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Last Saturday, hundreds of people attended a rally in Waukesha in opposition to a proposal by the
Islamic Society of Milwaukee to build a mosque in the city, as reported by the Brookfield Patch. Anti-Islam sentiment has been seen across
the United States over the last decade, but that this type of reaction would manifest in Waukesha is
disappointing. There are only two reasons to possibly oppose the construction of the mosque
in Waukesha. The first is the idea that Islam is a terrorist religion and therefore Muslims should not have the
same religious freedom as everyone else. The second is simply the classic fear of that which is not well
understood. Neither is a sound reason to oppose the mosque.
Many Americans have not had the privilege of being friends with or neighbors of Muslims, and as a
result, it is an unfortunate reality that when they think of Islam, they associate it with 9/11. We know
that on September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers killed thousands of innocent people in the name of Islam.
However, merely claiming that their actions were done in the name of Islam does not make these killers
Muslims. They were not Muslims any more than members of the Ku Klux Klan were Christians. We as
a country need to move beyond associating Islam with 9/11; I do not want my children to grow up in a
country where they are told that Muslims are fascists hell-bent on commandeering America.
It is pretty obvious that most of the recent anti-Islamic sentiment is a product largely, if not wholly, of
Americans’ misguided linking of 9/11 and Islam. However, Islam is one of the fastest growing religions
in America, and it may be that the people of Waukesha are simply afraid of that which they do not
understand. If this is true, it is of course not as damaging as the false perception that all Muslims are
terrorists, but it is ridiculous nevertheless.
Muslims are not here to try to take over the United States; they or their parents or grandparents came
here from the Middle East for the same reason that my great-grandparents came here from Italy and
Ireland: they wanted to have the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families.
What do a great number of them get in return for being good, law-abiding, tax-paying, peaceful citizens? Not unlike the
Italian and Irish immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they get bigotry
and intolerance. By discriminating against Islam, we carelessly perpetuate the same transgressions
committed by or against many of our forefathers. It is time we move forward.
Pastor David Ball of New Berlin tries to make the case against Islam on political grounds,
claiming that it is, as a political system as well as religion, incompatible with the Constitution of the
United States.
I am a supporter of secular government, or more ideally, an all-inclusive government, and
there are undeniably legitimate criticisms of Islam as a system of government. That is a discussion to be
had, but it has absolutely nothing to do with whether the Muslims of Waukesha should be allowed to
build a place of worship. They are not seeking whatsoever to impose Islam as a political system on the
United States.
Some residents of Waukesha expressed concern that the Muslims may want to follow sharia. This
demonstrates a grave misunderstanding of what sharia even is. Many Americans think that sharia
is solely the law that governs Islamic nations, largely as a consequence of superfluous and ignorant
legislation banning the practice or application of sharia law.
First, it is unclear to me why integrating parts of sharia law into our legal system would necessarily be a bad thing. Ours has significant influence from other legal systems including, among others, the English,
the French and even the Romans – who was it that crucified Christ again? I think we would do well to
broaden our legal system by incorporating parts of Islamic law that promote the good of society.
Second, sharia is not just about the laws of nations; it is the ethical code of all of Islam. Islam does not
exist without sharia. Muslims abiding by sharia are no more harmful to America than Jews choosing
to be kosher or Christians choosing to follow a certain dogma; in fact, if anything they are probably even
less harmful, given the current blend of politics and religion in the United States.
There is no legitimate objection whatsoever to the proposed Waukesha mosque on principled grounds.
The Muslims seeking to build a place of worship are not terrorists. They are only trying to exercise their
freedom of religion that they are guaranteed, just like everyone else, by the First Amendment. What
could be more American than that?
Ryan Plesh ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in philosophy and physics. | <urn:uuid:c2a1160b-3e00-4df6-bca1-c2a59ad77d1c> | https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2012/04/19/mosque-opposition-sh/ | en | 0.966679 | 0.128542 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Cont computations as question-answering boxes
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[edit] 1 Basic idea and definitions
The basic idea behind the Cont monad is that in place of values of type t, you work with functions of type (t -> r) -> r, where r is some "response" type. Breaking this down a bit, you can think of a function of type t -> r as a question about a value of type t which has a response of type r -- for a yes or no question, r might be Bool, for instance. Then a function of type (t -> r) -> r, is like a box which takes a question about a value of type t, and produces an answer from that question.
In Haskell syntax, we define a new datatype to wrap up this idea:
newtype Cont r t = Cont ((t -> r) -> r)
-- a value of type Cont r t is of the form Cont f,
-- where f is a function of type (t -> r) -> r
We'd also, for convenience, define a function:
runCont (Cont f) q = f q
Which, given a Cont computation and a question, basically asks the question to get a response.
The simplest way to make such a box is for the box to just hang on to a value of type t, and answer questions about it truthfully, by simply applying them to the value. (The fun will happen later, when we come up with more twisted ways to get answers.)
This is embodied in the continuation monad by the function:
return :: t -> Cont r t
-- return takes a value of type t
-- and produces a Cont computation of type t with response type r.
return x = Cont (\q -> q x)
-- produce a Cont computation which given a question q,
-- applies the question to the value x.
(The notation (\x -> ...) is a Lambda abstraction.)
Now, given a computation of type (Cont r t), and a continuation which is a function taking a value of type t to some computation of type (Cont r s), we'd like to have a way to join them together, producing a computation of type (Cont r s). That's a bit brain twisting, so let's think about how we might do it...
We're constructing a box which is going to receive a question q about a value of type s, and has to answer it somehow.
We have a box, which we'll call x, which answers questions about a value of type t.
We also have a function, f, which given a value of type t, will give a box which answers a question about a value of type s.
So what do we do? We ask x the question "if f were applied to your value v of type t, how would the resulting box respond to the question q?"
The operation which does this funny gluing together is called >>= (pronounced bind), and is implemented like this:
(>>=) :: Cont r t -> (t -> Cont r s) -> Cont r s
x >>= f = Cont (\q -> runCont x (\v -> runCont (f v) q))
So we have what is effectively a fancy version of function application, which instead of working with straightforward values, works with these funky boxes that answer questions about values of the appropriate type.
[edit] 2 Laws
There are three things which are true of the operations we've defined so far:
• return v >>= f is the same as f v
• x >>= return is the same as x
• (x >>= f) >>= g is the same as x >>= (\v -> f v >>= g)
You might want to try to verify them as an exercise. These are the three monad laws, which makes Cont r a monad for any given response type r.
[edit] 3 Being sneaky: manipulating questions and responses
With only these operations, things are rather boring. The first and second rules above basically tell us that anything we can express just in terms of >>= and return, we can also express without.
However, by working with black boxes that answer questions about values of type t, rather than values of type t directly, the boxes we construct can take steps to manipulate the question or response.
Given any function f which turns a question about a value of type s into a question about a value of type t, we can turn a box x which answers questions about a value of type t into a box which answers questions about a value of type s. In code:
withCont :: ((s -> r) -> (t -> r)) -> Cont r t -> Cont r s
withCont f x = Cont (runCont x . f)
That is, simply apply the function to the question first, and then ask x how it would answer.
Furthermore, given any function (r -> r), which transforms responses somehow, and any box x, we can easily construct a box which asks the box x how it would respond to a question, and then transforms the response.
mapCont :: (r -> r) -> Cont r t -> Cont r t
mapCont f x = Cont (f . runCont x)
You certainly can't do either of these things with plain values! For example, let's consider the value mapCont not (return 0) :: Cont Bool Integer. It is a box that gives the opposite response to any True/False question that one would get if one asked the same question about the number 0. For example, we might do something like:
ghci> runCont (mapCont not (return 0) >>= \t -> return (t < 0 && t > 0)) id
The value 't' in the above is apparently a number which gives the appearance of simultaneously being both less than and greater than 0! Of course, what's really happening is that the test is turning out False and being negated after.
[edit] 4 Being sneakier: Making the result depend directly on the question
There's an interesting insight to be had in thinking about the question that the computation x is given in the application x >>= f.
The question which x receives involves f, the computation which conceptually 'follows' after x is finished deciding on what value to supply to it. Can a carefully-constructed x somehow sneakily manage to recover the function f from that question, and use it in determining what value it will then supply to that question?
The answer is that effectively, yes, it can.
callCC :: ((t -> Cont r s) -> Cont r t) -> Cont r t
callCC g = Cont (\q -> runCont (g (\v -> Cont (\_ -> q v))) q)
TODO: Finish the explanation of what this means in terms of the question/answer approach. | <urn:uuid:f3ae1929-b5ab-40ea-b5c5-1d61d09f1a51> | https://wiki.haskell.org/index.php?title=Cont_computations_as_question-answering_boxes&diff=prev&oldid=21123 | en | 0.913913 | 0.669093 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
This fic was inspired by a chain message sent to me by my best friend via facebook. Please R&R
Hermione opened her email account while taking a swig of coffee. It was a regular day. She would be getting ready for work in her writing office sometime soon. The new emails were spam, spam, facebook alerts, spam and more facebook alerts.
But there was one thing that caught her attention.
"Eleven signs that you're in love," the subject read. According to the email, it was from Ginny. Hermione shook her head.
"Ginny and her romance lists," she said to herself. She opened the email and began reading.
You walk really slow when you're with them."
Hermione went back to her Hogwarts days. She and Harry would usually walk through his and Ron's shortcuts to get to class.
"Honestly, Lavender is obsessed with Ron," she had said. "I mean, doesn't he see that?"
"Is it me, or are you jealous of Lavender?" Harry teased, poking her side.
"Come on, Harry, I'm just looking out for my best friend," she replied. "Remember last year? You wouldn't believe me when I told you that Cho was nothing but a stuck-up snob who does nothing but stare at herself in the mirror. Care to enlighten me once again on what happened?"
"I caught her kissing with Zacharias Smith after a Quidditch match?" Harry did not like remembering that.
"Which proves that . . . ?"
"You were right and I was wrong."
"Which may lead to the fact that . . . ?"
"Lavender will get tired of Ron."
"Exactly." Hermione smiled to herself with satisfaction. Harry shook his head and chanced a glance at his watch. His smile slipped off his face.
The shortcuts hadn't served their purpose.
"We're late, hurry up!" he grabbed her hand and they dashed to their Transfiguration class.
Hermione shook her head at the memory and proceeded to reading the next thing on the List.
You feel shy whenever they're around."
"Now that's ridiculous," Hermione said out loud. She believed that you were supposed to act yourself whenever the one you loved was around or whenever any guy was around. She never acted shy around Harry or the other guys.
You smile when you hear their voice."
Hermione's phone rang unexpectedly that moment. It was Harry.
"Hey," she answered, her usual smile present in her voice.
"How're you?" he asked. The simple question made Hermione smile wider.
"Good," she replied "but come on, Harry. It's just been twenty-four hours, what was that for?"
"Nothing, really," he said. "I'll pick you up for lunch later, sounds good?"
"Come on, when did we not have lunch together?" Hermione asked. It was true. They worked in separate offices, but they still made it a point to keep as close to each other as possible.
"Just checking. Maybe you were getting tired of me already."
"Real mature, Potter," she said, still smiling. "I'll see you later."
"Okay, bye."
She snapped the phone shut and continued to read.
She remembered the TriWizard Competition in their Fourth Year.
"Harry!" she screamed when he finally saw his head bobbing on the water. "Harry! He's okay! Quick! Somebody get him!" She was panicky enough not to notice that he had not only one but two of the prisoners with him.
When they finally pulled him out of the water and had a towel wrapped around him, she ran to him and hugged him, like it was the last hug he would ever receive.
"You're okay! You're okay!" she said with a very relieved smile. "You're cold! Here." She took the towel that was wrapped around herself and put it on Harry. "Better?"
"H-Hermione," Harry protested. "Y-you'll get cold."
"Doesn't matter," she said. "I'm just—relieved that you're okay! You had no idea how worried I was! Oh, Harry!" She kissed his forehead and hugged him one more time.
Hermione laughed at herself silently and continued.
They're all you think about."
"Now that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen," Hermione said to herself. She doesn't always think about Harry! There are some things to think of besides Harry. She has other friends, she has her novel to think about . No way was she thinking of Harry all the time!
You realize you're always smiling when you're
Looking at them."
"So what are you getting her?" Hermione had asked while she and Harry were walking through a snowy Hogsmeade.
"Getting who?" Harry had asked, confused.
She had laughed heartily at Harry then.
"It's been just three days Harry," she explained. "It's Christmas. Have you forgotten that you have a girlfriend?"
Harry clapped his hand to his forehead. "How could I forget?!"
Hermione laughed again, harder this time. If it was not for the icy road, she would've rolled on it while laughing. Harry scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at his laughing best friend. Hermione scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at him and began their short-lived snowball fight.
"Okay, okay, truce!" Harry said, finally giving up. He and Hermione laughed even more. Her cheeks were red with exhaustion.
"Hm, I never noticed before," Harry muttered to himself.
"Do you know that you look pretty when you're all exhausted and happy like that?"
"Shut up," Hermione said, slapping Harry's arm playfully. His statement just made her blush and smile even more.
You would do anything for them, just to see them."
"Great, just great!" Harry exclaimed one day.
"Why, what's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"Ron can't go out with me on the pitch today," Harry explained. "He tripped earlier when he was hurrying to Charms. Tripped on the vanishing step and fell all the way down."
"Oh my gosh, is he okay?"
"Yep. Nothing Madame Pomfrey can't fix. He'll have to stay in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the day, though. And I won't be able to practice."
Hermione thought deeply.
"The match is next week, right?" she asked.
"How about I come and help you," she offered.
Harry enclosed her in one of the tightest hug possible.
"Hermione, you are honestly the best person I've ever met!"
They smiled at each other once he let go.
While reading this, there was one person on your
Mind this whole time."
"This list is getting more and more ridiculous the more I read it," Hermione said to herself while thinking if she had worn her red blouse recently. It was Harry's favorite on her and it had been a gift from him.
You were so busy thinking about that person, you
Didn't notice number seven was missing"
"What the—?" Hermione cut off, scrolling the message upwards to check. She slapped her forehead when she realized that the statement was right. "Ginny Weasley is so going to get it."
You just scrolled up to check & are now silently
Laughing at yourself."
"This is absolutely ridiculous," Hermione said, laughing to herself again. "I'm so passing this to Harry." Hermione forwarded the message to him and shut down the computer.
She got ready for her day like usual, smiling when she found the red blouse in her closet, just freshly pressed.
She checked for all her items in her bag before turning of all the power in her apartment.
Hermione closed the door, turned the key in the door's lock and put the keys in her tote. Right now, she had ten chapters of her novel to think about. Not to mention that lunch Harry just promised her.
So there we go. You like it, you hate it, you love it, you despise it. It's only among these four. Can't please everyone. Thanks for reading anyway. reviews are highly appreciated and smiled at :) xoxoxo | <urn:uuid:8131ab6e-ebaf-466e-9d7b-c25db0ea3811> | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5547165/1/11-Signs | en | 0.98906 | 0.071969 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Matt and Mom outside(click to view larger)
Illustrations by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki
Does Heavenly Father know how many leaves there are in the whole world?
I’m sure He does.
Does He know how many blades of grass there are?
Of course.
Does He know how many ants there are?
He knows everything, Matt. He even knows what you’re wondering about today.
Does He really know when I’m worried or afraid and what I’m worried or afraid about, even though I’m just one boy?
Matt, to Him you’re not just one boy. You’re His precious son. He knows about you and all your worries. And He wants you to talk over your troubles with Him. He will really listen.
Why do you look so happy, Matt?
Because of the leaves and the grass and the ants. | <urn:uuid:1832d68c-522a-4587-9d6d-792baa0a7921> | https://www.lds.org/friend/2010/10/matt-and-mandy?lang=eng&media=audio | en | 0.949289 | 0.155101 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
thinkingcrpdA wise man once said, “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your unguarded thoughts.”
