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Washington, DC…The following is from the White House on guest for tomorrow night…Here are the special guests who will join the President and First Lady at the U.S. Capitol when President Donald J. Trump delivers the second State of the Union Address of his presidency. This year’s guests come from all different walks of life, and each has an incredible story to tell. No matter their background, each one has something important in common: They represent the very best of America. Meet the special people who will join the First Lady and President Trump:
Debra Bissell, Heather Armstrong, and Madison Armstrong
Gerald and Sharon David of Reno, Nevada, were tragically murdered in their home in Nevada by an illegal immigrant in January 2019. The terrible loss has devastated both their community and three generations of their family who will be represented at the State of the Union: the Davids’ daughter Debra, granddaughter Heather, and great-granddaughter Madison.
Matthew Charles’s life is a story of redemption. In 1996, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for selling crack cocaine and other related offenses. While in prison, Matthew found God, completed more than 30 bible studies, became a law clerk, taught GED classes, and mentored fellow inmates. On January 3, 2019, Matthew was the first prisoner released as a result of the First Step Act.
Everyone who knows Grace would tell you that she has always been special. Wherever she goes, she brightens the room with her kind heart and infectious smile. At an early age, she decided that she wanted to forgo gifts at her birthday parties, and instead ask for charity donations. At 9 years old, Grace was diagnosed with Germinoma, a germ-cell brain tumor, and in May 2018, Grace started cancer treatment. Throughout the rest of the year, Grace stayed positive and strong, making the rounds in the hospital, cheering up other patients, and always having a smile for the many caring medical professionals who treated her. Grace recently finished chemotherapy and today shows no evidence of the disease. She is determined to help other children who are fighting cancer.
Ashley Evans has struggled with opioid and substance abuse for much of her life. In 2017, she was pregnant and suffered a relapse. Her recovery began with the birth of her daughter along with the help of Brigid’s Path, a medical care facility in Kettering, Ohio. Ashley has persevered and overcome many obstacles to maintain her sobriety. She is passionate about sharing her story of hope. On February 9, 2019, Ashley will celebrate 1 year and 1 month in recovery and on February 15, 2019, she will be reunited with her daughter full-time.
Elvin Hernandez is a Special Agent with the Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division. He has more than 18 years of Federal law enforcement experience investigating narcotics, gangs, and human trafficking. During his current 7-year assignment, Elvin has conducted numerous successful international human trafficking investigations involving transnational organized crime groups.
Roy James is the Plant Manager of the Vicksburg Forest Products lumber facility. He had worked at the sawmill for 26 years and become Vice President of Operations when he was told that the facility would close its doors. Thankfully, last year, Vicksburg was designated an Opportunity Zone through provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The plant soon reopened and Roy was hired to oversee the entire facility.
Timothy Matson joined the Pittsburgh Police Department in 2005 and made the SWAT team in 2016. As a key member of the SWAT team, he would breach the entrance during raids, a very dangerous task. In October 2018, Tim responded to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and saved countless lives in that heinous, anti-Semitic attack.
Judah Samet is a member of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. In October 2018, he survived the horrific shooting that killed 11 members of his community. Judah is also a survivor of the Holocaust. Judah immigrated to Israel after the war and was present for the declaration of the Israeli State in 1948. He served as a paratrooper and radio man in the Israeli Defense Forces and moved to the United States in the 1960s.
Joshua Trump is a 6th grade student in Wilmington, Delaware. He appreciates science, art, and history. He also loves animals and hopes to pursue a related career in the future. His hero and best friend is his Uncle Cody, who serves in the United States Air Force. Unfortunately, Joshua has been bullied in school due to his last name. He is thankful to the First Lady and the Trump family for their support.
Tom Wibberley is the father of Navy Seaman Craig Wibberley, a Seaman killed on the U.S.S. Cole. Craig grew up in Williamsport, Maryland, and enjoyed fly fishing, snow skiing, and working with his father on old Corvettes. He had a passion for computer science and decided to join the Navy to serve his country and pursue an opportunity to further his training in computers. Craig served aboard the U.S.S. Cole with distinction and was accepted to the Navy Information Technician School. His commander planned to recommend him for Officer Candidate School. However, on October 12, 2000, Craig and 16 fellow members of the crew were killed in a terrorist attack. Craig was only 19. After Craig’s death, a scholarship fund was created that gives out four $1,000 scholarships each year to students studying computer science.
President Trump granted Alice Johnson clemency on June 6, 2018. Alice had been serving a mandatory life sentence without parole for charges associated with a nonviolent drug case. During her nearly 22 years of incarceration, Alice accomplished what has been called an “extraordinary rehabilitation.” After her release, she was overjoyed to be reunited with her family. She has now dedicated her life to helping those who are in a similar position as she was and giving a voice to the criminal justice reform movement.
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White Spruce is a hardy, long-lived evergreen tree. It can grow in many soil types and moisture levels. And it can even tolerate significant amounts of shade. White spruce requires little maintenance and is well suited for use in shelterbelts, privacy screens, hedges, and as an ornamental in an urban setting.
These two-year-old seedlings have spent the first year in a greenhouse and the second outdoors in our bareroot fields. The fine mop of roots make these easy to plant and great choice for any large scale project where competition may be an issue. These seedlings have been graded for size and form.
Stock Type: Bareroot Age: 2 years (P+1) Size: 15-45cm (6-18")
Greenhouse-grown from seed, sorted for height and form.
These 2 year old seedlings were grown from a mix of White spruce (Picea glauca) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). Seedlings will be a mix of the two as they naturally hybridize with one another but the white spruce will be dominant.
TreeTime.ca is pleased to offer free
or low rate shipping throughout Canada, with British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and
Ontario being our most popular provinces.
We also regularly ship to the United States.
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Real Madrid vs Villarreal Full Match & Highlights 22 May 2021. Support Us. NCAA Baseball.
2 Pub bosse What channel is Serbia v Scotland on? Supporters can watch the match live – for free – on: Meanwhile, subscribers can watch the match on Sky Sports Football (Sky 403, Sky HD 857, Virgin 513 and TalkTalk 404) “Sky S The Scotland national team are ready for their most important match in over How to watch Serbia v Scotland free on Sky Sports: TV channel Well, even if you don't have a Sky Sports subscription, the Sky One, Sky All eyes will be on Wembley on Sunday as England kick off their Euro 2020 with a tough test against Croatia. The Three England vs Croatia TV channel and live stream: Where to watch Euros fixture for FREE online in UK .. WhoScored brings you live scores, match results and player ratings from the top football leagues and competitions.
All eyes will be on Wembley on Sunday as England kick off their Euro 2020 with a tough test against Croatia. The Three England vs Croatia TV channel and live stream: Where to watch Euros fixture for FREE online in UK ..
How to watch a Euro 2020 live stream for How to Watch EURO Cup Live Online for Free. In the United Kingdom, BBC iPlayer and ITV have exclusive rights to broadcast the 2021 UEFA EURO.If you happen to live outside the UK, there is an easy way to watch all live matches no matter where you are. Comprehensive coverage of all your major sporting events on SuperSport.com, including live video streaming, video highlights, results, fixtures, logs, news, TV broadcast schedules and more.
Jun 12, 2021 · England will continue their pursuit of Euro 2021 glory with their second group game against old rivals Scotland at Wembley.. This is the oldest international rivalry in the world, with the first meeting between these two taking place in 1872, in what FIFA has recognised as the first international football match in history. 4,000 people were in attendance in Glasgow that day to witness the 0-0
Revealed: All they key omissions as England name provisional 33-man Euro 2020 squad. Live Soccer TV. Gareth Southgate has named his preliminary squad, which he will trim down to 26 names come June 1. Jun 10, 2021 · EURO 2020 is almost here and the TV games have been announced. ITV and BBC have revealed which England matches they’ll be showing, plus all other fixtures.
Each half in a regulation soccer game la Where's the best place to watch soccer live streams? We've got all the broadcasters and services you'll need to stream any game. Soccer is massively popular in both the United States and the rest of the world, so the soccer live streaming l Travel + Leisure is a one-stop resource for sophisticated travelers who crave travel tips, news and information about the most exciting destinations in the world. I know there’s a kind of fear of soccer games outside Europe, but the stadium The return of Stockdale, who sustained the injury in early January playing for Ulster, means Shane Daly misses out and will remain with Munster. Flanker Josh van der Flier will undergo return-to-play protocols before the game. Leinster b Live Now: England vs Scotland streaming for free.
Mar 25, 2021 · Here is a guide to watching UEFA World Cup qualifying games in the United States, including start times and live-streaming information. 11 April 1967. European Qualifying Group game.Scotland take on the 'Auld enemy', and then current World Champions, England at Wembley in front of 99,063 supp Mar 29, 2019 · There are lots of ways to watch soccer games for free online, and in this article, we'll show you three. In two of them, you'll have to download a program that will let you watch games online or choose between TV channels from any part of the world.
Jun 03, 2021 · The Scots are gearing up for three Euro 2020 fixtures in Group D against England, You can watch the game live on Sky Sports Football from 5pm. How to live stream Luxembourg v Scotland online. Jun 09, 2019 · The first weekend of the 2019 Women's World Cup comes to a close with the start of both England and Scotland's campaigns, a chance for both sides to lay down a marker. England are clear favourites. Mar 25, 2021 · Here is a guide to watching UEFA World Cup qualifying games in the United States, including start times and live-streaming information. 11 April 1967. European Qualifying Group game.Scotland take on the 'Auld enemy', and then current World Champions, England at Wembley in front of 99,063 supp Mar 29, 2019 · There are lots of ways to watch soccer games for free online, and in this article, we'll show you three.
- Clasificatorio euro 2020 austria vs. north macedonia
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Jun 02, 2021 · FT: NETHERLANDS 2-2 SCOTLAND. Despite missing seven of the squad, it was a very good Scotland performance. Goals from Jack Hendry and Kevin Nisbet had Scotland twice in front. Memphis Depay twice England finished top of Group A in qualifying, winning seven of eight qualifying games, putting them as the ones to watch in this group, while Scotland finished third behind Russia and Belgium. Scotland Football Club - get the latest news, fixtures, results, match reports, videos, photos, squad and player stats on Sky Sports Football Soccer Live Stream Online Free: We cover all kinds of Soccer Games like the English Premier League ( EPL), La Liga, Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and more. On this page, we provide a detailed schedule of upcoming EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, French Ligue Matches.
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Your resume is your self marketing tool. So make it stand out to get to your dream job. It’s easy. If you need help, do not hesitate to drop me a message. Need a FREE! resume review and critique, join our exclusive group.
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Austin, TX, Unknown
When: August 19 and 20.
Where: The City Theatre.
Time: Saturday, 11 am – 2 pm. Sunday, 6:30 – 9:30 pm. Ten-minute slots by appointment. Callbacks if needed. Show dates November 3rd – December 3rd, with rehearsals beginning in September.
Needed: No prepared monologue is needed. Readings from the show will be performed so be familiar with the script. Accents preferred. Sides will be available on the website a few days before auditions. You may be asked to stay beyond the ten-minute appt. time. Please bring headshot and resume. Casting all roles.
THE SEAFARER is a chilling play about the sea, friendship, and the power of myth. It’s Christmas Eve, Dublin, and in the rundown house where Sharky cares for his aging blind brother, old acquaintances gather for a card game. But with the arrival of stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. As the booze flows and the game intensifies, Sharky discovers he is playing for his soul. In this eerie, darkly humorous tale, celebrated playwright Conor McPherson examines how we face the demons of our past as we struggle to find redemption. Directed by guest director Karen Sneed.
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23% of Americans Approve of Republican Party
As the GOP accelerates its transition to America's own"National Front" fringe-nut-racist party, U.S. voters are, shockingly, repulsed by the Republicans. A new poll gives the Grand Old Party a favorable rating of just 23%, down another point from a week ago. Congressional Republicans have a 15% approval rate, also down a percent from last week. But what about socialist-elitist Barack Obama ... you know, the black dude who is president?
Despite the terrible economy and general feeling of UGH in America, Obama's got a 68% favorable rating -- pretty much the mirror of the GOP's 67% unfavorable rating. This is how Socialist Hitlers trick the voters: by doing things the voters like and approve of, which is a devious way of getting their "support."
The Democrats, not the most likable bunch of people around by any stretch of the imagination, still have a healthy 53% favorable rating. Even the Congressional Democrats get a pass from 43% of Americans, compared to the tragic 15% who approve of Congressional Republicans. (This is the same 15% who fall for Nigerian email scams, think Reagan is still president, and eat their cats' poop.)
Weekly Tracking Poll: Status Quo Means High Obama Approval At 100 Days [Daily Kos via Wonkette Commenter chascates]
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4 edition of Munakata found in the catalog.
by The Gallery
Written in English
|The Physical Object|
Shiko Munakata (Japanese )- Two signed letters with original prints, , together with the Yasuda, Yojuro- ''Shiko Munakata''- Charles E. Tuttle Co, Rutland, VT Tokyo, Japan Enlgish edition signed by Munakata. Translations of letters are available. Although the name Munakata Taisha refers to all three shrines—Hetsu-gū, Nakatsu-gū and Okitsu-gū—it is commonly used to refer to Hetsu-gū alone. As documented in Japan's second oldest book, Nihon Shoki, the shrines are devoted to the three Munakata goddesses (宗像三女神, Munakata-sanjojin).Affiliation: Shinto.
An old version of text is also available on maybom247.com Kindle (also avail for free as a mobi file you can email to your kindle) -- this is not recommended for students taking courses -- see above PDF / bound book options. This is a new wiki textbook, serving as a 2nd edition to Computational Explorations in Cognitive Neuroscience CECN. Internationally revered as Japan's greatest modern print artist, Shiko Munakata () is renowned for his expressive lines, evocative use of monochrome, and the powerful spirit of his work.
Naoko Munakata is a director in the manufacturing industries bureau of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and a former visiting fellow at the Center for Northeast Asian Policy. Munakata: Munakata Shikō, , the woodcut genius of Japan by Shikō Munakata (Book) Munakata Shikō by Masanori Kagioka (Book).
British biographical archive to 2002 (BBA III)
Implementation status of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission recommendations
Robotization: its implications for management
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Proceedings of the Colonial Conference 1894, Held in Ottawa, Canada, From 28th June to 9th July, 1894.
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Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store. Books Advanced Search New Releases Amazon Charts Munakata book Sellers & Munakata book The New York Times® Best Sellers Children's Books Textbooks Textbook Rentals Sell Us Your Books Best Books of the Month Kindle eBooks.
Dec 07, · Shiko Munakata, regarded by, most Japanese as their greatest contemporary woodblock artist, is probably also the best know in the West. The book is very well illustrated with over one hundred prints in color and in black & white encompassing his entire career.
It includes a previously unavailable essay by Oliver Statler. viCited by: 1. Make sure you don't miss out on any excitement in Munakata by knowing a couple of things about it before you get there. Munakata is 19 miles (31 kilometers) to the west of Kitakyushu, a significant city.
Munakata Vacation Packages. Book your Munakata accommodation and flight package via Travelocity, and watch how much you save. May 20, · This was a disappointing purchase because the book is tiny - only about A5 size. When buying it at about $ I thought it would be a coffee table size.
Apart from that, the book is also a wonderful record of some amazing woodcut prints and I love Munakata's work.2/5(1). Jun 18, · Munakata Shiko: Japanese Master of the Modern Print Hardcover – August 1, by Masatomo Kawai (Author)5/5(3).
Munakata;: The "way" of the woodcut Paperback – by Shiko Munakata (Author) See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editionsAuthor: Shiko Munakata.
This exhibition catalogue has been published to accompany the exhibition of the work of the 20th-century Japanese woodblock print artist, Munakata Shiko, held on 16th December - 14th Februaryunder the joint sponsorship of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Japan Foundation.
Seller Inventory # Professor Munakata's British Museum Adventure book. Read 28 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Follow Professor Munakata as he embar /5.
Jun 23, · The LibreTexts libraries are Powered by MindTouch ® and are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot.
We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers. After World War II, Munakata produced numerous woodblock prints, paintings in watercolor and oil, calligraphy, and illustrated books.
He moved his studio to Kamakura in Kanagawa to be closer to Tokyo. He traveled overseas to the United States and Europe in Born: Munakata Shikō, September 5,Aomori, Japan. Part of Z-Library project. The world's largest ebook library. New post "Full-text search for articles, highlighting downloaded books, view pdf in a browser and download history correction" in our blog.
Munakata Resort Hotel is rated "Good" by our guests. Take a look through our photo library, read reviews from real guests and book now with our Price Guarantee. We’ll even let you know about secret offers and sales when you sign up to our emails.6/10(6).
Sometimes called the "Japanese Picasso", Munakata () combined in a truly unique fashion a mastery of the techniques of traditional ukiyo-e prints, an appreciation for the rigour and directness of popular Mingei crafts, and an acute awareness of modern Western art.
Mar 03, · Munakata (宗像) is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture and home to the three Munakata Shrines (Munakata Taisha), the head shrines of several thousand Munakata shrines found across Japan.
The original shrine stands on the remote, sacred island of Okinoshima which is off-limit to the public. Lying along the sea route to Korea, the island has served as a place to pray for safe travel since the fourth.
Munakata produced many prints based on themes from Japanese mythology, stories, and poems, and from Buddhist texts. He began creating large works that far transcended the norm for woodblock prints. Munakata - House / Vacation STAY is located in Munakata, 10 miles from Umi no Michi Munakata Hall, 10 miles from Munakata Grand Shrine Shimpokan, and 11 miles from Shimbara Nuyama Kofungun.
Use the promo code GOOGLENEST when you book. Minimum spend $ Terms and conditions apply. Learn more Located in Munakata, an minute walk from Mitsuoka Hachimangu Shrine, Pal Annex Munakata (Love Hotel) has accommodations with free WiFi and free private parking.
Shiko Munakata. English text by Oliver Statler. Library of Japanese Art, No. 12 by Yojuro Yasuda, editor and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at maybom247.com Book the best hotels & resorts in Munakata.
Choose from 6 available Munakata accommodation & save up to 60% on hotel booking online at Makemytrip. Resort price range starts from Rs to per night in Munakata. Free WiFi AC Room Parking FREE Breakfast Spa FREE Cancellation.
Read reviews and choose the best hotel deal for your stay/5(). Founded inmaybom247.com has become a leading book price comparison site: Find and compare hundreds of millions of new books, used books, rare books and out of print books from overbooksellers and 60+ websites worldwide.
ARTIBUS ASIAE INSTITUTE OF FINE ARTS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY VOL. XXXVIII, 4 by Bailey, Jane Terry and B. N. Goswamy, A. L. Dallapiccola, D. R. Das, Kiyohiko Munakata and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at maybom247.comHardbound with DJ.
DJ is mildly edge worn along the head. Book's fore-edge corners at head are lightly bumped. Inscribed and signed by the author on front fly-leaf "To Prof. Alan Levitan with good wishes. " Laid in are a Solo-Performance in English by Munakata announcement and a 2 page playscript with detailed stage notes in Levitan's(?) hand.For the Japanese-language edition of this book, Yojuro Yasuda provided an interesting appreciation of Munakata for Japanese readers already familiar with his background.
The present book contains the same selection and arrangement of plates, but it has seemed advisable to substitute a new text and captions for Western readers.
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The continent of Asia boasts the oldest civilizations, the largest population, and the most populous cities. Asia is the largest of the 7 continents with over 4.4 billion people calling it home and speaking nearly 2,200 languages.
It’s never too early to start learning about Earth’s continents. Because we’re all in favor of early education at Science Trends, we’ve assembled 50 amazing facts about the continent of Asia, all of which will be suited for kids who are just learning their geography! Heck, we’re even willing to bet that quite a few adults will find these trivia-tidbits enjoyable. They glean an important understanding of Earth’s largest continent, as well as important facts about the people that populate it. And the information doesn’t end there, either!
If we’ve piqued your curiosity, read on to hear 50 amazing facts about one of the critical foundations of human civilization on this planet!
We regularly tackle every region of the world that our readers want to learn more about. And though Asia is our focus today, that could shift entirely tomorrow! If there’s a particular area of the world that you’d like us to shed some light on, let us know in the comments section at the end of this article! We’re always receptive to feedback, and happy to serve our readers’ interests!
Asia — the Continent
Before we dig deep into the 50 amazing facts that we’ve assembled below, let’s take a look at this continent in the broader sense. As you’ll soon learn, it’s the largest on our planet, in more ways than one. It contains many sovereign countries and territories, as well as some that are dependent.
Ironically, one disclaimer we have to offer with lists such as these has to do with being comprehensive. Even though we’ve endeavored to assemble a diverse collection of information, by no means is this all that you might want to know about Asia! The country is home to many diverse cultures, unique environments, amazing cities, and more that we cannot possibly pack into 50 questions! That said, everything that we have included is topical and up-to-date. So if you’re ready to learn, it’s time to dig in!
Location, Location, Location
Though most have a basic understanding of where the Asian continent is on our planet, there are many interesting facts about its boundaries and position that are worth further inspection. As a point of fact, many don’t realize that the borders of Asia don’t necessarily dictate the borders of the countries in Asia!
- Asia is bordered by three of the world’s oceans — the Indian Ocean to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Arctic Ocean to the north.
- The continent of Asia shares borders with Europe and Africa. We’ve written about both of them on Science Trends, too!
- Because of where the continent is located on the planet, Asia is very diverse when it comes to climate. Southern regions, closer to the equator, can reach tropical temperatures, while northern regions, closer to the arctic circle, are quite frigid!
- Indians, Japanese, and Chinese frequently garner the most pop-culture attention, when it comes to Asian representation. But did you know that Iraqis, Siberian-Russians, and even New Guineans are all considered people of the Asian continent?
- The country of Bhutan, found in Asia, is the only country in the world to have exclusively banned the use of tobacco.
- China is the planet’s third-largest country. In spite of this fact, it only has one single time-zone!
- Asia is the center of the world’s most advanced economic growth and urbanization efforts. In spite of this, poverty resulting from wealth disparity is a problem that continues to grow.
- Both the highest and lowest points on Earth’s landmasses can be found in Asia — those being Mt. Everest and the Dead Sea, respectively.
- Due to widespread pollution in the heavily urbanized (and industrialized) areas of China, packaged air is actually available for purchase.
- The Asian continent has been the birthplace and cradle of the world’s most prominent religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and many others.
Cities of Asia
We’ll speak more, below, about the vast and massive population living on the continent of Asia, but before that, let’s take a look at the place with a wider lens — let’s examine the cities themselves, and the points of interest attached to many of them. After all, the population density in the largest of Asia’s cities is positively overwhelming, when you stack it up against the rest of the wider world.
- Remember, Asia is the biggest continent in more ways that one! It has the largest cities on the planet, as well!
- The largest city in the world belongs to the continent of Asia! That would be Tokyo, Japan, at approximately 39,800,000 people within the metropolitan area.
- Other major metropolitan areas in Asia are no slouch, either — Jakarta, Indonesia has 30.5 million people, Delhi, India has 25 million people, and Karachi, Pakistan has 24.3 million people.
- The largest cities of Asia boast some of the greatest population densities in the world.
- Seven of the ten largest cities in the world are located on the Asian continent.
- Ever wonder which cities in the world are most-toured? In 2013, it was Bangkok, Thailand!
- Think you’re pretty shopper-savvy? The ten largest shopping malls are all located in Asian cities! Better start packing!
- However, the largest shopping mall in Asia is tantamount to a ghost town, with a majority of its 2350 storefronts vacant.
- Interested in buildings and architecture? It might interest you to know that nine out of the tallest ten buildings in the world are located on the Asian continent!
- Due to skyrocketing obesity rates, Japan introduced laws meant to curb the trend in 2008. Now, it’s technically against the law to be fat. Men and women are required to have their waistlines checked yearly, and excess numbers result in citizens receiving weight-loss guidance.
When people say “the biggest continent on the planet,” they can mean that in quite a few different ways. Landmass? Population? City sizes? Population density? There are quite a few ways to measure “biggest,” but in the case of Asia, it tops many of these lists, regardless.
“Asia: four little letters, three billion little people.” — Stephen Colbert
- Asia is the largest continent on the planet Earth. It has a greater landmass than any other, by a significant margin.
- The continent covers almost 9% of the planet’s total surface area!
- Though many calculations of Asia’s landmass are approximations, they’re all relatively close to each other. Nearest estimates suggest that Asia is about 17,000,000 square miles or about 44,000,000 square kilometers!
- Asia also has the largest coastline of any of Earth’s continents.
- Only two countries in the world have populations of over 1 billion people, and both of them are in Asia!
- The population of China is approximately 1.37 billion people. In terms of population alone, this makes it the largest country in the world!
- Coming in second, the population of India is approximately 1.34 billion people! It has some of the most compact population density on the planet, and if population trends continue the way that they are, it will soon surpass China as the world’s most populous city.
- In total, the population of the entire continent is also considerably massive! How massive? Think over 4.4 billion people! Stack that up against the other continents of the world, and you’ll see what we mean by “biggest.”
- Just because China and India are the most populous countries doesn’t mean they cover the largest area of the continent, though. Russia is actually the country possessed of the greatest amount of the continent, at approximately 17,125,000 square kilometers.
- Combine the population of the entire rest of the world. Then compare it to Asia’s. Asia is still bigger.
Putting the “Wild” in Wildlife
Of course, the massive numbers of diverse peoples living in Asia aren’t the only aspect of “life” that we’re interested in. There’s a massive proliferation of unique flora and fauna living in the continent’s varied regions. Some of them, you probably know about. Tigers? Check. It’s important to remember just how vast the continent is compared to the other landmasses on Earth. In doing so, one can truly appreciate the wild diversity of Asia’s biomes.
“Southeast Asia has a real grip on me. From the very first time I went there, it was a fulfillment of my childhood fantasies of the way travel should be.” — Anthony Bourdain
- Though the Asian elephant isn’t as big as the African elephant, it is the largest land animal in Asia!
- Asian countries are largely responsible for perpetuating the practice of shark-finning—an act that threatens hundreds of species of sharks, bringing them ever-closer to extinction.
- The tiger, the giant panda, the king cobra, and other highly unique (and highly recognizable) animal species are native to Asian territories.
- The rhinoceros is popularly associated with Africa, but Asia is home to the single-horned Indian rhinoceros.
- Because urbanization is so prevalent (and spreading) across the Asian continent, there are more endangered species here than in other regions of the world.
- You likely know all about single-hump camels, but what about the two-hump Bactrian camel? It’s native to both desert and mountainous regions of Asia.
- Because of oceanfront development across the species’ critical habitats, the green sea turtle is on the verge of extinction.
- High commercial value around the world has spurred the illegal hunting of Asian pangolin species. In spite of legality issues, the animals are being severely threatened across nearly every region in which they’re found.
- At one point, tiger subspecies could be found across the Asian continent. Now, they’ve been made extinct (or nearly so) in as much as 93% of those territories.
- Once prolific in the wild, Asia’s giant pandas are now thought to have less than 2000 total surviving members of the species. It’s unclear if this unique animal will ever recover from the poaching and other destructive human acts that have irreparably changed its habitat.
A Numbers Game
Here are more fun facts about the continent of Asia. They’re not organized by topic, so much as they’re united by being impressive numbers that you’re sure to remember!
- Though the largest economy in the world isn’t in Asia, the second and third largest are! China and Japan occupy those ranks, respectively.
- Many countries throughout the world are home to a plethora of languages, belonging to very different cultures. India, a single country in Asia, has over thirty different languages!
- English is a popularly-spoken language around the world, and it’s what we publish in at Science Trends. But the world’s most popularly-spoken language is actually Mandarin Chinese!
- Asian countries — and by association the continent itself — are growing rapidly in terms of population. In twenty years, it’s predicted that another billion people will be added to the total population numbers on the continent!
- Calling all mango fans! Did you know that India produces over 12 million tons of mangos!
- The country of Japan has the highest median age of any country in the world, at 44!
- That’s not the only way that growing old in Japan can be a great thing — there are over 50,000 people in the country over 100 years of age!
- Children in China are frequently named after significant events, values, and other items of high cultural importance. Knowing this, perhaps it will surprise you less that thousands of children are named Aoyun, which translates to “the Olympic Games.”
- Within the continent of Asia, there are 48 different countries!
- In spite of Asia’s size, its impressive populations, and the rest of these interesting facts, there are two countries that have part of their borders in Europe — Russia and Turkey.
“In Asia, red is the color of joy; red is the color of festivities and celebration. In Chinese culture, blue is the color of mourning.” — Vincent Tan
That about settles it, doesn’t it? Of course, there’s far more to learn about the Asian continent than these 50 fun facts have indicated. And if you want to learn more, whether you’re a kid or an adult reader, check back with us at Science Trends!
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Explore a selection of our most anticipated new releases for October
This month: The story of the arcane table-top game that became a pop culture phenomenon and the long-running legal battle waged by its cocreators; an unsparing account of what went wrong in the search for an Alzheimer’s cure (and a roadmap that points us in a new direction in our journey); a visionary blueprint for tackling the climate crisis; and more. Explore these and a selection of our other new and soon-to-be-published titles below.
Electrify: An Optimist's Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future by Saul Griffith
Climate change is a planetary emergency. We have to do something now—but what? Saul Griffith has a plan. In Electrify, Griffith lays out a detailed blueprint—optimistic but feasible—for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment. Griffith's plan can be summed up simply: electrify everything. He explains exactly what it would take to transform our infrastructure, update our grid, and adapt our households to make this possible. Billionaires may contemplate escaping our worn-out planet on a private rocket ship to Mars, but the rest of us, Griffith says, will stay and fight for the future.
“A radical but realistic take on the new direction of infrastructure, investment, and production, Electrify is required reading for an economy-wide green transition in the USA.” —Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London; author of Mission Economy
You might also like Extracting Accountability: Engineers and Corporate Social Responsibility by Jessica M. Smith
Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons by Jon Peterson
When Dungeons & Dragons was first released to a small hobby community, it hardly seemed destined for mainstream success—and yet this arcane tabletop role-playing game became an unlikely pop culture phenomenon. In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. As the game's fiftieth anniversary approaches, Peterson—a noted authority on role-playing games—explains how D&D and its creators navigated their successes, setbacks, and controversies.
“Jon is the great gaming librarian, the dramaturg of D&D. He is always my first call when I'm researching anything related to the history of tabletop gaming. If he doesn't know, most likely no one else does, and this book is no exception. With it, Jon sets straight the 'canon' of the tragic history of how Dungeons & Dragons and TSR were ripped from the very grasp of the man who dreamed them up.” —Joe Manganiello, actor, producer, Dungeons & Dragons ambassador, and writer/game designer for Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro
You might also like Making Games for Impact by Kurt Squire
How Not to Study a Disease: The Story of Alzheimer’s by Karl Herrup
For decades, some of our best and brightest medical scientists have dedicated themselves to finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease. What happened? Where is the cure? The biggest breakthroughs occurred twenty-five years ago, with little progress since. In How Not to Study a Disease, neurobiologist Karl Herrup explains why the Alzheimer's discoveries of the 1990s didn't bear fruit and maps a direction for future research. Herrup describes the research, explains what's taking so long, and offers an approach for resetting future research.
Learn more about the book on the MIT Press blog: A close, critical eye on Alzheimer’s research
You might also like A Cultural Biography of the Prostate by Ericka Johnson
How We Give Now: A Philanthropic Guide for the Rest of Us by Lucy Bernholz
In How We Give Now, Lucy Bernholz shows that philanthropy is more than writing a check and claiming a tax deduction. For most of us—the non-wealthy givers—philanthropy can be a way of living our values and fully participating in society. We give in all kinds of ways—shopping at certain businesses, canvassing for candidates, donating money, and making conscious choices with our retirement funds. We give our cash, our time, and even our data to make the world a better place. Bernholz takes readers on a tour of the often-overlooked worlds of participatory philanthropy, learning from a diverse group of forty resourceful givers.
“With this book, Lucy Bernholz shows us that philanthropy is about much more than money. It is about enacting our values in the world. A vitally needed book, How We Give Now offers a fuller understanding of generosity, the foundation of our shared future, giving us a lot to consider, to be wary of—and to hope for.” —Asha Curran, CEO, Giving Tuesday
You might also like Just Money: Mission-Driven Banks and the Future of Finance by Katrin Kaufer and Lillian Steponaitis
The basis of competition is changing. Are you prepared? Rivalry is shifting from well-defined industries to broader ecosystems: automobiles to mobility platforms; banking to fintech; television broadcasting to video streaming. Your competitors are coming from new directions and pursuing different goals from those of your familiar rivals. In this world, succeeding with the old rules can mean losing the new game. Winning the Right Game introduces the concepts, tools, and frameworks necessary to confront the threat of ecosystem disruption and to develop the strategies that will let your organization play ecosystem offense.
“Winning the Right Game is a landmark contribution to the strategy literature. Any leader who does not understand their value architecture risks being blindsided by ecosystem disruption. Essential reading for anyone involved in setting strategy—or who wants to be.” —Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty University Professor, Harvard University; author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire
You might also like Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite by Christian Stadler, Julia Hautz, Kurt Matzler and Stephan Friedrich von den Eichen
Design to Live: Everyday Inventions from a Refugee Camp edited by Azra Aksamija, Raafat Majzoub and Melina Philippou
Featuring more than twenty projects created by Syrian refugees at the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan, Design to Live offers a new way of understanding design as a subversive worldmaking practice and as a tool for reclaiming agency in conditions of forced displacement. The projects—including a vertical garden, an arrangement necessitated by regulations that forbid planting on the ground; a front hall, fashioned to protect privacy; a baby swing, made from recycled school desks; and a chess set, carved from broomsticks—showcase the discrepancy between standardized humanitarian design and the real sociocultural needs of refugees, and highlights the power of art and design to create a life worth living.
You may also like Toward the Not-Yet: Art as Public Practice edited by Jeanne van Heeswijk, Maria Hlavajova and Rachael Rakes
Democratizing Our Data: A Manifesto by Julia Lane
Public data are foundational to our democratic system. People need consistently high-quality information from trustworthy sources. In the new economy, wealth is generated by access to data; government's job is to democratize the data playing field. Yet data produced by the American government are getting worse and costing more. In Democratizing Our Data, Julia Lane argues that good data are essential for democracy. Her book is a wake-up call to America to fix its broken public data system.
“This pithy volume is a must-read account of what the US federal statistical agencies are, what they do and why public statistics are vital to democracy. If we cannot be counted, we cannot be heard.” —Nature
You might also like Building the New Economy: Data as Capital by Alex Pentland, Alexander Lipton and Thomas Hardjono
Privacy Is Hard and Seven Other Myths: Achieving Privacy through Careful Design by Jaap-Henk Hoepman
We are tethered to our devices all day, every day, leaving data trails of our searches, posts, clicks, and communications. Meanwhile, governments and businesses collect our data and use it to monitor us without our knowledge. So we have resigned ourselves to the belief that privacy is hard—choosing to believe that websites do not share our information, for example, and declaring that we have nothing to hide anyway. In this informative and illuminating book, a computer privacy and security expert argues that privacy is not that hard if we build it into the design of systems from the start.
"Jaap-Henk Hoepman shows that privacy was wrongly declared dead. He offers the practical tools to guarantee privacy in the design process." —Marleen Stikker, Founder and Director, The Waag Society media lab
You might also like A New History of Modern Computing by Thomas Haigh and Paul E. Ceruzzi
Stories from Architecture: Behind the Lines at Drawing Matter by Philippa Lewis
Even when an architectural drawing does not show any human figures, we can imagine many different characters just off the page: architects, artists, onlookers, clients, builders, developers, philanthropists—working, observing, admiring, arguing. In Stories from Architecture, Philippa Lewis captures some of these personalities through reminiscences, anecdotes, conversations, letters, and monologues that collectively offer the imagined histories of twenty-five architectural drawings. The drawings, reproduced in color, are all sourced from the Drawing Matter collection in Somerset, UK, and are fascinating objects in themselves; but Lewis shifts our attention beyond the image to other possible histories that linger, invisible, beyond the page, and in the process animates not just a series of archival documents but the writing of architectural history.
"I read Lewis's stories over breakfast and they always make me smile." —Anthony Vidler
You might also like Sandfuture by Justin Beal
Banksy: Completed by Carol Diehl
Banksy is the world's most famous living artist, yet no one knows who he is. For more than twenty years, his wryly political and darkly humorous spray paintings have appeared mysteriously on urban walls around the globe, generating headlines and controversy. Art critics disdain him, but the public (and the art market) love him. With this generously illustrated book, artist and critic Carol Diehl is the first author to probe the depths of the Banksy mystery. Through her exploration of his paintings, installations, writings, and Academy Award-nominated film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Diehl proves unequivocally that there's more to Banksy than the painting on the wall.
You might also like Negative Space edited by Peter Weibel
Digital Suffragists: Women, the Web, and the Future of Democracy by Marie Tessier
If you've read the comments posted by readers of online news sites, you may have noticed the absence of women's voices. Men are by far the most prolific commenters on politics and public affairs. When women do comment, they are often attacked or dismissed more than men are. In fact, the comment forums on news sites replicate conditions of the offline and social media world, where women are routinely interrupted, threatened, demeaned, and called wrong, unruly, disgusting, and out of place. In Digital Suffragists, Marie Tessier—a veteran journalist and a New York Times comment moderator for more than a decade—investigates why women's voices are outnumbered online and what we can do about it.
“Vividly argued, this book provides a clear and compelling understanding of why threats against women online—treated like issues of private safety—are political threats against civil rights and democracy.” —Soraya Chemaly, activist and author of Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger
You might also like Data Feminism by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein
Media Disrupted: Surviving Pirates, Cannibals, and Streaming Wars by Amanda D. Lotz
Much of what we think we know about how the internet “disrupted” media industries is wrong. Piracy did not wreck the recording industry, Netflix isn't killing Hollywood movies, and information does not want to be free. In Media Disrupted, Amanda Lotz looks at what really happened when the recorded music, newspaper, film, and television industries were the ground zero of digital disruption. It's not that digital technologies introduced “new media,” Lotz explains; rather, they offered existing media new tools for reaching people.
“Amanda Lotz is one of the keenest minds in, and writers about, media. This book is an essential diagnosis of how and why tech disruption changed the media ecosystem, and as a consequence, a must-read road map for the disruption ahead.” —Evan Shapiro, Producer; Professor of Media at NYU and Fordham University
You might also like The Demonstration Society by Claude Rosental
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COVID-19 councillor check-in
City Hall Watcher #64: talking to Councillor Brad Bradford about working during a pandemic, some transit charts for future reference & more!
Hey again. This week: a new recurring feature that will recur for as long as this whole thing recurs. I’m going to chat with members of Toronto Council about how they’re holding up during the pandemic.
Up first is Councillor Brad Bradford, who tells me how Beaches-East York is handling COVID-19. We talk about how he’s doing his job from his kitchen table during these times of physical distancing, the need to cut back on red tape at City Hall, and what makes him feel optimistic during these turbulent times. Also: he’s got a book recommendation.
In addition to the interview, I’ll dig into the archives for some charts about transit ridership and transit funding.
Watcher/Talker: Brad Bradford on a councillor’s life during COVID-19
Brad Bradford’s temporary office in his home. Photo courtesy Brad Bradford
This past Thursday I spoke to Councillor Brad Bradford, who reps Ward 19 (Beaches-East York). We talked on the phone. Obviously. I was curious about what the day-to-day is like for councillors during these very strange and turbulent times.
This interview has been edited for length.
Matt Elliott: So how is Beaches-East York doing?
Brad Bradford: Well, these are obviously unprecedented times. But, you know, panicking is really a complete waste of time. The challenges are totally different. Communication and the way that we’re communicating with residents is different. But in many respects, the job is the same. It’s responding to people and responding to your constituents, then building capacity and working through the challenges to try to find solutions.
You’re trying to address the concerns of people in Ward 19, but you’re also trying to respond to challenges that are very much citywide issues. And that is how I try and approach the job every day. First and foremost, it’s taking care of the community, but also making sure that we’re responding and moving the needle on the citywide issues. So in that respect, it’s very much the same. But the way we’re doing it and the responses that are needed right now are different.
ME: Walk me through your day — I assume you’re working out of the house.
BB: Yeah, primarily out of the house. I’m still doing curbside drop-off or pick-up for food to support local businesses where possible. But generally, I’m in the home office here, which is just the kitchen table.
Right now we’re receiving between 100 to 150 individual e-mail correspondences every day. So that is high. And a lot of people in uncertain times are reaching out for clarification. They are looking for certainty. And that’s challenging for everyone because we are in uncertain times.
So my team is working through that. You start to build out capacity on status updates on the different files: people who are reaching out because they’re concerned about rent, local businesses concerned about whether or not they are essential services, young families concerned about whether or not it’s safe to go to a park. So you get a lot of the same sort of questions and you build that capacity and then you’re able to provide them with the most current information.
The challenge, of course, is that everything is so fluid and dynamic right now. You could have an update at 10 a.m. and that response could change by 3 p.m. So the rate and the pace at which updates are happening is the challenge that I think is universal right now. For likely all of my colleagues, as well as all levels of government — it’s just communicating the most recent most up-to-date information for something that is moving extremely fast and is extremely fluid.
The top issues that I’m generally hearing about are supporting local businesses, supporting self-employed people, concern around a lack of social distancing, people requesting a stiffer or more stringent approach to the lockdown — I’m actually hearing a lot of calls for that —and assistance for renters.
So what does my day look like? I do a 9 a.m. call. I do an 11 a.m. call. I do a 3 p.m. call. Those are mainly teleconferences with small businesses. Then in the evenings, I’m talking to residents. Last night, I had a Bengali teleconference — I have a very large Bengali population here in the ward. And again, you think of new Canadians and those communities. It’s challenging enough for people to understand what’s going on right now. And now add language barriers or barriers related to technology to the mix. You really need to make extra effort to ensure that we’re communicating effectively to all Torontonians.
ME: You were sounding the alarm about small businesses and retail businesses before this happened. This kicks that into overdrive.
BB: This gets back to how I’m working on both the small things and the big things. Like here’s a small thing: I have Michael Garrett Hospital in my ward. It’s one of the COVID-19 testing centres. People are working around the clock there. Additional staff and resources have been called in. So I was able to secure additional parking spaces for hospital staff. That’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference for those people who are showing up every day to take care of us.
On the bigger picture, it’s about relief and support for small business. So as part of the mayor’s Economic Support Recovery Taskforce, I’ve been tapped to lead our response on local business, and it’s obviously a topic I’m really passionate about. But it’s also something that I think is so desperately needed. And I’m really concerned that so many of our main streets and our local businesses are not going to make it through this. And that’s the emotional part of this. I’m on the phone hearing firsthand about the heartbreaking impacts.
And they’re worried that what they’re hearing from government right now is not going to adequately address the problem. When you hear the federal government going on about airlines and hotels, I understand that those are big employers and big sectors of our economy, but if you talk to residents about what they care about most, it’s the community and it’s the local businesses on the main street.
So as part of the task force I've been reaching out and I set up a survey. I’ve had 232 responses as of 1 p.m. [Thursday] just telling me what the impacts are for them personally right now, and what short term measures would help. And when we get to the other side of this, what can we do to help then?
ME: The short-term response is obviously the priority right now, but are there longer term things that, when things do get back to some kind of normal, you’re going to be looking at in terms of policy or report requests — lessons that you’ve learned in this?
BB: I think on the other side of this it really is an opportunity for us to modernize, to streamline and to simplify our processes. There’s lots of opportunity to reduce red tape. I don’t mean that in a clichéd way. I just mean the fact that there are so many layers of process that are just additive. You know, year after year, we just add another process to things that shouldn’t be so difficult.
Whether that’s street permits or park permits or licensing from MLS, it shouldn’t be so challenging to get the basic city services done and delivered. And yet right now, this has obviously thrown us a loop and we’re seeing just how challenging all that is. So we need to improve our coordination. We need to improve our process. And this may be the catalyst that we need to do that.
But we also need attitudes to change — we need an open mindedness and a willingness to make that change.
ME: To end on a positive note, what are the things that you’ve seen in Beaches-East York that made you stop and think, well, hey, people are good? Tell me about some moments of optimism.
BB: I think you’re seeing it in Beaches-East York and across the city. In this community, neighbours are coming together to help each other out in a time of need — recognizing that it’s difficult when we have requirements for physical distancing.
There are some really creative responses to show support and keep morale up. On my street, for example, one of my neighbours coordinated a window art display where each day we have a theme of artwork. And the kids and parents and people like me are drawing artwork and posting it up in the window so that when they take a walk outside, they can see that we’re all in this together — and it’s something productive to do in the house with the kids. And it’s a feel good moment.
So yesterday’s theme was animals. I think today’s theme is travel. And you’re getting all these different pictures put up in people’s front windows on our street.
There has also been a huge outpouring of support from residents just wanting to get involved and get engaged. So we’ve been helping to coordinate that. But I think you’re seeing an outpouring of support across the city from people who have time, capacity and resources to help. I signed up to donate blood, and I know many of my residents are doing the same. And a lot of the time slots are full. So people are responding to that call from Canadian Blood Services to donate blood.
I think that you’re seeing a lot of support online as well, because that’s where a lot of our communication has been directed. Some social media, Facebook groups, people just reaching out, looking to support and making sure that we’re all checking in on our neighbours. I was on that call with the Bengali community last night and what they’re doing is making phone calls for people who can’t get groceries, and then people who are able-bodied are going out and getting groceries and just dropping them off in front of their door.
We have a local supermarket, Victoria Supermarket on Victoria Park, and they’re offering meat and rice for families who need a little bit of extra support — and that’s just free. You don’t need to buy anything. They’re just giving it away. We also have small businesses who are coordinating to deliver perishables to food banks. Now with all the restaurants closed, there’s a lot of perishable goods and supplies that are not needed right now. And they’re coordinating to drop those off and make sure that we’re getting them into hands of people.
In times of crisis we come together as a community. People step up. They know that it’s collective action that’s going to get us through this.
ME: Last question. I know you’re probably too busy right now for this kind of thing, but a lot of people are stuck at home and maybe getting a bit bored. Any TV, movie or book recommendations you can drop on us?
BB: I’ve been reading Samantha Power’s book, The Education of an Idealist. I also saw that Netflix just dropped a Hillary Clinton documentary. I haven’t gotten into that yet, but I saw that that’s one of the new releases. That’s probably something that I would check out. But you know, truthfully, the days are actually pretty jammed.
Vicious cycle: a cautionary tale for the TTC — in charts
The Toronto Star’s Ben Spurr published a piece last week with updated numbers on how much the TTC is losing each week due to low ridership. The tab so far? $18 million a week.
That’s a staggering sum. It’ll require a massive bailout. And it is likely at some point to raise the spectre of cutting transit expenditures, especially if ridership is slow to recover on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Spurr’s article, Councillor Gord Perks warns against service cuts, citing the potential for a vicious cycle.
Some transit watchers say they’ve seen this scenario before, and it didn’t play out well for the TTC. Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park), said that when the recession of the early 1990’s started to eat into TTC ridership, the city responded by reducing transit service and raising fares.
According to Perks, that caused a vicious cycle in which transit became less reliable, leading to fewer people riding, which in turn was used to justify further service cuts.
I was curious about whether anyone had ever looked into the TTC service cuts of the 1990s and the eventual recovery, and it turns out someone did.
This is going to sound a bit egotistical, but it was me.
In 2011, I published Karen Stintz and Rob Ford’s TTC problem: there are too many riders.
The post includes this chart, showing the decline of TTC ridership in the 1990s:
And this chart, showing the decline of government subsidies for the TTC in the same period:
And then this chart, which I made myself, showing the huge investment that led to a major ridership recovery — eventually breaking records — in the aughts.
Might be worth keeping these handy for transit funding debates that could crop up in the months ahead.
More from Matt: on how the COVID-19 shelter crisis could have been less disastrous
For the Toronto Star last week, I wrote about how governments could have taken steps to decrease crowding in the shelter system long before COVID-19 became a pandemic. The things shelter workers are doing now are incredible — and heroic — but this crisis lays bare the systemic issues that were left unaddressed for years.
This week, I’ll turn my attention to Airbnb. Landlords are abandoning the service and scrambling to find long-term tenants! And I’m feeling pretty good about it. Look for it tomorrow.
In other news
The CityMapper Index measures the volume of trips planned with their mobility app. It does a good job of showing the effect of the COVID-19 shutdown — we seem to have stabilized at around 20% of typical levels. You can see how Toronto compares to other cities here.
Post City’s Real Estate Roundtable is one of my favourite annual editorial features, bringing together people like former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat and condo king Brad Lamb to talk about the city’s housing market. This year’s edition obviously takes place under very atypical circumstances, but it’s still very much worth a read. (Or a listen! They’ve got a podcast version this year.)
Something to look forward to: The Toronto Star’s Jennifer Pagliaro brought word Thursday that the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear Toronto’s appeal of Premier Doug Ford’s cut to the size of Toronto Council.
With Universal Basic Income back in the spotlight, TVO’s John Michael McGrath has a smart take on ways to get money to people who need it: a government credit card. “The federal government should make a federally registered and insured zero-interest line of credit available to every adult Canadian.”
With the risk of spread of COVID-19 in the shelter system, the Globe & Mail’s Jeff Gray tells us that some charities are literally distributing tents to homeless people, encouraging them to opt for camping in ravines over chancing the city’s shelter system.
The week at Toronto City Hall
It’s back! After a brief hiatus, the Bid Award Panel — responsible for awarding contracts to bidders — will resume meeting this Wednesday over teleconference. It’s the last bastion of the old municipal structure. I’ve missed it.
WEDNESDAY: 🏆 Bid Award Panel contract award of the week: $15.7 million for the construction of a childcare facility at 1234 Weston Road.
City Hall Watcher #64
In honour of the 64th issue, here’s a quick list of my favourite Nintendo 64 games: Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Paper Mario, Goldeneye 007, WCW/nWo Revenge, Jet Force Gemini.
Thanks for reading! Hope you dug the interview with Councillor Bradford. If you have suggestions for other councillors I should talk to, I’d love to hear them! Just reply to this message to get in touch with me.
Next week: good news — staff are still updating the Lobbyist Registry! So I’ll bring you a fresh edition of LOBBYIST WATCH. See you on Monday. Until then, stay safe and stay home.
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A Beacon Valley orphanage is working with food activists to fight hunger in homes right on its doorstep.
Baitul Ansaar Child Care Centre, a non-profit, launched its food garden, which is part of its 100 Home Project, earlier this month after finding that poverty and hunger were stalking families in the area.
The orphanage, with the help of University of the Western Cape (UWC) medical students, did a survey in the neighbourhood late last year, and what it found was disturbing.
“Many of the homes did not have food during the last week of the month,” said project co-ordinator Zahra Sadeghi.
“Many of the children from the orphanage who were fostered in this community usually return because their foster parents are not fit to look after them properly. We identified these issues and came up with interventions to address them.”
Bushra Razack, the orphanage’s managing director, said they had identified 100 nearby homes that were in need.
The project runs on a value-exchange principle. “If a resident is a carpenter; he or she will help us by maybe fixing a door of one of the needy residents identified within the project,” said Ms Razack.
The food garden is next to the orphanage and residents tend to it.
“We planted vegetables and medicinal plants that help residents with the chronic illnesses they suffer from,” said Ms Razack.
“A few plants will reach harvesting stage in the next several months.”
An auxiliary social worker, who cannot be named due to the sensitive nature of the cases she deals with, said many of the children at the orphanage came from homes were they had either been abused or neglected.
The Slow Food Youth Network is helping the orphanage by teaching people about all things food-related.
Slow Food, a proponent of small-scale agriculture and ethical, environmentally friendly food production, was founded in 1989 as a push back against the growing fast food culture and the unchecked might of food industry giants.
Zayaan Khan, a Slow Food national co-ordinator said the organisation connected young people working in the food industry and aimed to make the food system more sustainable.
“I play a role in the food security component of the 100 Home Project. The information we convey to residents is not prescriptive. We workshop issues identified by the 100 homes and collectively bring about solutions,” said Ms Khan.
She said they taught residents about healthy eating, while helping them revive old recipes and look at the way they spend money on food.
The orphanage, with help from other organisations, hands out food to the 100 homes four times a week. It also hosts girl empowerment workshops and runs fitness classes. Woodstock photographer Mads Norgaard, who replied to a call for photographers to help with the project in early 2016 has documented its progress and shot portraits of the families involved in it.
Ms Razack said the photographs relayed a sense of family. “Our project focused a lot on the collation of raw data and the photographs add a lighter touch to the project,” she said.
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Proposed Human Rights Act reforms would fundamentally undermine the rights of humanists
Yesterday, the Government published its long-awaited proposals on reforming the Human Rights Act. If passed into law, these reforms will have a devastating impact on the fundamental rights of humanists.
The Government has announced it wants to reform section 3 of the Act to severely curtail the ability of public authorities and the courts to ‘read in’ human rights-compliant interpretations to legislation, where it is possible to do so. This will stop them from being able to address human rights abuses themselves, instead meaning that a change in the law would be required. An example of such a reading in that has been made regularly by the courts and public authorities before is reading references to ‘religion’ in old laws as being inclusive of non-religious worldviews such as humanism. This crucial power of interpretation is what has underpinned almost all positive developments in the freedom of belief and equal treatment of humanists and the non-religious in the last twenty years.
Without the courts and public authorities having this power, humanists would not have been able to successfully campaign for many important changes. In 2005, humanist marriages became legally recognised in Scotland after the registrar general decided he had to make just such a reading in. In 2018, legally recognised humanist marriages in Northern Ireland were brought about after a judge read into existing marriage law an interpretation that humanist marriage should be understood to be included. Similarly, in 2018 the Welsh Government concluded that humanism had to be equally included in RE for this reason. The same law also applies in England, and dozens of local authorities have made exactly the same reading in in their RE provision. There have also been countless instances where individual humanists have won equality for the non-religious without having to go to court, including challenging the exclusion of humanists from the advisory bodies that set RE syllabuses and securing the provision of humanist and nonreligious pastoral care for the nonreligious in prisons and hospitals.
The Government proposals run directly counter to the recommendation of the Independent Human Rights Act Review Panel’s report into reform of the Act which was also published yesterday. The Panel specifically cautioned against reform of section 3 stating,
‘there is no substantive case for its repeal or amendment other than by way of clarification or for altering either the balance between sections 3 and 4 achieved by the [Act]… any damaging perceptions as to the operation of section 3 are best dispelled by increased data as to its usage.’
Humanist UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented,
‘We are extremely concerned by proposals to remove this aspect of the Human Rights Act. Much UK law that today should apply to non-religious citizens as much as to religious ones is wording in an archaic way. Without the existing power of interpretation, freedom of belief for the non-religious will be severely undermined to the detriment of millions of people in the UK.’
Humanists UK leads a coalition of over 230 charities, trades unions, and human rights organisations calling for protection of the Human Rights Act and judicial review. It is believed to be the largest ever UK coalition of groups to campaign on human rights.
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The Art Of Getting Ready
Just getting to the end of Firestarter... and I'm already starting to read a new book. What is it about Margaret Atwood and Stephen King with 1984? Writers use old ideas and now I'm starting to read a stirring tale set in WWII. It's punny, because it'll be an absolute thrill-ride to go to Thrillerfest, to take a master class with Andrew Gross and work on Lionheart Leaks.
More matter-of-fact, I'm going to The Windsor International Writers Conference around the same time in July and I'll be pitching my latest manuscript. I recently sent-in the query, synopsis and first chapter for Sam Hiyate as I'll be meeting one-on-one with him. It's preparation time, but I'm actually driving my wife nuts and rambling on about The Stoned Theory Of My Own Destruction.
I'll let you know in the next blog why my mind deviates to short fiction, from the aimless middle-aged dude being watched by a poisonous spider to an old dude in a hospital room imagining pink bunny rabbits. In the meantime, I love to receive little big books and really cool stuff for the baby.
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That is really a big task to support via email. I'd suggest the following:
RedHat 8 and 9 are no longer supported by RedHat. No new updates or patches are being created. Only RedHat Enterprise is supported now and you have to pay for updates & support. That may be difficult from India.
If cost & support are limiting factors, then I'd upgrade to Fedora Core 1 which looks just like RedHat, RPMs and all. It is partially financed by RedHat and they seem to be incorporating Fedora features into their Enterprise edition. Fedora Core 2 is too unstable at the moment. My mail server runs on Fedora Core 1 quite well.
Creating a replacement mail server can be tricky. If users use POP to get mail from the server, then you'll have to recreate all their linux usernames on the new server. I don't know what you need to do if they use IMAP, I've never used it before, but it is the default email system used by Microsoft Exchange.
At the very least you'll have to make sure the files in /etc/mail on the new server matches that of the old one.
DNS & IP addresses will be another issue. You'll probably want to have the new mailserver have a different IP address from the old server. When everything is ready for the switch, then change DNS to point mail to the new server. This link should give you a guideline:
You'll also have to consider other applications running on the mail server. It may not just handle mail, but other things as well. Make sure you do a lot of research just to make sure.
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Alternate Ending or not the one posted on ffnet anyway. This makes it completely set pre-series for Supernatural.
The gang wanted Buffy to take the night off, but the Slayer insisted on patrolling. She told them she had taken enough time away from her duties and nothing would keep her mind off Dean Winchester like 'dusting some vamps'.#*#*#*#*#*#
As she strolled through the alleys of Sunnydale, Buffy contemplated having Willow do her spell to make her forget Dean and their summer together, but making Willow return to magic was too dangerous. Buffy wasn't willing to risk her best friend just for a little comfort.
The sky was beginning to brighten and the sounds of the coming dawn filled the air. Buffy was about to return home when she saw a strange tattooed man attack a woman who must have just gotten off work.
Buffy didn't care if it turned out to be random human on human violence; it was not going to happen on her watch. She raced over, grabbed the man by his collar and tossed him like a WWE wrestler off the woman. Keeping her grip on his shirt, she noticed his glowing blue eyes and the way his fingertips sparked.
The man's eyes grew huge with fright as he recognized the Slayer. Instantly, he cowered behind his hands.
"What are you? What did you do to her?" Buffy demanded.
"Nothing, I did nothing to her, gave her a little dream is all," the djinn babbled. "I promise. You arrived before I could do anything else."
"What kind of nightmare did you give her?" Buffy demanded as she checked the unconscious woman.
"Not a nightmare, I assure you. I only give good dreams," the djinn argued. "She's dreaming about her little girl. The child had died of leukemia and this woman has never stopped aching from her loss."
Buffy's raised a skeptical brow. "A monster handing out good dreams. Call me jaded, but I don't believe you."
As the Slayer advanced on him again, the djinn scampered back, pleading, "No, I do, I swear, I only give them what they want, only good dreams. It isn't until after they are peacefully asleep that I can begin to drain their life force."
In a blink of an eye she was on him, throwing him into the nearby bushes.
"Please, Slayer, let me live. I can help you."
"Help me?" Buffy repeated, as she continued her attack. "How can you help me?"
The djinn was backed into a tree; he saw no escape from his death at the hands of the girl towering over him. "You, too, have suffered the loss of a loved one. I can ease your pain."
"Right. You think I'm going to let you feed off me, you're as crazy as those tats on your face." Buffy knew she didn't know how to kill this creature, but she wasn't one to give up a challenge.
She drew her stake up to strike, when the djinn yelled, "Wait! If you let me live, I will ease your pain and I won't feed, I promise."
"Sorry, I don't take the word of monsters."
The djinn grabbed her wrist as she made to drive the spike into his chest. As his hand touched the bare flesh of her wrist, Buffy's actions slowed and she felt a slight sense of comfort. "There, see, that's just a small taste of what I can do, if you spare my life."
Gasping, Buffy withdrew. "Wh-why should I trust you?"
"Because a Slayer's blood is like poison to me, just like my venom has little power over you," he argued. "I am able to help you forget your loss, but it will leave me drained, vulnerable to your attack. But, I am willing to take that risk if you let me return to my children."
"You can't feed from me?"
"It would kill me."
"But you can make me forget Dean?"
"He will be like a long forgotten dream. Locked deep behind a wall in your mind," the djinn promised.
"Okay, do it."
The sun was peeking over the horizon when the djinn slumped against the tree in exhaustion. He was barely alive, but helping the Slayer meant returning to his children. Buffy sat on the dew damp grass watching the sunrise feeling content. She had no memory of Dean Winchester.
The moment consciousness hit him, Dean knew something was horribly wrong. His entire body was in pain. He kept his eyes closed and tried to listen for a clue to tell him what was different. He could hear muffled voices and a quiet, constant beeping. Panic was beginning to grip him.
He knew he was no longer in the motel room with Buffy and he didn't know where she was or if she was okay. He didn't know if whoever had him had done something to her, if they did, he would kill them.
Slowly, he opened his eyes to see his father's very relieved face. "Dean, hey buddy, it's okay. You're going to be okay."
"Dad?" he croaked. "Where -"
"Don't try to talk, yet. You're in the hospital, but you're going to be okay."#*#*#*#*#*#
John snapped shut his phone and tried to give Dean a hopeful look. "Sam must be in class. I'll try again later."
Dean snorted. Sam wasn't in class; Dad and Sam still weren't speaking. "I'll call him when we get to Bobby's."
John nodded and helped Dean into the wheelchair as the nurse entered his room. She handed John some paperwork and gave Dean a cheerful smile. "Take care of yourself, Dean. No more driving in tornadoes, you hear me? We brought you back twice. Don't go testin' whether the third time's a charm."
"Yes, ma'am." Driving. Dean remembered driving during a storm; he remembered the lightening. As he waited for his dad to drive the truck to the hospital entrance, he wondered pointlessly what had happened to his car.
On the drive to Sioux Falls, John hated how quiet Dean was. The boy who usually never shut up, now wouldn't talk at all.
Dean stared out the window. Had all that been a dream? The whole summer, meeting Buffy, taking her home, falling – Dean refused to accept that none of it had happened, that he had imagined all of it. The ache was real. The feeling of losing everything was real. How could Buffy not be real? She couldn't be just some girl he imagined.
Growing up, Dean's fantasy girls had always been helpless Playboy bunny types that needed him to rescue them. They had never been girls like Buffy. They had never been hunters. Why would his mind suddenly create someone like her? She had to be real. Those fantasy girls were never about love, but Dean knew he had been in love with Buffy.#*#*#*#*#*#
Dean jerked away from his father's helping hand when they arrived at Singer Salvage. "Dad, I got it, I'm not a frickin' invalid," he groused as he hopped out of the truck.
"Fine," his father said as patiently as he could. He held out the crutches for Dean to take. "The doc said you're not to put your full weight on it."
Dean snatched the crutches with an angry huff, but hobbling up Bobby's steps took more effort than he realized. Even though it was late autumn, his short journey from the truck to the door made him sweat.
There was something off in Bobby's welcome, but Dean was too tired to worry about it. All he wanted to do was sleep; when he slept, he had amazing dreams.
After getting Dean settled into a room, Bobby said, "The car's coming along. She's got a date with a paint outfit next week. Then she'll be looking good as new."
"Thanks, Bobby," Dean replied quietly, though his expression showed his true gratitude.
Bobby shot a quick look over his shoulder at John. Then asked in a low voice, "Hey, do you happen to remember what happened to you?"
Dean's eyes fell. He remembered everything, but he knew that's not what Bobby meant. "I remember driving in a bad storm and waking up in the hospital."
"Right, well, I'll let you get some rest. Holler if you need anything."
Dean watched Bobby shut the door. Was it just his imagination or did Bobby seem disappointed by his answer? Dean knew he had been to Bobby's twice with Buffy, but there was no way Bobby knew that, was there?
Just as every night since he'd been 'back', Dean dreamed of Buffy.
The Texas heat didn't bother them. The music was loud, but it was a slow song. Dean pulled Buffy up against him and began to sway to the music.
Dean's hands held her tightly to him even as one slid further down her back. The way their bodies slotted together made Dean feel a different kind of heat and Buffy pressed against him, loving the warmth that seeped through his shirt.
He didn't want to be dancing anymore. He wanted to be in their room, in their bed, showing her how much he loved her. Buffy slowly dragged her nails down his back, loving how his muscles felt under her fingers and making him groan softly. "God, I want you," he whispered into her ear.
Buffy met his eyes but didn't have words. He kissed her softly, but it wasn't enough for Buffy, she dragged him into one of the Owl's Nest's backrooms and pressed him against the wall. She sucked on his lower lip and tugged at his shirt in order to touch bare skin.
Dean spun them so she was against the wall. Suddenly, her shorts were gone, his jeans were at his knees, and her legs were wrapping around him. In the next instant he was inside her, practically knocking the breath out of her as his every thrust slammed her into the wall. He slipped a hand under her shirt and cupped her breast and teased her nipple. Buffy had to stop kissing him in order to moan loudly. She panted his name as her body quivered around him.
Dean jolted awake in bed, cursing at empty room.
Even though the caller I.D. Read 'Bobby', Sam was nervous to answer. "Hey, Bobby, how's it going?"
"Hey, Sammy, it's going good now that you've finally answered your phone," Dean said with humor evident in his voice.
"Dean! Ohmigod! Is it really you?"
"Yeah, kid, it's me.-"
"And you're at Bobby's? How? What happened to you? Where were you? Geez man I thought you were dead."
Dean chuckled at Sam's obvious relief and excitement. "Yeah, I'm at Bobby's. Dad found me in a Texas hospital. I guess a tornado got the best of me or something. As to where I was? I don't know. Over the rainbow or in a coma. Take your pick." He decided not to tell Sam about dying.
"Dude," Sam sighed, "you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."
"You, too, Sammy. But, enough about me. Tell me all about Stanford and the chicks you're scoring with. Lie if you have to. I don't mind."
"I don't know, Bobby, he just seems so miserable," John said staring into his coffee cup.
"You didn't see 'em, John, I'd never seen him so happy," Bobby replied.
"I saw him. He wanted to help me with a case in Alabama."
"Them, John, you didn't see them
, together. They were," Bobby paused, as he remembered how Buffy and Dean looked at each other. "He loved her."
"A Slayer." John shook his head. "And you're sure she's dead?"
"Well, as sure as anyone can be. I have her obit in the other room and I got the same story from that council over in England. The question is, do we tell him?"
John stared at his friend. "I don't know. I guess I'm hoping he won't remember." Then John asked what was really concerning him. "Bobby, Dean wasn't dead. So, where'd we pull him back from? How could they have even … crossed paths?"
"I don't know. That kind of thinking is way above my pay grade."
Dean knew he had been here with Buffy just a few weeks earlier. He could remember it clear as day. He just needed proof; something that told him he didn't imagine the whole thing.
He carefully picked through Bobby's things, careful not to disturb anything that would give his search away. He found nothing on the desk that mentioned him or Buffy. On bookshelf number three he found what he was looking for: VAMPYR
. That was the book Bobby showed Buffy that made her remember everything. Carefully, Dean took the book from the shelf in order to flip through it, but he didn't get far. The obituary for Buffy Summers was tucked in the end page.
He collapsed into Bobby's ratty armchair and read it. He read it a hundred times, until tears blurred his vision, but he didn't believe a word. Buffy wasn't dead. She wasn't. She couldn't be.
How could he have memories of being with her, of seeing this book, if she were dead? How could he have met her if he was in a coma?
He didn't hear his dad come in the room. He only realized John was there when he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Dean," John murmured. "I couldn't let you die, son." He moved a few steps away, but kept his eyes on Dean. "I only knew you were lying in that hospital bed, broken and slipping further away every minute."
"I know Dad." Dean wiped his eyes and looked up at John. "The thing is, how does Bobby have this if she and I weren't here this summer? How does he even know who she is?"
"You were here," Bobby said from the doorway. "You were like a spirit. You would just appear and then she would be there, too. When I found out she was a Slayer, we were scared silly."
John and Bobby looked at each other before answering. "A Slayer is very powerful and even though she fights on our side, she's made from demonic energy. We didn't know why she'd be after you."
Dean shook his head. "Buffy wasn't 'after me'. I was helping her remember who she was and where she was from."
"We were worried that she'd harm you or take you with her," John said. "We knew she was dead."
Dean wasn't ready to believe that, yet. "Dad, you would have liked her, she was awesome."
After dinner that night, Dean announced, "When the car's done, I'm leaving for California."
Both Bobby and John were shocked. "You're what?" John asked.
Bobby asked, "Why?"
"Because that is where she and I were headed. Buffy had a sister. I've got to make sure she's all right."
John looked like he didn't approve of Dean's plan. "Dean, don't do this to yourself."
"Dad, she's just a kid. She's living on a hell-mouth. I gotta make sure she's okay."
John nodded slowly. "Then I'll go with you." Seeing Dean's eyes widen in surprise, John added, "Maybe I'll check on Sammy while you check on the girl." The look on Dean's face was the closest to a smile John had seen.
Dean crouched and carefully placed the flowers by Buffy's head stone. "Saved the world a lot," he read. "I bet you did, sweetheart," Dean sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry, Buffy, I'm so damn sorry. I wish I was with you. You gotta know I didn't want to leave, my dad pulled me back. I never would have left you. You've got to believe that."
"I should have told you how much... I should have told you that I loved you long before that last day. It's like some part of me knew I wasn't good enough. A guy like me doesn't get a girl like you, Buffy. Not for keeps anyway." His throat was tightening as his sadness began to grip him. "I miss you so much, Buffy. I'd do anything to..." he stopped himself.
"I hope you're not fighting anymore. I hope you're finally at peace. Don't worry about your sister. I'm going to make sure she's okay. I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to her." He wiped his face. "I hope, wherever you are, you're happy, you deserve to be happy."#*#*#*#*#*#
Dean followed Dawn for two days before he felt confident that she was safe. The girl never seemed to be alone. She'd get rides to and from school and at school she had a small group of friends.
Dean tapped the steering wheel nervously after parking. He read a scrap of paper then checked the address. "1630, just like it was five minutes ago," he complained to himself. "C'mon Winchester, grow a pair. Go knock on the door and check on the sister. Worry about explaining who you are later."
Dean climbed from the car before he chickened out again. Walking up to the door, Dean felt a tightness in his chest. Three quick knocks and he stood back, waiting.
From inside he heard a muffled, "Got it!"
Then, the door flew open and Buffy was standing there with an expectant expression. "Hi."
Dean's mouth fell open and he couldn't answer, he could only stare in shock.
Buffy waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Can I help you?" You okay? Do you need something?" She asked with a touch of concern for the mute man on her door step. She looked around him, but saw nothing that looked dangerous.
"B-Buffy? You're – you're..."
"Alive? Yeah," she laughed like her death was an inside joke. "Like Burt Reynolds, the reports of my death were exaggerated. Just trying to avoid the debt collectors," she stopped herself. "Crap, you're not a debt collector are you?" she joked nervously.
Dean's expression fell as his heart broke. She didn't know him at all. There wasn't the slightest recognition in her eyes. "No, I, uh." A noise from behind her drew their attention.
"Who was at the door, love?" Spike asked, as he rummaged through a drawer looking for a match for the cigarette hanging from his lips.
Dean stared at the man and completely missed Buffy's eye roll at Spike's phony endearment. She turned back to Dean and made a rotating motion with her hand to tell him to hurry up. "So, what did you say you wanted?"
Dean gave her a tight lipped smile. "Nothing," he answered quietly. "I'll let you get back to your – life."
"Oh-kay," Buffy drew out the word as she wondered why the guy had knocked if he didn't want anything. Did he need her help? But, before she could ask, he turned and hurried down the steps of her porch. "Hey, wait," she called after him. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She easily caught up with him on the sidewalk. Once again, Dean found himself staring, unable to speak. "Do you need help?" she asked with true concern in her voice.
She looked different. She had cut her hair and Dean ached to touch it. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. I, uh, got the wrong address." He could tell from her expression she didn't believe him, but he didn't know what to say. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he was dying inside. He simply had to get away from her.
The thought of her not knowing him hurt nearly as much as the thought of her being dead. He knew she'd forget him, but he had hoped it wouldn't be so completely or so quickly. He told himself to be happy; Buffy's alive. She's alive and back with her family and friends. She didn't know him, she didn't need him, she wasn't pregnant... she was fine. He would have been a complicated mess to explain.
Buffy felt a strange buzzing in her brain as she watched him drive away. Where had she seen that car before? But, if she worried about every odd thing in Sunnydale, she'd never get rest.
Feeling like a creeper, Dean spent the next two nights stalking Buffy. Loaded with weapons, he followed her at what he hoped was a discreet distance. The first night, he watched in horror as she was surrounded by three vampires. He rushed forward with his gun drawn, but she turned them to dust before he could take aim. The encounter left Buffy unscathed and it left Dean in awe. He remembered her saying she had wanted to quit, had wanted a normal life, but this Buffy looked like she was born for the job.
The second night was the last Dean spent in Sunnydale. He followed her again. But on this night, instead of battling evil creatures, he watched as she argued with 'Billy Idol'. When the argument turned into a passionate make-up make-out, Dean left.
Buffy had her life back - her sister, her friends, her boyfriend, her 'job'; she didn't need him.#*#*#*#*#*#
In Palo Alto the next day, Dean wasn't surprised to hear that Sam hadn't seen John. It was like their father to 'check on' Sam without actually talking to him. Dean pretended not to remember anything about his summer. When Sam told him about a girl that had come looking for him, Dean gave him a knowing smirk. "Girls are always looking for me, Sammy."
July, 2003 – Athens, Ohio
"You know Dean, if you wanted out of this relationship; you just had to say so. You don't have lie or make up crazy stories about ghosts and monsters."
"I'm not lying Cassie, and I don't want out!"
"Yeah, right. Well, guess what? That's what I want! You out!"
"Fine!" Dean grabbed his duffel and the jacket that had been hanging on the rack and walked out the door.
He slammed the lid of his trunk, Cassie slammed the door to her place, and Dean knew he had made a mistake. No girl was ever going to replace Buffy; he had been stupid to try with Cassie.
He met Cassie two months after watching the news coverage of the small town of Sunnydale, California being swallowed by a 'sink hole'. He was sure Buffy would have died before letting that happen to her town.
He pursued Cassie because she was nothing like Buffy; from the way she looked to the way she talked, Cassie couldn't have been more Buffy's opposite if she tried.
Dean had foolishly thought that would be enough to help him forget his feelings for the Slayer.
September, 2003 – Apalachicola, Florida
Tourist season was over and the small town was suddenly peaceful. Buffy no longer had to wait for out of town drivers to find their way and there was no waiting for service at the small cafe she frequented.
She was a Slayer taking a much deserved break after saving the world, again
. However, this time stopping the apocalypse also meant moving cross country to Cleveland, Ohio. Once everyone was settled, Buffy took off. She packed a bag and headed south and didn't know where she was going 'til she got there. 'There' was a vacation bungalow in Apalachicola, Florida and Buffy was planning on staying as long as she could. Dawn and Giles checked in every other day, but for the most part, Buffy was allowed to peacefully recharge.
After nearly six weeks of non-stop hunting, Dean was burned out. But more than that, he was tired of his father. Six weeks of being forced to follow his father's constant orders made Dean ready to kill the man. It was too much for both of them, and when John announced he was going to help Martin Creaser with a job in Michigan, Dean jumped at the chance for a much needed break from hunting and from his father.
He drove all night, his goal being the Florida Keys; however, the news of a hurricane forced him to stop in Apalachicola, at the first motel he saw.
"Hi! Welcome to the SandDollar. What can I do you for?" the woman wearing a Shannon name-tag asked.
"I need a room for the night, day, whatever," Dean babbled as he got out a credit card.
Shannon grabbed his card and gave him a sugary smile. "Well, Mr. Bonham, I'd love to give you a room, but check in's not 'til three." She handed him a form to complete.
Dean stared blankly at her for a moment. "That's fine, you can charge me for two days, I don't care. I just need to crash."
"I don't think that's our policy," Shannon replied with a tight fake smile. Didn't this guy know there was a storm heading their way?
Dean groaned. Checking her name tag he said, "Okay, Shannon, is there another place nearby that will rent me a room before three?"
"Well, sure, there's lots of them."
