enough. The real difficulty, to which science has little to contribute, is the determination of those facts.
Consider a ball game played by a few people of approximately equal skill. If we knew some additional facts, such as the state of their attention and their physiology, at each moment in the game, we could probably predict the outcome. But of course we cannot obtain those facts and the result of the game is outside the scientifically predictable. That does not mean we can make no predictions at all, but our capacity to predict will be general and not specific.
As we advance further into systems of organized complexity, we find increasingly that we cannot ascertain all of the facts which determine the outcome of a given process. Often all we can predict is some abstract characteristic of the pattern that will appear, yet we still have predictions which can be falsified and which are therefore significant.
Of course compared to the predictions of physical sciences, this sort of pattern prediction is a second best with which one does not wish to be content. Yet the danger is the belief that to have a claim accepted as scientific, one must do more. To act as if we have the knowledge and the power to shape society to our liking, when in fact we do not possess these, is likely to do us much harm. In the physical sciences, attempting the impossible may be beneficial but in the social field, the erroneous belief that some power would have beneficial consequences is likely to lead to new coercive authorities. Even if such power is not bad in itself, its exercise is likely to impede those spontaneous processes on which we rely.
If man is not to do more harm than good in his efforts to improve the social order, he will have to learn that he cannot acquire the full knowledge which would make mastery of events possible. He will therefore have to use what knowledge he can achieve not to control but to cultivate in an appropriate environment, as a gardener does for his plants. The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought to teach the student of society a lesson of humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men’s fatal striving to control society – a striving which makes him not only a tyrant over his fellows, but which may well make him the destroyer of a civilization which no brain has designed but which has grown from the free efforts of millions of individuals.


The last time anyone had a close view of the USS Independence, a light WWII aircraft carrier, was January 26th, 1951—until now. Boeing’s unmanned underwater vehicle, Echo Ranger, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) research vessel and Coda Octopus’ Echoscope 3D sonar imaging technology merged for a mission to capture the most detailed, colorful look at the sunken vessel in more than six decades.
The U.S. Navy intentionally scuttled the Independence about 30 miles off the coast of Half Moon Bay, Calif. Its dark, watery resting place lies 3,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean’s surface—too deep for divers and a challenging task for remotely operated vehicles. With its ability to dive to depths of 10,000 feet autonomously, Echo Ranger provided a platform to get an up close look at the Independence. The bright yellow underwater submersible launched from NOAA’s research vessel, the Fulmar, in a multi-day mission. Incorporating Coda Octopus’ 3D sonar imagery software, Echo Ranger brought back colorful high definition images that reveal the features of the aircraft carrier and a snapshot in time. “Technology meets history in an exciting way,” said James Delgado, Director of Maritime Heritage, NOAA office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “It’s not just a ship that is deep under water, it’s the human dimension and the stories that go with it.”
Check out the Boeing video to view the images, watch Echo Ranger’s diving skills and discover maritime archeology. There are also some great shots of the Echo Ranger being tested in this Flickr album.


Core elements of security
There are five different methods for implementing security: these are the basic aspects of authentication, data integrity and data security as well as anti-tampering and anti-counterfeiting.
- Authentication ensures distinct identification of system components. For instance the system realizes that only truly approved components for drive and control, or terminals for remote maintenance are connected with it.
- Data integrity concentrates on protecting against corruption of data during communication. This aspect is essential to protect firmware updates via the Internet, but also to make sure that the transmitted sensor data is really trustworthy.
- Data security deals with the encrypted data communication using technologies for encryption and decryption.
- Anti-tampering is the manipulation protection of a device. In case of manipulation, the system automatically deletes the corresponding security keys so the manipulation becomes apparent.
- Anti-counterfeiting is simply a protection against reproduction implemented in hardware and software, where certain keys are stored in a cryptographic chip. The device functions only when the keys in the crypto-chip and in the related software fit together. This is one way the problem of overbuilding (unauthorized production of additional devices beyond the agreed production orders) with contract manufacturers can be tackled.