~ The Buddha
I want to share with you an important “Now Moment,” the short action-oriented pieces that come at the end of most of the chapters in The Now Effect. This little instruction can be enormously helpful in bringing to light how to gain freedom from thinking and since thinking can be our number one bad habit, often launching us into increased stress or downward spirals of automatic negative thinking; it’s a good thing to loosen our grip on.
Now Moment:
“Take this opportunity to reflect on a recent event where your mind jumped to a conclusion. How did it get there? Did your mood have anything to do with it? What would have been different if your mood had been flipped 180 degrees? Next time you become aware of your mind jumping to a conclusion, recognize that in that very moment you have created a little distance from the thought itself, and in this space you’ll find a choice point and can choose to remind yourself that thoughts are not facts. If you’re feeling imbalanced, you might bring in a daily building block, such as “STOP,” “Mindful Check-In,” or “The Breath as an Anchor,” to get centered and then get perspective on where your head was at that time. You may discover how you came to that auto-pilot interpretation. This reality check will help you in future interactions.”
This has relevance to everyday work and family stress, anxiety, depressive relapse, addiction, and even trauma reactions. We now know that when we’re able to pause and name what’s happening, it actually turns down activity on the fear circuit (amygdala) in the brain and puts our conscious brain (prefrontal cortex) on line. Here is a good question to help us understand why we’d want to remember that thoughts aren’t facts, even the ones that tell you there are:
What would the days, weeks and months ahead be like if I wasn’t so enslaved by my thoughts?
Your answer to that question is your motivation and also the Now Effect in action.
Thinking photo available from Shutterstock | <urn:uuid:ec417cba-0b3c-4158-a24a-969f131fbb2e> | http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/2013/03/just-remember-thoughts-arent-facts/ | en | 0.956585 | 0.038771 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Coach-Athlete Relations Under a Corrupted Systetm:
I have heard that Ryan Shimabukuro was hurt by something I posted during the Olympic Games, and I'm pretty sure I know what it is. I'm sorry about a lot of things that I saw happening in this sport during my last 5 years competing in it. I'm sorry about certain pressures Ryan faced, as a coach, from the people who were overseeing his coaching performance. I'm extremely sorry about the attitudes of the Powers that Be (Oh, excuse me. I mean, "the powers that WERE!" Hooray for the Great Purge!!!) towards outsiders such as myself. I'm also sorry about the way the attitudes of Ryan's superiors towards me intersected with the working coach-athlete relationship I had with Ryan.
In this post, I'd like to talk about how the corrupt system of the old USSPEEDSKATING affected the way I worked with Ryan. I'd also like to talk about why there was no way Ryan could have been the coach I needed him to be at the Olympic Trials, and why I should never have expected him to be. Finally, I'd like to talk about where things stand right now and what we can all learn from this.
Ryan is a good coach and a good person. He always did whatever he could to help me with my skating technique and my equipment while we were on World Cup trips and my regular coach couldn't come along. But there was always a limit to what Ryan could do for me, because he worked for USSPEEDSKATING and I was an outspoken outcast.
Let me put it this way. Back in mid-1930's Germany, a good little German boy did not give a little Jewish girl a chunk of bread for her starving family that was hiding out in the attic next door, even though they had been friends at school. Back in Stalin's Russia, a good Communist college student did not study together with his former friend, the counterrevolutionary. These people "followed the protocol," and thus were able to keep on living and keep from being thrown into prison.
In the same way, Ryan had to "follow the USSPEEDSKATING protocol" when it came to working with me. He had to kick me out of a catered team dinner to which I was technically entitled, because the "current protocol" demanded it. He had to argue against me in the draw at the Olympic Trials, just hours after he had held the lap board for me in a race. And, whether the decision involved me or not, he cast his vote against adding two women to the Olympic Team in order to protect Amy Sannes's position on the team pursuit - a decision which was dead wrong, any way you look at it.
It wasn't Ryan's fault, it was just the current protocol. When the Nazis are in power, don't piss them off. When the Communists are in power, don't be seen hanging out with counterrevolutionaries, or you'll get hauled off to Siberia. When Crowe, Marquard, and the Cushman family are running your speedskating federation, dance to whatever tune they're playing, or you'll lose your job.
The little things Ryan had to do to me, politically, added up, but what really hurt me was the whoop-and-holler and "high-five" victory dance he and Tom Cushman did on the backstretch after Amy Sannes pulled a 38.5 out of her ass in the 500 meters at the Olympic Trials. I just felt that Sannes's performance, relative to the rest of the American women at the US Olympic Trials, was entirely artificial, because she was the only one of us who had the luxury of peaking specifically at that time. As the program director's coddled favorite, she was the only one who had the luxury of treating the fall world cups as a "write-off."
I see now that it is a personal problem of mine that I was unable to allow Ryan to be happy for Amy when he saw her skate a fast time. Maybe Ryan really felt he was applauding her return to her 2002 level of performance. But I was upset with him because I felt betrayed, because he was working with me, not with her. I felt he should have realized that the playing field was not level, and that he was applauding a hollow victory.
As it turned out in the ensuing months, Sannes's subpar performances at the World Sprints and at the Olympics were nothing more than a symptom of the disease within the old USSPEEDSKATING, and her outrageous peak at the Olympic Trials, while apparently a cause to celebrate at the time, was nothing more than another one of Cushman's screwup miscalculations.
Because of the way things ended up for me in USSPEEDSKATING, there was no way I could have expected Ryan to be the race coach I needed to help me succeed at the Olympic Trials. One of my friends told me, "When you've been treated so shoddily by an entire group of people in a sport, what you end up needing is not a race coach but a war god."
I really did need a war god by my side, more than anything else. I needed someone with an "Us Against Them" attitude. I needed someone who wanted the same thing I did, which was total destruction of the Chosen Ones. I needed someone whose burning rage and hatred matched my own. There was no way I could have expected this of Ryan.
It's not normal to come to the point of needing a war god instead of a race coach, and the old USSPEEDSKATING is responsible for setting up that condition for me.
I knew Ryan could see me getting seriously demoralized throughout the Olympic Trials. Truly, this event was a horrible nightmare for me, and I think Ryan could see how sick I was of fighting my war against USSPEEDSKATING. I also believe that he didn't think there was any way he could help me in terms of team selection. If I really wanted to know where he stood on that, I suppose I should have asked him at some point during the Trials, but even now I know I was trying to spare myself an answer that might have sent me over the edge.
But Ryan had a great deal of respect for my ability to fight my way through my races, and before my last 1000 meters, he said to me, "If this is to be the last race of your speedskating career, then go down swinging." It's funny - in this sport I always came out swinging, and now I was going down swinging. When it was all over and I'd had one of the best races of my life, Ryan said he was proud of me. He knows how much I love this sport.
It's such a shame that speedskating politics had to come between me and Ryan, but that's just the way it goes. Just as the good citizens of Germany are still asked the question, "Why did you let the holocaust happen?" there are certain truths that need to come out about how good people were pressured to behave under the corrupt system of the old USSPEEDSKATING. I never whitewashed anything. I had to tell the truth.
But when I told the true story of how the TOSH trainers were forced to deny me treatment before a World Cup, they were not offended, but rather were happy that I pointed out a major flaw in the system. They stood by my side and insisted that what they were forced to do was downright medically unethical.
In the end, did not the good guys win? Did not Marquard step down? Did not Cushman's incompetence become so glaringly obvious that he had to be let go? Did not Crowe get the boot? Did not the corrupt former leadership of USSPEEDSKATING come crashing down like Godzilla stomping on the thawing ice of a winter that has lasted WAY TOO LONG???
Now that logic and reason have prevailed, it seems that Ryan "the Flyin' Hawaiian," who was never really a part of the "Minnesota Northshore Royalty," is the last man standing. And now that he is the only one they still want to keep, isn't it awesome that he has received a great offer from a Japanese team, and is seriously considering taking it?
Ryan, I hope you take that offer, because I'm sure the Japanese can give you what you're worth. I hope you get to see what it's like to be a speedskating coach in a different system. And someday, when this all blows over, I hope that you and I can be friends again.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Selling the Image of Speedskating in the 21st Century:
As everyone knows, USSPEEDSKATING is in dire financial straits right now. Most people can admit that USS's previous leadership has led them down that path. The question now is, how is the new Board going to market the sport and bring more money in?
I see that there is a dilemma that the speedskating administrators have to solve. They have to reconcile the "whitewashed" image of the sport with the true marketing potential of several of their athletes, as individuals.
During the Olympics, I noticed some online news articles discussing "whether the Olympics have lost their soul," and whether the Games are still relevant to today's culture. Well, maybe most people can no longer relate to the "old protocol" of the parade-riding, flag-waving Olympic medalist, but some sports federations, namely our own, are still trying to hang onto this image.
One problem is that several of the individuals who were running USSPEEDSKATING during the past Olympic cycle were setting up obstacles for many of the skaters to fight, practicing favoritism and discrimination, utilizing unethical training methods, and signing misleading contracts, while, at the same time, projecting a false image of goodness to the public. Just yesterday, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling of Enron were convicted "of a total of 29 criminal counts, including a conspiracy to hide the failing health of the company by selling a boosterish optimism to Wall Street and the public." The only difference between what Enron was doing and what the former leaders of USSPEEDSKATING were doing is in the value of what was at stake. So far, it's not criminal to destroy a young person's athletic career, but it is criminal to make people lose their life savings.
Another problem is that, although the stories and personalities of several of our Olympians and other skaters are interesting and marketable, they don't exactly fit in with the image that USSPEEDSKATING has wanted to maintain. For example, let's take Chad Hedrick. First, I have to say that I totally disagree with his attacks on Shani, and believe that USSPEEDSKATING allowed this to go on, in order to let this conflict between the two Olympic champions take the media's attention off the conflicts between USS and its skaters. I read in the Salt Lake Tribune that Chad intended to make a "Nancy vs. Tonya" sort of feud out of this because he felt it would bring attention to the sport, and I don't really like that.
However, this being said, Chad is a very marketable athlete. Girls see him as a "hunk." He's a party animal and a fun guy who loves attention and having the camera on him. He's been called the "Paris Hilton of speedskating," (OK, so I despise Paris Hilton, but whatever...that's just my own opinion.) and in terms of Winter Olympic sports, he's kind of like Bode Miller. Chad is a controversial figure who doesn't do things in the conventional way. He does have the potential to bring attention to the sport of speedskating, but is speedskating ready to let him have the freedom to market himself?
Then, there is Shani Davis. Shani is a pioneer for African Americans in the sport of speedskating, and has the potential to attract many new athletes to the sport. He is a great role model and loves kids. However, USSPEEDSKATING has treated Shani very poorly, and has totally missed out on the opportunity to attract African Americans to the sport of speedskating.
There are also some great stories in the ranks of those skaters who are climbing the ladder of the sport, but in speedskating, these stories are never told. What I like about internet sites such as OhnoZone is that Noelle, who runs the site, writes about all the different athletes "on the tour," not just the stars. Unlike Andy Gabel, the former USS president who publicly displays his shallow disrespect for any skater who doesn't have an Olympic medal, Noelle begins with an attitude of respect for all skaters who have achieved the level of international competition in short track. She seems to have an understanding of what it takes to get there, and her postings on OhnoZone really get people interested in all the athletes as individuals.
As I've discussed before, I feel that USSPEEDSKATING missed out on some great publicity this past season by not televising the Olympic Trials events. I'd even say that following some Olympic hopefuls around as they prepared for the Trials and for the Games would have made a great reality TV show, and anyone who has their finger on the pulse of "what's hot" knows that reality TV is hot right now.
However, I also think that avoiding the cameras fit the agenda of USS's leadership at that time. Can you imagine how disastrous this might have been for them? Can you imagine Mike Crowe and Andy Gabel speaking on TV, losing debates to their own athletes over what is good and what is bad for the sport? Can you imagine them justifying their own decisions?
Even just televising the Olympic Trials would have caused people to ask too many pesky questions, for example, "Why did that skater retire immediately after the last race, when she still had a chance to be added to the team?" or, worse, "Why did they call that pair back to the starting line, pretending there was a false start, when there really wasn't, because one of the Chosen Ones had a stumble that cost her several tenths of a second?"
The trade-off for publicity is a willingness to be accountable to the public. Is USSPEEDSKATING ready for that?
In terms of the whitewashing of the image of speedskating at the expense of the athletes, believe me when I say that THE TRUTH IS MORE THAN JUST A GOOD STORY. We don't want the sport to be dragged through the mud, but at the same time, what has been happening in speedskating is that the athletes have been eating the cost of the corruption within the sport in order to preserve the sport's image. WHEN THE EVIL GO UNPUNISHED, THE GOOD MUST PAY.
Look at what happened at the Olympics. Shani Davis is not the bad guy. Shani Davis is the good guy. He is the hero of a great Olympic story and an inspiration to young people everywhere. But because his true story was not told, people tried to ruin his Olympic experience and taint his image in order to preserve the false front of "America's Purest Sport," which was, in reality, festering and crumbling on the inside.
In the same way, I am not the "bad guy" in my fight with USSPEEDSKATING. People think my story is pretty amazing, and most people believe that despite my rage, which is sometimes over-the-top, I am right about what I say. However, my story will probably never be told because it is too controversial. And because my story will never be told, I also eat the cost of maintaining speedskating's false and whitewashed reputation, when people say that I'm exaggerating, or that I complain too much, or that "things like that don't really happen in speedskating," or that I'm bitter because I wasn't strong enough to "beat the clock."
Enough of that!!! I'm not guilty. I'm the talented speedskater who was wronged by the system and never had a chance to reach my full potential, while Mike Crowe was the program director who destroyed the U.S. long track women's team in order to protect one person who had maxed out her potential years ago. You can look at the conflict between the Davises and Andy Gabel in the same way. Some people say, "Andy Gabel is a savvy businessman and a tireless promoter of the sport," while Cherie Davis is the mother of an Olympic gold medalist, and Cherie and Andy don't see eye to eye. But that's not the true story - that's the whitewashed version. The truth is that Andy Gabel is a poor leader who signed a misleading sponsorship deal behind his skaters' backs and then expected the skaters to pay for his mistake, and Shani was a victim of this decision, and later was the victim of other peoples' attacks on his image as an athlete.
Can you see what is happening? This is no longer about protecting the image of the sport. This is about protecting the reputation of individuals who have tried to ruin the sport for their own selfish reasons. This is about people like Mike Crowe and Andy Gabel being protected at the expense of people like me and Shani.
USSPEEDSKATING has a new Board now. I feel that the first step towards being able to market the sport is to tell the truth about what happened in it, and how changes are being made. The next step will be to evaluate what the American people want from their Olympic athletes, in terms of entertainment value, and to move in that direction. USS is lucky to have skaters who are very marketable, as well as being speedskating champions, but their marketing potential is not being fully utilized.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
A Rebuttal: My True Position on Athlete Sponsorship and Logos:
Recently, an individual has accused me of siding with USSPEEDSKATING against athletes who breached the Athlete Agreement to wear logos of their own individual sponsors. This is absolutely false and completely the opposite of my true position. Obviously, I have not managed to make myself clear enough, so I will try to say it again.
First of all, I am no friend of the people who were in charge of running USSPEEDSKATING during the time when I was competing. I disagree with the way Katie Marquard was running the federation as Executive Director. I think Mike Crowe's performance as Program Director was deplorable, unethical, and incompetent, as well as personally destructive to my own speedskating career. And, especially relevant to the topic of this post, I think Andy Gabel showed extremely poor leadership as USSPEEDSKATING President, most of all in the signing of a misleading sponsorship deal with Qwest.