Dean held out his hand for his card. "Great, if you return my card, I'll be on my way."
"But, most of them are closed, now. Season's over and there's a hurricane comin'. So, most places just shut down. We were in the process of stripping the rooms ourselves."
Dean sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Got it. My card?" he repeated hoping to have it returned so he could be on his way to the next motel.
Shannon took pity on the exhausted man. "Tell you what, hun, I can get you in by one o'clock if you don't mind a room by the road."
Dean checked his watch. That would be just under three hours. "Great, I'll take it."
Shannon smiled and began his paperwork.
"Is there a decent diner still open? I just need some coffee."
"No, but that's only because this town doesn't have a decent diner in the first place. But, if it's coffee you want, there's a little place down about three blocks with the best coffee and bakery in the panhandle."
Dean saw her as he absentmindedly held open the door of the bakery/coffee shop. She nodded her thanks and smiled, then went to place her order at the counter. But, Dean did a double take. He knew his eyes were playing tricks on him, not every petite blond was Buffy, but that wasn't going to stop him from watching the girl's every move.
He sat on the bench outside the store, pretending to read the local 'penny pincher' paper and waited for her to leave. When she did, she walked straight to him, leaving him with no doubt that she was Buffy.
"Hey," she said with a smile that made Dean stare in shock.
"Uh, hey," he said uncertainly.
"You got the last beignets."
"Oh, uh, sorry, you want them?" he asked holding out the small bag.
"No," she laughed. "Just eat them while they're still warm. Don't let them go to waste."
Dean swallowed dryly and tried to smile. "Okay, thanks, I guess."
"Have a nice day," she called cheerfully as she strolled away.
Dean smacked himself in the face. Okay
, he repeated to himself in a mocking tone. You don't see her for two years and all you say is 'okay'?
He instantly began to look for her, spotting her walking into a shop across the street.
He took a couple of deep breaths. Stay here; see where she goes next,
he told himself. But, after two minutes and a beignet, Dean found himself crossing the street, heading for the store she entered. It was of course at that moment, Buffy chose to leave the shop.
If she noticed him, she didn't let on. Instead, she hopped in a white Jeep and drove off, leaving Dean staring after her.
Knowing he couldn't follow her on foot, Dean headed back to the SandDollar for the Impala. He planned to casually drive around until he spotted her Jeep. For the next hour, he drove up and down each street hoping to spot her, but he had no luck. Finally, he stopped at a small drug store to pick up some supplies before he returned to the motel.
On his way out of the store, he saw Buffy at a different register. He slowed his walk to a near shuffle, allowing her to catch up to him. But, she breezed right passed him like she didn't see him.
However this time, he followed her successfully. She drove to her rented bungalow, and put the top on her Jeep before going inside. Dean made a note of the address. He'd go back, he told himself, once he knew what to say.
From inside the house, Buffy watched the sleek black car cruise by. She had seen that car before. She was almost certain she had seen that guy before, too. No one was supposed to know where she was, so how did this guy find her? She wasn't one to believe in random coincidences.
She called her sister. "Dawn, did you tell anyone where I am?"
"No, Buffy, I swear. Why? What happened?" Dawn knew her sister wouldn't ask if there wasn't a reason.
"It might be nothing, but, a guy was following me, today."
"What kind of guy?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "A guy – guy. He didn't seem evil, You know – no setting off my spidey senses but he had kind of a strange vibe. He was definitely following me and I got the weird feeling I've seen him before."
"You think he was a vamp? Or a demon?"
"Not a vamp – daytime. But I'm not ruling out demon. Is Giles around?"
"Yeah, I'll get him."
After telling Giles the same thing she had told Dawn, she waited for his advice.
"Well, it could be a coincidence, you said yourself there aren't many places open. Perhaps the two of you just happened to be at the same place."
"Is that what you really think Giles?" Buffy asked, barely disguising her doubt.
"No," he begrudgingly admitted, "but you're supposed to be on vacation, so I'd rather it didn't involve you facing a demon."
Buffy sighed. "Well, vacation's almost over. Maybe this guy is just what I need to ease back into slaying."
"Buffy, be careful."
"Giles, you know me. I'm the queen of careful."
Dean had slept for hours, and he was now wide awake. He showered and decided to drive over to Buffy's and... and there's where his plan stopped. He had no clue what to say to her. 'Hi, I'm Dean. Remember me? We were in love with each other.' Yeah, that would work. If she didn't remember him before, why would she know him now?
He sighed, "I might as well hit a bar and see if that helps me think of something."#*#*#*#*#*#
Dean watched the muted weather report, and drank a bottle of Hurricane Reef beer, his thumb nail scratching at the label's edge. He had just nodded to the bartender for another one when he heard. "Hey, you must be following me!" He turned to see Buffy.
When he finally found his voice, it came out in a dry cough, "I'm not."
Buffy squinted at him. "You sure? I mean, first, you're at the bakery, then the drugstore and now you're at the same bar as me?"
Dean blinked dumbly for a moment. "I'm -"
Buffy began to grin playfully. "I know. After all, you were here first, and at the bakery first. Maybe I'm following you," she teased with a soft push on his arm.
Dean tried to smile as he nodded.
"I'm not stalking you, I swear," she said when she saw his somewhat nervous face.
"Didn't think you were. I mean, why would you, right?" Dean asked sounding as nervous as he looked.
The bartender saved him by delivering his beer and placing a napkin in front of Buffy. "What'll it be, Buffy?"
"Margarita on the rocks, no salt."
Her order made Dean smile to himself. "Careful, those can be stronger than you think. I knew this girl who got sloppy drunk on those and I had to carry her home."
"Oh, I know my limit. And maybe that girl was looking for an excuse to get you to carry her?" Buffy asked as the bartender delivered her drink.
Dean's only response was a small smile. He motioned to his money. "I got it, here."
"No, you don't have to buy me a drink. I got it," Buffy said fumbling for her purse, hoping to get her wallet without letting him see the stake she carried.
The bartender rolled her eyes at Dean and Dean motioned to his money again. She was at the register by the time Buffy had her wallet in hand.
"Oh," she pouted, "Thank you." She shifted in her seat as if she were a little shy. "Well if you're going to buy me a drink, can you at least tell me your name?"
"I'm Buffy. Nice to meet you, Dean." She raised her drink in toast and clinked Dean's beer bottle.
Watching her suck at her straw sent Dean's mind to the gutter so fast it should have caused motion sickness. He quickly looked away and back to the television.
Buffy twisted in her seat. "So, Dean, what brings you to lovely Apalachicola in the off season?"
"Uh, sort of an impromptu vacation. My job got a bit, um, stressful, I guess. I kinda wanted some time off. How about you? What brings you here?"
Buffy gave him a small smile; maybe he wasn't a demon. "Kinda the same thing. Work got like beyond stressful but, despite that, I had a very
successful year, big
year, accomplished a lot. So, I thought I'd treat myself to a vacation."
Dean studied her for a moment, basking in the fact that she was there and not in the sink hole that Sunnydale had become. "Good for you, sounds like you deserve it." He tipped his beer to her.
She gave him an honest smile. "Thanks, Dean." Buffy stirred her drink so that she didn't have to look at him. Okay
, she told herself, this guy is the cutest guy you've seen in months, maybe years. Don't blow it. Make sure he's not evil.
"So, uh, where are you staying? I mean, how long are you staying?"
Dean wrinkled his brow in thought. "Uh, I don't know the name of the place. It's the one with the big, um," his hands formed a circle to illustrate his point, "sand dollar looking thing on the sign."
Buffy chuckled. "That's because it's called the SandDollar."
Dean grinned in slight embarrassment, "Right. I knew that. The SandDollar. And I'm not sure how long I'm staying."
Buffy nodded. "With the season over, this town got pretty quiet. You'll probably find it boring. The storm must have chased away some people, too."
"I don't mind quiet." Dean glanced at the radar on the television. "And it looks like the worst of the hurricane is going to miss this place." They sat quietly for a minute then Dean asked, "What about you, where are you staying? Or do you live here?"
"I rented a bungalow because I planned on staying for a while. It's small, but it's exactly what I wanted."
"Must be nice." Dean said implying that it must have cost a lot.
"Well, remember the 'way stressful job'? I made them pay for it." Dean moved back looking impressed. "Like I said before, very
successful year. Lots
accomplishments. Let's just say they owed me."
Dean nodded and noticed that Buffy had nearly finished her drink. He really hoped that didn't mean she was leaving. He did a quick look around the bar hoping to find a reason for her to stay there. Dart board, definitely not playing darts, could be awkward. Pool table... "Hey, Buffy, do you play pool?"
Buffy made a face thinking that at least pool gave her a weapon. "I'm not very good, but I'll play if you want."
Dean smiled widely and called, "Hey, bartender, can I get some change over here?"#*#*#*#*#*#This is both the best and the worst idea you've ever had, Winchester,
Dean told himself as he watched Buffy bend over the table for the break.
Buffy was never so happy to be bad at something. Her lack of pool playing skills meant Dean was spending most of the time bent over the table, and that was definitely okay by Buffy. She wished she had acted like she didn't know how to play, so that Dean would wrap around her to 'teach' her how to make a shot, but her competitive side hadn't let that happen. It didn't make her stop thinking about the feel of his arms around her, though.Whoa, find out whether he's evil first. Besides, you're not the kind of girl that jumps random guys in bars,
she told herself. Then, Dean winked at her as he sank another shot. For one night you could be that girl, Buffy, come on, you're on vacation. Just look at that guy, it would be so worth it,
she pleaded with herself. She gave herself a mental slap. Remember, might be evil not just cute.
When Dean won the game, Buffy said, "I should buy you a drink for how easily you beat me." She hoped that didn't seem like a desperate attempt to keep his company, but there was something in the way Dean's eyes shifted from hers to her lips and back, that made Buffy tingle all over.
When Dean had no reaction to the Holy Water Buffy added to his beer, the Slayer relaxed. She hoped he wasn't a creepy human, but that was easier to handle than a demon. The moment Buffy began to let down her guard, Dean would touch her or look at her a certain way and she would feel a strange buzzing in her mind like a swarm of angry hornets.#*#*#*#*#*#
Dean began to relax as the evening went on. Buffy may not remember him, but it was still fun to hang out with her.
"Hey, Buffy, better hope you have the top up on that jeep. It's coming down a like a sonuvabitch out there," the bartender called to her.
Buffy peeked out the window to see the rain, and muttered, "Crap."
"What's wrong? Forget to put the top up?" Dean asked.
"The jeep's fine. I walked here." She scowled when a quick look at the radar on the TV informed her the rain wasn't going to be over soon.
"I can give you a ride," Dean suggested, hoping it sounded like an innocent offer.
Trapped in a car with the guy, Buffy mused, not the best idea; but the weapons she carried in her purse would stop a human as easily as they'd stop a vampire.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it," she finally said.
Dean had hoped she'd let him take her home. He thought the more time they spent together the better the chance that she'd remember him.
Together they raced to the Impala. The moment she was inside the car, the swarm of angry hornets started buzzing even louder. Buffy winced and put a hand to her head. Somehow, she knew the door would creak when she opened it. She looked around the interior and knew if reached under her seat she'd find a Motley Crue cassette jammed in the rail.
Finally, she said, "Do you ever get deja vu?"Yeah, all frickin' night.
Dean shrugged, "Yeah, I guess, why?"
Buffy shrugged it off. Where had she seen this car before today?
"Which way do I go?" Dean asked, even though he knew exactly where her bungalow was.
"Follow Beach Front Road. I'm just a little ways down the street." Buffy leaned over to turn on the heat, knowing that if she did, she'd hear a rattle from the front vent.#*#*#*#*#*#
The buzz of hornets was drowned out by the racing of her heart. As they neared her house, her every nerve was on edge. "Here!" she nearly shouted. "Pull in here."
The moment the car stopped, Buffy turned to him with wide eyes. "Who are you? What are you? What do you want from me?" She held her stake in her hand, but kept it hidden from Dean.
Dean stared at her in shock, not knowing what had made her question him like an attacker. "I'm nobody, Buffy. I don't want anything, I swear."
"Bullshit. You were following me today, I saw you drive by." She tried to growl menacingly, but the annoying buzzing in her brain was driving her crazy.
"I wasn't -" Dean began to explain, but Buffy cut him off.
"And I've seen this car before. I know this car. I knew the door would creak, I knew that vent would rattle, I know Doctor Feelgood
is stuck under this seat!"
"I, I don't know," Dean stammered in shock. "We never met before today."
Buffy's eyes narrowed. "You seem like a nice guy, Dean, and I don't want to hurt you, but you better start telling the truth."
"I am. You don't know me." Dean looked away from her. "You should get inside. It's coming down pretty hard." When Buffy didn't make a move to leave, he added, "I'm not going to hurt you. Heck, if you want, I'll leave town in the morning. You can forget you ever saw me." Again.
The sadness in his expression tugged at something inside Buffy. Somewhere deep down, she knew she hadn't wanted to hurt him in this way. "Tell me who you are. How do I know you?" she demanded, grabbing his arm gently. The moment she touched his bare arm, the buzzing increased to a painful level. She hissed and her hands flew to her temples.
She fumbled for the door handle and practically fell out of the car. The buzzing was so loud, so painful, she could barely open her eyes and she began to stumble in the rain.
Dean rushed over to her, wrapping an arm around her to support her. "Buffy? What's wrong?"
She shoved him. "Get away from me!"
As Dean fell back, so did she. "Buffy, I'm trying to help you. I would never hurt you,” he said, pushing himself up.
An image of Dean saying those same words flashed in Buffy's mind. It felt like the buzzing was going to tear her head in two. She winced and held her head.
Confused at seeing her pain, Dean whispered, "Buffy?" and rushed to her aide.
She tried to look at him, she tried to push him away, but the pain was too intense and she fell.
Dean picked her up and carried her to her porch. He rifled through her bag for her keys, so he could get her in the house.
The moment he set her down, Buffy fought against the pain. Seeing his attention wasn't on her, she tried to move so she could attack, but instead, she crumbled against him.
"Buffy!" Dean grabbed her, unlocked the door, carried her into her house, and lay her on a couch. He tried the lights, but nothing had power. In a frantic search of the room, he found a jar candle and pulled his lighter from his pocket.
As he did, Buffy said, "Your lighter is gold and it's one of those old kinds that flip open. And you have a scar on your hand."
Dean faced her, staring at her in the near complete darkness. He was too stunned to speak.
"Dean, tell me how I know these things. Tell me who you are, please," she begged. The painful buzzing was quieter, but now she had the feeling of being in a thick fog.
With shaking hands, Dean lit the candle and set it on the table. Buffy had moved on the couch giving him a space to sit. He sat at the edge, ready to leave the moment she told him to. "I don't know how you know those things, because we never actually met before tonight," he said.
"Then, how do I know those things?"
"I saw you in Sunnydale once, but we only said a few words to each other." He watched the candle flicker so he wouldn't have to look at her. "You don't know me."
Buffy stared at him in the soft light from the candle, she knew there was more. She was struck with the sudden feeling that she knew exactly how his lips felt against hers; she knew the soft noise he made when she kissed his neck; she knew how that slight scruff - not quite beard felt under her fingers and beneath her lips.
She knew she was one step away from all the answers.
"That's not true," she whispered; moving closer to him. When he turned to her to argue, she kissed him. It was just a peck, but it didn't hurt and the buzzing was silenced. That was the answer. She blinked then leaned in and kissed him again.
This time as they kissed, Buffy was flooded with memories, every moment they shared that summer came rushing through her mind like a private clip reel.
"Dean," she gasped. "Dean."
He pulled back, wanting so much more, but she didn't know who he was. He would apologize, but the ache he felt kept him from speaking.
"Dean?" she gently stroked his cheek and he finally looked at her again.
Dean sucked in a breath when he saw recognition in her eyes. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. She knew him.
The next instant, Dean had Buffy in his lap. She was kissing his lips, his jaw, his neck and murmuring his name over and over.
"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" she asked, at last, though she didn't move out of their embrace.
"I didn't know how," he admitted, his eyes pleading for understanding. "What was I supposed to say? 'You don't know me, but I dreamt we spent this incredible summer together?' I didn't know if it was real."
Buffy continued to stare at him as she ran her fingers through his damp hair. "I thought you were dead."
"I went to see you in Sunnydale. Do you remember?" Buffy shook her head and fought her tears. "I went to check on your sister, like we had planned, but there you were, alive and you had cut your hair," he said quietly, taking up a blond lock and letting it slide through his fingers. Then, he smiled sadly. "And you were living with Billy Idol."
Buffy was confused for a moment. "Billy? – Oh. That was Spike. Not a -" How could she describe that relationship? "Spike was a friend."
Dean couldn't believe this was happening. He looked at her in awe. Tucking a strand of her damp hair behind her ear, he asked, “I'm not dreaming right? You're real. This is really happening?”
“Yes,” Buffy answered, kissing him again.
"We were going to have a baby," she whispered. She remembered the look on his face when she told him the news and tears formed. "Dean, our baby."
"I'm so sorry, Buffy," he whispered on a tight breath. Thinking of the last time they had been together, he thought about how ready he had been to give everything up to be with her. He gently caressed her cheek, wishing he could take away all the pain the memories caused her.
Buffy shook her head, Dean didn't have to apologize. "Ever since I came back, I felt like I had this, this hole, this big bottomless hole inside me, like I was missing something, something important, but I didn't know what it was." Buffy framed his face in her hands. "But now I do. It was you." She kissed him again, gently, willing him to believe her.
She crawled off his lap and curled up next to him. "Dean, I missed you so much that I had some type of demon block my memories of you. I would have these wonderful dreams about you, about us. Even after the demon did his magic, I would still see you in my dreams, sometimes, I just didn't know who you were," Buffy confessed.
"Me, too," Dean said. "I kinda hated those dreams. Everything would be great, then I'd wake up."
Buffy laughed in agreement. "I so
know what you mean." She wrapped his hand in hers. "How long is this 'vacation' of yours?"
"I don't know. Today was the first day."
Buffy smiled to herself. "I have this place for ten more days."
"I could spend a day or two here, if you want," Dean suggested casually.
“I'd like that.” Buffy stood and pulled him up after her. "We should get out of these wet clothes before we catch a cold." Her hands were already tugging on his t-shirt.
Dean grinned and worked the buttons on her shirt. "Do you remember our favorite way to spend a rainy day?" he whispered as he peeled off her shirt and kissed her neck.
Buffy moaned softly as their damp bodies pressed together. "Remind me," she replied in a throaty whispered that made Dean's insides stir.
"I intend to make it something you never forget."
Thank you so much for reading. All your thoughtful reviews have really meant a lot to me. Thanks to TwistedSlinky who made some gorgeous art for the story over on lj if you care to look her up over there.
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Controversy sells. In the early '90s crusade against gangsta rap, politicians and lobbyists made Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" and Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle" the poster children for the type of violent, misogynist, crude albums that deserved to be censored or shelved completely for the good of society. It wasn't that "The Chronic" and "Doggystyle" were the most extreme or explicit records of their kind—in fact, far from it—but as two of the most infamous, influential, bestselling, and flat-out best gangsta rap albums of all time, it was easiest to point the finger at them. What the politicos failed to realize was that these albums did not sell millions simply because they were explicit, but because they were artistic masterpieces marked by revolutionary production and lyrical stylings. In any event, the controversy surrounding the label's early releases is just one factor that made Suge Knight's Death Row Records the most infamous and controversial rap label of its era, and when combined with the company's inner turmoil, run-ins with the law, coastal warfare, and business tactics that were unusual to say the least, it left behind a legacy unlike any other music company.
Tha Dogg Pound's heavily-anticipated debut "Dogg Food" was scheduled for a July 1995 release, but a shareholder protest by Death Row's distributor resulted in organizational restructuring and delayed the street date a full three months. As only the fifth project to emerge from Death Row (following the aforementioned "The Chronic," "Doggystyle," and the "Above the Rim" and "Murder Was the Case" soundtracks), it moved nearly 300,000 units in its first week on shelves and shot to the number one spot on the Billboard charts. An ideal combination of attention garnered by the shareholder protest and the acclaim of its predecessors no doubt led to its initial success, but listeners soon found that the controversy may have been somewhat misdirected—while similar in content and style to the label's earlier output, "Dogg Food" was hardly more violent or vulgar than its forerunners and even tame compared to some of the other Death Row records.
With nearly three dozen releases between them, millions of albums sold, untold label drama and even in-house beef, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt have led two of the most turbulent careers in rap history, but they started out a pair of deft if humble rappers from Long Beach who had the good fortune of appearing on both "The Chronic" and "Doggystyle." As Tha Dogg Pound, they worked with Death Row's successful musical blueprint established by Dr. Dre and engineered it to great results. "Dogg Food" is seventeen tracks deep of posse cuts, W-Balls interludes, West Coast anthems and good old gangsta rap.
Tha Dogg Pound's sound is reminiscent of Dre's—the deep, rumbling bass, soul sampling, cheap, whiny synthesizers, frequent guest appearances, and shrieking vocals from female R&B singers Michel'le and Nancy Fletcher—but it's the differences that make their sound most appealing. Even at a young age, Daz Dillinger was a phenomenal producer in his own right, and one who molded the label and the larger West Coast's signature sound in the years that followed. His tracks tend to be bouncier and generally sunnier than Dre's, embodying a trademark gangsta-boogie flavor that he would expand upon for the next decade, and his rigid, funky drum patterns and sparkly piano keys are also quite distinctive. On the mic, he sports an impenetrable delivery and commanding presence, especially next to his more technical and lyrical counterpart. The young Kurupt is a slick gangster capable of bending syllables into complex rhyme schemes like a seasoned pro with a nimble, versatile flow, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and sheen that would lead to his becoming one of California's most celebrated MCs by the late '90s.
Despite a long running time and somewhat top-heavy tracklist, "Dogg Food" is a landmark LP and a frequently brilliant piece of music. Few records offer such a vivid mood or are as distinct a listening experience as "Dogg Food," with its focused sound, longwinded instrumentals, hilarious skits that cleverly enhance the atmosphere, and long list of guests consisting almost completely of Long Beach rappers and affiliates that makes it feel like a block party or family reunion. With appearances from Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee, Lady of Rage, Big Pimpin' Delemond, Mr. Malik, Big C Style, and Val Young with additional production by DJ Pooh and Soopafly, "Dogg Food" establishes the precedent for the DPGC brand that would dominate West Coast rap into the new millennium.
Perhaps what's most impressive about "Dogg Food" is how well the duo's various talents come together. From the opener "Dogg Pound Gangstaz," Daz and Kurupt make clear that equal priority is granted to the impeccable production and profound raps, resulting in an unusually balanced and complete product. The thick, contagious funk of "Respect" is accentuated by menacing, flawlessly arranged rhymes from the pair, who display exemplary chemistry, chiming into each other's verses between the ragga toasts of Prince Ital Joe. Snoop appears on the consecutive DJ Pooh productions, both iconic tracks among the group's finest. "New York, New York" features three rich verses of Kurupt's posturing the likes of which fans wish he'd produce today, and while his rap makes no mention of the five boroughs, the song was perceived as a subtle attack at the East Coast for Snoop's infamous chorus. "Smooth" is a slow, speaker-pounding West Coast banger with a classic outro, but it's Young Gotti's marathon verse that's the showstopper, not too conceptual but numbingly complex nonetheless:
"...vandalize, I reprimand MCs to freeze
You can guarantee the temperature decrease degrees
Frozen stiff, 'cause what I'm holdin' lifts the soul
This mental automatic weapon keeps me in control
Never fold, I scald like water in order
To let these MCs know I slaughter so time's gettin' shorter
It sort of limits ya, but to me the sky's the limit
No, I diminish ya to dust takes sinister
Bust one rhyme, it's like a voodoo hex
Connect complex styles, my vast high tech flex
'Cause when there's an MC like me who's in there like swimwear
Don't despite me 'cause a lot of hoes like me mashin' them Nikes
I done seen niggas on TV dissin' the ga-deels
Now I got one question nigga, how does it feel
Check your game, but I ain't even saying no name
Proclaimed lyricists dissin' us for fortune and fame
Did I do something to ya, did we serve your hoes
'Cause you're on TV rapping like ya knew me, ya know me
But you don't really know me
That muthafuckin' nigga from the D-P-G
The K-U-R-U-P-T, I'm too smooth"
Performances such as these provide ammo for those who maintained that Daz and Kurupt were among the left coast's most vicious MCs in the '90s, and the timid thump of tracks such as "Cyco-Lic-No (Bitch Azz Niggaz)" and "Do What I Feel" certainly help substantiate these claims. Along with the warm Cali funk of "Do What I Feel" and "Ridin', Slipin' and Slidin'," a smooth narrative, and the trademark lewdness of "If We All..." and "Some Bomb Azz...," DPG manages to display more style over seventy-one minutes than most rappers do in a career.
The classic single "Let's Play House" remains the duo's most irresistible song to date. Daz's production and Michel'le and Nate Dogg's vocals bring to mind a rich, full-bodied soul jam from the seventies, but the rappers' humorously sexualized lyrics give it the feeling of a playful, good-natured parody:
Daz: "I'm in the shack bout to blaze up a sack
Yeah we grown, all alone, posted up in the back
There's no mistakin', I can have the whole house shakin'
Young Daz in that ass baby doll, no fakin'
Don't get me wrong, tell me what's the flavor of the song
You know it's Daz in your drawers when ya momma ain't home
Ring the alarm, I got ya buzzed, lovin' me
Physically and mentally, I knew that it was never meant to be"
Kurupt: "I know you know this girl by the name of Danielle
Body of a goddess face from hell
But oh shhh...this wasn't the average trick
(She got the bomb) and she like gobblin' and swallowin'
A whole nine-and-a-half on that black ass
Groupie, now all the hoochies wanna do me from the past
To the present (Say what?) let me rep and present
(Who?) the biggest nigga hittin' all the hoes in your clique
Fast as lightnin', runnin' through like the breeze
In the summertime out on the corners makin' G's
It's the thirst, but I can show ya somethin' much worse
Than the thirst, if worse came to worse, but first thing's first
Brenda, I can remember, how hot y'all be gettin'
Eighty-seven, eighty-six, and, yeah, the year a young man grows
Some women become ladies, some turn into hoes
Young hoes grown, find a way to stay wit' me
In the cut wit' Kurupt, come and play with me"
While the tracklist does lose steam toward the end, "Reality" and "Sooo Much Style" are deep highlights, and Nate Dogg returns for the glorious "I Don't Like to Dream About Gettin' Paid," featuring some of Dillinger's musical best. Building from a simple drum pattern, the song gradually becomes an upbeat masterpiece through its woozy synth, bouncy bassline, piano chimes, and shiny percussion. Daz spins a tale of a rise and fall from wealth attained through hustlin':
"Workin' L.A., just tryin' to get paid the right way
But somehow the right way don't pay
I'm comin' home late every night, gotta struggle and fight
With the baseheads on the late night hype
Tryin' to creep in the house through the cut (For what?)
So I won't be seen by none of the homies, but
The homey Nate Dogg spots me, and say 'Yo what's happenin'
Oh, you don't know me no more when ya pass me the satin'
I said, 'Aw, naw, it ain't like that G
I'm trying to go straight and have a J-O-B'
'You need to quit that faggot-ass job,' that's what he said
Showed me his grip and took some satin to the head
Damn that nigga had at least two G's
And he was clockin' it with so much ease
I told him I was gone so I'm headin' in the house
Everybody knocked out, so I'm locked out
I go back to the front where my homies is hangin' at
They offer me a cavy sack so I can start slangin' that
They say, 'You ain't a hustler,' I say 'Don't doubt it
Hold that thought and I'll think about it'"
It's probably true that "Dogg Food" could not have existed without "The Chronic" and "Doggystyle," a reason that Daz and Kurupt never became the icons that Dre and Snoop did, but "Dogg Food" is a landmark album on its own. It is a brilliant exercise in style—Kurupt's smooth flow and sly humor, Daz's thumping production—and their appeal is much more subtle than their mentors'. Showcasing the best of the duo, their label, their city, and their coast in the great year of '95, "Dogg Food" is an essential debut from two can't-miss talents with splendid production, excellent rapping, classic singles, and a whole lot of fun.
Music Vibes: 8.5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 8 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 8 of 10
Originally posted: August 3, 2010
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A collective of bibliophiles talking about books. Book Fox (vulpes libris): small bibliovorous mammal of overactive imagination and uncommonly large bookshop expenses. Habitat: anywhere the rustle of pages can be heard.
When I was about 10 years old and living on the coast in the East Neuk of Fife, my brother David – who was some 12 years my senior – called me into his bedroom one evening and said “Come and look at this …”.
He had his window open and his old 3” refractor telescope was pointing at a single bright star that dominated the night sky.
I looked through the eyepiece, and I can still recall the feel of the cold air on my face and the way I literally held my breath, stunned by what I saw. For that star was no star. It was the planet Jupiter: clearly visible as a disc, with its four Galilean satellites – Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa – plainly arrayed as tiny points of light either side of its equator.
It just hung there, silent and majestic in the telescope’s field of vision, and I remember starting to tremble – and feeling something very much akin to fear. Looking back, I now realize that I was in fact simply awe-struck. It’s one thing seeing a picture of a planet in a book: it’s a whole other experience seeing it with your own two eyes, especially when you’re still in primary school and your whole universe consists of the beach, your bedroom and the sea garden across the road from your house, which you are allowed to go to alone as long as you remember to look both ways.
Not long afterwards, I acquired my own 2” refractor and – before going off to join the Army – my brother gave me a copy of Donald Menzel’s A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, which I studied assiduously, scrutinizing the fuzzy photographic plates minutely and dreaming of the day I could persuade my parents to buy me a bigger telescope so that I could see the nebulae and galaxies as more than misty patches of light.
That day never came. Our lives moved on, we left Scotland to live under the light-polluted skies of the south of England, the ratchet on my telescope eventually gave up the unequal struggle and my interest in all things astronomical was channelled into Star Trek.
Fast forward 45 years …
David – like me – had always wanted a really good telescope. Finally, at the age of 66 and living in the Lake District under beautifully dark skies, he bought himself an 8”, computer controlled, Dobsonian reflector. Sadly, he didn’t live long enough to use it, dying just a few weeks after his 67th birthday. His wife offered his telescope to me, and although I briefly entertained the idea, I had to say ‘No’ because it was far too heavy for me to cope with. But the mere possibility of finally owning a decent telescope had the unexpected effect of reigniting my long-dormant interest in astronomy.
Most of my reference books, of course, were over 40 years old (and yes, I still have The Field Guide) so when, during our ‘Amateur Astronomy’ feature last year, Brother Guy Consolmagno talked about Turn Left at Orion, I checked it out on the internet and thought, “Ooh ...” It was, however, having my attention drawn to THIS blog entry a couple of weeks ago, that finally prompted me to part with the money.
That I’ve barely had my nose out of the book since it arrived is really all the review it needs … and it’s no surprise at all that it’s been selling 5,000 copies a year for the last 20 years.
For one thing, it’s eminently readable – it both senses of the word. Many of the guides for amateur star-gazers are dinky little pocket jobs, designed to be toted around in your parka. Turn Left‘s large format means that it’s very easy to read in the light of a dim torch (especially one that’s had the lens painted over with red nail varnish to avoid disturbing your dark-adapted eye). And, as the authors recommend that you and your telescope settle down outside with a chair, a hot drink, a blanket and a small table, the large format really isn’t a problem.
It also – and this is the real clincher – tells you exactly what you want and need to know to actually FIND things in the night sky. Rather than confusing the non-scientific like me with stellar co-ordinates (although they are included in the back of the book, for the tiresomely clever amongst us), the authors give sensible, non-technical directions like: ‘Off to the east (left, if you’re facing south) is a small kite shape of four stars with a fifth star of to the south looking like the tail of the kite’. It’s the star-gazing equivalent of giving road directions by reference to pubs … and it’s both reassuring and encouraging not to be made to feel like a half-wit because you don’t know your east from your west or your Altair from your Antares. The photographs give you a realistic idea of what things will actually LOOK like in your telescope too … instead of taunting you with glorious Hubble images and leaving you to be terribly disappointed with the fuzzy patch of light that’s the best your poor little telescope can do, they show you what it’s really going to look like in a small telescope and a bigger Dobsonian reflector; and if it’s one of those objects that in all truth looks better in a pair of binoculars, they’ll tell you THAT too, by means of their rather nifty rating system.
And while we’re talking about the tech-speak, there’s an incredibly useful introductory section, in plain English, about telescope types and their pros and cons which I’d thoroughly recommend to anyone who’s thinking of buying a telescope but has no idea where to start.
Another major plus is that the book takes you through the observing year, directing you to the objects most easily seen in each season, rather than leaving you to find out for yourself that although the constellation of Orion, with its spectacular nebula, dominates the winter skies it’s nowhere to be seen in the northern hemisphere during the short summer nights because by the time the sun sets, it’s dipped below the western horizon …
Turn Left is meant to be used, not put on a coffee table and admired. It’s one of those rare books that actually needs to be dog-eared and bent back in half with notes scribbled in the margins, Post-It notes sticking out a rakish angles and cocoa stains bang on the bit about the Great Andromeda Spiral. It’s written with verve and enthusiasm and more than a little humour and it makes you want to rush out and stare at the stars.
I still don’t have a decent telescope and currently have to make do with my binoculars, but I’m saving up for one and when I do finally get into the garden, with my table, chair, blanket and hot drink, the very first thing I’m going to look at is Jupiter … silent, majestic and awe-inspiring.
Cambridge University Press. 2011. Fourth edition. Spiral bound. ISBN: 978-0-521-15397-3. 254pp.
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sti intake,downpipe,Exhaust,wallbro255 fuel pump and tuned @19.5psi srt4 intake 3inch turbo back stage2 injectors wastegate actuator(kinetic) mopar stage 1 ecu and a turbo xs d-tec fuel computer street tuned @20psi both cars had 2 people in it sti full audio system temp77
Sti vs. Camaro SS
Random clips of my Neighbors coworker SS Camaro and my stage 2 STI. Did one dig, 20+ roll, and a few 60+ rolls.
WRX Sti (570 HP, 573 TQ) Tuned by Topspeed
2004 WRX Sti with over 12K in mods. Tuned by Top Speed of Atlanta GA, Dyno run @ 454 HP and 457 TQ. Mods include 850cc injectors, Hi Flow Fuel Pump, Perrin FMIC, methanol injection, Garrett Tubo (26psi), Perrin Boost controler, full tubo back exahust (catless), uppipe, downpipe, cold air intake, Perrin blow off valve Cobb Access Port piggyback ECU and track tuned suspension. This is my third WRX, I purchased this car with the mods and tune done. I know there is more but this is all I know. The car ran an 11.2 QM and reaches 60 mph in aprox 3.2 seconds. My 65 year old uncle who has raced cars his whole life and owns multiple 600+ HP cars one of which is a wheelies Kit car with a blown 454 producing 650 WHP took a ride in this Subie and said after the ride that it was the fastest car he had ever driven. I am sure he has had a few 10 second cars or even high 9 sec. He said it was the fastest car he had driven but I doubt it. I would say that it is the fastest 0-100 he had ever driven. Old dudes have no idea what horse power can do in combination with AWD. He was blown away. I just got the car last month and have already raced a new Z06 Vette from a 2nd gear roll and pulled 5 links on him to 145 MPH.
srt4 vs wrx
stage 0 pcm
stage 2 injectors
3" O2 & DP + stock Exhaust
FM WGA @ 20psi
DSP 93 tune
up pipe & perrin tbe
STI vs 350zTT vs GTI
Subaru Impreza WRX STI, PeanutEye
Mods: 2.8L , GT3582R, 21 psi
Nissan 350Z TT
Dynomite WHP: 510
APS Kit, 16 psi
Volkswagen Golf GTI
Mods: GT35 .63 , Cams, supporting mods. Unitronic chipped.
Some tuneup issues that need to be fixed though.
Camera Car: 2003 WRX STI Bugeye.
Errata: STI turbo is GT3582 at 21 psi.
sti 38mm wastegate
(check other videos for specs)if u listen carefuly u can hear my lil brother screeming in the back seet lol he dint know it was going to be that loud hes use to my sti no kids feelings were harmed in this video lol
Worlds Fastest Subaru WRX STi
WATCH AS ALI AFSHAR, CREATOR OF THE WORLDS FASTEST STI, SHOWS US HOW TO TAKE THESE SUBARU IMPREZAS, WRX'S AND STI'S FROM STOCK PERFORMERS TO MODIFIED WORLD CLASS CONTENDERS.
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Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting WO to 80360, or email us
Disabled Rio Woolf, 4, from Bushey Heath receives prosthetic blade
A disabled four-year-old from Bushey Heath has received new hope in this New Year after being gifted the ability to run.
Rio Woolf was born without a tibia, knee or ankle joint, and had to have his lower right leg amputated at just 14 months. Three years on, like many little boys, Rio dreams of following in the footsteps of his sporting idol, Jonnie Peacock.
The sprinter ran into the record books, winning a gold medal in the T44 100m at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Now the British hero has improved Rio’s chances of following in his footsteps.
Rio first met the Gold medallist when the charity LimbPower arranged for him to film a Channel 4 News promotional clip for Sports Fest - a two day event set up by the British Paralympic Association (BPA).
Touched by the youngster’s enthusiasm for the Summer Paralympics, the blade runner put Rio’s parents in contact with Dorset Orthopaedic. This prompted Bob Watts, managing director at the Dorset based clinic, to set about securing sponsorship for an Össur running blade. In fact, he decided to donate the prosthetic socket himself.
A wonderful present, Rio was soon bouncing for joy as he was being fitted with a lightweight carbon-fibre blade decorated with his favourite cartoon character, Fireman Sam.
Juliette Woolf, Rio’s mother, said: "London 2012 transformed Rio's life - from being downhearted about not being able to run as fast as his friends earlier in the year, he was then inspired and motivated watching 'people with special legs running'.
"We took Rio along to the LimbPower Primary Amputee Games and he loved participating, even with his NHS leg. He showed he loved to run. "The only problem was that his old NHS leg was very heavy. Despite this he was running quite fast, he had the speed but not the right equipment."
Bob Watts said: "The blade and socket we have had made for Rio is 150g lighter than the NHS prosthetic legs. The blade is made out of carbon fibre which is very light, springs back into shape, and 95 per cent of energy you put into it will come back during running."
Rio's delighted mum said: "My husband and I are incredibly thankful to Dorset Orthopaedic and we are hugely indebted to them for giving Rio this amazing opportunity. Now there is nothing stopping him.
"Like all parents, we just want to give our son the best opportunities for him to enjoy life to the full!"
As a result Juliette has started a fundraising campaign so Rio can continue wearing the blades as he grows and needs replacements.
Rio’s Physiotherapist Andrea Clarke, Leader of Playskill, a specialist playgroup based in Watford and Hemel Hempstead for children with physical needs, said: "Having a prosthetic blade at a young age is an amazing opportunity for a young child. With it comes the ability to run with peers. Often children with an amputation are left to walk while their peers literally run around them.
"Rio can now run, jump and play football and get involved with Paralympic sport that much earlier. He has a better quality of life and a new sense of freedom and movement."
Rio plans to attend Limb Power’s Learn to Run Clinic in Chelmsford later in the spring.
Hayley Ginn, Jonnie Peacock's former coach has taken a keen interest in Rio and will be helping him learn to use his blade in the best way to get the most out of it.
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To end 2011, Phish returned to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for a four-night stand that marked their second New Year’s Eve year in a row (and their sixth overall) at the venue. With memories of a very impressive run to end 2010 at MSG, as well as to start 2011, with the first-ever show on New Year’s Day, things seemed to really be clicking for the band. Throughout 2011, they made huge strides in playing and jamming as the year stretched onward, which all led up to this standalone New Year’s Run following no fall tour this year. What were the results? Anti-climatic at best musically, but still a lot of fun overall.
[Photo by Michael Stein]
Now, let me say something and be very clear: there is absolutely no place in the universe I’d rather be than at a Phish show. The vibe, the ENERGY, the people, the ritual are all things I live for and have toured the country to experience for many years. But, sometimes expectations exceed the performance, which seemingly happened this past week for many in attendance (and some watching at home, as the shows were broadcast live via pay-per-view streams). Were there standout moments? Absolutely! The problem was, they were far less frequent than we have come to expect from Phish, on New Year’s runs, and especially at Madison Square Garden. But, on the flip side, did I enjoy these shows as much as many other barnburners of 2011 and years past? Definitely. Just for different reasons than the music alone.
One’s experience at a show depends on several factors including who you are with, the location of your seats, what you possibly ingested and so on. All of those factors play into the overall experience. But it is the music that is ultimately the catalyst which allows for us to enter the portal of the divine. The single biggest reason, besides seeing friends of old this run, that I thoroughly enjoyed myself is easy to explain. It seemed that everywhere I turned, even during a weird song placement or sloppy version of a song I had seen live 100 times, I watched the newer groups of fans soaking it all in and enjoying it tenfold. That – made me smile. To be able to hear the song you came to see – whether it be Farmhouse or Ghost – and rock out in your own world for the first time is a priceless experience. But, that still doesn’t hide the fact that the band members’ hearts didn’t fully seem into it this year.
The 28th saw the first-ever Free opener in Phish History and a with a well-played version of Glide right behind it, the band set the tone for a very high energy night. An early first set Cities was the first true highlight, with bassist Mike Gordon leading the way out of the typical space. But, it was simple things like the mid-first set placement of Contact (which is usually reserved for late second set and more typically encore slot), that summed up a majority of the entire stand: weird. Whether it was placement, execution or reeling in the potential for greatness, the band was playing things safe and hardly pushing the envelope.
A scorching Birds of a Feather, Carini > Tweezer onslaught began set two of the first show, while a fiery Rock-n-Roll and majestic Harry Hood rounded out the meat of the set. To further set the “weird” mood for the remainder, the band offered up a triple encore of a short Tube, Rocky Top and Tweezer Reprise. Overall, a pretty solid opening frame on a night that often served as a warm up show for the band. The problem was, they did little from here to build on it, and by the time the run was over, many fans were calling the 28th the best overall show of the four.
The 29th opened with a great first frame – more high energy and in my eyes, a great setlist. A second song You Enjoy Myself again seemed out of place, but was a welcome treat by fans and garnered “Ooh’s” and “Ahh’s” from the fans when it started. An absolutely scorching Funky Bitch was a set highlight, with Page McConnell absolutely wreaking havoc on the upper parts of his keys. Roses are Free was another welcome treat, as Halley’s Comet and Run Like an Antelope closed out one of the better sets of the week, and carried over some of the higher energy from the previous night.
[Photo by Michael Stein]
The second set was notable for the Crosseyed & Painless opener before a slightly out of left-field Simple, which melted sublimely into the first Lifeboy in two years, also last played during the 2009 New Year’s run in Miami. A ferocious Mike’s Song, one of my favorite in recent memory, awkwardly landed in Chalkdust Torture, before transitioning into a faster-paced, more upbeat version of the normal soft-as-a-down-pillow-landing-pad of I am Hydrogen. A truly unique segue that will stand out in the memory of those who saw it live led the way to a funky, driving Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero and Loving Cup encore to close us out in arena rocking style. All in all, at this point of the run I still had some high hopes for the final two performances, having found ENERGY and some interesting ideas and efforts, if not execution, from the band through the first two nights.
PAGE TWO = 12/30 and 12/31
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From man-in-the-middle attacks to GPU accelerated password cracking, and voiding warranties
Hak5 is packed and ready for Def Con 2011! This year, Darren, Paul, and I will be in Las Vegas all weekend- from Wednesday night through Sunday- compiling a delightful Hak5 episode for you to enjoy. We hope to get some good coverage and photos, so show off your Hak5 tshirt! If you see us, make sure to stop by and say hello!
WIFI PINEAPPLE VERSION 2 ONLY. THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH THE WIFI PINEAPPLE VERSION 3.
Whether your new to Jasager or you’ve made a configuration change you wish you hadn’t, doing a fresh WiFi Pineapple install is a breeze. This guide walks you through the steps required to flash compatible WiFi Pineapple hardware with the latest version of Robin Wood’s Jasager firmware as well as default configurations and and packages. (more…)
In this segment Darren talks about Session Hijacking and demonstrates a tool from Errata Security called Hamster and Ferret that, in conjunction with a WiFi Pineapple, an ICS’d 3G connection and Tftpd32 we’re able to “sidejack” with our little man-in-the-middle setup. Lesson learned? Be suspicious of any wifi. Check for signatures of trusted networks and tunnel your traffic. (more…)
So you’ve built, borrowed or bought a WiFi Pineapple and you’re new to OpenWRT and Jasager. Hopefully this guide will familiarize you with the many aspects of the the WiFi Pineapple. If you have specific questions please leave a comment or email firstname.lastname@example.org and we’ll try to keep this page updated.
This article will guide you through connecting to the WiFi Pineapple for the first time. For more in-depth how-to’s involving command line control, modules, using the white and black listing functions, sharing Internet access and more please consult the Jasager board on the Hak5 forums and keep an eye on the WiFi Pineapple category of the Hak5.org blog for future articles on these topics. (more…)
This guide builds on the Auto-Rickroll payload for the WiFi Pineapple. Following this guide you will be able to create a self-contained WiFi Pineapple or similar OpenWRT based wireless access point serving up faux websites to capture login credentials. The purpose of this article is to point out the simplicity of a phishing attack using the dnsmasq technique of the Auto-Rickroll payload, and how you can protect yourself from similar attacks. See the mitigation section at the bottom of the article for defense advice. (more…)
John Bebo’s Auto-Rickroll payload for the WiFi Pineapple is an excellent example of using Dnsmasq to forward targets to a hosted site. While this site could be malicious, perhaps hosing the Browser Exploitation Framework, Bebo’s payload is a safe and simple prank. Any web site a victim attempts to browse to brings them to a WiFi Pineapple hosted page containing Rick Astley ASCII Art and looping audio. It uses a similar technique employed by Captive Portals – something we’ll explore in more detail soon – except a lot more annoying. (more…)
In this Haktip Darren shows how to detecting ARP Cache Poison Attacks in Windows and Linux using XARP
As expected the Motorola Droid has been rooted. That is to say there’s a hack that’ll unlock SU, or super user privileges on the phone. The hack is essentially su bundled in an unsigned update that can be run from the SD card. The unlocking process, which has changed since introduction, is outlined at this AllDroid.org forum thread.
Darren demonstrates a little man-in-the-middle attack using SSLStrip, an epic tool for removing that pesky encryption from your victims browsing session. Go from secure site to clear-text passwords in one simple step.
The age old scheme for bypassing restrictive firewalls, like those that block sites at school or work, has been to use a web proxy. Of course this is followed up by the network administrator blocking all mainstream proxies. But what if you could run your own? Well, you can and it’s really freaking easy. In this segment Darren demonstrates PHProxy
Darren Kitchen, hacker and host of tech show Hak5, says why hacking isn’t the same thing as cyber crime. Jorge Ribas sits down with him to find out the difference.
Read on to watch the video.
Adding a touch screen to a LCD is pretty straight forward and fairy inexpensive. There are a few different places to get the touch screen kit, we got ours from ebay for around 80 bucks + shipping. Dealextreme.com has a small selection of smaller touch screen kit perfect for netbooks, because they come with a controller made to connect internally instead of external usb. When buying a kit to make sure it comes with the matching controller to avoid any head aches.
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Recently, after a delicious North Indian inspired dinner my in-laws and some of their friends reminisced about coming to Canada over 40 years ago with practically no knowledge of their way around a kitchen. They spoke of their culinary ‘apprenticeship’ under Mrs. Balbir Singh. Long before Madhur Jaffrey and Julie Sahni, Mrs. Singh’s Indian Cookery, first published in 1961, was THE English language cookbook Indians abroad used to recreate deeply missed flavours of home. A decade or so later they continued their culinary education from mentors Julie and Madhur. Leafing through each book kitchen scribbles in the margins reveal adjustments, additions or omissions of ingredients to personalize these favourite dishes. The books and written recipes are no longer needed. The quantities and spicing of their signature dishes were long established in their fingers and hands.
These seminal books have made their way on to the shelves of our kitchen library. But so have many many others. Listed below are some of my present favourite Indian cookbooks, guidebooks and current affair related books.
My Indian cookbook collection numbers over a hundred. Stacked they are much taller than my 2 ½ year old.
These are the cookbooks that I tend to use as regular resources. In general, they are dependable, the majority of the recipes are clear and actually work and most importantly they are wonderful bridges to the different cultures and regional cuisines of India. Some of you may be surprised of certain books not appearing on this list – I would love to hear your feedback- as I may not have them but mostly likely did not include them for certain reasons.
The following two books are solid, strong foundations for engaging with Indian cuisine. Both published in the 1980s they do not have the great visual impacts that today’s cookbooks have. I would be very interested in seeing what they would look like had they been published within the last ten years.
A Taste of India by Madhur Jaffrey (1985)
Classic Indian Cooking Recipes adapted for the American Kitchen by Julie Sahni (1980)
The first half of the book solidly describes the principles of Indian cooking ingredients; equipment; techniques. A large portion of the recipes are North Indian influenced and will be familiar to Indian restaurant goers.
The Indian Kitchen by Monisha Bharadwaj (1996)
I constantly refer to this book. A fantastic resource which provides great descriptions of the ingredients found in the Indian pantry. I really like how with each ingredient Bharadwaj explains how it grows; its appearance and taste; buying and storing tips; medicinal and other uses and culinary uses. There are two or three recipes with each ingredient. They are ok but not great. But the real value of this book is the background on the ingredients.
Mangoes and Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels through the Great Subcontinent
by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford (2005)
I have enjoyed their books since the very first one, Flatbreads and Flavours, was released. I received Mangoes and Curry Leaves prior to moving to the Subcontinent and eagerly devoured it. Their food/ travels stories and photographs are fantastic and I often play a game with myself trying to figure out who experienced/wrote each story. The recipes are not solely India focused (Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh) but they are clear, concise and tasty. They are fabulous culinary interpreters. I am also drawn to their suggested reading lists and bibliographies for further resources of interest. As the book is rather large and could easily be considered a coffee table book I often re-write or photocopy the recipe I am preparing so that I do not get turmeric stained pages. I am very much looking forward to Naomi’s upcoming book Rivers of Flavour: Recipes and Travel Tales from Burma, about the culinary landscape of Burma (which I believe may be available in Autumn 2012).
Indian Essence by Atul Kochar (2004)
Sometimes professional chefs are not great recipes adapters- but this one is good. London based chef Kochar, owner of Banares Restaurant, has put together a book with relatively simple and straightforward recipes from different regions in India. The outcome is often clean and contemporary flavours.
Vij’s Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala (2006)
Another book written by Vancouver based Vikram Vij and his wife Meeru Dhalwala. What I really like about their books are the adaptations of traditional dishes using local, sustainable ingredients from around British Columbia. Last year they came out with a second book, Vij’s at Home: Relax Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking. I have not cooked from it but friends have and they seem to like it. During my one and only visit to Vij’s I noticed that there are only women who do the cooking. Having worked in many kitchens in India I think this was a sound decision for harmony, consistency, and organization around the stoves. It also may be the real secret ingredient to the restaurant’s success.
Regional Focused Cookbooks
A wonderful introduction to the Bengali kitchen focusing on the metropolis that is Calcutta and the influences which have helped create such a unique cuisine. A nice blend of stories and recipes.
Bangla Ranna The Bengal Cookbook by Minakshie DasGupta
This is believed to be the first book in English on Bengali cooking. In honour of their mother, Rakhi Purnima Dasgupta and her siblings founded the restaurant Kewpies, in Kolkata) to share their mother’s Begali love for eating and cooking the Bengali way. If you are a fan of pungent sharp mustard oil, jhols (stews) and fish the book (and restaurant) are a good introduction to the Bengali kitchen.
Wanting to prepare authentic flavours of the Punjab? This is the place to start.
Classic Tamil Brahmin Cuisine by Viji Varadarajan (2008)
I had the pleasure of meeting Viji shortly after this book came out. She graciously welcomed me into her home and prepared a dizzying array of delicious classic vegetarian Tam-Bram dishes. She owes much of what she learned from her grandmothers, mother and mother in law (as most children in India continue to do) and fittingly dedicates the book to the ‘generations of women in our families who quietly, anonymously carved their personalities in the cooking traditions and rituals of daily lives’. Her inspiration for the book was her own daughters, who live outside of India, but want to continue preparing the dishes from their childhood. So, she has taken traditional recipes and adapted them for a modern kitchen (and a modern dual income lifestyle). The recipes are very easy to follow, nutritious and wholesome. This is a great book if you want to learn how to cook and prepare Indian vegetables such as okra, snake gourd, fenugreek leaves, drumstick, raw banana, bitter gourd. A visit to the South Asian shop will be a must to get ingredients for these recipes.
The Best of Samaithu Paar The Classic Guide to Tamil Cuisine by S Meenakshi Ammal (1951)
When I want Indian food that is flavourful, easy to digest, and meat-free I turn to the South Indian ‘coffee’ shop comfort foods: dosas, idlis, uttapams, vadas, sambhar, rice dishes and simple vegetable ‘stir fries’. To make some recipes such as idlis you will need to buy specialized idli steaming holders and perhaps the odd Indian vegetable if you are looking for more authenticity.
The Kerala Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections from the Syrian Christians of South India
by Lathika George
While reading the recipes and sentimental essays, which describe recollections of family feasts, visits to the toddy shack and under grandmother’s culinary tutelage, the reader is instantly transported to the coconut inflected culture and flavours of the Syrian Christina community of Kerala. The traditional elements of food, family and community are clearly important to the author and she wants for these values to remain for future generations.
Food Writing, Novels and Guides
A Matter of Taste: The Penguin Book of Indian Writing on Food (2004)
Salman Rushdie, Vir Sanghvi, Rohinton Mistry, Jhumpa Lahiri, EM Forster, Amitav Ghosh, RK Narayan are a few key ingredients which comprise this appetizing anthology. I was particularly taken with the introduction by editor Nilanjana Roy and hope that one day she can devout some time to produce a book of her own on the culture of Indian food.
The Illustrated Food of India (A-Z) by KT Achaya (2009)
I cannot readily think of anyone in the present Indian food writing community who matches KT Achayas interest and passion for the flavours of regional and historical Indian food (maybe Pushpesh Pant). As the back cover says, this book analyzes the historical, regional and religious influences of Indian food showcasing the intricacies of the various subcultures of India through their cuisines. Each time I pick up this book I gain even greater respect for the diversity and complexities of the cuisines of India.
Curry: A Biography by Lizzie Collingham
This book tells the history of India and its rulers through their food. It follows the story of curry as it spread from the courts of Delhi to the balti houses in England, from the tiffin carriers of Bombay to the army canteens of Japan. The author reveals great stories about the history of ‘curry’ and the book is very well researched. Collingham adeptly show that the majority of Indian dishes are the product of a fusion of different food traditions.
Nectar In a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
Just as I was to embark on a trip to India last January a friend asked me if I had read this book. Luckily, a bookshop in Kochi had it stocked. The story is set in a village in South India just after Independence. It portrays the lives of a village farming family as India embarks on a path of development. Although written in 1954 the trials and tribulations that the matriarch of the family, Rukmani, encounters rings true to what is happening now almost 60 years later. I am eager to get my fingers on another of her books, A Handful of Rice. I would not be surprised to find out that the author, Kamala Markandaya, influenced many of the future great Indian authors (some in the anthology listed above) who write in English. This book may be hard to find outside of India. Used bookshops and libraries would be the best place to start.
Eating India: Exploring a Nation’s Cuisine by Chitrita Banerji (2007)
A relatively quick and easy read that pulls you in as she describes her explorations of different regional tastes. It is a nice blend of food writing and travelogue. Like Curry: A Biography, Banerji shows how restructuring old customs and making innovations is what India is all about: food in India has always been and still is fusion- one that is forever evolving.
Chef by Jaspreet Singh
Set in Kashmir, this book focuses on Chef Kirpal Singh’s trip from Delhi to Kashmir to cook for a previous commanding officer’s daughter’s wedding. As he travels by train he reminisces about his early years as a cook in the Indian army along the Kashmir border. Through food and chef Singh’s life the author tries to show the challenges and subtle similarities of the conflicting communities in Kashmir. At times perhaps overly descriptive using food metaphors but an interesting way of incorporating food into the long standing dispute in Kashmir.
Highway on My Plate: The Indian Guide to Roadside Eating by Mayur Sharma and Rocky Singh
I first met Mayur when he and his wife hired me for an event as part of their wedding a few years ago. They wanted me to help create a menu which was a balance of modern Indian and Vietnamese (part of his wife’s heritage) flavours. I quickly learned that he was part of a unique team (he the vegetarian and Rocky the carnivore) which tasted the roadside stalls and restaurants throughout India and offering their honest, simple and often humorous reviews of the food (as scene on NDTV’s Highway on My Plate). This book is not India’s Michelin guide but rather a good summary for someone who is planning to travel throughout India and wants to stay out of the pricier hotels and restaurants. Some knowledge of Indian food will be required to read through the lines to find the real roadside/village gems.
Love Travel Guides for India by Fiona Caulfield
(Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kerala and Sri Lanka are is the works)
Often the traditional guidebooks do not have the time to search out the hidden gems of these cities: Heritage hotels, delicious regional restaurants, independent artisans and wonderful insights about what shapes the personality of each city can be found in this series. Holding a guidebook in your hands you realise that Fiona Caulfield has a passion for supporting independent artisans and craftspeople. The book covers are printed on traditional hand woven Khadi fabric made in Andhra Pradesh and the inside information is printed on hand made paper. A definite must have.
In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India by Edward Luce
I found this book was really good at examining the changes occurring in ‘Modern India’. That being said, I think it best to leave it to a seasoned and respected book reviewer, William Grimes of the NY Times, to provide a thorough summary of this book.
Relatively New Books I Hope to Get and Read
Tasting India by Christine Manfield (2011)
This is a BIG book. Had my hands on it at the Cookbook Store in Toronto but am hoping that it may makes its way into my library via a gift. Very much a coffee table book I don’t really see it being easy to use in the kitchen. What I did find interesting was the extensive list of suggested accommodations and food related restaurants/ sights that the Australian author provides. A good resource for anyone heading over to India (although many of the accommodations featured are on the high priced/luxury end of the scale).
I have read a few reviews of the following books and am eager to read them to see each author’s perspective on the ‘new’ India.
India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking by Anand Giridharadas (2010)
The Beautiful and the Damned: Life in the New India by Siddhartha Deb (2011)
Happy cooking and reading!
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In the shadow of the rock
Pure delight: Players compete at a football carnival at the Mutitjulu ground near Uluru. Photo: Ruby O'Brien
MUTITJULU football ground has one of the best backdrops, if not the best backdrop, in Australia - the corrugated red monolith known as Uluru or Ayers Rock which towers above the ground like an ancient grandstand that has been watching for thousands of years.
Last week, as part of the Other Side of the Rock concert, a football carnival was played at Mutitjulu in temperatures that wavered between 38 and 40 degrees, the day of 40-degree heat also having a wind that felt like it was coming from a fan-forced oven. Just watching was draining.
The face of Uluru above the Mutitjulu ground cannot be photographed in whole since one end of it embodies stories used in ceremonies for the initiated. Before the first match, sorry business was done for two young men who died recently - while nothing was said publicly I was told both were cases of suicide. One was a member of the Mutitjulu Cats. So the team and relatives stood in a line down the middle of the oval. Then, as the old women wept and wailed, one of the visiting teams, Ernabella, passed down the line, eyes downcast, gripping every hand in turn.
The carnival was in part a celebration of Solid Rock, the Goanna band hit written 30 years ago by Shane Howard (also recognised was John Williamson's Raining on the Rock). Shane was asked to lead the whitefellers down the mourning line in the local manner, eyes down, gripping each person's hand in turn, sharing the grief. White roses were taped to the goalposts at each end.
The playing surface was coarse red sand. The locals say they play on Uluru - the rock is just the part that hasn't eroded yet. I walked the playing field before the match and picked up a sharp-edged stone and a piece of wire. In the noonday heat, the oval's freshly painted white markings stood out brilliantly against the red surface.
What is the biggest difference between desert footy and the AFL? Contested possessions, or the rarity of them. The desert game is not without collisions and, when delivered, bumps are fully meant, but the emphasis of the game is the opposite of AFL.
The proliferation of fitness experts at AFL clubs has made players faster and stronger. As a result, AFL footy is becoming a wrestle. Desert footy is the game in pure form. Essentially, it's about making space and artful use of the ball. Far fewer play in bare feet than when I first saw it in the 1980s. The odd one still plays in socks to protect his feet from the hot sand.
Chasing is not the absolute virtue it is in the AFL. Players do chase but playing in this heat demands economy of effort. (In 2006, when I came here, I was told ''young fellers do the running''.) I stood on the edge of the Mutitjulu huddle at quarter-time to listen to the coach but was not entirely sure who that was, the old man who spoke first or the player who followed. I only recognised two words - ''free kick'' - but there was no doubt the Cats were bringing an emotional edge to the game.
A whitefeller who organises a footy competition in the nearby resort town of Yulara said to me, ''There's a ton of talent out here but you don't see any AFL scouts''. One young defender playing for Docker River would set the MCG alight, being not only inclined to the spectacular but also brave and capable.
On one side of the ground was a cement slab with a tin roof. Beneath it sat an old man with a long white beard and a microphone in his lap, delivering a laconic commentary in his language that deserved to be recorded. Other spectators sat in the shade of the skinny desert oaks which grow one inch per year and can be hundreds of years old. By the last game of the day, the sun had begun to lower itself on the opposite side of the rock, haloing it like a painting of a medieval saint. Because the rock is so big it stayed that way for what seemed like hours, the last of the sunset being a thin streak of red and yellow stretching across the horizon in both directions.
The decision to open Mutitjulu to a whitefeller songman involved three years of talking and the old women of the community played a big part in the negotiations. The concert began with five of them, their pendulous breasts painted brightly, chanting one of their ancient songs and shuffle-dancing in the red dust. One of the acts that followed, by Anangu man Trevor Anderson, is a must for next year's Dreamtime at the G - Waltzing Matilda in Pitjantjatjara.
I stood backstage. In a swirl of dust beyond the last row of heads, in the outer reach of the stage lights, a group of 20 or more kids continued playing footy. It was just that - non-stop play. The game is about winning the ball, how long you can evade pursuers and maintain possession and, then the skill and cleverness with which you finally dispose of it. There are no goals. They are a European idea. This is Aboriginal football.
With the concert thumping away behind me, I walked out on to the oval to catch the absolute last of the sunset and encountered the spirit of the game in Mutitjulu, a small boy kicking a footy in the dark with a tall whitefeller. Every time the kid got the ball he accelerated off, then kicked back over his shoulder. As long as the whitefeller kept kicking the footy to him, he was going to keep playing.
Martin Flanagan travelled to the Other Side of the Rock concert as a guest of NT Tourism. Another account of the concert by Martin Flanagan can be read in his Saturday Reflection in the Opinion pages.
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RECIPES FOR SUCCESS
No good deed goes unpunished
Doing the right thing when confronted with ethical dilemmas
Retired Public Works Director
City of Foster City, California
In November 2007, the APWA Leadership and Management Committee concluded its series of articles on public works leadership and management issues entitled "The Baker's Potluck." This was the third series of articles (the first being "The Baker's Dozen," the second being "The Baker's Menu") that discuss various leadership and management topics of interest to APWA members. The committee's new series is entitled "Recipes for Success" and touches on a variety of leadership and management topics. Along with each article is an actual recipe for a favorite public works dish submitted by a member. Each recipe is a favorite from the members in their department. Give them a try.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. - Plato
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. - Abraham Lincoln
When the topic of ethics is mentioned in the media, it is usually in connection with someone getting caught breaking a law. Recent examples include use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes, insider trading by corporate executives and various moral lapses by prominent politicians. To categorize these as ethical issues is somewhat misleading, since ethics isn't so much about what we have to do (obey the law!) but more about what we ought to do when presented with alternative courses of action, all of which may be legal, but have varying consequences to ourselves and to others.
As a guideline for what we ought to do, we may refer to a set of values that are generally accepted in our society, such as courage, compassion, tolerance, honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, fairness, responsibility, civility, professionalism and respect.
We may also rely on the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Applying these values to a given set of circumstances can help us decide what we ought to do, but finding that answer can be challenging when several different values are in conflict, and we need to choose between them.
Circumstances that present us with several possible outcomes that we must choose from based on our system of values are called ethical dilemmas. As public works practitioners we encounter ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. Here are some examples:
Loyalty. Within our organization, one might ask "Loyalty to whom?" Faced with the decision whether or not to report a rule infraction that we witness, our loyalty to our fellow employees may come into conflict with our loyalty to our supervisor. If our supervisor is more concerned with meeting the ends and not the means, and the supervisor's methods of achieving organizational goals involve circumventing rules and procedures, then our loyalty to our supervisor may conflict with organizational loyalty. Our loyalty to our organization may be in conflict with our loyalty to the public if the organization's policies are not consistent with our view of what's right (the "Whistleblower's dilemma"). The risk we take in doing the right thing in these situations can result in consequences to us that range from loss of friendship to loss of employment.
Outside our organization, when we interact with other public agencies on a regional basis, we may face the dilemma of staying loyal to the interests and policies of our agency while recognizing that some of those may be in conflict with the greater good of the region. If you are on a regional committee or board, one way to resolve this dilemma is to advocate for your local interest, but vote on the basis of what's best for the region.
How many people have to get killed before you do something???? - the Traffic Engineer's dilemma. How do you respond to citizens' concerns about safety that result in requests for (stop sign, speed bump, speed limits, signal, traffic calming...you name it) and do so in a professional manner, balancing a variety of interests? Add the political pressure from councils and commissions that are trying to satisfy a vocal minority, and the job becomes more complex, adding a personal dimension to the decision-making process. Often a traffic engineer must take a stand that represents sound engineering principles and safety for the majority of the traveling public without having the tangible support of that majority. It's a stand that requires a certain degree of personal courage balanced with compassion for the emotional stake of the vocal minority. The old adage "It takes two fatalities, one injury and three dead cats to warrant a signal..." isn't the answer, but neither is the installation of unwarranted traffic control devices that ultimately defeat the purpose they are intended for by breeding contempt for the law.
Doing unto others: customer service and the use of public funds. Lending a helping hand to a citizen in the course of our job is part of customer service. How far you extend that hand is not always clearly defined. We have to strike a balance between individual service (which can be highly time-consuming) and service to the public in general, which tends to represent a more efficient use of public resources. Requests for individual service are usually accompanied by emotional appeals to our compassion and desire to apply the Golden Rule, while our primary mandate to do proactive asset management is predicated on rational and logical decisions that are oriented to long-term goals and objectives, as opposed to more immediate gratification. Agencies with limited resources (and in today's environment, that's most public agencies) that fail to address this dilemma end up devoting inordinate time to "reactive" maintenance in response to individual needs and not enough time to systematic and proactive asset preservation.
Environmental ethics...and the use of public funds. Environmental ethics is a complex subject, that, in addition to other values, asks us to consider man's place in the universe and how that fits within the balance of nature. From a public works perspective, the ethical dilemma is precipitated by the fact that environmental impacts are associated with most, if not all, public works projects and activities (which are primarily for man's benefit). Because funds are limited, only so much can be spent on environmental mitigation before an activity or a project is rendered unfeasible. At times, this makes public works professionals appear to be insensitive to the environment while trying to fulfill their fiduciary and project management responsibility. Unfortunately, the general public is seldom aware of, or is asked to resolve this dilemma involving the use of their tax dollars. That leaves it up to what is often an acrimonious "environmental process" which often places public works managers in the unenviable position of devil's advocate, demanding of them a high degree of professionalism, patience, courage and integrity.
Who's your buddy? Public contracts, public funds and the perception of misuse. Much of what we do in public works is predicated on developing good working relationships with our vendors—consultants, contractors, sales people, and the like. Good relationships achieve a number of desired outcomes, including timely conflict resolution, clear and open communication and, most importantly, efficient use of public funds. Knowing how to maintain objectivity and be fiscally responsible, while at the same time trying to maintain good personal relationships with your contractual partners, is not always an easy task and can involve resolving ethical conflicts between values such as friendship, fairness, responsibility and loyalty. While we may believe that our relationships are on sound ethical grounds, in the public sector perception is as important if not more so than reality. If the same vendor seems to be getting the work over and over again, even if there is a seemingly objective procurement process, then it is highly likely that someone will think there is something fishy going on. At that point, you are guilty until proven innocent, a no-win position to be in. For this reason, and also because familiarity can breed contempt, it is a good idea to periodically reevaluate long-term contractual relationships.
Ethics is doing the right thing when no one is looking. While many of our actions receive public review and scrutiny, a goodly portion of our daily activities are monitored by no one but us. Most public works activities are geared to long-term benefits, and the consequences associated with whether we do the right thing or not may not surface for a long time. Since public works is a mostly monopolistic activity, not even the market can determine whether we've done a good job or not—we're the only game in town! This puts an added burden and responsibility on the public works professional to set both the standard for performance and also be the judge of it.
Ethics codes and courses, mission statements rules, and regulations. Many public agencies and professional organizations have codified ethical standards, sometimes as a formal "Code of Ethics," sometimes embedded in a Mission Statement or in a Statement of Professional Conduct. There are also numerous ethics courses that are offered (mandatory in California for all elected and appointed officials). For the person whose upbringing has included a grounding in basic morals and values, these codes and standards are a confirmation of those values, but not very helpful in resolving ethical dilemmas that require us to select from options that all appear to be consistent with the basic value system.
Ethics courses tend to emphasize how to avoid doing the wrong thing rather than how to select the right course of action from several acceptable alternatives. Learning what constitutes conflict of interest and what type of gifts should be reported does not provide us with guidance on how to deal with the more subtle pressures and behaviors that may influence our decisions on important matters such as selecting consultants or dealing with contractors.
Organizational culture. A more important influence than mission statements or ethics codes on how employees will resolve ethical dilemmas is organizational culture. Organizations that profess their virtues through ethics codes and mission statements but do not "walk the talk" send mixed messages to their employees. Whom the organization perceives as "the Enemy" will often determine staff attitudes and how the organization interacts with its external environment much more than any expressed intent to give good customer service. The "Enemy" may be "those greedy developers" or "those outsiders—the commuters who irresponsibly drive through our town," or it may even be the public—"those ungrateful whiners who want the service but don't want to pay for it." These blanket generalizations, sometimes uttered out of a legitimate feeling of frustration, influence attitudes and beliefs and translate into actions by employees who, in the course of doing their job, are trying to do their best to resolve ethical dilemmas under the pressure of time and limited resources.
Neither customer service training, team building or process "reengineering" can alter an organizational culture until all levels of the organization admit to and are willing to openly confront the biases and prejudices that are embedded within.
So what can we do?
First, we need to recognize that the situation is an ethical dilemma. This recognition is usually characterized by an uneasiness in the pit of our stomach, a vague feeling of discomfort or anxiety, or perhaps even annoyance and anger. These feelings are like the yellow light at the intersection. They are a warning to us that the decisions that follow need to be made carefully, and not based solely on our emotional response to the situation.
Next we need to identify what category the dilemma falls in:
Following is a checklist that can be used to help arrive at an outcome that will leave you feeling good about yourself:
It has often occurred to me that how one reacts to a traffic signal provides a good model for defining ethical behavior. When we approach a signalized intersection, it is clear to most of us that the red light means stop, a green light means go. If we go through a red light we knowingly break the law and risk suffering the consequences if we get caught. A green light means we have unrestricted permission to go (unless there's a fire truck heading our way!). Approaching a yellow light, however, we have several options—slow down, speed up, or continue at the same speed. While many will automatically slow down (these are the truly ethical people who invite road rage and rear-end collisions), a fair number of us will decide what to do based on the situation. Our choice will be influenced by our personality, our frame of mind at the time, our preoccupation with where we are going, how late we are, etc. Only by stepping outside of ourselves can we appreciate what the yellow light is really there for—not to be interpreted in terms of our personal needs and wants, but in terms of our concern for the safety of others. It is there to alert us that we need to proceed with caution, because our actions could have serious consequences not just to us, but to other users of the roadway. Recognition of this fact puts us on the path to behaving ethically.
The reward for doing the right thing is not always immediate, nor does it always come to us from the external environment. On the contrary, behaving ethically can have negative consequences, such as loss of friendships, public criticism, negative impacts to certain members of the public and/or the environment, and can lead to a lot of personal agonizing over the alternatives we discarded when we picked the one we thought best. Sometimes doing nothing seems like the safest course. However, doing nothing is seldom an acceptable alternative, and does not absolve us of responsibility for the consequences of our inaction. If we want to make a difference and to contribute in a meaningful way to our profession, our families and our community, we have to wrestle with the ethical dilemmas that confront us daily, and make the best choice we can from those that are available.
"The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil." - Hannah Arendt
John Lisenko is a retired Public Works Director with the City of Foster City, California. He occasionally consults and is also one of the organizers and instructors of the APWA Northern California Chapter's Public Works Institute. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
CHUNKY COWBOY CHILI
1 medium to large onion coarsely chopped
1 green onion (scallion) sliced
1 green pepper diced
1 pound cube steak cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans undrained
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste (can be flavored)
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp chili powder
1 bag of Four Cheese or Nacho Doritos
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp black pepper
Assorted hot sauces
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
Place ingredients in crock pot in listed order and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours (depending upon crock pot or until the savory aroma overcomes you and you have to have it now). Stir occasionally until done.
Don Jacobovitz, P.E.
Public Works Director
Putnam County, FL
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Garrett Harris 10:11 p.m., May 23
Malmö's gothic Town Hall, in the city center.Posted January 7, 2013
Stories this photo appears in:
Do as the Swedes do in this cosmopolitan Old World city.
Malmö is at the very southern tip of Sweden. This lively, modern-thinking international city has been around since the Middle Ages and used to be part of Denmark. In fact, to visit Malmö, you fly ...
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The Ski and Snowboard Show 2011 is back at Earls Court from 19th – 23rd October and is promising to be bigger and better than ever before. The 2011 show is keeping hold of all our old favourites as well as injecting even more excitement with a range of new additions.
Tickets are on sale now with special discounts for subscribers to Metro Snow. Therefore, book now and start gearing yourself up to a fantastic ski season 2011/12.
For more information click here
To book tickets click here
Start planning your ski holiday and snowboard holiday with Independent Mountain and our fantastic range of catered ski accommodation and self catered ski accommodation. Pay us a visit, drop us a line firstname.lastname@example.org or give us a call on 0033 450 748 379.
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Haha...love your red solo cup :). And boy...are you short, or is your hubs tall? Or a combo? Either way, gorgeous captures for love.Kathy
Beautiful photos, Saun!
LOVE your red solo cup picture! Just heard that song tonight!Love your love pictures as well...great set!
What a great set! Duplicate was awesome!
Your photos for love are so sweet, and I love the guitars!!
lovely love shots, and the solo cup is well done! PS Did you know that if you take away the word verfication and just approve comments, it's easier on us who can't read these darned words????
I really like your love set of photos and your vibrant red cups for plastic.
wonderful pics :)
These are all such fun photos, Saun. Especially love the one of your hubby and the midget, ummm, oh wait --- that's you. Lol. Thank you for sharing at Your Sunday Best.
These are great! Love the love pictures! So sweet!
I love hand holding. LOVE! What a great picture. Very sweet and emotion filled. Perfect : )I had to try 4 times for your word verification. Do you get a lot of spam? Even if you do, I think I would just go in and delete it and take away word verification because commenting is very difficult on blogs with that! Especially with the new enhanced word verification. It is just crazy!
Great shots! I especially like the one of holding hands from below!!! I have been wanting to try taking pictures like that!
GREAT set this week!
Great photos....my favorite is the guitar shot.
What a great series! I love the holding hands shots!
great interpretation of the words for the week..especially the Love
The guitar shot is very cool. Very rock and roll.