For anyone to say that I "flock together" with USSPEEDSKATING is extremely insulting to me and goes against everything I have ever written on this blog. I believe that my writing and ideas have contributed to the downfall of several individuals in power in USSPEEDSKATING who were very bad for the sport, its athletes, and its future.
Second of all, I have always been in favor and in support of the individual sponsorship position. I believe that athletes who are able to find individual sponsors, especially those who do not benefit from any of the services of USSPEEDSKATING, should be able to wear the logos of their own sponsors on their suits. In stating the fact that certain athletes were seen and photographed wearing suits where the Qwest logo was painted over, and an individual sponsor logo painted on top, I was not blaming the athlete for causing problems for USSPEEDSKATING. On the contrary, I was happy, because that was the only way that the whole world was going to see how many problems USSPEEDSKATING was causing for its own athletes!
I think that having the whole world see this issue brought to light was a good thing, not a bad thing. I think that USSPEEDSKATING losing the Qwest sponsorship deal was a good thing, not a bad thing, because it pointed out Andy Gabel's arrogance in signing a sponsorship deal behind athletes' backs, while making a promise to the company that he couldn't keep. In the end, because some of USS's top athletes were seen wearing the logos of other companies instead of Qwest, Qwest had to force Gabel to face the consequences of his mistake.
In a way, I'm glad this issue came up again, because this brings me to something I need to point out. The most important thing USSPEEDSKATING should learn from this Qwest experience is to make sure that Andy Gabel never again has the position or authority to make such a decision.
People have called Andy Gabel a "savvy businessman and a tireless promoter of the sport." But I think Andy Gabel is a guy who "wants to be the next Richard Branson," but he wants to do it not by skill, or by making sound business decisions, but by stepping on YOUR backs, and by kicking YOU for his own mistakes.
The Qwest deal that he signed was not a good deal, either for the company or for the athletes. Qwest did not get what they expected, and the athletes were forced to GIVE UP TOO MUCH IN EXCHANGE FOR TOO LITTLE.
Does anyone still believe that I am a friend of USSPEEDSKATING, who stands with them against athletes who want to wear logos of their individual sponsors? Then read this. I resented the fact that, when I was competing, I was pretty much forced to wear a logo while getting nothing for it; while not benefitting from any of USSPEEDSKATING's training programs and even being denied access to a trainer when I was injured before a world cup, because I refused to train with a program that had admitted to using me as an "experiment." I resented the fact that Andy Gabel told the athlete reps last year, "The reason why the athletes don't get more of the sponsorship money directly is because they'd just go out and buy stereo systems and video games." I resented the fact that Andy Gabel sent our whole World Cup contingent an email threatening to sue all of the athletes who breached the Athlete Agreement, on race prep day!!!
To summarize my response to being accused of being a friend of USS who stands against athletes who wear individual sponsor logos, I'd like to reiterate that I am NO FRIEND of any of the people in USS who were involved in the signing and enforcement of the Qwest sponsorship deal, and that I am IN FAVOR of athletes wearing the logos of their individual sponsors.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
And Now You Need Money:
Let me say once again what a great thing it is that the new USSPEEDSKATING Board of Directors has decided to "clean out the dead wood." When a federation goes bad, it is often an insidious process that takes time to develop. In USSPEEDSKATING, problems had gone on for years, but people tried to pretend they didn't exist. With the emergence of the internet as a means for skaters, fans, and others to communicate, it became harder for the people who had been running the organization to hide the problems going on within it.
Finally, it was time for a change. A critical mass of dissatisfaction was reached, and the good people of speedskating were able to come to power and overthrow the status quo.
But the new administration has to deal with the problems created by the old. Sponsors are leaving (and suing!) The USOC is cracking down. Soon, USSPEEDSKATING may find itself completely out of money. What should they do next?
For a sport that prides itself on its wholesome image, this is a very difficult time. I believe that USSPEEDSKATING's best option for finding new sponsors as quickly as possible is simply to come clean. How else will they be able to explain why so many of their former top people are leaving all at once?
Why not just spread the word that the people who had been in charge of USSPEEDSKATING were leading it in the wrong direction, and so they had to be let go? How about telling the world that USSPEEDSKATING is re-evaluating its goals and moving in a new direction?
So, maybe one disadvantage of this time of change is that USSPEEDSKATING is very short on funds. But a major advantage is that they no longer have to be dishonest about "what they are selling" to sponsors! They don't have to pretend that metric speedskating is a pure race against the clock, while some "committee" decides that a girl who can't go under 4:30 in the 3K - and hadn't even skated one at all that season - is a better choice for the Olympic team pursuit than two girls who went 4:15 and 4:16 within the previous month. They don't have to lie and say that their top skaters will wear a logo, when they haven't even asked the skaters if they will or not. They don't have to "sell" an Allround program that nobody wants to train with.
The most important things you can do right now, USSPEEDSKATING, is to assure potential sponsors that something like the misleading deal with Qwest will never happen again, and to give your athletes reasons to be loyal to the federation.
Now, how about talking to some of your 2006 Olympic Champions and seeing if they will help you raise money? I'm sure people would love to meet them!
Monday, May 15, 2006
An Epitaph for my Nemesis:
Today is the day USSPEEDSKATING cleaned house. Mike Crowe, Tom Cushman, and Marion Wohlrab have all been fired.
Don't worry, Crowe. Maybe you can drive the Zamboni up in Butte. Or you can get a job as a janitor at "Some Veterinary School."
It appears that the new USSPEEDSKATING Board of Directors is sick and tired of this federation being the butt of the speedskating world's jokes. Now, there is no reason why they have to be. Congratulations to the new USSPEEDSKATING board, and best of luck to you all in the upcoming 4-year cycle. As far as I'm concerned, you are starting with a clean slate. I'm really happy and proud of you. Life makes sense again.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Sports, Cultural Differences, and National Team Support:
There has been a discussion on Andrew Love's blog, Zen and the Art of Speedskating, about differences between various National Team programs, in terms of how a sport is built on a grassroots level, how athletes are developed up to the elite level, and how the teams are funded. This issue came up because the Canadian and American programs believe they can start a dialogue to learn the best aspects of each others' systems in order to improve their own.
For example, in speedskating, the Canadians have a great grassroots development program that feeds a lot of skaters into their system, while the Americans seem to do a good job of bringing what few skaters they have up to the Olympic podium.
Some people have asked the question of how the culture or society impacts how a country's national teams are supported. I would like to share my ideas on that again, even though I briefly mentioned it when I was first starting this blog.
When most people in the USA think of elite amateur sports, where the final goal is an Olympic medal, they think that the USOC is responsible for the support of National Team-level athletes. Most people I've talked to, throughout the years when I competed for the USA on the World Cup circuit of speedskating, believe that athletes on my level were "all set;" that we lived for free in training centers, had all our meals cooked for us, and didn't have to work. And, although this was the furthest thing imaginable from the true situation of long track skaters who live and train in Salt Lake City (and I'm sure this is the case for most athletes training for the Olympics in other sports), the USOC was pretty much fine with this image being spread around and generally accepted.
Let me give you an example, using the community of long track speedskaters in Salt Lake City. Although the Utah Olympic Oval has been the home base of USSPEEDSKATING's long track National Team program since before the 2002 Olympics, there is no housing available for skaters close to the Oval. The only housing that has been provided is the high altitude house in Park City, which only has room for a few skaters. Besides, even if the housing is free, the extra money spent on the gas needed to drive up and down Parley's Canyon every day pretty much negates the financial benefit.
USSPEEDSKATING gives out stipends of $150 per month to World Cup competitors, and skaters are given the chance to increase their USS stipends by finishing Top 20 in overall World Cup standings at the end of the season. The $150-per-month stipend is a joke -- it won't even buy half an athlete's food for the month! In comparison, Canadian World Cup qualifiers get stipends of $1500 a month (sure, it's in Canadian currency, but it still works out to be almost an order of magnitude more than the American skaters get!!!)
There are also other issues of athlete support relating to the USOC. After I made my first World Cup team in 2001, I started receiving a Level 1 athlete grant from the USOC, of $2500 a year, which isn't much, but at least it was something. But by 2003, this funding was cut out entirely, because the USOC had decided they were only going to support athletes who were "performing," which, to them, meant Top 8 in a World Championship or in overall World Cup standings.
This seems backwards to me. I can't think of a Top 10 speedskater who isn't professionally sponsored! Although I hate to say that someone who has gotten to that level should be denied anything, I'm not the only one who believes that "helping the rich get richer" does not seem to be what the USOC needs to be doing in order to help our National Teams become stronger and deeper.
Another thing that the USOC does that seems backwards to me (and this is probably going to sound really bad to a lot of people, but what the hell...) is awarding $25,000 to Olympic gold medalists. I believe that the gold medal itself opens doors to money-making opportunities for the gold medalist. It's getting there that is the problem. It's getting the athlete there that should be the USOC's problem. Isn't that what the American people expect from the USOC, or am I totally off base?
This could be where cultural differences arise. Some societies and governments are just more willing to direct their resources towards supporting their National Teams. For example, I think it is very important to China right now, as a developing superpower, to show their supremacy in sports, especially with the Beijing Olympics coming up in 2008, so their government has put a lot of money into the development of a strong sports system.
Here in America, our government doesn't have a whole lot of money to direct towards a lot of truly worthwhile pursuits, and, working in the field of biomedical research, I realize this first-hand. I don't think that our sports system is a priority right now, either. Right now our main focus is getting ourselves out of a very expensive war that was started based on a lie.
On the other hand, we're capitalists here, right? So why should we Americans depend on handouts from our government? Why can't we, as athletes or as teams, just try to market ourselves? Are we stuck on this whole "amateur" thing? (By the way, do you know what "amateur" means to me? It means, "I'm a spoiled little brat who doesn't need to get paid for what I do, because my parents are loaded!")
The problem right now seems to be that we're stuck somewhere in a horrible middle ground between "professional" and "amateur," and we haven't decided on a clear direction with clear guidelines. So, in this situation, we end up fighting a bunch of irrational power struggles over sponsorship rights.
The sponsorship fights within USSPEEDSKATING were really bad over the last couple of years. When Andy Gabel was president, he made promises to sponsors (about which athletes would wear a company's logos) that he was unable to keep. Now the sponsors are upset, nobody wants to work with USS, and the federation's funding situation is a disaster.
I think the American sports system is in crisis, because we don't know where we are going or how to get there. I think that companies give a lot of money to organizations like the USOC (which has had its own scandals with CEO's skimming off the top), and that somehow, the money is not getting down to the athletes.
Athletes from other countries are surprised that American athletes have so much trouble because "The USA seems to be THE PLACE for money." I agree: It is the place for money, but the USOC and our sports federations are not doing what they need to be doing in order to take advantage of the situation.
(10/26/06) Here's some more info I've recently come across. Take a look at this article about Canadian athlete support:
Winnipeg Free Press
Olympians thankful for RONA's millions
Fri Oct 20 2006
Randy Turner
NO, it's not a fortune, but for Olympians like Winnipeg's Shannon Rempel, it's as good as gold.
Who knows? In four years, it just might lead to a precious medal, too.
What we're talking about is the not-so-little matter of RONA's Growing with Our Athletes program, a five-year sponsorship of 100 of this country's elite Olympians and Paralympians that will be worth a minimum of $4 million.
That works out to $40,000 per athlete, or $8,000 a year, which might not sound like the lottery, but to speed skater Rempel, who won silver in team pursuit at the Turin Olympic Games last February, it's the difference between life and debt.
"That's exactly what it does," Rempel said Thursday from her training base in Calgary. "It allows me to live."
Winnipeg's Jennifer Botterill, a veteran of Canada's women's hockey team, was the only other Manitoban on the funding list.
Of course, as a world-ranked Canadian, the 21-year-old Rempel already receives $1,500 a month in tax-free funding. She also gets a grant from Sport Manitoba of about $1,500 a year.
But when you're paying between $500 and $700 a month in rent and each pair of skating boots costs $2,000, it's not exactly like Rempel has been rolling in wealth the last five years while striving to reach world-class performance levels away from home.
After all, Rempel's main financial backers have been her parents, Shirley and Rick. "The Bank of Mom and Dad," the daughter joked.
"They're really supportive," she added. "But it's nice not to ask for money from them. I can't even imagine how much money they've spent on me and my skating career."
Which is why the involvement of RONA, Canada's largest home improvement retailer, can't be overstated in a country where the funding of Olympic athletes has been such a contentious issue -- and widely considered directly tied to results, both good and bad.
It wasn't long ago, in fact, that many Canadian Olympians were living on funding below the poverty level, prompting a high-profile lobbying effort in which athletes, in grungy urban environments, posed with signs that read, "Will Compete for Money."
The Canadian Olympic Committee's director of international performance, Alex Gardiner, another Winnipegger, believes there will be a direct correlation between corporate funding and Canada's results in Beijing in 2008 and Vancouver in 2010, where Rempel and Botterill are expected to represent the country once again.
"It's huge, but the effect is going to be even more magnified because it's directed to our 100 best athletes," Gardiner said Thursday. "It works out to about $700 a month. That can buy an entire month's rent.
"It's a long way from food stamps," Gardiner added. "We've come a long way in the last three years. But athletes have extraordinary costs."
For some athletes, Rempel noted, the money could be used for trips to international events (unlike speed skating, some sports don't cover travel costs) and even coaching.
Or it simply buys a level of security and reduced stress in paying for everything from physical therapy to car repairs to healthy food.
"Who knows what can come up?" the speed skater said. "It may be the car breaks down, or it may be eating good food like fruits and vegetables, which can be more expensive. Or going to the chiropractor and not have to worry about the cost so much."
Now you might be thinking that if RONA is funding the 100 top Canadian athletes, why aren't Clara Hughes and this country's most decorated Olympian, Cindy Klassen, on the list?
Turns out they both declined the money, and not just because of some scheduling conflicts, but because they thought others who aren't blessed with as much corporate support needed it more, Gardiner said.
Olympian, eh? They know more than anyone just how precious those few extra dollars can be when it comes to the enormous challenge of being one of the best in the world at anything.
"They know how hard it is to get sponsors," Rempel said.
So $700 a month from RONA might not sound like a windfall, but this is Canada, remember, where every nickel in support of amateur athletes is almost as hard-earned as a medal. Almost as hard-earned as the sacrifices made during the four years we don't pay them much attention and less money.
Besides, all we know is this: The less burden and strain you put on an athlete's shoulders, chances are, the faster they will go.
(No, really, says The Protocol. Didn't USSPEEDSKATING have something similar in place? I believe it was called "BLOWJOBS FOR O-JOBS!!!"
Take a look around at your shitty U.S. women's speedskating team. Now think of all the talented women who left the sport because we have better shit to do with our lives.)
If you look at the article above, you can easily tell the difference in attitudes between the Canadian and American speedskating federations. The Canadians come right out and say that their federation, though it tries its best, still has trouble supporting its athletes to the level they need. They come right out and admit that there is a correlation between a lack of support and poor competitive results, and they want to help their athletes get more support so they can perform better without stressing out about how they're going to cover real expenses such as food, rent, and equipment.
USSPEEDSKATING, on the other hand, tells its athletes that they DON'T NEED support from their federation. In fact, former USS president Andy Gabel has said that the only thing American speedskaters will do if they receive more funding is to spend it all on "video games and stereo systems."
I believe that the purpose of a sports system and sports federation is to support its best athletes and to find ways of helping them perform at the highest level. ANY SPORTS SYSTEM THAT ARGUES THAT ITS ATHLETES DON'T NEED SUPPORT FROM THE FEDERATION IS MAKING A VERY COMPELLING ARGUMENT FOR THE FEDERATION'S OWN NON-EXISTENCE.
Friday, May 12, 2006
The Process of Change:
Ever since the USSPEEDSKATING Spring Board Meeting, those of us who follow the world of speedskating have been getting little bits and pieces of news about the changes taking place within the federation. The biggest surprise so far has been the resignation of Katie Marquard, who will step down from her position as Executive Director in September of this year.
Many of the changes have been encouraging. People who care about the grassroots development of speedskating seem to be happy that Brad Goskowicz has taken over as USS President, because of his previous involvement with the ASU. Also, many people are certain that Beth Bedford will do an excellent job as Treasurer, because of her professional experience as an accountant (That is, assuming the budget can even be fixed at this point! I heard Beth just about had a heart attack when she first saw it...)
The budget is only one of USSPEEDSKATING's many concerns right now, but the lack of funds will end up impacting every part of the organization. Already, the regional development programs have been cut.
I guess right now there is some uncertainty about the National Team coaching situation as well. I have heard that the Allrounders have not yet begun training together as a group. I have also heard that Sprint coach Ryan Shimabukuro may be considering an offer to coach another team.
The allocation of benefits to skaters in different training programs is also up in the air. President Brad Goskowicz has brought up the possibility of giving the National Team-level skaters a stipend and allowing them to choose their own coach and training program. But this has not yet been decided, and time is ticking away.
I have continued to post about some of my experiences in USSPEEDSKATING, in order to make people aware of the problems that have gone on in the past. But lately I have realized that I speak of these problems in an angry way, because I have forgotten that it is now my goal to help inform the new USSPEEDSKATING Board, and to help them get this Olympic cycle off to a good start. I have to remember that things are changing in USSPEEDSKATING, even though these changes are not happening out in the open. And, of course, I have to remember that there are some new people involved in USS leadership now -- not just the people who hurt me.
Yes, I have been very open about my anger towards people like Mike Crowe and Andy Gabel, and about my anger about someone like Tom Cushman getting seemingly limitless chances to screw up (but should I be surprised? After all, this is the country that re-elected a president who lied to us about our reasons for going to war!) I am sorry if my angry words against "the federation" ended up hurting the good people who are involved.
USSPEEDSKATING includes some people who, I feel, abused their power to do things that were unfair, unethical, and bad for the sport. This federation is also made up of people who just made mistakes, people who had to "play by the rules" in order to keep their jobs, people who kept their mouths shut even though they knew that things were not right, and people who tried to fight to make changes but were pushed out.
When I started writing The Protocol, I wanted to tell my story because I wanted people to know that there was more to my own failure than just "me racing against the clock," or against myself. I also hoped that someday, my words would combine with the ideas of others who were also "fed up," and that a critical mass of dissatisfaction would be reached. I think that time has arrived.
I've heard people say, I've been around the sport of speedskating for decades, and I've seen the same old crap happen over and over. What do you think? That everything will change now, just because it happened to you?" I don't know exactly how or why, but I do believe it is happening. USSPEEDSKATING is being forced to change.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Leveille Situation: What, exactly, is USSPEEDSKATING's policy on National Team walk-ons?
Back in the fall of 2005, I posted the story of how Tom Cushman started working with Tony Goskowicz's skater, Charles Ryan Leveille, while the U.S. Allround Team was on a training camp in Milwaukee. Charles had been training with Tony's team up until that time, when Tom decided to let him "walk on" to the National Team.
Now, I'm not saying that Charles is not a good enough skater to be on that team. All I would like to do is to ask how this fits in with USSPEEDSKATING's insistence that the only people who are entitled to National Team benefits are those who are "Chosen By The Board" in the spring, before the season begins.
So, the story goes like this: At the Milwaukee training camp, Tom starts paying attention to Charles (videoing, lap times, technique analysis...) at the expense of his own skaters. This gets so bad that the parents of some of Tom's Allround skaters call a meeting with the program director to complain.
Then, at the Fall World Cup Trials, Tom coaches Charles, who happens to make the World Cup team ahead of several Allround Team members. One of my friends told me that there was subsequently an article in one of the Milwaukee newspapers where Tom was talking about the new talent he discovered.
Excuse me, but isn't this the kind of thing we call "poaching?" You know -- taking credit for an athlete developed by another coach? Goskowicz is the one who taught Charles how to skate long track in the first place, and wrote his training program throughout the summer. Not only that: Look at Leveille's history in the sport of speedskating. He first developed as an inline speedskater, and after he became a champion there, his sponsors agreed to fund his transition to ice, as he learned short track under Wilma Boomstra in Southern California. After an unfortunate crash and a horrible back injury, he decided to switch to long track, and trained with Goskowicz at the Pettit in Milwaukee.
Considering USSPEEDSKATING's typical treatment of athletes from outside their own teams, letting Charles walk onto the National Team in the fall of 2005 was a surprising move. I'm wondering what Tom was thinking when he did it. I'm wondering what rules he followed. I'm wondering what his superiors thought of his decision. And did anyone ever give any serious thought to what benefits Charles would be entitled to, or denied? I once asked someone why Charles's skating was being videoed, when he was not a member of "The Chosen 20." The answer I got was this: "Well, Tom has decided he wants to work with Charles. But don't worry - he doesn't get to see the trainers either."
What??? So, you're going to let the guy train on your team, but you're going to deny him the chance to see the trainers? What happens if he gets hurt? None of this makes any sense. This is just an example of how USSPEEDSKATING twists any of their rules to fit any situation to their liking.
As a contrast, let me present to you now my story of being a promising outsider, coming up in the speedskating world during the season of the 2002 Olympic Games:
I was training at the time with Jan Van de Roemer and Lester Pardoe, with the Oval's FAST Program. In the first time trial weekend of October 2001, I skated a 1500 meter race, paired with Elli Ochowicz. She beat me by only a few tenths, and immediately the murmurs of fear and uneasiness began. A week or so later, I skated a 3000 meters in 4:28, during one of my many bouts with tonsillitis. After this race, Jan tells me that the "USS people" are relieved at my slow time, saying, "Oh, don't worry about her. She can't skate the long distances."
The Fall World Cup Trials arrive, and USS craps their collective pants as I beat the field in the 3K by 6 seconds.
Can you see the difference between how they treated me in 2001, and how they treated Charles in 2005? Does anyone care to speculate on a reason? I sure don't.
Coming back to the main point: What we have here is a few basic problems. The first one involves USSPEEDSKATING not being clear on its rules about National Team walk-ons: How they'll decide who walks on, and what these walk-ons will get. The second problem involves a coach abandoning his own team after wrecking them through his typical "overtraining protocol," in favor of an athlete who had been working with another coach, and taking credit for that athlete's success.
And, finally, the Leveille situation proves what I said about USSPEEDSKATING's so-called "Development Program," where all they need is a talent scout who reads the Fitness and Speed Skating Times to find the fastest inliners, convert them to ice, and there you go. The problem with that "strategy" is this: Inline skating is pretty much dead (at least, compared to where it used to be, when USS inherited skaters such as Boutiette, Parra, Cheek, Rodriguez, Hedrick...) , so where are you going to find your talent? Where are you going to find an organization that DEVELOPS THEIR SKATERS ON THEIR DIME, and THESE SKATERS BECOME CHAMPIONS FOR USSPEEDSKATING WITH NEGLIGIBLE INPUT FROM USSPEEDSKATING ITSELF.
On the surface, this "walk-on episode" just seems like an unfair situation. But if you go deeper, you see that it is representative of USSPEEDSKATING's attitude towards the development of the sport.
Stupid team travel arrangements are one of USS's biggest wastes of money:
Did you know that when USSPEEDSKATING buys plane tickets for its athletes to fly overseas for competitions, they often pay hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars more than the fare that any individual could find online for the same flight? And it's not like their travel agent finds them flights that are convenient: The skaters are still getting up in the wee hours to catch a 5 AM flight, having long layovers, and transferring at out-of-the-way airports.
Why is this happening? I've heard this complaint from several people, but nothing has been done about it. USSPEEDSKATING has been making all its arrangements through the same travel agent -- Howard something or other, down in Florida, and he always does the same thing: Finds inconvenient flights at exorbitant, rip-off prices.
And, don't forget about all those officials who have to go to all the competitions and clinics, as well. It really ticks me off that you'd rather pay OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKET to send a bunch of administrators to Torino, than to LET THE USOC PAY for a couple of desperately needed alternates or team pursuit members for your women's team.
Wake up, USSPEEDSKATING. You're too poor to be careless with your travel arrangements.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Justify Your Own Salary, Mr.Program Director, Before Asking the USOC for More Money:
A funny thing happened at the USSPEEDSKATING board meeting. The discussion of money came up, and USS was complaining about how their sponsors were withdrawing their support, and they were so low on funds that they were going to have to eliminate all of the regional development programs. At this point, Program Director Mike Crowe jumped in and said, "We'd be fine if only the USOC would give us more money."
(*NOTE:* I found out later that it wasn't Crowe who said this after all, but rather former USS President Bill Cushman.)
The USOC representative who came to the meeting apparently turned livid at this suggestion. He proceeded to point out how many millions of dollars the USOC had given USSPEEDSKATING over the past few Olympic cycles, and demanded to know exactly how that money was being spent.
Personally, I'd like to know whether people really believe Mike Crowe deserves to be paid for the job he has been doing as Program Director. What was his plan for the past 4 years? How did he do? Does he evaluate the performance of his coaches on a regular basis? Does he evaluate the performance of his athletes on a regular basis? Is he capable of interpreting his findings, and using them in a meaningful way? Does he give direction to the National Team programs? Does he try to get the best athletes to train together and help each other? Does he enter skaters in events they are capable of skating, or does he do stupid things like putting someone who can barely finish a 1500 meters into a 6-lap pursuit? Does he take the mission statement and goals of the federation and develop a plan to carry them out? How do his actions, decisions, and finally, results, reflect on his own performance as Program Director?
Many people like to say, "Crowe knows what is right, but he doesn't always say it." They think he has enough experience and knowledge, and all he has to do is stand there and observe. Is this enough for you? I would encourage you to actually ask him some questions, force him to give you a straight answer, and, once his jaw starts flapping, you will see what a genius he really is -- like the time he adamantly argued that a World Cup qualifier should not be able to see a trainer for evaluation of her back injury two weeks before an event.
You shouldn't tolerate any disconnection between "what you supposedly think he knows," and his actions and results (or lack thereof). You shouldn't tolerate any disconnection between his actions and decisions as Program Director and the goals of the federation, in terms of the performance of its athletes.
Do you think you are paying $70,000 a year for the "brain" of your operation? I think you're paying $70,000 a year for a sphincter on your elbow; an appendage that is both redundant and produces nothing but a whole lot of extra crap.
Do you know what I think? I think Crowe is absent too much of the time. I think he lives like a king up in Butte, Montana, takes an occasional trip with the team, and collects his salary for doing nothing but making life as difficult as possible for real, hardcore speedskaters with true potential. I think he is going to ride the USSPEEDSKATING gravy train for all it's worth, until and unless people realize what a waste he truly is.
But I believe his job is safe, and do you know why? Not because he has been a success. Not because he has been doing what he is supposed to be doing. His job is safe because not enough people care about speedskating in America, and so no one is going to hold him accountable for his performance.
If I were the person overseeing Crowe's position, the first thing I would do is to make him defend his salary. Considering his lack of leadership during and leading up to the 2006 Olympic Games, I think the burden of proof is on him. If he'd want to keep his job, I would want him to point out which, if any, of the positive outcomes that happened for USS happened because of his input, and which would have happened anyway. I would need him to prove that he has developed more than he has destroyed. Because I believe the only thing he succeeded in doing is "bringing his own taco to the Italian buffet."
If I somehow decided that Crowe deserved to keep his position, or was absolutely unable to find a replacement, I'd have someone take him by the hand and lead him to "Program Director Preschool." I'd make him re-learn the reality of what is expected of him in his position. Then, I'd make him write out a detailed plan for the USSPEEDSKATING Team for the next 4 years, through Vancouver. I'd make him rewrite it until he got it right. Then, once the training started, I'd make him write regular progress reports.
Yes, I hate Mike Crowe. Through the weeks following the 2006 Olympic Trials, I punched the palm of my left hand until it was black and blue, pretending it was his face. But not only did his decisions harm me, I also think they harmed the entire American women's contingent. And anyone who cares about how the U.S. women's speedskating team does in the future should give a serious thought to what I have said.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Don't Waste Your Women's Team:
Now, we all know that the American women's speedskating team did not perform very well in Torino a few months ago, but I'm not going to talk about that right now. I'd like to focus on the future.
Look at the talented women we have in America: Catherine Raney, Maria Lamb, Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr., Maggie Crowley. These women should be training together. I believe, as do many others, that they can be every bit as strong as the Canadian women have become, if they only have a chance to work together.
But who is trying to make this happen? Is anyone in USSPEEDSKATING contacting these women, seeing if there is any interest in creating a strong training group, trying to figure out where they can train, who their coach will be, and trying to find them sponsorship?
This is Mike Crowe's job. And, now that his little "conflict of interest" has retired, there is no reason in hell why he shouldn't be doing it....*(Oh, wait, I spoke too soon....arrrrghhhh...No, that isn't the Great Salt Lake you're smelling...it's the Undead Speedskating Career of Amy Sannes!!! Guess who is still on the Category One list and has failed to submit an official retirement statement to US Antidoping? Yeah. The one who was so freaking stale she couldn't even step up to skate a race at the Olympics.)*
Right now, Catherine is looking for a training program. Maggie is attending classes at Northwestern University. And Nancy, so I've heard, is mowing lawns to try to raise some money.
Hey, USSPEEDSKATING, do you care enough about making this happen? Any of these women have more of a chance at medaling in Vancouver than some of the dead weight you've been dragging around. It's going to take a complete change in philosophy, though. USS will have to realize that it's better to make it their goal to have 3 women in the Top 10 on any given World Cup weekend, than to have one medalist and not care what happens to the rest. And, of course, the team that trains together will have to realize that they will be stronger if they work together and support each other.
Why do I have to write this up and post it online for the people in charge of USSPEEDSKATING? I'm sure this kind of thing isn't happening in China or the Netherlands right now. I mean, shouldn't it be obvious how to create a strong team of medal contenders? This is totally not what I expected from my national federation when I first started speedskating.
(11-13-06) I've been thinking a lot about women's sports over the past few months. From my own observations and from speaking with others, I've found that female athletic champions are less valued than male champions. This attitude is pretty pervasive around the world.
Within USSPEEDSKATING, I found that those administrators who took it upon themselves to decide who had potential and who did not, treated men differently from women. All that a male speedskater had to do was to show talent, but from a female speedskater, they wanted something else.
For the most part, USSPEEDSKATING has been run by men who are weak, cowardly, and stupid. This type of man needs his ego constantly fed by people who treat him like a big shot, even though he is incompetent and does not deserve to hold a position of authority. This is the type of man who needs any female over whom he has authority to be meek, subservient, and worshipful towards him. He needs this from his female athletes more than he needs them to perform on the ice. I can think of a few men who held positions of authority in USS, while I was competing, who fit this description.
I really do believe that between the years of 2002-2006, USSPEEDSKATING had the potential do develop a women's team of great depth. USS will tell you that the reason why our men did so well while our women did so poorly is that America had talented male skaters during this time but did not have talented female skaters. This is a big fat lie. The reason why USSPEEDSKATING's women's program failed is because of the administration's attitudes towards its female competitors and what it wanted from them.
Fortunately, things are looking a bit brighter for the future of the American women's team, at least in terms of the coaching situation. I trust both Ryan Shimabukuro and Chris Shelley because they both have shown a great deal of respect for female speedskaters, and for their actual accomplishments on the ice.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
An Unsolicited Evaluation of Tom Cushman's Performance as U.S. National Allround Team Coach:
I really wish I'd been able to attend the Long Track Committee meeting at the USSPEEDSKATING board meeting. Apparently, upon hearing that Tom Cushman would be returning to his position as National Allround coach, Catherine Raney stood up and said something like, "So if you don't get enough skaters who want to train with this coach, will you just eliminate that position?"