Really nice set, love your LOVE shots, so very sweet. Your hubby is so tall and protective, I am sure. Have a great week ahead.
sweet 'love' shots. :)
(and you were successful in removing the word ver! hurray!!!)
Wonderful images, Saun! I love the first shot of you and your hubby! Very sweet! Happy Sunday!
That love series is fantastic. You caught some wonderful POVs. Red plastic cups. Why didn't I think of that?
Beautiful! I love the first shot.
Your "love" shots are really pretty :) Enjoy your Sunday and thanks for stopping by!
Go on dashboard, go to settings, there at the bottom is something about enable transliteration. Click it to disable, and then there is a place where you have to approve comments. It's easy peasy. If you have trouble, email@example.com
I really love your first shot! Ha, why wouldn't I - I had the same idea;) The guitar is cool,too.
Love the 'love' series of photos. Sparks seem to fly right off the screen.
Good "love" shots. I also like your "I Spy" shots from Tuesday. Very neat little bird picts.
Is that an old tin birdhouse in the tree? That's really cool looking! Fantastic shots of you & hubby... love the 1st one... he's really tall! =)I'm so sorry ya'll had so much trouble finding the settings... I had that very problem last night! =0
Such sweet love shots - I especially love the first shot.
really cool shots of you and your husband!
Great photos all around. Wonderful perspectives.
Love the paper from the tree! Sweet love pictures, very nice.~
LOVE that shot of walking together... actually I like them all, I like your clasping hands... Thank you Saun, for sharing on 'Weekly Top Shot.' I hope you'll come share again next week...
Great shots. Especially like the paper birch shot, very creative. Have a wonderful week!
Love that second shot, shooting from the ground up at the sky. Not sure how you managed it, but it came out great!
Beautiful photos.Regards and best wishes
These shots are really nice (especially your love shot). Love the edits done on your plastic shot.
I love your guitar shot and the red solo cups! Great ideas!!
Adorable set of photos...i like the first one a lot, it's so romantic.
Post a Comment
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Florence Moon Enau: A Girl from La Jolla
by Chang Yi. Posted on April 10, 2012, Tuesday
When John F Kennedy became president, a new Camelot was born in the United States.
The spirit of global volunteerism promoted by Kennedy when he made the historical ‘Ask what you can do for your country’ speechinspired millions of young Americans to pick up their knapsacks and travel the world to volunteer.
One of them was a young Senior at San Jose State College – Florence Moon.
Florence was born in Toledo, Ohio. At eight, she moved with her family to La Jolla in California, the Sunshine State of USA. In 1961, she went to San Jose State College and was caught up in the new wave of social awareness and global volunteerism under the Kennedy government.
Growing up, her parents made sure that she did a good dose of community service together with her sister. She had been an active Girl Scout and was a candy striper who helped the Pink Ladies, a medical ladies auxiliary group,with hospital social concerns.
By the time she was in her senior year, she was more than prepared to volunteer in the Peace Corps (PC) officially established by Kennedy in 1961.
The Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) forms she had to fill were, as she puts it, “the most comprehensive character reference forms I ever filled in my life!”
She had to give the names of three referrals, who were in turn interviewed. The selection process for PCVs wasthat stringent.
Florence had a twinkle in her eye when she related her elation of receiving the letter of acceptance. She said that it felt like only yesterday when everything in her world took a whirlwind turn.
She knew there was a country called Malaysia from her geography lessons, but she still had to look at an atlas to confirm where she was really going! She then went for a physical examination at Moffat Field. She said with her trademark chuckle “It was almost like signing up for the Army.”
Orientation took place in Hawaii. Once on board the plane, she found several old friends onboard from La Jolla High School like Bill and Eleanor Revelle along with many other Californians.
Her high school had given her adequate exposure to international and multi-racial communities. She had already had a Japanese-American roommate in college and her experience with the American Field Service gave her plenty of opportunities to meet international exchange students in California.
Furthermore, California as a state has a big Chinese population in San Francisco. These factors helped her get ready for Peace Corps work overseas.
The orientation programme in Hilo, the big island of Hawaii, was run in an old school in the middle of a huge sugar cane field. The volunteers were given canvas cots. On colder days they had to put newspapers under their sheets to keep themselves warm.
It was made more traumatic for many married couples because their privacy was only provided by bedsheets hanging from the ceiling!
Makeshift showers provided only cold water which could be unbearable on cold November days.
Each day was filled with Malay language lessons with teachers seconded from Malaysia like CikguHajijah and Jimmy Layang (who would be her future husband) both of whom were from Sarawak.
There were talks on the history of Malaysia. The lessons on social customs and different races were interesting and inspiring. Physical exercises were a must and swimming was glorious for those who enjoyed it. However, it was a daunting experience for Florence who did not enjoy getting her polio or tetanus shots every Saturday!
Solo camping was also part of the programme, along with learning how to slaughter and dress a chicken. Nobody was spared as everybody had to do it.
She had to pluck the feathers off and dress the chicken ready for cooking. For those who had never seen blood, the experience was horrific!
Food during training was very simple and plain but they were all in good shape by the end of it.
During the three-month intense training she remembered a few volunteers quit the programme to go home. Some were also asked to leave by the authorities when they were found to be unsuitable for the programme.
It was during this training that she got to knowher future husband, Jimmy. She remembers being very impressed by himwhen hehelped the instructors slaughter a whole cow for a ‘luau’.
They went up a volcano on their first date in Hawaii. She did not realise then that that would change her entire life and that she would remain in Sarawak until today!
Her own family was very supportive of her volunteer work overseas. Her parents were well educated and had always been very positive with her decision-making. So when she finally said good bye, her father came to Hawaii to wave her off.
They flew Pan Am and saw Hong Kong, which she described was exactly like its depiction in the film “The World of Suzie Wong”.
They went to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur where they were introduced to more “real-world volunteers”.
Finally, they were sent off to their various posts and she landed in Kuching – all this in a matter of days.
As a volunteer in Kuching she was given work in the Sarawak School Broadcasting Service and had to share accommodation with Gretchen Miller at the back of the office. For two years she worked for Radio Sarawak and wrote the school radio lessons for Primaries One and Two. Her work included splicing tapes and getting teachers to use the programmes for their English lessons.
Weekends were spent travelling throughout the first division and she spent her holidays in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
She and Jimmy were engaged in 1967, marrying in the US in 1968. There, she went to work while Jimmy went back to his studies.
In 1976, the couple returned to Sarawak. Florence taught at St Columba’s Secondary School in Miri for a year. After their daughter, Suzanne, was born in December 1977 she quit teaching.
She was the Headmistress of Sri Mawar Kindergarten from 1985 to 2006. When she finally retired, she was already in her 60s. Jimmy, however, died in 2005.
Florence chose to stay on in Malaysia and is now living a very fulfilling life in Miri doing voluntary work.
She is a member of the Petroleum Women’s Club of Miri and Inner Wheeler Club of Miri. She tries to keep fit with aqua-aerobics and bowling. She also takes yoga lessons. She successfully edited an anthology of stories written by the Society of Writers of Northern Sarawak (Miri) and another edition is forthcoming.
Even today, it is easy to see Florence as the young energetic Peace Corps volunteer from California. She is still determined to make things right for people who are less fortunate than her.
She still has that spirit to speak her mind and put things in order for her friends and strangers. She often goes the extra mileto get things done!
Her American values from the 1960s continue to stay with her and asa Sarawakian relative has said of her, “She is the best among the best”.
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The poor old mop is often maligned, but the extra spinning feature and fibre material of this mop, provide a superior clean.
Spin Dry to remove dirty water with a simple step on the pedal for a clean dry mop head. There is a second spinning attachment in the water section to agitate the mop head and remove dirt before spin drying it too.
Unlike ordinary mops and sponge mops; this Woolly Fibre Mop actually traps and lifts more dirt than any other mop out there, finally the spin dry, cleans and dries the mop for the next super dirt trapping swipe, all without bending down.
Super lightweight and super stylish too.
I have used this incredible high speed spin dry mop myself and it really is a 'wow' product!
Please Note: Stocks are limited!
Delivery Time: Please allow a minimum 10 Working days for delivery!
We despatch from Gauteng so deliveries in Gauteng are quicker.
Reasonable T&Cs Apply – e.g. the goods need to be in original condition and be returned with the original packaging. See our full T&Cs.
We are committed Hook, Line and Sinker to your Satisfaction!
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I have a chart in a spreadsheet. If I click on it and select 'advanced edit' > Start, it offers to 'Use row 12 as headers'. How can I use a different row for the header names? My data has rows for the headers, some rows of old data I dont want displayed, the data (which starts at row 12).
Yes. On that same tab there is a selection for Data Select Ranges
On the popup, choose your HEADER row first. This is important. Then click on add another range.
Now choose your data. Click Ok
Under "combine ranges" choose vertically.
Make sure the box is checked that says "use row XX as a header". (this would be the first range you chose).
I think that is what you are looking for.
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Peter Bergman: Remembering The 'Firesign' Satirist
Originally published on Tue March 13, 2012 7:52 am
Peter Bergman, one of the founding members of the four-man surrealist comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre, died Friday of complications from leukemia. He was 72.
Bergman, along with collaborators David Ossman, Phil Proctor and Phil Austin, created satire out of the political and civil upsets of the 1960s and 1970s, blending surrealism, absurdities, non sequiturs, paranoia, parodies of the Establishment, sound effects, in-jokes about hippies and knowing allusions to literature and trash culture.
The group got its start in radio, then began to create intricately layered multi-track comedy records. The late 1960s brought Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him, followed by How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere At All; Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers and I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus.
In 1993, Bergman, Ossman and Proctor joined Fresh Air host Terry Gross for a conversation about their many years of collaboration. Bergman explained that the four got together shortly after he arrived in California to work on a show called Radio Free Oz.
"I went out to California and started this radio show and was playing Indian music and Andy Warhol and Buffalo Springfield and all this pop culture and astrology, and it was a crazy late-night show, and people were going mad by it," he says. "And just before we went on the show that night, Nov. 17, 1966 — I was an astrologer at the time — 'I said, 'We're all fire signs. We're the Oz Firesigns."
The Firesigns' album Don't Crush that Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers was placed in the National Recording Registry in 2005. The album, reviewed in The New York Times in 1972, was called "a mind-boggling sound drama" and a "work of almost Joycean complexity."
Bergman is survived by his daughter, Lily Oscar Bergman, and his sister, Wendy Kleckner.
TERRY GROSS, HOST:
In the late '60s and in the '70s, one of the hippest comedy groups was the Firesign Theatre. Their sketches were famous for their surrealism, absurdities, non sequiturs, crazy paranoia, parodies of the Establishment, in-jokes about hippies, and knowing allusions to literature and trash culture.
One of the founders of the group, Peter Bergman, died Friday at the age of 72 from complications of leukemia. Firesign made intricately layered, multi-track comedy records such as "Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him," and "Don't Crush The Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers." They all loved old-time radio and often parodied it. From the 1969 album "How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere At All," here's Peter Bergman doing a radio commercial in the middle of the old time radio sketch "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger."
(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY ALBUM)
PETER BERGMAN: All right, hold it right where you are. I'm Lieutenant Bradshaw with a piece of advice for you. Now, here in the studio it's all knuckles and know-how, but when that red light goes off, I'm just plain Harry Ames - citizen, weekend father. Now, take a tip from a cop who does: Radio work can be just as dirty and exciting as hunting down public enemy number one. So when I get home, my old lady knows what I need and how - a warm, heaping bowl full of Loosener's Castor Oil Flakes with real glycerin Vibrafome.
It doesn't just wash your mouth out. It cleans the whole system right on down the line. So come on, you little rookies, tell your mom to get on it and do it every day. Just remember what the guys down at the precinct house sing...
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) Oh, it ain't no use if you ain't got the boost, the boost you get from Loosener's. Loosener's...
BERGMAN: The all weather breakfast.
GROSS: I spoke with three members of the Firesign Theatre in 1993 after the release of a best-of Firesign anthology. Here's a short excerpt of what Peter Bergman had to say. I asked him to do one or two of the voices he was known for.
BERGMAN: Well, I'm Peter Bergman. And in "Dwarf," well, I play Mudhead. You know, gee, Porg. I didn't know you masturbated. Golly.
PHIL PROCTOR: That's my line.
BERGMAN: And on the other hand, in Nick Danger I'm the tough Lieutenant Bradshaw. Shut up, Danger. That's how you'll recognize me.
GROSS: Let's do a little bit of Firesign history here. You guys got together when you had a radio show called...
BERGMAN: I had a show.
GROSS: What was the show called?
PROCTOR: "Radio Free Oz."
GROSS: "Radio Free Oz." This was on the Pacifica station and Los Angeles.
PROCTOR: Listener supported.
GROSS: So what kind of stuff for you doing then?
BERGMAN: Well, this started in the summer of 1966 and FM then basically was dedicated to classical music and was not a big entertainment, pop entertainment medium at all. And I'd heard Bob Fass's show on BAI just before I came out to California...
GROSS: That's the New York Pacifica station.
BERGMAN: And he was doing mixes of sound and all kind of - and I was very much involved in...
PROCTOR: Fast track.
BERGMAN: ...what was then the avant-garde pop culture. I'd been tangentially with the Living Theatre. I'd been over in Europe. I was in a playwriting seminar with a young guy named Tom Stoppard, a young guy named Piers Paul Read, and a young guy named Derek Marlowe, and me. There were these four 24-year-olds writing...
PROCTOR: In Berlin.
BERGMAN: In Berlin. In Berlin. Yeah. And that's where Stoppard wrote "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern," was in this little house where we all worked. So I came back all full of the avant-garde, went out to California, started this radio show, and I was playing Indian music and Andy Warhol was on, and the Buffalo Springfield, and all this pop culture and astrology and tarot. And it was a crazy late night show. And people were going mad behind it.
And in walks Phil Proctor that I worked with in drama from Yale. And he was the leading man in the musicals that I had worked with. David Ossman had just left the stage and it's PD and gone to put a suit on with ABC, which was not making him very happy. And Phil Austin was engineering and kind of co-producing the show.
Well, all of a sudden, out nowhere, really out of nowhere, the four of us got together. I'd been doing comedy on Radio Free Oz already. We decided to do this thing called The Oz.
PHIL PROCTOR: Film festival.
BERGMAN: Film Festival Jury. And just before we went on the show that night, November 17, 1966, I was an astrologer at the time, OK. I said: Well, you're all fire signs. We're all fire signs. We're the fire sign - we're the Oz Firesign Theater.
GROSS: That was Peter Bergman of the Firesign Theater recorded in 1993. He died Friday at the age of 72. Here's Bergman as Lieutenant Bradshaw in the old time radio detective parody "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye" from a 1969 album.
(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW)
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) And now we return you to act three of Nick Danger: Third Eye.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) When the crazy escalator ride ended and I fought my way back up to the land of the living, I came to, slumped over in the front seat of my own car lying in a pool of cheap rotgut. I had a head full of ideas that were driving me insane and a mouth full of cotton candy.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) You want some more cotton candy, Danger? It might sober you up.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Oh, my head. Bradshaw, baby.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Yeah. I never thought I'd be happy to see your ugly mug.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Save the wisecracks for the warden, Danger. I got you this time and I got you good.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) What are you talking about?
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Get out of that car.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Hey, come on.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) If you can stand up. And keep your hands high. I got you covered.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Hey, what's this all about, Bradshaw? You know I never carry a rod. Hey.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Yeah, but it's murder what some people can do with a car and I got witnesses to prove it.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (As Nancy) There's the man. Keep me away from him. He did it. Oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) I don't know why you're doing this, Nancy, but it doesn't change my feelings about you.
(As Nancy) Oh, Nick, you're such a tool. He did it.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) All right. All right, take it easy, little lady. All right. Now let's get these facts straight. Take this down, Henderson. OK, professor, how did it happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (As Professor) Well, Sergeant...
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) I'm lieutenant.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Professor) Yes. Mitch's father and I were sitting right here in the living room engaged in a friendly round of spin the pickle, yeah. Yes, with our good (unintelligible).
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Mm-hmm.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (As Nancy) He did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (As Professor) Ah, yes. And then suddenly the door flew open and this drunken madman right here drove in, barking wildly and headed straight for us.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) He's lying, Bradshaw.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Can it. Can it, Danger.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (As Professor) At the last possible moment, he stopped on a dime.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) I see.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (As Professor) Unfortunately, the dime was in Mr. Roccoco's pocket.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) I'm going to break your neck, Candlewood.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) All right, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Let me at him.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Hold it, Danger. I've heard enough. We'll get the rest of the story down at the stationhouse from you. I've been waiting for this for years.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Wise up, Bradshaw.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Week in and week out, Danger.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) I didn't do it.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Playing second fiddle while you got all the girls.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Come on.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) Well, I'm tired of being Mr. Nice Guy. See, there's going to be some changes made. Next week this show is going to be called...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Sergeant Bradshaw...
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) I'm a lieutenant.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: ...district attorney.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) I'm going to have my own theme music and it's all going to take place in Washington, D.C. No plots, just girls and guys doing nice simple things up against Nazis and Fifth Columnists and no Jewish writers, either...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) I saw my chance and I took it.
BERGMAN: (As Lt. Bradshaw) ...with my name in the papers...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (As Nick Danger) Bradshaw would never listen to my story now. It would have more holes in it than Albert Hole. My only way out was like this.
GROSS: That was the Firesign Theater with Peter Bergman as Lt. Bradshaw. Bergman died Friday at the age of 72. Coming up, Kevin Whitehead reviews a couple of Dave Brubeck reissues.
This is FRESH AIR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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Cops & Courts
Oakland faith leaders call for a state of emergency
Last night, Bishop Robert Jackson spoke at the Oakland City Council meeting. He and other Oakland ministers came together to demand more aggressive action from Mayor Jean Quan in response to a recent spike in violence. They asked her to call for a state of emergency. KALW’s Holly Kernan spoke with the Bishop to ask him what that would mean for the city.
BISHOP ROBERT JACKSON: The first homicide of the year was a 17 year old. He was sitting in the car and someone went up and shot him four times and killed him. Seventeen years old and I had to talk to his mom and step-dad and minister to them, and I’m telling you, it was just heart wrenching to see that. He didn’t even know what hit him.
HOLLY KERNAN: What was his name?
BISHOP JACKSON: His name is Tyronta. He was the first homicide of 2013. His name was Tyronta Mickens. Seventeen years old.
KERNAN: And you’re part of a group of Black ministers that are calling for the city to formally declare a state of emergency?
BISHOP JACKSON: We have asked that, but the mayor says our city is not qualified for a state of emergency. I don’t know what it takes to have a state of emergency, but she said we didn’t qualify for one and that’s the reason why she hasn’t called for it.
KERNAN: Do you ever wonder if waiting for city leadership to take the lead on this is the wrong approach? That maybe we as the people living in Oakland do something?
BISHOP JACKSON: Well, we’re out there, we had 560 people out knocking on doors in the area which they call “The Killing Zone” in East Oakland this past Saturday. And then we prayed with 461 people, so we do that all of the time, our church especially, we’re in the streets praying in the neighborhoods, knocking on doors, praying with the people, and even the people are tired of all of that’s going on in the community as well, but the conclusion is like, what can we do? What can they do? It’s happening, and it’s happening in our community, there just seems to be no end in sight.
Click the audio player above to listen to the interview.
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Theatre Ancaster will once again sing in the holiday season with an evening of song, story and carols for young and old, Tuesday Dec. 11 with two shows at the Old Firehall Arts Centre, 334 Wilson St. E. in Ancaster.
The first show is a family affair at 7 p.m. with lots of kids and a visit from a certain jolly old red-coated elf. At 8:30 p.m., there will be a more relaxed performance of the season’s favourites.
Gord Conroy president of Theatre Ancaster, said the shows are a way of saying thank you to the community for their support of, tage performances and programs throughout the year.
“More than 6,000 people see our shows each year, and more than 40 area businesses sponsor us in some way,” said Conroy. “We provide programs for more than 350 youth each year, and when you add a couple of hundred volunteers on stage and back stage as well, you’ve got quite a representation from the community at large.”
Admission is $5 for adults and $10 for a family of four. Doors open at 6 p.m. Cash only, no reserved seating or advance ticket sales. Refreshments will be provided and all proceeds will be donated to Ancaster Community Services’ Christmas Outreach Project.
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Michael Carrick says United possess sufficiently thick skin to cope with any criticism directed towards Old Trafford.
The Reds' October mauling by Manchester City, allied to premature exits from the Champions League and Carling Cup, prompted widespread condemnation of the champions' form.
Now that United have drawn level on points with Roberto Mancini's side at the head of the Barclays Premier League table, Carrick insists external views of the club count for little.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, the 30-year-old smiled: "Keep criticising, we don't mind! Since I've been here we've had it at some stage every year, and more or less we've had good seasons.
"We'll keep doing what we're doing. We know the potential here and how well we're playing of late, and we'll just keep doing the things we know best and hopefully that'll be enough."
In addition to joining City on 45 points, the Reds' successive 5-0 wins over Fulham and Wigan have hacked sizeable chunks from the Blues' goal difference advantage, which now stands at just five in City's favour.
"That was on our mind at half-time [against Wigan]," admitted Carrick. "We wanted to keep going, we didn't want things to fizzle out as they can do sometimes when you're a couple of goals up against 10 men and they sit back.
"It was a different game in the second half but we just kept plugging away, kept going and we're obviously delighted with 5-0."
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“The bigger the lie, therefore, the likelier it is to be believed.”
Liberal commentators regularly assert they “just can’t,” “won’t” or that they “simply refuse to believe” 9/11 could have been an inside job . Yet such irrational and emotive statements merely confirm the cognitive impairment of their speaker. It is a firm matter of historical record that governments, very much including our own, have planned and executed horrendous, even murderous acts of deceit in the past, including ones against their own people. Denying this would be denying the dynamics of power as they’ve been understood since remote antiquity, and those who decry even the possibility that 9/11 was an inside job (in spite of the vast array of evidence as well as eminent expert, professional, and military opinion clearly indicating it was) are stretching an already tenuous appeal to American Exceptionalism, the fallacy that “it could never happen here.”
Who would deny the Tuskegee experiments against African American prisoners, or the MK ULTRA mind control experiments of the ‘60s and ‘70s, or that the government recently legalized the testing of carcinogenic agents on members of minority communities, to cite just a few examples? What liberal voices reveal in their abjectly anti-intellectual denial that 9/11 might have been a “false flag” intelligence operation intended to trigger public support for the geopolitical aims of the new administration is their own arrogance, specifically their less-than subtle sense of their own privilege and superiority. “The government might dispose of members of social, racial and ethnic minorities,” their reasoning implies, “but it would never kill with such brazen indiscrimination as was the case on 9/11.” It would never, in other words, kill “me!”
Meanwhile, a critical look at the public record reveals that government officials have repeatedly lied about almost every aspect of 9/11, prior to which they a) reorganized the national security apparatus in a way that appears to have facilitated the attacks, b) obstructed field investigations that would have prevented them, and c) issued directives that confused longstanding national security procedures. They have alternately confessed to and denied receiving multiple advance detailed warnings of the attacks from an extensive variety of credible domestic and international sources. And they have sought to obscure their own close and deep historical and financial ties to international forces playing a part in 9/11. They have suppressed and destroyed material evidence pertaining to multiple aspects of the attacks and even reclassified published material supporting the “inside job” argument (meaning that it is no longer admissible in US courts). And they have deliberately contorted the public record to fit the official account of events. Ignoring the testimony of numerous witnesses to various aspects of the 9/11 tragedy that directly contradict the official account, and in manifest conflict of interest, officials have pointedly neglected to investigate 9/11 from any angle other than that presuming the entire government’s absolute innocence; this was the narrow—and given the record incredible—course to which the 9/11 Commission was hog-tied from the outset by the director of its “investigation,” Philip Zelikow, a neo-con close to the White House. (As the Commission concedes, its mandate did not include assigning “blame” for 9/11.) Meanwhile, people in and out of government have been harassed and threatened for speaking out about what they know, while many others (we must presume) remain effectively silenced.
It is not unreasonable but incumbent upon us to suspect that such blatant and determined obfuscation shields the guilty: those with the readiest means and clearest motives to plan, facilitate and effectively cover-up an event on the scale of 9/11, officials whose mentors and forbears leave a documented history of premeditating just such epochal crimes. Especially as it was these officials’ long-announced aim to implement a crusade for central Eurasian resources and global (or “full spectrum”) US military “dominance” (including the militarization of space)—a grand design contingent, in their own words, upon “a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat” to the nation such as might be announced in the form of “a new Pearl Harbor.”
Add to this the grotesque anomalies in the physical record pertaining to 9/11. Such as the strangely conflicting body of evidence pertaining to United Flight 93, or the government’s suspicious handling of the Flight 77/Pentagon evidence, or the fact that the virulently “weaponized” post-9/11 anthrax strain was cultured in laboratories at Ft. Dietrich in Maryland, or the several indications that the three towers to plunge from the lower Manhattan skyline at near freefall speed on 9/11 were demolished by controlled demolition. What’s been characterized by a cross-section of credible academic and expert opinion as the “physical impossibility” of the official narrative for these towers’ collapse has sparked bureaucratic battles—not elaborated upon in mainstream press—that have led in one case to the firing of Kevin Ryan, an official from Underwriters Laboratories, the company which certified the steel used in the towers, only days after he’d clearly spelled out, in a letter to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the implausibility of the official narrative of their destruction.
It is clear to anyone following the 9/11 debate that independent researchers skeptical of the official story are carrying the day in a broad variety of arguments against those attempting to shore up a hemorrhaging (if mercurial) official narrative. While those towing a slurring government line neglect to engage their detractors openly, their logistical efforts are clearly aimed at evading and obfuscating the latter’s coherent and devastating critiques. What’s frustrating to those of us following the drama is that, while the truth regarding 9/11 is slowly willing out, no one besides “conspiracy theorists” seems to be paying much attention.
In his bosom-clutching dereliction of intellectual duty, the liberal intellectual is denying—in curious lockstep with the lunkhead right—that he’s been duped. Snared by conceit, he forbids attribution of any historic event to any catalyst other than that delineated by the regime, no matter how tortured and self-contradictory this official conspiracy theory is proven to be, and no matter how many people of goodwill risk life, reputation and career to set the record straight.
If the liberal’s denial is outright, that of farther “leftist” sentiment manifests as avoidance. In its scurry from critical 9/11 dispute, a voice promoting itself as progressive or even radical asserts that we should just “get over” 9/11 already, even that it “doesn’t matter,” a statement advanced by a self-professed lefty to this writer based on the fact that more people die of AIDS everyday than were killed in the September 2001 catastrophe. The inanity of his reasoning is as obvious as it is prevalent in leftist discourse about 9/11—to the extent there is any—largely guided by the meretricious “blowback” theory of terrorism: by his token AIDS doesn’t matter, and neither does genocide, since more people die of starvation everyday than of the two other scourges combined.
It is not the aim of independent 9/11 researchers to make a fetish the human losses suffered that day , but to honor those slain by exposing their true murderers and deflating the malignant myth that because “they hate our way of life” 19 Arabs armed with box-cutters defeated the United States all on their own that day: a morally indefensible absurdity and singular pretext for a war consuming uncounted innocent lives.
Admittedly, part of the difficulty in pleading truth about 9/11 is that this also, in effect, asks the victims’ loved ones (and the nation overall) to re-enter that devastation, to awaken to it as if for the first time. Resentment is to be expected. But when emotion occludes reason so persistently it’s unhealthy. And as we redress our own grief and betrayal, mere messengers are beset with condescension, suspicion and dismissal.
However protective in intent, strident reactions to these messages are anti-rational, ahistorical and hysterical. Based not in logic but fear, these rationalizations, in an all-too apt analogy, recall those offered by victims of abusive families who refuse to acknowledge—and who secretly even feel they deserve—the abuse. This subconscious guilt is especially apparent in the left’s uncritical adoption of the “blowback” theory of terrorism (which sees the attacks as lucky breaks on the part the oppressed against a bumbling empire in real part responsible for their suffering). Outright dismissal of the possibility that 9/11 was an inside job may be said to indicate the left’s own repressed guilt over the event, a condition reaching its ludicrous apogee in my acquaintance’s statement that 9/11, inside job or not, “doesn’t matter.”
Indicative of the left’s blinkered response to the challenges presented by 9/11 are the reactions to the attacks, and to allegations they were state-sponsored, by Ward Churchill, who after claiming those who died deserved it (as cogs in the Zionist world-order) appeared to step back from this stance on a television program on which he shared a platform with the son of a 9/11 victim. In a tight spot, Churchill proceeded to barter with both the young man and the truth (at least as he saw it) when he offered sui generis that the young man’s father—whom Churchill claimed to have actually met—didn’t deserve it, in exchange for the young man’s conceding that many of those who died so horribly with his dad might have. (The son didn’t bite.) Add to this Churchill’s disgusting implication—voiced on Air America Radio—that doubting the official story is racist, based on his perversely equating the suggestion that Arabs didn’t pull off the attacks (at least by themselves) with saying they lacked the intelligence to.
Never mind that the public record provides ample cause to seriously question almost every aspect of the government’s narrative, not the least of which is that according to reputable press sources many of the alleged hijackers are still alive. This, as well as evidence Mohamed Atta and other “hijackers” were double-agents, is ignored by Churchill, whose dogma appears to dispense with such fussy obligations as consulting the labors of respected intellectuals who’ve actually scrutinized the matter. (Like David Ray Griffin or Nafeez Ahmed, chroniclers of multitudinous deficiencies in an official narrative suffering “death by a thousand cuts,” more than a few lethal.) In his racist defense of Arabs as righteous murderers, Churchill doesn’t pause in lending his leftist bona fides to support of the government’s theory, under whose pretext thousands of perfectly intelligent—not to mention innocent—Arabs are now routinely slaughtered. To Churchill, incarnation of leftist catatonia, Arabs did it because they’re smart and Americans deserve it, facts be damned. With flagellation passing for leftist opinion on 9/11, dare we marvel at rightist triumphs?
Webster Griffin Tarpley, quoted here at length, concisely characterizes the theoretical basis of “9 11 Truth’s” argument, which opposes the romantic or “naïve” view that terrorist acts grow “directly out of oppression, economic misery, and political despair,” with the oppressed and exploited supposedly “coming together spontaneously…to armed struggle against their oppressors or occupiers.” While acknowledging that intelligence agencies draw from among the subjugated in orchestrating “false-flag” or “black” operations such as 9/11, in the Truth Movement we start “from the strong presumption that terrorism is intrinsically an activity which is controlled by a faction of government [through the cooperative involvement of international secret intelligence agencies like CIA, FBI, NSA, ISI, MI 5, MI 6 and Mossad], probably acting under the influence of financier factions which are generally the ultimate source of authority in the globalized universe after 1991… Secret intelligence agencies are institutions in which the very essence of oligarchy is at work: as the enjoyment of oligarchical privileges comes inevitably at the expense of the people, covert methods of control become indispensable. Secret intelligence agencies in their modern forms go back to the Republic of Venice…the longest-lasting oligarchical system in world history…which was famous for its intelligence directorate, the Council of Ten, and its pervasive network of spies, informers, and provocateurs… Despite their cultural differences all of these secret intelligence agencies are fundamentally alike. Terrorism generally starts within these secret agencies, or nowadays more likely in their privatized tentacles—such as the intelligence community in the United States has had since President Reagan’s Executive Order 12333.”
According to Tarpley’s aptly chilling description, “the world of secret intelligence agencies is a realm of falsehood, camouflage, deception, violence, unspeakable cruelty, treachery, and betrayal. It is the most desolate and grim sector of human endeavor, where no human values can subsist. It knows neither hope, nor mercy, nor redemption. It is the one area of human life where Hobbes’s maxim holds true—it is the war of all against all.”
Paraphrasing Der Fuhrer, Marshall McLuhan observes, “Only the small secrets need to be protected. The big ones are kept secret by public incredulity.” Let’s allow for just a moment that there’s something to the vast array of information and evidence offered by so many experts from diverse backgrounds, all clearly combining to indicate that 9/11 was a “false flag” intelligence operation—a clandestine, collaborative procedure carefully orchestrated by Anglo/American intelligence agencies in coordination with powerful figures inside US military, industry and government. In that case each of us remains victim of the incredulity McLuhan notes, of the Hitlerian lie, not to mention the obscene crime it veils. Recall what blame for the attacks has been officially laid to: a failure of the imagination. Ironically, a diagnosis with which “9 11 Truth” researchers would concur, were that failure characterized as a prevailing collective, irrational and anti-historical refusal to imagine that certain of those charged with protecting us may be guilty of the deliberate and ultimate betrayal of the sacred—that is, blood—trust vested in them. The esteemed psychoanalyst Martin S. Bergmann contends that dread of this precise betrayal, of being in essence sacrificed by the parental or protective authority, is the most primal fear—however latent—experienced by human beings. It is precisely this fear that would blind us to the truth about 9/11.
The apparent fact that the crimes of 9/11 have been planned, executed, covered-up and exploited by longstanding clandestine elements within the US military/industrial complex in cooperation with Anglo/American secret intelligence agencies (extending, in this analysis, to the Israeli Mossad) has a subtly pernicious influence on the collective psyche of people in the United States in particular. In part a psychological or “mind-control” operation, the attacks have conditioned the US public for ever-increasing acceptance of lies within our social discourse as well as our very relation to the material world. This condition, which writers from George Orwell to Milan Kundera have recognized as symptomatic of authoritarian regimes, has led to radically diminished accountability on the part of public officials, military authorities and, most ominously, ourselves.
Charles Upton, in his critique of New Age and Postmodern thought, The System of Antichrist, chronicles the corrosive inroads made by irrationality into academic and cultural life. The cerebral anemia according to which 9/11 alternately “doesn’t matter” or its myriad anomalies are swept under the rug is sadly emblematic of this decay of intelligence. Upton notes that “once truth is abandoned, all that’s left is power,” which may explain doctrinaire leftist knee-jerking when it comes to 9/11. It can’t matter that reason and record are on the side of “9 11 Truth,” along with poor facts (as best mere mortals might know them). Hectoring, smug and quick to take offense, the opposition are trapped animals savagely defending any corner they’re narrowed to, with liberals huffing firm and final words on the matter, while to others reality itself founders in a “critique of empiricism” where “evidence” and “truth” being “historically problematic” are simply “not emphasized.” Seems it’s we conspiracy theorists who “just don’t understand.”
The painful irony is that “9 11 Truth” and affiliated groups are forming what leftists purport to advocate: a critical-minded, ecumenical and egalitarian movement whose exponents span the world’s religions, nationalities and ethnicities. Still, much of the left remains chary of the grassroots or any organization that doesn’t carry the imprimatur of institutional authority, especially movements considering that inflexibly taboo subject of “conspiracy.” Yet given the roles of secrecy, assassination and terrorism in authoritarian regimes historically, the unconscionable reluctance of much of the US left wing press to seriously consider evidence of official conspiracy has obscured public understanding of crimes ranging from the assassinations of JFK, Malcolm X, RFK, MLK, John Lennon and Senator Paul Wellstone to the terror attacks on the WTC in ’93, in Oklahoma City, and in the nation’s cultural and political capitols on 9/11. The evidence indicating official conspiracies in each of the aforementioned murders (not to mention many others) ranges from highly suggestive, as in the case of Lennon, to, as with 9/11, staggering.
Yet to the grim rigors of “deep politics”—the academic discipline concerned with the study of conspiratorial networks and tendencies in the contemporary state—the dilettante left, confused and enticed by the apparent inevitability of corporate globalization, swoons over the empire’s seductions (a coquetry ala Hardt and Negrie) rather than bothering with the messy, technicality-laden “truth” about 9/11, especially given “9 11 Truth’s” exposure of the explicit human predation underlying “globalization.”
It’s a truism that there’s a tendency on the part of subscribers to the conspiratorial view of history to “over-determine” the role played by conspiracy historically, particularly at the expense of economic forces (Richard Hofstadter’s position in his famous Harpers essay, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics”). Yet what can be over-determined has been insistently under-determined, along with the tendency among intelligentsia and media figures on the left to essentially side with demonstrably malfeasant state authority on the occasion of certain watershed events for which the record clearly indicates culpability on the part of state. Questioning who benefits from the prevailing cultural bias against intellectual positions—no matter how well-informed—smacking of “conspiracy,” Ralph Schoenman aptly characterizes as Stalinist this antirational bent on the part of “leftist” authorities. Whether they are conscious of it or not, these figures’ function, at the critical historical junctures such watershed crimes as 9/11 mark, is that of gatekeeper of official history, of the lies offered up by a criminalized state to obscure its essentially predatory nature.
Plainly, 9/11 does matter. Not only to those who lost loved ones, but those who sent sons and daughters to fight and die avenging them. It matters to those warriors, and to accruing millions in foreign lands invaded and threatened by the US. It matters to anyone meaningfully concerned about civil liberties, terrorism, honest public discourse, personal integrity and our collective future. And it matters the more to us who study it because of all the ugly, desperate truths it reveals about how our present system—at some macabre if principle level—operates, and because it’s our conviction that those responsible for the attacks are getting away with global murder, rape and pillage as a result of them. It matters because 9/11 marks the wanton increase in lethality of state-sponsored covert intelligence operations. It matters because historically states embarking on policies like those foisted on US bureaucracy by the 9/11 coup fair poorly quickly and bloodily. It matters because the world of decency, openness and nobility that is our birthright is receding under the banner of the official 9/11 myth into twilight, to be followed by what seems certain darkness.
Yet 9/11 cannot matter to anyone who, in their repressed dread and guilt, must deny its true aegis. If 9/11 becomes, as it does for many who part its veils, an obsession, it’s in part due to the unwillingness or inability of others to confront such anguishing data. Abandoning us to the hell which the quality and abundance of the material rips us into, those in denial are so many trite, jabbering goons smugly chirruping pop vernacular, the faux prudence of corporate opinion, or the snotty casuistry of academic chic. And worse than that they don’t know is that they don’t want to. That they’re content as the blatherers to which empire spectacle reduces them, with their participation in such big ol’ confusing matters simply not required, not that it would help anyway. Why it wasn’t them hurled to the meat-grinder of laconic apathy. And why just like the president they’re clever enough not to like (though they regard his idiocy as license), they’re “lucky,” and on that flying carpet to fame, romance, or at least self-fulfillment…
It’s all good. A fireman interviewed for an article about the 9 11 Truth Movement in New York Magazine told the reporter that he believes the government’s story on one basis. “Osama fucking bin Laden, like Bush says. If I thought it was someone else, then I’d have to do something about it.” Precisely. “And I don’t want to think about what I’d do.” This isn’t belief, but fear of truth and his castration before it, of the ignominy of his betrayal, of having hailed his brothers’ killers… Fear of rage.
Charles Upton again, in elucidating the metaphysical principles upon which the Perennial (or Traditionalist) philosophical school is based, writes that what he calls the “system of antichrist” not only makes reason and truth difficult to ascertain and/or acknowledge, it would make the very search for truth seem vain. Here’s what’s so dispiriting about the left’s overall response to 9/11. Commentator after commentator, person after person, friend after friend, without having confronted the material, begs the question, “yeah but how can you ever really know.” In an exchange with a journalist for a soft-left weekly who’d written a puerile article on the 9 11 Truth Movement, the reporter, in responding to me, adopted an attitude that might be summed, “if I can’t know exactly what happened I’m not going to go around pointing fingers, like you. And you can’t know exactly what happened either.”
As though adult conjecture was out of bounds, even given the surprisingly detailed record on the matter (of which—though he claimed familiarity with a considerable portion—he seemed oddly incurious and un-conversant, begrudging almost, yet at the same time as if waiting for still more to be discovered—not that his article mentioned much that had been—some dramatic breakthrough maybe, almost as if he was still on the job…). As though no one is ever justly held in suspicion, or those serving in government were somehow exempt from misgiving in just this instance, however incriminating the circumstances. As though 9/11 were sacred territory to be guarded from finger-pointing or all but perfect knowledge, a set of mystical circumstances beyond human adjudication.
Behind his posturing I heard the undead scratching. Shy of an impossible or “absolute” knowledge , the left, demanding all or nothing, mires in its veneration of ambiguity, neutered by a creed of uncertainly. Behold the antichrist, installed behind the implacability of our indeterminism, his dominion our doubt of him.
According to God’s biblical Covenant with the lineage of Cain (and in what some consider fair warning to free people) the beast is marked…the devil must tip his hat. (In Upton’s phrase, so apposite the 9/11 conundrum, “true evil always exhibits a tell-tale mixture of diabolical cunning and immense stupidity.”) Considering the glibness of their iniquity, a friend recalls that members of the administration don’t exactly lie (usually). Some have on a number of occasions all but confessed their crimes, acknowledging them with offhand phrases that dwindle to inaudibility. (And whatever else we might think of him, President Bush has been frank, if especially-so in moments we’re instructed by his handlers to discount. ) Accomplished postmodernists, it’s been observed these tricksters regularly offer flatly ambiguous statements that can be read past their face value as acridly ironic indications of truth. Sander Hicks, activist, gubernatorial candidate and author of a very good book on 9/11, tells an interesting story of meeting Vice President Cheney (who any “9 11 Truth-er” knows is a central suspect in the attacks) at a Republican benefit Hicks had finagled an invitation to. The moment comes to shake Cheney’s hand and Hicks, in Republican guise, looks him in the eye: “So Mr. Vice President, how do we respond to all these people who say 9/11 was an inside job?” “It can’t be,” answers Cheney. “Well why not…?” To which Dick replies (with understated candor, considering the illegal obliteration of the 9/11 crime scenes), “All the evidence is on our side.”
Well Dubya does dub ‘im “vice.”
Considering the official story’s blatant contortions, the seething anomalies in the public record, and the shameless cover-up of the scandal , those of us who follow independent 9/11 research often find ourselves shaking our heads: “How stupid do they think we are?” Yet considering the intransigence of so many on the left, practitioners of what Jesuits call “invincible ignorance,” that’s hardly the question…
How stupid are we? Mind-control 101 :
One of the many difficulties in discussing 9/11 critically is the inevitability that other outré topics muffled within postmodern discourse will arise. One is mind control, essentially the fostering and aggravating of schizophrenic mindsets within an individual or populace with the aim of inducing a form of Multiple Personality Disorder (termed by professionals Dissociative Identity Disorder) in persons and/or groups. While psy-ops (psychological operations) are considered within the military to be an essential aspect of any strategy against an enemy, many liberals and progressives again “fail to imagine” that psy-ops could ever be effectively turned on anyone so sophisticated as themselves.
Yet it would seem they have been, against us all, and for some time. Nestled in the just-upstate New York town of Cold Spring and overlooking the Hudson toward a southerly West Point lies the stately-named Tavistock Institute. More than a quaint throwback to the heady acme of Skinnerian psychology, Tavistock describes itself as an organization of “dynamic psychiatry” intended to practice what it calls “societry,” otherwise known as mass perceptual manipulation and management, on the planet as a whole. According to the late maverick researcher Jim Keith, Tavistock was born from “the collaboration of the international moneyed elite, military intelligence, and the materialist psychiatric community.” Keith notes that Kurt Lewin, co-founder of the American Office of Strategic Services (precursor to CIA) “is credited with much of the Original Tavistock research into mass brainwashing, applying the results” of government-sponsored mind-control experiments involving the “repeated traumatizing and torture of individuals to society at large.” Writing in the mid-‘90s, Keith characterized the theory behind Tavistock. “[I]f terror can be induced on a widespread basis then society…reverts to a tabula rasa…situation where control can easily be instituted from an exterior point… By the creation of controlled chaos the populace can be brought to the point where it willingly submits to increasing increments of control… Lewin maintained society must be driven into a state equivalent to an ‘early childhood situation’ which he termed ‘fluidity.’” Tavistock literature reiterates its “global vision,” admits its “military” orientation and makes it clear, according to Keith, “that the Institute intends to practice its long-term ‘societry’ on the world regardless of the wishes of the individuals who inhabit it.”
The awkward fact appears to be this: in the eyes of our oligarchical masters, those generally faceless entities behind the World Trade Organization, World Bank, “globalization,” Council on Foreign Relations, et. al., the human race is a malleable and ultimately controllable commercial material resource. As Plato observed, the sole function of the oligarchy is perpetuation of the oligarchy, which is why the “father of philosophy” also states that “the price of non-involvement in government is to be ruled by evil men.”
Such “non-involvement,” of course, is meticulously cultivated by the oligarchy. Zbignew Brezezinski, senior foreign policy statesman, one-time US Secretary of State, and uncanny prognosticator of oligarchy policy , wrote in 1968 of an information society with an “amusement focus” based on “spectator spectacles (mass sports and TV) providing an opiate for increasingly purposeless masses…” He stated that “new forms of social control may be needed to limit the indiscriminate exercise by the individual of their new powers,” mentioning the “possibility of extensive chemical mind control…” In what he called the “Technotronic Age,” the “nation state as a fundamental unit of man’s organized life has ceased to be the principal creative force: International banks and multinational corporations are acting and planning in terms that are far in advance of the political concepts of the nation-state.” Crisply foreshadowing present NSA policy, Brezezinski continues, “At the same time the capacity to assert social and political control over the individual will vastly increase. It will soon be possible to assert almost continuous control over every citizen and to maintain up-to-date files, containing even the most personal details about health and personal behavior of every citizen in addition to the more customary data…These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities. Power will gravitate into the hands of those who control information.” From the ‘60s Brzezinski looked forward over the next several decades toward “a dictatorship leaving even less room for political procedures as we know them…” He saw no reason why such a “scientific dictatorship” in which the minds of the populace were effectively controlled by a mixture of narcotics, mass entertainment spectacles, and media control in the hands of a few, should ever fail.
As Webster Tarpley observes, the subliminal effects of 9/11 threaten to permanently distort our at-home-ness in reality, in the physical world, which on that day became a place where majestic state-of-the-art buildings, marvels of engineering and modernist architecture’s capstones, monuments (affirmed by cliché) to human ingenuity and spirit…unpeeled so strangely to dust. The question of how the towers fell isn’t merely academic, but in some measure crucial to our psychological health as a people. If, as some contend , they were destroyed by explosives planted in the structures in the week preceding the attacks, then we’ve been compelled to accept a counterfeit view of physical reality, marking the radical intensification of a schizophrenic mindset already endemic in—and increasingly definitive of—Anglo-American culture.
The effect of the Towers’ destruction is tied to the structures’ form as well as the place of the “tower” and “twin” archetypes in legend (whether in Tolkien, the Tarot or the Pentateuch for the former, or astrology, religious esoterism and classical myth for the latter). Anthropomorphic totems, the twin towers connoted a unity of two (or balanced duality), the harmonious couple (thus love, or lovers), or the self and its reflection: in short, completion, with the north tower (with its antennae) the yang to the south’s yin (slightly recessive, as if, from the greater Manhattan perspective, backing the other up). Their destruction, then, was an eidetic inscription, rooted in mortal shock, of the shattering of unity, the failure of love, the death of the iconic companions, God’s wrathful judgement (ala Babel) upon our aspirations (and the futility of endeavor) and the fracture of communion (language, community—or logos, word or idea embodied…meaning). Situated at the millennial cusp, at the crossroads of macrocosmic time and superhuman space, the structures’ spectacularly surreal dematerialization unmistakably declared the triumph of disunity, unreason, separation and loss—in short, the reign of antichrist, which 9/11 would appear to have been intended by certain of its architects to herald.
From tut-tut to sneering contempt, the sad range of knee-jerk responses to critical 9/11 discourse remains, alas, to be expected. For 9/11’s sponsorship by commanding elements within our government would make it, in essence, a human sacrifice —an explicit reassertion of the ancient carnal religion of empire, The Old Worship, defined ineluctably by that signature rite. As such, it is an epochal evolutionary throwback whose nature, in abject defiance of secular progress, must be denied, however irrationally, by those blind to 9/11’s esoteric implications. Only somewhat paradoxically, the same anxiety prevents many religious people from recognizing 9/11’s true nature as a state-sponsored secret intelligence operation, a contingency which subconsciously confronts them with the overthrow of God—or at least His Earthly Dominion—by the anthropologically more ancient deity in opposition to whom monotheism evolved: Moloch, the god of human—specifically child—sacrifice (to whom children were “passed,” according to scripture—and in chilling echo of 9/11—“through fire”).
With our bereavement defiled by vulgar bellicosity, we would rush the immolation behind us. Yet our wound remains unfathomed. Unable to mourn, commemorate and bring it to meaningful closure, we fixate at our initial shock, as our slaughtered are consumed by their butchers. Unavenged and hostage, their souls are doubly mocked in a cacophony we loiter as chattel. The undead.
As activists note, it is hardly out of the question that 9/11’s planners intended to be noticed; hence the conflicting layers of subterfuge, the contradictory elements of the attacks and cover-up. An essential measure of their control would be our knowing they are there, in charge, and that there’s nothing any of us can do. The consuming obsession of 9/11’s planners, this control is consummated in the Enlightenment’s capitulation to the forces of unreason; in its denial of the empire’s nature, the left genuflects before antichrist. In our abusive national family, the lefty is favored of the rapist father and according to profile loyal—however complaining—to the last.
The actual 9/11 terrorists are sociopaths; true to form, they desire attention, in fact need, as much as committing the crime, for their power to be discerned, however subconsciously, by their victims. We must sense them, if never all together and without quite being able to “prove” it, the point being very much for us to know they are there, whether or not we are capable of admitting it.
The idea that the empire, to advance its agendas, would sacrifice 3000 of its own sounds strange only to that vast majority of its subjects duped by imperial ritual. Whether consumed by poverty, labor, narcotics, mass entertainment and sports spectacles, or the Punch and Judy farce passing for national politics, the gross of empire subjects work, shop, root their favorite sports team on, ogle the celebrity couple de jour and smugly scan their preferred periodical for the opinions suitable to their own age group, racial, religious or cultural identity and/or sexual predilection, and assume the age in which they live is a secular one defined by market forces, technological advances and globalization, and that any truly major problems will be solved by science.
Meanwhile—and let’s conjure him with a commiserative glance—the conscientious minister of worldly power, as he confronts the chilling exigencies: flagging economies, dwindling resources, and a vulgar, sentimental and inebriated mass whose profligacy has traipsed it past the threshold of the greatest mass-extinction event in the four and a half billion year history of life on Earth… Given the state of material disparity and international factionalism in the immediate term, from the point of view of the cult of empire 3000 is a small price to pay, a drop in the bucket, compared to what might happen should certain feral elements of foreign sentiment be allowed to incubate without the judicious application of martial prophylaxis.
In a declassified State Department memo from 1948, George Kennan, a seminal voice in twentieth-century US state policy, wrote, “We have about 50 per cent of the world’s wealth, but only 6.3 per cent of its population… In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task is…to maintain this position of disparity without positive determent to our national security. To do so we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming… We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford the luxury of altruism and world-benefaction… We should cease to talk about vague and…unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we will have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.” John Foster Dulles, co-founder of CIA, put it more bluntly, “it is only by eliminating the lower members” of the human race “that a higher average is maintained.”
If leftists are uncomfortable with such language, they have every cause to be. Not the least of which is that it’s precisely this genocidal, eugenics-inspired agenda they license in their pusillanimous acquiescence to what Webster Tarpley calls the “myth of the twenty-first century,” that 19 hijackers working for Osama and Allah took upon themselves to foil the most technically sophisticated and powerful military state in world history. A David-and-Goliath romance playing into lone-wolf fantasies of landing a blow against an impervious system, it’s a nevertheless specious fable whose historical legitimacy dissipates under the critical analysis applied to it by established experts from myriad backgrounds the nation and world over, the self-same analysis the US left by and large cravenly refuses to acknowledge.
It’s clear to the judicious observer that the imperial war for the natural resources of central Eurasia was a fait accompli the moment Bush was installed. And so, as the dispassionate reader of history must recognize sooner or later, was 9/11. Meanwhile the terror state Pollyanna class—blushing moderate, fatuous conservative, meretricious liberal and the theory-fatted poseur who casually squawks “maybe they let it happen”—cower in their mutually-supporting antagonisms, sissy-slapping each other from their prescribed niches in a cultural circle-jerk necessarily excluding forensic analysis of 9/11. For that would confront each with something they simply don’t wish to imagine, an agency whose cold-bloodedness they are not intellectually, emotionally nor spiritually equipped to confront. Thus do our wan Narcissuses parade as skeptics, assuring the fallible conspiracies just don’t happen, that they can’t be covered up, that people aren’t that organized and the world is “more complicated,” that those who think “that way” are foolish really, a bit tardy mentally or not up to snuff…often lonely, perhaps deranged, even dangerous sometimes.
Yet fear of truth is a wish for betrayal. In the case of 9/11 the brutal facts indicate an agency more malevolent than irrational, more focused than accidental, and subtle rather than simple. Vastly sophisticated, it is by far more threatening to our sense of security or identity than any hatred born of anger, envy, material disparity or cultural misunderstanding. Something worse than a well-funded if obscure foreign entity bent on crippling or destroying the empire, and worse than alliances of fanatics, criminals more or less to be eradicated, however distasteful one may find the proposition… These are mere shibboleths dangled before the terror-state faithful. Necessary to the manufacture of an ephemerally multifaceted yet fundamentally uniform social consensus regarding terrorism, they obscure its true aegis, knowledge of which affronts us more deeply than “terror’s” crimes. (One naturally prefers the scene of the murder to the company of the murderer.) Unrestrained by collective acknowledgment or overt suspicion, terrorism's source proves the effect’s viler twin who, like the apparition some spy in the south tower’s plummet, mocks us from the cloud of dust.
The demon banished to the fancy of cranks, the ordained cognoscenti of our postmodern age obsess over the result, assigning it like obedient children to measured combinations of expedient abstractions—zealotry, economic despair, religious, ethnic and cultural antagonism—in order to rescue themselves from confronting terror's precise agency, nature and techniques. Meanwhile, terror-state propaganda frustrates sustained critical examination of the attacks and their circumstances. Before public attention can train on essential matters another crisis, scandal or mere vulgarity ripples the hallucination passing in our “virtual” age for culture.
While researchers identify a number of apparently complicit actors within our government and military, the larger question nevertheless remains: who ultimately did 9/11? That is, precisely who conceived, planned and—perhaps most crucially—gave the go-ahead…? Back in 1987, Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye spoke what might serve as an approximate answer to that question when he observed, as a result of investigating the Iran/Contra Arms-for-Hostages scandal (involving a number of the same figures alleged to have had a hand in 9/11), that there operates in the US “a shadow government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of the national interest, free form all checks and balances, and free from the law itself.” We may also find a hint prefigured in a passage from a 1913 letter by Woodrow Wilson, “Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.”
What we face is a clandestine, sophisticated and ruthless eminence or syndicate, vastly resourceful and international in scope, with ready reach into those highest halls and offices of power we naively regard as our own. We understand instinctively we are not supposed to know, believe or pursue any of this, that the matter in any case is well enough in hand, and that suggesting more than is appropriate to the contrary compromises something, rocks a listing boat, marks one as the crackpot…or a dead man. For to penetrate the labyrinth of the 9/11 conspiracy is to confront an archetypal violation, a truth to which, like Oedipus, we prefer stabbing out our eyes, which have glimpsed the twisting creatures we are in the gaze of our devouring father.
—May/June 2006 (revised Oct. ’06)
Ahmed, Nafeez Mosaddeq, The War on Freedom. Tree of Life Publications, Joshua Tree, CA, 2002.
Ahmed, Nafeez Mosaddeq, The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism. Olive Branch Press, Northampton, Massachussetts, 2005.
Arrows, Four & Fetzer, Jim, American Assassination: the Strange Death of Senator Paul Wellstone. Vox Pop Press, Brooklyn, 2004.
Bergmann, Martin S., In the Shadow of Moloch: The Sacrifice of Children and Its Impact on Western Religions. Columbia University Press, New York, 1992.
“Chip Tatum Chronicles, (The): Testimony of Government Drug Running, ”www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/MENA/TATUM/tatum.html, 1997.
DeCamp, John W., The Franklin Cover-Up: Child Abuse, Satanism, and Murder in Nebraska, second edition. AWT, Inc., Lincoln, Nebraska, 1996.
Griffin, David Ray, The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11, second edition. Olive Branch Press, Northampton, Massachusetts, 2004.
Griffin, David Ray, The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions. Olive Branch Press, Northampton, Massachusetts, 2005.
Hicks, Sander, The Big Wedding: 9/11, the Whistle-blowers, & the Cover-Up. Vox Pop Press, Brooklyn, 2005.
Hufschmid, Eric, Painful Questions: an Analysis of the September 11th Attack. Published by Eric Hufschmid, www.EricHufschmid.net, 2002.
Keith, Jim, Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness. Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton, Illinois, 2001.
Keith, Jim, Mind Control, World Control: the Encyclopedia of Mind Control. Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton, Illinois, 1997.
Keith, Jim, ed., Secret and Suppressed: Banned Ideas and Hidden History. Feral House, Portland, Oregon, 1993.
Lee, Martin A., The Beast Reawakens: Fascism’s Resurgence from Hitler’s Spymasters to Today’s Neo-Nazi Groups and Right-Wing Extremists, Routledge, New York, 2000.
Madsen, Wayne, Jaded Tasks: Brass Plates, Black Ops, & Big Oil, the Blood Politics of George Bush & Co. Trine Day, Chicago, 2006
Marrs, Jim, Rule by Secrecy. Perennial/HarperCollins, New York, 2000.
McGowan, David, Programmed to Kill: The Politics of Serial Murder. IUniverse Inc., New York, 2004.
Millegan, Chris, ed., Fleshing Out Skull & Bones. TrineDay, LLC, Walterville, Oregon, 2003.
Morgan, Roland, Flight 93 Revealed: What Really Happened on the 9/11 “Let’s Roll” Flight? Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2006.
“9/11: Conspiracy Theorists Run Amok,” Mark Jacobson, New York Magazine, 27 March 2006.
Paul, Don & Hoffman, Jim, Waking Up from Our Nightmare: The 9/11/01 Crimes in New York City. Irresistible/Revolutionary Press, San Francisco, 2004.
“Pegasus File, (The),” parts 1 & 2 by David G. Guyatt. Nexus, April-May & June-July 1997.
Ruppert, Michael C., Crossing the Rubicon, the Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, 2004
Saussy, F. Tupper, Rulers of Evil, Useful Knowledge about Governing Bodies. HarperCollins, New York, 1999.
Scott, Peter Dale, Deep Politics and the Death of JFK. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1993.
Tarpley, Webster Griffin, 9/11 Synthetic Terror, Made in USA. Progressive Press, Joshua Tree, California, 2005.
Thomas, Kenn & Keith, Jim, The Octopus, Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro. Feral House, Los Angeles, 2004.
Thompson, Paul & The Center for Cooperative Research, The Terror Timeline, Year by Year, Day by Day, Minute by Minute: a Comprehensive Chronicle of the Road to 9/11—and America’s Response. Regan Books/HarperCollins, New York, 2004.
Upton, Charles, The System of Antichrist: Truth & Falsehood in Postmodernism & the New Age. Sophia Perennis, Ghent, NY, 2001.
Wilson, Edward O., The Future of Life. Vintage, New York, 2002.
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[ Home > Spirits > liqueur > Pear > Badel Svatovski Kruskovac 1.0L ]|
Svatovski Kruškovac is a sweet liqueur served intensive in aroma and flavour. Its eye-catching orange colour and agreeable vanilla flavour make it especially popular among younger consumers who frequently welcome it as an ingredient of ingenious cocktails. Due to a century old tradition, Svatovski Kruškovac has become an inseparable part of the traditional Croatian customs.
Copyright 2015 Internet Wines & Spirits. All rights reserved.
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The following is a story Mark narrated to me, inspired by Patricia Polacco's stories about true events in her life--even sad events.
The previous post is Gracie's story with an explaination of this wonderful "Author Fiesta" idea.
When my dog Seamus died, I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore.
It happened last year.
I loved him even though he bit my arm. Even though he gave me a scar on my arm that will probably last my whole life.
I know Seamus loved me because he liked to play with me, and I liked to play with him. We liked to throw his bone and squeaky toy outside and he would hide with it.
I never knew it would be so much fun to have a black dog with a white paws and white between his eyes.
I miss him. I hope the new dog is just like him.
Author's Note: We have a lot of fun now, but I still miss Seamus. Whenever I look at my scar, I think of him.
By Mark: 8 years old
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(Note: There are some node issues on the server of my primary site (datechguyblog.com) so I’m cross posting this here in case anyone is having trouble loading on the primary site for the next day or two).
“We owe it to the American people to make sure that we understand: Exactly what happened, What went wrong, Why couldn’t the greatest military in the world respond when an attack occurred almost over a seven hour period, and why were there at the minimum, misstatements made and certainly misimpressions given to the American people about the nature of this attack in the immediate explanations provided by the administration in two weeks following the attack.” Sen Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) 11-14-12
There is a lot of talk today about Benghazi after the press conference yesterday concerning Susan Rice, and the administration’s actions of September 11th of this year.
On Morning Joe, on CSPAN they highlighted Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain and the questions concerning Benghazi. During their segment with Angus King the senator-elect from Maine they asked about Senator McCain and Graham.
There were however three senators at that press conference.
Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) was also there and spoke to this issue, (as she had during the campaign). She gave a strong statement on the situation and answered questions as well.
You would think it’s kind of hard to ignore Kelly Ayotte at that event, She is tall (she towered over both Senators McCain & Graham) but she is a younger, photogenic woman who had a strong interest in this matter. I’d think that would be something to play up instead of just “two old white guys”.
I suggest that is exactly WHY she is left out.
It’s all a question of negative marketing. You can’t ignore John McCain, he is a former Presidential candidate and a war hero, but you can dismiss him, Lindsey Graham has been considered a protegé of Sen McCain for a long time, if you want to pooh pooh McCain it’s fairly easy to do the same to Graham. He was a member of the impeachment crew vs Bill Clinton and is just another southern white guy.
But Kelly Ayotte is a relatively young senator, she is an up and coming member of the GOP and in fact the highest ranking member of the GOP in office out of New Hampshire. I mean how many photogenic northeast Republican women, backed by Sarah Palin, who are fearless conservatives in the Senate?
I submit and suggest that a conservative woman who is a rising star is exactly who the left and the media doesn’t want highlighted and a real effort is going to made to continue to downplay her and keep her unnoticed.
And of course if she is left out, then it is two old white guys beating up on Susan Rice a woman of color, but if Kelly Ayotte is making points like this:
“Let’s also not forget that, I think you all appreciate you don’t end up on every single major Sunday show without affirmatively putting yourself out there of wanting to carry forward a message on behalf of the administration.
…that narrative simply doesn’t work.
Kelly Ayotte is going to be in the senate till at least 2016, I suspect you are going to be seeing a lot more of her on this issues and others. The MSM may want to play her down because she doesn’t fit their template.
I have no intention of playing along.
Update: To see what I’m talking about look at this story from Politico
Obama specifically rebutted Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who earlier Wednesday called for a “Watergate-style” investigation into the attacks and said they don’t trust Rice because of her statements on Benghazi. Rice is seen as a top contender to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Kelly who? They quote the president:
“If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me,”
Others? Others? There were only three people there. Sen Ayotte is “others”? Why not say “Senator Ayotte”? Because that doesn’t fit the narrative
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Police, community and calendar briefs for July 13, 2013
Published: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 10:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 6:34 p.m.
Decomposed body has been identified
Sheriff’s detectives have identified a man found whose decomposed body was found by relatives last month.
The man was identified as Jeffrey Myers Baker, 49, of Ocala.
Baker’s body was found beneath a tree in a field on June 13.
About 3 p.m. that day, a sheriff’s deputy was called to the 6700 block of Southwest 60th Avenue by a man who believed the individual was his brother-in-law, whom he had not seen in about three weeks. He said his brother-in-law had been staying in the field for a month after he lost his home to foreclosure. He said the man’s wife died two months earlier and he had been depressed and talked about suicide. The man said he was worried and knew his relative was living in the field, so he went there to check on him.
Authorities said the case is ongoing and they are awaiting a final ruling from the Medical Examiner’s Office as to the cause of death.
Boating safety course today at boating center
The Harris Chain Sail & Power Squadron will hold a public safe boating course from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at Millers Boating Center, 1661 U.S. 441, Ocala.
The cost is $49 for the first family member, which includes a book, and $2 for other family members willing to share the book. Registration is required.
Attendees who pass a final exam will receive an FWC Boating Safety Education ID card, whichis required for all boaters born after Jan. 1, 1988.
For more information, call 259-9711 or visit www.harrischain.org.
Racquetball tourney benefits local ministry
A Hit for Hunger Racquetball tournament will benefit the Gateway to Hope Ministries.
The tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at the Frank Deluca YMCA of Marion County, 3200 SE 17 St., Ocala.
The entry fee is $50. The entry deadline is Tuesday, July 16.
For more information, call 342-0447.
Celebrate National Park and Rec Month
July is National Park and Recreation Month. City of Ocala Recreation and Parks staff will be in several city parks encouraging citizens to get outdoors, utilize parks, eat nutritious foods and exercise, and they will provide fruit and water for those actively engaged in park activities.
Staff will be located close to walking trails:
Monday: 7 to 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m., Jervey Gantt Park, 2200 SE 36th Ave. Ocala.
Thursday: 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m., Lillian Bryant Park, 2200 NW 17th Place, Ocala.
July 23: 7:30-9 a.m. and 5:30-7 p.m., Martin Luther King Recreation Complex, 1510 NW Fourth, St., Ocala.
July 25: 7:30-9 a.m. and 5:30-7 p.m., Tuscawilla Park, 300 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala.
For more information, call 368-5517 or email Ibethea@ocalafl.org.
Volunteers wanted for group’s cancer study
The American Cancer Society is seeking participants between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer for its Cancer Prevention Study-3.
The study seeks to better understand the lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.
Registration will be held from 1-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Leesburg Regional Medical Center and 1-7 p.m. Wednesday at The Villages Regional Hospital. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Applicants must sign a consent form, complete a brief survey, have their waist measured and give a small blood sample.
For more information, call 888-604-5888 or visitwww.cancer.org/cps3.
Boat engine maintence course starts in Aug. 12
The Harris Chain Sail and Power Squadron will offer a 10-week engine maintenance course beginning Aug. 12 at Beacon College, 105 E. Main St., Leesburg.
The cost is $42 for squadron members and $119 for non-members.
For more information or to register, visit www.harrischain.org.
Vendors, entertainers wanted for local event
A Doll & Bear Extravaganza will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 24, at the Harvest Village at 22050 N. U.S. 441, between McIntosh and Micanopy. Vendors and entertainers are being sought for the event.
The extravaganza will include games for children, storybook readings, baked goods, a doll doctor/appraiser for minor repairs, and vendors selling dolls (handmade, bought for resale and reconditioned) and doll and bear related items.
The LifeSouth Blood Mobile will be on site for donations.
Attendees are invited to donate old bears and dolls that can be reconditioned and will in turn be donated to police and fire departments for children in crisis situations.
To learn more, contact Anna Burrill at 525-0349 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Register for butterfly seminar in September
Hospice of Marion County is hosting a butterfly seminar from 1-4 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Hospice Education Center, 3231 SW 34th Ave. Ocala.
Edith Smith, a butterfly expert and owner of Shady Oak Butterfly Farm in Brooker, will conduct the seminar. She will teach attendees how to build a butterfly garden habitat and will discuss butterfly life cycle and facts, and how to create a butterfly garden in a container.
Pre-registration is required. The cost is $25, which includes the seminar, a butterfly host plant and refreshments. Proceeds will benefit hospice children’s bereavement programs.
For more information, call 854-5218 or visit www.hospiceofmarion.com.
DEDICATION: Dedication of Wild Cat Play area, 9 a.m. Saturday, Coehadjoe Park, 4225 NE 25th St. Ocala. (671-8560 or email@example.com)
QUARTERLY READING: Marion County Veteran’s Council’s quarterly Veterans Honor Roll event, 10 a.m. Saturday, Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park, 2601 E. Fort King St., Ocala. (671-8422)
HORSE SHOW: 9 a.m. Saturday, Sparr United Methodist Church, 13100 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala. (216-8890 or 732-8090)
SCRAPBOOKING: Second Saturday Scrapbookers, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Forest Community Center, 777 S. County Road 314A, Ocklawaha. $2. (208-2243)
FALL GARDENING: Master Gardener series, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Marion County Public Library, 2720 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. (671-8400)
DAVID SANDOVAl: Author of “The Green Foods Bible,” 1 p.m. Saturday, Ocala Courtyard by Marriott, 3712 SW 38 Ave., Ocala.
CRUISE-IN: Car cruise, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Kmart Plaza 3711 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala. Bring nonperishable food for donation. (625-7122)
DEITRICK HADDON: Gospel singer performs, 7 p.m. Saturday, Circle Square Cultural Center, 8395 SW 80 St., Ocala. $40-$60. (854-3670 or www.csculturalcenter.com)
AKIL BABB: Singer performs, 8 p.m. Saturday, Insomniac Theater, 1 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. $10. (897-0477 or www.insomniactheatre.com
PET VACCINES: Florida International Teaching Zoo low-cost pet vacations, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Gander Mountain, 3970 SW Third St., Ocala. Rabies $6, distemper/parvo $14. Dogs on leashes, cats in carriers. (867-7788 or www.facebook.com/PetVaccinations/events)
SINGLES DANCE: Ocala Singles Club dance, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Ocala Scottish Rite, 3632 NE Seventh St., Ocala. $9. Refreshments provided. (622-3171)
BOARD GAME DAY: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Freedom Public Library, 5870 SW 95 St., Ocala. (438-2580)
FAMILY FUN NIGHT: 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Wild Waters, 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. $10. (236-2121)
GRAND OPENING: Marion County Museum of History and Archaeology grand opening of Great Depression/World War II Exhibit, also features author Joe Knetsch, 2 p.m. Sunday, Green Clover Hall, 307 SE 26th Terrace, Ocala. Free. Book signing to follow. ( 236-5245 or 236-2790)
WEDDING EXPO: My Wedding Day Expo, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Marion County Ag Center Auditorium, 2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala. $5. (671-9292)
To submit information for this list, send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org or visit www.ocala.com, scroll down and click on EVENTS CALENDAR on the right.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
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Chewable, High-potency Supplement for Senior Dogs
- For senior health in aging and convalescing animals
- Supplies essential nutrients required for intracellular nutrition
- Supplies fatty acids and vitamins vital for cell function
- Provides choline, the precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine
- Available in 50 and 150 count bottles
LLOYD offers a complete line of quality nutritional supplements and research-proven drug dosage forms. These tablets are formulated in a palatable flavor base that is eagerly accepted.
All LLOYD products are manufactured under strict quality control guidelines to assure consistency and are available through licensed veterinarians.
See What One Pet Owner Has to Say
"I have an 11 year old Border Collie mix dog who has taken your Geri-Form tablets for approximately a year now. Our Veterinarian introduced them to us. What a difference these pills have made in Miss Starr’s life. She’s like a puppy again. She runs, jumps, and plays happily again. She is so much more lively and energetic. Miss Starr is a cancer survivor, having had two operations and lost part of her paw. Thank you!"
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Skip to comments.Iran commissions locally built submarine (PHOTOS)
Posted on 01/15/2006 4:30:21 AM PST by Khashayar
Iran on Sunday commissioned its second domestically built submarine, a craft that can fire missiles and torpedoes simultaneously, state-run radio reported.
The report said the submarine, named Ghadir, was Iran's second homemade submarine, and was unveiled during the third day of military maneuvers in southern Iran.
Iran's armed forces began their biggest military maneuvers Friday in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean on Iran's territorial waters close to Pakistan and involved submarines, warships, missiles, jet fighters and gunships.
In May, Iran officially launched the production of the locally built submarine, claiming it was a stealth craft.
Its name, Ghadir, is derived from a site in the Arabian Peninsula holy to Shiite Muslims, the overwhelming majority of Iran's 69 million people.
Iran produces the Shahab-3 missile, capable of reaching Israel and U.S. forces stationed in the region. Since 1992, it also has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane.
I am honored. :)
Only if the carrier was anchored or moored alongside some wharf somewhere.
This thing doesn't look like open ocean.
It's Coastal / shoal water defense. Although it could be bad news for ships transiting the Hormuz straits, tankers especially.
Is that pop rivets used on the hull???
Hey Howlin, I know you've been carrying on the good fight!
I had one too and the frogmen. (That dates us doesn't it?)
Good to see ya!
It looks like a "collection" vehicle.
Re your #45 - I think that that is where they dump in the barrel of baking soda...
Then they have to remember to put the cork back in prior to submergance.
Now thats funny.
Re your #9 - My immediate thought exactly!
The good old CSS HUNLEY; may she rest in peace!
But let's remember, folks; she did manage to sink one US Warship, even though it turned out to be a suicide mission for the Rebel Submariners.
And Jihhadists don't mind embarking on suicide missions on purpose!
Just before Pearl Harbor the Japs tried to sink a US freighter before it got back to Pearl, having just been released from captivity in a Jap harbor by a US task force.
The Japs were utterly furious over losing their American hostages, and vowed revenge.
A couple of mini-subs, essentially long range crew directed torpedoes, followed the ships all the way back, but the Destroyer kept them at bay until they were nearly at Hawaii, when one of them made a desperate attack, whereupon it was sunk by gunfire from the Destroyer.
This incident was denied by the Navy for years, until just recently they found the sub on the bottom just where the Crew said they sunk it, with a 3" hole through the conning tower. It had two live torps stacked one on top of the other with noses still protruding from the bow.
It looked to be about the same size as this Iranian tub, too.
I agree that the Soviet made Kilo subs are reasonably effective and modern submarines that could pose a significant threat if treated lightly.
However, I'm talking about the indigenous submarines Iran has been building since the mid 1980s based on imported North Korean technology. These subs are almost certainly slow, noisy, and have very limited sensors. Iran also makes torpedoes (supposedly) and several kinds of mines.
I don't think these subs are a "joke" at all. They are, however, relatively unsophisticated and probably don't have the ability to launch anti-ship missiles (such as the Exocet or Silkworm) as suggested in the article. Any indigenous "missile" launched from that pod mounted forward of the sail is going to make the sub far more vulnerable than if Torpedoes or mines are employed.
Sweden has several small submarines. They rejected the use of missiles such as Harpoon for that very reason: Launching the missiles in confined waters (Baltic or Persian Gulf) would quickly give the sub's position away.
I wonder if there are torpedo tubes under the water line?
Does it even HAVE them...
Or IS the whole thing a Kamakazi torpedo?
Re your #47 - "If you want to worry, worry about their Silkworm surface to ship missiles...."
Agreed; isn't that what took out and nearly sunk a Brit Cruiser during the Faulklands thing?
We might get to see how well our radar-directed minigun anti-missle systems work - if at all... if they remember to even turn them on.
I wonder if the Iranians have the Russian / Chicom "SKVALL" hypercavitating rocket torpedoes? You know, the ones that can travel at nearly the speed of sound underwater?
Range on those things is apparently a little limited, but they sound pretty devistating if they get to ya.
This little mini sub ought to make a light snack for one of our hunter-killer subs in the region, don't you think?
That NK sub looks to be smaller than a Nazi U-boat.
Diesel electric, we assume?
Yes, the Silkworm was used in the Falklands, and it would be the greatest threat to shipping. It is very large and effective. They are also rumored to have some old soviet cruise missiles.
I understand that those torpedoes are very recent, and I highly doubt Russia would let anyone have one for a while.
This little guy would not rate a hunter/killer. All you need is a couple of Sea Stallions and a handful of sonobouys, and that thing is history.
Being a diesel/electric makes it quiet, but very short range. It's size would limit its underwater time. It would be nothing but a coffin (IMO).
I thought it was an Exocet missile that sunk the British ship.
Re your #117:
..." kalanishkovs-AK 47 were used to knock down our state-of-the-art Apache helipcopters,..."
Apparently one old guy brought one down with a WW-II era 8MM Mauser bolt-action rifle.
Maybe....give me a second and I'll find out for sure.
You are correct, and I stand corrected! Thanks.