Later on in the weekend, a special meeting was called by Dan Jansen and a few current national-level skaters, to discuss the coaching situation. I hear that Dan tried to tell the USS administration, "Look, you can't re-hire Tom Cushman, because no one will train with him!" This is totally unexpected, and I would really like to thank Dan Jansen right now for standing up for today's top American speedskaters.
You know, I really thought that after what happened at the Olympics in Torino this past season, that there would be no doubt that Tom Cushman has used up all of his chances to fail as U.S. Allround coach. I thought the results spoke for themselves. I thought it was so obvious, but I guess I was wrong.
Sometimes, I hate to pick on Tom so much, because he really doesn't seem like a bad person. It's just that I am concerned for the next generation of speedskaters, and I feel that something needs to be said and done about the National Team coaching situation.
Though I hate to pick on Tom, I don't understand why he keeps coming back for more abuse! Personally, if I had failed at something as miserably as Tom has failed at coaching the American Allrounders, I would want to crawl into a hole and die. In fact, I'm shocked that Tom even wanted his job back this year! During the Olympics, someone I know got a phone call from Tom, during which he said he just wanted it all to be over and just wanted to go home.
I did not wish poor performances on any of the American skaters, but when Tom's whole training group started to underperform in Torino, I wanted him, as their coach, to feel every twinge of unpleasantness when his skaters failed to meet expectations. I wanted him to face the media's tough questions. And, most of all, by the time all of the results had come in, I was certain that there was no way USSPEEDSKATING would have him back. I was wrong.
In light of the re-hiring of Tom Cushman as Allround coach, I see that USSPEEDSKATING still does not understand the full extent of the harm this coach's performance has done to the federation's goals, individual athletes' careers, team unity, and potential sponsorship. So, even though a lot of what I'm going to say today is a re-hashing of things I have already discussed, I'm going to say it all again. Even though I often feel like I'm beating my own head against a wall, I'm going to say it again. I'm going to try to present this to you in terms that, I hope, are both very simple and very harsh.
When I decided to train with Cushman's Allround group in 2003-04, it was mainly for the free training, other benefits, and the fact that no matter how the coaching was, I'd have fast training partners. Our team was told that we'd have a group of scientific advisors looking over our training data to make sure we weren't getting overtrained. Still, 4 out of the 8 skaters on Tom's team "fell off the edge," got overtrained, and severely underperformed. I was one of those.
Now, this part is very important, because it has to do with something that was discussed at this year's Sports Science and Medicine committee meeting: Some skaters brought up the point that the USS coaches might not be too good at watching the skaters' training data and applying it to the training programs. Then, the counter-attack was made by the coaches, saying that it's up to the skaters to communicate with the coaches better, about how they feel in training. What I never remembered to say at this point was that after the year where half of Tom's team got overtrained, we were not told that we should have communicated better. No, we were told that THE COACHES AND SCIENTISTS COULD SEE THAT WE WERE GETTING OVERTRAINED, BUT THE DECISION WAS MADE TO CONTINUE TO PUSH US, IN THE INTEREST OF COLLECTING DATA FOR THE BENEFIT OF FUTURE GENERATIONS OF SKATERS.
When I told this story on The Protocol, I wrote that not only did I belive it was unethical for a coach to convince a group of National Team athletes that he was trying to help them skate faster, and then to use them in some sort of "overtraining experiment," I also wrote that I DID NOT BELIEVE TOM CUSHMAN HAD THE KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD ALLOW HIM TO APPLY ANYTHING HE HAS LEARNED FROM SUCH EXPERIMENTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF FUTURE NATIONAL TEAM SKATERS.
How right or wrong was I?
Well, take a look at how Tom did last season. He was handed a couple of very talented junior skaters. One of them had gone under 1:50 in the 1500 the previous year and was looking to be a serious contender for the 2006 Olympic Team, if he continued in his rate of improvement. One year later, this kid is crawling across the finish line, WAAAAAAAAAAAY off his personal best, like so many skaters who have passed through Cushman's hands.
It's like another point that Catherine Raney made at the Sports Science and Medicine committee meeting -- that younger skaters aren't familiar enough with how hard to push their own bodies, and need more guidance from a coach. Has Tom learned anything from his "overtraining experiments?" Does he even know how to look at a skater in training, and tell when that person has had enough? Can he be trusted to monitor the progress of a talented, up-and-coming neo-senior? It sure doesn't look like it.
Next, take a look at the Olympic Games. Not only were Tom's long distance skaters underperforming relative to themselves, they were also, without exception, beaten out by American skaters from alternative training programs.
Probably the saddest story of all is that of 2005 Sprint Champion Jen Rodriguez. I'll never forget the voice of the announcer before she lined up for one of her races, saying that she HAD PUSHED TOO HARD IN TRAINING DURING THE FALL AND HER LEGS HAD NOT HAD A CHANCE TO RECOVER.
Mistakes happen in every line of work. Some are worse than others. It's possible to learn from one's mistakes, but one must be held accountable for failure, especially if it involves messing up the efforts of human beings who are sacrificing everything to achieve a goal.
If my work in the lab went like Tom's coaching, it would be like this: I'd come in and take a picture of the DNA fragment I was trying to make, it would come out blank, and I'd realize that I had forgotten to add the enzyme to the reaction. I'd paste the picture into my lab notebook and record what happened. Then, I'd come in the next day and do it again. A year later, I'd have 365 pages in my notebook of blank pictures with a note saying, "Oops! I forgot to add the enzyme!" But amazingly, somehow I'd still have my job. It blows your mind, if you think about it that way. It's just not the way the real world works. It's not the way anything should work!!!
Doesn't USSPEEDSKATING realize that when they hire a coach nobody wants to train with, then nobody will want to be a sponsor of USSPEEDSKATING? This is a real problem. This is not just "some disgruntled failure" talking about a coach with whom she had the worst season of her life. I'm not alone! In fact, YOUR TOP ALLROUND SKATERS DO NOT WANT TO TRAIN WITH THIS COACH! Shani Davis and Catherine Raney train in Calgary. Chad Hedrick has been training with Bart Schouten. I really believe that the root of most of your battles with athletes over sponsorship and unequal treatment BEGINS with the fact that YOUR ALLROUND NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM REPELS THEM!!!
Now here's another problem I need to mention. There was an anonymous "Coach Evaluation" sent around to all the skaters, by one former skater who wanted all the others to know what he thought of the US coaches. In response to this skater's criticism of Tom Cushman, another of Tom's skaters came to Tom's defense, saying that Tom was put in the unfortunate position of having to work with skaters he didn't feel he could work with.
I'm sorry, but it is the responsibility of a National Team coach to be able to work with skaters of all different types of personalities. The person who is National Team coach is handed the fastest skaters in the nation, and there is no guarantee that they will all have personalities that are compatible with the coach's. But if the coach is unable to work with a variety of people, then that is not something for the coach to whine and complain about. THAT IS THE COACH'S PROFESSIONAL DEFECT, and should be dealt with accordingly.
Have you had enough yet, or should I go on? I guess the last thing I want to say is that USSPEEDSKATING has a responsibility to this country to serve THE FASTEST ATHLETES and to help them perform at their best. Unless I've missed something in USSPEEDSKATING's mission statement, it is not their mission "To Provide a Job for Tom Cushman, No Matter How Badly He Screws Up."
Recently, I communicated with someone involved in marketing for USS, who said that his only concern was to sell USSPEEDSKATING by making it look good from the outside -- not to know what goes on internally. But I'd say that keeping Tom Cushman as National Allround coach is a decision that does a lot of damage, not only to the athletes' and federation's performance goals, but also to the image of USSPEEDSKATING and to its potential for seeking sponsorship.
Friday, May 05, 2006
A little late on those Coach Evaluations, aren't you?
A few days after the USS Sprring Board Meeting ended, I received an email that was sent out from Mike Crowe to all sprinters who had had any coach-athlete involvement with Ryan Shimabukuro in the past season, requesting an evaluation of Ryan's performance. I sent back a scathing reply to Crowe, asking him how he can go on pretending like what USSPEEDSKATING did to me last season was not the equivalent of "career genocide;" how he can just sit next to me in a meeting and keep me on his emailing list like nothing ever happened. I mean, come on! Do what you have to do, but at least call it what it is.
I did, however, give a few words of input on Ryan's coaching, repeating what I'd said on The Protocol several times about thinking that Ryan is an excellent technique coach. I also included a brief assessment of Tom Cushman's coaching performance, and referred Crowe to recent posts on The Protocol regarding who I believe is to blame for most of the failures of USSPEEDSKATING in Torino, especially in the men's and women's team pursuit and women's individual events.
Anyway, my main point in this post is to ask WHY CROWE WAITED UNTIL AFTER THE BOARD MEETING TO ASK THE ATHLETES FOR COACH EVALUATIONS. This is something that should have been done immediately after the season ended, so that plans could be made accordingly for the upcoming season. If the Board Meeting is held at the end of April, and teams officially start training together in the beginning of May, you can't wait until the board meeting to make a decision on a team coach -- much less just get started on evaluating coaching performance!!! What a shocking lapse of responsibility.
I'm saying this because I know that there was a major revolt among the athletes when they heard that Tom Cushman was re-hired as USSPEEDSKATING Allround National Team Coach. Cushman has made way too many mistakes, and should no longer have this position, and the fact that most athletes refuse to train with him should be a big indication that this is the wrong decision.
In fact, there was a big debate over this issue at the Board Meeting, and I'll talk about that in more detail in a later post. For the purpose of this post, I'd like to say that I know of several Allround skaters in Salt Lake City whose season plans are completely up in the air right now, in between not knowing who the National Team coach will be, and not having the FAST Program in existence at the Oval any more -- these skaters are waking up each morning and saying, "Well, what kind of training do I feel like doing today?"
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your illustrious US Speedskating Team, and their pathetic and disorganized leadership.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
More Board Meeting "Uglies:"
For a very interesting and well-rounded perspective on the USSPEEDSKATING Board Meeting, please check out Andrew Love's blog post on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." But I'm going to share with you my experience of the one committee meeting that I was able to attend: The Sports Science and Medicine committee.
I wanted to attend this session because I could make a quick trip downtown on my lunch break from work. Also, there was a story that I wanted to make sure was covered, and it was. That was my story of being denied access to a trainer when I was injured 2 weeks before the Fall World Cups, for which I had qualified.
The first thing that shocked me at this meeting was that Mike Crowe took a seat right next to me at the table. But once the debate over physical therapy got started, it quickly became apparent that no amount of pretending could cover up the bad blood and resentment of the previous season.
TOSH trainer Kim Nelson presented a summary of TOSH's work for USSPEEDSKATING that year. TOSH, The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, sponsors USS by providing their services free of charge. In the beginning of the season, the TOSH trainers were given a list of 20 skaters for whom they were responsible. The problem arose when some of these athletes, who had been training with the USS National Teams, failed to qualify for World Cup competition, while athletes who trained outside USS qualified instead.
As a result, USSPEEDSKATING had to enforce the contract they signed with TOSH, making the trainers turn away injured athletes, such as myself, who had qualified for World Cups, but who did not train with USS programs.
How does one solve such a situation, without over-burdening the trainers, who cannot reasonably handle more than 10 athletes each? Do you drop the athletes who failed to qualify for international competition and replace them with those who did? Most people would argue that this is cruel. After all, the athletes who failed to make World Cups are probably those who are injured or overtrained, and would have the greatest need to see a trainer! But that's actually what happened to me when I was overtrained under Tom Cushman's Allround program during the 2003-04 season. Not only did I not get to see the trainers, but the coach stopped communicating with me entirely, not even sending me an email asking how I was doing, while on the World Cup circuit with the rest of his team.
But how can you deny treatment to an athlete who has qualified to represent this country in an international competition? When I told my story in the meeting, I argued, "You should be most concerned with those athletes whom you're actually going to be sending to the starting line."
And Crowe kept on repeating, "No, it's those 20 names that were chosen by the Board in the beginning of the season -- that's who gets the treatment." If you could be there to see how adamantly he was arguing this point; this excuse of his for why an athlete like me should not have access to a trainer, then you will understand why I can't stand Mike Crowe and believe he does not care about supporting those American athletes who skate the fastest, but only about his "Chosen Ones."
I also talked about the reason why some athletes choose to train with programs other than those offered by USSPEEDSKATING, even though they qualify for the National Team. I said, "It's all about your skating performance, and being able to choose the coach and training program that works for you. For me, this was literally the difference between being on the podium in the B Group (under High 5 Team coach Boris Leikin), and not making any World Cups at all (with Tom Cushman's USS Allround program)."
Catherine Raney brought up an excellent point, saying, "If TOSH is sponsoring USS by providing its services, shouldn't they be able to choose whom they want to treat? Do they get to see this list of 20 names, and to approve it?"
Craig Wing, who oversees the TOSH deal with USS, said that TOSH loves to have athletes like Chris Witty and Derek Parra (skaters who don't train with USS and who are denied treatment) coming into their clinic, because their other patients love to see these athletes and interact with them. Mr. Wing thinks it is a shame to have to deny such athletes access to trainers, just because USSPEEDSKATING says they have to.
"Frankly, the situation this year SUCKED," said Craig Wing.
He and Crowe planned to meet after the committee meeting to come to some sort of resolution to bring before the Executive Board, but I just wanted to say, "Don't you realize that Crowe is your problem???"
I wonder how this situation got resolved. Some people, like Athlete Rep Chris Needham, believe that this problelm will not present itself at least for a few years, because the total number of athletes in contention for spots in international competition will be smaller than it was this year. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
A New ISU Rule on Uniforms:
Here is something I think everyone should know. USSPEEDSKATING is trying to get the ISU to pass a new rule requiring all members of a country's team to wear uniforms that match each other exactly, right down to the sponsor logos. The enforcement of this policy, as well as the decision on what the suit will look like, will be up to each national federation.
Do you know what this would mean? This means that any athlete who finds an individual sponsorship would not be allowed to wear that logo on their suit. This means that if an athlete suddenly finds himself out of money in the middle of a trip and wants to make a deal with Marnix Wieberdink to add a Kia or Yacht logo to his suit, he wouldn't be able to do that. This means that if a sponsor only wants their logo on an A-Group skater, but some of that country's skaters compete in the B Group, then that will cost all of the skaters on that team a potential sponsorship.
I'm thinking that not too many countries would want to go along with the passing of such a rule, but what bothers me is the fact that USSPEEDSKATING is trying to push it through. Of course, what they want is to be able to have an excuse to force their athletes to wear the logos of the federation's sponsors. They don't want something like the Qwest deal to ever happen again.
Doesn't USSPEEDSKATING realize that by going behind their athletes' backs to the ISU, they are making the athletes even more distrustful of the federation? Don't they realize that they are setting up an even more hostile situation, which will be more likely to scare away potential sponsors, than to attract them?
And why doesn't USSPEEDSKATING realize that any time one of their athletes finds an individual sponsor, they are SAVING THE FEDERATION MONEY. That's one less person they have to take care of. But they don't see it that way.
The athletes who are hurt the most by USSPEEDSKATING's recent policies on sponsorship are those who are climbing the ladder and trying to make a breakthrough. This topic came up in a discussion on OhnoZone, and I agree completely with the person who said that it's the athletes who are not yet at the top who suffer the most. These are the people who skate World Cups but are not in the Top 10, are forced to wear logos of sponsors despite getting next to nothing for it, and have no other choice because they don't have enough money to take the risk of having their World Cup travel funding taken away. This is the situation in which I found myself, and was unable to break through, and it was a big reason why I quit speedskating.