From its looks, it will ferry about five troops at a time.
I find it hard to classify anything that can be carried over open roads on a flatbed semi as a warship. That thing is a joke. It looks just slightly longer than about two of our MK48 torpedoes.
The unimproved KILO is 237 feet.
That thing is gonna make so much racket if it goes over 2 knots that we'll be able to hear it over here in our home bathtubs. It's about as hydrodynamic as a sunken school bus with the doors open and the windows down. It may be a danger to non-combatants with no Sonar, but they better make the first shot count. As far as our warships are concerned, it won't be able to sneak up or even keep up with them in the open ocean.
ASW has made some major leaps since the 60's.
Guys, the talk about the depth of the water brings something else to mind:
Visibility from above using radar/laser for non-acoustical detection.
These mini subs are good for only one thing: suicide missions. To use on of these to take out a oil tanker would be a waste of submarine.
"These mini subs are good for only one thing: suicide missions."
Fits the Islamist MO. Thanks for the ping.
LOL! Dufus on another secret trip to Cambodia.
Depends. If it's running on batteries, it's probably fairly quite. It won't be going all the fast, so flow noise won't be much of a factor, and electric motors are pretty quiet. However, if it's running on the surface, or snorting its diesels while at periscope depth, it's toast. If we are deaf and can't hear it, the radar in the P-3 and various helicopters will see it. Then they'll kill it.
Looks like a tiny little toy diesel boat to me :)
One MK 48 will make mincemeat out of it :)
Exactly. The Iranians might get in one good hit before we start dropping sonar buoys and make the whole Persian Gulf louder than section A at a Metallica concert. It's not easy for one side to hide a sub if the other side feels no need to hide.
Ok this just a thouht..but what if they can mass produce these small limited use subs like the Japanese dis in WWII the use them in the gulf as a "wolf Pack to attach shipping. Also how big are these things? From what I could see they are fairly small..could they be placed in a Cargo Container. Imagine a few of these launched just before it's Mother Ship makes for port. As I said just a thought....
I've seen more powerful subs in a game of Battleship.
China will be watching closely and taking notes.
Are we sure that isn't a Japanese mini-sub from WW2 that's been rehabbed???
Wonder how long they've had these. Look at the picture - - looks pretty rusty around the water's edge.....
Every time this picture is posted, I can't get over how leaky the periscope seals are. It couldn't need more than 30 psi to run that thing up. I wonder if the rest of the sub is built to these same exacting standards. To detect it we could just follow the oil slick.
It's green camoflage to blend in with the forest......
You do realize, do you not, that the people of Iran are NOT the same as the crazy tyrants who are currently oppressing them? You make yourself look pretty foolish, if not uncivilized, when you wish death to all Iranians.
I wish no such thing. The point is that onceevents are set in motion they develope a momemtum of their own. Most of the people killed in WWII were civilians who had very little to do with the policies that started the war. The Iranian people my be wonderful but they are going along with their currrent govt. They are no where near rising up against the Mullahs because of their own nationalism. This will lead to war. And war doesn't care about individuals, it steamrolls the guilty and innocent equally. So fine distinctions over policy orinterpretations of the nature of societies, these are banal in the face of the violence that ensues. 9-11 came very close to me and my family... therefore I have a vengence that others do not. But fear not that this vengence is hard to come by for once awakened it spreads like wildfire
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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When talking about Roone Arledge, the overused superlative "legend" seems almost an understatement. It's an endlessly fascinating and unfailingly entertaining document of unscripted television's golden age, and while a bit more introspection would have been valuable, Arledge can be forgiven his lack of modesty since anything else might have rung false given his unquestioned status as a pioneer of the medium.
When talking about Roone Arledge, the overused superlative “legend” seems almost an understatement. The longtime ABC exec wouldn’t have quibbled with such grand praise, though, since he spends a good chunk of his posthumously published memoir detailing just how important a role he played in the creation of modern TV sports and news. It’s an endlessly fascinating and unfailingly entertaining document of unscripted television’s golden age, and while a bit more introspection would have been valuable, Arledge can be forgiven his lack of modesty since anything else might have rung false given his unquestioned status as a pioneer of the medium.Since Arledge invented the up close and personal style of storytelling that, for better or worse, still dominates most TV sports coverage, it’s no surprise that “Roone’s” 400-plus pages feel like an extended monlogue of memories and observations from a grizzled veteran of more than a few battles. Whether he’s relating how he locked up the rights to ABC’s first Olympics in 1962 (for just $500,000!) or how he spent nearly two years wooing Diane Sawyer away from CBS (it’s true: Barbara Walters was not happy about the hire), Arledge fills his tales with the sort of minutae that many authors would dismiss as extraneous but in fact leave the reader wide-eyed and racing to the next page. All the expected highlights are here– Howard Cosell and the creation of “Monday Night Football”; the Munich Olympics nightmare; taking ABC News from also-ran to powerhouse– but almost as interesting are the less-publicized moments of Arledge’s storied career. Before Walters and Sawyers, Arledge worked with a young Shari Lewis, helping make her (and Lamb Chop) stars through a daytime gabber called “Hi, Mom!” As a junior sports exec at Sports Progams Inc. (a sort of predecessor to ABC Sports), he had to personally tell Sonny Liston that he wouldn’t get the chance to make a promotional TV appearance, a move that enraged the pugilist/convicted felon and gave the young Arledge the first of what would be many lessons in how to deal with difficult talent.Arledge’s schmoozing skills are a central theme of “Roone,” with many of the exec’s stories turning on how the right words or personal gestures make all the difference when dealing with the supersized egos of corporate suits and on-air talent. It’s hard to believe but, according to Arledge, Sam Donaldson nearly left ABC because Sawyer was going to get to say “hello” first at the start of every “PrimeTime Live.” Or that a potential Arledge successor, Steve Weiswasser, would secretly insist on having his picture taken with the stars of ABC News, simply because Arledge had already done so. Arledge doesn’t peddle in gossip, and with a few exceptions– such as ripping into Weiswasser and much-respected exec Dennis Swanson– he doesn’t spend an inordinate amount of time settling old scores. At the same time, Arledge spends woefully little time dissecting his mistakes. While he readily mocks some of his quirkier traits– his notorious refusal to return most phone calls, for example– he doesn’t get into the more legitimate flaws and stumbles of his reign. There’s no acknowledgement that his reverance for news and sports stars sent salaries skyrocketing out of control. And though he devotes an entire chapter to “Landing Diane,” there’s nary a mention of the fact that her “PrimeTime Live” was an intial flop. Perhaps Arledge didn’t see such criticisms as valid. Or maybe, ever the producer, he didn’t want to bog down his incredible story with ponderous self-reflection or second-guessing. (Even his two divorces merit little more than a paragraph or two.) No matter: “Roone” is an engrossing portrait of a time in American broadcasting when content mattered most, a time when the founders of the Big Three still ran the show and thus cared as much about leaving a legacy as turning a profit. That era is sadly over– and with it, perhaps, the possibility of any single person having the chance to shape a medium as profoundly as Roone Arledge did.
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Say: 'Have you thought about your partner gods, those you call upon besides Allah? Show me what they have created of the Earth? ...
(Surah Fatir: 40)
The Wondrous Beauty in Animals 4/4
Dolphins protect their young from the moment they are born. Immediately before giving birth, the mother dolphin begins to move more slowly and other female dolphins, seeing this, assist her when she is in labor. These helpers swim on either side of the mother dolphin to protect her and, when the baby is born, make sure that it gets up to the water's surface to take its first breath.
For the first two weeks, the baby never leaves the mother's side. Within a short time after its birth the baby learns to swim and gradually ventures farther and farther away from its mother. The new mother cannot keep up with her baby's swift, rapid movements; and so cannot give it sufficient protection. In this situation, the helper female dolphins come on the scene to provide the baby with excellent defense.30
Creatures caring for one another's welfare is a clear challenge to Darwinists, who believe that this kind of behavior—that is, one creature assisting another—is of no use for an individual animal's survival. On the contrary, they believe that such acts can put a "selfless" animal's life at risk.
The self-sacrificial behavior of mother dolphins can be seen when they put half of their own food, already digested, into the mouths of their babies. Another example of such behavior is dolphins helping one of their number when it is injured. Instead of fleeing, they exhibit behavior that poses considerable risk to their own lives.31
Dolphins act in concert to protect their young from sharks. One or two dolphins will swim out to attract the shark's attention. When the shark turns to follow this decoy, other dolphins attack strongly from other directions; one advances swiftly from behind the others striking the shark's side with their noses. Typically the shark gives up, but dolphins have sometimes even killed sharks in this way.32
Seahorses live on warm ocean reefs where they can hide among the seaweed, coral and sponges. Their thick, hard skin serves as armor against their enemies; they have eyes that can look in several directions at once which help them catch their prey. The male seahorse has a pouch similar to that of the female kangaroo. At mating time, the female seahorse deposits many eggs in this pouch where they remain for six weeks. The male seahorse feeds the eggs in his pouch with a fluid until they develop into miniature seahorses, and he provides oxygen for them by means of capillaries in the inner tissues of the incubation pouch.33
When their mating season comes, sea turtles crawl onto the beach in numbers. But it is not just any beach they come to; it is the beach where they were born. Sometimes they have to travel 800 kilometers (498 miles) to reach their birthplace. At the end of their journey, they lay their eggs and bury them under the sand. So, why do they always gather at the same beach at the same time? If they did so at a different time and on a different beach, would their young survive?
When we try to answer this question, we meet a very interesting situation. The tiny turtles that hatch from the eggs weigh only about 31 grams (1.1 ounce) and a single turtle cannot dig its way up through the layer of sand above them. But with them all helping one another, the job is easily done. Soon they emerge to the surface of the sand altogether and hurry towards the sea.
How do these new hatchlings know that they have to dig through to the top of the sand? Who taught them that they must make their way towards an ocean that they have never seen? These tiny creatures could not do this with their own intelligence, so, where does this conscious behavior come from? There is only one answer to this question: Allah has inspired this conscious behavior into sea turtles.
Meerkats live in communities, and because of the dangers that exist in their environment, their support for one another is of vital importance for their survival. Every morning, meerkats first do a security check before spreading out into the surrounding area to find food.
Every individual in the community has his own job to do. For example, some meerkats stand guard to ensure the safety of the others, and watch for hours under the blazing sun without eating or drinking anything. If the guard sees some danger, he gives the alarm to warn his friends. Hearing this alarm, the other meerkats run to take refuge in the burrow.
The group's most important task is to rear and protect their young, and the young females are chiefly responsible for looking after the babies. Every day, one of them stays in the burrow to tend the young. The cooperation and mutual assistance in the group ensures that the babies will remain safe.34
It is Allah Who has taught meerkats the supportive and self-denying behavior they show towards one another.
A baby antelope takes between five and ten minutes to be born. During this time, it is difficult for the mother to move, and she is defenseless against her enemies. But while she gives birth, the mother is not alone. All the while there is another female at her side to provide support and protection.
From the moment it is born, the baby has no time to lose. The mother immediately nudges it with her nose to get it to take some steps. But its legs are weak, and it falls down. It gets up again and takes a few more steps. Within a few minutes, it is trotting by its mother's side and never leaves her because if it did, the young antelope would go hungry or be killed by wild animals.35
Everything in nature is the work of the eternal knowledge and power of Allah. With His supreme power, compassion, mercy, intelligence, knowledge and wisdom, He has given baby antelopes the strength to run at their mothers' side within a very short time.
A mother rhinoceros gives birth to a baby that weighs only 4% of her own weight. Within one hour of its birth, a baby rhinoceros can stand up with its little armored body. Mother and baby spend a few weeks in a remote location, apart from others and come to recognize each other's scent.
Mother and baby spend all their time together until the next baby is born, between three and five years later. The baby rhino mostly follows behind its mother. Even though it stops nursing at two years of age, it still stays at her side and remains with her throughout her next pregnancy. Almighty Allah has given the rhinoceros the instinct to protect and patiently look after her young.36
As a family, the mother cheetah and her offspring are very attached to one another. The mother performs many selfless acts while rearing her young. In order to feed them, she often goes hungry, losing nearly half her weight. If she must, she will even give her own life for her kittens. For example, a lion is a great threat to baby cheetahs. Without hesitation, the mother will throw herself into the lion's path and, putting her own life in jeopardy, she draws the lion's attention away from her young to herself, giving them time to run away. This kind of altruistic behavior calls for consideration.
If this mammal were, as the evolutionists propose, a creature that assembled itself by chance through untold generations and by acting with selfish concern only for its own survival, we would expect it to flee and desert its young. Yet the cheetah does not do this, but confronts the lion and, if necessary, gives up her own life. Surely, it is Allah Who gives mother cheetahs this exemplary sense of self-sacrifice.
Squirrels carry their young in their teeth by the loose skin on their abdomens. If her nest is destroyed, a mother squirrel will carry her babies to another place tirelessly, no matter how far away it is. She carries away one baby and returns to the old nest, time after time, until she is convinced that all have been safely removed.37
30. Janine M. Benyus, The Secret Language and Remarkable Behavior of Animals, p. 313; "Port Phillip Bay's Smiling Ambassadors," Troy Muir; www.polperro.com.au/s9.html)
31. Gordon Rattray Taylor, The Great Evolution Mystery, p. 224.
32. Russell Freedman, How Animals Defend Their Young, p. 66-67.
33. A. Vincent, "The Improbable Seahorse," National Geographic, October 1994, pp. 126-140.
34. "Slender Tailed Meerkat," Wellington Zoo; www.wellingtonzoo.com/animals /animals/mammals/meerkat.html
35. "Antelope," Animal Bytes; www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbyte s/t-antelope.html
36. Janine M. Benyus, The Secret Language and Remarkable Behavior of Animals, p. 186.
37. Red Squirell; www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factshee ts/animal_facts/red_squirrel.html
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Answered Question - Disney Parks Moms Panel
- My family of 4; My husband, My 4 year old daughter, my 3 year old son and I are planning a trip to Disneyland next Christmas. I want my daughter to have tea with the princesses. How do I make reservations?
- - Asked by Sara from California on 10/13/2013
- Hi, Sara!
I’m so happy to hear that you’re planning a trip to the Disneyland Resort next Christmas. There’s nothing quite as magical as experiencing the Happiest Place on Earth when it’s decked out for the holidays!
It sounds like you’re thinking of My Disney Girl's Perfectly Princess Tea Party, which is offered only at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World. A great alternative available at Disney California Adventure Park is a character meal at Ariel’s Grotto! I’ve dined there several times and love the whimsical undersea atmosphere and character meet-and-greet opportunities during “Ariel’s Disney Princess Celebration.” Your little girl will be thrilled to meet a handful of her favorite Disney princesses one-on-one in a fanciful setting! Dining reservations are recommended and can be made up to 60 days in advance by calling Disney Dining at (714) 781-DINE (3463).
I hope this is helpful, Sara, and that your family has a perfectly pixie-dusted visit to the Disneyland Resort! Please don’t hesitate to write back with any other questions you may have as your planning continues.
Wishing you magic,
Panelists have received/will receive a Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line®, Disneyland® Resort or Disney Vacation Club® vacation for panelist and up to three family members and/or park tickets for their participation on the Disney Parks Moms Panel. The views expressed in the Panel are those of the panelists, who are independent contractors. These views are not intended to reflect the opinions of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, its affiliates, its management, its agents or its employees and have not been reviewed or approved by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online prior to posting.
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WEST GROVE -- The thought alone of missing one of her son’s football games made Tammy Braxton’s eyes overflow with tears.
It’s as scary a thought for a parent to consider as it is big and confusing for a teenage to comprehend, when health threatens life. So when Tammy was diagnosed with breast cancer the last week of February, all she and her second son Jared Braxton could do was shed tears.
“At first we both just cried,” Tammy said. “But I think it’s just made our relationship so much closer. And it was close to begin with. It’s created more of a connection with everything and opened a lot of doors.”
Broxton, a senior at Avon Grove, and his mother have always had one common bond: football. So when life became unpredictable, that one constant -- football -- became the catalyst for recovery.
For Jared, support was found in the same locker room. New teammate, but old friend, junior Andrey Green, who transferred from Bishop Shanahan in the offseason, had gone through the process about a year and a half prior when his mom Caroline Green fought and survived breast cancer.
Both Jared and Andrey had heard of “pink games” that were held elsewhere around the county. After inquiring about the program, the duo approached first-year head coach Doug Langley in the preseason about teaming up with Unite for Her, an organization dedicated to educating and helping women fighting breast cancer. It was Langley’s easiest decision of his young career.
“Both of our parents went through it, and we had heard of (UFH) a little bit last year,” Jared said. “We thought it would be something special to do. It’s a big day to spread awareness and something that can bring the whole community together.”
Saturday, on Homecoming against West Chester East at 2:30 p.m., Avon Grove will partake in its first “pink game.” Through the first month of the school year, Jared, Andrey and their teammates have been fundraising, largely by selling pink UFH t-shirts. When all the hard work and planning comes to fruition Saturday afternoon, it will be not only a platform to raise awareness, but a tribute to the women associated with the team who have fought or are still fighting (Avon Grove’s David Trosky’s mother, Linda, is currently undergoing treatments, as well).
“(Saturday) is going to mean a lot,” Green said. “I’m excited, and the players have been talking about it. Hopefully we can get the ‘W’ and the fans will be there to support all the moms. The community coming together is the best part about it.”
Unite For Her strives to help women battling with breast cancer by educating them about the disease, as well as providing avenues to enhance healing via nutrition, acupuncture, yoga and other methods. Sue Weldon, a breast cancer survivor of eight years, founded the organization in 2009.
Five other local high schools -- Bishop Shanahan, Unionville, West Chester East, West Chester Henderson and West Chester Rustin -- will join Avon Grove in hosting a pink game. Pierce and Fugett Middle Schools in the West Chester school district have also joined the campaign. A percentage of the funds raised will be given back to a selected woman with breast cancer in that respective community.
“It gives the kids a way to do something,” Weldon said. “Sometimes kids don’t know what to do, so it gives them a voice and an opportunity to give back.”
That’s precisely the case with Jared. His mom, who doubles as the President of the Avon Grove Booster Club, has been there for him since he played for the Wildcats in the Bert Bell League. Tammy was a team mom then and a host mom for many of the players often these days.
For Jared, helping to organize a pink game was an form of growth. The stitching on his custom cleats that reads “Thanks Mom,” is a reminder throughout the season.
“I did that to show my thankfulness for everything she’s done for me the past four years and everything before that,” Jared said. “It’s a little extra motivation that we’re going to get through this together.”
Tammy relishes every opportunity she has to see Jared play in his final year of high school.
“The biggest thing, when I was diagnosed, was that I want to be the person who goes places with my kids throughout their lives,” Tammy said. “I have a 22 year-old son (Shane) and a 17 year-old, and the thought of them doing anything without me there was not something I wanted to think about.”
“When I was diagnosed and found out when I was starting my chemotherapy, I started to count back on the calendar,” Tammy added. “My goal was to be recovered by the first football game. I didn’t want to be the sick, cancer-patient going to the games. As we were getting ready for summer camp I was cooking dinners for the boys and having them at the house, and that was fun to be able to laugh with and at them. That’s what got me through it... my kids and the boys.”
Jared, who’s established himself as quarterback Tanner Peck’s favorite target, leads the Red Devils with 11 receptions for 176 yards and a touchdown. Though Avon Grove is still looking for its first win this season, Saturday will be Jared’s most memorable game of his career, win or loss.
As if it was scripted in, Tammy’s final radiation treatment is today. After six weeks of radiation and four months of chemotherapy, Tammy will be a survivor. Which will come as no surprise to her biggest fan.
“I know she’s a strong person and would be able to get through it,” Jared said of his mom. “It took some time to set in, but when it did I just wanted to do everything I could to help her. To get her through it.”
Little did Jared know strapping up his helmet and tying the shoelaces, pink ones even, on his cleats would be all Tammy would ever need.
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Welcome to WI. Its the land of winter and then road construction. I am sure as time goes on, you will find adequete things to do. Events going on all year long. If you cant find something, then you just are not looking.
I know in Fremont the dealer host a wakeboarding competition. There are also many waterski show teams scattered throughout the state, along with a 4 day tournament for them in July.
Results 21 to 24 of 24
Thread: Hello Wisconsin
02-15-2013, 01:24 PM #21Senior Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2009
- Wausau, WI
2003 Outback, Assault EFI, (6) Polk Audio DB651s, JL Audio M6600 amp, JL Audio M1700 amp, JL Audio 10w6v2 subwoofer
03-16-2013, 03:04 PM #22
like deer, getting ready for the long drive..
finished my last day of work in the old building friday and now have a week to get moved. almost all packed. party tonight to say goodbye to a few close friends and family.. packing the uhaul up tues and hitting the road wed. with the plan to be in green bay on friday. going thru south dakota and hoping to see mt rushmore. nice to have an excuse to drive that way..
temporary housing for a week as the rental is not ready until the 30th. that'll suck with 2 dogs, but oh well.
listed the house on march 1st. had 7 offers by march 5 when I reviewed the first batch from mexico. got $5100 over asking and all-cash offer. should close on the 22nd. neighbors said it was a feeding frenzy with realtors and clients. we were in mexico and had teen girls housesitting, so had very limited hours to view so as not to be a pita to them..
now I just hope new guy has the mancave ready for my new place to crash. that shuffleboard table should sleep 2 nicely'06 Supra Launch 20SSV-gone but never forgotten
03-16-2013, 04:28 PM #23
03-16-2013, 08:44 PM #24
Re: Hello Wisconsin
No doubt! How did you pull that off?Drew
New ride: 2012 Mojo
Old ride: 2008 OBV
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The Eclipse OCL code is maintained in a GIT repository which is used by Clone Repository. This repository is used in a traditional 'client'/'server' fashion, even though GIT treats all users as peers. The definitive state is on the 'server' at git://git.eclipse.org/gitroot/mdt/org.eclipse.ocl.git. Individual committers establish 'client' clones of the 'server' so that for committers, the definitive development stream is at origin/master and each committer's master is a branch of origin/master. A definitive maintenance stream is at for instance origin/R3_1.
- 1 Complete Use Cases
- 2 Partial Use Cases
- 2.1 Clone Repository
- 2.2 Create New Branch
- 2.3 Discard Old Work
- 2.4 Switch to Local Branch
- 2.5 Switch to Remote Branch
- 2.6 Review Changes
- 2.7 Commit to Branch
- 2.8 Create Patch
- 2.9 Request Review
- 2.10 Rebase Branch onto origin/master
- 2.11 Merge Branch onto origin/master
- 2.12 Merge Branch onto Another Branch
- 2.13 Archive Old Branch
Complete Use Cases
Develop a Non-trivial Change
The normal evolution of the project code involves a non-trivial change that may take a few days or weeks to develop, may need review by another committer and may occur concurrently with some other change.
A Bugzilla describes the intended change and supports communication regarding the progress of the change.
The change is developed in a branch whose name starts with bug/nnnnnn where nnnnnn is the Bugzilla number. A short description may follow.
- Optionally Discard Old Work to facilitate doing something new
- Create New Branch or Switch to Local Branch or Switch to Remote Branch
- Develop and test changes
- Optionally Review Changes prior to commit
- Commit to Branch
- Optionally Push to Upstream to create a backup at Eclipse or to publish to other committers
- Optionally Create Patch to attach to Bugzilla for review
- Optionally Request Review
- Rebase Branch onto origin/master to synchronize with concurrent development
- Optionally Review Changes prior to merge
- Fetch to local/master to resynchronize local version of master development stream
- Merge Branch onto local/master to create updated local stream
- Rerun tests
- Push to Upstream to commit local to origin master development stream
- Optionally Merge Branch onto Another Branch such as a maintenance branch
- Archive Old Branch to prune the EGit displays
Develop a Trivial Change
Very simple changes that do not require review, or must be performed in a hurry may be performed directly on the local master branch.
- Discard Old Work to facilitate doing something new
- Switch to local/master
- Pull from Upstream to synchronize with development stream
- Develop and test changes
- Review Changes prior to commit
- Commit to local/master
- Merge local/master onto origin/master to commit to the development stream
Partial Use Cases
The Eclipse GIT repositories are accessed using SSH, so you if you want write access, you should first make sure that you have SSH keys. Then you should use the Git Repositories View of the Git Repository Exploring perspective to Create a clone of the existing Git repository accessed at ssh://firstname.lastname@example.org/gitroot/mdt/org.eclipse.ocl.git. committer-id is your Eclipse committer name, typically comprising the first letter of your first name followed by your last name.
Creating the clone takes quite some time, perhaps five to ten minutes, not all of which has comforting progress indications. You can use a file explorer to watch the progress. A complete directory tree for each project appears late in the cloning process.
Create New Branch
A new branch should almost always be created as a branch of origin/master, since this gives a simple direct relationship to the development stream. If you use another branch such as local/master you create a branch of a branch and may encounter difficulties in synchronizing changes or exporting the branch to other repositories that may not be aware of all changes in your local/master.
Discard Old Work
EGit is very reluctant to allow you to lose work, so if your current workspace currently contains some experimental changes resulting perhaps from a review or newsgroup query, you must lose these changes before you can proceed.
Changes may be thrown away by Resetting to match some branch, possibly the current one, possibly origin/master, the synchronizing the workspace, and overwriting to lose all changes.
Switch to Local Branch
Switch to Remote Branch
If the remote branch is relatively new you may need to Fetch from Upstream to update your list of Remote Tracking branches.
Then select any Git project and Switch to Remote Branch. The decoration on all projects should change to show that the selected branch is in use.
Commit to Branch
Changes are committed to the current branch. They can be committed directly from the Package Explorer view, but this offers limited opportunity for review.
It is recommended to Synchronize Workspace, so that all changes are displayed in the Synchronize View, allowing differences to be reviewed by double clicking files. The files to be committed may be selected and then committed.
Once all changes have been committed the Synchronize View should show no changes. Unfortunately the Synchronize View has limited understanding of .gitignore and so many spurious files suddenly show as needing a commit. It is currently necessary to return to the Package Explorer and resynchronize from there.
If naive builders are in use, such as Acceleo's, the commit may trigger a rebuild that then appears to show a need to commit further files. These files mark the workspace as dirty, preventing rebasing or switching. It may therefore be necessary to disable builds, resynchronize, and overwrite the rebuilt files to lose the changes.
Rebase Branch onto origin/master
In order to merge concurrent changes from for instance origin/master you Rebase onto the origin/master branch. This does not affect the origin/master branch.
You cannot Rebase while your workspace has pending changes, so you must commit, or discard those before rebasing.
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Whether lobbyists work for a large organization, a private individual, or the general public, their goals and strategies are the same. First and foremost, lobbyists must be adept at the art of persuasion, which is the mainstay of their job. They must figure out how to sway politicians to vote on legislation in a way that favors the interest they represent. This means tailoring appeals to specific individuals as well as to group voting blocs, such as Southerners or pro-choicers. Lobbyists also occasionally lobby one another. When normally opposing groups find a common area of interest and can present a united front they are extremely effective.
Lobbying can be direct or indirect. Direct lobbying means actually meeting with congressmen and providing them with information pertinent to a bill being voted on. The lobbyist imparts her information with the help of graphs, charts, polls, and reports that she has hunted up or created. Needless to say, this is usually information that the politician might not otherwise have access to, that casts the matter in a light favorable to the interest the lobbyist represents. Sometimes, lobbyists will even sit down and help a politician draft legislation that is advantageous for their interest.
Maintaining good relations with politicians who can be relied on to support the lobbyist’s interest is key. While lobbyists and their employers cannot themselves make large campaign donations to politicians, they can, and do, raise money from other sources for reelection campaigns. To be successful at all of this, the lobbyist must be well-informed, persuasive, and self-confident. Personal charm doesn’t hurt either, and lobbyists will often do social things like host cocktail parties, which allow them to interact with politicians-and opponents-in a less formal atmosphere.
Indirect lobbying, sometimes referred to as grassroots organizing, is a bit less glamorous. Grassroots lobbyists enlist the help of the community to influence politicians by writing, calling, or demonstrating on the organization’s behalf. This means long hours spent on the phone and writing letters, trying to rouse the community to get involved. These lobbyists also report to politicians about the concerns and reactions they have gotten from community members. Indirect lobbying is also done through the media. Grassroots lobbyists write articles for newspapers and magazines and appear on talk shows to generate interest in and awareness of their issues.
Lobbyists tend to work long hours-between forty and eighty hours per week is normal, and when a bill is up for vote they will usually work through at least one night. But the least attractive part of being a lobbyist may be the profession’s less-than-spotless reputation. While most are undoubtedly scrupulous, some lobbyists have been known to grease a palm or two where persuasion falls short, and the rest must suffer the public’s mistrust. These honest lobbyists, who represent every segment of society, take refuge in the knowledge that they are working to promote causes they believe in.
Lobbying is a profession full of people who have changed careers, since relevant knowledge and experience are all you really need to become a lobbyist. There are no licensing or certification requirements, but lobbyists are required to register with the state and federal governments. Most lobbyists have college degrees. A major in political science, journalism, law, communications, public relations, or economics should stand future lobbyists in good stead. While you’re still in college you can check out the terrain through various government-related internships-as a congressional aide, in a government agency, or with a lobbying firm, for example. Any of these positions will give you a look at the role of lobbying in the political system. After college the same holds-working in a government or political office, especially as a congressional aide, takes you to the front lines, but it may also be useful to start out in a law or public relations firm.
Many lobbyists also come from careers as legislators, as former politicians often capitalize on their years of government service and their connections to old pals still in office. This is the “revolving door” that recent legislation has begun to regulate (see “Past and Future”). Indeed, networking is the name of the game in lobbying, where people are hired as much for who they know as what they know. Someone who can schmooze at high levels will start his lobbying career from an accordingly high perch, while others face a long hard climb upwards. While there is no hierarchy of seniority as in corporations, this also means that there is no ceiling for those who do well.
Primarily, the lobbyist works with legislators and aides, both of which are career options for former lobbyists, with their inside knowledge of the political system. Public relations is also a natural choice, since packaging and communicating messages is the lobbyist’s primary skill. Advertising, journalism, and teaching are also good outlets for the lobbyist’s energy and talents.
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Stay safe while riding Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles by following these commonsense guidelines:
ALCOHOL and riding do not
New Hampshire has strict rules and regulations against operating an OHRV while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Alcohol increases fatigue, affects your fine and gross motor skills, affects your judgment and ability to make rational decisions thus making it dangerous to operate a wheeled vehicle or snowmobile. Remember: if you must drink and ride, drink a soda.
Myth-buster: Many people believe in the myth that consuming alcohol can warm up a chilled person. This is not true. Alcohol opens the blood vessels and hides the sensation of being chilled by getting the warm blood close to the skin surface. It does nothing to increase body heat. Instead, alcohol can cool your body down dangerously, increasing the risk of hypothermia.
Manage the Risk
RIDING a recreational vehicle has inherent risks. The best way to avoid getting hurt or encountering problems while riding an OHRV is to manage these risks:
Wear Protective Clothing. The most important piece of protective clothing you can wear is an approved helmet. Make sure the helmet has been approved by either Snell or DOT. If you have any questions about the condition of a used helmet, contact a competent dealer and ask their opinion.
Know your abilities to ride and do not exceed those levels.
Identify the capabilities of the machine you are riding and do not exceed those levels.
Always ride at a speed that is reasonable and prudent for the existing conditions. If you cannot control your machine, you are riding too fast, no matter what the posted speed limit is.
Know the area you are riding in. Be aware of potential hazards such as washouts and other changing trail characteristics. Get a map of the trails and talk to local riders.
Always keep an open mind to learning. You're never too old to learn. Take a class, join a club and ride with a friend.
Use common sense when riding. Be prepared; carry a first aid and survival kit. Take along some spare plugs and tools that may not be in the machine’s tool kit.
- Let someone know where you will be riding and when you plan on returning. If you run into problems, these extra precautions can be time and lifesavers.
Don’t become a statistic! The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department urges all snow machine riders to review safety precautions and ride responsibly. Click here for some key safety precautions for snowmobilers.
Many trails are also shared by dog sledders, hunters, cross-country skiers, hikers, equestrians, and others. All trail users should be aware of snowmobiles and each other, as well as dog teams on the trail. Click here to download the brochure Share the Trail, from the N.H. Mushers Association.
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It's been just about a month since I did any serious writing, and we're now getting back to the grindstone.
Before we get into a big batch of "we have to learn about the brain" stories (and in an effort to avoid doing a "State of the Union" story today) I want to clear the deck from 2009, which means I have a lot of disconnected scraps of message to pass along; some of it fun, some of it free, some of it snarky--and at least a bit of it, disturbing.
In keeping with the random nature of today's story, some of it will even run into 2010.
So go find your joke hat, and let's get our wrapup on.
The doctor was examining a naval hospital orderly for advancement in rating. "What would you do if the captain fainted on the bridge?"
"Bring him to," warbled the aspiring orderly.
"Then what?" asked the doctor.
"Bring him two more," returned the man promptly.
--From the book "10,000 Jokes, Toasts, and Stories", Lewis and Faye Copeland, editors.
As regular visitors to this space know, I'm probably a bit too addicted to television, and on of the hazards of that addiction is having to form a relationship with the various TV personalities out there. There are some I'm happy to welcome into my home (I'm thinking of you, Drew Carey), but then, there are...others.
Which brings us to William Darrell Mays, Jr.
Billy (the name by which many of you may have known him), was that irritating guy who basically invented the business of "...and I'll give you a second one free--just pay extra shipping and handling...", which is perfectly fine, and bless him for it...but now he's dead, and you know what?
It has become time to apply one of the rules of marriage: Until Death Do We Part.
We all outlived Billy, and one of the rewards of that should be that we are freed, as it were, to find another pitchperson...or maybe to move on to a better place--perhaps even to a world without someone from Florida hustling Oxy-Whatever all day long.
"My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals."
--Lord Henry, speaking to Dorian Gray, in Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
Ever see someone making a "dick move" who also struck you as being sanctimonious, both at the same time? If the answer is yes, you already know the definition of a word The Girlfriend made up the other day in the car: dictimoneous.
Dictimoneous; as in: "When that BMW driver cut you off, dude...that was dictimoneous".
We find we're already using the word a lot...and we suspect you will, too.
(By the way, expect Dick Timoneous to show up in some of my snarky stories from time to time, probably working alongside Harry Paratestes, who has been a friend of this space for some time.)
"Why, there is it. Come sing me a bawdy song, make me merry."
--Falstaff, to Randolph, in Act 3, Scene 3 of "Henry IV, Part I", by William Shakespeare
Much as the wily chair hunter stalks the plains searching out his next place of repose, many of us seek the watering holes where free .mp3s gather, and I have a couple of them for you today.
The first is RCRD LBL. These folks offer hundreds and hundreds of completely "legal" songs that you can either stream or download, all at no charge--and it's music you'll actually want to hear.
There are lots of bands you'll probably recognize, including the Ting Tings, The Herbaliser, and Groove Armada, bands you should recognize, such as Thao With The Get Down Stay Down or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and artists that are absolutely on the way up--one of those being Amanda Blank, who you might have seen with Spank Rock as part of Lollapalooza 2008 (link warning: hip-hop sensibilities ahead...).
It's even participatory: the site invites you to take the music downloads from the site, mix 'em and mash 'em to your heart's desire, and send them right back, possibly to be put up on the site for others to enjoy as well. They also invite you to burn the songs to your own CDs, and to pass them along to your friends...the only limitation being that the music must be used for non-commercial purposes.
There are two ways to get started: either head straight to the site and start downloading, or sign up for the daily email that lists new tracks as they become available.
What used to be one of Seattle's public radio stations, 90.3, KEXP (and before that, KCMU), has now also become New York City's KEXP, due to an arrangement that has created multicity simulcasts hosted on 91.5 WNYE. The station produces live events in both cities--including, just by coincidence, an Amanda Blank show on the 29th of this month at the Santos Party House in Manhattan.
This station (these stations?) plays a lot of "emerging artist" music (which you can hear on excellent quality streams), and if you sign up, they will send a free "Song of the Day" to your iTunes (which is just one of five available podcasts they will happily send your way). There are about 575 more of these songs in the archive to be downloaded, and as with RCRD LBL, the diversity of artists is pretty impressive, including Calexico and Architecture in Helsinki and a guy who is well on his way to becoming the Paul Shaffer of punk, Tim Armstrong.
"...Mother and I have sex almost every night. We almost have sex on Monday, we almost have sex on Tuesday..."
--Senator Arlen Specter, appearing at the Improv, Washington, DC.
Corporate treasurers are unable to use AAA rated subprime mortgage derivatives to boost the bottom line any more, and apparently another potential income source is to be found in betting the customers that the things they're buying won't blow up once they get them home.
This has created a new opportunity for mischief, which I put to use just the other day: I had to buy a new printer for my friend who could not make his old printer talk to his new Windows 7 computer (thanks a lot, Sharp), and the clerk wondered if I might wish to purchase the extended warranty for my $49 purchase.
After all, he told me, the manufacturer's warranty only lasts a year, and the extended warranty would double that to two years. To which I responded:
"Are you trying to tell me that you don't think this printer will last longer than two years?"
If you try it yourself you'll quickly discover that they don't like that question at all...and it is a tough spot in which to be, philosophically: on the one hand, you want to make the customers confident enough to buy products--but not so confident that they won't make the "extended warranty" bet.
"If you work on your mind with your mind,
How can you avoid an immense confusion?"
To close out today's story, a horrible, horrible, observation, and a commentary on just how disturbed I really am.
WARNING: The following is a joke. It is strictly a joke. We do not recommend you try this at home, under your home in the root cellar, or, should evacuation be required, at a public shelter.
They're running those public service announcements to encourage us to carry a disaster supply kit with us in the event of emergency, and to tell us that we should carry three days worth of supplies, at least, in that kit.
Do you have pets? You're encouraged to carry three days' worth of food for them as well.
Here's the horrible part...as I was listening to this announcement, I couldn't help but think: "If you have pets...don't you automatically have three days worth of food?"
Of course, if you're Paris Hilton and you carry around one of those tiny Chihuahuas, that might be an exception...but then again, if you're Paris Hilton, that might actually be three days' worth of food.
So there you go: a couple jokes, free music, a survival tip, and a fervent wish that Billy Mays, now dead, could be finally buried.
Next time: we begin a conversation about PTSD, and to get that started we'll have to learn a bit of neural anatomy, so get your thinking caps ready, as we're gonna need 'em.
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US 7857626 B2
Conductive elastomeric circuits are used in various simulated physiological structures such as tissues and organs, enabling feedback to be provided indicating whether a simulated task is being performed correctly. For example, a surgical trainer has a simulated human tissue structure made of an elastomeric composition, at least one reinforcing layer of a fibrous material, and at least one flexible electrical circuit. The surgical trainer preferably includes multiple areas for practicing surgical skills, each with evaluation circuits for providing feedback regarding that skill. Conductive elastomers are also incorporated into other types of medical training simulators, to similarly provide feedback. In another embodiment, a simulated organ has a conductive elastomeric circuit in the periphery of the simulated organ, enabling feedback to be provided to evaluate whether a person is properly manipulating the organ in response to a manual applied pressure.
1. A physiological training and evaluation simulator suitable for training and testing personnel, comprising:
(a) a simulated physiological structure; and
(b) an evaluation circuit including a conductive elastomer, the conductive elastomer enhancing the realism of the simulated physiological structure, the conductive elastomer being configured as a portion of the simulated physiological structure, said evaluation circuit being configured to conduct an electrical signal from a chemical sensor disposed in the physiological training and evaluation simulator when the sensor detects a chemical in the physiological training and evaluation simulator;
(c) a processor coupled to the evaluation circuit and configured to determine if a quantity of the chemical administered in a simulated procedure and detected by the chemical sensor is sufficient to trigger a simulated physiological response; and
(d) a physiological control element configured to produce a simulated physiological response in the simulated physiological structure, the physiological control element being coupled to the evaluation circuit so that the processor uses the evaluation circuit to control the physiological control element based on input from the chemical sensor.
2. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
3. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
4. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
5. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
6. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
7. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
8. A medical training simulator suitable for medical skills training and evaluation, the medical training model comprising a simulated physiological structure and an evaluation circuit including a conductive elastomer, the evaluation circuit including a first conductive segment and a second conductive segment separated by a non conductive segment such that they are not electrically coupled to each other, the first conductive segment and the second conductive segment being part of the simulated physiological structure, said evaluation circuit being configured to provide data related to proper execution of a simulated medical procedure being performed using the simulated physiological structure when the non conductive segment is removed and the first conductive segment and the second conductive segment are coupled together during the simulated medical procedure, thereby completing the evaluation circuit and enabling the evaluation circuit to provide the data related to the proper execution of the simulated medical procedure.
9. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
10. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
11. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
12. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
13. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
(a) at least one simulated membranous layer comprising at least one elastomeric layer; and
(b) at least one simulated sub-membranous layer comprising at least one elastomeric layer underlying a first membranous layer.
14. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
15. The physiological training and evaluation simulator of
(a) at least one simulated structure corresponding to an internal anatomical structure of a human body;
(b) an exterior cover encompassing a substantial portion of the surgical trainer, the exterior cover having at least one predefined opening defining an operative site, so that each opening is disposed adjacent to a different structure, to facilitate access to said structure; and
(c) the simulated human tissue structure is incisable, and is disposed proximate to each predefined opening, such that access to said at least one structure via the adjacent predefined opening requires making an incision in said simulated human tissue structure, an exterior surface of each simulated human tissue structure being substantially flush with respect to an outer surface of the exterior cover, each simulated human tissue structure being removable to be replaced after use, said simulated human tissue structure comprising a plurality of layers, said plurality of layers generally corresponding to layers of tissue found in a human being at a location corresponding to the operative site, and at least one of the plurality of layers including the conductive elastomer.
16. A medical training simulator suitable for medical skills training and evaluation, the medical training model comprising a simulated physiological structure and an evaluation circuit including a conductive elastomer, the evaluation circuit including a first conductive segment and a second conductive segment separated by a gap, such that they are not electrically coupled to each other, the first conductive segment and the second conductive segment being part of the simulated physiological structure, said evaluation circuit being configured to provide data related to proper execution of a simulated medical procedure being performed using the simulated physiological structure when either the first conductive segment or the second conductive segment are repositioned and placed in contact with either the other of the first conductive segment or the other of the second conductive segment during the simulated medical procedure, thereby completing the evaluation circuit and enabling the evaluation circuit to provide the data related to the proper execution of the simulated medical procedure.
This application is a continuation-in-part of a patent application, Ser. No. 09/695,380, filed on Oct. 23, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,780, 016, the specification and drawings of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference, and the benefit of the filing date of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120.
The present invention generally pertains to simulated physiological structures for use as medical training aids, and more specifically, to simulated physiological structures that include conductive elastomeric circuits to provide feedback related to simulated procedures performed on the simulated physiological structures.
The use of simulated physiological structures for training medical students and providing skill training for practicing physicians is widespread. Although cadavers have traditionally been beneficially employed for this purpose, cadavers are not always readily available and are not well suited for all types of training.
Simulated physiological structures should preferably be usable repeatedly and should provide a realistic training experience corresponding to what the trainee would expect if applying a procedure on an actual patient. Students, and even practicing physicians and nurses, often need to be tested to determine their skill level with respect to certain procedures. Since an objective standard is preferable in conducting such tests, a simulated physiological structure should include systems for providing feedback indicating how well the student or physician is performing a simulated task.
The need for such simulators should not be underestimated, because they can provide valuable training that will lead to more effective treatment of patients. For example, medical personnel who administer emergency trauma care can greatly benefit from the training achieved using a simulated physiological structure. Training in administering trauma surgical procedures, which include those procedures that are usually performed on a person who has experienced some form of severe and often life-threatening injury, is particularly beneficial. Such procedures may aid in the diagnosis of a condition, or may provide immediate life-saving care until more complete medical treatment is available. The procedures may include clearing a blocked airway or draining accumulations of fluids from internal organs. While appearing to be simple procedures, if these procedures are performed improperly, the result can worsen the patient's condition, placing the patient at an even greater peril of death. By their nature, trauma procedures are usually performed under emergency conditions in which the person administering the care is under time-related stress. It is therefore useful to provide training methods and apparatus to fully prepare students and physicians in these procedures, so that they can be performed without delay, under stressful conditions.
It should be noted that one reason why the use of a training model (either a cadaver, an animal, or a simulator) is desirable is that while anatomy follows general rules; variations based on sex, age, height, and weight are the norm. A surgical student cannot simply be provided directions such as “make an incision four inches long and two inches deep, starting at the navel.” Normal variations such as the amount of body fat will significantly change the depth of fat tissue that must be incised to reach an internal organ. Surgeons must rely on their knowledge of general anatomy, and visual cues (i.e. the patient has low body fat, the patient has high body fat, the patient is a child, the patient is an adult, the patient is a female, etc.) to determine the correct location on a specific patient for performing a procedure. The use of cadavers, animal models, and anatomically correct simulators enable surgical students to apply their knowledge of anatomy to determine the proper position for executing a procedure.
To provide the desired level of realism, a simulated physiological structure used for training medical personnel should provide tactile sensations during a simulated procedure that faithfully portray the tactile sensations experienced during an actual procedure performed on a patient. Human anatomical models have been proposed using elastomeric compositions for human tissue. However, most elastomeric-based simulators that have previously been created do not include a level of detail that faithfully portrays the finer aspects of human tissue, including the tactile feel of different types of tissue.
Even if a simulated physiological structure having simulated tissue faithfully portrays finer details of an actual physiological structure and provides a realistic tactile sensation during a simulated procedure, prior simulators do not include means for producing objective and measurable results that can be used to evaluate how well a simulated procedure is performed. Clearly, it would be desirable to employ a simulated physiological, structure that is able to provide a realistic tactile sensation during a simulated procedure, and which is also able to provide an objective indication that can be used to evaluate how well a simulated procedure was executed.
One of the key requirements for such a simulator is that physically flexible electrical circuitry be included within the elastomeric material that represents tissue and other flexible organic elements, without changing the tactile characteristics of the elastomeric material. For example, flexible elastomeric conductive materials can be employed to produce flexible circuits that would be usable in a simulator. Sanders et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,615) discloses a cardiac simulator including an electrically conductive polymer. Thus, medical devices including electrically conductive polymers are known in the art. Indeed, other patents disclose the use of electrically conductive polymers in medical treatment devices (see for example: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2001/0000187 (Peckham et al.) describing prosthetics; U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,379 (Stratbucker) describing a defibrillator lead; U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,148 (Shastri et al.) describing a neural stimulator; U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,173 (Daglow et al.) describing an implantable electrical connector; PCT application WO 01/32249 (Geddes et al.) describing a tracheotrode; EPO application No. 0601806A2 (Moaddeb et al.) describing a cardiac stimulating electrode; and EPO application No. 0217689 (Compos) describing an ultrasound transducer). Each of the Toth references (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,540,390; 6,436,035; and 6,270,491) discloses a surgical light that includes a user-actuatable switch that is constructed using conductive elastomers. Kanamori (U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,682) discloses a pressure sensitive conductive elastomer, but not in the context of a simulated physiological structure. Soukup et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,286) describes an implantable data port that employs an electrically conductive polymer to enable data to be conveyed from an implanted medical device or sensor to an externally disposed data dump. While the data port includes a conductive elastomer, the circuit does not provide evaluation data regarding a simulated procedure and is not part of a simulated physiological structure used for training purposes.
Significantly, none of the above-described medical devices are training devices or models simulating human tissue or physiology, but they do demonstrate some of the advantages of using a conductive polymer. Since elastomeric materials can be employed to produce realistic simulated physiological structures, it would be desirable to provide a simulated physiological structure that includes an evaluation circuit formed from a conductive elastomer that does not alter the tactile sensations of the elastomeric materials with which the conductive elastomer is used. It would be also be desirable to provide a simulated organ that includes a pressure-sensitive conductive elastomer in the periphery of a simulated organ, to enable an evaluation of a trainee's ability to properly manipulate the simulated organ. The prior art does not disclose simulated physiological structures that can provide these important capabilities.
The present invention is directed to a simulated physiological structure that includes a conductive elastomer-based circuit. Preferably the conductive elastomer-based circuit is an evaluation circuit configured to enable feedback relating to a simulated procedure to be provided. The feedback can be provided as a visual or audible indication. The feedback can be hidden from the trainee and provided only to a proctor, or provided to the trainee during the simulation. The feedback can also be a simulated physiological response initiated in the simulated physiological structure, such as a change in a simulated heartbeat, the simulated physiological response being consistent with the simulated procedure. The evaluation circuit is configured to provide a signal relating to a simulated procedure being performed on the simulated physiological structure. The conductive elastomer enhances the realism of the simulator, as conventional conductors would look out of place in a simulated physiological structure.
In at least one embodiment, the evaluation circuit is configured to provide the signal when a change in pressure is applied to at least a portion of the simulated physiological structure. Such an embodiment can be implemented using a piezoelectric element responsive to a change in pressure, or by using a capacitance-based sensor, wherein the signal corresponds to a magnitude of the applied pressure.
In at least one embodiment, the evaluation circuit is configured to provide the signal when at least a portion of the simulated physiological structure is touched. Such an embodiment can be implemented using a capacitance sensitive switch, a resistance sensitive switch, a temperature sensitive switch, or a radio sensitive switch.
In some embodiments, the evaluation circuit is configured to provide the signal when a manipulation of at least a portion of the simulated physiological structure causes the evaluation circuit to close. Such an embodiment can be implemented using an evaluation circuit that includes an energized portion coupled to a power supply, and a target portion disposed adjacent to the energized portion, such that the target portion is coupled to the energized portion to complete the circuit and produce the signal when an instrument is properly employed in the simulated procedure. Such an embodiment can also be implemented using an evaluation circuit that is not initially energized, such that the evaluation circuit is energized and produces the signal when an instrument coupled with a power supply is properly employed in the simulated procedure. Yet another implementation involves an evaluation circuit that is incomplete at a gap in the evaluation circuit, and wherein the evaluation circuit is completed when a conductive probe employed in the simulated procedure is positioned in the gap to correctly perform the simulated procedure, thereby producing the signal. Still another implementation involves an evaluation circuit that is incomplete because a portion of the simulated physiological structure acts as an insulator separating portions of the evaluation circuit, and the simulated procedure requires the insulative portion to be removed, and the adjacent portions of the evaluation circuit to be coupled together.
In other embodiments, the evaluation circuit is configured to provide the signal when a manipulation of at least a portion of the simulated physiological structure causes the evaluation circuit to open. In yet another embodiment, the evaluation circuit is configured to provide the signal when an instrument is in proximity to at least a portion of the simulated physiological structure. Proximity sensing can be achieved by using touch sensitive circuits, capacitance sensitive circuits, and inductive circuits. Preferably the evaluation circuit is implemented in three dimensions.
Some embodiments further include a sensor coupled with the evaluation circuit, and the evaluation circuit is configured to provide the signal when the sensor indicates a change in a physical property has been detected. Beneficial sensors will include temperature sensors and chemical sensors.
Some embodiments include additional evaluation circuits. Preferably each additional evaluation circuit includes a conductive elastomer, and each additional evaluation circuit is configured to provide a signal when a different portion of the simulated physiological structure is manipulated during a procedure performed on the simulated physiological structure.
Preferably the physiological training and evaluation simulator includes an indicator coupled to the evaluation circuit, such that in response to the signal the indicator provides an indication relating to the performance of the simulated procedure. The indicator can be implemented as a light source, a meter, or an audio source.
Preferably the evaluation circuit couples to a processor configured to manipulate the signal. In some embodiments, the physiological training and evaluation simulator includes a physiological control element configured to produce a simulated physiological response in the simulated physiological structure under the control of the processor. The physiological control element can be implemented by a pump or a servo, or both.
In another embodiment, the conductive elastomer is configured to achieve a touch sensitive circuit. Touch sensitive circuits can be achieved using circuits sensitive to changes in temperature, resistance, capacitance, and radio reception. Some touch sensitive circuits can be configured to be pressure sensitive as well, such that a magnitude of pressure applied can be determined.
The simulated physiological structure can be a layered tissue structure, a simulated joint, a simulated bone, a simulated internal organ, or a more complex model that includes more than one different type of simulated physiological structure. Particularly in complex models, at least a portion of the evaluation circuit is implemented as a neural network simulating nerve bundles.
In a preferred embodiment of the layered human tissue structure, the tissue includes a skin layer of silicone reinforced with a silicone-coated fibrous layer, a subcutaneous fat layer of silicone underlying the skin, an anterior rectus sheath layer of silicone reinforced with a silicone-coated fibrous layer underlying the subcutaneous fat, a muscle layer of silicone underlying the fat, a posterior rectus sheath layer of silicone reinforced with a silicone-coated fibrous layer underlying the muscle layer, an extraperitoneal layer of silicone underlying the posterior rectus sheath, and a peritoneum of silicone reinforced with a silicone-coated layer underlying the extraperitoneal layer. Various different silicone compositions are employed for each of the individual layers to mimic the consistency of the analogous human tissue. Pigments are incorporated in the layers to make the simulated tissue appear visually similar to human tissue. At least a portion of one such layer is formed using a conductive elastomer configured to achieve an evaluation circuit that is used as noted above.
In another embodiment, a simulated human tissue includes artificial venous and arterial channels. Conductive elastomers are included within these channels, enabling electrical circuits to be distributed throughout the simulated human tissue structure. Such circuits are used to electrically couple various devices distributed within the simulated human tissue structure. For example, the simulated human tissue structure can include a simulated heart configured to “beat,” and the circuits disposed in the artificial venous and arterial channels are used to provide electrical energy to power the simulated heart. The circuits are also used to control the simulated heart, to reflect changes in heartbeat function due to a simulated anesthetic being administered, or a simulated arrest. When the simulated physiological structure is a simulated human tissue structure that includes a plurality of layers, the electrical circuit is preferably part of at least one layer.
A simulated organ, either alone or when disposed underlying a simulated human tissue structure, can incorporate a conductive elastomeric circuit in its periphery that is actuated by and monitors applied pressure, enabling feedback to be provided to evaluate if a student is manipulating the organ using acceptable techniques.
Preferably, regardless of the specific physiological structure being simulated, the electrical evaluation circuit is disposed relative to the simulated physiological structure so that a simulated medical procedure being performed on the simulated physiological structure can be objectively evaluated. In most cases, the electrical evaluation circuit is part of the simulated physiological structure.
One embodiment of the present invention is a surgical trainer having a simulated human tissue structure made of an elastomeric composition. The surgical trainer preferably includes multiple areas for practicing surgical skills. A key aspect of this embodiment is the inclusion of flexible electrical circuits, formed of conductive elastomers, in the simulated human tissue structure. These circuits enable feedback to be provided regarding the skill and accuracy with which a simulated task or procedure is being performed. For example, when the simulated task is pericardiocentesis, circuits made of conductive elastomers included in the simulated human tissue structure measure how accurately a student positions a needle used to perform the task. The measurement provided by the circuits indicates not only the position where the needle is inserted, but also the depth of its insertion.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to fabricating a conductive elastomer by adding conductive carbon to an elastomeric material. The conductive carbon is added to an elastomeric monomer, and the electrical evaluation circuit is then cast into a desired configuration. The polymerization is induced by a chemical agent, or by irradiating the mixture of the conductive carbon and the elastomeric monomer.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for making a medical training model suitable for medical skills training and evaluation, including the steps of determining a physiological structure that the medical training model is to simulate, determining a medical procedure that the simulated physiological structure will be used to simulate, and constructing a medical training model using the selected simulated physiological structure. The step of constructing a medical training model is performed so that the medical training model includes the selected simulated physiological structure and an electrical evaluation circuit having a conductive elastomer. The electrical evaluation circuit is configured to provide feedback relating to the simulated medical procedure.
Preferably, the electrical evaluation circuit is disposed proximate a location on the simulated physiological structure at which a medical device will be employed in a simulated medical procedure, to evaluate if a user performed the simulated medical procedure properly.
In one embodiment, the electrical evaluation circuit is disposed in the periphery of the simulated physiological structure as the medical model is constructed. The electrical evaluation circuit is either configured to be incomplete, so that portions of the electrical evaluation circuit are electrically coupled to form a complete circuit by a medical device when the medical device is properly utilized to perform the simulated procedure, or so that portions of the electrical evaluation circuit are broken by a medical device to form an incomplete circuit when the medical device is properly utilized to perform the simulated procedure.
In at least one embodiment, the electrical evaluation circuit is configured to include or couple to a light source, to provide a visual indication when the medical device is properly utilized to perform the simulated procedure.
Still another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for evaluating the performance of a trainee using a medical training model to execute a simulated medical procedure. In this method, a medical training model including a simulated physiological structure and a conductive elastomer-based electrical evaluation circuit is provided to the trainee. The conductive elastomer-based electrical evaluation circuit is configured to provide an indication either that the trainee has correctly executed the simulated medical procedure, or that the trainee has incorrectly executed the simulated medical procedure.
The conductive elastomer-based electrical evaluation circuit is used to monitor the trainee's performance, to produce an indication indicative of the quality of the performance. In one embodiment, the indication is provided to a proctor, such that the trainee is unaware of the evaluation of the performance during the simulated medical procedure. In another embodiment, the indication is used to provide at least one of a visual and an audible feedback to the trainee during the execution of the simulated medical procedure.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Overview of the Present Invention
In the present invention, flexible circuits formed of conductive elastomers are incorporated into simulated physiological structures used for medical training and simulations. The flexible circuits can be employed to provide feedback indicating how well a simulated procedure was performed on the simulated physiological structure.
The use of a conductive elastomer, as opposed to a conventional metallic wire conductor, enables a more realistic simulated physiological structure to be achieved, one which has tactile characteristics like that of a corresponding real physiological structure. Metallic conductors generally do not look or feel like any naturally occurring physiological structure. In contrast, the composition of elastomeric materials can readily be controlled to both visually and tactilely simulate many different physiological structures, such as tissues, organs, cartilage, and bone. While a portion of the circuitry associated with a medical model in accord with the present invention can be implemented using conventional metal wires, the use of a conductive elastomer, particularly at locations where realistic visual and tactile representations of anatomical structures is desirable, enables a realistic model to be achieved, which at the same time provides feedback functionality requiring conductive elements.
Conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits incorporated into simulated physiological structures can be used in a variety of different ways. Three significant uses include collection of data which is stored for later use, collection of data to be processed to provide some contemporaneous feedback (such as a visual or an audible indication that a procedure has been performed correctly or incorrectly, provided to a trainee, a proctor, or both), and collection of data which is analyzed and may be used to trigger a simulated physiological response in the simulated physiological structure (i.e. a change in a simulated heartbeat, a simulated muscular response, a change in a simulated respiratory rate, etc., implemented by controlling a servo or pump). In a relatively simple implementation, the electrical signal obtained from a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit is used to provide simple feedback, such as lights that turn on or off, and/or the activation of aural or verbal prompts or cues. In some implementations the metric is simply whether a current is flowing through the circuit. More complex circuits can be configured to determine a position of a simulated medical instrument (such as a needle, a catheter, an endoscope, or other tool) during each phase of a simulated procedure, to respond to touch, to measure pressure (useful for determining if the force applied by a trainee in handling a structure such as an organ is appropriate), and/or to measure impedance changes throughout a circuit. The use of appropriate sensors in a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit will enable changes in physical properties of the model to be evaluated. For example, some medical procedures involve the application of chemicals (i.e., drugs), heat, cold, and/or electromagnetic radiation to tissue or other physiological structures. Appropriate sensors can be incorporated into conductive elastomeric-based evaluation circuits so that feedback relating to the physical property change can be gathered. The electrical signal from the evaluation circuit can be manipulated and analyzed by logical processing elements, such as computers. Using a computer enables data provided by such evaluation circuits to be immediately processed and displayed, immediately processed but stored for later use, stored for later processing, compared to similar data, electronically distributed to other users in a network, or any combination thereof.
Instead of providing immediate feedback to a user, the feedback can be hidden from the user, and made instead available to an instructor. Based upon the feedback thus provided, the instructor may “grade” the performance of the user. Such an application will be particularly useful in skill assessments of medical personnel.
Incorporating conductive elastomers into a simulated human tissue structure will enable many different types of simulated procedures to be evaluated. For example, feedback can be provided that is indicative of how accurately a needle is inserted into a simulated tissue structure. The positioning of the needle can be evaluated relative to the outer surface of the simulated tissue structure, as well as to depth. Simulated tissue structures with a plurality of different layers of circuits can be used to evaluate incisions into the simulated tissue structure, by analyzing circuits broken by the incision, providing feedback of location, and optionally of the depth of the incision.
The following describes a preferred simulated human tissue structure, and a surgical simulator using such a simulated human tissue structure. After the preferred simulated human tissue structure is described, the incorporation of conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits into such simulated human tissue structures will be discussed, illustrating the benefits arising from the incorporation of electrical circuits formed from conductive elastomers in the simulator. Specific examples showing how such flexible electrical circuits are used to provide feedback, as well as examples of other types of simulated physiological structures that include the flexible circuits are also provided below.
Exemplary Simulated Human Tissue Structure and Surgical Trainer
For the purposes of this description, human tissue, not including bone or cartilage may be divided into two classes. The first class is tissue whose presence in a human body fills or lends significant bulk. The second class of tissue is tissue whose function is to line, support, or surround the first class of tissue. As used herein and the claims that follow, the second class of tissue is referred to as “membrane” or “membranes,” or as “membranous tissue.” By implication, the first class is referred to as “sub-membranous tissue.” Membranes are generally thinner but are characterized in that they are comparatively more dense and tougher than sub-membranous tissue, due in part to their composite construction, since they include a fibrous layer. The types of membranes found in a human body include skin and serous membranes, for example, the peritoneum, pericardium, or parietal pleura, and any of the number of fasciae or connective tissues, for example, the deep fascia, which binds muscles such as the anterior and posterior rectus sheath or aponeuroses, ligaments, and tendons. Sub-membranous tissue, such as fat, muscle or extraperitoneal tissue, by comparison, occupies more space and is generally easier to dissect than membranes. However, even in different tissues that are sub-membranous, there can be a great disparity in tissue consistency. For instance, fat is much easier to dissect and has a very different tactile characteristic than muscle. In some instances, only the blunt end of a scalpel can be employed to dissect fat. Given the need to provide realistic simulation and training models, it is therefore appropriate to impart a level of realism to surgical trainers to enable a user to experience the subtle differences between membranous and sub-membranous tissues.
An exemplary surgical trainer constructed in accord with the present invention is shown in
Trainer 100 rests on a base 102, which is preferably contoured to the trainer's dimensions. In addition, trainer 100 is buttressed by underlying structures, giving realistic shape and appearance to the trainer as though a complete muscular and skeletal system supports an exterior body cover 110. Body cover 110 is made from an elastomeric material and is preferably pigmented to present a visually similar appearance to that of human skin. A lower boundary 104 of the trainer is roughly commensurate with the lower abdomen; parts of the hypogastric and iliac areas have been included, but the lower extremities have been omitted. From the lower abdomen, the trainer continues to follow the outline of an average-sized male torso. Lumbar and hypochondriac, medial and lateral areas, as well as umbilical and epigastric areas, are faithfully replicated. Trainer 100 concludes with the upper chest and includes the upper neck portion. Upper extremities have been omitted. Preferably, the trainer includes swatches of simulated human tissue structure draped over practice surgery areas and over areas of body cover 110, and these swatches are preferably fastened to trainer 100 with hook and loop fasteners or snap fasteners (not shown), because the surgical practice tissue is incisable and is intended to be replaced after its useful life. Thus, only the practice surgical swatches need be replaced instead of the body cover. Preferably, the practice surgery areas include the abdomen, the chest, and neck areas. Each of the practice areas may include further simulated anatomical features and more tissue structure as described below.
Still referring to
Trainer 100 includes both exterior and interior structures and features that impart a lifelike quality to the trainer to better prepare medical students and other medical personnel for real operations or procedures. The exterior tissue members covering the surgical practice areas, of which there are preferably three, are incisable and suturable, owing to a fibrous layer within the simulated human tissue. Preferably, the simulated human tissue is secured to the trainer by hook and loop fasteners or snap fasteners, thereby making the exterior tissues replaceable at the end of their useful life. However, fasteners are optional.
Referring now to
Beginning with the uppermost and outermost layer, a composite layer 222 simulates human skin. For the purposes of this description, skin is considered a membranous layer. Composite layer 222 includes a silicone blend 202 and a reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 204, and preferably a pigment. As is generally known in the elastomer arts, any of a number of suitable pigments for silicone blends can be used to visually represent different layers. The silicone used in the invention is preferably obtained from Silicones, Inc. of High Point, N.C., under the mark XP-153A. Preferably, the silicone is mixed with a thinning agent, also obtained from Silicones, Inc., under the mark GI THINNER™. The volume ratio of silicone to thinner may be adjusted more or less to arrive at a suitable hardness and texture, but preferably, the volume ratio is between about 2:1 of silicone to thinner and about 10:1 of silicone to thinner. Techniques for molding and curing items of silicone and thinner are generally known by those of ordinary skill in the art and need not be set forth herein to enable the present invention. Although silicone has been found to perform best, other elastomeric materials, such as latex, may alternatively be used. Silicone-coated fibrous layer 204 is preferably pre-formed and cured and is then applied below or atop an uncured silicone formulation while in the mold. As the silicone formulation cures, the pre-formed fibrous layer is bonded thereto. However, the silicone-coated fibrous layer need not be bonded to the silicone blend layer. The silicone-coated fibrous layer 204 imparts a realistic resistance to cutting, similar to the resistance of real human skin. The fibrous layer is preferably made of a nylon mesh material. However, a felt material will perform equally well under some circumstances. Any number of synthetic or natural fibers will also be effective for use in this layer, to some degree. For instance, in the abdomen area, felt is the preferred fibrous material for the silicone-coated fibrous layer. While the skin is intended to be a very close approximation to actual human skin, it is to be recognized that real human skin includes numerous strata of virtually imperceptible differences. However, the simulated skin of the present invention closely represents the epidermis and dermis of actual human skin. Preferably, a pigment is added in the silicone blend to color the skin similar to human skin. Also, composite skin layer 222 including the fibrous layer 204 is about 2 to about 4 millimeters thick. While a preferred embodiment of skin layer 222 includes a reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 204, the use of more reinforcing layers are contemplated.
Underlying skin layer 222 is a layer 206 that simulates the subcutaneous fat found in actual human tissue. For purposes of this description, subcutaneous fat is considered a sub-membranous layer. Subcutaneous fat layer 206 is preferably formed of a silicone blend and includes a pigment. However, to simulate the less dense texture of fat, the formulation is adjusted to be different than that used for the layer simulating skin. The volume ratios of the fat layer are preferably about 1:1 silicone to thinner, to about 2:1 silicone to thinner. Subcutaneous fat layer 206 is similar in texture and hardness (tactile sensation) to a layer of subcutaneous fat found in humans. In humans, the subcutaneous fat occurs as a thin layer of loose fatty tissue underlying the skin and binding it to underlying layers. It is optional to provide a fibrous material or fibrous layer in the subcutaneous fat and to add pigments. Preferably, subcutaneous fat layer 206 is about 10 to about 60 millimeters thick.
Underlying subcutaneous fat layer 206 is a composite layer representing an anterior rectus sheath layer 224. For purposes of this description, the anterior rectus sheath is considered a membranous layer. The anterior rectus sheath layer includes a silicone blend 208 and a reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 210. Preferably, the fibrous material is a nylon mesh; however, SPANDEX™ has also been found to perform well. The fibrous layer 210 is pre-formed and bonded to anterior rectus sheath layer 208 by the method described above. However, fibrous layer 210 can instead be provided as a non-bonded layer. The formulation of silicone and thinner used to form the anterior rectus sheath is preferably in the range of about 1:0 silicone to thinner to about 2:1 silicone to thinner. Silicone alone (with no thinner) may be used for this layer, because the rectus sheath is a dense, tough serous layer, and these characteristics can be achieved by using little or none of the thinner. Preferably, the silicone used for anterior rectus sheath layer 224 is of a different consistency than that used for skin layer 222 or subcutaneous fat layer 206. The silicone preferably used for producing anterior rectus sheath layer 224 is obtained from Silicones, Inc. under the name GI-1000A™. This formulation of silicone is of a higher specific gravity, and therefore, upon curing, will be denser than skin layer 222 or subcutaneous fat layer 206. For the sake of comparison, the lighter silicone, XP-153A™, has a specific gravity of about 0.98, while the more dense silicone, GI-1000A™, has a specific gravity of about 0.99. Preferably, anterior rectus sheath layer 224 is about 0.5 to about 1.5 millimeters thick, and more preferably about 1.0 millimeter thick. While a preferred embodiment of anterior rectus sheath layer 224 includes a reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 210, more reinforcing layers are possible.
Underlying the anterior rectus sheath layer 224 is a muscle layer 212. For purposes of this description, muscle is considered a sub-membranous layer. Muscle layer 212 includes a silicone blend and preferably, a pigment, and is preferably formulated from silicone. However, of the two silicones mentioned above, it is preferable to use the less dense silicone, XP-153A™. The formulation is adjusted to realistically simulate the texture and consistency of actual muscle. Therefore, volume ratios of muscle layer 212 are preferably about 1:0 silicone to thinner, to about 4:1 silicone to thinner. Muscle layer 212 can be supplemented by adding more tissue structure in the chest area and by the addition of more layers. While it is understood that in actuality, there may be more or fewer muscles in certain areas of the abdomen and sides and anterior chest, this problem is addressed by providing a distinct member, which underlies the simulated tissue and body cover, to make up for any muscle that is not distinctly provided in the tissue structure of
Underlying muscle layer 212 is a posterior rectus sheath layer 226. For purposes of this description, the posterior rectus sheath is considered a membranous layer. Posterior rectus sheath layer 226 includes a silicone blend 214 and a reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 216. Preferably, the fibrous material is a nylon mesh, however, SPANDEX has been found to perform appropriately as well. The fibrous layer 216 is pre-formed as well and bonded to the posterior rectus sheath layer 226 using the same method described above. However, fibrous layer 216 can be provided as a separate and distinct layer. The formulation of silicone and thinner is preferably in the range of about 1:0 silicone to thinner to about 2:1 silicone to thinner, because the posterior rectus sheath 226 in humans is a dense, tough serous layer, which is most closely simulated by using little or none of the thinner in the layer formulation. Preferably, the silicone used for posterior rectus sheath 226 is the silicone GI-1000A™. Preferably, posterior rectus sheath layer 226 is about 0.5 to about 1.5 millimeters thick and more preferably, about 1.0 millimeter thick. While a preferred embodiment of posterior rectus sheath 226 includes reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 216, more reinforcing layers can be added.
Underlying the posterior rectus sheath layer 226, is the extraperitoneal tissue layer 218. For purposes of this description, the extraperitoneal tissue is considered a sub-membranous layer. Extraperitoneal tissue 218 is tissue that is similar in consistency to fat. Extraperitoneal tissue layer 218 is formed of a silicone blend and preferably, a pigment to provide realistic color and is preferably formulated from the silicone XP-153A™, to simulate the less dense texture of the corresponding true extraperitoneal tissue. The volume ratios of silicone to thinner for extraperitoneal tissue layer 218 are preferably about 2:1 silicone to thinner to about 1:1 silicone to thinner. Extraperitoneal tissue layer 218 is similar in texture and hardness to a layer of extraperitoneal tissue found in humans. It is optional to provide a fibrous material or layer in the extraperitoneal tissue layer or to add pigments for coloration. Preferably, the extraperitoneal layer 218 is about 4 to about 10 millimeters thick.
Underlying extraperitoneal layer 218 is a composite peritoneum layer 228. For purposes of this description, the peritoneum is considered a membranous layer. Peritoneum layer 228 simulates a smooth transparent surface membrane that lines the cavity of the abdomen of a human. In this simulated human tissue, peritoneum layer 228 includes a silicone blend 220 and a reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 230. Preferably, the fibrous material is a nylon mesh; however, SPANDEX has also been found to perform well. Fibrous layer 230 is pre-formed, as in other membranous tissue, and is bonded to silicone blend 220 by the same method described above. Alternatively, fibrous layer 230 can be provided as a separate and distinct layer. The formulation of silicone and thinner for this layer is preferably in the range of between about 1:1 silicone to thinner to about 1:0 silicone to thinner. This is because the peritoneum is a dense, tough layer. Preferably, the silicone used for the peritoneum is GI-1000A™ because of its higher density. Preferably, the peritoneum layer 228 is about 0.5 to about 1.5 millimeters thick, and most preferably, about 1.0 millimeter thick. While the preferred embodiment of the peritoneum layer 228 includes reinforcing silicone-coated fibrous layer 230, more reinforcing layers are possible.
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Preferably, the surgical trainer 100 will be used for the following surgical procedures. However, the surgical trainer need not be limited to those enumerated below.
Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage
Trainer 100 enables a user to practice diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL). DPL is a diagnostic procedure employed when a person sustains blunt trauma to the abdomen. DPL basically includes the step of inserting a needle with a guide wire through peritoneum 228 and into abdominal cavity 120. Peritoneum 228 is a serous tissue and therefore, a resistance will be encountered when inserting the needle. This resistance is modeled in the trainer using fibrous layer 230, which included within peritoneum 228. Once the needle has penetrated peritoneum 228, the needle is further inserted a short distance. The needle is then removed leaving the guide wire. A small incision is then made, and the peritoneal lavage catheter is inserted over the guide wire and into the peritoneal cavity. The guide wire is then removed from the abdominal cavity 120 so that only the lavage catheter remains. Any collected fluid will be analyzed to determine whether surgery is indicated. Trainer 100 provides simulated resistance at peritoneum 228, and the aspiration of the catheter tube will result in collection of a fluid because abdominal cavity 120 contains simulated blood and/or bodily fluid. Complications, which may arise during peritoneal lavage, include peritonitis due to intestinal perforation from the catheter. The trainer includes simulated intestines 122 filled with simulated bodily fluids. Therefore, a trainee can experience the undesirable result if intestine 122 punctured while performing the procedure. In an alternative DPL, the procedure includes dissecting with a scalpel through the human tissue structure and inserting the catheter through the incision. This and other procedures that include dissecting tissue can be performed on the surgical trainer, which is constructed in accord with the present invention.
Chest Tube Insertion
Trainer 100 also enables a trainee to practice chest tube insertion. As with DPL, chest tube insertion is a procedure that is often used in trauma situations. More specifically, chest tube insertion is employed to aid patients suffering from a pneumothorax. To perform the procedure, a 2 to 3 centimeter horizontal incision is made in the fifth intercostal space, anterior to the midaxillary line on the affected side. The subcutaneous tissues are dissected to just over the top of the rib. Trainer 100 provides simulated tissue with subcutaneous tissues and ribs, and therefore support practicing this procedure. The parietal pleura, which in this embodiment is added to intercostal muscle layer 140, is punctured, and a gloved finger is inserted into the incision to avoid injury to other organs and to clear any adhesions or clots. Trainer 100 provides this opportunity as well, and the trainee user can experience the tactile interaction with simulated lungs 158 and ribs 154. The thoracostomy tube is then inserted into the pleural space. Complications encountered in chest tube insertion include laceration or puncture of intrathoracic and/or abdominal organs, all of which can be prevented by using the finger technique noted above, before inserting the chest tube. Thus, trainer 100 provides the opportunity for a trainee to perform and experience this aspect of the procedure as well.
Trainer 100 also enables a trainee to practice pericardiocentesis. Pericardiocentesis is another trauma procedure usually done to evaluate the status of a chronic or recurrent pericardial effusion (fluid in the pericardial sac), as a result of trauma to the chest. It may also be done to relieve cardiac tamponade (compression of the heart from an accumulation of fluid within the pericardial sac). The procedure includes the steps of puncturing the skin 1-2 centimeters inferior and to the left of the xiphochondral junction, at a 45 degree angle to the skin. The needle is advanced cephalad, aimed toward the tip of the left scapula. When the needle tip enters the blood-filled pericardial sac (pericardium), blood within the pericardial sac can be withdrawn. This part of the procedure is simulated in trainer 100 by filling pericardium 162 with simulated blood. A complication of this procedure includes laceration of the myocardium or wall of the heart, which is simulated in trainer 100 by providing simulated heart 164 filled with a different colored simulated blood. If blood from simulated heart 164 is aspirated, the trainee will recognize that the myocardium has been lacerated (or punctured) by the change in blood color. Thus, the trainee can experience this complication resulting if the needle is inserted at the incorrect location. Another complication might be puncturing a lung, which can be simulated on trainer 100, because the trainer provides an inflatable lung 158.