I would really like to know who, in USS, is behind this idea to put pressure on the ISU to pass this new uniform rule. The reason why I would like to know is that I had higher expectations of the newly elected Board of Directors, and this decision is a disappointment to me.
I would also like for someone to give a straight answer when I ask, "If you guys keep setting up obstacles to athletes getting sponsorships, then how, exactly, do you expect them to pay for their speedskating careers?" I'm not saying, "GIVE THEM MONEY." I'm saying, "JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!"
And, no, the answer is not, "Well, it's their dream, and if they want it badly enough, they'll find a way, no matter what obstacles we throw in their path." Open your eyes. Be reasonable. This is not exactly the most popular sport in America, so it's hard enough to find sponsors as it is. USSPEEDSKATING should be making it easier for their athletes to find sponsors, not harder.
For those who are not too familiar with the USSPEEDSKATING sponsorship battle, here is a simplified timeline of the main events that transpired over the last couple of seasons:
1. The left leg logo spot is open, and is available for athletes to "borrow," to sell to an individual sponsor. According to the Athlete Agreement, the skaters should be aware that this spot is borrowed, and that if USSPEEDSKATING sells it, then they have to give it back. Some athletes sell this spot to sponsors, most notably, Chad and Shani, to DSB.
2. The left leg logo spot is sold by USSPEEDSKATING to Qwest, without consulting the athletes to see if they think the sponsorship is a good deal for them. Basically, the athletes are made to feel like they were sold behind their backs like some kind of commodity. I called us the "Walking Billboards." Meanwhile, Qwest was misled into believing that the top US speedskaters will be wearing their logo. Qwest was especially interested in having Shani wearing their logo.
3. Some athletes break the Athlete Agreement, wearing the logos of their individual sponsors and refusing to wear Qwest. World Cup travel and other benefits are pulled from these skaters by USSPEEDSKATING.
4. Qwest gets upset at USSPEEDSKATING for misleading them, when they see that several top skaters are not wearing their logo.
5. USSPEEDSKATING announces they will sue the athletes who breach the Athlete Agreement, in order to cover up the mistake they made by signing the deal with Qwest without being able to guarantee the cooperation of their athletes. Andy Gabel's timing is impeccable, as this threatening email reaches us on race prep day before we start competing in the December 2005 World Cup in Torino.
6. Around the time of the Olympics, a major PR problem arises as Shani Davis appears on the cover of USA Today with DSB logos over the top of painted-over Qwest logos on his uniform.
7. Sponsorships and the Athlete Agreement are major issues at the 2006 USS Spring Board Meeting. Qwest threatens to sue USS, who in turn still want to sue their contract-breaking athletes. The USOC gives USS a deadline of June 1 to rewrite their athlete agreement, or else they will pull funding from the federation.
8. As part of the plan in continuing to back its athletes up against the wall, USSPEEDSKATING pressures the ISU to enforce a new rule on racing uniforms, saying that every skater from a country's team must wear an identical uniform, including identical logos. In effect, USSPEEDSKATING says to the ISU, "Give us an official excuse to screw our own athletes out of opportunities, to increase our own financial burden, and to scare sponsors away."
What is the point?
"Fight for the Children, Eva!"
I feel the poking and prodding of the world of sports politics again. Right now, I'm not sure what I want out of all of this, and whether it's good for me, but I think I'm going to start posting again.
Before I begin, let me make one thing absolutely clear. I don't feel that I owe the sport of speedskating anything. Before I left graduate school to make my comeback, I was frustrated because people were literally telling me that it was my role and my duty to sacrifice my life to find cures for diseases, because I did not deserve a life of my own. I did not come back to speedskating to find the same kind of life waiting for me. I came back to speedskating because I wanted to find success and happiness doing something I loved. This did not happen.
At one point during the last few months of my skating career, I had a parent of a skater come up to me and tell me that my speedskating career was expendable because I was alone; because my entire family was not involved and had not made sacrifices so I could compete. For this reason, she felt, it was OK for me to stand up and speak out on behalf of all of the skaters, and if necessary, to face the consequences. And then she asked me how much longer I planned to skate a particular event, because her kid wanted to race it.
Words cannot describe how much I resent such an attitude.
And still, I feel that things need to be said, and I plan to take the time out of my busy life to say them. Why? Is it because other peoples' skating careers mattered, whereas mine never did? No, not really. It is because I have observed some of the things going on politically in the sport, and I see some very encouraging changes happening, and this makes me feel like people are finally starting to see the light -- and also starting to get brave enough to speak out and make change. But also, I've seen some abuses continuing to go on, and I've seen too many things getting swept under the rug.
Now that I've posted about how angry I've been about USSPEEDSKATING's treatment of me as an athlete, I feel that I can put that behind me. I realize it's important not to drag this sport through the mud, and that it's important to discuss the real issues. For me, the Protocol is the easiest way to do this, so whenever I can make the time, I plan to cover some of the isues that are most important to me. | <urn:uuid:80b8978f-c2a4-4eca-b2d6-bcb98087dd19> | http://evarodansky.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html | en | 0.983636 | 0.04141 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
5 Ways to Torpedo Your Retirement
Neal Frankle
April 13, 2011
Couples who work hard all their lives often eagerly look forward to retirement. But working for 30 or more years doesn't guarantee that you will be able to retire comfortably. Here are five common retirement planning errors that generally torpedo your ability to retire.
1. Too much debt. Having debt is not the kiss of death for your retirement. But high interest debt such as credit card debt could be, especially if you can't figure out how to get out of debt and begin saving for the future. It's extremely difficult to invest for retirement when you are still paying off past purchases.
2. Spend your retirement savings on college. Some couples make it a financial priority to pay for their children's college so that they will not begin their careers with debt. However, when you tap your home equity, stop saving for retirement, or even raid your retirement accounts to pay for your children's college, you may be sacrificing your own retirement security. On top of that, you will be missing a golden opportunity to teach your kids about money. There are a variety of ways to finance college, but you can't take out loans for retirement.
3. No emergency plan. Most of us are completely dependent on the money we receive from a single job. Losing that job can easily exhaust your savings and jeopardize your entire financial plan. It's important to develop an emergency fund and plan before you hit those stormy waters. Consider taking on a second job or developing a side business to diversify your income streams in case a layoff should occur.
4. No long-term investment strategy. Some people change their investment allocation based on the latest financial news. This can be a huge mistake. If you pulled money out of equities when the market tumbled in 2008, you also didn't take advantage of the market recovery that has since occurred. Retirement savers need to accept that there will be fluctuations in mutual fund performance and invest for the long term. The only way to combat this type of emotional investing is to have a well thought out investment plan for retirement income that balances financial needs with emotional demands. Then you need to stick with that investment plan throughout financial storms.
[Changes That Will Improve Your Odds of Retiring]
5. No retirement plan. The most dangerous mistake individuals can make is having no retirement plan. Financial plans are not set in stone and you won't be able to foresee every contingency. But having an approximate roadmap you can follow is better than having no plan.
You can be smart, responsible, and hard-working and still end up without enough resources for a secure retirement. In order to make sure this doesn't happen to you, take the time to put together a plan, track your spending, and don't get into debt if you can help it. Think through your investment strategy and stick to it even when you feel tempted to change it.
Neal Frankle is a certified financial planner and runs Wealth Pilgrim, a personal finance blog that helps people make smart decisions about their money. As a start, he suggests that you strive to understand your credit score range.
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About EBS
Contact Us
Board Members
National EBS Association
PO Box 121475
Clermont, FL 34712-1475
Ofc: 407362-7683
Fax: 321 406-0520
E-mail: admin@nebsa.org
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FAQ's About EBS
What is EBS?
EBS is an acronym for Educational Broadband Service. And, Educational Broadband Service is the nomenclature that was established in 2005 by the FCC to be used to identify a band of frequencies/spectrum that were formerly known as the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS).
The change in nomenclature was made necessary because of the FCC Rules changes in 2005 and years previous that permitted a broader use of the spectrum and it was felt that ITFS was no longer a descriptive enough term to describe the broader use allowed for this band of frequencies/spectrum.
What is an EBS License?
Why is this EBS license important?
The license can only be held by non-profit educational entities for its educational purposes but the license also offers licensees the ability to access new mobile broadband services and derive revenue.
This opportunity exists for your institution/organization whether or not this license is currently in use at this time.
How can my institution use this license?
Your institution could send video content to schools/ classrooms via an over-the-air broadcast method; or you could send video and data to computers via the Internet carried on these frequencies; or you could develop a revenue source from making your excess capacity available to the commercial operator; or you could obtain other telecommunications services offered by that commercial operator in exchange for your excess capacity; or some combination of the above.
The amount of services/revenue you may extract from this arrangement is based on a number of variables such as: your technology needs and plans, the size of your market, what services you choose to use, who the commercial operator may be, etc. The best way to obtain an idea of your options would be to speak with other educators who have done this before and the best place to find such expertise is the membership of the National EBS Association operating in your state. A list of NEBSA members in your state can be found on this web site.
What does an EBS license do for us?
What does the actual license look like?
It is a one or two page document from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called a Radio Station Authorization, printed on a light gray or green paper with a basket weave background pattern.
It will list your institution as "Licensee" near the top and will include among other things: a mailing address, a "Call Sign", a "Grant Date", and "Expiration Date", a Channel designation (usually preceded by an A, B, C, D, or G), and a Frequency designation. If you do not have a License, you may have a document that is called a Construction Permit.
Why is my institution being contacted?
According to records at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), your institution/organization has either applied for or was granted and Educational Broadband Service (EBS) License.
This was previously referred to as Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) microwave television license in the past. There are new FCC Rules that will require action on the part of your institution as a licensee and you should be aware of your responsibilities and options. | <urn:uuid:5b6fd498-963e-477b-b0c1-302a73e382cc> | http://nebsa.org/about_ebs.htm | en | 0.928922 | 0.027838 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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You boo... you make losers. You cheer hard... you make losers winners. If everyone is saying you suck all the time, even if you didn't you would suck eventually. You lift someone up and cheer for them and let them know you're backing them they'll always get better and be their best. If we really cared, we'd try to support them as much as possible. Do you think that when you're booing that just Bryz hears that? no... the whole team feels booed. So even if they did feel confident and their goalie didn't, the whole team would lose confidence. Think about it. We've all had someone in our lives who put us down... how do you feel after that? like crap. I want my team to win so I'm going to cheer no matter what... I want them to feel like winners before they even start playing. Watch the players in the games they dominate. They're smiling, you can see their confidence, we're cheering. When we start booing they get frustrated, their heads hang, they get mad and take penalties out of frustration, and their shooting is off. People do boo for their team in sports. Is it right... no way. If you really care though, you help who you care about to feel secure and confident. I don't think a lot of Philly fans REALLY CARE. I think the booers are selfish and they suck and ruin our chances of winning the cup. If any of my friends booed the Flyers in my presence, our friendship would be on the rocks. I care about hockey and the Philadelphia Flyers that much. Let's start REALLY caring philly fans and stop being fair weather fans.
Toggle Commented Feb 24, 2012 on CB Radio: Do We Care Too Much? at Crossing Broad
Eh, I don't know. Foreigners say things that don't translate well to Americans. I've worked with so many, it's a fact. They also think of things differently than Americans do. Not going to get into it but... you know... the universe is so big. So I think I get what he was trying to say. But really... it's not like he's going anywhere anytime soon. Why ever boo your own team? What do you hope to accomplish by doing so... it's not going to make them win. It's going to get them flustered and frustrated and they'll feel like losers. If you want them to win... treat them like winners. Cheer harder. I want the team to win the cup this year... I don't boo my team. I don't want to be part of the reason for their lack of confidence. Having masses of people booing you is going to make you suck no matter how good you are.
Yay! My favorite bromance ever reunited... and it feels soooo good. Bad move for the kings... good move for bromance.
oh yea... and it would help to have less turnovers and better defense which so far recent changes haven't changed much at all but I'm hoping they will soon.
Jess was right "Check the stats- our new players are performing better than both Carter and Richards." That and Carter always gets injured early during playoffs. It's not the trades that are the problem. It's when they all forget to play hockey. Kind of like in last nights gave vs. Edmonton. Where was the screening of the goalie? They had plenty of chances and blew it because they let the goalie see the puck coming. I know they can play better than that. Our goalie situation hasn't changed much... still a question mark, but you can't argue that keeping Richards and Carter was a better choice. I'm saying that and I loved those two the most (cause they're pretty) but eye candy doesn't help a hockey team. The new guys are doing better than they did... we just need more effort on screening so that all those people taking shots can get some through the goalie.
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Feb 24, 2012 | <urn:uuid:534af5d3-a46d-4999-8b94-3715f8d14593> | http://profile.typepad.com/cadillac35 | en | 0.984475 | 0.394655 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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4.5. Transactions
The WCF channel provides a transaction resource manager module and a recovery module that together provide distributed transaction support with one-phase optimization. Some configuration is required on Windows machines to enable transaction support (see your installation notes or top level ReadMe.txt file for instructions). Once properly configured, the Qpid WCF channel acts as any other System.Transactions aware resource, capable of participating in explicit or implicit transactions.
Server code:
[OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true,
TransactionAutoComplete = true)]
public void SayHello(string greeting)
// increment ExactlyOnceReceived counter on DB
// Success: transaction auto completes:
Because this operation involves two transaction resources, the database and the AMQP message broker, this operates as a full two phase commit transaction managed by the Distributed Transaction Coordinator service. If the transaction proceeds without error, both ExactlyOnceReceived is incremented in the database and the AMQP message is consumed from the broker. Otherwise, ExactlyOnceReceived is unchanged and AMQP message is returned to its queue on the broker.
For the client code a few changes are made to the non-transacted example. For "exactly once" semantics, we set the AMQP "Durable" message property and enclose the transacted activities in a TransactionScope:
AmqpProperties myDefaults = new AmqpProperties();
myDefaults.Durable = true;
amqpBinding.DefaultMessageProperties = myDefaults;
ChannelFactory<IHelloService> channelFactory =
new ChannelFactory<IHelloService>(amqpBinding, clientEndpoint);
IHelloService clientProxy = channelFactory.CreateChannel();
using (TransactionScope ts = new TransactionScope())
AmqpProperties amqpProperties = new AmqpProperties();
clientProxy.SayHello("Greetings from WCF client");
// increment ExactlyOnceSent counter on DB | <urn:uuid:aeaa9857-07ae-4eca-9807-7e0339861854> | http://qpid.apache.org/releases/qpid-0.26/programming/book/ch04s05.html | en | 0.743435 | 0.051545 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Sacred Texts Hinduism Index Previous Next
II, 30. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As the wind tears this grass from the surface of the earth, thus do I tear thy soul, so that thou, woman, shalt love, shalt not be averse to me!
2. If ye, O two Asvins, shall unite and bring together the loving pair-united are the fortunes of,both of you (lovers), united the thoughts, united the purposes!
3. When birds desire to chirp, lustily desire to chirp, may my call go there, as an arrow-point upon the shaft!
4. What is within shall be without, what is without shall be within! Take captive, O herb, the, soul of the maidens endowed with every chai-m!
5. Longing for a husband this woman hath come, I have come longing for a wife, As a loudly neighing horFe I have attained to my good fortune!
Next: VI, 8. Charm to secure the love of a woman | <urn:uuid:829bbab5-5a1b-4e94-a5cb-479ace4d35c3> | http://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe42/av115.htm | en | 0.866584 | 0.619689 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Intel's Haswell architecture has support for several new Bit Manipulation Instructions. In Intel's own words,
Bit manipulation instructions are useful for compressed database, hashing , large number arithmetic, and a variety of general purpose codes.