The trainer 100 allows medical personnel to practice cricothyroidotomy. This procedure is yet another trauma procedure and is performed when a secure airway needs to be maintained. The first step in cricothyroidotomy is to palpate the thyroid notch and cricothyroid interval for orientation, which can be experienced in trainer 100, because these cartilages are reproduced. Also, the thickness of simulated human tissue 116 around the neck area of the trainer is similar to that of human tissue in the neck area. A transverse incision is made over cricothyroid ligament 146, and the ligament is incised transversely. The incision is opened, and an endotracheal tube is inserted into the trachea. Trainer 100 is provided with functioning lungs 158, so the trainee can experience lung inflations as would occur in a real procedure. Furthermore, any incision into the respiratory tract, such as one made in the neck area during a simulated cricothyroidotomy, would result in a gush of air being expelled, just as in an actual procedure performed on a human patient.
Conductive Circuits for Use in Physiological Training and Evaluation Simulators
The use of elastomers in achieving realistic physiological training and evaluation simulators is very important. For example, as noted above, by manipulating the amount of diluent added to an elastomeric monomer before curing, simulated fat can be produced. Generally, diluents will be added only up to a certain amount specified by a manufacturer, because use of excess diluent results in an elastomer that is “oily” and has very little strength. Such properties are undesirable in most applications for which elastomers are used, as a solid and durable product is more generally desired. However, excess diluent enables a very realistic simulated fat to be achieved. As with actual human fat, a simulated fat layer can readily be parted using a finger or the blunt end of a scalpel, and the simulated fat provides a very realistic tactile sensation.
The simulated tissue structures described in detail above use elastomers to achieve a realistic training simulator. To provide realism, a simulated physiological structure should not only look like an actual physiological structure, but should also respond to manipulation by a user in a manner that corresponds to the response of the physiological structure of a human. For example, the simulated physiological structure should exhibit a resistance to cutting corresponding to that of the actual human body structure so that the feel of cutting the simulated, structure is realistic and closely emulates the feel of cutting the corresponding actual human physiological structure. The simulated physiological structure should thus be formulated and configured to provide this realistic tactile experience to fully prepare a user for carrying out the medical procedure on a human. The use of an appropriately formulated elastomeric material enables such realism to be achieved.
Not only can elastomeric materials be used to provide simulated human tissue structures, but other physiological structures, such as organs, joints and bones can be simulated using elastomers, as discussed in detail below. A further goal of the present invention is to provide feedback or an indication of how well a procedure is being performed on almost any type of simulated physiological structure. The types of electrical circuitry employed to achieve that further goal have been selected to avoid degrading the visual and tactile realism of the simulated structures.
Referring now to
At least part of an electrical circuit used in a training and evaluation simulator in accord with the present invention is formed of a conductive elastomer configured to provide a realistic look and feel to the simulator. Generally, the conductive elastomer is part of the simulated physiological structure. The evaluation circuit is configured to provide an indication of the quality with which medical personnel performs a simulated medical procedure. As discussed in greater detail below, the electrical circuit can provide an indication of whether the procedure was performed within acceptable limits, or can even indicate the quality with which the procedure was completed.
Circuit 330 is incomplete, as indicated by a gap 336. When the circuit is completed (using any of the actions described below), a current flowing through the circuit actuates an indicator 334, which may be visual, such as a light or meter, and/or an audible indicator. As discussed in greater detail below, a signal provided by evaluation circuits in accord with the present invention can be used in a variety of ways to provide feedback to a user. Embodiments for using a signal from a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit to provide feedback are discussed below in connection with
For circuit 330 to provide feedback, generally the circuit must be completed as a result of an action performed on the simulated physiological structure by a trainee. While those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many configurations of open circuits can be implemented, conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits associated with simulated physiological structures that are open (i.e. incomplete) can be closed (i.e. completed) based on three basic types of actions. First, some physical manipulation of the simulated physiological structures can close gap 336 to complete the circuit (i.e. placing a dislocated joint back in its socket). Second, gap 336 can be closed by coupling together opposing portions of the simulated physiological structure (i.e. suturing together the opposed ends of a severed blood vessel). Third, some conductor, either an instrument or a segment of a simulated physiological structure, is placed into gap 336 to complete the circuit. More detailed examples of such actions are provided below.
In one embodiment, a manipulation of the simulated physiological structure consistent with the proper execution of a simulated procedure will complete the circuit. For example, consider a simulated physiological structure including a dislocated shoulder (or other joint). Circuit 330 is incorporated into the simulated dislocated shoulder, such that the circuit is open while the simulated shoulder is dislocated. If the trainee properly manipulates the simulated shoulder and positions the shoulder in the shoulder socket, circuit 330 is completed and the circuit provides an indication that the procedure was performed appropriately.
In another embodiment where a manipulation of a simulated physiological structure is required to complete the circuit, physically coupling portions of the simulated physiological structure together will complete the circuit. Consider a simulated physiological structure representing a severed blood vessel (or intestine). Circuit 330 is incorporated into the simulated blood vessel (or a simulated intestine), such that adjacent ends proximate a gap in the simulated blood vessel are conductive. If the trainee is able to reconnect the adjacent ends of the blood vessel, the circuit is completed and the circuit provides an indication that the procedure was performed correctly. This type of coupling can also be implemented in conjunction with other simulated physiological structures, such as damaged epidermal layers, where a break in the epidermal layer is sealed by suturing together a simulated wound. Another type of simulated physiological structure that can be coupled together is a simulated broken bone. Circuit 330 is incorporated into the simulated broken bone, such that before the bone is properly reset the circuit is incomplete, and then when the bone is properly set the circuit is completed, and the circuit provides an indication that the procedure was performed correctly.
In yet another embodiment, a conductor 338 a is placed in gap 336 to complete the circuit. With respect to the blood vessels/intestines noted above, rather than physically moving adjacent ends of such a simulated structure so that the opposed ends are coupled together, conductor 338 a represents an additional section of a blood vessel or an intestine that is placed in the gap (and sutured or otherwise coupled to the other portions of the simulated physiological structure) to complete the circuit. In some embodiments, conductor 338 a is a probe or instrument, that when properly employed in a simulated medical procedure will complete the circuit. For embodiments in which conductor 338 a is a probe or instrument (as opposed to a portion of a simulated physiological structure), the configuration of conductor 338 a depends on the simulated medical procedure to be evaluated. In such cases, conductor 338 a can be any metallic medical instrument, such as a syringe needle or a scalpel.
Regardless of which of the three basic actions are used to complete the circuit (manipulating the simulated physiological structure, coupling portions of the simulated physiological structure together, or bridging a gap in the circuit by placing a conductor in the gap), once the circuit is completed, indicator 334 provides an indication to that effect.
Note that touch sensitive switches (as opposed to switches that must be flipped or pushed to make and break a mechanical connection) are commonly used in many devices, such as touch screen displays and microwave oven controls. Touch sensitive switches can be configured to operate under several different principles, including temperature sensitive switches (commonly found in elevator buttons configured to respond to the warmth of the human finger), resistance sensitive switches (closely adjacent contacts, at least one of which can be deflected to close the circuit), radio sensitive switches (switches configured to sense a change in radio-wave reception that occurs when the switch is touched by an object that acts as an antenna), and capacitance sensitive switches (switches configured to determine when the switch is touched by an object that changes the inherent capacitance of the switch). While temperature sensitive switches, resistance sensitive switches, and radio sensitive switches generally do not determine the magnitude of the pressure applied to the switch, if a circuit requires sensing only that the switch has been touched, any of the above types of touch sensitive switches can be incorporated into a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit.
A simple embodiment of a resistance sensitive switch incorporated into an elastomer-based evaluation circuit is illustrated in
It should be noted that such resistive systems can be configured to determine the coordinates of where the contact with the switch occurs. For example, touch sensitive displays include a normal glass panel that is covered with both a conductive layer and a resistive metallic layer, each layer being separated by spacers. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the monitor is operational. When a user touches the screen, the two layers contact in that exact spot. The change in the electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the point of contact are calculated by the computer. If desired, such a coordinate sensitive touch switch can incorporated into a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit in accord with the present invention.
As noted above,
Referring now to
It should be understood that the circuits disclosed above are not limited to any specific configurations, but are simply exemplary. The actual design of the evaluation circuit will be largely based on the type of simulated medical procedure being evaluated and the required level of feedback regarding the quality of performance when completing a medical procedure.
The pericardiocentesis procedure discussed above requires a trainee to properly select a specific portion of a simulated torso in which to insert a needle, based on visual and physiological landmarks provided by the simulator.
In one embodiment, circuit 358 is coupled to light source of a first color (such as green) indicating the location on the simulated torso selected by the person being evaluated to perform the simulated medical procedure was correct. Circuit 360 can be coupled to a light source of a different color (such as yellow), so that if lighted, indicates that the location selected by the person to perform the simulated medical procedure is close, but not correct. Finally, circuit 362 can be coupled to yet another colored light source (such as red), indicating when lighted that the selected location is relatively far from the desired location for performing the simulated medical procedure. As described in more detail below, to properly evaluate a simulated pericardiocentesis, additional evaluation circuits configured to indicate whether the depth (and angle) the probe is inserted is correct are also included in the simulated torso. While circuits 358, 360 and 362 are not shown as including leads that enable the circuits to be coupled to an indicator, it should be understood that the circuits do include such elements. If the circuits are implemented on the same plane, such leads for circuits 358 and 360 will be required to pass through different planes to avoid contact with circuit 362. It is also possible to implement each circuit on a different plane so that such leads do not interfere with the other circuits.
Each of conductive elastomers 374, 376, and 378 is coupled to a different light source. Conventional wire conductors can be used for this purpose, or smaller segments of conductive elastomers. Conductive elastomer 378 is coupled to a green light 380 a, conductive elastomer 376 is coupled to an amber light 380 b, and conductive elastomer 374 is coupled to a red light 380 c. Each conductive elastomer is labeled R, A, or G to indicate the color of light to which the conductive elastomer is electrically coupled. The other terminal of each light 380 a-380 c is then electrically coupled to one terminal of a battery 370. An opaque elastomeric layer 379 is placed over each conductive elastomer, so that the individual conductive elastomers are not visibly apparent.
A conductive probe 372 (simulating a medical instrument such as a syringe needle, which would be employed to perform a simulated medical procedure) capable of penetrating layer 379 is also coupled to battery 370. Whenever the conductive probe contacts one of conductive elastomers 374, 376, and 378, a circuit is completed and the corresponding light for the region that was contacted provides a visual indication of the completed circuit. The orientation of conductive elastomers 374, 376, and 378 is such that a relative position of probe 372 along an X-axis (extending from left to right in this Figure) of the opaque elastomeric layer 379 can be determined. For example, the region monitored by conductive elastomer 378 is designated as the correct position (along the X-axis) for carrying out a simulated medical procedure with probe 372. If the probe is placed in contact with conductive elastomer 378, the green light is energized, indicating the probe was inserted in the correct position along the X-axis. The amber is energized to indicate that the probe contacted conductive elastomer 376, adjacent to the correct position (along the X-axis). The red light is illuminated when the probe contacts conductive elastomer 374, indicating that the probe was inserted too far from the correct position (relative to the X-axis). On Page 47, the paragraph beginning at line 3 should be replaced with the following.
It should be understood that it would be straightforward to modify circuit 368 to include discrete conductive elastomers that are shaped as vertical strips (like conductive elastomer 378) for monitoring more regions along the X-axis. Thus, the vertical portions of conductive elastomers 374 and 376 to the left of conductive elastomer 378 would represent discrete conductive elastomers that monitor corresponding regions, and the vertical portions of conductive elastomers 374 and 376 to the right of conductive elastomer 378 would similarly represent discrete conductive elastomers that monitor corresponding discrete regions along the X-axis. Each individual discrete conductive elastomer would be coupled to a light source of a different color (or to lights in different corresponding positions along an array of light sources-not shown), so that the light source would indicate whether the probe was placed to the left or right of the correct position along the X-axis (i.e.
to the left or right of conductive elastomer 378), and the extent of the deviation from the correct position. Of course, instead of coupling each conductive elastomer to a light, the elastomers can be connected to a different indicator, such as a meter, or a computing device or processor that keeps track of which conductive elastomer is contacted by the energized probe. It should also be understood that multilayer configurations with conductive elastomer bars extending horizontally can be used to determine the accuracy of the probe penetration along the Y-axis, and thus the configuration of circuit 368 merely represents one potential embodiment. Any configuration of conductive elastomers employed for a commercial application of the present invention will be selected to evaluate specific simulated medical procedures. Thus, the specific configuration of the evaluation circuit will depend on the simulated procedure being evaluated, and the simulated physiological structure with which the evaluation circuit is employed. Several examples are described below.
Each of conductive elastomers 374 a, 376 a, and 378 a were similarly coupled to a different light source; conductive elastomer 378 a was coupled to a green light 380 d, conductive elastomer 376 a was coupled to an amber light 380 e, and conductive elastomer 374 a was coupled to a red light 380 f. Each conductive elastomer is shaded using a different pattern, and that pattern is reproduced on the base of the light to which the conductive elastomer is electrically coupled. The other terminal of each light 380 d-380 f was then electrically coupled to one terminal of a battery 370. As noted above, opaque elastomeric layer 379 was placed over each conductive elastomer, so that the individual conductive elastomers were not visibly apparent.
A conductive layer 373 is disposed between the conductive elastomers and the user. Note if conductive layer 373 is opaque, then layer 379 and layer 373 can be implemented as a single layer. As the proof of concept was intended to simulate a multilayered tissue structure, multiple layers were employed. In the prototype, conductive layer 373 was produced by adding conductive carbon fibers to an uncured elastomer mass, and that mixture was then cast into a sheet. The entire sheet is conductive, although it should be understood that the conductive portions of layer 373 need only correspond to the shapes of conductive elastomers 374 a-c.
A conductive needle 372 a was used to penetrate conductive layer 373 and opaque layer 379. The conductive needle was charged as it contacted conductive layer 373 (which is coupled to the battery). When the needle contacted one of conductive elastomers 374 a, 376 a, and 378 a, a circuit was completed and the corresponding light for the region that was contacted provided a visual indication of the completed circuit. As discussed above in greater detail, the orientation of conductive elastomers 374 a, 376 a, and 378 a enable a relative position of needle 372 a along an X-axis of the opaque elastomeric layer 379 can be determined.
While not implemented in prototype circuit 368 a, it should be understood that it would be straightforward to modify the circuit to include discrete conductive elastomers for monitoring more regions along the X-axis, as well as to add additional layers to enable monitoring along a Y-axis as well.
Later versions of prototype circuit 368 included additional layers of conductive elastomers distributed in a multilayer simulated tissue structure, each coupled to a light source, to enable the depth to which the needle penetrates the simulated tissue structure to be evaluated.
Simulated Human Tissue Structures Incorporating Conductive Elastomers
Conductive elastomers 382, 384 a, and 384 b are each disposed under skin layer 222, to ensure that the conductive elastomers are not visible to a person using the simulated tissue structure. If the conductive elastomers-were readily visible, then the person might deduce the correct location for performing a simulated medical procedure. With respect to conductive elastomers 382, 384 a, and 384 b, it is not critical whether the conductive elastomers are disposed beneath both silicone blend 202 and silicone-coated fibrous layer 204 as shown, or just under silicone blend 202, so long as the conductive elastomers are not visible. Conductive elastomers 382, 384 a, and 384 b are disposed and configured to evaluate whether a trainee has inserted a syringe 385 at an appropriate location to perform a simulated medical procedure (such as pericardiocentesis, described in detail above). Conductive elastomer 382 is disposed to detect that the syringe needle has been inserted in a preferred position, while conductive elastomers 384 a and 384 b represent adjacent, but incorrect positions. It should be understood that conductive elastomers 384 a and 384 b can be discrete segments, or can be different portions of a continuous conductive segment, such as annular ring-shaped conductive elastomers of evaluation circuits 360 and 362 of
Conductive elastomers 386, 388, and 390 are employed to determine if simulated syringe 385 has been inserted into the simulated tissue structure to the depth required for a specific simulated medical procedure. Assuming that conductive elastomer 390 represents the depth required for a specific medical procedure, feedback can be provided that the needle of syringe 385 is disposed deeper than conductive elastomer 388, but not as deep as conductive elastomer 390, and therefore should be inserted deeper. If the feedback is provided to the person inserting the needle in real time, the person will be alerted that syringe 385 needs to be inserted deeper into the simulated tissue structure to properly simulate the medical procedure, which will clearly be useful in training the person to perform this aspect of the medical procedure properly. If desired, additional conductive elastomers (e.g., covering a relatively large area) can be provided beneath conductive elastomers 384 a and 384 b, so that even when a person fails to select the correct position corresponding to conductive elastomer 382, the person's performance with respect to determining the appropriate depth can be evaluated.
Note that while the needle of syringe 385 has been inserted into the simulated tissue structure at an angle normal to the surface of the simulated tissue structure, there are procedures (such as pericardiocentesis) in which a needle must be inserted into a simulated physiological structure at a range of specific acute angles. Thus, a syringe 385 a is shown being inserted into the simulated tissue structure at an angle of substantially 45 degrees. Syringe 385 a passes through conductive elastomer 382, as well as conductive elastomers 387 and 389, which are properly disposed to provide feedback indicating that syringe 385 a is inserted at the proper angle (and to a proper depth). Because of the angle, conductive elastomers 382, 387, and 389 must be offset from another to correspond to the correct angle, as opposed to being stacked one on top of another, as when the needle of the syringe should be inserted at a ninety degree angle relative to the skin layer.
While it is useful to include a conductive elastomer at the boundary of each different layer in the simulated tissue structure, to provide detailed feedback to a trainee, such conductive elastomers can be disposed at fewer than all such boundaries. Also, while it is convenient to include such conductive elastomers at the boundaries of each layer, it should be understood that conductive elastomers can be included within the a single layer (such as conductive elastomer 389) either by casting the conducting elastomer into the layer, or by placing a pre-cast conductive elastomer into a layer being formed.
Conductive elastomers 392 are disposed within channels 302, which simulate veins or arteries and can be used in several ways. For example, the conductive elastomers can be used to electrically couple devices disposed in a physiological training and evaluation simulator incorporating a simulated tissue structure. A physiological training and evaluation simulator of a human torso may include a simulated heart that is electrically coupled to a power source and a controller. The power source energizes the beating heart, and the controller can vary the heart beat to respond to simulated conditions, such as administering a simulated anesthetic. In such an embodiment, conductive elastomers are analogous to nerve bundles that send signals to and from muscles.
Conductive elastomers can also be employed to evaluate if a trainee damages a simulated artery or vein during a simulated medical procedure. For example, if a simulated medical procedure does not require cutting any simulated veins or arteries corresponding to channels 302 that include conductive elastomers 392, damage to such channels can be evaluated by detecting that the conductive elastomer has been cut with a scalpel. For this purpose, conductive elastomers 392 should substantially fill the simulated vein or artery, as opposed to filling only a small portion as shown. Otherwise, a person cutting near the channel could damage the channel without damaging the conductive elastomer, so that the error might not be properly detected. A more preferred alternative to conductive elastomers 392 are conductive elastomers 393, which are disposed on the outer periphery of channels 302, so that any incision into a channel surrounded by conductive elastomer 393 will be detected.
Conductive elastomers 394, 396, 398, 400, 402, and 404 are configured to evaluate an incision performed to gain access to an organ 406. As described above, these conductive elastomers will determine if the trainee has selected the correct location on skin layer 222 to perform the incision, and whether the trainee has cut through each layer required to access organ 406.
Simulated Organs Incorporating Conductive Elastomers
Simulated organ 406 can include a pressure sensor evaluation circuit 408, to evaluate if the trainee manipulates the organ using the proper technique. Pressure sensor evaluation circuit 408 can be implemented using piezoelectric sensors, such that pressure or force applied to the organ is converted into electrical signals that provide an indication of the magnitude and location of the pressure applied. As the amount of pressure is increased, the voltage level produced by a pressure sensor increases. Based on the level of the indication, it is possible to determine whether a person is applying sufficient pressure when handling organ 406, or too much pressure, and to determine if the pressure is being applied at the correct location on the organ. As discussed above in connection with
Surgical Trainers Incorporating Conductive Elastomers
For example, surgical trainer 100 a includes an abdomen surgical practice area with abdomen tissue 112, which is preferably used to perform DPL. The abdomen surgical practice area of surgical trainer 100 a preferably includes evaluation circuit 412. As discussed above, evaluation circuits are preferably hidden beneath at least one layer of a simulated physiological structure, so that their presence cannot be visually detected by a person performing a medical procedure. Thus, the evaluation circuits indicated in
Referring once again to evaluation circuit 412 of surgical trainer 100 a, the evaluation circuit is configured to evaluate a person's performance of DPL. As described above, DPL involves inserting a needle with a guide wire through the peritoneum 228 (
Complications that may arise during peritoneal lavage include peritonitis due to intestinal perforation with the catheter. Referring to
Surgical trainer 100 a of
As noted above, chest tissue structure 114 of surgical trainer 100 a can be employed to simulate pericardiocentesis, which includes the steps of puncturing the skin 1-2 centimeters inferior and to the left of the xiphochondral junction, at a 45-degree angle to the skin. The needle is advanced cephalad, aimed toward the tip of the left scapula. When the needle tip enters the blood-filled pericardial sac (pericardium), the blood can be withdrawn. Surgical trainer 100 a includes an evaluation circuit 410 configured to evaluate a person's performance during a simulated pericardiocentesis. Evaluation circuit 410 includes at least a portion disposed adjacent a simulated skin layer to determine if the trainee selects the proper position for the insertion of a needle. Preferably, evaluation circuit 410 includes stacked layers (generally as indicated by conductive elastomers 382, 387, and 389 of
A complication arising from an improperly executed pericardiocentesis involves laceration of the myocardium or wall of the heart. As discussed above, a simulated heart including its own conductive elastomer can be included in evaluation circuit 410 to provide feedback indicating whether the needle employed in the simulated pericardiocentesis damages a simulated heart. Yet another complication involves puncturing a lung, which can be evaluated by yet another portion of evaluation circuit 410 that is disposed at the periphery of simulated lung 158 (lung 158 is shown in
Surgical trainer 100 a of
Each evaluation circuit in surgical trainer 100 a is electrically coupled to a selector switch 418. The incorporation of selector switch 418 enables a user to determine whether the feedback provided by the evaluation circuits will be used to provide feedback immediately to a trainee, as indicated by a block 420, or if the feedback will be stored by a controller for later review, or made available only to a proctor (or both) as indicated by a block 422. As described in conjunction with
Simulated Joints Incorporating Conductive Elastomers
Conductive elastomers of evaluation circuit 426 are disposed adjacent to a skin layer of simulated knee 424, to determine if a person doing the procedure has selected the proper position for insertion of syringe 428. As illustrated, this portion of circuit 426 can be configured like the bull's eye of
Simulated Bones Incorporating Conductive Elastomers
Simulated bone 432 includes an evaluation circuit 434 configured to determine if a bone marrow retrieval procedure is performed properly. Evaluation circuit 434 is disposed at a position relative to simulated bone 432 that is appropriate for evaluating a bone marrow retrieval procedure and is preferably not visible to a person performing the procedure. If simulated tissues associated with the bone are provided in a physiological training and evaluation simulator, then evaluation circuit 434 can alternatively be incorporated in such tissues. For physiological training and evaluation simulators that include only simulated bone, but not the related tissue, evaluation circuit 434 is preferably incorporated into simulated bone 432. If desired, evaluation circuit 434 can include portions configured to determine whether the syringe employed to extract simulated marrow has been inserted at a preferred angle, and to a preferred depth, generally as discussed above with respect to syringe 428 in
Simulated bone 432 includes a fragment 436 a separable from a remainder 436 b. A procedure often employed to rejoin a fragment to the remainder is to drill a hole passing through the fragment and into the remainder, and to insert a rod or screw into the hole to join the fragment to the remainder while the body's healing processes fuse the fragment and remainder together. Simulated bone 432 thus includes an evaluation circuit 438, configured to evaluate whether a hole drilled by a person performing the procedure is properly positioned. Conductive elastomers comprising evaluation circuit 438 are disposed along the preferred drill path through the fragment and remainder of the bone and the drill bit completes a circuit (or breaks a circuit) formed by the conductive elastomers to provide an indication that the drill is properly positioned to drill the hole for the rod.
Fabricating Conductive Elastomer-based Evaluation Circuits
While conductive carbons represent a preferred material, due to the ease with which carbon can be incorporated into elastomeric materials, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to employ only conductive carbons. Metallic powders can be incorporated into elastomers as well, as long as the metal does not undesirably change the texture, density, and tactile properties of the elastomer to such an extent that the resulting elastomer is no longer well suited for being employed in a simulated physiological structure. Metal foils can be incorporated into elastomeric materials, subject to the same concerns. There are also classes of electrically conductive polymers that are known and which are suitable for use in creating evaluation circuits as used in the present invention.
Adding conductive carbon to a monomer before curing an elastomer has the benefit of being relatively simple and inexpensive. While some conductive carbons are costly (i.e., carbon nanomaterials), many conductive carbons such as graphite and conductive carbon blacks are available at modest cost. Furthermore, the resulting elastomer, with conductive carbon distributed throughout the matrix, is surprisingly resilient. Some of the simulated medical procedures involve repeatedly inserting a needle of a syringe into an elastomer-based simulated tissue structure. In the working model described in conjunction with
Referring once again to
Once the configuration has been selected based on the simulated physiological structure and the simulated medical procedure to be evaluated, in a block 456, the conductive carbon is mixed with the monomer. The mixture is cast into the desired configuration, as indicated in a block 458. For example, a mold matching the desired configuration is prepared, and the mixture cast into the mold. Alternatively, a flat sheet of conductive elastomer is cast, and the desired configuration is obtained by selectively removing and/or combining portions of the flat sheet to achieve the desired configuration.
In a block 460, the mixture is cured to achieve a conductive elastomer. Those of ordinary skill in the polymeric arts will readily recognize that curing can be achieved in numerous ways, depending upon the monomers employed. A chemical agent can be added to the mixture before it is cast to cause the mixture to cure after a defined cure time has elapsed. Some monomers are cured by the application of certain wavelengths of light.
Closed cell foam is a particular type of elastomeric material, often based on synthetic rubber, that is particularly well suited for use as an acoustical absorbent material. Generally less dense than many other types of elastomers, closed cell foam is characterized by thousands of tiny chambers distributed throughout the foam. The chambers are generated by pumping air into the monomer before the monomer cures. It should be understood that conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits in accord with the present invention can be produced using closed cell foam, as well as more conventional elastomers.
Conductive fabrics can also be used to produce conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits in accord with the present invention. Several different types of conductive fabrics are known. Some conductive fabrics comprise synthetic fabrics plated with a metal, such as copper, nickel, or a conductive metallic alloy. Other conductive fabrics are made of metal wire cloth or carbonized synthetic fabric. The conductive fabric can be used in place of the conductive carbon added to an uncured monomer. Preferably, the conductive fabric is cut into the shape and pattern desired and then placed onto a elastomeric substrate. An additional layer of elastomeric material is placed over the conductive fabric, such that the conductive fabric is embedded within an elastomeric matrix. Preferably, the upper and lower layers of elastomer are bonded together, though in some applications it may be desirable to form an un-bonded laminate. The upper layer can be added by pouring a monomer (or mixture of monomers) over the conductive fabric, and causing the monomer(s) to cure in place.
It should be understood that as opposed to a conductive fabric, a conductive yarn or thread could be used, particularly for coupling to switches or servos included within a medical model. Note that a conductive yarn (i.e. a textile coated with a conductive material) more realistically simulates nerves than would a conventional metallic wire encapsulated in an insulative sheath.
In a block 457, the conductive fabric is cut to achieve the desired configuration. Strips of fabric can be cut and laid in overlapping patterns to achieve the desired configuration, or the required pattern can be cut from a single sheet of fabric. In a block 459, the cut fabric is placed on a lower elastomeric layer. The specific elastomer selected is preferably based on the simulated physiological structure and the location of the circuit relative to the simulated physiological structure. If the circuit is to be disposed within a simulated tissue structure in a fatty layer, the elastomer selected ought to realistically simulate fat. In a block 461, an upper elastomeric layer is placed over the fabric and the lower elastomeric layer, thereby encapsulating the fabric in an elastomeric matrix. While the upper elastomeric layer will often be identical to the lower elastomeric layer, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.
Several additional techniques can be employed to produce a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit. Circuits can be printed onto thin substrates using both offset lithography and a derivative of ink-jet printing technology. Relatively complicated circuits can be printed using either approach. The substrate can then be sandwiched between layers of elastomers to achieve an embedded circuit in an elastomeric mass. Substrates can include specialty papers and polymers. Furthermore, careful selection of the substrate will enable the substrate to be selectively dissolved, leaving behind the circuit, which is then embedded in an elastomeric matrix. For example, polyvinyl alcohol based plastics are water soluble and can be used for the substrate. Printing of conductive ink onto polyvinyl alcohol will produce a circuit of a desired configuration. That circuit can be placed onto an elastomeric layer, and the elastomeric layer and circuit will then be placed in a water bath. The polyvinyl alcohol-based substrate dissolves in the water, and the circuit is deposited onto the elastomeric layer. An additional elastomeric layer is placed over the original elastomeric layer, laminating the circuit between the elastomeric layers. The upper layer can be adhesively coupled to the lower layer, or a monomer (or mixture of monomers) can be poured over the first layer, and the circuit and allowed to polymerize.
Clearly, conductive elastomers can be fabricated using a variety of methods. It should be understood that a conductive elastomer is an elastomer that in addition to its normal elastic properties, is also able to conduct electricity. Conductive elastomers in accord with the present invention can be prepared by introducing a conductive metal or carbon fiber or powder into an elastomeric matrix, preferably before curing. Metal foils, wires, conductive fabrics, and circuits printed using conductive inks can be sandwiched between elastomeric layers to form an elastomeric mass that is conductive. It will further be appreciated that inherently conductive polymers are known, and that circuits can be produced using such inherently conductive polymers. Examples of inherently conductive polymers include poly(ethylene-dioxythiophene), polyaniline, polypyrrole, and poly(phenylene vinylene). Circuits formed from such inherently conductive polymers can then be integrated into an elastomeric matrix in the same manner that a printed circuit or a conductive fabric is, generally as described above. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the above noted inherently conductive polymers are merely exemplary, and that other inherently conductive polymers can also be beneficially employed.
Making Simulators That Include Conductive Elastomer-Based Evaluation Circuits
Preferably, the electrical evaluation circuit is disposed proximate a location on the simulated physiological structure at which a medical device will be employed in a simulated medical procedure, to evaluate if the person performed the simulated medical procedure properly. For example, the electrical evaluation circuit can be included under the outer layer(s) of the simulated physiological structure as the physiological training and evaluation simulator is constructed. The electrical evaluation circuit can be configured to include a gap, such that sides of the gap formed in the electrical evaluation circuit are electrically coupled to form a complete circuit by a conductive medical device, when the medical device is properly utilized to perform the simulated procedure. Alternatively, the electrical evaluation circuit can be configured to be complete, so that a portion of the electrical evaluation circuit is broken or cut by a medical device to open the circuit, when the medical device is properly utilized to perform the simulated procedure. The electrical evaluation circuit can include a light source to provide a visual indication, and/or an audio source to provide an audible signal to indicate when the medical device is properly utilized to perform the simulated procedure, as described above.
Using Simulators Including Conductive Elastomer-Based Evaluation Circuits
As described above, it should be noted that conductive elastomer-based electrical evaluation circuits can be configured to provide an indication that the person has either correctly or incorrectly performed the procedure, or both, as desired. The feedback can be visible, audible, or stored as data. The feedback can selectively be provided to a person while doing the procedure or to a proctor, such that the person doing the procedure is unaware of the evaluation of the performance during the simulated medical procedure.
Simulators with Complex Conductive Elastomer-Based Evaluation Circuits
The conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits discussed above have been relatively simple and have provided feedback based on whether the circuit is “on” or “off” (i.e. “closed” or “open”). Some of the above examples provide feedback when a user action causes an open circuit to become closed. Other examples provide feedback when a user action causes a closed circuit to become open. Feedback is provided based on whether current flows through the circuit. Those of ordinary skill in the electrical arts will recognize that many circuit designs are possible wherein feedback can be provided based on a change in the level of electrical current flowing in a circuit, rather than simply on whether current is flowing through the circuit. It is thus expected that such circuit designs will be employed in physiological simulators in accord with the present invention.
One such embodiment would include a circuit configured to detect an increase in current flowing through the circuit. Such a circuit would be employed with a simulated medical instrument capable of inducing a current in the evaluation circuit. Induction can be achieved either with a rotating magnet or an energized alternating current coil. Generally an energized circuit (usually a conductive coil wrapped around a magnetically permeable core) in the simulated medical instrument will be preferred, because such a circuit can be made more compact than a rotating magnet. Induction cannot only be used to change the level of current flowing in an evaluation circuit, it can also be used to induce a flow of current within an evaluation circuit that is not directly coupled to a source of electrical current. Thus, induction can be used for both feedback based on a state change (i.e., on/off conditions of current flow), and feedback based on a change in current amplitude (e.g., by inducing more or less current to flow in the evaluation circuit). A useful aspect of induction is that the amount of current induced to flow in the evaluation circuit can depend upon how close a rotating magnet or energized circuit is to the evaluation circuit. If the rotating magnet or energized circuit is too far from the evaluation circuit, no change in the evaluation circuit occurs (because current is not induced to flow in the circuit). However, once a threshold distance has been reached, as the distance between the inductive source (the rotating magnet or the energized circuit) and the evaluation circuit decreases, the amount of current induced in the evaluation circuit increases. Thus, the induction of current can be used to enable a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit to determine how close a simulated medical instrument comes to the evaluation circuit, even if the simulated medical instrument never physically contacts the evaluation circuit.
Abnormal tissue and esophageal stricture are commonly associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a very common disorder. GERD occurs when the sphincter muscle at the bottom of the esophagus (not shown in
A second type of tissue damage associated with GERD is an esophageal stricture. The lower esophagus can open to the size of a quarter or wider. When recurrent inflammation occurs in the esophagus, scarring develops, underlying tissues becomes fibrous, and the opening narrows. In advanced cases, this narrowing, or stricture, can be severe. The opening may be reduced to the size of a pencil or even smaller. Food and fluid are delayed and only move slowly across the opening. into the stomach. A large piece of food, such as meat, may completely block the esophagus. Thus, stricture 488 is associated with GERD.
Medical instruments may be inserted into the esophagus to perform diagnosis or treatment related to GERD. The medical instrument can provide images to the physician, as the tissue associated with Barrett's esophagus is readily identifiable. The medical instrument may also be used to obtain a biopsy of abnormal tissue in the esophagus, to determine if any of the abnormal tissue is cancerous. Medical instruments inserted in the esophagus can be used to dilate a stricture. One dilation technique involves positioning a deflated balloon within the stricture, then inflating the balloon to dilate the opening. Simulated medical instrument 496 can thus be configured to simulate an endoscope, a tissue sampler, or a dilator.
Human patient simulator 480 includes a plurality of conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits 490 (including circuits 490 a, 490 b, and 490 c), disposed at regular intervals along esophagus 482. As discussed in greater detail below, the majority of conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits 490 are shown as dashed lines, indicating that such circuits are not providing feedback, while conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits 490 a, 490 b, and 490 c are shown as solid lines, indicating that circuits 490 a, 490 b, and 490 c are providing feedback. While
A distal end of simulated tool 496 includes an inductor 498. As discussed above, electrical induction can be achieved using a rotating magnet or an energized coil. While powerful and relatively small rare earth magnets (such as neodymium-iron-boron magnets) are readily available, given the relatively small size of esophagus 482, it is more likely that inductor 498 will be implemented as an energized circuit (or electromagnetic coil). Once simulated medical instrument 496 is inserted into esophagus 482 and inductor 498 is energized, the position of the distal end of simulated medical instrument 496 (i.e., the position of inductor 498) can be determined by monitoring the plurality of conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits 490. Inductor 498 will induce a current to flow in those evaluation circuits closest to the inductor. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that factors such as the distance from the inductor to the evaluation circuits and the design of the inductor will determine how many of the evaluation circuits will experience an induced current. As shown in
By monitoring the magnitude of the electrical currents flowing in the evaluation circuits, conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits 490 (including valuation circuits 490 a, 490 b and 490 c) can be used to determine the position of the distal end of simulated medical instrument 496. As a result, human patient simulator 480 can be used to provide feedback about several different simulated esophageal procedures. In a simulated diagnostic procedure, feedback can be provided when, or if, the trainee properly positions an endoscope adjacent to simulated abnormal tissue 486. In a simulated biopsy, feedback can be provided when, or if, the trainee properly positions a tissue sampler to obtain a sample of simulated abnormal tissue 486, as opposed to normal esophageal tissue. In a simulated dilation procedure, feedback can be provided to determine if the trainee has properly positioned the dilator to expand stricture 488. If desired, the stricture can be formed using a fluid-filled bladder, so that the dilation forces fluid out of the bladder into a reservoir, enabling the stricture to be reduced in size. Fluid can then be forced from the reservoir back into the bladder, increasing the size of the stricture so that the dilation procedure can be simulated repetitively. Note the dilation procedure is similar to balloon angioplasty, and that the same principles can be employed to simulate balloon angioplasty in an appropriately configured simulated physiological structure.
Circuits including capacitance based switches and sensors have been discussed above in conjunction with
As shown, human patient simulator 510 includes simulated lungs 518, simulated joints 520 and 522, and a simulated heart 524. While no simulated skeletal structure is shown, it will be understood that such a skeletal structure can be, and preferably is, incorporated into human patient simulator 510. In at least one embodiment, human patient simulator 510 includes simulations of each major anatomical structure within a human body.
Network 512 includes major branches(shown in bold) 512 a that are coupled to each smaller portion of the network, and branches 512 a are coupled to port 514. Each simulated physiological structure within human patient simulator 510 (i.e., lungs, organs, joints, tissue, etc.) preferably includes conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits that are coupled to a major branch, so that feedback from the structures can be collected via port 514. Port 514 and major branches 512 a can be used to provide bi-directional signal flow. In some embodiments, simulated lungs will be coupled to a pump that causes the lungs to inflate and deflate. In other embodiments, servo motors will be incorporated into joints or other simulated structures to simulate voluntary and involuntary movements (i.e. blinking, breathing, flushing). Thus, port 514 and major branches 512 a can be used to distribute control signals from processor 516 to such controllable components (not separately shown in
Using Feedback Collected from Conductive Elastomer-Based Evaluation Circuits
In a simple form, conductive elastomeric evaluation circuits in accord with the present invention are configured to provide feedback when a simulated procedure completes or breaks the evaluation circuit. In such implementations the metric is simply whether a current is flowing through the circuit. As noted above, other implementations will employ more complex circuits. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that such circuits can be configured to provide more sophisticated types of feedback. Such uses include, but are not limited to, determining a three-dimensional position of a simulated medical instrument (such as a needle, a catheter, an endoscope, or other tool) during each phase of a simulated procedure, measuring pressure (useful for determining if the force applied by a trainee in handling a structure such as an organ is appropriate), measuring impedance changes throughout a circuit, identifying which portion of a simulated physiological structure has been incised, and/or responding to changes in pressure. The use of appropriate sensors in a conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit will enable changes in physical properties of the model to be evaluated. For example, some medical procedures involve the application of heat, cold, electromagnetic radiation and or chemicals (i.e. drugs) to tissue or other physiological structures. Appropriate sensors can be incorporated into conductive elastomeric-based evaluation circuits so that feedback relating to the physical property change can be gathered. For example, quantitative chemical sensors can be included that will determine if a required dosage of a physiologically active drug has been administered, such that the correct physiological response is simulated by the model (i.e. a change in simulated respiratory rates, a change in a simulated heartbeat, etc.). The conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit (or network) can be used for bidirectional communication with a controller or processor (i.e. data from the network/circuit to the processor, and commands from the processor to the network/circuit).
The electrical signal from the conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuit can be utilized in a variety of different ways. The electrical signal (or the interruption or change in a signal) can be used to provide relatively simple feedback, such as lights that turn on or off, and/or the activation of aural or verbal prompts or cues. The electrical signal from the evaluation circuit can also be manipulated and analyzed by more complex systems, such as a computer. The use of a computer enables data collected during a training exercise to be immediately processed and displayed, immediately processed but stored for later use, stored for later processing, compared to similar data, electronically distributed to other users in a network, or any combination thereof.
In a block 534, a trainee performs the simulated procedure, and the evaluation circuit provides a signal indicative of a performance of the trainee in completing the procedure (i.e., data are collected from the evaluation circuits). In a block 536, a processor coupled to the evaluation circuit(s) analyzes the data to derive a score for the simulated procedure. In a block 538, the trainee's current score, any past score corresponding to a prior procedure performed by the trainee, and the standardized score are displayed. This step enables the trainee to compare his or her performance to both a standard score, and scores from any prior performances. Thus, even if the trainee fails to achieve the standardized score, the trainee may receive positive reinforcement of an improvement, based on a comparison with earlier attempts.
The concept of saving old scores and comparing older scores with current scores can be extended to include a comparison of a current score with scores of other trainees. For example, a medical school may collect data for students in each year of medical school who perform the same simulated procedure. Those scores can be averaged to determine a standardized score for first year students, a standardized score for second year students, and so on. Trainees can then compare their scores with such standardized scores, to evaluate their progress. The scores of other students can be further separated by class rank, so that trainees can evaluate their performance based on class rankings to see if their score is consistent with a higher class ranking or a lower class ranking. Scores can be collected nationally so trainees can evaluate their progress compared to a national learning curve.
One score based metric that is likely to be very useful is a measurement of a rate at which skills are learned. Learning institutions that wish to increase the efficiency of their programs need to collect data relating to different teaching strategies, in order to compare the different strategies to identify those strategies which consistently result in higher evaluation scores. Simulators including conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits can be used to evaluate the performance of students undergoing different training curriculums, and the results obtained can be compared to identify the curriculum that facilitates higher scores.
The present invention can be implemented as a system that collects data using conductive elastomer-based evaluation circuits incorporated in a simulated physiological structure, stores the collected data in a digital format, processes and evaluates the data, and compares the data to related data. The benefits of the present invention will therefore be readily apparent.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred form of practicing it and modifications thereto, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that many other modifications can be made to the present invention within the scope of the claims that follow. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the invention in any way be limited by the above description, but instead be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
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These reviews are the opinion of an RVParkReviews’ member and not the views of RVParkReviews.com
Date of Stay: October, 2013 - $38.00
This campground was an acceptable place to stay during our stopover and visit to Ocracoke Island. Access through the gate into the park and along the internal paved roads was tight for our motorhome, as were the sites. The 50-amp service and water pressure were good. The site surface was dirt, fairly level, and it held up well as we departed after a torrential rain. The bathrooms, showers and laundry room were very old and in rough shape, although they seemed clean. Most of the sites contained seasonal trailers in various condition, mostly not so good. We would probably not stay here again. We camped at Cape Woods Campground in a Motorhome.Undo
Date of Stay: June, 2009 - $28.00
Extremely clean, very friendly helpful staff. Breakfast on Saturday morning and entertainment that night. Great place will go back again. We camped at Cape Woods Campground in a Motorhome.Undo
Date of Stay: October, 2008 - $35.00
Although this park doesn't advertise Wi-Fi the manager selected a site for us which was close enough to the office so we could access the Internet. We camped at Cape Woods Campground in a Truck Camper.Undo
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Skip to comments.Police Called When Crowd Of 600 Gets Unruly Waiting For Flu Shots
Posted on 10/17/2004 10:13:00 AM PDT by sheikdetailfeather
Police Called When Crowd Of 600 Gets Unruly Waiting For Flu Shots
POSTED: 8:38 am EDT October 17, 2004 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Police were called when a crowd of 600 people got unruly after gathering at a St. Petersburg supermarket for hoped-for flu shots. Less than 300 doses were on hand.
Store managers called police after people started screaming and hollering for tickets for the shots. Two officers and a sergeant helped restore calm.
Some people spent the night in sleeping bags to be near the front of the line. Elderly men and women waited in wheelchairs and leaned on walkers. Some brought lawn chairs and umbrellas.
The nation's suddenly limited supply of flu vaccine is going fast. The rush for shots has become political fodder.
Democratic Senate candidate Betty Castor talked with people waiting for shots at a Tampa supermarket. She said government is not doing its job.
A new ad from John Kerry's campaign blames President George W. Bush for ignoring warnings about shortages three years ago.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
every year folks are offered a flu shot....most years NO ONE will take them, or very few.....this year they are PANICed gettting them.....what a bunch of idiots
What I wonder is how many people were actually planning on getting a flu shot before it was reported that there was a shortage.
I'm going to be interested (as one who has never felt the need for a flu shot) in what the season-ending numbers will end up being...I almost would be willing to make a bet that the totals won't show much of any increase in those that got the flu.
This is getting ridiculous. Don't these people know that camping outside to wait in line for a flu shot only increases your chances of getting sick in the first place!
You Americans are a fine people but you don;t know how to queue up for things do you?
Ah yes, British queueing, the best in the world! ;o)
Exactly. These people are nuts.
Give all available vaccine to the seniors and kids.
Simply a false assertion. Millions of doses are consumed every year.
Consider if gas stations suddenly had only 1/2 of the supply of gasoline. You would see lines and unruly behavior there also.
no offense dog, but you people are the ones with the tainted meds that is stopping us from getting it....shame on the Brits...other than that I LOVE TONY....he RULES he is so brave!!!
Then Betty Castor should become a scientist or invest in biotech to support the industry.
We are Queueless when it comes to lines ;^)
well, maybe you are right...Im speaking of around here and also it was quoted on Fox News last night, that there is never a "panic" for flu shots and now all of a sudden there is, because of the fact that less if available......
"What I wonder is how many people were actually planning on getting a flu shot before it was reported that there was a shortage.
Exactly. These people are nuts."
First rule of advertising, tell em they can't have it & they'll want it.
the Dems are smelling a big political issue here - and they are running with it. the WH political operation better get plugged into this - fast.
me too !!
I'll bet there will be plenty of vaccine availabe after Nov. 2nd.
Made to order shortage for the Democrats to use against Bush.
Standing in line like communists in a communist wonderland. If Kerry wins it will be like that for milk and bread.
yep and thats the way it always usually is.....Seniors and Kids.....now all of a sudden everyone is scared and wants the shot...I never take them....
Why are there long lines in the first place? Are these "clinics" at supermarkets and drugstores the only places to get shots? Can't a person who is in the "at risk" category get one from their doctor without standing in line for hours at the local Safeway or Costco? I won't be getting one since I don't fit into these categories, but I'm genuinely curious about this. I would guess that part of the reason for the long lines is panic and fear at not being able to get a shot, but can't a person get one from their doctor?
"no offense dog, but you people are the ones with the tainted meds that is stopping us from getting it....shame on the Brits...other than that I LOVE TONY....he RULES he is so brave!!!"
Can't argue with your fist point, it was a British factory involved, BUT the factory is (I believe) in Liverpool, so you Yanks must take some responsibilty for chancing buying most of your vaccine from there in the first place, the Scoucers were bound to mess it up evenutally.
Re Tony. Self-serving little guttersnipe. You Yanks have got him totally wrong. Don't be taken in by him, his a lying toad.
Any bets that the unruly behavior was planned by members of the DNC? Just looking for a reason to start trouble and then blame Bush?
I love humans! I'm only 52 and rather lean and mean if I must say so, but my aortic valve was replaced with a carbon composite in '90. I take flu shots every year. Last year I sat with my co-workers in the employee lounge hearing how flu shots are bad for you.. mercury.. autism..yatta, yatta, nobody wanted them. Now this year I can't get a flu shot. But now the lemmings are rioting. What gives? Is it the election?
Before my mother and step-father passed away, they got their shots in the doctor's office. This is nuts!
A lot of those seniors and kids getting the vaccine are in this country illegally. Interesting question:should illegals get the flu shot? If they don't you'll end up paying their medical bills anyway.
Can only imagine what it's going to be like for smallpox vaccinations.
This is so freaking ridiculous. Last fall I was pregnant with my third baby. I was talking to the doctor when I asked about getting the flu shot, and if it would be difficult to get. Within a couple of minutes, a nurse walked in and gave me my shot. The OB said that the shortage was overexaggerated because he didn't know of any doctors who didn't have them for their patients.
Since when are the so called old people supposed to get everything. My son has Down Syndrome and is susapble to every little bug that comes along. My wife works in a preschool and gets every little bug that comes along too. Some parents just drop their kids off there no matter what, because they have to go to work then the teachers get sick. and most of the preschools do NOT have health ins. for their employees. Most of the old people are in better shape than I am & they are demanding more than their fair share!
Very few, if any, private physicians can get any vaccine. Many had it on order, but the orders are canceled by the distributors. Now some are scrambling to get "FluMist" (for 5-49 year old healthy patients), but with no success yet that I've heard about.
My doctor is jerking me around. He admitted there was a limited supply. It may be he's just afraid of lawsuits.
Interesting question:should illegals get the flu shot?
If you have a green card take a number ;^)
Costco has 4 hour lines here in NY yesterday. the media was there - the lines were full of the same kind of run down senior citizens you see at the casinos, smoking their brains out at the slot machines.
Look at it this way... what better way is there to make a 5 year old child think he has to have somethimg than to tell him he can't have it? These adults are regressing.
you'll never turn me against him....I ADORE<LOVE< Him.....hes a STRONG, brave leader!!
Hey last time I was over there, I rode these kind of "boats?" that was like a spider floating on top of the water and zoomed across from the White Cliffs of Dover...know what I mean jellybean? it was so much fun!
No numbers being given out. Illegal kids are getting the flu shots. Lots of citizens can't get them.
same thing with my husbands company....THEY are still being offered it....I dont understand all the hype, but I guess its "President Bush's Fault" as USUAL per the lib media
Every time I've gotten a preseason flu shot I had to pay for it.
And every time I got a preseason flu shot, I either was sick with the flu within days or I got the bug strain that ended up going around anyway.
They seldom, if ever, guess right a year in advance what strain will be making people sick the next winter.
What's the big friggin' deal? Is this flu bug expected to be worse than normal? Most of the people that the flu does kill have arrived at that "time" anyways.
The only people that really need this shot are seasoned citizens, but many get it just for the hell of it.
Our newspaper has notices everyday showing cancellations of "mini" flu clinics which had been planned by independent physicians.
This was an interesting thread last night concerning the dangerous bacteria which contaminated the Chiron vaccine: Genus Serratia.
This whole flu shot thing is absolutely bizarre. My grown daughters (not conservatives, yet)are hooting and making jokes about it.
There were long lines at an area Safeway in the middle of the week. One elderly lady got heat exhaustion and was wandering in search of shade when she fell and hit her head on the electrical meter, and died later. I was thinking at the time that she probably would have been better off, and still alive, if she'd taken her chances with getting the flu. There were also long lines at an area Costco, and two elderly people collapsed from heat exhaustion and had to be treated. It was hot here last week, upper 80's and lowe 90's, and elderly folks don't have the ability to regulate their body temperatures as well as younger people, so are susceptible to such things as heat exhaustion.
I've gotten a flu shot occasionally, but I must say that in the years I haven't gotten the shot, I've only gotten flu maybe once that I can remember. At any rate, I won't be getting a shot this year since I'm not in one of the risk categories.
"you'll never turn me against him....I ADORE<LOVE< Him.....hes a STRONG, brave leader!!
Hey last time I was over there, I rode these kind of "boats?" that was like a spider floating on top of the water and zoomed across from the White Cliffs of Dover...know what I mean jellybean? it was so much fun!"
Oh well, if you feel like that, of course you can HAVE him...we'll even pay his (one way) air fare ;o)
Sky is falling bump.
One way to turn a crowd of Florida senior citizens into a lynch mob. Tell them there's shortage of flu shots.
ok now tell me the name of those doughnut shaped boats or water spiders I rode on....I cant remember to save me.....
as for Tony, he is MORE than welcome to come to America...we love him here....well, most of us, the ones with brains :))
Yes. You are absolutely right. The Dems are making this a HUGE issue and Kerry is saying in his campaign rallies that President Bush will not let our seniors get cheaper meds in Canada but he is looking to Canada for help with flu vaccines. (Of course, it is probably too late to ensure their vaccines are safe in time for flu season, but it is an option we are considering if we can ensure safety in time).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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Three days in the dark, avoiding the eyes of those that would see their lives ended. And still they struggle against their chains, to turn the prison upon its side before claiming it for their own.
With Callisa Ni, Ryu’ Ve-Ke’rehl and Adeya have made a partnership. With investments of 50,000 gold and 40,000 gold respectively the pair now control 50% of the profit of the trading expedition to the cities of the deep elves. But by necessity they have not met her in person, only delivered the residium surreptitiously.
Seeking to expose Teodil Ghol as a dragon Adeya attempted to dominate him, but succeeding in nothing more than alerting the council that they were still in grave danger, leading to a quick conviction (2 to 1) of those that were accused of creating the Gray Forest. And one of the items that could prove their innocence, the ritual book, was lost during the attack upon the Jade Plateau.
This has spread the guardians of the city thin as there has been a sharp escalation of violence between elves and humans, violence that seems to be driven wholly by race. Soldiers now patrol the streets in numbers unseen in years, and it is the clearing of the Gray Forest from the Jade Plateau that has suffered. At this rate it will take months to purge the infestation.
Attempting to fan the flames of unrest Adeya has used her powers to instigate acts of hate. Both the markets of the Merchant Rise and the dam have seen the fruits of her labors, both human and elf dying in equal measure. Though the city has yet to boil over, such actions push the situation towards such a conclusion.
As their eyes upon the streets, the Sun Sisters seek to discover what the others cannot. Walking in the circles of the social elite, learning the secrets of Hakon Sind, Sunishra has stayed mostly out of trouble. Her progress has been steady and it may be time for Marcus Vermithrax to assume the mantle. The longer he waits the more difficult it will be to explain his return from the dead. Sunassa watches the council and the government. She has managed to keep broad track of their efforts, but she is not as close as she would like.
Sunedea had the unenviable task of tracking the movements of Garnet. But ever since Deliana Lienne had placed all 50 of her agents on the street, actively gathering reconnaissance, learning anything about Garnet had been extremely difficult. But with the pressure placed upon those that seek to control the city, mistakes were bound to happen…
Sunedea had been playing spy games with the agents of Garnet for almost a week now. Ever since the information gathering organization had been pulled into the events surrounding the Obsidian Pillar and the others were arrested for treason Deliana had had her people hitting the streets hard. And though the Sun Sisters could play this game as well as anyone else, ‘Edea had been on the defensive almost continuously since then.
But today was turning out to be different. One of Sunedea’s sources, a waitress doing temporary work up and down the Merchant Rise, had accepted a job covering for an ill serving girl at one of the high end taverns in Xairus, an establishment squarely under Garnet’s control. And in a serendipitous turn of events, Deliana herself was scheduled to meet with a client there at the same time. Finally one step ahead of her quarry Sunedea had plenty of time to place the Messenger Doll somewhere it wouldn’t be found. At that point all she had to do was wait.
Sitting within the tavern, nursing a drink she wasn’t terribly interested in, Sunedea was surprised to see Sietten Dieu step into the establishment and make his way back to the meeting room the warlord knew Deliana would be using. She had little time to ponder what the upstanding captain wanted with the master of Garnet though as Deliana was only a minute behind him. With both of them locked away in the room in the back, confident in their own privacy, ‘Edea listened in through the doll she had secreted away.
“Good morning to you Deliana.” began Sietten.
“Save it. What was so damn important I had to meet you right away? You know I do not like to have these meetings without fully vetting the arrangements.” Deliana responded, doing nothing to hide the venom in her voice.
“Do we have to do this? This is ridiculous.” The captain protested.
“Yes, we do. Just because the rest of you seem to care little about keeping your secrets does not mean I am similarly afflicted.”
“Fine. The Silver Regent as need of your services.”
“And what does Anastas want that’s so damn important?”
“Have you been paying any attention at all to the city?”
“Of course I have, but we have weathered worse. You would think a dragon as long lived as Anastas would be able to keep at least a measure of perspective.”
“Enough Deliana. I’m not here to argue with you. Like it or not, your regent has a request of you.”
There was an exasperated sigh from Deliana, but then silence until Sietten began speaking again.
“What do you know of those that were recently convicted of treason for the raising for the Gray Forest?”
“Nothing, the same as when Larisa asked me.”
“I find it hard to believe you know nothing of something of this import.”
“And why is that? You know how I get my information. What makes you think they have come anywhere near my circles?”
“Because everyone does eventually. You have no blind spots in this city.”
“While I appreciate your confidence, that does not change the fact that I can not help you.”
“Very well. But if you do learn anything our regent must be told immediately. Just proceed with caution. Callisa has apparently met with them before and is making an effort to draw them out. Don’t foul her work.”
“Fine. What else?” Deliana pressed.
“Have you spoken with Petera Tene?”
“No, I don’t deal with her or the Verdant Mandate. Other than staying clear I have little interest in the machinations of tricksters pretending to be terrorists.”
“It would be wise to reconsider. Larisa believes that the recently unrest between the elves and humans is staged, a plan of the copper’s to force Anastas’ hand to put her rebellion down. The Anarus may also take advantage of the chaos to finally destroy the dam.”
“The Anarus are toothless old blacks. They have been trying to turn the Arien Taur into a swamp for more millennia than I can count. I do not expect them to have any more success than they have had.”
There was silence for a time, probably a gesture from Sietten that was lost. But a moment later he continued to talk.
“And what of Anelace?”
“Goncal is keeping a tight leash on his people at the moment. But I don’t doubt that they will take advantage of any openings that present themselves.”
“That’s as good as we can expect I guess.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s all I was asked to pursue.”
“Good, I have work to do.”
There was the sound of wood sliding across wood as chairs were moved around and their former occupants rose to their feet. But as Sunedea started to hear the sounds of footsteps Deliana called out, “One more thing Sietten. Rem Moana has hired Mikaere Ohe to kill you.”
The captain sighed before answering. “This was bound to happen sooner or later. I guess I’m not surprised he’s taking advantage of the situation to see me killed. I certainly have enough to focus on as it is to be sufficiently distracted. Thank you Zy… Deliana.”
“This makes us even Sietten.”
The captain chuckled briefly. “Of course it does. Have a good day Deliana.”
The master of Garnet said nothing in response as the captain stepped out of the room, past the still drinking Sunedea and out into the streets of Xairus. Ten minutes later Deliana followed in his steps, disappearing into the traffic of the Merchant Rise.
Ever the professional ‘Edea finished her drink and ordered another, not leaving for another half hour. But as she sat and waited she was having a rather intense conversation with her siblings. This was the mother lode and could turn the entire situation on its ear. But they couldn’t help but remember the last time they had struck such an impressive find.
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The much-anticipated Kartell Comback chair has been in production for over 4 years due to it’s complex design that is made from a single mould. Inspired by the traditional Windsor chair this is Patricia Urquiola’s modern take on an old English classic this is the sleigh leg version.
The backrest features 7 spindles that run it to a solid hexagonal structure and then the spindles adjoin the seat pad. The body of the chair is made from technopolymer thermoplastic and the sleigh legs are made from steel with a epoxy painted finish.
Available in a range of 6 matte colours to suit your décor, the chair is also generously proportioned.
This is an award-winning product that won the Wallpaper Magazines Best Chair design for 2011. Both the 4 legs and swivel base versions of the Comback chairs are available to purchase in the Design 55 store.
Seat Height 48.5cm
Free UK Delivery
For small items that weigh less than 2kg we use Royal Mail. For larger items we use a courier DPD, if you leave your mobile phone number when you place an order they will text you an hours timeslot. If this slot is inconvenient you can text them back and arrange a different day with DPD.
For large dining tables and glass furniture we use a furniture delivery company who will phone you to arrange a suitable days delivery and a 2-3 hour timeslot.
Lead times for delivery are stated on the product page.
We ship globally with small items under 2kg being sent by royal mail airmail this service can take between 5- 20 working days. for larger items we use international couriers which can take 3 -4 days for delivery. The price of the shipping price depends on size and weight of the item To get a quote for postage you can select your country on the product page opposite the product picture on the right hand side.
Orders placed that are exports outside of the EU save 20% off the product price, as they are not required to pay Tax.
Design 55 must be informed by email within 7 working days of you receiving your item that you would like to return it. You will need to email email@example.com complete with your name and order number and reason for return, our customer service team will then give you instructions on how best to return the item for a full refund. You will then have 30 days to return the item to us after you have sent the email notifying the returns department that you would like to return the item. The customer pays for the return of the item.
In the very unlikely event your item arrives in less than perfect condition please contact firstname.lastname@example.org within 24 hours of receiving the item.
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From Rob Breszny's Facebook page:
The science newsletter, "Mini-Annals of Improbable Research," did a poll of its readers on the question, "Does reality exist?" Forty-two percent answered yes, while 31 percent asserted that it most certainly does not. The remaining 27 percent were undecided. A few of the latter believed that *their* reality exists but no one else's does. Two people said, "Yes, reality exists, but you can't get to it." According to one respondent, "Reality exists only when it is really necessary."
Oh man, I love being on a wavelength with my old buddy Rob. He is one of my favorite astrologers. His horoscopes are a little too pronoic, a reflection of his pervasive agenda - not a bad agenda, but it obfuscates a more objective reading, I think. However, his horoscopes are always fun to read.
What is real, anyway? In my society we're told to use our minds as barometers of reality. It's a big problem because the mind and ego are intertwined, one and the same. I'm speaking of the conscious mind of course. My first teacher of meditation, the luminous Jack Kornfield, said, "You have to practice mindfulness. You have to! Because your mind says, Go ahead, have a slice of peace pie. But right after you finish eating, your first thought might be, Why the hell did you eat that peach pie?"
Indeed. What the mind tells us is real is a wisp of smoke. In two minutes, it could look completely different. You can't count on it!
Of course it isn't the mind's fault entirely. The realm of emotion, long ignored or diminished by the rational people who study these things, is currently an area of great interest. They're finding that emotion is a fertile landscape from where thoughts, ideas, and a visceral sense of reality arise. This is supposed to be a brand new idea. Hmmm.
I am very excited about the new field of embodied cognition. More often lately I see stories about these researchers in the New York Times and other reputable places, whatever that means. These doctors believe the mind exists to serve the body, not the other way around. It's a fascinating development in medical research and as one of those "alternative" healers who was already on board with this idea, can I just say: Hell yeah!
I am thrilled we're moving away from brain-centered pictures of ourselves, very much looking forward to the day I no longer see stupid stories about how the brain is affected by what we eat, how much we exercise, "just like the body." DUH. Dudes, the brain is definitely tissue, a part of the body. How in the world did doctors, people who study brains, come to a place where they decided it wasn't part of the body? Too many brains pickling in jars in the lab, you guys? Are the fumes getting to you? What were you thinking?
What is real? I mean, really!
According to the Tao of Goldilocks, the most accurate way to understand "reality" would involve a balanced approach to perception: listening to body and heart, only then deciding with the mind what is and what is not. That approach requires curiosity, one of our most adorable human qualities. We have to be willing to question, to wonder and to be empty, "not like the bowl put away in a cupboard," as one of my teachers used to say, "but like the bowl on the counter, under the cereal box, about to receive." It's a beautiful idea introduced to me decades ago. I'm still working on it, as I will to my dying day, no doubt. The mind is such a bully!
All these thoughts are circling around my head. Imagine in the cartoons when one of the characters gets punched or something drops on his head. You know how birds, stars and punctuation marks fly around their heads as if in orbit? That's me this week. Maybe it's the super moon, who knows, but I feel I've slipped through a couple of membranes into a slightly different universe than the one in which I lived for awhile. Everything here is almost the same, but not exactly the same as last week. If this sounds crazy to you, then please read anything written by the cool, popular quantum physicists like Bryan Greene or Neil Degrasse Tyson about multiple universes and the membranes that separate them.
It makes me smile to realize that my mystical worldview, the Reyaverse, is backed up, more and more, by "solid" science. I really have stepped into a new universe, and I like it here a lot.
This gate is about 6" tall, part of a little fairy landscape some quirky neighbor built in their front yard. Were you fooled? Ha! What is real?
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Registration for Summer Term begins Friday, May 20, 2016
Linn-Benton Community College uses the updated curriculum from Oregon Department of Transportation-Traffic Safety Division which includes:
A "Multimodal Interface" for teachers and learners dedicated to exceptional in-car preparation and striving for a lifetime of low-risk driving. Current use in the classrooms show the students love the realistic way the skills and concepts are presented. Updated films, videos, student activities, and even the tests have all been updated and polished!
Possible waiver of Department of Motor Vehicles Behind-the-Wheel Drive test - specific requirements must be met in order to qualify and will be presented during the parent/student orientation. Note: students 18 or older do not qualify.
This course is approved by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
State of Oregon requirements include mandatory:
30 hours of classroom instruction.
3-hour parent/student orientation at first meeting.
12 hours on the road (6 hours behind-the-wheel and 6 hours of active observation) taught concurrently with classroom instruction, with final drive occuring after last classroom session.
Minimum of five hours of documented supervised driving practice (supervising driving must be
someone who is at least 21 years old and has had a valid driver license for at least three years).
For Frequently Asked Questions Click Here
Check here for a complete listing of the Summer Schedule of classes begin the week of June 27th.
Click here for Important Information that students and parents/guardians must read before registering for a Driver Education Course.
Bring the following when you register:
- Registration Form
- Acknowledgment of Risks (Waiver)
- Parent/Student Questionnaire
- Information Disclosure Authorization - this form is voluntary, but if you wish to know how your student is doing in class, attending class, or to talk with the driving instructor it must be completed, by the student, otherwise we cannot even acknowledge a student is in the class.
2. The student's driving permit (both the original and a photocopy)
3. Personal auto insurance carrier card, with policy number and expiration date
4. Registration Fee:
- Age 15-17 with driver permit: $265*
- Age 15-17 with driver license (or will obtain a license prior to completion of the course): $445
- Age 18 or over (or will turn 18 prior to completion of the course): $445
- All course materials are now included in class fees.
*Fee assistance is available to qualifying students.
To qualify for a refund, you must cancel your registration at least 72 hours before the start of the course.
IMPORTANT: Students must register at offering center; online registration is not available.
Registration hours are: Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. & Fridays 8 a.m.-4:30 pm
6500 SW Pacific Blvd - Takena Hall Room 205; Albany
Registration hours are: Monday-Thursday 8:30 am-7 pm & Fridays 8:30 am-4 pm
757 NW Polk Ave; Corvallis
*Parent/student meeting is at Santiam Christian school, click her for map and directions.
Registration hours are: Monday-Thursday 8:30 am-6:30 pm
44 Industrial Way; Lebanon
Sweet Home Classes:
Registration hours are: Monday-Thursday 8:30am-6:30pm
1661 Long Street; Sweet Home
For more information contact Melissa Richey at (541)917-4849 or firstname.lastname@example.org
To browse current class offerings, go to our Schedule of Classes, select the term and search for "Vehicle Safety & Operation"
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Mitchell, William Kyle and Phillips, Bethan E. and Williams, John P. and Rankin, Debbie and Smith, Kenneth and Lund, Jonathan N. and Atherton, Philip J.
Development of a new SonovueTM contrast-enhanced
ultrasound approach reveals temporal and age-related
features of muscle microvascular responses to feeding.
Physiological Reports, 1
Compromised limb blood flow in aging may contribute to the development of sarcopenia, frailty, and the metabolic syndrome. We developed a novel contrast-enhanced ultrasound technique using Sonovue™ to characterize muscle microvasculature responses to an oral feeding stimulus (15 g essential amino acids) in young (~20 years) and older (~70 years) men. Intensity-time replenishment curves were made via an ultrasound probe “fixed” over the quadriceps, with intermittent high mechanical index destruction of microbubbles within muscle vasculature. This permitted real-time measures of microvascular blood volume (MBV), microvascular flow velocity (MFV) and their product, microvascular blood flow (MBF). Leg blood flow (LBF) was measured by Doppler and insulin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Steady-state contrast concentrations needed for comparison between different physiological states were achieved <150 sec from commencing Sonovue™ infusion, and MFV and MBV measurements were completed <120 sec thereafter. Interindividual coefficients of variation in MBV and MFV were 35–40%, (N = 36). Younger men (N = 6) exhibited biphasic vascular responses to feeding with early increases in MBV (+36%, P < 0.008 45 min post feed) reflecting capillary recruitment, and late increases in MFV (+77%, P < 0.008) and MBF (+130%, P < 0.007 195 min post feed) reflecting more proximal vessel dilatation. Early MBV responses were synchronized with peak insulin but not increased LBF, while later changes in MFV and MBF occurred with insulin at post absorptive values but alongside increased LBF. All circulatory responses were absent in old men (N = 7). Thus, impaired postprandial circulation could impact age-related declines in muscle glucose disposal, protein anabolism, and muscle mass.
||University of Nottingham UK Campus > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Medicine > Medical Education Unit and Medical Courses Office
Davies, Mrs Sarah
||22 Apr 2014 14:25
||11 May 2016 21:06
Actions (Archive Staff Only)
|
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Think of the movement of an old coffee
grinder. The bottom hand stays still while
the top hand turns the crank.
Sample sentence: "Do you take sugar in your coffee?" = "YOUR COFFEE, YOU LIKE
In a message dated 8/18/2006 9:10:56 PM Pacific Daylight Time, tnslefler@
Hi, I'm Sherri Lefler. I'm a coda and one of my five children is Deaf.
an interpreter working on a project to better serve our Deaf clients
the Michigan Rehabilitation Department of Labor and Economics. Our
offers certificates in several different trades. Most of which there or
specific specialized signs for names of machinery and equipment that are
accepted as a standard. There are several interpreters that for years
been stuck in the same trade area due to experience and familiarity with
jargon and sign set-ups. Due to high demand and interest in keeping
interpreters flexible and able to cover each other I have begun to
standardized vocabulary for these specialized trades to be used within
school. I have used your site as a reference many times to see how some
the most standard signs compare to our region here in Michigan. I am
if you have signs for Latte and Cappuccino to go along with our Culinary
Thanks for you time.
Sign Language Interpreter
(269) 492-____ mobile
(269) 343-____ tty/voice
I asked one of my friends who is a coffee connoisseur what she signs for
those concepts. Below is her reply.
In a message dated 8/18/2006 11:33:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
Sandra Thrapp (Deaf) writes:
There is no sign for Latte (most of my Deaf friends fingerspell that
Cappuccino - we sign "coffee small strong" (handshape "F" holding
coffee mug handle)
Kevin Jackson, a communications specialist at a group
home in Humboldt County serving youth with development delays, writes:
Hello Dr. Vicars,
My name is Kevin.
I ... frequently attend get-togethers and gatherings with the Deaf Community in
Santa Rosa ... my friends and I have signs for Latte and Mocha [that are]
similar to [the sign for] "coffee" except that instead of a closed fist on top
we use an M for mocha and L for latte. I noticed on the "coffee page" that a
person suggested that there is no sign for latte or mocha).
- Kevin Jackson
Do any of your Deaf friends use
those signs? Where did you learn them? Did you come up with them yourself?
I came up with the signs while in discussion with my [Deaf] friends in Humboldt
County, at Starbucks coincidentally. I had asked them how to sign Mocha and they
told me that they just fingerspell it or sign CHOCOLATE+COFFEE, Latte was
fingerspelled also, if they just wanted a plain latte. If they wanted a flavored
latte they were always inclined to write the whole drink order on a piece of
paper and then give it to the barista. I was simply trying to bridge a gap
between the barista and the Deaf customer, we're still working on it. But now
everyone at this Starbucks knows the signs for mocha, latte, coffee, sugar, milk
etc. This star bucks also holds a gathering of Deaf folk every Sunday, its a
small group usually between 6-10 people at a time.
The signs you and your friends
have invented there at that Starbucks
in Humbolt County are "initialized" signs. You have used
the initial of the English word as one of the handshapes of the sign.
Starbucks is a "overlap" place. By that I mean
that on Sunday evenings when your Deaf group gathers for coffee Starbucks
becomes a bilingual / bicultural environment filled with people from two
different cultures and two different languages. What happens in such a
place is the two cultures and languages (Hearing/Deaf & English/ASL) overlap
which tends to result in the development of a form of communication called
"contact signing." (Formerly called "pidgin signed English in some texts.)
Contact signing by its very definition is not ASL. Which isn't to say that it
isn't useful. "Contact communication" is useful in those situations during
which two cultures are "in contact." But when those cultures are no longer in
contact there is no need for contact-communication.
It is a matter of efficiency:
Two Hearing English speakers: Efficient = spoken English
Two Deaf ASL signers: Efficient = ASL
One Hearing English speaker & one Deaf ASL signer: Efficient = contact signing
Note that contact-signing in general is not more efficient than either ASL or
spoken English. But when two cultures come into contact for whatever reason
(Hearing people to sell coffee / Deaf people to buy coffee) they tend to meet
half way since it is "more efficient" than learning "all of" the other person's
So, while efficient and useful in mixed settings -- your invented signs are not
It is possible that the initialized signs "mocha" and "latte" might spread and
be adopted for use by many Deaf coffee-shop gathering attendees but there are
two factors that will impede the widespread use of those signs the Deaf
1. The word mocha basically means "put chocolate in coffee." Thus the ASL
sign for mocha is to sign "chocolate" while ordering coffee. Note
that I said "while ordering coffee." Thus we have a sign for "mocha" but
that sign only "exists" when the circumstances are right.
2. The word "latte" can be spelled in approximately one second with one hand.
To initialize the sign "coffee" with an "L" takes more time, and "twice as many
The reason why using an initialized sign for "latte" appeals to coffee shop
attendees and employees is because Hearing people are "fingerspelling-impaired."
They can't spell or read fingerspelling as fast as Deaf people. Thus signing
"L"-coffee is an accommodation or crutch requested by Hearing people (via
"invention") and acquiesced to by Deaf people for the sake of efficiency in
When the environment is no
longer mixed, (the Deaf finish ordering and walk away from the counter and the
Hearing students get eye-strain and go home) the need for the "crutch"
disappears and Deaf people go back to spelling "latte" at high speed amongst
In a message dated 4/24/2011 1:22:53 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, noojon
Thanks for your help way back when. I asked my Deaf barista how to sign
various things, and she was quite helpful. It was a lot of fun for a while,
but then our schedules changed or something, because I stopped seeing her
Anyway, the sign for "espresso" is the motion like someone pantomiming
sipping from an espresso cup: a squished O hand tipped up at the mouth. You
can extend one or more of the lower fingers a bit for accent. Most people
don't extend any fingers, exactly, so much as the
lower fingers don't have to be touching.
For "double espresso", I would do "espresso" + "double" (back-and-forth 2
hand drawn away from the body). she understood that instantly. similarly for
"Iced coffee" is "I-C-E" + "coffee."
"Cappucino" is "C-A-P."
I forget what she said for "latte". maybe just "L"? it's probably "L-A-T" --
not sure how to keep from confusing "L" for "a pound of coffee beans." I
guess people who care enough to buy beans tend to drink it black (rather
than obliterate the taste with milk). So the people who sign one or the
other may be different groups. also, people frequently order lattes by
specifying hot vs iced (at least in Texas), which would preclude the
interpretation of meaning coffee beans.