Do the new instructions found on the Haswell processor make any difference in the computation speeds of the current or pending cryptographic functions being used?
share|improve this question
up vote 9 down vote accepted
Most of these operations are "trivial": they replace combinations of two or three existing opcodes. For instance, the BLSR type of instruction is, as specified in the page you link to, equivalent to a subtraction followed by a bitwise AND. This could already be done. Extra operations don't harm, and compilers will benefit from them, and, undoubtly, some cryptographic functions will gain a few cycles through use of some of these opcodes, but there is no groundbreaking result to expect.
Among the instructions, the most interesting are the counting ones (LZCNT, TZCNT) because counting the number of leading or trailing zeros in a register of N bits has cost O(log N) when using "classic" opcodes. These operations have some use in some corner cases of computations on big integers. In particular, I think this will help for binary GCD, which is used to compute divisions in finite fields -- an important step in computations over elliptic curves. Right now, division in finite fields is so expensive (when compared with multiplication) that it is worthwhile to use projective coordinates to compute things on elliptic curves: this implies about ten times as many operations, but avoids a lot of divisions, so it adds up to net gains. A fast implementation of binary GCD might change that picture a bit. For more uses of counting operations, see this Wikipedia page.
What may really boost things up is not the new instructions, but the larger registers. AVX2 offers 256-bit registers; that's room enough to compute eight SHA-256 in parallel, just like SSE2 allows for four parallel SHA-256. Password cracking software will benefit from this... (although GPU are arguably better). There is ongoing work for defining tree hashing modes for turning a given hash function into a system which benefits from parallelism; e.g. see this article (from the Keccak, aka SHA-3, designers). NIST has expressed their will to define some standard in that respect.
Of course, it still takes some particular scenario to benefit from such CPU gains. In most uses of hashing (or encryption or whatever), the cryptography is not the bottleneck; I/O is. When you hash files, you cannot hash them faster than you can read them from the disk.
share|improve this answer
I think the new MULX instruction will help a bit, since it offers 3 operands. This might eliminate some MOVs and speed up tight loops.
The next Intel processor Broadwell will offer ADCX and ADOX to enable two independent ADD loops. This has been designed specifically with crypto in mind, see
Of course, all of this is not ground breaking, but may result in, say, a speedup of factor two, maybe less.
share|improve this answer
@cxxxl - I am not sure I would trust anything "ground breaking". Intel has made mistakes in the past with their instructions. I think its best we get small increases, native opcodes, that duplicate multiple opcodes to simply improve performance instead of a case where we get a broken instruction opcode. – Ramhound Jul 1 '13 at 12:56
I would consider proper SSE support for carry handling or 64x64=128 bit muls ground breaking... – cxxl Jul 3 '13 at 12:25
I consider that just a natural progression of an existing extension. – Ramhound Jul 3 '13 at 12:31
It would be, but it's not available and I know of no plans to implement it. – cxxl Jul 3 '13 at 13:49
I thought you were saying it was available and ground breaking. I admit the comment made no sense in the context of your previous "they are not ground breaking" statement. – Ramhound Jul 3 '13 at 13:55
Your Answer
| <urn:uuid:e6e7cb32-0005-421b-92b5-ec617c195100> | http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/35243/do-the-new-instruction-sets-found-on-intels-haswell-architecture-make-any-diffe | en | 0.928064 | 0.05048 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Forget Google Glass. Even more enticing to many tech junkies all over the country is the search king's next-generation high-speed network, Google Fiber.
On Tuesday, in a development that didn't come as a huge surprise, Google confirmed that Fiber is coming soon to Austin, Texas. Here's what Google had to say about Texas' soon-to-be-speedier capital.
It's a mecca for creativity and entrepreneurialism, with thriving artistic and tech communities, as well as the University of Texas and its new medical research hospital. We're sure these folks will do amazing things with gigabit access, and we feel very privileged to have been welcomed to their community. [Google]
By mid-2014, Austin residents will have access to close to 200 HD TV channels and a range of connection plans that are touted as "100 times faster than today's average broadband performance." It'll cost $120/month for Gigabit internet and TV, $70/month for Gigabit internet only, or zero dollars a month for normal-speed internet (plus a one-time $300 installation fee).
So what does it mean for all of us who don't live in Austin? For starters, the choice appears to be "the clearest signal yet that the tech giant is seriously about becoming an internet-service provider," says Sam Gustin at TIME.
Taking on broadband giants like Comcast and Time Warner Cable is a tall order, because those companies dominate most U.S. markets. When Google Fiber was announced, many observers believed the company's goal would be to shame those giants into improving their offerings, by demonstrating that vastly faster broadband service is possible in the U.S. Improving U.S. broadband speed and penetration is important for Google, because the more people who use broadband Internet, at faster speeds, the more Google searches get executed... With Google Fiber's impending arrival in Austin, the project is increasingly looking like a real business for the company, and not just a shaming exercise. [TIME
Google has declined to specify how much it will cost to install the Google Fiber network in Austin, although analysts have pegged an earlier Kansas City rollout to have cost the company $84 million. Austin, however, presents a greater logistical challenge, with a much larger total population of 800,000 residents.
Now, the question naturally turns to: When will Google Fiber come to [insert your city here]? The answer, says Tim Worstall at Forbes, is don't hold your breath. Current estimates peg the cost of a nationwide deployment near the $140 billion mark — technically possible, though a huge financial stretch for Google. Then there's the high likelihood that Fiber will still face incredible challenges from current providers to keep new entrants out. "The lawyers for the current incumbents will tie everyone up in knots inside the various bureaucracies. And people simply don't have the time, money or inclination to spend their lives fighting that," says Worstall
Just how is the competition responding? In a statement, Time Warner Cable said that the company is "prepared for added competition and believe[s] that any innovation in broadband technology is good for all of us." Let's hope so. | <urn:uuid:a624e407-ca91-4ed1-b70c-34f29c6a2a94> | http://theweek.com/articles/465767/google-fiber-arrives-austin-what-means-rest-america | en | 0.952414 | 0.185783 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Is There a Difference between Fresh Fruits and Canned Fruits?
The nutrition of canned fruits may surprise you. Most canned fruit is processed and packaged as soon as it’s picked. This process retains the fruit’s flavor and freshness. Here’s a good look at the nutrition of canned fruits. Unless there is sugar and unhealthy preservatives used in the process, you’ll find the majority of nutrition benefits remain the same or better.
Freshness and Preparation
In the past, it was thought that canned fruit lacked the freshness of frozen and fresh fruit. Recent years have proven this to be untrue. The canning process involves using a vacuum or heat sealing method. This process kills bacteria and other harmful organisms. Canned fruit is also processed in its own juices or water. Fresh fruit does not undergo these processes. You need to wash fresh fruit thoroughly before consuming it. Fresh fruit is handled by other consumers before you buy it. The risk of bacterial contamination and food borne pathogens is high because of this fact. During the canning process, the fruit undergoes several thorough washings. Your risk of getting sick is reduced or eliminated.
Vitamins and Minerals
The vitamins and minerals of fruit aren’t lost due to canning. They remain high in nutrients, and do so better than fresh fruits. This happens due to the canning process. Fresh fruit doesn’t last as long as canned and loses much of its nutrition after about a week in the refrigerator.
Vitamins A, C and dietary fiber are found in numerous fruits. Vitamin A is more prevalent because very little of this nutrient is lost in the canning process. Peach and pumpkin are two canned foods with vitamin C, which is important for providing protection against illness. It strengthens your immune system and keeps colds at bay. Canned tangerines and mandarin oranges are perfect fruits that provide vitamin C.
One of the biggest differences between fresh and canned fruit is convenience. Most fruit is seasonal, but you can find a good amount of your fruit in cans. This convenience helps you get the nutrition of fruit throughout the year. You can also save on money and time by purchasing canned fruit. Once your fresh fruit reaches its shelf life, you need to throw it out.
Preservatives and Additives
Although canned fruit can be as healthy as the fresh varieties, you need to be aware of additives and preservatives. The majority of canned foods need these things to maintain their shelf life. However, most canned fruit is only packaged in its natural juices. These juices protect the fruit and prevent it from losing its nutrients. Fruit cocktails are one variety you need to take a closer look at. Although there are a good number of fruits in the can, sometimes extra sweeteners are added for taste. Some may include salt. Avoid this dilemma by reading the ingredient section carefully. The ingredients should only contain real fruit, fruit juice or water.
The differences between canned fruits and fresh fruits are small. These differences do not take away the nutrition that all fruit provides you.
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Posts By content | <urn:uuid:ec28cf69-7228-4b94-bccd-9419814a6adc> | http://www.3fatchicks.com/is-there-a-difference-between-fresh-fruits-and-canned-fruits/ | en | 0.960804 | 0.054507 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
building imploding implode collapse Associated Press
Google just dealt Demand Media's IPO prospects a nasty blow.
In a post to the Official Google Blog, the company said that users are complaining about "content farms," and that "we hear the feedback from the web loud and clear."
The company says "people are asking for even stronger action on content farms and sites that consist primarily of spammy or low-quality content," and that "we can and should do better."
Notably, Google does not actually promise it will take any action against companies like Demand Media.
But what Google does is almost worse: vaguely suggest that it might someday do something to smash Demand Media's business.
Google just introduced lots of fear and uncertainty into the minds of any potential Demand investors.
That can't be encouraging for Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt, who has to be hoping investors enter next week enthusiastic and chipper about his company's prospects. | <urn:uuid:d88684ad-d118-4371-a4e1-56e1db9f027a> | http://www.businessinsider.com/kapow-google-blows-a-whole-in-demand-media-a-week-before-its-ipo-2011-1?pundits_only=0&get_all_comments=1&no_reply_filter=1 | en | 0.948659 | 0.11193 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
An east-west power grid, Canada's elusive national dream
Inter-provincial strategy would help environment, but political will could be lacking
The price tag for transmission lines can be hefty. The longer the distance, the bigger the sticker shock. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)
Constructing an east-west electricity grid in Canada is far from a novel idea. Politicians and other leaders have openly mused about the idea throughout the last decade.
Sharing power between provinces is once again on the discussion table, as B.C. Premier Christy Clark pushes the federal government to consider a national grid. The idea is being pitched as a way to combat climate change and to help Canada achieve its latest environmental goals, which are currently under development.
At first blush, an east-west power grid seems like a no-brainer. While some provinces are blessed with an abundance of hydroelectricity, others are still burning coal to keep the lights shining, cellphones charging and coffee makers gurgling.
The east-west grid is again a discussion point in the country, largely as a solution to combat climate change and as a way to help Canada achieve its latest environmental goals, which are currently under development.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark is pushing the federal government to consider a national grid. She will host a meeting with environmental ministers from across the country in early March to figure out how Canada can reach the commitments it made at the UN climate conference in Paris.
BC LNG 20151014
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark is asking the federal government to help build new electrical infrastructure that would allow B.C. to sell hydro to Alberta. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
Clark is asking for help from the federal government to build new electrical infrastructure that would allow B.C. to sell hydro to Alberta, which is in the midst of a massive shift away from coal-fired energy.
"If we had a hydro intertie between British Columbia and Alberta that could carry a heavy load, we're 93 per cent clean energy in B.C., we can easily help Alberta get off coal and do that in a way that creates an east to west partnership. It's all Canadian, it's all clean," said Clark on CBC's The House.
The question is whether this is just another leader floating the idea or whether the conditions have changed and the stage is now set to start building.
A big and expensive idea
Similar to most large infrastructure projects, the price tag for transmission lines can be hefty. The longer the distance, the bigger the sticker shock.
In Manitoba, the cost estimate of the Bipole III transmission line has climbed from $2.2 billion in 2007, to $3.3 billion in 2011, and up to $4.6 billion in 2014. It's a 1,400-kilometre line. An east-west grid connecting the four western Canadian provinces would likely span at least 2,000 kilometres.
A second impediment stands in the way of an agreement between provinces. It's not only having the political will to strike such a deal, but finding out how one province's system can mesh with another. This would be complicated in the case of Alberta, which has a deregulated electricity market, where private companies can build power plants and transmission lines under the watch of regulators.
Maybe that's why Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has been cool to the idea of an east-west grid, describing it as "a bit hypothetical."
Traditionally, electricity has flowed north-south because distances between Canadian supply and U.S. demand can be shorter than the east-west gap between generation in one province and demand in another.
Time to build
While the Alberta premier isn't sold on the idea, she knows her province is searching for a source of juice for the future. Currently, 55 per cent of Alberta's power comes from coal, so replacing that capacity will be challenging. The province is speeding up the process of decommissioning all of its coal power plants. New natural gas burning facilities are expected to make up much of the shortfall. They produce far less emissions than coal, but still are not nearly as clean as renewable energy, such as hydroelectricity.
As the B.C. premier suggests, connecting the two provinces could create a Canadian solution to the problem.
Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec produce excess electricity they often sell to the United States. At the same time, other provinces like Alberta and British Columbia have to import electricity in periods of peak demand
In 2014, Canada exported 59.1 terawatt hours of electricity, but it also imported 12.8 terawatt hours. An east-west grid would share more power between provinces and reduce the need for buying and selling south of the border.
As provinces strive to reduce greenhouse gases, it's difficult to argue against the environmental benefits of hydroelectricity, especially as a replacement for coal power plants. That's why an east-west grid could benefit Canada and why some environmentalists support such a plan.
In general, "a well-planned grid offers greater electric reliability and business opportunities for the renewable energy industry," electricity consultant Dennis Woodford, the president of Electranix Corp, wrote recently on the topic of an east-west grid.
Will it be built?
A somewhat obvious supporter is Scott Thon, the chief executive of transmission company Altalink and chair of the Canadian Electricity Association. He sees value in connecting provinces, especially as more solar and wind power projects are constructed.
Provinces can't rely solely on those types of renewables, because they need to be backed up by another source of power when the wind isn't blowing or sun isn't shining.
Thon points to the Mid-continent Independent System Operator (MISO) as an example. It's a connection between 15 states and the province of Manitoba. Electricity is interchanged to keep everyone powered up.
"It's a bit ironic that that kind of value is happening with Canadian provinces connecting to the United States, but we can't seem to make it happen in Canada," said Thon in an interview with CBC News.
An east-west grid makes sense, but he doubts it will ever become a reality.
"It will never happen, because it's a little bit like the pipeline debate we are having right now in Canada about who gets the benefits," said Thon.
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EDITORIAL: Marvel, Warner Brothers, Fox, and Just Those in Between!
This fun article is about dissecting the overall mindset one gets from reading fan comments on this site. I am a marvel, WB, and Fox fan. I take the good and the bad. WARNING: If you are easily offended, Don't read this, now hit the jump!
In this article I want to examine the mindset of the different cults known as the Marvelites, The use-to-be Nolanites, who have now morphed into WB fans, the Fox fanboy; then there are those people like me (who just enjoy a good superhero movie regardless of the studio making it). While I thought the Avengers was all around fun I also thought Iron man 3 and Thor 2 fell flat after being over hyped. While My heart stopped for those few minutes watching a Dark Knight trailer I call the Green Lantern an abomination. While the Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks awesome the first movie just didn't do it for me. X-men first Class and X2 were good to me while the rest were shit.
Now these have to be some of the most passionate and supportive fans I know! And for good reason I admit. Marvel studios has proven it CAN be done how the fans like it but at the end of the day we are still making a movie not just for the die hard fans. With the release of Marvel's The Avengers helmed by Joss Whedon Marvel fans were unstoppable. Whenever another Marvel Superhero movie is bashed its always "Joss Whedon would never!" "Quicksilver looks like shit Joss whedon is laughing." Yes the Avengers was awesome only a fool would say other wise but it was also over hyped in my opinion while it was good it wasn't THAT GOOD! In a Marvel studios fans mind they do NO WRONG. Everything Marvel does is creative and going in a new direction and in Marvel we trust, even when they decided to go a different direction with the source material! Never mind the Mandarin looked stupid and wasn't like his comic representation but hell its MARVEL STUDIOS so the plot makes since, the twist was good and we just didn't understand it, well in that case the ending of The Dark knight Rises is a master piece! While Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will have to be changed from the source material its ok because Whedon really wants them in his movie and the actors are amazing.