Hot coffees are generally assumed except during the worst
parts of summer (at least in Texas), but some people are weird. It can go
either way all year round.
Anything more complicated than that is generally given a name that changes
from coffee shop to coffee shop, which would be signed out word by word or
letter by letter until it's unique and meaningful.
For instance, everyone creates some pun based on the name of the business
for a hot coffee with a shot of espresso:
Creek tweak (Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse)
Spider Bite (Spider House)
Depth Charge (???)
Big O (Ohm's), etc.
I used to have a long list of these names I kept for fun.
That said, her coffeeshop has what they call an "espresso affogato," which
is a double espresso poured over a scoop of ice cream. I tried to spell out
"affogato" and she didn't catch on. When i signed "espresso" + "ice cream",
though, she got it instantly. I think part of the problem is that no one
ever orders that--even the hearing baristas (who do more taking of orders)
don't know how to ring it up, and the owner always thinks they're asking how
to ring up "espresso avocado!"
That's as far as we got in just our few visits. i didn't confirm the signs
with anyone else -- I don't know any other coffee-signing experts--but both
the signs and the signing confusion feel universal.
We live in Austin, next to the Texas school for the Deaf.
I hope that wasn't too pedantic, I don't know how much you frequent local
coffee shops, or how much the cultures change from city to city!
Thanks again for your help!
Dr. Bill's new iPhone "Fingerspelling Practice" app is
GET IT HERE!
NEW! Online "ASL Training Center!" (Premium Subscription Version of ASLU) **
CHECK IT OUT **
Also available: "ASLUniversity.com" (a mirror of Lifeprint.com
less traffic, fast access) **
VISIT NOW **
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Over the years Manchester United has entered spring chasing a league title, a domestic cup or European glory. Days out to Wembley were common, as was the tension as the Reds sought to tie up yet another title. Spring has not been so kind in recent years, though, with United having little to shout about since the spring of 2013 when the Reds wrapped up a record-breaking 20th league title on a late April night. Yet, on Saturday, United’s supporters will find themselves walking down Wembley Way once again, with the hope of FA Cup glory firmly on the mind.
For once, the international break was a welcome distraction, and not just an unnecessary fixture in the calendar. Manchester United supporters enjoyed work, head held high, knowing the team couldn’t let them down – and with a glow of recent victory over Manchester City still fresh. All good things must come to an end though and the Premier League returns with United welcoming Everton to Old Trafford, chasing fourth, and with it a Champions League spot.
So poor is Wayne Rooney in matches against former club Everton that is tempting to suggest Manchester United is effectively rendered one man short. The Scouser has scored just four times in 18 games against the Toffees and not at Goodison Park since 2007. Indeed, Rooney has suffered plenty of indignity at his former ground, once being substituted by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008 for fear of an imminent red card, and left out of the matchday squad altogether on another occasion.
Yet Rooney’s form is also in such poor form this season that some fans have come to view the striker’s demotion to the bench as necessary, if not yet inevitable given the captain’s special privileges under manager Louis van Gaal. Rooney has scored five times since August, although three came against Belgian side Club Brugge and another versus Ipswich Town in the Capital One Cup. Just once has Rooney found the net in the Premier League this season. There have been far more inept displays from the striker, including a fortnight ago at Arsenal.
Rooney missed two England games during the international break, and the player’s lack of “match rhythm” met yet give Van Gaal cause to drop his captain with a political safety net in place. Not that the Dutchman appears to hold any less faith in the 29-year-old despite a series of woeful performances this season. Indeed, Van Gaal gave short shrift to media questions about Rooney’s form during his regular Friday press conference.
“His average is not so good [against Everton] so it’s getting time that he changed that pattern. I’m a manager who analyses opponents and gives him advice as to how we can disorganise Everton’s defence and then maybe he can score,” said Van Gaal on Friday.
“For me it is not so important who is scoring. We have scored a lot of goals. In the beginning your criticism was we don’t score goals but now we’ve scored a lot of goals and you’re picking up an individual player and I don’t like that. He’s our captain so that’s very important because his influence is bigger than every other player in our group.”
United began the season struggling to create and convert chances, although Anthony Martial’s introduction has proven to be a catalyst for more effective attacking performances in recent weeks. The youngster has scored four in seven games for his new club, although his performances have merited greater praise still. United scored twice against Wolfsburg in the Champions League, three at home to Sunderland, another three against Ipswich, three at Southampton and three at home to Liverpool. All since Martial joined in early September.
“Have we created enough chances?” Van Gaal asked. “Yes, I think so. I think we have chances to score in every game. Also against Arsenal, after the first 20 minutes we have created a lot of chances. It’s not a given in every team that you can create a lot of chances at 3-0 down and we did it, so that’s the positive thing. But of course it’s very important that out of your chances you score and against Arsenal we didn’t.”
That defeat at Arsenal has prompted something of an internal debate at the club, with United starting the game slowly and – despite the manager’s claim – rarely threatening to get back into the match, albeit the Reds put in a more positive performance in the second period. United’s midfield axis of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick struggled at the Emirates – though much was down to Van Gaal’s odd tactical demands. The German was pushed high up the pitch, too often leaving Carrick to contend with three mobile Arsenal midfielders.
United suffered a similarly cataclysmic defeat at Everton last April, with Rooney particularly ineffective – an seemingly uninterested – as United slipped to a 3-0 defeat on Merseyside. It is a result Van Gaal will want to avenge, especially in light of United’s performance in North London a fortnight ago.
“We are always evaluating ourselves and we cannot accept that,” van Gaal told reporters of United’s performance at Arsenal. “You have to behave like a champion. You have to improve yourself so that in the future you can be the champion. You have to improve every time, which is what I am saying. I have analysed over the two weeks and that is awful when you have such a result. We have spoken about this and that it can’t happen again. ”
Meanwhile, Everton manager Roberto Martinez described last season’s result at Goodison as “comfortable in everything we wanted to do.” It is a damning assessment of United’s ineptitude that day.
Everton’s results are on the up after a difficult start to the campaign, with the Spaniard’s team now unbeaten in seven games – a sequence that includes victory over Chelsea at Goodison and a draw in the Merseyside derby last time out.
Martinez’ side was probably unfortunate not to secure victory in Brendan Rodgers’ last game as Liverpool manager. Still, the Spaniard is counting on a raucous Goodison crowd to earn the home side victory on Saturday. Recent history is with the Toffees – Everton has beaten United on the last three occasions at Goodison. A fourth is unthinkable for Van Gaal and his captain.
“Goodison probably gets at its very best [against United], and when Goodison pushes you with that energy and that voice, as a player you feel the difference, and as a team you feel you can cope with anything that you get in front of you.”
Team news and line-ups
Van Gaal is likely to select Rooney at number 10, with the striker recovered from a minor injury that kept him out of two international games in the past week. Carrick and Schweinsteiger are also fit, as is Phil Jones, who played for England in midweek. The Dutchman could pair Jones with Chris Smalling in central defence, with Daley Blind moving to left-back and Matteo Darmian starting on the right. Although the combination of that quartet could also see three players start outside their normal roles. Stand-in full-back Ashley Young is unfit with a thigh problem and Marcos Rojo not yet fully fit.
“Wayne Rooney, I think he can play and Michael Carrick can play as well,” said van Gaal. “I was very pleased with Jones. He has played for me two times for 15 or 20 minutes. Then he plays for the England team. When I want to select him I can select him for the line-up.”
Meanwhile, Paddy McNair suffered a ruptured kidney as Northern Ireland qualified for Euro 2016 and will miss United’s trip to Everton. Rojo and Ander Herrera trained in Manchester during the international break and should be part of the match-day squad, although neither is likely to start.
“They were injured and they have a rehabilitation period behind their back and everything went well,” Van aal told MUTV. “They are also fit to play – maybe not 90 minutes but you never know.”
John Stones and Seamus Coleman should return for the home side, while former Red Tom Cleverley is also fit. Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas are available after suspension.
Everton subs from: Joel, Browning, Funes Mori, Holgate, Oviedo, Gibson, Lennon, McGeady, Mirallas, Osman, Kone
United subs from: Romero, Rojo, Pereira, Fellaini, Schweinsteiger, Herrera, Lingard, Valencia, Wilson
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Assistants: A Halliday, D Cann
Fourth Official: R Madley
Everton 1-1 United
£1 bet club
Wayne Rooney to be sent off at 25/1
Match graphic by @cole007
He is, said one prominent journalist around this time last year, a “strange player.” Possessing neither the technical skill that is typical of an attacking player at a top club, nor the defensive instincts required to lock down a place in David Moyes’ central midfield, Marouane Fellaini has, somehow, become a central figure at Manchester United this season. Indeed, the Belgian returns to Everton this weekend as the central narrative in this weekend’s action and a key player in United’s recent revival.
Fellaini’s impact has been significant – particularly over the last eight matches – although it is one found not in the data. After all, the Belgian neither scores goals, creates them, nor boasts a pass completion rate among the best in United’s squad. Yet, the Belgian has struck up a strong relationship with Ashley Young and Daley Blind on United’s left-flank – one part of the “balance” manager Louis van Gaal has been seeking all season. He has become a plan B atypical to the plethora of technical players in United’s squad.
Despite Fellaini’s improvement there is also the view that the Belgian is highly unlikely to be such a key figure a year from now. After all, Van Gaal’s pragmatic approach to locking down a place in the Champions League has enabled Fellaini to overcome a difficult first year at the club; the Dutchman’s challenge is now to win trophies at domestic and European level. It is goal to which many believe Fellaini ill-suited.
Still, with this weekend’s opponent’s Everton is strong form after a difficult campaign it is set to be a game that tests United’s resolve after defeat at Chelsea. The Belgian remains central to United’s cause as the Reds visit Fellaini’s old stomping ground.
“I asked him today and he said ‘it’s a game’, but I think he doesn’t want to admit it,” van Gaal told MUTV of Fellaini’s return to Merseyside. “He is very dry in his answers but I believe it shall be a special game. I hope that the fans receive him like the Chelsea fans received Juan Mata, because I like that very much.”
“Every player who is playing for Manchester United has qualities. I believe Marouane Fellaini has qualities and we want the qualities of Fellaini to dominate in a team. I believe that we are doing that and that’s why his performances are better now.”
Meanwhile, the hosts have found some form in recent weeks, with victories over Burnley, Southampton, Queens Park Rangers and Newcastle United. It is a run that has lifted the Toffees into mid table and away from a potential relegation battle. One that has been achieved in Roberto Martínez’ characteristic pass-and-move style – a philosophy Van Gaal seemingly admires.
“Everton are playing much better and I think that’s because of the manager having a philosophy,” added van Gaal. “When the players believe in that, they can improve. I am always communicating with my players about philosophy, about performance, about attitude, about behaviour.
“That is very important. He sticks to the same philosophy and I believe his players are believing in him and also that philosophy. At the end, you can see it.”
On the pitch Van Gaal is likely to be without Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Michael Carrick for the short trip east, although Daley Blind could return. The Dutchman enjoyed a productive spell at left-back in recent weeks, but may be drafted into midfield at Goodison, with Wayne Rooney returning to a striking role. Indeed, with Radamel Falcao suffering another difficult game at Stamford Bridge, the Colombian could find a place on the bench awaits. It has been the on-loan striker’s role for much of a campaign that has yielded just four goals.
Jonny Evans is available after suspension and could come in to the side, although Paddy McNair excelled at Stamford Bridge last week. Meanwhile, Rafael da Silva, who has been out of the team for months anyway, may have played his last game for the club after suffering a broken rib with the under-21s this week. The Brazilian is expected to move on this summer after seven years with the club.
“For you, I shall say it is Daley Blind, but there is a question mark,” said the Dutchman when asked about his players’ availability this weekend. “Rafael, it is unbelievable. He has broken his ribs so he shall not play anymore this season for Manchester United very unfortunately. Januzaj is not such a heavy injury.”
Meanwhile, Martínez is without Steven Pienaar, who is struggling with a muscle problem, although Leon Osman and James McCarthy are fit to play. Everton’s decent form in recent weeks has come after a period in which the Merseysiders flirted with the relegation zone after achieving European qualification last season. Martinez’ side is unbeaten at home in all competitions in 2015 and the team has won its last three Premier League matches at Goodison Park without conceding.
Martínez suffered predictable criticism for Everton’s poor form through the autumn and winter – and finds much simpatico with his opposite number’s challenges.
“It wasn’t easy to find the right formula at Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson retired,” Martínez said. “I think what has been really interesting is how long it took to find the right formula but how competitive the team was all through that period.
“When we faced them at Old Trafford in October, if someone had said they would be favourites to finish above the champions, Manchester City, this season, I don’t think you would have believed it. That shows you the incredible turnaround. I do think United will finish strong this season and they are capable of challenging for everything next season.”
Still, Goodison Park has not always been a happy place for United in recent years – the Toffees are looking for a third consecutive home win over Manchester United. This time last season a ‘Grim Reaper’ was ejected from Goodison Park as United slipped to yet another defeat – a publicity stunt, albeit one that said much in Moyes’ last game at the club.
One year on and there has been genuine progress, with plenty of credit due to an unlikely source. Fellaini will surely enjoy his moment on Sunday.
Everton (4-2-3-1): Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; Lennon, Barry, McCarthy, Barkley, Miralla; Lukaku
United (4-1-4-1): De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw; Blind; Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young; Rooney
Everton: Robles, McGeady, Distin, Garbutt, Besic, Atsu, Alcaraz, Koné, Osman, Naismith
United: Valdes, Rafael, Blackett, Evans, Januzaj, Lingard, Perreira, Wilson, Di Maria, Falcao, Van Persie
Everton 65 – Draw 42 – United 82
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistants: S Ledger, D Bryan
Fourth Official: R Madley
Everton 0-2 United
£1 bet club
United to win 2-0 @ 10/1
Running total: £9.50 up!
At some point later this season, with Manchester United comfortably qualified for the Champions League, and Louis van Gaal’s name ringing around Old Trafford, the late summer will seem like a distant memory. Not a good one for United’s medical team, but one long forgotten nonetheless. Such is the enduring list of absentees that engulfs Van Gaal’s squad these days.
There is little to lighten the mood at Old Trafford as Everton visit on Sunday – especially with much change in the backroom where Tony Strudwick has effectively been demoted in favour of Dutch fitness coach Jos van Dijk, while United has sought to also limit physio Rod Thornley’s involvement with the England set-up. Whatever the cause of the an extended injury crisis Van Gaal is not prepared to stand still.
Without eight injured players on Sunday, Van Gaal must also adjust for Wayne Rooney’s absence, with the club captain sitting out the next three matches after taking a crude hack at Stuart Downing last the weekend. The Scouser has apparently apologised to his team-mates for the error which provoked a first Premier League red in five years, although as ever with Rooney, the fans didn’t feature in the behind closed doors mea culpa.
On the pitch United’s manager is likely to bring Juan Mata back into the fold after the Spaniard was dropped last weekend, while youngster Patrick McNair keeps his place. There is little choice with three central defenders still injured and the Dutchman reluctant to field two left-footed players – Marcos Rojo and Tyler Blackett – in the heart of United’s back-four.
McNair’s selection is, of course, also a vote in confidence after the Irishman’s positive debut against West Ham United – one that leads to the Dutchman fielding another youthful defensive line against Everton this weekend.
“We still have three central defenders injured so [McNair] shall play,” said Van Gaal on Friday. “He is the only player who can play in the right-sided defensive position. I chose him last week and he was very good. It’s difficult for a player like him to maintain that level – that is his biggest challenge.
“We have eight injuries and one red card so nine players are not available. It’s difficult to explain. You can be fit but not match fit – that’s a big difference. For example, Ander Herrera is fit but he cannot play because of his rib pressure. Marouane Fellaini has trained for one week but is not fit to play 90 minutes.”
McNair’s retention is Blackett’s loss. The 20-year-old Mancunia featured in five Premier League games this season before suspension against the Hammers – and faces an uncertain immediate future in Van Gaal’s side with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both nearing fitness.
The Leicester City aberration aside, Blackett has also been United’s most consistent defender this season. In that there is, of course, some irony – that youth products such as Blackett and McNair should feature so heavily in the thinking after the club spent some £150 million on new players during the summer transfer window. It is a chance that both have taken impressively.
“I want to play in every game and I am trying to impress the manager enough to keep my place,” Blackett told the official website.
“Now that I have played a few games, it is one of those situations when you are hungry for more. There is healthy competition among the defenders. We have banter in training and we are all pushing each other to improve. We all want to succeed.”
Elsewhere Van Gaal must find a midfield combination without Ander Herrera, who broke a rib against West Ham. One of Adnan Januzaj and Darren Fletcher is likely to come into the side alongsidevDaley Blind and Angel Di Maria. Fletcher offers United greater defensive presence, although the Scotsman is patently unlikely to ever reach his former level, while Januzaj is yet to start a fixture this season. Much, no doubt, to the Belgian youngster’s frustration.
It is a pattern that points to Fletcher taking up the captaincy on Sunday. Not least with Van Gaal required to protect United’s fragile defence.
“I want my defensive organisation to be better,” said the Dutchman.
“It’s teamwork, so when we concede a goal it’s not only because of an individual error from the defence. It starts somewhere else and that is what we have to analyse and improve.
“We have a lot of creative attacking players in our selection and I like that but I also like to think that you have the discipline to come back in a certain shape because now we have conceded too many goals.”
Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez’ side arrives having suffered an equally difficult opening six games of the season, although manager the Spaniard will point to mitigating circumstances. Everton has certainly played better than a record of one win in six Premier League games suggests.
Martinez’ strategy at Old Trafford is helped little by Everton’s Europa League campaign, with the Merseysiders returning from a fixture against FK Krasnodar in the small hours of Friday morning. It cannot but have a debilitating effect despite the Spaniard’s upbeat demeanour.
“The kick-off time is a bit of a disappointment because every hour you can get is a bonus, but we don’t see that as an excuse or reason to moan,” said Martinez.
“We just have to have the right mentality in every game we go into. I don’t see it as a problem at all. We’re fully focused on facing Manchester United, a team we respect massively as a really good attacking force. In my eyes, they are going to do big things this season.”
Meanwhile, Everton forward Kevin Mirallas suffered a hamstring tear and is out for a month, while Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy are unlikely to feature. McCarthy has a muscle strain, suffered in the draw with Liverpool last weekend, while Coleman has recovered from concussion, but has a soft tissue problem. Steven Pienaar could come back into the side, but Ross Barkley is again missing. Former United midfielder Darron Gibson is likely to be on the bench.
Still, this is an Everton team that completed the double over United last season. The underwhelming start to the new campaign is surely a blip rather than the norm. Indeed, Everton has won three of their last four games against the Reds, including the 1-0 victory over David Moyes’ at Old Trafford last season.
Despite the difficult start Everton is also a club on the up – one revitalised by Martinez where Moyes brought only negativity and rancour to United. It is also an institution seeking a higher platform despite the restrictions on the budget imposed by an ageing Goodison Park. European football is both a blessing and a curse.
Which brings us neatly back to United – where the curse of injury has little blessing this season.
United (4-1-2-1-2): de Gea; Rafael, McNair, Rojo, Shaw; Blind; Fletcher, Di Maria; Mata; Van Persie, Falcao
Everton (4-3-3): Howard; Hibbert, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; Pienaar, Barry, Belsic; Naismith, Lukaku, McGeady
United: Lindegaard, Blackett, Vermijl, Thorpe, Janko, Pereira, Fellaini, Valencia, Anderson, Januzaj
Everton: Robles, Atsu, Alcaraz, Distin, Koné, Oviedo, Garbutt, Osman, Gibson, Long, Hope, McAlney, Browning, Eto’o
United 81- Draw 42 – Everton 65
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistants: M McDonough, S Burt
Fourth Official: C Pawson
United 1-1 Everton
£1 bet club
Mata to open the scoring @ 7/1
Running total: £(-)7
It is the longest running saga in Manchester United’s history – the 188th time the Reds have faced Everton since the teams first met in 1892. Everton hammered Newton Heath 6-0 at Goodison Park that September to set up an unbeaten run against ‘United’ that would last 15 years. More than a century on and the narrative is very different, of course, but rare are the occasions in the modern era when the Toffees hold the upper hand.
United visit Goodison on Sunday, but this time with the hosts nine points clear and riding the crest of new manager Roberto Martinez’ wave. Chasing a spot in the Champions League, Evertonians now talk of the belief and positivity the Spaniard has brought during his year in charge. That is to say little of the rapid metamorphosis in style Everton has undergone this season.
It is an observation in stark contrast to United, with David Moyes’ side arriving in north Liverpool with little to play for as the season winds down. The Reds’ 14 defeats across four competitions ensures Moyes remains under the kind of pressure Martinez distinctly does not.
This is, after all, not only a narrative about Everton and United, but Martinez and Moyes. United’s new manager suffers ill for the comparison.
Indeed, while Moyes spoke on Friday about the “legacy” he had left at Goodison Park after more than a decade in charge, Martinez was quick to remind just how far United has fallen – and that Moyes’ assertion that Sir Alex Ferguson left him with an ageing squad does not sit well against the backdrop of an 11 point Premier League victory just a year ago.
In truth, while Martinez has taken Moyes’ squad and actively sought to improve, the Scot has instilled an alien aura of negativity at Old Trafford. One that deeply frustrates. This is, after all, the English champion club; one now reduced to competing for sixth place and a spot in next season’s Europa League – Europe’s second tier competition.
“They are still the league champions and they haven’t lost anyone,” said Martinez pointedly on Friday.
“It’s the opposite. They have two players on top. United’s squad is bigger and better than people are trying to make out. Who are these United veterans? Rio Ferdinand? How many games has Rio played? Not many and Ryan Giggs hasn’t played many, either. You could look at Chelsea and say they are more of an ageing squad. In football, not everything is straightforward.
“An ageing squad if you win becomes an experienced squad with knowhow. If you lose, it becomes the players have no legs. It’s something in between those extremes. You look at Chelsea, title contenders, but squad-wise worse than United.”
It is an observation that hurts all the more for its truth. Yet, it is not only results that split the two managers this season, but a fundamental approach to the game. Martinez seeks big goals – and to achieve them in the spirit of adventure that has come to define his career. Moyes, by contrast, is a reactionary; grounding United’s approach in an attempt to mitigate opponents’ strengths.
Practically, this explains Martinez’ belief that Everton could qualify for the Champions League through incremental improvements over the season. And an absolute belief in a style of play that has rarely failed to impress this season even when results have not gone Everton’s way.
“The two managers are totally different, in every way,” left-back Leighton Baines told the Guardian.
“They both have things they are really good at but with the current manager, he’s ultra-positive. He takes the positive from every single scenario. That’s been the big thing for me: the difference in the style of play, committing to that and not feeling like we have to adapt to the opposition.
“The new manager has that confidence and belief in himself, in his own blueprint. And then in us. He tells us we’re not going to change, we’re just going to improve constantly. He spoke about the Champions League from the start.”
Moyes, by contrast, was quick to dismiss the comparison with Martinez. “First of all, the game is not about me, it’s about Everton and Manchester United,” he told the press on Friday. Little wonder, but with United nine points adrift of Everton, and suffering a 37-point swing from last season, it is a comparison that Moyes cannot win either.
Still, United travel to Goodison having revived domestic fortunes over recent weeks. There were four scored against both Newcastle United and Aston Villa, while the Reds have not conceded a Premier League goal away from home since defeat to Stoke City in February.
Everton, meanwhile, suffered home defeat to Crystal Palace in midweek. It was not a fatal blow to the Toffees’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, but in the context of a tough run-in, devastating nonetheless.
On the pitch, United take former Evertonians Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini in the matchday squad. However, Robin van Persie remains on the sidelines and may not play again this season. Jonny Evans could make the bench, but Rafael da Silva is definitely out.
Defensive injuries mean that both Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will probably start, while in attack Moyes must decide whether to stick with the trio of Juan Mata, Adnan Januzaj and Shinji Kagawa that so impressed against Newcastle. It seems likely that the latter pair will find a place only on the bench.
Martinez, meanwhile, is unlikely to recall captain Phil Jagielka, who is not yet match fit following injury. However, James McCarthy has recovered from a muscle problem and will start after missing the midweek defeat to Palace.
Alongside, Moyes, Rooney and Fellaini, former Evertonians Phil Neville, Steve Round, Jimmy Lumsden and Chris Woods also return to Goodison. The focus, of course, is on Moyes. After 11 largely successful seasons at Goodison there has been significant revisionism among Everton’s supporters this season. It is perhaps the effect of Moyes’ downbeat approach in contrast to Martinez’ positivity.
There appears little love lost for Moyes at Goodison, who may well receive a mixed response.
“The roles that Marouane Fellaini and Phil Neville and David Moyes have, they are well-known figures at Everton, they’ll always be respected, but they’ll be respected after the final whistle,” said Martinez.
“Now they’re representing Manchester United and that cannot be a nice atmosphere.”
Everton v Manchester United, Premier League, Goodison Park, 4.10pm, 20 April 2014
Everton (4-2-3-1): Howard; Delanney, Stones, Distin, Baines; McCarthey, Barry; Deulofeu, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku
United (4-4-1-1): De Gea; Jones, Vidić, Smalling, Evra; Valencia, Fellaini, Carrick, Welbeck; Mata; Rooney
Everton: Robles, Hibbert, Garbutt, Jagielka, Browning, Alcaraz, Gueye, McGeady, Osman, Naismith
United: Lindegaard, Evans, Büttner, Ferdinand, Cleverley, Fletcher, Kagawa, Nani, Young, Giggs, Januzaj, Hernández
Head to Head
Everton 64 Draw 42 United 81
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistants: G Beswick, S Beck
Fourth Official: C Pawson
Join the discussion here!
There is a strange penchant in the modern game to overplay a rendezvous with former employers, although this is, of course, the very situation that David Moyes, his coaching staff, and Marouane Fellaini face on Wednesday night. Yet, it will somehow seem very strange if Moyes doesn’t vigorously celebrate victory, should it come against Everton at Old Trafford. There is respect and then there are three points in a Premier League season that could rapidly fall away from United if the Reds cannot find greater consistency in the weeks to come.
Indeed, while the Reds face Everton in Manchester, leaders Arsenal host Hull City in what could become a pivotal pre-Christmas round of matches. Nine points the gap, six or possibly 12 are the very real scenarios that face Moyes’ outfit ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures. And while no trophies are won in December, the old cliché that they can be lost is not so far from the truth.
Still, Moyes’ side is now unbeaten in 12 and faces six winnable league fixtures before the year is out. It is an opportunity that United must grasp if the Premier League title is to be retained this season.
First, though, Roberto Martinez’ outfit arrives at Old Trafford on a six match unbeaten run and playing some of the best football the club has produced in years. In that there is no little irony ahead of a game that Moyes claims means no more than any other, although after a decade at Everton Moyes will find vocal support in the visitors section.
“I’m not an emotional person and, in truth, I’d rather just get on with the game,” said Moyes on Tuesday.
“I’ve got great respect for Everton, their chairman, their players and their supporters but from my point of view I’m Manchester United manager now.
“I had a great time at Everton. It was a great club for me at the time in my career when I left Preston North End. They were fabulous to me. They gave me a chance to succeed at the club the best I could.
“I’ve got to say Roberto’s gone in and done a really good job and kept it going. All I know is that I’m manager of Manchester United. I’ve got respect for Everton, but from my point of view I’m United manager now and I don’t think they’d expect anything different.”
On the pitch United must recover from an entertaining draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, but one that saw the Reds slip further behind in the title race. While a point gained in the capital comes with plenty of merit, United’s situation in the table now demands a run of victories secured.
After all, it may be 12 unbeaten, but in that run there have been five draws. It is a level of form that if replicated across the league season might bring less than 80 points, and the title surely departing Old Trafford.
Still, at least Sunday’s draw brought no fresh injuries, while Robin van Persie is likely to return against the Toffees. Moyes welcomes back with some relief one of three key players to have missed recent matches, along with Michael Carrick and Nemanja Vidić.
In the Dutchman’s frequent absence this season Wayne Rooney has once again taken on the mantle of United’s talisman. The Scouser has also struck up an exciting if embryonic partnership with playmaker Shinji Kagawa.
That duo is likely to be broken up at Old Trafford, with Moyes also considering changes elsewhere in the team ahead of a hectic December schedule. Newcastle United comes to Old Trafford at the weekend, with a pivotal European fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk to follow.
Elsewhere Nani, Adnan Januzaj, Ryan Giggs and Marouanne Fellini will all hope to be involved against Everton after missing out of United’s game in north London. However, Phil Jones is suspended for one match after picking up five yellow cards this season, meaning at least one change in central midfield.
Meanwhile, Matinez’ side arrives in good form having thrashed Stoke City at Goodison on Saturday. The 4-0 victory was inspired by on-loan Barcelona forward Gerard Deulofeu, while Romelu Lukaku scored his eighth goal of an increasing productive season.
Everton’s run leaves the Toffees fourth in the Premier League table, with a renewed believe that victory at Old Trafford is very obtainable and a negative approach now a thing of the past.
“This week will have a huge bearing on our season,” said Martinez, whose side faces United and then Arsenal this week.
“It would be very easy for me to play it down but we are going to go to Old Trafford and the Emirates. They are games that we are not expected to win but, clearly, if we want to achieve something special, we need to be able to break the mentality of going to the big grounds and getting some wins.
“Over the last 10 years we have not beaten Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool at their grounds and we need to address that. We need to make sure we are ourselves. We need to know how we are going to play and who we are.”
Everton arrives with no new injuries, although Leighton Baines – the subject of three bids from United in the summer – misses out with a broken toe. Bryan Oviedo, who started only his second league game for Everton at the weekend, again plays at left-back.
Martinez is likely to retain the three-man forward line, with Deulofeu and Steven Pienaar flanking Belgian striker Lukaku in a potent attack. Indeed, Deulofeu and Lukaka might well form the most dangerous on-loan forward lines in Europe, albeit in a niche category.
Yet, this is smart business that could still fire Everton in to Europe next season despite the Merseyside club operating with far less income than the ‘big four’ of United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.
“We need to be realistic. There are six clubs with six incredible budgets and we need to be different in the way we play,” admitted Martinez, who reacted angrily to United’s £28 million bid for Fellaini and Baines in August.
“Unless you experiment with that on the pitch you will never be able to beat teams with bigger budgets. If you are going to be brave and try to win games then you need to be flexible as a player and as a team. That is the attitude we have had from the beginning. We have had one defeat in 13. The next test and the next challenge is can we go to the big places like the Old Trafford, the Emirates, Anfield and Stamford Bridge and get wins?”
It is a scenario that Old Trafford will not countenance; one in which United’s title dreams might lie of the altar of hope. After all, while Arsenal’s form might well tail off after Christmas, it might also take a poor run from Chelsea and City for United to retain the title.
But only if the Reds keep on dropping points, of course.s
Manchester United v Everton, Premier League, Old Trafford, 8pm, 3 December 2013
United (4-4-1-1): De Gea; Smalling, Evans, Vidić, Evra; Cleverley, Fellaini; Nani, Rooney, Kagawa; van Persie. Subs from: Lindegaard, Fabio, Buttner, Rafael, Ferdinand, Anderson, Young, Valencia, Giggs, Januzaj, Welbeck, Hernández
Everton (4-5-1): Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Oviedo; Barry, McCarthy, Osman; Deulofeu, Lukaku, Pienaar. Subs from: Robles, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jelavic, Mirallas, Barkley, Stones
United 81 Draw 42 Everton 63
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistants: S Burt, H Lennard
Fourth Official: R Madley
“It’s ridiculous to think,” said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of United’s 2-0 victory over the Toffees on Sunday. “That we play on the Sunday and Real Madrid play on the Saturday with that extra day’s rest.”
Thus grew a thousand headlines – and whether Ferguson’s “anger” at the Premier League’s Faustian pact with Sky television is genuine or merely another tabloid circus, there is little doubt United’s manager has a point. While Real rolled over mid-table Sevilla far shy of breaking sweat on Saturday, Ferguson’s side faced a relentlessly physical encounter with with David Moyes ever-rugged Everton at Old Trafford 24 hours later.
It is not the first occasion on which Ferguson’s has openly criticised match scheduling ahead of a key European tie – and unlikely the last. After all, matches have long been scheduled not when they are most appropriate for supporters, nor indeed managers, but peak viewing times.
In the age of multi-billion pound contracts this devil has strong pull.
“We are not giving our teams a chance to be successful in Europe, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” continued Sir Alex.
“It’s nothing to do with the FA, it’s the Premier League. They agreed a contract with TV and they’re in control. You can’t reject it. What can you do? Not turn up? I’d love to do that!
“I’ve complained about and it and you’ve heard my complaints. Do you think they listen? Other countries do make sacrifices for their top teams in Europe.”
In lieu of the extra rest United fly out to Madrid on Tuesday with Ferguson having taken the bold move to deploy a strong side against Everton on Sunday. While many expected the Scot to risk a weaker side against Moyes’ outfit, Sir Alex takes significant credit in changing his mind after Manchester City’s collapse at Southampton on Saturday evening.
Ferguson’s infallible logic, shared by many supporters, was that victory over Everton would be a significant step towards English title number 20.
His players responded in kind, with right-back Rafael da Silva superb in shackling Steven Pienaar, and Phil Jones inseparable from United’s erstwhile tormentor Marouane Fellaini. Up front Wayne Rooney roamed with delicious menace, and Robin van Persie pulled Everton’s defence apart with his now customary movement.
There was none of the nervousness of last April, when United lost two goals against Everton in the final seven minutes to blow victory, and with it the league title.
Instead, the reward for Ferguson’s audacity is a healthy lead in the Premier League and an opportunity to rest players later in the season should United remain in contention on three fronts.
“I was going to make about seven changes but when I got the result, I felt this was a more important game for us because it could give us a comfortable lead,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.
“We can make changes later on in the season. It is realistic; we knew that if we got a good result today then we’d be in a positive position. We have got to win our games anyway, so it didn’t matter what happened to City on Saturday. That’s the way we should look at it and I’ve been saying that for week. If we concentrate on our own game then we’ll be okay.”
Meanwhile, Madrid hammered Sevilla 4-1 at the Bernabéu on Saturday, with former Red Cristiano Ronaldo claiming yet another Real hat-trick – his 36th, 37th, and 38th goals of storming campaign.
Ronaldo’s second, a long-range left-footed drive after a dribble that took out three Sevilla defenders, will remind United’s supporters, if any is required, of just how much damage the Portuguese forward can inflict. Ferguson may well deploy Jones to nullify Ronaldo’s threat; in this mood there is little anybody can do.
In keeping with Ferguson, Real manager José Mourinho picked a strong side to face Unai Emery’s struggling outfit. Ronaldo started the fixture alongside Gonzalo Higuian, Karim Benzema and Káká in a multi-talented attacking unit.
Not that Mourinho has a league title to concern him, with Real now 16 points behind Barcelona in La Liga. Defeat to Granada last weekend, in which Ronaldo scored the first own goal of his career, sealed Madrid’s fate if any doubt remained in an increasingly one-sided Spanish title race.
Indeed, it is Europe that offers the Portuguese coach his best chance of salvation this season, with Real facing Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey semi-final second leg later this month having drawn the opening game 1-1 at Bernabéu.
Little wonder Mournho is relishing the United tie, with the 50-year-old seeking to eclipse his old friend Ferguson in claiming a third Champions League crown.
“It is the match the world is waiting for,” Mourinho told MUTV with the coach’s customary flamboyance.
“People think we are under pressure because a big team will be out. But it is the kind of match we want and the people are not waiting for any other game. I hope we give them what they want.”
The two managers met at Old Trafford after the Reds completed victory over Everton, with Mourinho in Manchester to scout United ahead of next week’s Champions League tie.
“I feel privileged about [the meeting] because he is such an important person in the world of football and, more importantly, he is good person.
“I have always had a fantastic relationship with him and I am proud of it. We have had so many matches between us which started with Porto. We had some with Chelsea, Inter and now Real. Of course, I want to win and he wants to win, but I believe the loser will have a little bit of space to feel a little bit happy because of the friendship.”
The advantage lies with Real, of course, and not just because of the extra rest. Los Merengues haven’t lost at home in more than 30 matches. It is a statistic that places United’s task in context, 24 hours additional rest or otherwise.
Ferguson may regret deploying so many of his stars against Everton if a jaded team suffers defeat at Bernabéu, but with the title now within reach few supporters will concur.
“When you shake hands with the devil you have to pay the price,” Ferguson once said of English football’s deal with Sky.
But it is the hell of City’s title triumph that fans, and Ferguson it seems, recalled with sharp focus on Sunday.
Three days ahead of Manchester United’s trip to face Real Madrid in Spain, supporters might be forgiven for having one eye on the Champions League Round of 16 clash next Wednesday. After all, this is a match between two of Europe’s most storied institutions, and a first meeting in almost a decade. Sir Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho; Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney – a selection of the world’s finest managerial and playing talent that is certain to capture global attention.
United’s players, however, can ill afford to look beyond Sunday. Not least with United fighting to regain the Premier League title from neighbours Manchester City, whose defeat to Southampton on Saturday proffers the Reds an opportunity to open up a 12 point lead.
Yet, with Everton at Old Trafford this weekend, and memories of last season’s capitulation against the Merseysiders still fresh, it is far from clear which is the biggest game of the week ahead.
United’s 4-4 draw with Everton on 22 April last season, after holding a two-goal lead with just seven minutes to spare, eventually contributed heavily to a Premier League title secured by Roberto Mancini’s City. Together with Everton’s 1-0 victory over United at Goodison Park on the opening day of the season, there is plenty of reason for concern at Old Trafford over the fixture.
Still, the expediency of two difficult matches inside a few days means that Ferguson is likely to stretch his playing resources against Everton on Sunday, with the United manager insisting that he will trust his full squad over the brace of matches. Given the demands of the European élite, it may the be the tie with Everton where Ferguson delves deepest into his squad.
“It will be different teams,” admitted the United manager on Friday.
“The team on Sunday will not be the same as the team that plays on Wednesday. I trust the squad of players I have. They are all internationals, they are all good players and there is no reason why I can’t play them. They’re all contributing in their own way and that gives us a better chance of dealing with the various competitions we’re in.
“The team is playing well, I’m pleased with their form and I’m pleased that the players we’re changing around, when I’m making different team selections, are buying into it well.”
Ferguson at least has a fully fit squad from which to pick, with only shingles-suffering Phil Jones out of contention, while Ashley Young should return to the match-day party following injury.
Javier Hernández returned late from international duty with Mexico, but there are few other fitness concerns ahead of Everton’s arrival in Manchester. Paul Scholes may only feature against Madrid with the veteran suffering from a minor knee complaint.
“So far everyone has come back fit from their excursions into the rest of the world,” said Sir Alex.
“The only one we’re waiting on is Chicharito. I’ve not had anything back that says he’s not fit so I expect everyone to be fit from their games.
“On our own front, Ashley Young is fit again, Michael Carrick should be okay and Phil Jones will hopefully be okay, irrespective of Stuart Pearce coming out and declaring he had shingles – which we thought was doctor confidence. We’re disappointed in that, but it’s not anything serious for the boy. It’s a mild condition that has surfaced but he should be okay.”
Ferguson faces a number of tough selection choices, particularly in central defence and midfield, where the balance is likely to determine success or failure over two pivotal matches. The Scot may well play just one of Nemanja Vidić and Rio Ferdinand in each of the ties, with the more sprightly Jonny Evans in outstanding form recently.
Meanwhile, Chris Smalling could feature against Everton to counter the Merseysiders aerial threat which proved so effective at Goodison Park, even if star midfielder Marouane Fellaini is struggling with a hip injury that caused the international to miss Belgium’s fixture in midweek.
Yet, it is to last season’s dramatic title-losing draw with the Toffees that many minds will turn – a significant and traumatic day in United’s recent history.
“We were 4-2 up with seven or eight minutes to go,” recalled Ferguson
“It was unexpected and we have to anticipate the unexpected in the run-in. That was a bad blow for us and it cost us the league. Everton are very experienced and, if you look at their record, they’ve only lost three games this season. They’re obviously hard to beat.”
Meanwhile, Everton will leave a decision over Fellaini until the last moment, while Phil Jagielka looks set to play in defence after recovering from a knock. Tony Hibbert and Seamus Coleman miss out again with injury.
David Moyes side arrives having secured a hard-fought draw with Aston Villa last weekend amid a run of seven games without defeat. Indeed, Moyes outfit has lost just once in the past 15 matches. Evidence enough of the challenge facing United this weekend.
When Everton scored twice so late at Old Trafford last season Moyes’ side because just the third side during the Premier League era to avoid defeat to United having been two goals adrift – a measure both of United’s failure on the day, and Everton’s late brilliance.
“You have to try to have a go at Manchester United,” said Moyes on Friday. “I don’t think you can sit back and allow them to dictate the game.
“At times they will be in possession and will get control of the match, and at those times you have to try and see it out. But whenever we can, we will try to make it as awkward as we can for them.”
Yet, Everton hasn’t beaten Ferguson’s side at Old Trafford since August 1992 – the season in which the Scot captured his first league title as United manager.
In fact history augers well for United despite two poor results against Everton in succession – the Reds have won 15 of the past 20 Premier League home games against Everton, with four matches drawn.
Fans will take an extension of that fine record in a match that is far more than a warm-up for a bigger event ahead, even if it takes on a different context with Real to come next week.
Manchester United v Everton – Premier League, Old Trafford – 4pm, 10 February 2013
United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Smalling, Vidić, Evans, Evra; Nani, Cleverley, Carrick, Giggs; Welbeck, Rooney. Subs from: Lindegaard, Rafael, Ferdinand, Büttner, Scholes, Anderson, Valencia, Kagawa, van Persie, Hernández.
Everton (4-5-1): Howard; Heitinga, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Mirallas, Gibson, Neville, Pienaar; Fellaini; Jelavic. Subs from: Mucha, Duffy, Osman, Oviedo, Hitzlsperger, Naismith, Anichebe.
Referee: Mark Halsey
Assistants: R Ganfield, A Garratt
Fourth official: A Marriner
Head to Head
Last 10: United 4, Everton 2, Draw 4
Overall: United 80, Everton 63, Draw 42
- Wayne Rooney’s recent scoring patch is underlined by some solid statistics, including a shot accuracy rate of 69.9 per cent from 56 attempts this season;
- Meanwhile, strike partner Robin van Persie has registering a goal or assist once every 80.8 minutes this season, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index;
- Michael Carrick has performed well in both defence and attack this season, leading the squad for passes completed in the opponent’s half with 755 while making 50 interceptions;
- Tom Cleverley’s all-round game has improved this season – the midfielder boasts the best tackle success rate in the United squad with 74.2 per cent from 31 attempts;
- Marouane Fellaini’s two goals versus Aston Villa last weekend secured Everton a 3-3 draw, but the midfielder has also attempted 80 tackles this season;
- Leighton Baines ranks second in the Index for crosses provided with 99;
- Midfielder Steven Pienaar has completed 701 passes in the opponent’s half this season, more than any other Everton player;
- Phil Jagielka’s tackle success rate of 87.7 per cent from 57 challenges is the best of any central defender in the Premier League.
“They don’t like it up ’em!,” Lance-Corporal Jack Jones of 1970s BBC sitcom Dad’s Army fame so often declared. Yet, it wasn’t Jerry, sent packing back to Berlin after invading the home counties, but Manchester United – 19 times champion of England – that was cowed at Goodison Park on Monday night. New season, same old story, as Everton bullied Sir Alex Ferguson’s team into submission.
It was oh-so-familar. Defensive injuries, a midfield over-run by a physically superior opponent, and a lack of penetration in attacking areas. Such was the pattern of United’s performance in defeat on Merseyside that many supporters were prone to recall the Reds’ collapse at the back-end of last season. Deja vu? Not half.
Yet, for all the trauma of defeat, this is, as the Lance-Corporal might add, no time for panic; a single game into the bright new season, there is much more to come from United. Certainly, Ferguson wasn’t helped by a glut of defensive injuries that robbed his side of four first team centre-backs in Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. The quartet’s return – any of them – cannot come soon enough.
Yet, for all the injuries that have enveloped the Scot’s squad in recent months, perhaps even years, United’s problems against Everton ran far deeper. Michael Carrick’s turn at centre-back was a mitigated disaster. After all, despite Carrick’s defensive nous the 30-year-old midfielder was too easily beaten for poor position in and around United’s penalty area. That is to say little of Marouanne Fellaini’s ability to single Carrick out for a through going over in the air.
It was little surprise when the Belgian outjumped his marker to score Everton’s winning goal on 57 minutes.
But if Carrick’s relative struggles in defence proved to be United’s undoing at a set piece, the player’s absence from midfield was even more keenly felt. Despite his many critics, Carrick’s ability to screen defensively, while recycling possession, is central to what control United exerts in midfield. Without the Geordie, Paul Scholes and Tom Cleverley offered little protection to a back four that contained two midfielders.
In that there is also familiarity. Injuries, and the positional juggling that accompanies them, disrupts United’s rhythm. More often than not in midfield. Yet, while more than £40 million was invested in Ferguson’s squad this summer – a not inconsiderable sum by Glazernomic standards – none of it brought in a central midfielder to complement the plethora of injury-prone players already at the manager’s disposal.
Indeed, while Scholes and Cleverley put up impressive numbers on the night, helping United to secure around 70 per cent of possession away from home, neither was able to provide a platform for United’s attacking players to turn territory into chances, and opportunities into goals.
More worryingly still – and not for the first time in recent years – Ferguson’s team found itself bullied by a physically superior opponent. Marouane Fellaini’s brilliance was complimented by non-stop running from former Reds Phil Neville and Darron Gibson in midfield, and a superbly organised back-four.
Further forward, Ferguson can only worry about the fitness, form and – frankly – interest of star striker Wayne Rooney, who had ‘one of those games’ at Goodison Park. The £27 million striker’s performance was mirrored in its mediocrity only by Nani, who is unique among elite players in his ability drop to abject lows with such alarming frequency.
None of this is new to supporters. Been there, seen it, got the very well-worn and washed t-shirt. No surprise either that Ferguson used his post-match media duties to deflect attention away from United’s deficiencies, and on to Everton’s direct approach to the game.
“I have no criticism of my team tonight, they applied themselves well,” Ferguson told MUTV.
“They got their shots on target and our goalkeeper did very well. We had a couple of moments. I thought maybe Danny Welbeck was pushed as he went into the box. That was a big moment and Tom Cleverley had his shot blocked by Phil Jagielka on the line in the second half. We played really good football at times.
“Fellaini is a handful. He’s a big, tall, gangly lad and they just lumped the ball towards him all the time. That’s all they did and they worked it from that base. But he got the goal for them so it’s justified.”
Yet, there were positives despite United suffering opening day defeat for the first time since 2004. While Cleverley maintained his normal up-beat pass-and-move style, Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa impressed with a range of passing and movement in the hole behind Rooney. Both auger well for the remainder of the season.
Kagawa in particular had fans intrigued; a player of the type Ferguson has never signed previously, deployed in the central position – floating between midfield and attack – that brought so much joy for Borussia Dortmund in the past two years. Any more of this and Kagawa’s £17 million fee will be the very definition of value.
Then there was Robin van Persie, who made a low-key debut as a late second-half substitute, but will surely contribute far more over the next nine months.
And it is the role of Ferguson’s new signings that fascinates most, with the 70-year-old manager needing to crowbar Rooney, Kagawa and van Persie into the side, while multiple attacking options compete for what might be just a single remaining place in the side.
In this there remains a problem – how to balance plentiful flair, with the need to exert some control in midfield. At Goodison United failed to square that circle, despite enjoying so much possession. But while ball retention may be nine-tenths of the law, United so rarely looked like troubling old-boy Tim Howard in Everton’s goal on Monday night.
The question now is both how Ferguson finds the right balance, but perhaps more importantly, how he compromises United’s better players the least. It may be no time to panic, but the after just one game of the new season old failings ring some highly audible alarm bells. Particularly through midfield.
A comfortable win over Fulham at Old Trafford next Saturday will go some way to dampening the chorus, but it is unlikely to be the last time this debate is aired over the season.
|
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Main character Boubouille, level 79 Hunter -- no kidding; also, a level 80 DK that I don't really play
15 Minutes of Fame: How did you get started at MMO-Champion, Boubouille? What gave you the idea to create such a massive project, and what was your original goal?
Boubouille: The site launched in March 2007. I started writing guides for World of Warcraft a few months earlier and tried to sell them a few times but didn't really like the idea of making people pay just for some game info. After a few weeks, I decided to send my guides to a magazine, and they asked if I would be interested in writing for them. I declined because the project was way too big and I didn't have enough time to do it at that time. I decided to start a small guide/news site instead to see how it goes.
The original goal was to build some experience and eventually find a job in the gaming industry. I even applied as a game master for Blizzard, before launching the site.
How many visitors does MMO-Champion get today in a typical month?
I can't really give you exact numbers. Let's just say that we're talking about millions.
Do you have any assistants or staff?
There are about 15 moderators on the forums who try to keep things nice and clean there. I'll probably recruit a lot more very soon. I have a few developers who occasionally work for me for secondary features like the blue post tracker, and there are also two developers working on game file parsing to help with the patch datamining. I'm the only full-time employee of the site, and I'm the only one posting and updating news on front page. (This might change in the near future, as well. )
How have things evolved over time?
MMO-Champion hasn't changed that much. I'd say that the biggest change is the amount of information I post every time a new patch is released and how I get it. Data mining isn't as automated as most people would think, but it's really much faster and reliable than it was a year ago.
In the end, I'd say that the most important evolution is from Blizzard's community managers and developers, who communicate a lot more on upcoming changes and internal testing.
We know you live in France. Are you French yourself? How old are you? Is MMO-Champion your primary occupation?
Yup, 100% French. I'm 21, and MMO-Champion became my primary occupation a few months after its creation. I'm now a full-time employee for Major League Gaming (the company that now owns MMO-Champion).
Describe a typical workday at MMO-Champion.
Hmm ... I don't think I can explain that without looking crazy. When a patch is on test realms, there are a few things I have to keep in mind. Patches can be released as early as 6:00 p.m. (CET) and as late as 7:00 a.m. The European CMs can post patch note update between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and people can first-kill bosses or discover very important stuff in all time zones.
I never sleep for more than three or four hours in a row -- it's not that bad when you're used to it -- and just try to be here when something happens. But it's not always that bad. When nothing important happens, I can just sleep for 10 hours, wake up, spend an hour or two checking the blue posts and writing a news, post it, and do whatever I want for the rest of the day. But that didn't happen a lot in 2008 or 2009, and I usually use this free time to work on new features for the site.
So you work seven days a week?
Yes, especially now that Blizzard posters are also active during the weekend. First kills can happen seven days a week. Even on Sunday, I still have to work on news for the day after. It usually takes slightly more time than during the week, because it's harder to fill a home page when there isn't any official post to report.
You work hard to be first with breaking news. How do you do it?
Lack of sleep, caffeine and I sleep next to my laptop. There are a few tricks to be first on news posts, but in the end it's all about luck. Having a huge site also helps with that, because people will sometimes mail me or PM me on the forums if they spot something important.
Being first doesn't really matter, anyway. Most of the news sites post the important announcements within the same hour now.
You're well know for digging through game files and databases to learn about new items and information. How does that work?
It depends on what you want to discover. Spells, reagents and achievement changes are discovered by parsing the files included with the patch. That doesn't take more than an hour or two once you're used to it.
Items are a bigger problem, because they aren't activated on servers until someone actually drops them. You have to scan for countless hours to try to see if something new has appeared since the last time you checked.
Parsing the patch files doesn't require any tool, just a little knowledge of how the game works and a few coding skills. Checking for new items is just done by querying item IDs and checking if the items are active or not. A lot of public addons can do that, and you don't really need any private tool.
What are your favorite WoW web sites?
WoW Insider, of course! ^^ Actually, I like how you guys manage to post tons of articles each day. As a non-English native, I'm always impressed by people who can write big walls of text about pretty much everything, because that's definitely something I can't do.
I also read Elitist Jerks and a few other sites occasionally -- but to be honest, I don't really check other web sites very often. It doesn't mean I don't keep an eye on competition or that I pretend that they don't exist. My job isn't that hard to do when you get everything figured out, and anyone can kick my ass at any moment. But don't worry: I have a good relationship with most of the news sites managers.
What about Boubouille as a WoW player?
I leveled a Warrior during the U.S. open beta and started playing on live servers in February 2005, when the game was released in Europe. I was very pessimistic about the game before playing it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was much better than all the other MMO games available at the moment.
Do you play anything besides World of Warcraft?
I think I started playing online with Action Quake 2 and jumped from FPS to FPS for a few years (early beta versions of Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, Quake 3 Fortress, etc.) I started playing MMORPGs with The 4th Coming and moved to Dark Age of Camelot and EVE Online for a few years.
(Right now, I'm playing) Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Unreal Tournament 3, and I wish I had the time to try more MMO games. Oh, and just like everyone on Earth, I bought a Wii and Guitar Hero 3 but stopped playing it after a few hours when I realized how much I sucked at it.
So when do you still have time to play?
I don't really play WoW anymore. Every time I tried to play again, I ended up slacking on web site updates because I was spending way too much time in game. I used to raid five hours a day before TBC, but it's definitely not something I can do anymore.
I'm pretty sure I would end up going crazy if I spent most of my free time playing WoW. When you have spent the last 10 hours working on test realms, running clients on multiple computers, and going through the same changes again and again, you really need to do something else if you don't want to get bored with your job after a few weeks.
So yeah, basically, the guy behind one of the biggest WoW news sites doesn't play the game anymore. I know that a lot of people working on gaming sites are in the same situation but don't really want to talk about it, because they're scared of losing their credibility. I don't think it's really important, as long you don't say anything stupid. I actually linked my Armory profile a few times on the front page.
Spoilers are also a problem, I think. When a new patch or dungeon is released, I usually spend hundreds of hours going through the zones, boss spells, boss models, new items, etc. ... I'm not really excited about it anymore when it hits the live servers. I didn't even level my Hunter to level 80 on the live servers, because I had already seen everything I wanted to see on beta servers. (To give you a rough idea, my screenshot folder for the Patch 3.1 PTRs has 3,344 screenshots, and the directory I use to archive all the images I post on the site has 2,310 files.)
We heard you sold MMO-Champion. Is that true? If so, how did that change the site and/or what you do?
100% true. That was almost two years ago now. MMO-Champion's popularity was unexpected, and the site reached a point where I couldn't manage it anymore. It was my first site, and I didn't have the knowledge or the financial resources to support such a big project. That's why I decided to sell.
I sold to Major League Gaming, and I'm now working for them as the manager of the web site. I'm very happy with this decision, because it made my life considerably easier. Nothing really changed on the site. Every now and then, you will see me going crazy about a MLG tournament or something like that, but basically, I'm free to do whatever I want on the site as long as it's not totally stupid.
Where is MMO-Champion headed today? Will the site remain focused on World of Warcraft, or will it grow to include other MMOs?
The original plan was to include other MMOs, but I didn't expect the WoW part of the site to be so popular. It takes all my time now, and I don't think you will see any other MMO covered on MMO-Champion.
I really want to talk about a few other games like EVE Online or Diablo 3 -- but it won't be on MMO-Champion, and I won't do it until I have the time to do something nice with each site. I don't really want to use MMO-Champion's popularity to launch tons of new sites and just report official posts for every MMOs out there without any further research.
There are still a lot of things I want to do with MMO-Champ. You might see some of them in the next few weeks or months, but I can't really give any details on that yet. Let's just say that I'm definitely not done with WoW for the moment.
There are also a few things on the work at Major League Gaming. We launched a new Ventrilo hosting service called MLGVoice, and the WoW tournaments of the PC Circuit 2009 will start in June.
And what about you? Are you working day by day on MMO-Champion, or are you looking forward to new projects and plans?
The site totally killed my social life over the last two years. Most of the people I know tell me to "get a real job," because video games and internet are definitely not serious businesses. I live during the night most of the year, and I still love this job. ^^
I will probably try to change a few things and start recruiting people to let me do a few things I can't do right now, like attending major events and spending more time creating other projects. I don't think WoW will die anytime soon -- and hopefully I'll be here for a very long time, too.
"I never thought of playing WoW like that!" -- neither did we, until we talked with these players
. We go behind the scenes with WoW players, from an Oscar-winning 3-D effects director to the custom action figure hobbyist, on 15 Minutes of Fame
|
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I don't know exactly what you mean. I have missed a lot of opportunities in life.
I had a couple sure things going with with women and I managed to screw them up.
omg..that is an easy one..never finishing my degree, and now i am too old to finish it, and i am in a low paid job as a consequence, and pitifully poor(but ok!)
this has never happened to me. also, what are feelings like?
Anytime I avoided death. Death seems like such a welcome release from all the stress and pain of daily life.
i never missed an opportunity each one that came along i always achieved !
What would you know about "missed opprotunities"? You're a pup. And I'm a terrible speller.
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Of recent I’ve come to the conclusion that the one defining characteristic that is so fulfilling about using appropriately designed tools is that they become an extension of the user themselves, be it their body, their hands, or indeed their mind. Apples more recent device is a case in point, the iPad reduces the user interface to the extent that one feels as if they are actually ‘holding’ a webpage or application – and to all extents and purposes they are. However if one was to take this notion to the next logical level surely we would find that for many circumstances the ultimate interface would be no interface at all, and in turn the minimal physical interaction necessary, excepting neural and thought based interfaces, would be a simple and discrete gesture.
However many of the gestural interface implementations we have seen recently are concerned with how we as users might interact with a digital reality or unreality as the case may be. Projects such as Microsoft’s Natal demonstrate how a Natural User Interface (NUI) may be used to enhance our gaming environments by using our own bodies and actions as the proverbial input device in order to control a corresponding digital self or avatar.
In a recent re-reading of Don Normans excellent book the ‘Design of Everyday Things’ I was prompted to consider the real-world scenarios whereby a gesture based system would be advantageous in interacting with physical objects.
What implications would such changes have on our lives?
Many of the interactions which strike me initially would be scenarios where one is somewhat reticent to touch a shared surface, however by affording the modification of such behaviors would we be facilitating the creation of a generation physically averse to many everyday interactions which we as humans currently take for granted?
As our interactions with objects head in a direction visibly reminiscent of something approaching telekinesis how will this affect the way in which our everyday artifacts function and in what ways will designers harness gestures to influence behavior.
Which interactions or physical devices do we encounter on a daily basis which might benefit from such an interface?
An obvious choice surely? Maybe not. Many public facing doors in buildings are already using motion sensors to detect a person as they approach. Would they benefit by requiring a directive gesture to open? Probably not, although many of us would be familiar with two scenarios in which such solutions fall short.
a) The first we’ll call ‘Playing Chicken’ – When one walks towards an ‘Automatic Door’ with the intention of entering the building, yet the doors fail to open with sufficient time, forcing the individual to either break stride or stop, face the glass and wait patiently for the doors to acknowledge their presence.
b) ‘Getting Smart’ – when the flow of people using an automatic door is out of step with the sensors timing. Causing awkward uncertainty and nervous approaches by those who wish to enter, daunted by the prospect of getting sandwiched between the unforgiving glass panes.
The name of which is my tribute to an old spy TV show Get Smart in which the character confidently faced the prospect of simliar door malfunction.
However if a simple hand gesture were required would people feel socially awkward ‘waving’ to an inanimate object, or would it only be a matter of getting used to this slight change in behavior. For instance only 15 years ago a person may have avoided the prospect of having a full-blown conversation in a public space over a mobile device, yet nowadays many feel obliged to do just that not only by necessity but mostly by choice. Social conventions regularly accommodate technological advances with a unforeseen pace.
Use of a gestural command to lift and close a toilet seat would be of great benefit hygienically speaking, particularly in public spaces where one would be much less inclined to touch a toilet lid. When I researched this idea a little further it transpires that some other designers have had ideas along similar lines.
TV & Audio Systems
Use of a hand wave to change channels would initially seem useful, yet imagine a scenario where there are several people watching TV who might have differing opinions on what exactly to watch. Moving a simple single-user interface such as a remote control into a to multi-user scenario may unnecessarily complicate an otherwise straight-forward situation.
Imagine your next home audio system being able to recognise your gestures such as snapping your fingers to switch it on, a wave of your right hand to play and raising ones hand to raise the volume correspondingly. Would we want for such a thing or a would it be more a hindrance than a help.
I also remember thinking that taps would also benefit from having a non-touch interface. Again we are already familiar with motion activated taps but what about one where we facilitate greater control, allowing a user to turn it on/off, modify the flow and adjust the hot/cold streams – this could be achieved through use of gestures. Until this morning I had forgotten my thoughts on such interactions, that is until I received a message from Jasper Dekker, a product designer with Flankworks in The Netherlands who for his graduation project designed a tap which is controlled via spatial interaction.
You can view a demo of this tap in action below. There is also a more polished conceptual demonstration available here but the initial prototype spoke to me more, for some reason.
Neat huh? Seeing this prototype in action, it again struck me that the potential for gestural interfaces is vast and, if you excuse the pun – untapped, and we have only seen the beginnings of the impact such a subtle, virtually invisible technology can and will have on our daily lives.
As children we watched movies such as Star Wars where Jedi characters used their innate ability to manipulate objects at will, such behavior seemed magical at the time. However as man-machine interfaces continue to advance and their applications broaden, our interactions with the world and the objects within will accordingly becomes less intrusive and more natural.
Where else can you see gestural interfaces adding value in our day to day life?
Filed under Industrial Design Innovation Interaction Design User Experience User Interface Design
Tagged with Anthropology Concept design gesture Industrial Design Interaction Design Interface Natural physical Product Design User Experience
On Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 1:01 am 2 Comments »
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It's that bad.
In fairness, Phyllis loathes old movies. Oscars awarded before 1970 should be treated like Mark McGwire's home run record: with an asterisk alongside each title alerting the viewer to potentially fraudulent character. That said, we had high hopes for Some Like It Hot, partially because everyone and their mother have figuratively fellated Jack Lemmon and director Billy Wilder in virtually every public forum since their respective deaths in the early 21st century.
While Wilder shrewdly went into semiretirement in the 1980s, the vastly overrated Lemmon acted himself into the grave. Which brings us, tangentially, to Glengarry Glen Ross. Forget how much better Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino and Ed Harris are than Lemmon in this macho David Mamet adaptation. What's truly revealing of Lemmon's inflated status is how thoroughly Alan Arkin blows him off the screen in every scene.
With only nine years separating them, Arkin and Lemmon share a generation. And yet the multidimensional Arkin kept (and keeps) getting better at his profession, while Lemmon remained a one-note overactor until the day he keeled over. Phyllis can only hope that when Arkin dies, people will realize how much better he was than Jack the Hack.
Each week the author treks to the Schlafly branch of the St. Louis Public Library, where a staff member blindfolds him and escorts him to the movie shelves. After selecting a film at random, Seely checks it out and reviews it.
Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Nothing compares to the sound of a V8 horsepower engine, the smell of burnt rubber, the shine of a polished chrome fender, or the art of a custom designed vehicle. At least not for car aficionados like David Ooten, JC Covert, and Brian Gill, who on Saturday, Aug. 11, will bring Oakely its first car show. “WHEELS Bike, Car, and Truck Show” will be held the Crossroads ANNEX, showcasing all makes, models, and years of motorcycles, cars, and trucks. Door prizes, including dash plaques to the first 50, and over 25 awards will be given to selected entries.
“It’s just going to be this huge event,” said Brian Gill, car show organizer. “I cannot wait.”
The creator of the event, JC Covert, developed the plan for the show as part of his final project as a member of Starfire U. Wanting the event to be more than a car show, but a place for people to be entertained, WHEELS will feature live music, food, ice cream, and a cartoonist on site to draw enthusiasts beside their favorite bike, car, or truck.
“Come and enjoy the beauty of the automobile, the comradery of car people, and the plain old fun,” said David Ooten, car show organizer. “We’re really grateful to Crossroads for supporting this show. We expect a good mix of hot rod, customs, late models, trucks, and motorcycles.”
Where: 3450 Madison Rd, Oakley, OH 45227 Crossroads Annex Parking Lot
When: August 11th, Registration 9am-noon, Awards at 3:00p
Cost: $10 Registration Fee
Find out more about the WHEELS Bikes, Cars, and Truck Show . Media can contact the event organizers directly at 513-313-4148 or 513-720-2442
Watch Youtube Video on JC and his Starfire U Project here:
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Attractive and original Apartment - AUTUNNO (53)
Maksimum Konuk Sayısı6
- Aile / Çocuk dostu
- İnternet/Kablosuz ağ
|Adres||świętego Filipa, 30-001 Krakow, Polonya|
|Response time||A few hours|
|Calendar updated||2 days ago|
The comfortable and exceptionally wide beds will help you to relax after the most exhausting day. The elegant and functional kitchen provides you with a high standard of dining, and the cosy bathroom with a shower and water massage panel will sooth your senses. The kitchen has an exit to a cosy, flowery balcony, with a breathtaking view of Cracow.
Two independent double rooms ensure privacy and discretion. This is an excellent choice both for couples and groups of friends travelling together.
We offer our guests:
ART DECO ROOM – equipped with exceptionally beautiful, decorated Art Deco furniture, rarely found these days in such excellent condition. A characteristic fan-shaped motif on the bed headboard and the sides of night tables, marble tops, and the beautiful 3 door wardrobe perfectly complement the interior design. A genuine Italian arras and a crystal chandelier add special character to this room. Soft wall colours are balanced by chocolate brown furniture.
LOUIS XVI ROOM – designed in a very stylish way, it combines all that this style represents: top quality dark-chocolate wood with a delicate grain arrangement, convex contours of the furniture tops, characteristic decorative details, marble tops and brass ornaments in bed headboards, 3-door wardrobe, chests of drawers and a dressing table. A genuine Italian arras, crystal chandelier, soft colours on walls and a well preserved 19th century parquet floor complement this grand old style. These interiors are for real connoisseurs.
Electric cooker, Refrigerator, Electric kettle, Iron, Crockery and Cutlery, Coffee
Shower, WC, Washbasin, Hair dryer, Soap, Towels
Single bed: 2
Double bed: 1
|> 2 misafir için ücret||TRY 43 misafir başına/ekstra gece|
|Check-in Saati (Sonrası)||14:00|
|Check-out Saati (Öncesi)||12:00|
L'hôte ne s'est pas donné la peine de répondre à nos messages.
Mobilier en bout de course pour le canapé et les chaises.
Leider war die Wohnung nicht so sauber, wie wir es uns gewünscht hätten, insbesondere die Küchenschränke zeigten starke Verschmutzungen. Die Ausstattung war nicht so wie angegeben.Kaffeemaschine und Föhn waren nicht vorhanden.Der Telefonkontakt,weder auf Deutscher moch auf Polnischer Seite, waren erreichbar.
Die Betten waren arg abgenutzt, die Matratzen durchgelegen, die Decken und Kissen bestanden aus Einmalmaterial, wie es in Krankenhäusern verwendet wird.
Ich rate von der Buchung dieser Wohnung ab, dafür ist sie einfach zu teuer.
kurze entfernung zur altstadt, angenehme räume mit historischem flair, kl. balkon mit blick über die Vorstadtdächer, tägliches Markttreiben gleich um die Ecke, soweit alles prima, allerdings schwierige beleuchtungsverhältnisse ( extrem dunkle energiesparlampen, nur 1nachttischlampe für 4 betten), 1 doppelbett besteht aus 2 einzelbetten, die letztlich mit abstand stehen bleiben und einen sehr breiten ritz aufweisen. 1 bett ist etwas defekt...
The apartment was clean and everything was working well, is really nice and it's just few meters from the main square so it was very easy to get everywhere. We enjoyed the stay. Thanks for all, totally recommend it!. Great host, quick responses during booking etc, made arrangements for key, air port transfer and check out
good, clean apartment, everything was working. very well located, only a couple of minutes' walk from the market square. only two points: the apartment did not correspond to the announcement (the pictures shown in the announcement refer to another apartment) and the second night there was a party going on in a neighbouring flat, people were really extremely loud until 3 am, shouting like crazy
Great apartment with an unbeatable view of the main square and despite activity outside quiet and relaxed inside.
One negative booked apartment transfer did not show up at the airport, but a taxi for about the same price sorted that and in future would use the integrated train link much cheaper, quicker and more convenient to get to the office to pick up the keys.
The description of this apartment did not match at all to reality.
The description says 4 bedrooms, big living room and also 2 balconies.
There was only 3 bedrooms and 1 balconies.
There was also only one tabel and six chairs in the kitchen. And I have asked Martin especially if there was space and Equipment for 12 people in the kitchen..
The coffe maker did not work okey. One toilet leaked quite a lot.
It would have been good if someone from Wimdu had met us at the apartment and shown us the apartment. Instead we had to get key from office and then make a mumbers of call to fix all trouble.
Thank you very much for your patience.
The attic was fantastic and in a very good situation, very near the center, and it is lovely.
- Kalite güvenceli konaklama
- Her ev sahibi telefonla doğrulanmıştır
- SSL şifrelemesi ile güvenli ödeme
|
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I recently ordered the death certificate of Samuel Pig[g]ot from St. Clair County, Michigan; or, what I thought was going to be the death certificate of Samuel Piggot, silversmith. I am trying to get all my ducks in a row and make sure my Piggot family is documentally sound.
I learned absolutely nothing from this certificate other than he died of old age. The genealogist in me went "grrr!" There are no parents names, or burial information. The probable third great niece in me was very saddened to think that Samuel died alone with no family around him. The certificate says there was no informant, no one to fill in the blanks.
I couldn't understand why his death wasn't recorded until June 2, 1886, when he died October 31, 1885. All kinds of things went through my mind. Were they waiting for someone to claim the body? I was Googling like crazy trying to find an answer. Then I stumbled on to the FamilySearch Wiki about the Michigan Death Records.
It seems that from 1867 to 1897, Michigan counties were only canvased annually and recorded the deaths that took place the year preceding the first Monday in April. Death certificates weren't required until 1897.
I sure wish I would have checked out FamilySearch before I ordered it. I could have saved myself $10! They have the actual images of the Return of Deaths in the county of St. Clair.
I can't find any death records for Samuel's wife Euphemia. I'm afraid she fell between the cracks and is among the deaths that didn't get reported. I'm sure she died before he did. I can't imagine that he moved to Michigan from New York without her. He was last recorded in New York in the directory in 1892.
So basically all I got was a piece of paper that the current county clerk, transcribed from the record book.
Lesson learned: Google, google, and google some more before reaching into the pocket book!
|
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|
Difference between revisions of "Fountain Ledge"
(→Triple Jeopardy (31) *****)
|Line 241:||Line 241:|
=== '''Phantom Squeeze 25 R/X''' ===
=== '''Phantom Squeeze 25 R/X''' ===
Revision as of 10:10, 2 March 2014
- 1 Africa Edge 21
- 2 TATWOC 25
- 3 Arms Race Direct 25
- 4 La Vida 21
- 5 Sweet Dreams 22 and Wet Dream 22+
- 6 Roulette Arête 25, A2
- 7 The Squid and the Whale (31) (original line) *****
- 8 The Squid and the Whale (31) (direct)
- 9 The King Slayer (26/27?)
- 10 Triple Jeopardy (30/31) *****
- 11 The Last of the Mohawks (31/32) *****
- 12 Russian Roulette 31(?) R *****
- 13 Phantom Squeeze 25 R/X
- 14 Fountain Fandango 21
- 15 Fountain Reach-Up 21
Africa Edge 21
Start: Just before the India Venster trail turns the corner from Africa to Fountain ledge there is a left facing corner. The first pitch ascends the right edge on the clean arête.
Pitch 1 12m 16
Climb the arête to the top of the buttress.
Pitch 2 15m 20 or 22
Ahead is the next buttress.
Start on the right on blocks under the huge overhang. Climb up into the corner and rail right onto the arête and round it to easier ground and continue easily to the top; or rail back left and 1.5m above the lip of the overhang. Then step up onto the face and continue delicately to the top. A third variation is climb up to the higher rail 3m above the lip of the overhang and rail left to the white face and the climb to the top.
Pitches 3 to 5
Pitch 3 20m 21:
Step up on blocks to the rail on the right side of the arête and then do thin moves up to a good hold on the edge at about 4m. Place some pro including a half-in cam and an RP and a reasonably good rock 7 or 8 and then do a lie back move into an under cling to reach the next rail. Place protection on the left but swing round right on the arête to avoid the lichen covered rock on on the left. Attain the next rail, place high pro and again commit to the arête on the right edge to finish the pitch on exposed and airy moves. Stance on a good ledge.
Pitch 4 15m 20
Step round right and up onto the face on small holds to reach a thin rail. Continue up the arête to another large ledge.
Pitch 5 20m 22
Climb up to the obvious rail just right around from the main edge of the arête (see photo). Lay back up the right edge after placing a high micro-nut or RP and the step around to the right. Continue up a move and then back left into the crack and continue more easily to the bolted abseil point.
First ascent: January 2009
Pitches 3 to 5 Charles Edelstein and Tony Dick. Pitch 1 Robert Breyer and Charles Edelstein Pitch 2 Charles Edelstein
Start: The route is situated on Fountain Ledge and starts 20m below the start of Touch and Go. Scramble up from the path to the first proper rock face 20m below the steep overhanging break of Touch and Go. Walk right along the ledge for 10m to below a scooped undercut face just left of the Dassie Crawl. If you look up at 3m there is a thin under-cling slot that takes small Alien cams for pro. Taller dudes can place these cams by standing on blocks. Up left of the scooped face and left of a blunt arette at about 3.5m one can see a pillar box slot that invites gear placement and a hand hold.
Pitch 1 20m 23:
Step up onto the scooped face and tenuously – if you are short reach round to the pillar box slot. Place good small cams in the horizontal slot just to the left. Move up on thin holds to easier ground. Climb straight up to a ledge below the overhang. Lean back and see the fixed nut up and to the left.
Pitch 2 20m 23:
Move up to the higher, second rail above, and the traverse left 2m to below the fixed nut. Move up past the nut and then to easier ground that is a little run-out and scary but quite safe. Continue to the ledge Pitch 3 25m 21: Climb the grey face to a mantel onto a ledge. Climb straight up the left leaning crack to another ledge. Step right and up onto the undercut face and climb diagonally to the Touch and Go stance under the large overhang. Avoid drag with slings and climb through the Touch and Go roof to the right and step onto the face. Climb up slightly left for 3m and then stance on the Touch and Go stance.
Pitch 4 25m 25:
Start off the right edge of the Touch and Go Ledge step up to a good rail left of “Farewell to Arms” last pitch. Clip the fixed nut and test it if you dare and if it is still there. Climb to the rail under the overhang on thin crimps. Move left 4m to where the overhang peters out and climb up on brittle feeling flakes to the next rail. Rail back right to the fixed nut and pull onto the face above and continue straight up to the jumbo ledge. If the nut has been removed then pull onto the face level with the far left end of the Touch and Go ledge. (A more direct version shown in the photograph is in the offing but has yet to be freed at the time of writing.)
Descent: The abseil chains are 5m or so to the left and down 2m on the edge.
First ascent: 2008/9: Charles Edelstein,Tony Dick, Tini Versveld, Bruce Daniel, Adam Roff, Dave Vallet, Robert Breyer and Willem Le Roux were involved at various times. The acronym - Tired and Totally Wanked-ut Old Climbers - encompasses most of the participants who have an average age well in excess of 40 years of age!
First free ascent: Charles Edelstein 20 December 2008
Arms Race Direct 25
Skips the grade 18 scramble to the start of the real first pitch and instead extends the crux pitch by adding a hard, direct start. Below and slightly right of the grade 23 crux pitch is a leftward-trending, thin layback crack starting just above a small roof split by a vertical crack. Start 5m below this roof.
Pitch 1 20m 25:
Scramble up to the roof. Place a bomber wire just around the lip and some small gear a bit higher, then pull through and into the layback crack. Continue up and into the overhanging groove that forms the crux pitch of the original route.
Pitches 2 and 3:
Next two pitches the same as for the original Arms Race.
Douw Steyn and Willem le Roux, December 2010
La Vida 21
Start: The prominent feature of the Cobblestones Gendarme is the huge overhang and chamber beneath it. The left end of the huge overhang drops a plumbline to Fountain Ledge where La Vida starts up the clean arete.
Pitch 1 12m 18:
Use small vertical cracks slightly left of the arete to get established, then move onto the arete and head straight up to a ledge.
Scramble 10m to the right to a big clean ledge with two knee-high blocks on it. At this point you are looking up at a clean white wall just below and right of the chamber.
Pitch 2 17m 21:
Step off the larger block onto the wall and make cruxy lay aways to get to the horizontal crack that leads to the chamber. This is the "dassie ledge" used by Cobblestones. Head up and left on the steep headwall to reach a large ledge with a recess.
Pitch 3 10m 19:
From the back of the recess move up and left to get through the overhang using the first notch. French Connection continues left to use the second notch. Holy Mackerel heads up the large crack in the back of the recess. Once established on the face above head up directly to the next ledge to belay here. The section above leads to the top of a free-standing pillar which is avoided. Walk left around the corner and into the gap behind the pillar to belay on the big chockstone.
Pitch 4 8m 18:
Head up the clean arete on the left to a platform that is the top of the second free-standing pillar.
Pitch 5 30m 20:
Step across onto the face to gain the block on the left. Head up and left on the steep white wall. Move left below the expanding flakes to avoid them. Move up to gain the steep grey face. Head slightly right and up to the top of the wall. NOTE: The original ascent climbed the expanding flakes at grade 22. This variation is not recommended due the fact that gear and handholds are reliant on the creaking flakes.
Scramble to the top or traverse 100m left to the Magnetic Wall abseil station.
First ascent: Bruce Daniel and Hilton Davies March 2009
Sweet Dreams 22 and Wet Dream 22+
Start: The prominent feature of the Cobblestones Gendarme is the huge overhang and chamber beneath it. The left end of the huge overhang drops a plumbline to Fountain Ledge where La Vida (and Sweet Dreams) starts up the clean arete.
Pitch 1 12m 19:
Use small vertical cracks slightly left of the arete to get established, then move onto the arete and head straight up to a ledge. Cobblestone Chamber is up on the right
Pitch 2 17m 21:
Climb the short face above to a ledge and continue up the arete-which is under-protected - to a recess. (A grey Alien or equivalent Metolius master cam is critical placed in a slot on the right). The arete start can be avoided by walking left 3m and the climbing the under-clings up and right to reach the recess. Continue up to the jumbo ledge above at the base of "The Dream" and "Last Tango". Walk left 7m.
Pitch 3 10m 21:
Start as for Last Tango and do the crux. Continue up the easier ground diagonally left heading for the right facing corner. Traverse right at the base of the corner to do a lay back move into the deep recess at the end of "The Dream" first pitch. Move right by railing on the outside or dassie crawl to the stance at the start of the second pitch of "The Dream".
Pitch 4 30m 22 or 22+:
Climb the second pitch of "The Dream".
Or climb straight through the roof on REM and higher up pull through the overlap 2m left of the crux of the dream.
Pitch 5 20m 14 or 22X:
Move Left 3m and climb the easy arete (or climb directly up the unprotected face for 5m) to scrambling ground and stance on a ledge system that takes you to the abseil chains or to the top out pitch.
Pitch 6 20m 18:
Move 15m left on the ledge system under the overhang to an obvious break in the roof. Climb this starting with a strenuous cranking to easier ground and continue to the top; or traverse 60m left to the Magnetic Wall abseil station.
First ascent: Charles Edelstein and Robert Breyer 21 July 2010
Roulette Arête 25, A2
Start: At the extreme left end of Upper Fountain Ledge where one goes around the bulge to get to the start of Jacob's Ladder.
Pitch 1 20m 25:
Climb the middle of the Roulette wall heading directly up and into the overhanging peapod. On the first rail head out left then up to the Roulette platform to stance.
Pitch 2 10m A2:
Step up onto the ledge at the start of the Roulette overhanging crack and head up then out left on the very overhanging white wall. Use smallest cams for aiding until reaching the end of the seam. Place a no.4 cam then using micro nuts, RPs and bat hooks, struggle up onto the headwall to free climb up to a stance in the rail.
Pitch 3 35m 19:
Head directly up. The route follows the proudest bulge on chicken heads and edges. Place gear when available. Not much to be had.
First ascent: Hilton Davies and Guy Paterson-Jones 22 April 2012
The Squid and the Whale (31) (original line) *****
One of the harder routes on the Ledge.Sustained and a touch exciting.
Start: Start on the staircase ledge about 5 meters to the right of the arête between Jeopardy and Jacobs ladder.
Pitch 1 40m (31):
Scramble up the large layback seam for about 10 meters to a ledge. Climb up the centre of the overhanging face through a series of small roofs to the Roulette rail. Plenty of smallish cams are useful to protect this bottom section. Resisting the temptation to sit on the Roulette ledge, rail right 2 meters and gain the next rail using the vertical crack. From this position, pull straight through the next little roof via difficult moves to establish in some underclings. Climb past a peg and move diagonally left past the crux of Jeopardy to 2 more pegs and the Hook rail (the end of Jeopardy). Lace the rail with cams and climb the blunt arête. Pull straight through the next roof and exit out left onto jugs on the headwall.
Figure out a cunning way to get down and to retrieve your gear or join the final pitch of Roulette.
First ascent: J. Smith Feb 2013
The Squid and the Whale (31) (direct)
Climb the Squid and the Whale to the Roulette ledge. From here, rail right for a meter, pull through the roof and climb directly up the face just right of the main arete to join the original line at the hook rail.
First ascent: J. Smith Dec 2013
The King Slayer (26/27?)
As in Jamie the King Slayer, a television character. Committing but really fun moves up an amazing feature.
Start: as for The Squid and the Whale.
Pitch 1 25m? (26/27?):
Scramble up easy climbing to a ledge. Do a couple of moves of The Squid to the first rail which establishes you under the main arête of the Jeopardy wall. Place bomber gear then do a few boulder moves up the arête to the Roulette ledge. Tend slightly right of the arête for the last couple of moves. Might be harder and a little scary to onsight. To get off the ledge, climb up another route or join Jacobs Ladder and carefully scramble down (16ish).
First ascent: J. Smith Nov 2013
Triple Jeopardy (30/31) *****
Start: as for Roulette arete.
Pitch 1 40m? (31):
The obvious line straight up the centre of the Jeopardy wall. This route is a link up of the first pitch of Roulette Arête, the crux of The Squid and the Whale and the second half of Double Jeopardy. Follow the crack up the centre of the lower wall until it ends at the highest rail. Summon a modicum of strength to pull over the lip and establish on two underclings. Clip the peg to your right and continue straight up the wall till you bang your head on the roof at the top. Turn left and head for the sunset. Probably the easiest of the 31s on this wall.
First ascent: J. Smith Nov 2013
The Last of the Mohawks (31/32) *****
Start: As for The Squid and the Whale
Pitch 1 40m (31/32):
Scramble up to the ledge just left of the large blocks. Climb up the center of the overhanging face tending rightwards past the 2nd peg of Jeopardy and up to the Roulette rail. Pull through the Roulette rail crux and straight through the next roof to establish on the headwall. Climb straight up to the Hook rail. Pull through the small roof about a meter left of the Captain Hook corner and climb diagonally on underclings to join Double Jeopardy. Rail left as for Double Jeopardy to finish on the headwall.
First ascent: J. Smith April 2013
Russian Roulette 31(?) R *****
Start: On Fountain Ledge, Left of Roulette.
Pitch 1 40m (31?):
Climb the face just to the left of roulette and move up the centre of the large shield to the roulette rail on good gear. From a large flake in a cubbyhole, place some gear that will probably hold a fall and move up and slightly left for about 6 meters to the slopers on top of a block. A very small cam can be used to protect this stretch but it is difficult to place and probably best ignored. Place a solid nest of small cams around the block and blast up some very airy moves to the hook rail. Rail left and pull through the hook lip and climb diagonally left to join Triple Jeopardy.
First ascent: J. Smith Feb 2014
Phantom Squeeze 25 R/X
A direct, sustained and rather committing route.
Start in the middle of the blank face between the start of Boltergeist and the arete of Don't Squeeze I'll Laugh
Pitch 1 23R/X 15m:
Use a rail at belly height to access the face. Now you head straight up for 15m on small flakes and edges. Your first good piece is about ten metres up, so bring a helmet. Stance on a good ledge directly below a steep dihedral, which is on the same level as the Finale traverse.
Pitch 2 25 20m
Head for the overhanging dihedral feature. Climb through this to gain the Boltergeist traverse rail. Step 2m right and pull through the far right hand side of the roof on small edges, and tend left to establish on the face. Now head leftwards under the next roof and break through using a large undercling on its left hand side. Continue to the Staircase Ledge.
Pitch 3 24R 20m
To the right of the abseil anchors is a detached block/flake from which climbers used to abseil. Climb to the top of the block/flake and continue straight up the clean white face on small holds. This pitch is situated between the last pitches of Boltergeist and Staircase. Apart from sharing the block at the start with Escalator, it is an independent pitch.
FA Joe Möhle and Richard Halsey Jan 2013
Fountain Fandango 21
Start: The route is situated on Fountain Ridge which is below Fountain Ledge and above Camps Bay. To get to the route either ascend the long ridge from the Pipe Track above Camps Bay at up to grade 16, else abseil in from the Lower Fountain Ledge, else traverse in from Kloof Corner. The prominent feature of the ridge is the enormous roof - visible from Camps Bay beach. The first pitch starts directly below this roof.
Pitch 1 15m 18:
From a ledge directly below the huge roof move up the obvious break in the middle of the wall. Head up and slightly left to reach a small stance a couple of metres below the roof.
Pitch 2 35m 21:
Head left and up to reach the rail at the roof. Move left to the notch that breaks through the overhang. Using good rails hang out and move up to a difficult flaring hand-jam slot. Move a couple of metres up the wall then start heading up diagonally to the right on rails and small holds. Head for the corner up on the right. Use a crack in the right of the corner to reach a small platform. Head up to a ledge.
Pitch 3 35m 16:
Head left and up to reach Lower Fountain Ledge.
First ascent: Bruce Daniel and Hilton Davies 20 February 2009
Fountain Reach-Up 21
The route is an old aid route done by Richard Smithers and Brian de Villiers in 1970 which has not been freed up until now.
The route has three pitches which go at 15, 21 and 10.
The route is situated just right of Fountain Chimney and follows a corner up to a ledge, from the ledge one pulls up into a rail in the roof and rails out right and then up heading towards a notch in another small roof, after this second roof one can make a stance and then continue up easily.
First ascent: Richard Smithers and Brian de Villiers
First free Ascent: Brandon Smith and Catherine Philips
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Nietzsche’s cutting quote, “If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into you,” is by now a redundancy. And so, when I became a San Francisco probation officer, I prepared myself to keep company with the abyss. But I had not quite realized how extensive the abyss was. I saw it in the eyes of the senior probation officers, so exhausted by massive caseloads that they were counting the months to retirement. I saw it in the faces of deputy jailors, disaffected shift workers who were all but deaf to the human clamor of the cell ranges. And, of course, I saw it in my clientele: hollow-cheeked crack heads, asocial gang bangers, vagrants with thousand mile stares. But at least the abyss could be mellow where probationers were concerned. It was mellow in the case of Joseph Shepherd, a middle-age drug peddler on probation for choking his girlfriend. Entering my office for his intake interview, he glanced at the tower of case files on my desk and chuckled. “I know you have it rough,” he remarked in a voice that could be poured over waffles. “So I plan to make it easy on you, sir.” He smiled with the insular charm of a sociopath then shook my hand with a python grip. He seemed to be a man of elemental strength—a brawn with a life of its own—yet his broad open face and puppy dog eyes set me completely at ease.
For a year, he was a model probationer. He was always on time for our weekly meetings, he attended his batterer’s program regularly, and he so liked to talk about books that I rarely hurried our meetings. After a year, his girlfriend phoned me to say he had choked her again. I quickly called his cell phone and invited him to my office. “You know what I have to do,” I confessed. “You must do your job, my friend,” he said, and he showed up at my office within the hour. He stood still as a statue as I cuffed him up and he asked me how my day was. He had honed that code of etiquette typical to old style criminals, the kind the gang members called original gangsters. And, of course, his girlfriend would probably recant—domestic violence victims usually did. When she appeared in the courtroom the following morning, a small dried-up woman with haunted eyes, she held out her hands like a beggar. “I lied, your honor,” she wept to the judge. “Please jail me instead cuz I lied.” Sitting at the defense table, Joseph looked at me as the judge threw out the charge. I apologize, his gaze seemed to say. Didn’t mean to cause you inconvenience.
An hour later, after getting out of jail, he dropped by my office unannounced. He sat for awhile in silence, but clearly he wanted to talk. Eventually, he rested his chin on his thumbs. “She won’t cut me loose,” he murmured. “I have given her every good reason to leave me. She just won’t cut me loose.” He shook his head theatrically and smiled his glacial smile. “Why won’t she cut me loose?” he said. He spoke as though reciting a mantra—he did not seem to want an answer. “Are you flattered?” I asked him. “You seem flattered.” He groaned and showed me a bruise on his arm. “She hits me all the time,” he said. “She gets off on the make-up sex.” It was classic male-pattern thinking, the type his program was supposed to challenge. Yet his program reports cited progress: he never missed a meeting, he excelled at group role play, and he had become a class leader. He chuckled profoundly, rose to his feet, and pumped my hand before leaving. “I believe I have taken enough of your time. Do give my regards to your wife.”
The next morning, when I bought the San Francisco Chronicle, I read about the body in the bay. It was the body of a woman, crammed into a suitcase that had floated to shore near North Beach. Her state of decomposition confirmed she had only been dead a few hours. I recognized her name—it was Joseph Shepherd’s girlfriend—and I felt a chilling relief. I could not be blamed for letting this happen—my paper trail was in place. I had hooked him up only two days ago; I had walked him down to the jail; and the woman had stupidly sealed her own fate when she came to court and recanted. I felt no empathy for her—only self-righteous contempt. The abyss, its numbing darkness, had settled within my soul.
Had he meant to kill her? —probably not. Probably, he had been choking her for the hundredth time during one of their arguments. But this time his hands had lingered too long; this time he squeezed with a bit too much pressure. And this time she didn’t recover when he relaxed his grip on her neck. No, he had not intended to kill her—he had panicked a little too much. According to the homicide report, which I acquired later that day, he had dragged a suitcase through the lobby of his hotel in full view of the security cameras.
I drove to the hotel with a SWAT team, but of course he was not there. So, I went to court, picked up a warrant, then faxed his mugshot to several local precincts. Hopefully, a police patrol would nab him and save me the strain of busting him. And when the story about the body made the evening news, I turned the television off. I had no good reason to dwell on the matter—not until our dragnet picked him up.
A week later, I was in our conference room attending some mandatory training. The course was Interpersonal Skills, which struck me as rather untimely. Joseph Shepherd, after all, was a master of interpersonal skills. And so, I was already distracted when a front desk clerk burst into the conference room. “He’s here!” she whispered into my ear. “Mister Shepherd is here! He is waiting for you in the reception room!”
Had he come to turn himself in? Or had he come to cover his tracks? Since the media had made no mention of him, he may not have known he was in trouble. So I felt I was being uncivil when I asked another officer to help me with the bust. But the officer, Jerry Ferrari, was eager enough for the task. “Right behind ya, Tom,” he chirped, and I told him to wait in my office. I reminded him to go fetch his handcuffs, which took him nearly five minutes.
I forgave my hands for shaking as I walked to the reception room. I was about to arrest a murderer, after all. But he was sitting quietly in one of the chairs, much like a commuter at a train station.
He seemed relieved to see me. “Good morning,” he said, rising from the chair. “I think we are due for some rain.” Did he feel the tremor in my palm as he warmly shook my hand? If so, he was too polite to mention it. Obediently, as though keeping in step, he accompanied me to my office.
Closing the door behind us, I nodded to Jerry Ferrari. He was adjusting the settings on his handcuffs, clicking the bars into place. But he was having trouble aligning the teeth and the bars kept swinging free.
Putting his hands behind his back, Joseph rolled his eyes. “Do you really need backup to bust me?” he goaded. “I thought we were beyond that, sir?” I felt like an ingrate as we double cuffed him then set the safety locks.
“Relax,” he said as he sat on a chair. “My friend, whenever you want me in jail you just have to call and tell me.”
“So why did you come?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Don’t I see you every week?”
He looked at me with welcoming eyes—eyes that carried no blame. But I did not want his friendship so much as I wanted him in jail. So, the reticence was mine—not his. Somewhere, in the vast aridity of his soul, something green was growing.
As I waited for the detectives to fetch him, I mentioned his girlfriend’s body. I did not read him his rights though he might have been close to confessing. A spontaneous admission, after all, could be legally included in my arrest report. But he quickly clammed up as a pair of detectives burst into the office. One of them was waiving his badge like amulet. “Homicide,” he barked. “We got questions.” The detectives flung him through the door as though he were a sack of laundry.
As the detectives marched him away, Jerry Ferrari looked at me proudly. He was an athletic kid with a collegiate aura—the untempered zeal of a fraternity rush chairman. “Tom,” he said to me after awhile. “That was one fine bust.”
The following morning, another article appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle. The article was about Jerry Ferrari; he was taking credit for the arrest. Probation Officer Nabs Murder Suspect the headline boldly declared. The photo featured Jerry Ferrari with a Glock holstered at his hip. He looked like a marshall in a spaghetti western. “I’m like a bloodhound,” the quotation read. “When I’m on the scent, I don’t quit.”
That afternoon, I interviewed Joseph to finish my arrest report. The interview took place in the Glamor Slammer, a state-of-the art jail on Seventh Street where we met in one of the attorney rooms. He had heard about the article in The Chronicle and he seemed to be rather amused. “You should have cuffed me up by yourself,” he teased. “Have I ever let you down?”
“I had nothing to do with that bullshit,” I said.
He laughed. “Let the kid have his fun, my friend. It must be a slow news day.”
On advice of his public defender, he did not want to talk about his case. But we chatted for several more minutes before I left his cell pod. “She was a crack head, a thief, and a hooker,” he sighed, his voice as heavy as lead. “Even so, I did not do her justice.”
“None of us did,” I said as I slowly shook his hand.
I started scanning The Chronicle daily, hoping for more information. A quote from her mother, perhaps, or maybe her personal history. But no more stories appeared about the body in the bay.
Banner Image – Pixabay.com
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Toddlers learn about their world by using their senses, manipulating objects and experimenting. Toddlerhood is marked by an explosion of development in all areas, including fine motor skills, or “hand skills”. One fun way to promote fine motor skills every day (and on Valentine’s Day in particular) is through crafts!
Here is a short, craft-friendly guide to fine motor milestones:
- Scribbling and making horizontal or vertical lines – 2 years old
- Squeezing out glue – 2 years old (though squeezing out an appropriate amount of glue is a skill that will not develop until much later!)
- Snipping with scissors – 2 ½ years old (with constant supervision!)
- Drawing circles and a rough cross – 3 years old
- Stringing large beads – 3 years old
- Cutting on a line – 3 ½ years old
Unless you are hoping for updated living room walls, your toddler will need constant supervision, direction and demonstration throughout all of these projects. When these tasks are completed, everyone’s heart will be warmed when you see your child beaming with pride at what has been created.
A few fun and simple craft projects to try with your toddler this Valentine’s Day:
- Make a valentine for family members, classmates, or neighbors. Young toddlers will be satisfied with simple tools such as finger paints or crayons. Older children may want to add glitter, stamps, or stickers.
- Create a keepsake by making a handprint flower. Paint your child’s hand one solid color and applying even pressure press the painted hand down on paper. Together, paint a green stem under the handprint. Paint your child’s thumbs green and press down on the stem in various spots to create the leaves. (Note: this will be difficult for children younger than 2 years old.)
- Create a “love book.” Ask your child to name different things, people, ideas and places that he loves. Write his exact words on separate pieces of paper, and have your child draw a picture (or color in a picture) of his different statements. Bind the book together when he is finished.
- Make a “love bug.” Prep work: cut out various sizes, shapes and colors of hearts using construction paper. Glue the hearts together in bug forms. For example, heart wings, a small heart head, a large heart body, or several small hearts in a line could be the body of caterpillar. Draw on the antennae, eyes, nose, and mouth.
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Agriculture is Altering Mississippi River Chemistry
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, January 25, 2008 (ENS) – Over the past 50 years, farming has altered the hydrology and chemistry of the Mississippi River, injecting more carbon dioxide [www.sundance.tv] into the river and raising river discharge, finds a study by researchers at Louisiana State and Yale universities.
LSU Professor R. Eugene Turner and graduate student Whitney Broussard, along with their colleagues at Yale, tracked changes in the discharge of water and the concentration of bicarbonate, which forms when carbon dioxide in soil water dissolves rock minerals.
Bicarbonate in rivers plays an important, long-term role in absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Oceans then absorb this carbon dioxide, but become more acidic in the process, making it more difficult for marine organisms to form hard shells – a necessary function in coral reefs.
The Mississippi River at
Greenville, Mississippi (Photo
Researchers concluded that liming and farming practices, such as changes in tile drainage, tillage practices and crop type, are most likely responsible for the majority of the increase in water and carbon in the Mississippi River, North America’s largest river.
“It’s like the discovery of a new large river being piped out of the corn belt,” said Pete Raymond, lead author of the study and associate professor of ecosystem ecology at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
The research team analyzed 100 year old data on the Mississippi River warehoused at two New Orleans water treatment plants, and combined it with data on precipitation and water export.
“The water quality information we used has been sitting idle for over 50 years in an attic in New Orleans, waiting to be discovered,” said Broussard, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in coastal ecology at LSU.
“I felt like a treasure-hunter when we opened those boxes in that 100-plus degree attic to find those data logs. You never know where your research will take you if you’re open to suggestion and serendipity.”
Turner, distinguished professor of coastal ecology, added, “and [where it will take you] if you have the benefits of long-term collaborations of trusting and high-quality academic research groups.”
The research team used the data to demonstrate the effects of this excess water on the carbon content of the river, and they argue that the additional water in the river is altering the chemistry of the Gulf of Mexico as by increasing the amount of nutrients and pollution the river transports to the Gulf.
“We’re learning more and more about the far-reaching effects of American agriculture on rivers and lakes. This also means that the agricultural community has an incredible opportunity to influence the natural environment in a positive way, more than any other contemporary enterprise,” said Broussard.
“If we want to clean the water, we have to steward the land with right agriculture.”
The study, “Anthropogenically Enhanced Fluxes of Water and Carbon from the Mississippi River,” is published in the current issue of the journal “Nature.”
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Church, State, Civilization
Part 1: Allow Me to Explain The Darkness Of The Human Soul
The title of this post is meant to be something of a joke as I took it from this South Park clip:
I want to discuss what I see as some of the implications of the current standard understanding of human psychology as seen through a Darwinian lens. I don’t think I’m saying anything that hasn’t been said in other places, but maybe I’m putting together things that haven’t been put together before.
Current Darwinian theory holds that there have been three great forces shaping human nature. First there is the simple requirement to survive in competition with other organisms. These forces have produced the “selfish genes” which proliferate due to their ability to survive and replicate. These selfish genes produce organisms seeking their own individual survival and reproduction so that they may pass on their genes.
The second force is kin selection which explains the seemingly contradictory fact that many organisms spend a good deal of time and energy not on their own selfish needs, but on their offspring and families. Kin selection shows how a gene may still be interested in its own survival despite having the organism it inhabits acting altruistically since sexually reproducing organisms will share 50% of their genes with their offspring.
Finally, reciprocal altruism shows how an organism might still benefit even if it makes sacrifices that benefit unrelated organisms, as long as the other organism in turn reciprocate and provide a benefit as least as great as the cost of cooperation.
The long working of these forces on our species has molded human psychology, and created the psychological processes that in turn produce behavior. Genes build brains that produce consciousness that produces behavior. You can think of the brain and body as a ship built and outfitted by the genes for a journey on which they are passengers. The genes have provided our expedition with the tools past experience has shown to be needed in dealing with the various contingencies that can be expected on the journey.
Psychological processes are not different in kind from other biological processes. That is to say, our psychological processes have been designed by natural selection and work according to the same principles as other biological processes. Like, say, the heart, lungs, or liver, psychological processes have been selected for their ability to produce some beneficial effect. In the case of psychological processes, they are all designed to ultimately contribute to some successful behavior. As Millikan writes: “The capacity to have desires is maintained in the species, then, only insofar as some desires become goals, then become intentions, and finally are fulfilled. Hence one of the functions of desires too is to guide the organism towards their own fulfillment” (White Queen Psychology, p. 166).
For example, the struggle for individual survival and reproduction has produced our self-interested psychological processes. The subjective feeling of hunger, for instance, is designed to get the organism to procure food, to actually produce food-seeking behavior; sexual attraction is designed to get the organism to pursue sex; fear is designed to get the organism to seek safety, and so on. I need a name for this self-interested aspect of psychology and am going to call it the ego. This should not be confused with any other uses of “ego” such as Freudian accounts, but the word does have the connotation of selfishness, and so it seemed a suitable choice. Hunger, thirst, the sex drive, and fear are mental states that result from the workings of the ego. In addition, there is the drive to procure the means to achieve these ends–power–which mostly takes the form of the desire for material goods, wealth, or status. Finally, there is the desire to achieve these things with the expenditure of as little energy as possible, which you might call efficiency (or laziness if you’re feeling less kind).
The brain gets the organism to act in distinctive ways by producing mental states with imperative content. This just means that certain mental states are designed to produce behavior as hunger is designed to get the organism to go and procure food. Other mental processes such as beliefs do not have imperative content; they are not designed to produce behavior themselves, but they are supposed to be invoked as guides to behavior. The imperative content is encoded in the qualitative nature of consciousness, what philosophers call “qualia.” Appetites and emotions are imperative mental states.
The second force, kin-selection, has produced in us the subjective feeling of love and affection for our family members (but also conflicts between siblings). These emotional states are supposed to get the organism to care for and protect its offspring. Finally, our long history as social animals has produced pro-social feelings such as friendship and camaraderie, or loneliness and fear of ostracism, in order to benefit us through cooperating with others. In “Restoring a Virtue-Based Ethics for the 21-st Century” I argued that virtue is the process whereby these latter social emotions benefit the individual and take precedence over the imperatives of the selfish ego. These social emotions are self-interested, but they differ from the other imperatives of the ego in that they are designed to prevent or impede the workings of the ego in those cases where acting on its imperative would be disadvantageous as compared to producing a beneficial effect on potential cooperators.
It might be an oversimplification to state that the ego motivates with pleasure, kin selection with love, and reciprocal altruism with friendship or camaraderie, but it is pretty close.
If consciousness is produced by the brain, and the brain is produced by the genes in order to serve their ends, consciousness must be designed to further the ends of our genes. (“Serving the ends of” is transitive in this case.) A strong version of this thesis is that consciousness is constantly, in every instance, every single thought, actually serving the interests of the genes. A weaker version would hold that as long as major needs are met, such as hunger, thirst, safety, and sexual satisfaction, the mind is left free to wonder. But soon enough you can be sure that hunger or thirst or even boredom will create imperative states to get the organism up and moving and following the genetic imperatives.
One might be tempted to reply that psychological processes are independent of genetic influence. For example, in The Blank Slate Pinker writes:
The genes have metaphorical motives–making copies of themselves–and the organisms they design have real motives. But they are not the same motives. Sometimes the most selfish thing a gene can do is wire unselfish motives into the human brain–heartfelt, unstinting, deep-in-the-marrow unselfishness.
Combine this with the common misconception that the genes are a kind of essence or core of the person, and you get a mongrel of Dawkins and Freud: the idea that the metaphorical motives of the genes are the deep, unconscious, ulterior motives of the person. That is an error.
It would be easy to misinterpret a quote such as this as showing that our psychological processes aren’t serving genetic interests. Pinker thinks there is a line, a dualism, somewhere between genes and consciousness, and on one side of this line you have morality and on the other side you have value-free biological processes. When evaluating the morality of someone’s actions you should not consider the genetic ends these actions are serving. I’m not here arguing that this isn’t true or that there isn’t such a line (although if it does exist it must have been itself designed by the genes for their motives (or by God)), I am just claiming that even if there is such a line it doesn’t show that consciousness isn’t designed to further genetic ends. Pinker rightly claims that there are two senses of “motive”: motive-g(ene), and motive-h(human). But motive-h is indeed designed to further motive-g. Pinker urges us to pay no mind to that man behind the curtain when discussing morality, but he is there. If we switch from talk of motives to biological functions it must be that the brain structures that have the function to produce consciousness are serving genetic ends in doing so.
The imperatives of the ego are causal processes, like all biological processes, and considered by itself, in isolation from other psychological influences, the ego will produce its designed behavior as a matter of causal law unless something causally blocks them. (I will discuss the forces that block the workings of ego-imperatives below and in future posts) This is nothing more than saying thirst will produce drinking behavior unless, for instance, there is nothing around in the environment to drink and the organism knows this. Consider a photocopying machine. If the machine is in working condition, plugged in, filled with toner, loaded with paper, and a piece of paper with an image in placed in it, and the Copy button is pushed (Normal conditions in Millikan’s lingo), the machine will create a copy as a matter of the working of physical law. Likewise, unless impeded by other psychological states, mental or physical illness, or by the environment itself (as when the object of a desire is unavailable) the electro/chemical nervous system will succeed in producing its designed behavior as a matter of causal law.
Like all biological processes, the ego is designed to produce an effect–in this case fulfillment of its imperatives–and if these imperatives are not fulfilled it never stops working at it anymore than the lungs, heart, or liver cease at their work Normally. Just as the heart is always pumping blood, when unfulfilled the ego is always working out how to remove obstacles to its fulfillment. If left unfulfilled the appetites can increase their intensity until the organism complies; our feelings of hunger will grow stronger and stronger and make it harder and harder to resist acting on its imperative. If it feels stymied or has no idea how to proceed it will produce frustration or dissatisfaction, the purpose of which is to get the organism to work on fulfilling its imperatives.
In perusing its ends the ego employs practical reason. (In Millikan’s terms, the proper function of practical reason is producing Normal conditions for the desires.) This is just to say that if someone is hungry they will need to employ means/end reasoning in figuring out how procure food; they will have to go in the other room, open the refrigerator door, take out the food, etc.. Thus the ego is designed to do what it has to do to get around or remove obstacles that stand in the way of achieving its ends. As I mentioned before, the ego despises going unfulfilled, and will produce pain–hunger, thirst, fear, lust– as a means of getting the organism to fulfill its imperatives, and will keep employing practical reason to work on the problem. Imagine the ego as a machine for overcoming obstacles to the fulfillment of its imperatives. This is no different from Hume’s “reason is the servant of the passions” with the added biofunctionalism.
The ego creates self-interested imperative states and then works out how to fulfill them. That’s all it does. It doesn’t have conscience, sympathy, shame, or anything like that. These mental processes may exist and may serve to limit acting on the ego, but their nature and purpose, and the forces that created them, are quite different from that of the ego. Of course I am not claiming that the ego always succeeds in getting the organism to act on its imperatives, or succeeds in attaining them even if it does, or that the individual has no control over its behavior. I am only saying that imperative psychological states have the function of producing their fulfillment, whether or not they are acted upon or are fulfilled. There are many factors that can impede the ego from fulfilling its imperatives. First, there is the environment itself where the object of our appetites–food, drink, wealth, sex, power– simply might not be currently available, or there are no known means to attain them. Second, other mental states are designed to prevent the ego from producing behavior. As the ancients knew, the soul is often in conflict with itself. Just because the ego may be pushing for a behavior doesn’t mean the that whole organism is (see Millikan’s “The Bundle of Biological Purposes Which is Us.”). Hunger might be pushing us to engage in some course of action while fear is serving its function by telling us to seek safety. This has necessitated higher-order mental processes–the Will–to adjudicate between opposing urges. For one thing, the pursuit of our appetites might negatively affect other people such that they withdraw the benefits of reciprocation and cooperation. The benefits accrued by producing a beneficial effect on other people might outweigh the benefits of acting on our appetites. In this case, social emotions–fear of negative social consequences such as ostracism–will prove stronger that the imperatives of the ego. Simply put, you might crave a hot fudge sundae, but don’t want to get fat, and so resist the urges of the appetite. Or you might have a strong urge to be violent towards someone who has angered you but fear either their retribution, prison, or the consequences of gaining a reputation for being untrustworthy.
The ego is thus the source of the urge to defect and free-ride. That is to say, the psychological drive to cooperate produced by reciprocal altruism is in conflict with the ego-imperative to not have to suppress itself or expend excess energy. Imagine a group of cooperators working to gather food. If the selfish ego can receive the benefits of others’ labor without expending energy itself, it will happily do so. It is the psychological fear of punishment/ostracism and the withdrawal by the group of the benefits of reciprocal altruism that motivates cooperation. There is a dilemma playing out between conflicting psychological forces as representation of the real world consequences. The ego despises being repressed, and is designed to look for a way to enjoy the benefits of cooperation without having to repress its own desires.
Let’s now take an ego’s-eye view and look at how it can be expected to act if unimpeded by other factors. The ego would view internal impediments as just another obstacle to be overcome, in no way different from external obstacles. Even if it is the job of the social emotions to prevent the workings of the ego, it’s also part of the ego’s job to overcome these obstacles. Rationalization is the ego employing practical reason in order to get around these inner psychological obstacles to its fulfillment. It is not different in kind from figuring out how to open a door to get the food inside. If you need some particular belief to get around an impediment, the ego will happily provide it. The ego’s ability to employ both practical reason and self-deception/rationalization is a powerful combination. Almost anything can be justified through this means; any impediment to the fulfillment of the appetites can be removed. You can rationalize, say, breaking your diet (“I walked up a flight of stairs today so I now can have a hot fudge sundae”), stealing a neighbors property (“they didn’t need it anyway”). Murderers can justify murdering their victims; rapists can justify rape (“she was asking for it”).
In addition to these internal impediments to the ego there are the three great human institutions designed to limit the ego: marriage, church, and state. When these institutions are powerful in a society, most people will lack the power to overcome the pressure they exert. But the powerful, the clever, the devious, the alienated, or the resentful have the means to pursue their ego-imperatives by dismantling social and institutional obstacles. It might take decades or centuries to dismantle such institutions.
At the highest levels, practical reasoning combined with rationalization becomes theorization. In pre-civilization, if you wanted something you would simply try to take it and it didn’t require any special justification. But civilization prevents violence unless it is justifiable; it demands that we justify our actions under an abstract theory of justice. When theories of justice, or even metaphysics, compete in a marketplace, the ego will purchase its favorite. When a libertarian says ” sorry, on my theory taxation is theft therefore we can not redistribute wealth” the response will siply be to get another theory to justify redistributing wealth. If there aren’t any currently on offer, practical reason will get to work creating one; the ego will produce a theory in order to get around any restrictions placed on it (unless the society possesses strong protections against such subversion). Marxists can give their theory to justify mass murder in the taking of people’s property, and since there are always plenty of people all looking for rationalizations to have restrictions on their appetites lifted, they will seize upon the justifications offered by such theories and become passionate followers. If you need a theory in order to get around social restrictions, the ego will provide them. Post-structuralism/post-modernism are just the realization that in order to justify leftist politics you need to deny the existence of reality. If that’s what is required, so be it.
The existentialists and their intellectual descendants claimed that once all religious, social, and institutional determinants of the will were removed the individual would possess radical autonomy and be able to spontaneously create their own values. But you can not design yourself; we have already been designed. Radical autonomy can’t generate imperative content, only our evolved brain does that. The promise of radical autonomy was just a smoke screen, a fiction to explain why it wouldn’t just end up in hedonism once societal impediments to the will had been lifted. But this is exactly what happened. Existentialism didn’t usher in a golden age of self-created individuals, it just handed the will over to the same old sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll hedonism.
Marriage requires the repression of one’s ego-imperatives in a cooperate/cooperate equilibrium (discussed here and here) and so has been a prime target for liberalism. The ego’s ideal would be–instead of having to actively and constantly put in the effort to seek the happiness of your spouse–to not have to put in any effort and still be rewarded despite constant defection. Liberalism/feminism has sold marriage as an institution where one gets to defect endlessly yet still be loved unconditionally: the ego’s fondest desire. What an attractive prospect! You are supposed to be loved “for who you are” and actually putting in effort to make your spouse happy would be to violate one’s sacred autonomy/authenticity. Once the ego has “reformed” marriage it would mean you don’t have to expend any energy on the happiness of your spouse–in fact any expectation that you owe your spouse any effort is evil!–and yet can expect unconditional love. However, when both partners expect to be able to defect and yet be loved unconditionally dissatisfaction will set in as neither will put in any effort and yet expects the other to do so. Successful marriage takes constant effort on behalf of the happiness of your spouse.
Church and state will be the topics of parts 2 and 3, but I can say here that religion, being the primary obstacle to the pursuit of the appetites, will always be a primary target for removal. Once having successfully destroyed religion’s power to get people to repress their appetites, the main impediment to the fulfillment of the ego-imperatives is the preferences of other people. If their preferences can be altered or removed, the ego will happily do so. If finding overweight people unattractive can be done away with through a campaign against “fat phobia” (or “slut shaming”) the ego will try it. (I don’t think it can be so overcome as I don’t believe that that finding overweight people unattractive is a mere social convention.) Perhaps the ultimate endgame of mankind’s long struggle is to be surrounded by automatons who satisfy our every desire and indulge our every whim no matter how depraved without complaint; where no one ever has to limit their desires out of concern for its effect on other people.
Imagine an individual who lives a life of successfully fulfilling ego-imperatives. A mild version of this is the rock star life: sex with a different groupie each night, getting paid millions of dollars without having a grinding real job. This is an incredibly attractive prospect to a young man. (An aside: young men love the rock star life for the prospect of getting sex, wealth, and not having to do tedious work. But I think there is a different attraction for young girls. I don’t really think Katy Perry or Taylor Swift or their legions of young female fans are attracted to their glamorous life by the prospect of getting laid. For women, the attraction is being up on stage receiving adoration from millions of admirers. Oh, infinite validation! The female equivalent to infinite sex with groupies.) At the extreme, a rock star acting only upon the ego-imperatives will result in fat Elvis: eating whatever you want without concern for social effects, endless drugs, groupies, and blowing away TVs that annoy you.
A step up from the rock star is Tony Soprano or followers of the “Thug Life”–the gangster who feels entitled to murder whomever angers them. Here, even the ego-imperative for violence towards antagonists gets acted upon. (The Sopranos was a show about the conflicts between ego, kin and clan vs. church and state.) To many, this is what “the pursuit of happiness” would ideally entail.
Now consider the end-game of the ego-imperatives. The ultimate end of the ego would be an environment where all the restrictions on ego-imperatives has been lifted. And so the ego will always be hostile to the state as it imposes restrictions upon the working of anger to produce violence, rape, and the desire for power in the form of other people’s property. As the ego is a machine for overcoming obstacles to the fulfillment of its imperatives, and the state’s purpose is to do just that, there will always be those who are working to undo civilization and get back to kin and clan alone. You see this in the inner city, as the “stop snitching” movement seeks removal of the state’s impediment to murder. The gangs that rule in parts of Western cities mark the return to the “natural” state of kin and clan alone being the rule.
I will discuss the state in more detail in part 3.
This doesn’t mean that the ego would be unconditionally against the state. The ideal end of the ego would an American inner city or European “no-go” zone where all artificial restrictions on the ego have been lifted and we are back to kin and clan alone. The state no longer has any ability to enforce the law/restrict the working of the ego, but is still useful as a way to actively fulfill the ego-imperatives with minimal effort on the part of its beneficiaries by providing welfare payments, food, housing, and medical care. The best of both worlds: the state no longer enforces the law, but actively satisfies ego-imperatives.
On the other hand is the rich liberal. The rich liberal has the power to fulfill his desires and would view repressive social arrangements as restricting and in need of dismantling. They are the primary force looking to undermine moralistic social conventions in order to avoid social consequences from pursuing the imperatives of the ego. To the rich liberal the state is useful to protect his wealth. The poor liberal however doesn’t have any wealth to protect, doesn’t fear becoming poor as they already are poor, doesn’t have a wonderful job and lifestyle to preserve. To the poor the state isn’t a protector of their wealth since they don’t have any. To them the state is an impediment to the possession of property, just another obstacle to be removed. When the poor pursue the life of the ego you get the sad disaster you see in many poor communities. But the rich are willing to sacrifice the poor to their fate as long as it frees them to pursue their appetites.
Thus, Leftism is the biological strategy of removing all obstacles to the fulfillment of ego-imperatives, and exploiting the apparatus of the State to fulfill them. Rightism is the belief that there need to be institutional restraints against the functioning of the ego. Church, state, marriage, family, virtue, self-responsibility, all have the function of placing impediments in the way of the functioning of the ego (to a lesser extent business and military place limits on the ego through the expectations that one has duties to fulfill) and so will always be a target of Leftism.
I can’t decide what to call the opposite to a life of the ego: the life of virtue, the civilized life, the formal life. None quite capture what I am looking for so I am going to follow Aristotle in calling it “the good life” (although what I mean by that is different from what Aristotle means).
I am not saying that the ego is always bad and social emotions are always good. No one enjoys indulging their appetites more than I do, and cults can put intense social pressure on people to act against their own best interests. The issue is whether the behavior is leading towards living the form of a good human life. Rightism is the claim that in civilization the good human life involves the restraint of the ego to one’s parents, friends, family, spouse, God, and law. I discuss in more detail how virtue is the repression of the ego to produce a beneficial effect on other individuals in “Restoring a Virtue-Based Ethics For the 21st Century.” In parts two and three I will be discussing the role of church and state.
To give away the conclusion, civilization is, well, it’s an endless war of good vs. evil. It is not a set of universally agreed upon rational axioms as Rawls holds; it is the endless battle of partisans of the good life against the ego’s attempts to remove all impediments and return to kin and clan.
We will discuss the role of the church in this battle in part 2.
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You see you should never change your printer. Well, I had no choice. The thing was done , kaput ! It was a Brother, print, scan copy. One of those.
So ,we changed for a smaller, print, scan, copy, using wi fi or regular. Piece of cake ! Well not likely. You see the old desk top computer I am using is really old and I am still using Windows XP. So in using the CD operational instruction for printer installation I was informed when almost through that we could not continue since I did not have some framework software necessary to complete the job. I searched for the software , found it but got stymied again.
So, off to the tech shop. Several hours later and some dough taken from the wallet, I started the hook up back home having all the software updated etc.
But, no internet , no wi fi of course, everything ceased working.
That was Tuesday evening. Called Shaw , our provider. ‘ Well, now , isn’t that strange ,’ the tech fellow exclaimed.
Of course, the first thing is whether I had put all the wires back in their right place on the tower, and router. Well it sure looked like it; the mouse was working , the screen lit up , and all other functions seemed in order. Well, after an hour, or two, the tech , exasperated , said he will have to send a tech to my home. ‘And will that be tomorrow ,’ I asked, fully knowing that a visit tomorrow,Remembrance Day, would not likely be possible.
‘The first opening for your area is next Monday ,’ ‘the tech announced.’ Resigned , I said OK .
Then , mysteriously, after I hung up from the tech , my computer began working and the wi fi for my iPad which I use for my blog. And I got it working before the second disruption.
Yesterday, you ask?
I spent over three hours on the phone with another tech. This time , from Calgary, earlier time Nanaimo. He joined my computer and went through all manner of function: changed passwords for router admin, for my network and for my e mail . Told me that my router was one that Shaw does not use even though it was given free by Shaw several years ago. Nevertheless , it should work.
I shouted , ‘Well, I guess so , it has been working for years up to now!’
Finally, the tech informed me that he thinks the router adapter is finished. Never heard of such a thing. ‘Where is it ?’ I asked. ‘ I cannot see any thing like an router adapter .” Oh, he said , it might be in the computer. ‘
‘Anyway , that’s it,’ the tech says, ‘you have your de link router system all repaired, new passwords ( do I remember them , have I written them down correctly with that foreign accent ), your system is working better, a free anti virus program that works better than the one I deleted . Now just go get a router adapter and connect it and all should be well.
So here I am at a coffee shop , wondering whether to get that adapter now ( will it work?) or wait for the still on home visit on Monday.
Oh, the HP Printer ( was on sale , older model) does not have a pull out tray like my old Brothers one . So I couldn’t find the tray. There is a small lever that comes out from the side , once straightened , it hauls a bottom a few inches on which the paper is placed.
When I was in grade seven all students in my class had to take art. I disliked it immensely because I just could not draw. I watched in envy as the teacher held up the amazing drawings of my fellow students .
Looking at me she said exasperated, ‘ Well Brian, Just draw an apple and that will be good enough , I suppose. ‘
After thirty minutes , I handed the teacher my masterpiece .
Startled , the teacher exclaimed : ‘You are impossible, Brian, this is a pear!’
Art , tech and the like ——just not there .
Next time a tech issue, I will do nothing , hire a techie to visit and request a full repair.
|
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January is prime time in Botany Bay and the waters of southern Sydney and there is plenty on offer.
For a change, let’s start at the upper reaches of our local estuaries and work our way downstream to the lower ends and onto the ocean – they all fire this month.
Bass are great chance and the hotter the afternoon, the better, Years ago when everyone else was at the beach, I would head to the sweetwater areas late in the afternoon, hiking along bush tracks and down mountainsides looking for small pools that might hold bass.
These fish move into the top ends of our rivers and will hold in the fresh all Summer. They just pick a snag and wait for their food to come to them/
I find small surface lures or little deep divers are the idea – have a look at some rippers in the East Coast Lures range. A 3kg outfit is all that is needed for this style of fishing and just a little madness on a steamy afternoon in January.
At the top end of the salt and down into the rivers proper, there is plenty on offer. Bream are on the move and you will find good fun either anchored soaking baits in the main channels or casting small lures or soft plastic around snags, pontoons, old boats and rock walls.
Flathead are also feeding in these areas and spinning with soft plastics on the drop-offs or working the lines of mangroves is fun. Cast just on the mud line and work your lures back into the deep water for best results.
I also like using live bait in these areas and a live mullet cast into a weed-fringed drop-off is deadly on flathead.
The sand bars in the upper estuaries will also hold good whiting. I like to fish right in the shallows on a rising tide, when the whiting will move up to feed as the water moves over the flats. Try live nippers or bloodworms.
Here’s one the kids just love – mullet fishing. Right through Summer you find good numbers of mullet in the tops or our rivers by just adding a little bread to the water over the sand flats and waiting.
Small quill floats or just a small peace of foam will work and I find that the white foam will help lure the mullet. You need a small hook, around a No 10, about 100mm under the float.
Use a small piece of fresh white bread, slightly moistened and kneaded into a firm dough, as bait and then just cast it so it sits with the bread berley. I spent hours fishing for mullet as a kid and still love it.
The lower ends of the estuaries are hot spots with just about any local species on offer.
Early in the morning there are normally schools of tailor working somewhere in Port Hacking or Botany Bay so just keep an eye open for the birds feeding and cast lures or ganged pilchards.
Kings should be at their best as the water is warm and there is plenty of food around the Bay. Best results will come from deep water around structure.
While lure fishing will catch plenty of smaller fish, the better kings will usually fall for a live bait or a piece of fresh squid.
Bream are schooled up and moving around on their spawning run, just anchor anywhere from the Captain Cook bridge to Towra Point and right across the bay. My best results come from the shallow water, from two metres to seven metres.
I love nipper baits fished on long traces for the bream, which will fish well right through to Easter.
Summer spinning for flathead is normally rather good as they move around to chase their food. Spinning with soft plastics over the weedy drop-offs or across the vast patches of weed and sand is great and that is why I find Towra Point so productive.
Drifting is best as you cover plenty of ground and maximise your chances of putting a lure in front of a fish.
Since the commercial buy-out of Botany Bay a few years ago trevally are now a great chance year-round . Fish deep water around structure and berley to help bring them on the bite.
Trevally are top sport fish and 3kg to 6kg line with a long soft rod allows them to show why. They fight well and eat well fresh and there wouldn’t be too many days when we don’t catch trevors.
Trolling around the headlands of Botany Bay or in Port Hacking towards Marley Point can be very productive for bonito which school along these ledges to feed. They at times move right into the bay and estuaries following bait schools.
Trolling is a top way to target these little speedsters. Once you find them you can break out the spinning gear for a little fun as these little tuna on light tackle are hard to beat.
January is also great from the rocks, where bream and drummer feed across very shallow water early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
The gear for this style of fishing is simple – a long, soft rod around 3.6 metres with line to 6kg. You do lose the odd drummer but the hook-up rate is good. Nippers are my favourite bait and I like fishing as light as I can.
A small bobby cork allows my bait to drift across the washy rock ledges at high tide early in the morning, before the bream move back to deeper water. This type of rock fishing is fairly safe as the water is only around a metre deep but it’s always best to fish with a mate as two pairs of eyes are better that one.
Keep an eye out for the new A Day on the Bay Gary Brown and I have put together, it covers five species and the areas and rigs to target them in Botany Bay.Reads: 485
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GST Registration procedure for Assam Dealers: Procedure for GST Registration in Assam State for Existing VAT Dealers. Full Process of GST Enrollment for Assam State for existing VAT dealer. GST Registration Process in Assam State for Old VAT, Sales Tax Dealers. GST Registration Last Date in Assam State for Existing VAT, CST Dealers. Hi Friends in this article we provide complete details for how to register Assam State old VAT Dealers at new GST Portal, How Assam VAT Dealers Get Provision ID and Password for GST Registration etc. Now scroll down below n check more details for “Procedure for GST Registration in Assam State for Existing VAT Dealers”
The dealers, who have already been allotted GST Provisional User id and Password, must initiate GST enrollment process in the GST Portal by submitting required information and uploading supporting documents. It is mandatory for all dealers to activate their GST provisional User id and password on or before 31st March, 2o17 by submitting information and uploading documents even without esign / DSC in GST Portal for which they can use the ,,Submit” button on the GST Portal. Othcrwise, they will not be able to do any transaction and avail ITC on transitional stock after the appointed day under GST regime.
In this article you may Check details Procedure for GST Registration in Assam State for old VAT Dealers. Assam existing dealers GST Registration Procedure. Full Process of Enrollment in GST for Assam for existing VAT dealer. GST Registration Process in Assam for Old VAT, Sales Tax Dealers. GST Registration Last Date in Assam for Existing VAT, CST Dealers. Hi Friends in this article we provide complete details for how to register Assam State old VAT Dealers at new GST Portal, How Assam VAT Dealers Get Provision ID and Password for GST Registration etc. Now scroll down below n check more details for “GST Registration in Assam for Existing VAT Dealers – GST Migration”
GST Registration Date Extended for Assam VAT Dealers
GST Date Extended (15-06-2017) – GST Date is extended and Registrations will re-open from 25th June 2017 (25-06-2017) as per
GST Registration Date Extended for 15 Days – Good News for all Existing Tax Payers, GST Registration or GST Migration Window is again Start from 1st June 2017 and ended on 15th June 2017 (15-06-2017). CBEC Close GST Registration on 30th April 2017 but now CBEC give one more chance to all existing tax payers for migration at GST Portal for 15 Days..
GST Migration Restart Date – 1st June 2017 to 15th June 2017
More than 60 lakh taxpayers enrolled on GST Portal between 8th November 2016 and 30th April 2017. The Enrolment process has closed with effect from 1st May 2017. Data of all those who have signed the enrolment form will be migrated to the new GST System.
The enrolment window will reopen on 1st of June 2017 for taxpayers who could not enrol themselves as well as for those who enrolled but did not sign the enrolment form
Click to following link to know more details for GST Registration Last Date & Source of Above News
Procedure for GST Registration in Assam State for Existing VAT Dealers
You are aware that existing dealers who are migrating to GST, are required to get themselves enrolled in the GST portal www.gst.gov.in which is presently going on’ The enrolment process of the existing dealers will be stopped from 15th June 2017
You are aware that the last date of migration of existing dealers to GST is 15th June 2017 . Keeping in view the urgency of the matter, you are asked to abide by the following instructions strictly.
1. The registration certificates of the existing dealer need to be uploaded in GST portal for enrollment. Therefore, the print out of registration certificates must be provided to the dealers instantly on demand without any formality or without obtaining any application
2. PAN amendment must be done in existing registration process immediately. For this purpose, only an application in plain paper along with self attested copy of new PAN is sufficient. Original PAN card can be verified if required. Form-8 which is prescribed for amendment of registration certificate is not required for this purpose.
3. For providing printed copy of registration certificate, PAN amendment and other requirements o1’GST enrollment, the dealers should not be insisted for scrutiny, assessment, utilisation of statutory forms and other pending obligations.
4. Due to the fixed time framed for enrollment in GST Portal, the enrollment activities must be given the highest priority. The activities of scrutiny and assessment should be kept in abeyance till completion of migration schedule.
How to Get Provision ID & Password
If you are already registered under VAT, CST, Entry Tax, Entertainment Tax and Luxury Tax then you have to simply
Step 1: Login to tax.assam.gov.in for obtaining GST Provisional id & password for enrollment under GST. or The existing registered dealers are required to Visit on Assam Tax portal i.e. =www.tax.assam.gov.in
Step 2: How to obtain GST provisional id/password:
- Dealers having valid email id and mobile number, would get the details through SMS alert or email.
- Dealers already having access to e-services would get the details in tax.assam.gov.in after login.
- Remaining dealers can obtain the details from the jurisdictional Unit office by submission of prescribed application form.
Click Here to Download Format for obtaining GST provisional Login Id and password
After receipt of the Provisional lD and Password from the Taxation Department, the dealer needs to follow below procedure
Step by Step Process for GST Registration in Assam State
- Go on http://www.tax.assam.gov.in/ and Log in with VAT Id &; Password.
- Click on GST link (which is blinking).
- After clicking give a provisional ID and password of GST.
- Go to www.gst.gov.in and Log in by provisional Id and password.
- After Log in there will be a FORM shown on screen.
- Fill up the information E-mail Id and Mobile No and click submit button.
- Receive two OTP on E-mail and Mobile.
- Fill up both OTP No on different place and submit.
- After that for GST ID No & password to fill up the information in given direction.
- Now you go on www.gst.gov.in and Log in with new ID and password.
- After Log in go on Enrollment Menu.
- Now on enrollment Application, Eight (8) tabs are available. They are Nature of business, Partner’s name, Authorized signatory, Principal Palace of business…etc…and verification/declaration tab has been closed in lastly.
- After complete each Tab click on “save & continue “button.
- Upload all required document in correct format & size.
- In present, it is not mandatory DSC for the Non-corporate Entities.
- After complete the all Tab, click on submit button.
- After successfully submission you received an ARN No (Which keeps safely for future reference when GST will be coming in force.)
Get more details with screenshots from following article…
Hi Friends We Provide Complete Registration Procedure for Existing Tax Payers in Separate Article with all Screenshots, Please Check Full Registration Procedure for registration on GST Portal by the State VAT Dealers I following article….
Stage 1 – Information and Documents Required for GST Registration in Bihar State
There is the Following Document Required by the Entities before start the GST Reg Process
- Valid E-mail ID of the Entities.
- Valid Mobile No. of Entities.
- Valid Bank Account No Of the Entities.
- IFSC code of the Bank
(B) Document Required for VAT Registration in Bihar
|Section||Document Required (Any one in each section)||Type & Size|
|Constitution of Business||Partnership Deed||JPG, PDF – 1 MB|
|Registration Certificate||JPG, PDF – 1 MB|
|Principle place of business||Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association||JPG, PDF – 1 MB|
|Bye-laws of Society||JPG, PDF – 1 MB|
|Tax Paid Receipt||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Municipal Khata Copy||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Electricity Bill||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Rent / Lease agreement||JPG, PDF – 200 KB|
|Consent Letter||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Any other Certificate / document issued by Government||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Any other Certificate or record from Govt department||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Bank Statement||JPG, PDF – 500 KB|
|Details of authorized signatory||Letter of Authorisation||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Copy of resolution passed by BoD / Managing Committee||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Details of Bank Accounts||First page of Pass Book||JPG, PDF – 100 KB|
|Bank Statement||JPG, PDF – 500 KB|
|Photo||Photo||JPG – 100 KB|
|Others||Any other documents||JPG, PDF – 1 MB|
|Any supporting documents||JPG, PDF – 1 MB|
- GST Registration Formats, Download GST Tax Registration Forms
- GST Refund Formats, Download Refund Forms for Centre & Stat
- GST Invoice Rules, GST Tax Invoice, Download GST Invoice Format
- GST Payment Formats, Download GST Tax Payment Forms Format
- Returns Under GST, Returns Under Goods and Service Tax
- GST Definition, Objective, Framework, Action Plan & GST Scope
- When will GST be applicable – GST Bill Passed in Rajya Sabha
- What is IGST – Integrated GST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax)
- GST Rate – GST Rates in India, Worldwide GST Rates – Full Analysis
If you have any query or suggestion regarding “Procedure for GST Registration in Assam State for Existing VAT Dealers” then please tell us via below comment box…..
|
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|Publication number||US6407995 B1|
|Application number||US 08/911,119|
|Publication date||18 Jun 2002|
|Filing date||14 Aug 1997|
|Priority date||14 Aug 1997|
|Publication number||08911119, 911119, US 6407995 B1, US 6407995B1, US-B1-6407995, US6407995 B1, US6407995B1|
|Original Assignee||Lucent Technologies Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (24), Non-Patent Citations (8), Referenced by (2), Classifications (12), Legal Events (4)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present invention relates to data communications equipment and, more particularly, to the simultaneous transmission of voice and data over a single Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) line.
Simultaneous Voice and Data (SVD) technology permits simultaneous voice and data communications between a pair of users within the bandwidth provided by a single “plain old telephone service” (POTS) line. In operation, a high speed voice-band modem carries data in the usual manner. When either user wishes to communicate to the other by voice, a signal is sent via a standard V70 Protocol message. Once the other user acknowledges the message, a voice channel is opened and a portion of the total modem rate (e.g., 8 KB/S) is allocated for carrying the digitally compressed voice data. As a result, the two parties can simultaneously communicate by both voice and data. To be able to convert between analog data and compressed digital voice data, and to handle the signaling protocol, both parties must have SVD capability. The basic operation of an SVD modem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,555 to Bremer et al.
Technology has been developed which enables an SVD user to have a voice conversation and a data connection at the same time, but with different parties. Under this prior art technique, a central office (e.g. an inter-exchange carrier such as AT&T) of a PSTN provides a “local loop” SVD service in which both voice and data calls with the user co-exist over a POTS line, and the voice and data portions of these calls are routed to separate parties. To accomplish this result, the central office must include a modem pool that has both SVD-capable modems and standard (e.g., CCITT V.32 compatible) modems. A user with an SVD modem establishes an SVD link with the SVD modem of the central office. The SVD modem of the central office then separates the voice and data portions of the voice-band signal received from the local loop for separate transmission by the central office to different parties. The voice portion of the SVD signal receives standard voice-call handling from the central office for transmission to the party that is a part of the voice-call. The data portion of the SVD signal is routed through the standard modem of the central office for transmission to the party that is a part of the data-call. As a result, only the SVD user is required to have an SVD-capable modem, yet the SVD user can have both a voice connection and a data connection over a single “tip/ring” type telephone line. This kind of arrangement is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,251 to Rochkind et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,677 to Feiertag et al., and in published European Patent Application No. EP 674,420 which cites U.S. patent application Ser. No. 216,373 as a priority application.
In the above described call-handling system, the central office of the PSTN must be equipped with the additional modems to be able to detect the type of incoming call (modem/voice or SVD) for a particular telephone number and process that call properly. This is very expensive because all of the central offices that want to provide this functionality must be upgraded to include SVD modems and standard data modems. If the central office to which User 1 is connected is not equipped with the specialized modems, User 1 cannot carry on this simultaneous voice and data communication with different parties. Further, the central office can accomplish the simultaneous voice/data communication only because it has the capability of establishing a local loop between the central office and the caller with the SVD modem.
Permits a first party (hereinafter “the client”) to a data communication connection with a second party (hereinafter “the server”) on a regular voice-band PSTN connection to accept and originate voice calls from and to anywhere on the PSTN while maintaining the data communication with the server. This is accomplished by adding additional functionality at the location of the server and by utilization of existing “Call Forwarding” and “Caller-Id” technology.
In one embodiment, the call handling is accomplished by the steps of establishing a SVD data connection between a first party and a second party; and establishing a voice call between the first party and a third party; wherein the voice call and the data call co-exist on a regular voice-band PSTN line between a switching system of said second party and terminal equipment of said first party, and the telephone number of said second party and the telephone number of said third party are different.
In a preferred embodiment all calls that are incoming to the first party are automatically forwarded to the second party; and the second party manages the connection of the voice-call between said first party and said third party. Upon initiation of a voice-call from said third party to said first party, said second party receives said incoming call from said third party; determines the identity of the calling party (said third party) and said party being called (said first party); and establishes a connection between said third party and said first party on the same regular voice-band PSTN connection that is being used for said data-call between said first party and said second party.
In a more preferred form, the second party comprises an internet service provider or a server independent of the PSTN.
In another embodiment, the additional step of establishing voice calls between a plurality of parties located at the same location as said first party and an equal number of parties located elsewhere is performed. For the duration of the SVD data connection, all calls that are incoming to the first party are forwarded to the second party, and the second party manages all incoming/outgoing calls to/from the first party by forwarding incoming calls to the first party over the PSTN line on which the SVD data connection is established and by forwarding all outgoing calls of the first party to a destination party over the PSTN line.
In an alternative embodiment, call handling is accomplished by establishing a data connection between a first party and a second party over a regular voice-band PSTN line; and for the duration of the data connection, all calls that are incoming to the first party are forwarded to the second party, and the second party manages all incoming/outgoing calls to/from the first party by forwarding all of the incoming calls to the first party to an incoming call processor.
A hardware embodiment of the present invention comprises a server for routing voice/data calls to/from a first SVD modem via a PSTN, the server comprising a second SVD modem, coupled to the PSTN, for receiving a transmission from the first SVD modem, the transmission having a voice channel and a data channel; a first caller identification circuit, coupled to the second SVD modem and to said PSTN, for identifying a party being called from the first SVD modem and a party calling to the first SVD modem; a second caller identification circuit, coupled to the PSTN; and a controller, coupled to the second caller identification circuit and the second SVD modem, for controlling the routing of voice/data calls to/from the first SVD modem via the PSTN based on the identification made by the first and second caller identification circuits.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the communication system of the present invention showing a multi-user connection.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the communication system of the present invention in which non-SVD modems are utilized.
Referring to FIG. 1, a client, e.g., User 1, is coupled to a PSTN 700 via SVD modem 600. PSTN 700 may comprise a series of separate but interconnected central offices 702, 704, 706 and 708 as shown. User 1 has a digital communication device, e.g., a terminal 10 and a voice-band audio communication device, e.g., telephone 20, each of which are connected to the SVD modem 600. A server, e.g., internet service provider (ISP) 800 provides an internet connection (data communication) to all of its subscribers, including User 1. As a service to its subscribers, ISP 800 uses an SVD modem 802 to connect to the PSTN 700. Thus, in a known manner, User 1 can conduct data communications and voice communications with the ISP 800. It should be understood that in actual application ISP 800 would be equipped with multiple SVD modems to enable servicing of multiple subscribers; for simplification of explanation, only a single SVD modem 802 is discussed herein.
In accordance with the present invention, to enable User 1 to send or receive voice communications with parties other than the ISP 800 while maintaining a data connection with the ISP 800, “Caller-Id” and “Call Forwarding”, both standard features provided by all central offices associated with the PSTN 700, are utilized. Specifically, User 1 must subscribe to Call Forwarding and have all incoming calls forwarded to the ISP 800, at least when User 1 wishes to have the ability to conduct simultaneous voice and data communication. Further, the ISP 800 must subscribe to Caller-Id. By subscribing to Caller-Id, the ISP 800 will receive information about a calling party as well as the party being called by the calling party. Conventional Caller-Id detection equipment 804 is coupled to a switching processor 806 and also to SVD modem 802. Although shown as a separate block, the Caller-ID detection equipment 804 can be included with SVD modem 802 as a single unit.
Switching processor 806 provides several important switching functions and can be implemented using software in a conventional manner. For example, using the information detected by the Caller-Id detection equipment 804, the switching processor 806 can instruct SVD modem 802 to signal a ring request to the appropriate destination for an incoming call. When the user at the destination receives the ring request and decides to open the voice channel by lifting the receiver, this is detected by the switching processor 806 and it routes the incoming voice signal to the opened voice channel.
The operation of this system is now described. First, assume that there is a data connection between User 1 and ISP 800. In a first scenario, User 2 dials the telephone number of User 1 via telephone 22. On the PSTN 700, the central office associated with User 2 receives the call request (shown pictorially as a connection between telephone 22 and central office 702). Since User 1 has all incoming calls forwarded to ISP 800, central office 702 forwards the call to central office 704 associated with the ISP 800 (shown pictorially as a connection between central office 702 and central office 704) after being “advised” of the call forwarding status by central office 708. This incoming call is detected by the ISP 800 and the Caller-Id equipment 804 identifies the party calling (User 2) and the party being called (User 1). After making the identification, the ISP 800 sends a “voice channel open” request to User 1 via switching processor 806. The “voice channel open” request is a message that is sent from SVD modem 802 to SVD modem 600 using V70 protocol. Upon reception of this message, SVD modem 600 simulates a ring to User 1.
User 1 accepts the “voice channel open” request by lifting the hand-set of telephone 20. Upon receiving such acceptance, the switching processor 806 connects User 2 to User 1 via central office 706 and central office 708. Thus, the SVD modem of ISP 800 allocates a portion (e.g., 8 KB) of the data connection bandwidth to the voice-call between User 2 and User 1, while the remaining bandwidth (e.g., 16 KB) remains in use for the on-going data connection between the ISP 800 and User 1. As is well known, the incoming voice signal from User 2, which is analog, is converted to a digital signal by a conventional A/D converter or by appropriate A/D conversion circuitry included in SVD modem 802 before being transmitted to SVD modem 600. The signal is then converted back to analog via conventional D/A conversion circuitry.
In a second scenario, User 1, while connected to the ISP 800 via a data connection, desires to place a telephone call to another party, for example, User 2. To initiate the call, User 1 lifts the handset of telephone 20, thereby sending a V70 “voice channel open” request to the ISP 800. The ISP 800 accepts the request and establishes the voice channel with User 1. User 1 is then prompted to dial the outgoing call number (the telephone number of User 2) and, if required by the ISP 800, a password to authorize this service. The ISP 800 detects, from the dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones corresponding to the numbers dialed by User 1, the information regarding the calling party (User 1) and the party being called (User 2) using the Caller-Id technology. Upon receipt of this information, the ISP 800 then routes the call to the party being dialed, in this case, User 2, via the various central offices as discussed above. In effect, the ISP 800 receives the attempt by User 1 to call User 2 and completes the connection by dialing User 2. As with the first scenario, a portion of the data connection is allocated to handle the voice call.
The present invention also has application in a multi-user SVD connection environment. Referring to FIG. 2, a multi-user SVD connection according to the present invention is shown. In this scenario, User 1A, User 1B, and User 1C are located in a common location, e.g., the same office. User 1A is connected to a data line e.g., the internet, via terminal 10A, SVD modem 600A, PSTN 700A and SVD modem 802A provided by the internet service provider. User 1B and User 1C have telephones 20B and 20C respectively, which enable them to send or receive voice data over the PSTN 700A. User 2A and User 2B are external users and are essentially equivalent to User 2 shown in FIG. 1.
User 1A connects to the internet in the same manner described with respect to FIG. 1. For simplicity of explanation, the details of the various central offices that may comprise PSTN 700A of FIG. 2 are not shown; however, the operation and structure of PSTN 700A are essentially identical to PSTN 700 shown in FIG. 1. If User 2A initiates a telephone call to User 1B, the central office associated with User 2A receives the call request and forwards the call to the central office associated with the ISP 800A, since User 1B has forwarded incoming calls to ISP 800A using Call-Forwarding technology. This incoming call is detected by the ISP 800A and the Caller-Id equipment 804A identifies the party calling and the party being called. After making the identification, the ISP 800A sends a “voice channel open” request to User 1B via switching processor 806A. User 1B accepts the “voice channel open” request by lifting the handset of telephone 20B. Upon receiving such acceptance, the switching processor 806A connects User 2A to User 1B. While this is occurring, User IC can make an outgoing call to User 2B. To initiate this call, User IC lifts the handset of telephone 20C and opens the voice channel to the ISP 800A. User 1C then dials the outgoing call number (telephone number of User 2B), and, if required by the ISP 800A, a password to authorize this service. The ISP 800A detects the information regarding the calling party and the party being called using the Caller-Id technology. Upon receipt of this information, the ISP 800A and switching processor 806A then routes the call to the party being dialed, in this case, User 2B.
The number of users that can simultaneously operate in the above manner depends only on the bandwidth available for the connection. Each voice channel takes some bandwidth away from the data connection. For example, if it is assumed that a connection rate of X Kbps exists, if three voice channels of Y Kbps are opened simultaneously, the data throughput will go down by a factor of X−3Y.
The above description describes the immediate connection of an incoming call to a user while that user is connected in a data connection (e.g., connected to the internet). However, situations may arise when the user connected to the data connection may wish to defer incoming calls (i.e, have them answered by voice-mail or other answering means) and/or receive an incoming facsimile transmission. Further, if SVD modems are not available, the user may, by necessity, have to defer incoming calls or fax transmissions. As shown in FIG. 3, the present invention can accomplish this without the need for an SVD connection. In FIG. 3, assume that User 1AA is connected to the internet service provided by ISP 800B via a standard data modem 600B and PSTN 700B. While connected to the internet, User 1AA has incoming telephone calls forwarded to ISP 800B using Call-Forwarding technology.
If User 2AA sends a fax to User 1AA by dialing User 1AA's telephone number, the incoming call is detected by Caller-Id equipment 804B at ISP 800B and the fax is received by ISP 800B and stored in a conventional manner (hard copy, in computer memory, etc) by incoming call processor 808B. User 1AA can access this fax via the internet or by other means provided by ISP 800B.
If the incoming call from User 2AA to User 1AA is a voice call, the call is forwarded to ISP 800B where it is stored via voice-mail, answering machine or other call storing device by incoming call processor 808B, so that the message is recorded. User 1AA can then access the message by placing an ordinary telephone call to ISP 800B.
While there has been described herein the principles of the invention, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims, to cover all modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
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|US6320915 *||1 May 1998||20 Nov 2001||British Broadcasting Corp||OFDM symbol synchronization|
|EP0674420A1||16 Mar 1995||27 Sep 1995||AT&T Corp.||Independently switched voice and data calls using a simultaneous voice and data modem|
|GB2287610A||Title not available|
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|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US6711160 *||31 Mar 1998||23 Mar 2004||International Business Machines Corporation||Packet network telephone interface system for POTS|
|US20020022485 *||19 Jun 2001||21 Feb 2002||Amir Kolsky||System and method for object access through an access device|
|U.S. Classification||370/352, 379/201.01, 370/386, 379/90.01|
|International Classification||H04L12/28, H04M11/06|
|Cooperative Classification||H04L12/2856, H04M11/06, H04L12/2876|
|European Classification||H04L12/28P1, H04M11/06, H04L12/28P1D1C|
|14 Aug 1997||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC., NEW JERSEY
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ERYILMAZ, EROL;REEL/FRAME:008878/0170
Effective date: 19970813
Owner name: LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC., NEW JERSEY
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ERYILMAZ, EROL;REEL/FRAME:008666/0546
Effective date: 19970813
|2 Dec 2005||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|11 Dec 2009||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8
|12 Dec 2013||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 12
|
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When you look and feel your best, people notice the difference. Modern cosmetic dentistry can totally transform your smile if you want to change your image. If you are considering more than one procedure, you may want a smile makeover, a comprehensive combination of cosmetic dental procedures intended to enhance your smile’s beauty and appearance. The makeover will focus on correcting various problems, including broken, chipped, crooked, missing, or discolored teeth.
The Esthetics of a Smile
With a smile makeover, your dentist can also fix uneven, unsightly gums. The makeover process can also dramatically change the length, width, color, and shape of your teeth to produce a uniform, vibrant appearance. Your dentist will talk with you about whether you want a more feminine look, a more attractive smile line, or whiter teeth. A smile makeover, however, is not just cosmetic in approach. During the evaluation, your dentist will also check for functional problems such as a bad bite or malocclusion.
Benefits of Making Over Your Smile
The advantages of having a smile makeover include:
- Consistency. Having multiple cosmetic procedures preformed by the same dentist, will help you avoid variances and differences that can occur when several dentists with different techniques and materials perform the same procedures over a longer period of time.
- Minimizing Office Visits. With a comprehensive smile makeover, the dentist can group the cosmetic procedures in a more efficient manner so as to save you time and minimize office visits.
- Saving Money. Because a smile makeover is intended provide a comprehensive solution, patients can avoid redundant dental procedures.
FAQs about Smile Makeovers
I want to change my smile. What do you suggest for a smile makeover?
No two people are exactly alike, and no two smiles are completely the same. To start the smile makeover process, the first thing you need is a consultation appointment. At this visit, the dentist will listen to your ideas, show examples of possible changes, examine your mouth, and craft a custom plan to update your smile.
Won’t a smile makeover cost a lot of money?
Every case is different. Until you meet with a dentist, it’s hard to estimate price. However, not taking care of your teeth can result in additional expenses to repair damage and improve your appearance.
How can I get straighter teeth without braces?
In some cases, porcelain veneers can cover front teeth and give your smile a more even look. To actually straighten teeth, many adult and teen patients choose Invisalign clear braces. This system uses a series of clear, custom aligners to move teeth in to the correct position without the inconvenience of traditional metal braces.
What options are available for smile enhancement?
You deserve a smile that matches your style and personality. For a smile makeover tailored to fit your needs, your dentist may suggest porcelain veneers to close gaps, teeth whitening to remove stains, and porcelain crowns to replace old restorations. If you are missing teeth, dental implants can give you back a complete smile. Call your dentist and schedule an appointment for a cosmetic consultation.
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“Not all Men” I said and I meant it once upon a time, but not anymore.
I always felt it needed saying that whilst, yes some men are so fearful of Women they have to weigh them down at every turn, it’s not the case of all men. I was taught from an early age that ladies are equal, skin colour, religion and any other sub category doesn’t make anyone willing to work for something less entitled to have it. So my “not all men” comes from a family, more importantly a Mum, that have quietly championed equality, the odd insensitive joke and crass comment aside when ‘push came to shove’ no one was any less deserving of the best fairness that could be offered. They would stand against it inequality when they saw it and taught me to do the same. I felt it some kind of duty to remind these ladies making accusatory remarks about men, that while they might feel alienated and demeaned by men, not all of them think this way so change will come.
As with many things that have the best of intentions this ‘noble quest’ was flawed, only I couldn’t see it. I maintained a stance of “not all men”, going so far as do it more, because after all “why should I support a cause that isn’t willing separate me from the oppressors they scorn?”. I would argue with every kind of feminist that I came across, pitching the notion that to alienate ‘good men’ for their presence was surely going to backfire. Not because women aren’t capable, but because the men keeping them down lack enough empathetic intelligence to have their minds changed by feminism, men would have to be a trojan horse in the single minded psyche of misogynists.
Eventually I abandoned my “crusade”, the deeper I went the more warped feminists were. It became more about vengeance than equality and started to cloud my thoughts on feminism. I began thinking about waiting on a time when a more inclusive alternative would rise like a mountain, forced up by the opposing forces surrounding it. My belief in equality never tired, but I became transfixed on the platform of delivery. Modern feminism I felt was hypocritical, it’s to at risk of becoming the monster it’s fighting. To many “third” and “fourth wave” type terms, the narrow mindedness made the water to easily muddied by the few who do seek vengeance for oppression that runs far deeper than high heels and quips about driving ability.
Then one day I was hit in the face by a pan. A greasy, filthy pan that leaves it’s mark on your skin and seems to be everywhere once you notice it, leaving you craving a thorough scrub, preferably with a wire brush and industrial strength acid. Trawling though the world of social media I had been looking for pages that would give me up to the minute, accurate news that I could cross check almost in realtime, that meant following news agencies, writers, artists and journalists alike. I noticed a fair amount of ‘hub ub’ surrounding Lilly Allen, she was being lambasted for visiting “The Jungle” in Calais, specifically for saying to a young person their that she was sorry her country had failed them. Every opinion she tables is met with the sort animosity I wouldn’t expect the lowest forms of social life to endure, comments about her miscarriage that cut me deep, let alone her! Then Tucker Carlsons news program featuring Lauren Duca hit the Twitter waves, again the comments being levied were vile and a sort of misogyny I thought was long gone, it is 2017 after all. I started to follow more female journalists, writers and academics, apart from variances in words the sentiments were still the same, women are lesser and men have the role of keeping them in their place. Then came the regularity of casual barrier crossing in the sexual sense, inappropriate touching on the underground, high heels being forced as part of uniform, manoeuvred into a vulnerable situations and propositioned forcefully, so on and so on and so on regardless of fame or fortune. A never ending cycle of daily small to large events that show misogyny isn’t dead, but lurking, shamefully waiting for each moment to reach out a lecherous hand and make contact. One story that really caught me was of a fifteen year old girl who started to ride the underground to work, one morning a man stood close to her on the platform, she didn’t think much of it, nor would I in fairness. For what ever reason they silently parted their mentally distant ways and she found her back pocket slimy and wet. The ‘man’ had used the crowded platform and close proximity to ejaculate into her back pocket, the first lady she spoke to was apathetic, it happens was the sentiment. Her first experience of independence similar to the scale she will experience ‘in the real world’ and she gets it tainted in a way few could have predicted, I suddenly saw why “not all men” carried no favour or merit.
“It happens” was the catalyst for a U turn on modern feminism and my, all be it nothing exceptional, stronger backing. Having a child and getting covered in sick is something that “happens”, cooking dinner and getting covered in grease is something that “happens”, getting wet because you forgot an umbrella is something that “happens”. Being a young lady and having some swine cum in your back pocket is not something that should just “happen” and be belittled or ignored. Going to work and being brushed aside in favour of a male counter part shouldn’t be shrugged at, tabling an opinion and having it ignored because your a woman isn’t something to scoffed at, being labeled a whore because you’ve had an abortion isn’t something to be swept aside and being payed less because of a different set of genitals isn’t something to begrudgingly accept. “It happens” is one of the terms used for cases of domestic rape when the law wasn’t so involved, its archaic and a sign of how little we as humans have really progressed, it’s a pathetic endowment of ‘us’ if we can sit back and let it carry on. I realised that whilst I am “not all men”, that makes no difference when a woman is faced with a barrage of ‘those’ men. It offers no help to the person being targeted and simultaneously has the potential of giving an escape route for the aggressor. The “it happens” of a man being caught under the umbrella of “all men” is a far less relevant than the “it happens” of sexual assault and oppressive sexism women are experiencing today, everyday. If you are saying to a lady arguing a case of misogyny that their statement has no merit because “not all men”, then your belittling the real life event that has created the need for it to be said. Ultimately you shift the focus away from women back onto men and how even when a woman is right she is still wrong. The biggest lesson I learnt was that however much I might have a point, it’s not bringing anything to the table that will effect change, the statement is simply like lighting a BBQ in the woods while firefighters are tackling a forest fire.
It’s true that there are some real batshit crazy women that will do and say things for attention or greed, but that is no different to the world of men. Every human entity regardless of sub category has it in them to be beautifully compassionate or a degrading shit! The one thing that can be clung to is that change can happen, but water doesn’t boil without enough heat. This pan is big, thick and regularly has chunks of ice dropped in for good measure, the water will boil and it when it does we can all share the warmth of the sweet tea it’ll make, but if “she puts the kettle on, men can make the tea”.
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Wednesday's Walk started because I often do my best thinking as I walk. And so I've made a commitment to share some of the things I think about as a Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach each Wednesday. This week I have been thinking about the importance of making a commitment - to yourself and your dreams. I am not one to write my posts way ahead of time. I like to get up on Wednesday morning and write my post for the day. That's just me. This morning when I got up I knew I had things to do for my husband, needed to get ready to visit with my grandchildren, as well as do some other things that needed to get done. My old self (which tried to creep into my thoughts) thought I'll just write the post later after I get everything else done. The new self said, "Wait a minute! You made a commitment to yourself to share a coaching tip each week. Your commitment to others is very important but so is the commitment you made to yourself." So I took a second to rearrange my thoughts, decided what I should do first (write this post), and then got to work on the other things I want or needed to do. One of the things I write about often is how we can move ahead and make progress on our dreams if we take small steps. This is very true. But there has to be a commitment to those small steps. If you want to make a change, start a business, create a new hobby, it can all be done by taking one small step a time. But small steps will only become big changes if we are commited to taking those steps. I love coaching women who are beginning to make changes in their lives and need a little extra support. I'm commited to helping them find the time to make those changes. I am commited to helping them overcome the obstacles that may stand in their way such as perfectionism or overwhelm. So my coaching tip for today is - taking small steps towards making your dream or dreams come true works. It truly works! But you have to be commited to taking those steps in order to see where they lead you. It is that commitment that makes what was once a beautiful idea become a beautiful reality. What commitment and small step would you like to make and take today?
If you have ever thought about working with a coach I would love to talk with you. Please don't hesitate to contact me at email@example.com. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Remember: When you share you dreams and talents with the world, magic happens. Let the magic begin today.
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Written 06/21/11 after work.
I cannot write. I am blocked by my senses.
As I scribble these words, my head is pounding. I am nauseated by the stink of cigarettes from the patio next door. My foot is tingling from being sat on for too long.
I am enjoying this time. I am enjoying sitting on my patio, able to see the sunshine but guarded by the shadow of my building from getting too hot. The breeze dances through the leaves, rustling them ever so gently. The birds provide background music to this (mostly) quiet afternoon.
The silence is broken by her emphysemic cough.
Hacking up a lung.
And then the nauseating smell becomes stronger, my head throbs harder.
I close my eyes.
This is not where I should be.
And I can feel the walls of her house moving closer to mine, until it is as if we share more than just one small wall. Even locking myself inside, away from the beautiful weather, wouldn’t help. I’d still hear her, grumbling in between drags.
My head – I can feel my pulse in my forehead.
It doesn’t even matter that I used to be a smoker. I don’t judge her for smoking. I’ve been there. Fine. But every five minutes? Her lungs aren’t the only ones suffering from her addiction.
When T is home, we don’t spend much time on our little patio, or on the grass outside our apartment. We go to the playground over by the mailboxes, or a park, the river, anywhere away from our own home because I want to protect his little lungs from her poison. I want to protect his heart from her venom.
She is an evil old lady, and she makes me hate my little home.
I used to wish that she would move away. If I was having a particularly bad day, I’d even wish she would keel over or be taken to a “home”.
Now, I just hope that I can have the strength to survive just a little longer.
She gives me one more reason why Reno not having a law school is a positive thing for my life.
LSAT, October. Applications due, March. Semester starts, August/September.
A year from now, if not sooner, I will be headed off to Las Vegas, Seattle, Davis, wherever they will accept whatever scores I receive. I will pack up my home, my life, and I will look back at my life in Reno, my life in this condo, and I will have so many happy memories. So much love from this place that is leading me to a better future.
And I will flip my middle finger to her as I drive off, laughing hysterically.
|Via We Heart It|
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There are always changes when one returns to a place after several years. Judging from the changes I had seen in just the three years I had lived in Ho Chi Minh City, (2005-2008), I thought I would be ready for the difference between 2008 and 2011. I wasn’t. Or maybe I was but still find it rather shocking.
The traffic was insane when I left and now I find I am without adjectives to describe what it has become. The shuttle bus in from where I live to the center used to take about 20-25 minutes. A few days ago it took nearly 40 minutes. It’s just one big parking lot on all the streets. When last here, it was mostly motorbikes, (Vespa’s), trucks and taxis, and not that many private cars. The motorbikes seem to have multiplied like bunnies and a lot more people are driving cars. If streets were jam-packed three years ago, and are super jam-packed now, what will happen in five years time? I don’t think I will stick around to find out.
The quiet neighborhood where I used to live and where I am now in a hotel, still boggles the mind with its massive change. I was having trouble figuring out where all the traffic on the main road was coming from and where it was going to. True, there are numerous, massive, new apartment buildings here, but the people traveling through this area do not live here. I finally found out that this road/highway has been extended in both directions and bridges have been built connecting outer sections of the city. Even though it is always busy, traffic does move along and has enabled people to get from point A to point B much more efficiently.
The problem with the main intersection is that there are about 6 lanes in each direction; some for motorbikes, some for cars, and some for trucks. This means that if you are in the motorbike lane and want to turn left, you must cross in front of the car and truck lanes that are going straight ahead. And if you are a pedestrian trying to cross you have to continuously look left and right and then back over your left shoulder and right shoulder because no one cares that you are crossing the street. Just when you think you might be OK, a motor bike appears, going in the wrong direction, trying to cut in around cars and trucks. It’s a veritable minefield.
I used to love taking weekend and evening walks up by the river; so quiet and peaceful and green. That is no longer possible. At the time, they had just completed this spectacular garden walkway where you could stroll along a landscaped path and listen to the chug-chug of the boats on the river just a little bit away. They have now built giant, ugly apartment blocks on both sides of the garden path. The ground floors are all shops giving it a strip-mall look. I tried walking there last night and none of the positive energy of the garden has survived.
I suppose progress is inevitable and that entrepreneurs will open new businesses in a new area. But as I walked past new restaurant after new restaurant, with either no one inside or possibly two customers, I wondered just how long any of these will be open.
Having said all that, there are lots and lots of beautiful, quiet streets out here. I love walking along them, saying hi to construction workers on a coffee break, or waving to the ladies sweeping the streets, or stopping to admire a baby sitting with his granny on the front steps of a house. The people remain lovely and friendly. If they can seemingly ignore the clamor and clutter around them, maybe I can too.
The combination of Colonial French Architecture, cool interiors, and marvelous artwork makes the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts a lovely retreat from the chaos that surrounds it. I had heard that it had originally been a commercial building, but their website says that it was used to board the daughters of the French Colonial rulers. No wonder I always feel like I could take up residence inside the museum.
My friend and I arrived the day they were having some sort of ceremony, possibly an art contest finale as several of the works had prize rankings attached to them. Lots of people and lots of floral arrangements graced the main entrance. However, the rest of the art filled rooms, covering three floors, were quite empty.
We strolled through the wide corridors with open windows on our left and into rooms on the right with examples of art ranging from the 1930’s to the present. There were oils and lacquer works, sculpture and acrylics. Several areas showcased ancient ethnic artwork. We walked up the wide staircases glowing with color from stained-glass windows that looked out onto the courtyard below.
It always amazes me that these old buildings, with no air conditioning, are never hot and usually have a nice breeze running through them. Perfect tropical architecture. In some of the museum rooms there were small fans, but they weren’t on and at the time we were there and were not needed.
The Fine Arts Museum really is the best place in town to cool down, relax, and feel revitalized.
Walking back from the backpackers’ area on Pham Ngu Lau St., I passed a small group of people in a tiny shop that opened onto the street. I could see that an older woman was instructing two young men who were working on an oil painting. Two other men and a young woman sat on small, folding chairs out front, and a few others were inside the small space. I stopped to watch their work and caught the eye of one of the guy’s who was inside. What with the noise of traffic and my limited Vietnamese, I did hand signals to indicate that I was watching the artists work and that I liked what they were doing. A look of surprise came over the young man’s face and he started to use sign language to reply.
Years and years ago, I took several semesters of American Sign Language and since that time, whenever I am overseas, I tend to use signs that are clear to anyone. It has gotten to the point that I assume I am using Universal Gestures, and some of the time I possibly am, but this time I was actually using ASL.
I know from my last trip to Vietnam, when I had a similar experience, that ASL is quite similar to VNSL. I assume that is because ASL is based on French Sign Language and that the French brought Sign Language to Vietnam.
Next thing I knew, I was sitting with the group chatting. This consisted of Sign Language and Vietnamese and English. Some was written down in English, and some was translated by the Vietnamese teacher, who was hearing but spoke limited English, and some by the young deaf man who had spent fifteen years in Australia. We were all so excited that we could communicate together.
They were part of the SHI, (Saigon Hearing Impairment), Fine Arts Club. They gave me a brochure of an exhibition going on just down the road, and pointed out their works pictured in the brochure.
This was really the first time since arriving that I remembered why I go off to other parts of the world; it’s for these truly magical moments that simply don’t happen when one knows one’s surroundings and the people that populate it.
For about thirty minutes we talked about where I was from, what I did, and a little about their lives. I learned that ASL has a far larger vocabulary than VNSL. The young man I first spoke with told me that his friend was studying at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, CA. Excitement reigned when I told him that it was very close to where I was from in California.
When it was time for me to dash off so that I could catch the little shuttle bus back to my hotel, (rather than pay for a taxi), I promised to go by their exhibition and to come by again. I plan to go the see their work tomorrow and go back to talk sometime next week.
Yesterday I finally had to use the internet to figure out that it was actually Saturday and not Friday. This is one of the minor hassles of losing a day when you fly half-way around the world. Not only am I now on the right time and the right hour, my body is also starting to recognize the change.
I never can sleep on a plane but since I was flying EVA airlines and had upgraded to Economy Deluxe, I wasn’t overly concerned. When I last flew back from Vietnam, nearly three years ago, the price difference between Economy and Eco Deluxe was only $100 each way. Totally worth it when you get wide seats with plenty of leg room and your own personal movies-on-demand screen. Unfortunately, that price has now doubled. More unfortunately, I flew on one of their more shabby planes.
It wasn’t until I had spoken to a travel agent, (and after I had already bought the ticket), that I found out that EVA uses well-worn 747’s three days a week and brand-spanking-new 777’s on other days. Prior to knowing this I had been mesmerized by the beautiful look of the “New Eco Deluxe” seats that EVA kept emailing to me.
Yes, the seats on the 747 are far wider and more comfortable than in economy, but the movie screens are old school. You do get your own private screen but you are at the mercy of whatever is currently playing; no pause, no rewind, not options other than channel 1, 2, or 3.
On one of my frequent strolls around the plane, a woman asked what was wrong with my knee. (your basic middle-aged joint problem). Then she kneeled down and started working on the knee, massaging and probing and hitting all the right spots. She told me she was a Thai masseuse, going home to visit family. She worked absolute wonders on my knee and then again gave me a treatment shortly before we landed in Taipei.
At least the three hour flight from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City was on one of those new 777’s; shear luxury. When I fly back, I will make sure I get on a 777 for those 14 hours back to California.
Pure euphoria is how I would describe my emotional state as I walked out of the airport and into a taxi, headed for a hotel in the neighborhood where I used to live. I could not stop grinning and trying to talk to the driver. I was warm, it was chaotic, it was Vietnam. It wasn’t quite the feeling one often gets when returning home after many years, but very close. I was just so happy to be on a new adventure.
I mentioned “trying” to converse to the taxi driver because I had forgotten all my very basic Vietnamese while in California. I had big plans of taking out my language books so that I could at least try to refresh my market/restaurant/taxi vocabulary, but just never got around to it. But the most amazing thing has happened; it is all coming back. I’ll be walking down the street and a phrase will just pop into my head. Or I’ll be at the supermarket and turn to a clerk to ask a question and the words just fly out. We’re not talking anything other than basic survival language, but it is still there. The mind truly is amazing.
The first thing I did when I got to my hotel was to take a shower, unpack a few things, then went out to run errands. Water was the first priority. I drink copious amounts and the cheapest way to get a large, clean water supply is to have a 19 liter/5 gallon bottle delivered to your house. I walked a few short blocks to the little shop that had been my supplier in the past. Right away all the delivery guys recognized me and even remembered my apt/street address, which I had forgotten. I paid and arranged for the water to be delivered in an hour.
Next I went to my old apartment building in hopes of seeing a favorite neighbor. I wasn’t sure if he was even alive as he had been in his mid-80’s and getting a bit frail when I’d last seen him. Much to my great pleasure, not only was he alive and kicking but in better health than 3 years ago. We had a lovely chat before I went back to the hotel to wait for the water.
4pm is the witching hour for me when I have crossed too many time zones and datelines. It’s like someone has shot me with morphine although it doesn’t really feel anywhere near that pleasant. In fact not pleasant at all. I can’t move, can’t keep my eyes open and finally just lie down. The hours are all a big mess to me, but I think I got up at 3am and left the hotel at 6am looking for food.
When I moved to this part of town in 2005, it was quite deserted. A lot of apartment complexes had gone up, and there was construction on every block, but that was about it. One supermarket existed and it was rather dismal. A few tiny eateries, that I would never dine in were scattered here and there, and I don’t think there was one hotel. What I did like is that there was very little traffic, even on the main highway that ran through the middle of this new part of town. Oh my gosh; things have change.
Restaurants and supermarkets and hotels abound. That has its advantages. But the traffic is unbelievable. I have no idea where all these people are coming from or going to. It’s not like downtown Ho Chi Minh City, but one does have to be extremely cautious when crossing a street.
I’ve spent the past few days visiting friends and have been into town twice. Today I am staying in. I do have a mini-fridge in the room which is nice except you have to remember that the electricity cuts off when you leave the room, so what you store has to be limited to non-very-perishables. I was able to find regular light bulbs to replace the florescent bedside lights. (this only took two days and about 5 hours of walking around the entire city to find.)
I’ve managed to get over my initial fear of using my costly, brand new, DSLR camera. I’m still having a bit of trouble figuring out where I have stored the photos on my computer. I’m still questioning if lugging around a high-dollar camera was a smart move. I can’t just whip it out of my bag and throw it back in. I haven’t yet figured out exactly how to walk around town with it. Do I keep it in my shoulder bag which is really not comfortable or do I put it in a back pack which is really not as safe? Did I spend a fortune on an impractical piece of equipment, or is it really the apparatus that I have been dreaming about owning for years? I’m hoping it is the latter.
|
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' I D g .
'_ h . I \ '-
The cool Slav Susan lvanova and follically strange Minbari Ambassador swap make-up secrets.
lt’s understandable really, this reticence to boldly go where Star Trek has gone before. The space saga TV genre fell badly into disrepute over the last decade, serving only as the butt of some pointed lokes (Battlestar Galactica, Blake’s Seven) or the instigator of some iuvenile ones (Red Dwarf).
From America comes a series keen to ,
reclaim the credibility (and ratings) of prime-time space-opera. In the wake of successful Star Trek sequels comes Babylon 5, a large-cast, ambitious slab of futuristic drama set on a space station that conveniently serves as a melting pot of humans and assorted (but happin humanoidish) aliens.
Babylon 5’s secret will be to emphasise personalities above special effects. ‘Sci-fi fans tune in to watch characters,’ says series creator J. Michael Straczynski. ‘You have to give your characters and your actors multi- dimensionality.’
More multi-dimensional than most is Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) the Captain Kirk of the space station, who has to maintain uneasy
f .. .
i peace between the various races
I (differentiated by ludicrous hairstyles
and occasional facial prostheses
; rather than any radical biological
! variation, which made casting easier).
' Sinclair is a kind of troubled, epic
figure, and certainly Straczynski has
l grandiose ideas about his series, and
indeed the whole future of mankind. ‘People of my generation sense that
the have got off the merry-go-round
somewhere,’ he ‘explains’. ‘Whether it
was Kennedy, Vietnam, King or
Watergate. Something went wrong. We
1 have forgotten that we are part of the
l grand parade that’s building the future
I every day. We are building something.
i There will be a future. You can’t tell me in two million years of evolution
1 that the culmination is Beavis And
; Butthead. There must be something
; grander going on here.’
Phew! But if Straczynski’s sales pitch sucks, his show might just turn out to be cool. If not there’s always the consolation that in space no one can hear you snigger. (Tom Lappin) Babylon 5 begins on Channel 4 on Monday 16 May at 6pm.
V DOCUMENTARY .
Facing the dragon
A lone student standing in front of the advancing tanks in Tiananmen Square is one of the most powerful images of the last decade. It, more than any other single image, lives on as a reminder of the 1989 massacre of students assembled in Beijing to demonstrate for democracy and human rights.
Trudie Styler, like many others, spent the five weeks of the Tiananmen Square occupation glued to the television. When the demonstration was quashed and the brief hope of reform in China shattered, she, like the rest, forgot about it. Until a few months later, when she met li I.u who at the time of the massacre was high on the Chinese Government’s most wanted list. He had just escaped from Beijing and was at Columbia University, with no clothes, no funding and little command of English. Styler immediately decided to buy the rights to the book he was writing about the occupation: Moving The Mountain.
‘We thought it was important to focus on giving a face to Tiananmen Square,’ says Styler of the documentary which has emerged from
68 The List (i—l‘) May I994
that book. ‘There is a very strong link between the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square in that during the Cultural Revolution, those students were babies, typically offspring of intellectuals who were branded as class enemies.’
The emotionally charged documentary, directed by Michael Apted, combines footage shot in 1989 with dramatic reconstructions of the leading students’ childhoods and contemporary interviews to explore the historical forces that led up to the democracy movement and are shaping China’s future.
Besides bringing Tiananmen Square back to our minds on its fifth anniversary, Styler says the process of interviewing the leaders of the current democracy movement is empowering for them. ‘It actually makes them a safer than they would be,’ she says.
'. ‘By putting the light of celebrity
i around them, the Chinese Government ‘ aren’t going to torture them any more.’ (Thom Dibdin)
Moving The Mountain will be broadcast on BBCZ on May 14 at l 8.30pm
After over eighteen months of keeping his listeners up-to-date with the latest independent releases on the weekly Smiile. Q96 DJ lan Hossack is burrowing further into the world of new music with his new show Sound Control. sponsored by the self-same music shop. The two—hour show mixes music and chat of a music industry— related nature. Each week a special guest, usually culled from the twilight world of record company A & R. will take the hot seat to provide an ‘insider guide‘ to theirjob and the biz we call music.
A local band. who couldn‘t normally expect radio support. will be featured on demo and in interview — Roundabout. Fred Quimby Quartet and Solomon Flynn have already had the honour — and a local industry figure. usually a promoter. will offer advice to young bands. Hossack hopes to involve students on Scotland‘s several music industry courses, following their progress as much as the bands‘. Finally. Keith Joseph from Sound Control will review the latest equipment.
‘l‘d always wanted to do an infrastructure programme to get bands to focus on the local industry.‘ says Hossack. ‘lt seemed to me all these local bands would come in and be blind and after about a year they‘d know the game. Now. while the bands are in the studio before their first gigs they get to know the game slightly. So I‘ve been trying to get this off the ground for about a year.‘
He envisages that Sound Control will attract an audience composed of young bands and anyone with an interest in the wider spectrum of music-related occupations. In the wake of Sound City‘s educative aim. it‘s an invaluable piece of ‘public service radio‘ to use broadcasting‘s buzz term and as Hossack says. ‘The one question is “why hasn‘t it been done before?" There isn‘t another show like this and the response in the past two weeks has been enormous.‘
Sound Control occupies the Wednesday 8—10pm slot as part of a time strand that includes other specialist shows on the station: rock show Ruck 'It' Roll Heaven on Tuesdays. Blues Anti [favour] on Thursdays. The Qua/w. Thea Newcomb‘s show for Scottish and Irish bands on Fridays and Sour/e on Mondays. Hossack terms these shows ‘the meat‘ to the daytime shows‘ ‘bread and butter‘ programming. (Fiona Shepherd)
I The Usual Suspects (Radio Scotland. Fri 6. Fri l3. 10.10pm) Radio Scotland‘s arts flagship runs a six-week series of cabaret shows live from their Queen Street studios. The Friday 6 programme features Love & Money. Fjaere and Tam White plus comedians Fred MacAulay and Rhona Cameron while Arnold Brown. Bruce Morton. Carol Laula. The Pearlfishers and Zut! La Chute show up on the 13th. (For details of free tickets to the shows see Rock and Comedy listings). I Table Talk: Trust Me, I’m A Doctor (Radio 3. Sat 7. 1.02pm) Rerun of an edition on edible highs frotn magic mushrooms to hash brownies. Recipes for marijuana have grown in sophistication since the 60s when you simply sprinkled it into cake mix. Now nouvelle cuisine dictates that you saute it in garlic and olive oil and spread it on thin pieces of toast.
I Kaleidoscope (Radio 4. Sat 7. 7.20pm) Edition on Andy Warhol to mark the opening of a lavish Andy Warhol museum in Warhol‘s home town of Pittsburgh. Presenter Tim Marlow talks to Andy‘s brother and fellow art students frotn the class of ‘45. and asks if the museum will help grimy. industrial Pittsburgh re-invent itself as Warhol country.
I Blue (Radio 3. Sun 8. 7.30pm) A tribute to Derek Jarman in the forth of a second chance to hear the soundtrack of his imageless film. John Quentin. Nigel Terry and Tilda Swinton contribute with a musical score by Simon Fisher. All you need is a radio and a piece of blue cardboard and Bob‘s your uncle.
I Born to be Mild (Radio 4 FM. Tue 10. 10am). Another quirky. high concept piece of Radio 4 reportage as diminutive Martin Wainwright subverts the ()n The Road myth by touring the North of England in a Reliant Kitten. The first programme in the series visits the set of Coronation Street. Manchester's (jay Village and an old people‘s mobile home park in Stafford.
I Andy Kershaw (Radio I. Sat [-1. 3pm) Features Weapons ()f Sound. an urban junk band frorn Plymouth playing funky sounds on gas pipes. hub—caps. shopping trolleys. iron girders etc. etc.
I Collins and Maconie’s Hit Parade (Radio I. Thurs l‘). 9pm.) The Naked (‘t’rv gagsters return to the airwaves with an irreverent magazine show. lixpect news. gossip and discussions on the latest releases as well as features like ()mituary where a critic is asked to review an artist unaware that three cliche phrases have already been revealed to the audience. Will the critic avoid the pilftllls.’ (Frances Cornford)
|
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Thursday, July 14, 2011
the thick air of summer
In Chicago, we are in the season known as "summer". I say that, because as I grew up, I knew summer as a time when being outside was like stepping into soup, and the only respite was the ever welcome presence of a pool, or a river, or better yet, an ocean.
This year, "summer" has had a few cool weeks, a few hot days, and recently, some absolutely gorgeous spring-time weather. (last night was 60, tonight is supposed to be 65). Of course, this is Chicago, where it is "winter" roughly 8 months out of the year. The trade-off is summers that are tremendous for being outside all day long - sitting in the heat of midday, and walking in the cool of evening.
But you don't come to this blog for a description of the weather. So here's a story:
I spent much of my teenage years at Assateague Island. We would go year-round - there was no time that was not a great time to be at the beach. In the winter, the bay was warming. In the summer, the ocean was respite for my boyhood dreams and visions - I would exhaust myself by swimming all day and then read all night. These days were filled with wonder and excitement.
When Kim and I got married, I was excited to take her to Assateague. We finally got an opportunity to go, when we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary. We had a great day, walking in the sand, swimming, and getting sunburned. In the evening, we were going to a Maryland style crab buffet - a family restaurant where they dump buckets of crabs on paper tablecloths, give you a shaker of Old Bay, and leave you alone.
We needed to shower prior to going to dinner, so we went to the "walk-in" campground (sites that are not accessible by car because they are deep into the dunes) and used the showers. Kim went first, and I stood outside. She heard me yelling and screaming to hurry up, and also heard me slapping myself as if I was a marauder that needed to be subdued at all cost. She quickly finished, and walked outside, to find me completely covered in mosquitoes. I would estimate that I got between 100-200 mosquito bites in a 5 minute time span. We started running chaotically, swatting at the sky as if the salt air itself was attacking.
Roughly 15 minutes later (as measured by frantic running), we were at the main bathouse. Kim went to shower, and I stood guard over our stuff. Small children would approach me with looks of terror, and then they would go running. Almost every adult that walked by said something like "What HAPPENED to you?"" Where were you?" and "will you be the subject of a new horror film I'm filming?"
It should be duly noted that the sunburn hadn't even set it yet. These comments were simply geared toward the pile of mosquito food my skin had become.
It was a great day. Kim and I both enjoyed the ocean, the sun, and REALLY enjoyed gorging ourselves on crab. This is what I remember summer as being: Air so thick you could cut it with a butter knife, but a time when all wounds can heal simply by watching the tide come in at the ocean.
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Does anyone have any strong opinions about Nikki Buchanan’s picks in the Phoenix magazine’s 2008 Dining Guide?
I admit to not having read it thoroughly, but my flip-through shows the common pit trap of $$$ = Good!
While Nikki’s prose makes me groan …their wurst is best? what really infuriated me was the piss-poor selection of restaurants for the West Valley. I mean, I get it. It’s a culinary desert here, but to list only 17 restaurants, five of which are chains? And, not very good chains at that. El-Paso BBQ is horrid (in my opinion). I don’t care of it “…passes the sniff test.” My mom’s old Weber passes the sniff test too.
Additionally, the 2 “Best New Restaurants” are very pricey – Skye Restaurant and Sweet O & Chocolate Lounge.
Must give Nikki props for including Mi Cocina, Mi Pais. Havent eaten there but other Chowhounds appear to vouch for it.
Thumbs down, though, for not including Tastings. It fits Nikki’s price range.
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Métron Musik Mixtape - 020 - Will Samson
Métron Musik Mixtape - 020 - Will Samson
I’d not heard of Will Samson until a few months ago when I stumbled across his beautiful 2015 release on French imprint Talitres, the wonderful ‘Ground Luminosity’. It’s a beautiful mesh of sounds, oceans of ambient swells set against soft vocals, delicate acoustic instrumentation and cascading electronic percussion. The strength of the record (which features contributions from Benoit Pioulard and Michael Feuerstack) left me kind of surprised that I hadn’t heard about him before. I spoke to Will about collaborating as I had figured here was a producer with eclectic tastes and somebody who could add something different to our mixtape series.
Will has put together a chronological look back at his musical past charting the period from 2010 to the present day. In his excellent Métron Musik Mixtape we are treated to the evolution of Samson’s sound, set alongside his shifting musical influences during those periods. Will described the process of selecting tracks for this mix as like looking back through an old diary, and it’s clearly been a fruitful creative period.
Featuring plenty of his own work, including his recent collaborations with Tom Demac and Sei A, as well as a ton of great releases from his peers, past and present, it’s a fantastic retrospective that showcases Will’s diverse sound and excellent songwriting. It’s a selection of tracks full of melancholy and rich in ambient textures, interlaced with energetic and upbeat moments.
JH: Your mix is a personal story, something of a retrospective for your own musical evolution - can you tell us the thought process behind these selections?
WS: The mix is essentially a chronological look at my past music (dating back to 2010) up until the present day & the musical influences around each album. It was an interesting process for me to look back at these songs and really think about what I was listening to, during the writing and recording sessions. It felt akin to reading through an old notebook and uncovering a lot of hidden memories.
JH: You included a couple of recent collaborations, how did working with Sei A and Tom Demac, two producers more known for house music, come about?
WS: Tom Demac contacted me out of the blue back in 2013, after hearing 'Storms Above The Submarine' from my 2012 album, Balance. I never ever expected that I would collaborate on an electronic dance record, but I'm a big believer in the importance of pushing oneself out of your comfort zone. It was fun (which is the most important thing, of course) and gave me a fresh outlook on production.
Following that, Will Saul (who runs Aus Music - the label who released the collaboration) asked if I would be willing to work with Sei A, on his next album. That was finally just released a couple of weeks ago!
JH: The mix shows a progression in your sound that is reflected in your releases to date, an evolution towards more beat driven ambient compositions - where do you see yourself going from here and with that in mind what are your plans for 2016, is their a new LP in the works?
WS: I have a lot of ideas right now, but I'm not sure where to begin with them! I have slowly been working on some instrumental tracks with Benoit Pioulard, which will hopefully become an album this year. I have also started a new project with Message To Bears, which is currently heading in a much more electronic direction.
Part of me wants to focus on a very beat-driven, electronic album...but the other half also wants to create a very stripped down, acoustic guitar focused album. With the latter, I plan on recording it all live to tape in as short a time as possible. I guess the 5th solo release will probably end up being a combination of the two!
JH: Are you still based in Brighton? I read that you spent a lot of time in Portugal whilst working on the last LP. Did you take anything from the countries musical culture?
WS: I spent two years working on Ground Luminosity, but I was actually only in Portugal for 3-4 weeks, where I recorded most of the vocals and final overdubs...before heading over to Brussels, where the incredible Beatrijs De Klerck added her violin parts.
I'm no longer in Brighton and am in the process of moving over to Lisbon. It's been a plan of mine for 5-6 years now...and after struggling to find somewhere to live in the UK (thanks to extortionate rent prices) it seems like a good time to make the leap of faith.
Portuguese music wasn't an influence on the last album, but some new friends have been exposing me to some fantastic local music...so I'm sure that will trickle into my creative subconscious.
JH: We always ask for a few recommendations, some releases we might have missed out on?
WS: My dear friend Florian Frenzel aka Heimer is about to release his first first solo album via Tomlab in the late Summer. It's incredible! I'm genuinely so excited for the world to hear this amazing album he has created. He is also just about to release a digital EP as a precursor to the album...so please be sure to listen!
Jonsi & Alex - Indian Summer
Will Samson - Meet Me At Home
The Album Leaf - The Outer Banks
Benoit Pioulard - Shouting Distance
Will Samson - Storms Above The Submarine
John Martyn - May You Never
Will Samson - Sanctuary
Tom Demac & Will Samson - It Grows Again
F.S. Blumm - Binsen & Bast
Will Samson & Heimer - Stir
Fenster - 1982
Will Samson - Night Canyon
The Gentlemen Losers - Silver Water Ripples
Sei A - Tides ft. Will Samson
Aphex Twin - Acrid Avid Jam Shred
The original artwork below was created for this mix by Jack Hardwicke.
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Seeing flyers of the Toyota Avalon incentives you can get when buying a new car makes me want to go spend money we don’t have on a brand new car to replace our old one. The incentives are there to entice people and they sure are hard to resist. It doesn’t help that hubby has been complaining about our car more than usual the past few months.
But we must practice restraint and learn to be patient. Buying a new car is not in our priorities for this year. Our priority is to build a sustainable business first which can fund our needs and if God willing some of our wants too in the future. Since we have just started we are still a long way to go.
In the meantime we have to learn to be content. The most important thing is we are happy as a family. We may drive a rickety car and we might not have a house of our own but what we have is one another. The most important thing is our marriage is going strong, we have two kids who mean the world to us, jobs that put food on the table, and lots of love to go around.
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Word: “a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing”. Oxford Online Dictionary
Picking up passing scraps of conversation, or tuning in to radio or TV programmes, we are all aware that language is constantly evolving, never more so than in the last few decades. The pace of change everywhere has been fuelled by rapid technological progress, cultural shifts and wide dissemination via the internet and mass media. New things and novel ideas require fresh means of expression. It’s a two way process. Words lose popularity and drop from common parlance within the lifetime of the original speakers (Rather! I say!). Broadcasts from the 1950s on “the wireless” and Pathé “newsreels” already sound pompous and stultified to modern ears. Yet that same period in America spawned a host of new words for new concepts (fast food, junk mail, DJ, weirdo, sexism) which caught on rapidly around the world and still seem quite new today.
With the current popularity of period drama, we may even be struck by how odd our modern expressions would have seemed back then. Anachronisms – such as the use of “learning curve”, “fan club” and “defining moment” in the UK TV series Downton Abbey – provide fun for gaffe spotters. Getting the language of the period right is perhaps even more important for creating atmosphere than costume and setting – a misused phrase can stand out like a pylon in an ageless rural scene. But because words and meaning have changed significantly over time, programme producers are aware that to stick too closely to the language of more distant periods can make it alienating and impenetrable to a modern audience. The past can indeed seem like a foreign country.
The diverse origins of the English language have resulted in a peculiarly rich linguistic culture. Other languages may perhaps boast greater purity, or more actual dictionary words, partly depending on how variants, compounds and inflections are counted, but contributions from the linguistic heritage of Anglo Saxon, Latin and Norman French have melded with more recent influences to create a varied lexicon replete with multiple layers of meaning. Strangely, grammar, the actual structure of language, is much less subject to external influence, and changes very slowly, but one of the peculiar strengths of English is its vast ability to absorb new vocabulary.
Al dente, sushi, latte, macho, siesta, doppelganger, zeitgeist, déjà vu… we assimilate new words from a variety of sources and influences, but not many neologisms now come into English from other languages, the massive trend being in the other direction.
Words which evolve from a shared localised culture, whether popular or highbrow, can be opaque to outsiders – references to British youth subcultures (hoodie, chav) or to literary sources (Catch-22, Orwellian, scrooge) can be equally mystifying.
However the most noticeable aspect of language development in recent years is the rapid globalization of new words for new concepts in science, technology, the media and popular culture, and here the predominant influence is transatlantic – from US to British English. By extension, the worldwide source for most modern neologisms is the American-English-dominated internet, and to some, the plethora of new words can seem like an invasion. Official bodies in many countries (Russia, Sweden, France and Spain) attempt to prescribe accepted terminology, often amidst fears about the corruption of the official language.
With hundreds or even thousands of new words emerging each year, the ever changing panorama creates a particular challenge for translators looking for meaning. In Britain, non-prescriptive dictionaries record common usage rather than official acceptance. New words may arise as compounds (earworm, senior moment), new phrasal words (laid-back, chill-out) or blends of words (staycation, brunch, metrosexual). Abbreviated words (detox, decaf, sat-nav) or words formed from acronyms (yuppie, ASBO) have become increasingly common, as have text messaging abbreviations (LOL, BTW), whilst large numbers of old words have gained new meanings (surf, tweet, hack, sad, cool) or have been altered by the addition of prefixes or suffixes, sometimes borrowed from other languages (uncool, über-modern, fashionista). New terms move from slang status to more general acceptance, disseminated by the media. Other terms come and go, arising from transitory political or cultural events (eurogeddon, eurosceptic). The Oxford Online Dictionary may even be ahead of most of us, having already raised definitions for such new compounds as omnishambles, buzzworthy and hackerspace. Who knows how many of these will survive? Such words have to prove their longevity before they can get in to the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary, but even here the notional ten year rule is disappearing: despite its relative novelty, “tweet” has been accepted for inclusion this year!
The problem for translators is that not all languages may adapt so readily. Many languages, such as Turkish, Hungarian and German, have similar ways of dealing with new concepts, by building up a descriptive compound word from component parts, allowing almost infinite variety. However, preferred terms for common objects may take a while to emerge, the concept itself may not be familiar to the target audience, popular names may differ from officially minted terminology, and the step from popular use to official recognition may take even longer. In Spain, the term “email” is widely encountered but “correo electrónico” is officially preferred. Some words like “avatar” (Sanskrit in origin) have been directly adopted into other languages. Hungarian and Russian have their own, home coined words for the World Wide Web (“világháló” and “всемирная паутина”) but in Germany, “das Internet” is more widely used than the home produced version “das Weltnetz”. Other terms like LOL (“laugh-out-loud”) are subtly transformed by local speakers, so “jajaja” in Spanish, becomes 555 (hahaha) in Korean! Curiously, “geek” in Spanish becomes “friki” which also has an Anglo-Saxon origin, whilst Germans use an English word “Handy” for mobile phone, a term not recognised by English speakers!
Popular slang may be of limited concern to professional translators, but new terminology is also constantly being introduced in science, medicine, business, marketing and politics, yet until very well established may not be recorded in printed bilingual dictionaries and is unlikely to be found in automated translation systems. It is up to translators themselves to be part of the ongoing process of defining and explaining new words and concepts, whilst keeping a close eye on developments!
Written by: Sarah Wright
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Every organization wants superstar employees and some will even delay the hiring process weeks or even months until that perfect candidate blips on the radar. What happens though if once you find your purple squirrel, they have mange or rabies? Do you cut them lose or keep them around for their quota busting, nut gathering ability?
Economist Dylan Minor and Cornerstone OnDemand’s chief analytics officer, Michael Housman, examined nearly 60,000 workers to determine the cost of retaining toxic workers. In their study, they define “toxic” as conduct harmful to an organization’s people or property. They found that retaining toxic workers, even those residing in the top 1% for productivity, cost far more than the rewards reaped from a toxic employee’s high production.
Their study revealed that a top one percent worker could produce over $5,000 in annual cost savings however a company could avoid $12,000 in costs by not hiring a toxic worker. In short a toxic worker, even if they are super productive, is far more costly to an organization than an average, non-toxic worker. Take a look at the chart below provided in their study!
Even though a worker in only the top 25% of productivity saves a company far less than one in the top 1%, the study shows that replacing a superstar toxic worker with a less than stellar non-toxic worker, to still be the more cost effective choice.
Why are toxic workers so much more expensive? The most apparent answer is turnover. Toxic workers drive other employees away and the cost of replacing those employees is high not to mention that morale and productivity often drop until a replacement is found. Additionally toxic workers produce other toxic workers. Negativity spreads like wildfire.
Interestingly enough, toxic workers are more productive in terms of their output and one 2013 study found that unethical workers remain longer at organizations. This explains why toxic workers are so often selected and even retained for long timespans.
In summary, avoid hiring a toxic worker if you can but should you find yourself burdened with one or many, remove them despite their high production. As former GE CEO Jack Welch put it, “People are removed for having the wrong values…we don’t even talk about the numbers.”
Last year the national average for filling an open position reached 29 days which was a record. Believing that recruiters are simply dragging their feet and waiting for a purple squirrel is a common assumption and true to some extent. To be fair though to recruiters and hiring managers, the number of measures that must be taken the moment a position becomes vacant needs to be considered.
- Advertise the position
- Identify acceptable candidates
- Conduct interviews
- Complete background and reference checks
- Extend an offer
- Wait for the candidate to accept the offer
When you consider all of this, 29 days doesn’t seem so long but it is! According to some statistics, top talent remains on the market for only 10 days! Additionally, during that 29 days, as the position remains open, productivity, revenue and morale drops among your employees. The solution seems simple. Speed up the hiring process! Weed out candidates with an ATS. Conduct more interviews in less time with video interviewing! Even with those measures in place, is ten days to fill a realistic goal?
Recruiting in the business world isn’t like recruiting in the sports or entertainment industry. My team has an open position at quarterback and Cam Newton is available? You’d better believe we are going after him! He’s a proven star! Carmello Anthony is a free agent and I need a forward? My VP of People Operations is calling up Carmello’s agent. My movie’s director just dropped out? Let’s see, is Scorsese Spielberg or Christopher Nolan available? No? What about Alejandro Inarritu? He’s been nominated twice in the last two years.
Within these fields top talent can easily be identified. Right from the start a short list of stars to fill the open position is formed. In the corporate world unless you are poaching executives at the “C” level from high profile companies such as Amazon, Apple or Google, most top talent is relatively unknown. You don’t know that you have a potential Steph Curry, Odell Beckham Jr., or Cate Blanchett applying for your open position. At least not from the start.
Though your job candidate’s resume may scream success up front, you certainly want more than a few days to determine the validity of their credentials. Assuming an organization is lucky enough to find their dream candidate within seven days of posting a job, recruiters are left with only three days to interview the candidate, verify references and negotiate an offer before the candidate accepts another. Careerbuilder released a survey a few years ago and the results showed that 41% of employers believed a bad hiring decision cost them upwards of $25,000 and 43% of them blamed their bad hires on a rushed hiring decision.
Organizations face a problem. Move too quickly during the hiring process and they risk hiring the wrong candidate. Move too slowly and they risk a great candidate getting away. Move slower still, 29 days slow, and they risk losing not only the good candidates but all of the rest. Hiring managers can ill afford to hold out and wait for a Steph Curry or an Adrian Peterson. As Dr. John Sullivan points out, “…it’s mostly luck if the most desirable candidates decide to enter the job market precisely when you coincidentally have a job opening.”
So can you hire a great candidate in ten days? Yes, but only if luck is on your side. Generally you shouldn’t try because your rushed hiring decision could produce a bad hire. However if you drag your feet too long waiting for the perfect candidate, your luck will turn to misfortune. That is if you believe losing revenue is unfortunate.
The possibility of hiring people online has changed the recruitment market immensely. Almost every bigger company uses online recruiting methods in one way or another. There are just so many possibilities.
Social recruitment is one of those. It means using social networks to reach and pick out potential employees. Freelancing websites are another one. They are a great way to find and contact a lot of external talents. Last but not least, a lot of companies use online as an easy way to support their offline recruitment methods. For example by posting their offer on their website.
But why are companies so crazy about online recruitment? All the ways described above have their specific advantages and disadvantages. But recruiting online is inherently different than previous methods. In this article, we’ve put together the 4 main benefits of finding new employees or external experts online.
- Faster recruiting process
To start it off with an obvious one, recruiting online yields results much quicker than traditional methods. Here’s what it takes to make an offline job ad – contact newspaper to insert ad, get it approved, wait for print, wait for delivery, wait for candidate response. You’ll notice the word wait three times at the end there. Here’s the online process – post on platform of your own choosing, wait for candidate response.
These examples are a bit oversimplified, but you get the idea. Candidates can view your online job offer right away, 24 hours a day and response as quickly as they can. Waiting for CVs or other documents to physically reach you is simply inefficient when compared to online alternatives. A faster recruitment process means your company gets the workforce it needs sooner.
- Reduced costs
It costs less. Not only is it cheaper in general, in some cases it comes with no additional financial costs, e.g. social recruitment via Facebook or LinkedIn. Professional online recruiting platforms will cost more than your Facebook page, but the bottom line should still come out in your favor.
And it’s not just monetary savings either. Online recruitment also saves your HR department time. This means they have more time to optimize working processes, train your employees and pick out the best prospects for that job opening. Another online specific advantage is the fact that you can always change your ad or posting relatively easily compared to offline methods.
- No geographical barriers
It doesn’t matter where you are anymore. Your target audience doesn’t have to be in a specific region to get the TV ad, the newspaper, see a poster or pick up a flyer. They just have to be using certain online services. This means you can access a global market of experts. You all know the advantages of outsourcing – it can be cheaper and bring very valuable talent and experience that maybe just isn’t there in your region.
- Filtering possibilities
A larger pool of candidates to pick from might seem intimidating at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Statistically, the more people you reach, the more likely it is that the people you are looking for are among them. If you use external services, for example, you will be able to look for people who work in a specific niche or have plenty of experience in the field you want. You can filter by region, language, and sometimes even expected pay. This won’t be the case if you’re using other forms of online recruitment. However, with the emergence of trends like Big Data, more companies are using their databases to help determine which employees are most likely to be hired.
Of course, offline recruitment can still be useful in some cases. But if you’re not using any online channel or platform for finding candidates in 2016, you’re probably doing something wrong.
Viktor Marinov is the voice behind the freelancer magazine at http://www.freelancermap.com. Every week he comes up with helpful hints, checklists and guides for freelancers and independent workers. If you would like to know how to find remote jobs online or how to niche yourself as a freelancer, check out his freelancer tips!
Dr. John Sullivan published recently an article titled, “Recruiting Trends for 2016 And Their Supporting Best Practices, Part 1 of 2.” Part one lists recruiting trends twelve through six while the six highest impact trends are reserved for part two to be released at a later date. Curious to see if video interviewing made the cut, I was momentarily floored from the get go when I read trend #12, “Anonymous resume screening and blind interviewing.”
In an effort to bring more diversity to recruiting, recruiters are not only being trained to recognize their unconscious biases but also are being trained in best practices to hide “irrelevant” information. Best practice number one includes hiding information such as the candidate’s name, address and grades which are not seen as accurate predictors of success. Best practice number two suggests reducing the number of visual biases. These visual biases are not detailed but using more telephone interviews is encouraged. Another suggestion offered was to hide the candidate behind a screen. The third best practice was to reduce voice bias by offering online questionnaires. The best practice of reducing voice bias seems to contradict the best practice of conducting more phone interviews. In summary a trend is forming that recruiting should be done blind and deaf. You don’t know the candidate’s name, gender, age, and additionally can’t see or hear the candidate. Imagine the Dating Game where the woman asks written questions of her suitors, they in-turn write down their responses on an index card, and then toss them over the curtain to her without revealing any hint of their charm or charisma. Perhaps this isn’t a fair analogy. Hiring should be more scientific and based on the candidate’s skills not the emotions they invoke in you, correct? But what becomes of cultural fit if we remove a candidate’s face and voice, or is “cultural fit” just a euphemism for discrimination, as an HR professional once put it to me?
Google is mentioned in the article as one of the firms experimenting with blind resumes and though Google’s site does promote diversity, their culture is important to them as well. As is written on their careers page, “Lots has been written about our great perks, but read on to find out what our culture is really all about.” Cultural fit is important not just in determining if the candidate is right for the company but also in determining if the company is right for the candidate. Is the effort to hire a diverse workforce based on skills alone ignoring the cultural fit factors necessary to increase employee retention? Trend #10 promotes the use of recruiting videos such as video job descriptions and video job offers to better show off the excitement and passion of an organization. Perhaps such a practice will better help organizations promote their culture and improve fit with candidates.
I concede that a candidate’s name and grades aren’t accurate predictors of success. In fact data that Google derived from their recruiting processes suggests G.P.A. truly is irrelevant several years post-graduation. Location to me though seems necessary perhaps not for fit but just to know whether the candidate requires re-location or sponsorship to work at your company. I will assume the recruiter understands the job specs and is providing the appropriate resumes to the hiring manager.
Eliminating bias in hiring is certainly a desired goal, but are employers losing the ability to find and hire the best candidates by going blind and deaf? Only if you believe that cultural fit won’t make your organization more successful. We have to ask, is diversity more important than every other objective and will diversity alone optimize your workforce? Are diversity and cultural fit mutually exclusive?
The extent to which extreme measures to decrease bias and increase diversity are necessary points to a larger problem that these best practices cannot circumvent. Prejudiced managers exist and even if the candidate is hired sight unseen they will reveal themselves the first day they report work. If the employee comes from a class, race, ethnicity, etc. to which the hiring manager is biased, you aren’t doing the candidate or your company’s retention rates any favors.
The other big unknown is will flying blind and deaf actually result in a more diverse workforce? What do you think?
The hiring process has changed over the years as old methods of hiring make way for new ones. Online job postings killed the classifieds and soon postings will succumb to social media. Video interviews will replace the phone screen. Resume screening software has replaced humans and eventually the flaws these systems carry with them will be replaced with better technology.
I’m setting myself up for ridicule by trying to guess what the future of hiring will be like in 100 years but then again who is going to read this post in the next millennium and point out all the ways I got it wrong?
First off, in one hundred years few jobs may be left that a robot isn’t already performing? According to the Boston Consulting Group, robots will replace humans in factories at a greater clip in the next decade than seen before. As of now only ten percent of jobs than can be automated are taken by robots but by 2025 Boston Consulting foresees that 23% will be automated. Two University of Oxford researchers estimated that by 2033, 47% of all U.S. jobs might be taken over by computers. Imagining that the majority of factory related jobs will be automated by 2115 is not so difficult. Continue reading “What Will Hiring Be Like In 100 Years?” »
Careerbuilder released a survey recently of 374 HR professionals and 319 job candidates asking them how technology degrades the hiring process. Here are a few problems reported.
Fifty-three percent of HR professionals believe a long application process helps to screen out unenthusiastic job candidates. Unfortunately for employers, over 60% of job candidates reported that they started an application process but dropped out because it was too complicated or lengthy. Continue reading “Survey Says Hiring Process Suffers From Huge Disconnects Between Job Candidate and Employer” »
Two years ago, Flight Centre, an Australian airfare company, began to allow their recruiters rather than their hiring managers, hire the job applicants. Instead of presenting a small pool of qualified candidates to the hiring manager the recruiter instead gives them an employee.
As someone with recruiting experience, here are a few reasons why such a simple move is so brilliant. Continue reading “5 Reasons Why Your Recruiters Should Do The Hiring” »
With so many available applicants per every open position, how companies are having trouble filling open roles might seem bewildering. The infographic below shows the obstacles plaguing both job candidates and hiring managers in today’s hiring process. Continue reading “Infographic: Challenges of Today’s Hiring Process” »
Hire-Intelligence To Address Video Interviewing At Annual American Psychological Association Convention
The first ever research conducted to determine the validity of web-based video job interviewing will be presented on August 10th in Washington D.C. at the 2014 Annual APA convention.
Titled, “Exploring the Validity of Asynchronous Web-Based Video Interviews” the session will address research sponsored by Hire-Intelligence and conducted by GCG Solutions principal Dr. Charles “Allen” Gorman. The study sought to evaluate the ability of video interviews to provide valuable, job-related insights for employers who use video to screen job candidates. The research found that ratings of the applicant, applicant characteristics, and video interview responses all predicted job performance and associated work outcomes. Continue reading “Hire-Intelligence To Address Video Interviewing At Annual American Psychological Association Convention” »
Hire-Intelligence, in coordination with Synchronized Resources Inc., will present “Access, Accommodations & Video Interviewing” on August 5th in Washington D.C. at the National Industry Liaison Conference. Continue reading “The Annual NILG Conference Discusses Video Interviewing & The Disabled” »
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Summary: Book Three in the “Merlin Spiral” Series, Merlin’s Nightmare takes place 18-ish years after Merlin’s Shadow ends. Arthur is now grown and Merlin is ready to settle down with his family. In a twist of events, Arthur goes missing and Merlin goes off to find him. While they’re gone, Arthur’s true identity is revealed to him and he must decide if he’s going to embrace it or run away from it. Merlin, also, must decide if he’s going to overcome his fears or let them destroy him. And what of Natalenya, Garth, and Caygek? Pick up Merlin’s Nightmare and find out!
Review: Truly one of the best series that I’ve ever read. There have been many series I’ve read that have started out good and fizzled out by the end, but not this one! If it’s even possible, Merlin’s Nightmare was better than its predecessors Merlin’s Blade and Merlin’s Shadow. Robert Treskillard does an amazing job of story-telling and painting pictures with his words. Definitely a page-turner novel that you won’t want to put down! For being a newer author, he’s quickly becoming a favorite in our household. And just in case you’ve missed my reviews of the two previous books I’ll say it again because it’s worth repeating, Robert Treskillard gives a whole new perspective on the Merlin/Arthur/Camelot stories of old with his “Merlin Spiral” series. Merlin’s not a magician/wizard, as he’s often portrayed, he’s a bard and follower of Christ.
There really were so many parts I liked, it’s hard to pick a favorite. The Epilogue was the perfect ending to the “Merlin Spiral” series; enough closure to feel complete, but enough “what’s going to happen?” to keep you interested in the upcoming “Pendragon Spiral” series. A close second is all of Chapter 34, but especially the conversation (pg. 357-358) where Merlin is asked “WHO IS YOUR KING?” and eventually ends with what readers will recognize as Matthew 10:28 (or Luke 12:4-5). Talk about tears.
HIGHLY recommend this book, especially for those who love Merlin/Arthur stories. The whole series is amazing and I look forward to reading more from Robert Treskillard.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own, no other compensation was received.
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At about this time each year, many people in Germany are simply over it. Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) have closed up shop, the cold has thoroughly set in and it is a long couple of months til festivities like Erster Mai. The German winter is upon us and it is not so nice.
Following my post on 8 Non-Alcoholic Drinks to Survive the Summer and in the hopes that something warm on the inside will defrost your chilly exterior, here are 8 warm German drinks to endure the winter.
01 of 08
Glühwein is hard to escape during Christmas market season - and why would you want to? Though some people loudly proclaim that they are not fans of the hot, spiced wine ubiquitous everywhere from markets to Spatis (late-night convenience stores), you can buy a cup for just 1.50-3 euro to keep your hands warm.
Need more booze to make it through the darkness of winter? Ask for einen shuß (a shot) to up the alcohol and enjoyment. Common add-ins include rum, Kirschwasser (cherry brandy) and amaretto.
02 of 08
Does your holiday drinking require more fire? The traditional Feuerzangenbowle provides!
Often prepared for Christmas or New Year's Eve (Silvester), consuming this alcoholic drink is part ritual. A Bowle of Glühwein is flavored with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise and orange peel and topped with a suspended rum-soaked sugarloaf (Zuckerhut). The sugar is set ablaze and carmelizes before dripping into the wine. Taste the Gemütlichkeit!
This tradition partly roots from the 1944 comedy, Die Feuerzangenbowle. This film is so popular it is still shown in Tübingen, every December with huge vats of the drink.
03 of 08
Steering away from the many alcoholic options is this kid-friendly familiar favorite, hot chocolate (or heiße Schokolade). It tastes like dessert in a cup and is often made with real chocolate.
If you prefer a more adult beverage, add some Schnapps.
04 of 08
EierlikörSimilar to eggnog in texture and opinions (you either love it or you hate it), this thick, frothy drink is a winter classic. You'll notice it slowly turning at the Weihnachtsmärkte and being drunk primarily by little old ladies. Its hearty milk, cream, sugar and beaten egg base is augmented by the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg plus rum, brandy, or whisky.Continue to 5 of 8 below.
05 of 08
Germany may not be known for its coffee, but the tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen is the revered tradition of taking a break midday to sit down with a piece of cake and some piping hot coffee. And gone are the days of weak filter brew as cities like Berlin embrace coffee culture and trendy drinks like flat white.
If you find yourself in North Frisia (area between the rivers Eider and Wiedau/Vidå and including the islands of Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, Nordstrand and Heligoland), you should a Pharisäer. This warming coffee drink has a cube of sugar, shot of rum and a thick topping of whipped cream through which it should be drunk. This method of drinking was to cover-up the smell of alcohol from a puritanical pastor.
06 of 08
Unlike the weak British version of the drink (water and rum), this belly-warming brew has an apple cider base. Throat-soothing elements like lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves and other spices add to the flavor.
Often featured at medieval markets, it retains an old-timey character.
07 of 08
08 of 08
A cold beer may not sound like the ideal winter drink, but there is never a bad time to drink beer in Germany. Besides, this drink will keep you warm from the inside if you drink enough of them.
Try traditional winter beers that are hearty and dark, like a Bock. This type of Starkbier (strong beer) is perfect for the winter season with filling nutrients and a high alcohol content.
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22 contestants text while running and blindfolded for cash
Txt ur heart out: Teen wins third LG texting championship
Next time you ask your teen to "stop texting," you may want to think twice. Your teenager may be gearing up for the National Texting Championship – and the fat check that's bestowed upon the winner.
In New York yesterday, 22 contestants, 22 years old or younger, stretched their thumbs and prepared to test their texting dexterity at the third LG US National Texting Championship. The contest was sponsored by the mobile-phones division of LG Electronics, based in Seoul, South Korea. The 22 finalists, plucked from 250,000 eager texters, competed against each other over two days. Some of the challenges consisted of texting while blindfolded (a Harris Interactive Study reported that 42 percent of teens say they can text blindfolded) and texting while walking on a treadmill.
The competition concluded with a final face-off between 14-year-old Morgan Dynda of Savannah, Ga. and 15-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, who were both asked to text three phrases from the chorus of the song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," as fast as they could using proper capitalization, punctuation, and abbreviations.
Ultimately, Moore had the fastest– and the most flawless – fingers (she got two of the three phrases correct). The speedy texter, who says she sends 14,000 texts-per-month, was named the 2009 LG US National Texting Champion and awarded $50,000 for her skills. After her title was announced, the teen promptly wrote a text message – "I just won $50,000" – and sent it off to her friends.
As for her advice to aspiring text champions and their parents, "Let your kid text during dinner! Let your kid text during school. It pays off," she told the Associated Press.
Follow the CSMHorizonsBlog on Twitter (when you're not practicing for the next texting championship).
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Meteorologists are predicting anywhere from 10 to 18 inches of snow for Cape Cod and more for other areas of New England. But, could this storm be a record setter like the famous Blizzard of 1978 that hit the Northeastern states 37 years ago? Will there be No School! this week? Visit NOAA to track the storm and the National Weather Service for local forecasts. To weather the storm, Cape Cod & Islands residents, along with our New England neighbors, should take a few simple but necessary precautions.
Before the storm hits, it is a good idea to stock up on some basic items - clean drinking water, non-perishable food, chocolate, baby formula and other needed baby items, prescription medication, first aid essentials, gas or charcoal for the outdoor grill, pet food, batteries for flashlights and transistor radios, candles, firewood and matches. Don't forget the ice cream!
High winds and snow covered branches may cause power outages. Avoid being left in the dark! Charge battery powered lanterns, along with cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, iPads and any other electronic devices that are now considered necessities; Verizon customers should locate the old-fashioned rotary dial "Princess" phone that needs no additional power. Comcast subscribers are out of luck. It is also a good idea to freeze extra ice-packs and have coolers on hand to keep refrigerated items safe to eat. To avoid damage to expensive TV's, personal computers, modems, stereo systems, game systems and all other electronic devices, unplug these items prior to the power flickering.
Make sure to have snow shovels and ice-melt/sand ready. Now is a good time to contact any old friends who own plows or snow-blowers - it's not too late to wish them Happy New Year while reminding them who you are and where you live. Those living on the water, may want to board or shutter windows. Take a walk around the yard and bring in anything that could be missed if buried in the in snow for several weeks. Fill the gas tank of at least one family vehicle. For those with oil heat, check the gauge and call now for delivery if needed. Well water users should fill bathtubs, so that toilets can be flushed manually with a bucket of water scooped from the tub. Organize fun things to pass the time and to prevent the kids from whining of boredom if trapped in the house during the storm.
Adults of legal age, 21+, may want to make a beer/wine run while it is still safe to travel. For a local brew, try Cape Cod Beer and Cape Cod Winery. For those who prefer the hard stuff, here is the Blizzard Cocktail recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart.
As the storm progresses, watch or listen to the news and heed all state and local government warnings. If asked to stay off the roads, please stay at home and leave the roads clear for clean-up crews and emergency vehicles. If asked to evacuate, pack up and go. Make sure to bring valid identification (driver's license, social security card, passport or birth certificate), and cash/checks as ATMs will be inoperable without power; take family pets to ensure their safety.
Report downed wires and power outages by calling NSTAR at 800-592-2000. Don't assume a neighbor has already made the call. Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is a good resource stay up-to-date with state wide blizzard announcements. NSTAR offers electrical safety measures and some helpful hints on getting ready for and weathering the storm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "What You Need to Know When the Power Goes Out Unexpectedly" offers food safety guidelines. This NSTAR map shows where the power is out. Comcast Xfinity customers with a mobile device can check on Comcast outages; those without a smart phone may be out of luck! For more disaster information visit the American Red Cross. A list of Cape Cod emergency shelters and current status is posted by the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee. Check for updates if emergency shelter is needed. Pet owners needing information or assistance locating a pet friendly shelter can contact DART, the Cape Cod Disaster Animal Response Team. In the event that Cape Cod is blanketed with snow, please use extreme caution and good judgment when traveling and avoid dangerous conditions. Lots of events may be cancelled or postponed; don't assume anything is on - call ahead before heading out.
Once the storm is over, the kids have shoveled the driveway and are bored with building snowmen, dust the cobwebs off the family toboggan and cross-country skis, then head for the nearest local golf course! Despite promises made by the real estate agent, the golf courses will not be "open year round" to golfers. If the roads are safe for driving, take a day trip to one of the many New England mountains and ski the fresh snow.
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Be aware, be informed, be prepared, be alert, be safe! Let it SNOW!
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A famous artist invites her old friends to her luxurious new home. For one night only, the group is back together. But celebrations come to an abrupt end when the host suffers an horrific accident. As the victim lies in a coma, an almost unthinkable plan starts to take shape: could her suffering be their next work of art? Pool (No Water) is a visceral and shocking new play about the fragility of friendship and the jealousy and resentment inspired by success.
Featuring Marquis Heath, Sierra Lynch, Steve Maggio and Josy Smth
"Mr. Ravenhill’s writing has a hypnotic beauty itself, as the locked chambers of each of the character’s minds are slowly exposed... The play is full of perceptive commentary on the tension between affection and antipathy among friends — and the interior tensions in the individual soul between self-love and self-hate.
"Its sneaky, almost guilty-pleasure appeal is linked to our natural identification with these attractive, articulate young men and women as they coolly rationalize behavior that, seen from the outside, might look more than a little monstrous."
- The New York Times
This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Arts Center of the Capital Region.
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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Community Discussion' started by edesignuk, Sep 19, 2008.
Sounds good t' me matey
Answer'd me some office emails as a Buccanneer t'day too
I had to laugh despite myself.
And the FSM followers be rejoicin' wi' the finest of rum!
Or should that be Yaaaargh-Men?
Fix'd Ya horn swollgin' scallywag!
Avast, the Captain of the sea, I be,
I'll drink my rum and you'll get the shank.
And if ye fools be stealin from me,
I'll make ye walk the plank!
Aye eye (???) Capt'in....
Arrrr, me 'arties! Avast! C'mere you buxon beauty an' prepare ta be boarded!
Ooh, and mines a grog if you're going to the bar.
(That's enough pirate talk for me.)
Enough be nereenough!
Ya landlubber who ortin' t' be keel hauled!
I guess I need to go to ARRRby's for dinner tonight, and then go see an ARRRR rated movie, and then go get scurvy.
Avast Ye matey, I'll have ye drawn and quartered fir this...
At 12:12 you tell me this, you raggedy old piece of salt pork.
Under the keel with ye.
Did you hear about that new pirate movie? It's rated "aaaaaaaarrrrrr".
Seeing as it's International and all...
'a yo ho ho 'n a bottle o' rum
The deckhand stood on the burning deck
playing a game of cricket.
The ball rolled up his trouser leg
and stumped his middle wicket.
ooh arr ooh ahh
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Today is Gatsby’s birthday. He’s 12 years old! He doesn’t look a day over eight. (I don’t think that he’s had any work done but who knows?). Here’s pic of him today and a pic of him from when he was a couple of months old.
So after Yoshi passed away my wife and I decided that we wouldn’t get a new cat for a few weeks or even months. We needed time to recover. So in true Smith family style, three days later we went to the local animal shelter and adopted two kittens! After all, it was National Cat Day!
Gatsby is now a proud big brother!
My good friend Yoshi the cat passed away yesterday. This may seem silly but I want to take a few minutes to thank him for a few things:
Thank you for being my first pet. I didn’t have a pet as a child so when my girlfriend (later my wife) suggested that I get a cat I was resistant. I had no idea how to take care of a cat and earlier attempts to take care of less complex lifeforms like goldfish or houseplants hadn’t worked out well at all. Whether I wanted a cat or not, she was determined to get one so when she saw a little black kitten at a pet shop in the local mall, she bought him for herself. She called me on a Friday after work and told me that she had bought a cat and to meet her at the pet store. Her plan was that the kitten could stay at my place for a few days until she got her other cat Monte used to the idea of having a roommate. The kitten was in a big cage in the center of the pet store when I first saw him. A mewing, squeaking tiny little ball of black fur. My girl paid for him and he was put into a shoebox and given to us. The drive from the pet store back to my apartment was memorable in that Yoshi’s body did not take well to car travel. Stuff came out of his body in every possible way that stuff can come out of a kitten’s body, if you know what I mean. He never got any better with his carsickness and in fact, that first car trip was probably the best car ride we were to ever experience with Yoshi. He was certainly no worse for the wear when we got to my place and he ran around the apartment with an insane manic kitten energy that I had never seen before. At one point his tail got wrapped around the cord of my wall mounted, neon Captain Morgan clock. The clock crashed to the floor, smashing into a million pieces. Even though he had shown himself to be a kitten of good taste when it comes to interior design, I was annoyed with him but that faded fairly quickly.
Thank you for the laughs. Yoshi had a wicked sense of humor especially where Monte was concerned. Monte was a big, burly Maine Coon who was the first cat that Yoshi lived with. Yoshi just loved to mess with him until Monte’s nose would turn red in anger. At that point he would attack and Yoshi would need a human to intervene on his behalf. One time Monte thought that it was a good idea to take a walk on the edge of a full bathtub while my wife was taking a bath. From out of nowhere, Yoshi streaked into the bathroom like a bolt of black lightning and knocked Monte into the water. Monte fell into the water and instantly sprung out and chased Yoshi around the house. I’m sure that Monte didn’t see the humor in the situation but Yoshi and I had a good laugh.
He had a great love of salty foods especially Nachos and French fries. If you were eating nachos around Yoshi, you had better be on your guard or a black paw would lash out and knock the chip out of your hand. Before you knew it Yoshi’s mouth would snatch the chip out of the air and he’d stroll off with a salty treat.
Thank you for the conversations. I realize that this sounds nuts but Yoshi could speak in his own way. If you asked him a question, he would answer you. It might be with meow or a squeak or some other odd noise but he would respond. Back in 2002, I asked him who was going to win the Super Bowl and he responded with something that my wife and I agree sounded a lot like “rams”. The game that year was between the New England Patriots and the St Louis Rams. New England won, so he picked the game wrong but I’m still impressed that he made a pick at all.
He also had a pretty good handle on how to make a meow that sounded a lot like “no” and he would use it in the proper context. If you were to ask him if you should pet the dog, you’d probably get the “no” meow.
Thank you for all of your help with the kids. We had a baby monitor for our first kid but we didn’t need it. If the baby cried at all in the nighttime, Yoshi would come into the master bedroom and wake us up. He would poke and howl until a parent got up and then he would follow us to the nursery and he wouldn’t leave until the baby was quiet. This backfired on him once when I had picked the baby up and was pacing with her in the loft outside of her room. Yoshi had accompanied me upstairs and was sitting on top of the half wall that overlooked the dining room downstairs. The baby had been quiet but she let out with an unexpected yell. This startled Yoshi so much that he began to slip from his perch on the half wall. I could see pure panic flash on his little cat face as he tried to get a grip but couldn’t. Down he went. Fortunately there a couch below him. He bounced of the back of the couch and hit the carpet and then scrambled downstairs to his safe spot beneath the coffee table. He was ok and he never let this incident keep from his duties as cat parent to both of my children. As they got older, he would make sure to go upstairs and walk into their bedrooms after bedtime to make sure that they were ok. He helped us raise them to the ages of ten and seven and I wish that he could’ve hung around until they’d gotten through the teenage years.
Thank you for the inspiration. I’ve been a reader all of my life and had always wanted to write something but every time I tried to write a story the results were pretty bad. Until Yoshi came along (and later Gatsby). It wasn’t until then I thought of writing about Yoshi and Gatsby (with radically different personalities) and the adventures that they could have as detectives. Petectives was the first thing that I had ever written that wasn’t horrible and I attribute much of that to the inspiration that Yoshi provided.
If you’ve actually read these ramblings for this long, thanks. I’ll wrap up by saying that I am very glad to have known Yoshi. I’m sure that he wasn’t all that different from most other cats but he was a little black cat who had a huge influence on my family and he will be missed. A lot.
Robert J. Smith
Here’s the cover for the next Petectives book! Please let me know what you think of it.
(If you’d like to be alerted when the book is released, please sign up here: http://eepurl.com/b6iHCf)
And here’s an alternate cover that my daughter whipped up:
Over the weekend we celebrated Yoshi’s fifteenth birthday. That may be kinda old for a cat but he looks good and he feels good so we’re looking forward to many more birthdays to come!
Yoshi here! Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day! After you take a moment out of your day to appreciate me, please check out the graphic below and if you’re looking for a cat, please consider adopting a black one:
I sometimes wonder if the things that cats do in my stories are plausible.Then I saw these videos.
Cats opening doors:
A cats gambling:
A cat using the toilet:
A cat washing dishes:
Cats playing games on the Ipad:
-Last week was April Fools Day and for some reason you humans love to include cats in your annual foolishness. Here’s an article about a couple of cat-related pranks:http://www.cnet.com/news/cats-all-the-rage-for-april-fools-day-jokes/
Hmm. I actually like the Google keyboard for cats.
-I came across this article about the depiction of cats with flaming backpacks in 16th century German Manuscripts: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140310-rocket-cats-animals-manuscript-artillery-history/
At first I thought that the cats in these drawings were wearing jetpacks. The truth is far less cool.
-Here’s a story from the UK about a cat who decided to stow away in a sofa: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595128/Armchair-man-MEOW-Cat-stowed-away-owners-sofa-donated-charity-shop-discovered-five-days-later-heard-meowing.html
Wait, this couple named this cat Crockett and their other cat Tubbs? There are people in England who name their cats after thirty year old television shows from other countries? Weird.
-In Portland, OR a 22 pound cat attacked a baby and then trapped the adults in their bedroom: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/pet-cat-attacks-baby-traps-owners_n_4937904.html I don’t know what that baby said to that cat to set him off but it must have been particularly insulting.
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My attachment to the Super Bowl began forty years ago in the same year that I declared my love for the Dallas Cowboys. I was seven, an ideal age for declaring eternal love, and my newfound infatuation was rewarded with a dominant Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos.
Super Bowl XII was played in New Orleans, only a few hundred miles from my house but in a magical alternate universe as far as I could tell. It was the first “primetime” Super Bowl, so since my dad did not go to church with us he kept a close eye on the game until I made it home from church for the second half.
Those awesome late 1970s names take me back. Golden Richards. Too Tall Jones. Hollywood Henderson. Jethro Pugh. Billie Joe DuPree. Tony Dorsett. Haven Moses. Otis Armstrong. Riley Odoms. Lyle Alzado. But my hero, hands down, was Roger Staubach. Roger the Dodger.
It is clear in retrospect how deeply I was influenced by my environment. As a white American church-going boy, of course my hero was Roger Staubach. Clean cut. Patriotic. Captain America. He was a Navy man, just like my dad. And a quarterback, just like my dad. #12 was my first sports hero.
Just before the following Christmas, eight-year-old me had the idea to write my hero a letter. With a new knowledge of cursive handwriting, which was easily my worst subject in school, I labored over the perfect letter to express to “Mr. Staubach” the depths of my love for him—and to request an autographed picture. We somehow tracked down the address to the Dallas Cowboys, so my dad wrote a check for three dollars addressed to Roger Staubach and mailed it and my letter off to the great unknown.
Never in my life will a piece of mail replicate the joy in my heart on the day the manila envelope with the royal blue Dallas Cowboys sticker arrived. I floated by day and slept with the envelope at night and on show-and-tell day became the most popular kid in the third grade. We learned that an 8×10 photograph cost one dollar that year, so I received an autographed picture inscribed, “To Al Sturgeon, Merry Christmas, Roger Staubach,” AND an 8×10 team photo of the 1978 Dallas Cowboys. (We concluded that the other dollar must have been used for shipping and handling.) This piece of mail was instantly my greatest material possession. I would like to know how many hours I spent memorizing the names of the players in the team photo. I would like to know because I still know almost every one forty years later.
Some will remember this, but in the old world of checking accounts all personal checks were returned by mail each month so that you could properly balance your checkbook. My parents soon realized that Roger Staubach had endorsed my dad’s three-dollar check, so when it arrived at our house I had yet another autograph from my hero! For free!
I have followed the forty Super Bowls that have occurred since Super Bowl XII. A sportswriter ranked Super Bowl XII as the worst game of the first fifty. You will never convince me. In all honesty, I had zero interest in the Eagles-Patriots matchup yesterday. I was not allowed to cheerfully support the Eagles as a Cowboys fan, and although I used to root for the Pats in honor of my dear friend, Scott, their recent dominance of the game removed any desire to support them either. But I followed along because of the memories this annual American tradition brings. Memories of a little boy and heroes, a dad and a check, and a letter that seemed to appear from heaven.
It’s funny, but I saved that canceled check and surprise autograph for many years, and it was long after my dad died that it dawned on me that it contained another surprise autograph: My dad’s. Right there on the front.
My sweet wife framed that check for me in a special frame where you can see the signatures on both sides of the check. I always display it where you can see my dad’s autograph. It turns out that he was my first and greatest hero all along.
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