When Ant-man was announced fans were happy after it came out that Paul Rudd would be cast as the lead and that Hank Pym would be an older man while some said blahh majority of Marvel fans didn't cry outrage it was rather We trust marvel and they are going in an interesting direction. Yet The casting of Gal Godot as wonder woman is just plain bullshit. I like Joss whedon but you have to admit he has become a near God to marvel fans! Its ok to say Zack Synder is bad or Chris Nolan is over hyped but don't you dare speak against almighty Joss! Sure some directors are more comic mindful than some but at the end of the day these are MOVIE DIRECTORS, artist in their own right. We don't compare Michelangelo to Andy Warhol cause they are two separate artist with two separate visions. You may not like ones art but the artist deserves respect.
While this becomes a different direction and Marvel are doing creative things.
This becomes the worse thing on earth.
Warner Brothers fans are tricky because while some defend WB others will honestly say hey We love you Warner Brothers but please get your shit together. There is no doubt that after the success of the Avengers WB said hey ok maybe Justice League can work. Although a Justice League movie had been in the works before it fell flat for many reasons and im kinda glad it did. With the Advent of Chris Nolan it would seem New life was breathed into the DC universe, but I for one believe Nolan as good as he is only breathed new life into Batman Not the DC universe. Green Lantern was that attempt and failed miserably all comic fans pretty much agree the movie was shit lol. Chris gave us the Batman we needed to let us know yes there still is hope but not the Batman we deserve. Warner Brother fans need to realize WB does not know what they are doing and yes looking to Marvel could be an option for them i say if it helps go for it. But what Marvel fans need to realize is not every hero is easy to get right like Iron man or The hulk . I wouldn't want the same tone of Thor in a Batman movie. Iron man works because he embodies something totally different than superman.
I look at DC heroes more as Gods walking among men while Marvel is more the hero could be your uncle. Its nothing wrong with that but some things are just hard to get right. I am NOT defending Warner Brothers because they should stop being scared and get their shit together yes Green Lantern scared them but that's the fault of the script no the hero.
Could WB benefit giving DC their own little branch off studio..HELL YES but since they don't want to I say get it together or just don't make nothing at all and WB die hard fans need to realize that. Chris was good he wasn't great! Batman begins was amazing and while The Dark knight was good re-watching it today it became boring. Man of Steel was a amazing movie and a good attempt to get the DC off their asses but the movie could have been better!
Next we have the FOX defenders. Now YES Fox hasn't given us trully any good type of Superhero Movie except maybe first Class and Dredevil the directors cut. Marvel Studios fans like to bash Fox but don't you forget thats where your roots are lol and if it wasn't for Fox their would be no Marvel Studios. Fantastic four was shit, Elektra? whoever that is lol. Most of the X-men *face palm* and so on. I'm not defending Fox and I believe if their is ANY STUDIO that we as comic fans should look at contempt with its Fox! With X-men:DOFP upon us many show such hatred towards Fox and I can honestly see why. Fox fans need to realize that Fox just like WB does not know what they are doing. The new Fantastic four idk what thats about, and i believe X-men is Fox golden child for comic book movies. Fox fans need to realize just like WB they don't know what they are doing and are trying to work with what they have. Marvel fans need to get off their high horses and realize that not all studios want the same tone as Marvel studio films. One thing I give WB than I give Fox or Marvel is WB seems to trust their directors. Fox only seem to trust Singer and Marvel well if you dare say as a director or actor I want this then you can expect your job won't be there in the sequel lol.
Then their are those of us in between that love all comic movies whether its Batman or Captain America, Fox or Marvel. We sit back and laugh at the hatred shown and try to bring reasoning into the situation while avoiding being call a MCU hater etc. I for one have experienced more backlash from the Marvel camp than anyone else and I LOVE MARVEL STUDIOS and what they are doing. But at the same time I can sit at a X-men movie and take it for what it is. Here are just some things that could help these are just my opinions nothing personal im neutral and just notice this as a movie lover .
1: Marvel Studios to me uses the same formula when I go into their movies while I am excited to see whats in store I'm also prepared for pretty much the same outcome and comedy and undeveloped villains. Loki is about as close as a developed villain we've gotten. Now I know story is different to most people but to me Marvel only excels in the Visual department. They sure know how to get fans going. My suggestion is drop this toy making comedy tone and go back to Iron man 1 and the Incredible Hulk. I also believe Marvel suffers from being over hyped if a movie critic gives marvel a bad rating it has nothing to do with them hating marvel cause green lantern received worse from critics.
2. If WB with their Dc wants to truly stand out i say give them their own world and when I say that I mean look. I love when DC gives Batman and even Superman that Art deco and dark deco look and could really make their movies stand out visually. WB needs to understand its ok to take a risk. They did it with Green lantern yes but that failed cause if its own reasons. TRUST YOUR HEROES Wb has sooooooooooooo much potential. I mean your heroes are basically Gods in their own right and when Gods clash you can guarantee they will leave a mark!
3. Fox needs to stop trust source material to a degree of course not copy the script page from page from a comic but to bring in visually creative directors. Bryan is ok at best but Visually X-men can be better and which is why I'm so excited to see DOFP because visually it does look a bit different. I say Fox get a creative team together or go home.
Again this is article is purely for FUNNNNNNNNNNN! If i offended you im sorry. But please COMMENT BELOW im not saying im right about any of this lol!
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Filed Under "Other" 1/30/2014 | <urn:uuid:92f922a8-fc13-43d5-909b-b84a19a5b7c0> | http://www.comicbookmovie.com/other/editorial-marvel-warner-brothers-fox-and-just-those-in-between-a93692 | en | 0.973264 | 0.022517 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
SOAP::WSDL - a WSDL-driven message preprocessor for SOAP::Lite. DESCRIPTION See "perldoc SOAP::WSDL" (or "perldoc") for details. PREREQUISITES SOAP::WSDL requires the following perl modules: - SOAP::Lite - XML::XPath If you want to use file system caching (improves performance), you also need the following packages: - Cache::Cache INSTALLING perl Build.PL perl Build perl Build test perl Build install LICENSE This library is free software, you can distribute/modify it under the same terms as perl itself. | <urn:uuid:c9112fc8-2ef4-4b45-8648-405623f4f0c5> | http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/SOAP/MKUTTER/SOAP-WSDL-1.27.readme | en | 0.722 | 0.658896 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Public Release: More than 1 brain behind E=mc2
A new study reveals the contribution of a little known Austrian physicist, Friedrich Hasenohrl, to uncovering a precursor to Einstein famous equation
An American physicist outlines the role played by Austrian physicist Friedrich Hasenöhrl in establishing the proportionality between the energy (E) of a quantity of matter with its mass (m) in a cavity filled with radiation. In a paper about to be published in EPJ H, Stephen Boughn from Haverford College in Pennsylvannia argues how Hasenöhrl's work, for which he now receives little credit, may have contributed to the famous equation E=mc2.
Given the lack of recognition for Hasenöhrl's contribution, the authors examined the Austrian physicist's original work on blackbody radiation in a cavity with perfectly reflective walls. This study seeks to identify the blackbody's mass changes when the cavity is moving relative to the observer.
They then explored the reason why the Austrian physicist arrived at an energy/mass correlation with the wrong factor, namely at the equation: E = (3/8) mc2. Hasenöhrl's error, they believe, stems from failing to account for the mass lost by the blackbody while radiating.
Before Hasenöhrl focused on cavity radiation, other physicists, including French mathematician Henri Poincaré and German physicist Max Abraham, showed the existence of an inertial mass associated with electromagnetic energy. In 1905, Einstein gave the correct relationship between inertial mass and electromagnetic energy, E=mc2. Nevertheless, it was not until 1911 that German physicist Max von Laue generalised it to include all forms of energy.
Boughn S. (2013), Hasenöhrl and the Equivalence of Mass and Energy, European Physical Journal H, DOI 10.1140/epjh/e2012-30061-5
For more information, please visit
The full-text article is available to journalists on request.
| <urn:uuid:4e7e2823-5000-44b3-bd26-42c8b1ff2998> | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/s-mto012513.php | en | 0.928295 | 0.107029 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Southern Living
mantel with large mirror
Photo: Jean Allsopp, Laurey W. Glenn; Stylist: Lisa Powell
The soothing bedroom is swathed in gray-greens, golden yellows, and touches of salmon that reflect the rest of the house. Above the fireplace is an oversize mirror that disguises a TV. When the set is turned on, the TV screen can be seen clearly through the transparent mirror surface. Antique-inspired furnishings such as a Sheraton dresser and modified rice bed fill the space.
Get This Look
Printed From: | <urn:uuid:bdf3158c-421c-4bf4-978d-5579be8b00d8> | http://www.myhomeideas.com/room-galleries/masking-with-mirrors/print | en | 0.873919 | 0.021052 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Feature Articles
Sliced Gaming Feature: Spyro Developer Interview
Writer: Nick Schaedel
Posted: 26th July 2006, 4:44pm
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Yep, feature number three is with Scott Laing of Amaze Entertainment, who are busily finishing off The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning for the DS. Read the transcription of our live discussion below.
Nick Schaedel: Hey Scott! Why don't you introduce yourself to the Sliced Gaming readers?
Scott Laing: Hi Nick! I'm Scott Laing and I'm the game director for The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning for Nintendo DS. That's a mouthful!
NS: And you work for Amaze Entertainment. What's your position, and what games have you worked on before this?
SL: That's right, Amaze is one of the largest independent developers in North America. I'm the Creative Director for the game, so I oversee the creative side of things, including design, art, sound, and music. I've been working on games for about 10 years. Previously I worked on Spyro: Shadow Legacy for DS.
NS: Nice! So, how exactly is this new Spyro game a "new beginning"?
SL: It's a fresh start for Spyro. Krome and Sierra have have reinvented the character and his story. The game will tell the story of Spyro's origin and early adventures. The story is completely different from previous Spyro games - essentially all that has been placed on a shelf. I'd say the goal is to create a whole new universe for the character. Also, the gameplay has been completely revamped, moving the genre from a platformer to action. Lots of action.
NS: Cool! Would it be fair to say that it's darker?
SL: It does have a slightly darker tone, and the art reflects this. Spyro's backstory is mysterious and he grows up in a scary place, where dragonkind has essentially been wiped from existence. However, it's still a family title - no blood is spilled, but there's loads of what the ESRB calls "animated violence". Also, the antagonist in the story is pretty scary and truly evil.
NS: So, this is a prequel of sorts, right?
SL: Well, "prequel" implies that this story somehow leads up to the story presented in earlier games, but it doesn't - this story completely replaces any story that has come before. It's kind of like what Frank Miller's Dark Knight was for Batman.
NS: Yeah, that's what I was going to ask. I was going to say, is there a plot element that leads chronologically into the future titles, but you pre-empted me. So good for you!
SL: I'd say this game is certainly a set-up for future titles that will come later. Unlike the early Spyro games (which are near and dear to my heart), there will be continuity and multi-title story arcs from game to game.
NS: So does that mean that the evil protagonist isn't quite defeated when you complete it? ;)
SL: Ah, well, I can't say precisely. It's kind of a shocker ending, honestly. Kind of a "what the?" moment.
NS: Oooh! Like series one of Lost?
SL: Not quite so dumbfounding as Lost - that show confuses me more each time I see it, but there is a twist. More along the lines of ... (continued next page)
Page 1 / 5
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Katt Williams Slap: Blamed on N-Word!
by at . Comments
Katt Williams has an explanation at least one of the many bizarre incidents he's been involved in lately - slapping Target employee Forrest Liebenberg in the face.
According to the comedian, it's all because he called Katt the n-word.
In new video footage, the 39-year-old can be heard describing to the audience at Comedy Store in L.A. what happened just before he slapped the employee.
In explaining the Katt Williams slap, the Katt said "This is what the dude at Target said, "'Your assistant is already suing you, you p**sy ass [N-word]."
The insult was an apparently reference to the lawsuit his former assistant has launched against him, suing him for $5 million. In response, Katt lost it.
Williams says he bristled when he heard the Target worker use the N-word and asked the employee, "Did you just say the N-word in front of Katt Williams?"
Liebenberg allegedly responded, "You say it all the time."
Katt claims he told the employee to repeat the word and see what happens, which is when he slapped Liebenberg, who was fired shortly after the incident.
Williams' explanation for the incident sheds some light on the bizarre encounter; however it doesn't explain hitting an audience member with a mic.
Or getting arrested after leading police on a chase on his three-wheel ATV, or getting arrested again after a bar fight, or threatening the manager with a pool cue.
Or throwing a cigarette at a woman, or getting kicked out of a hotel, or announcing his retirement from stand-up comedy, or un-retiring two days later. | <urn:uuid:f3e7b2fc-b623-448b-9c93-2304a214079a> | http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/katt-williams-slap-blamed-on-n-word/ | en | 0.973129 | 0.249746 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Issue Date: Vol. 42, No. 10 / August 25, 2002 - September 24, 2002 , Posted On: 8/25/2002
Finding Out
Tim Sanford
Progress in science and technology always occurs when methods are found to move beyond speculative discussion and anecdotal evidence, and find out what actually is happening. As an example, artists had been arguing about the depiction of a galloping horse since the days of ancient Greece: do all four feet leave the ground at once, or do they not? This argument was settled once and for all by the early application of rapid-sequence photography, in the late 19th Century.
We bring this up because retail merchandising also advances in this way. Shopkeepers have had beliefs and theories about the most effective assortment and display of merchandise, presumably for thousands of years. The development of ways to test different displays and determine exactly how consumers respond awaited the development of real-time transaction capture by intelligent cash registers, and of computer software that could process this stream of sales data and produce reports that allowed side-by-side comparison of the results of different varieties and display arrangements. This has revolutionized grocery and mass-market merchandising.
The vending industry now is in a position to take the same forward leap. Innovators from other industries tend to underrate the sales acumen of vending operators, but our industry always has prized close contact with customers, and has developed fairly sophisticated rules of thumb for adjusting machine menus and optimizing displays for different kinds of location in different markets.
For four decades, vendors have devoted a great deal of attention to presenting food to best advantage in refrigerated vending machines. They have chosen appropriate packaging to display each item, and colored shelf liners to enhance appeal. They have developed more or less intricate cyclical menus to provide patrons with a continually varying choice, while always offering the most popular items.
Those merchandising skills found new application when glassfront snack machines won industry acceptance a quarter of a century ago. Suddenly confronted with the challenge of displaying 30 or 40 items rather than five or 10, operators watched their customers using the new equipment and formed a wide variety of opinions about what actually was going on.
Two of these opinions, with some minor variations, became fairly widespread. One is that sales are maximized by arranging selections with high-profit items displayed at the upper right or in the center, and always following the same plan in arranging the merchandise. The belief is that people who don't know what they want are more likely to buy something that catches the eye, while people who have a specific product in mind will respond most favorably if they can find it right away.
The other opinion also holds that high-profit items can be presented to best advantage by putting them in a particular place - at eye level and on the right, or near eye level and in the center , but that the way to maximize sales overall is to change the display as frequently as possible, "mixing up" products. The idea here is that people who must "shop" the machine are more likely to try something different, if they happen upon it while looking for a favorite.
Do these views reflect the way people actually "shop" vending machines? Do they "shop" in a T pattern, scanning the top shelf and then looking down the middle of the machine first? Should the retail model for a vending machine be the "general store," offering the widest possible range of merchandise, or the high-volume mass retail outlet, stocking as many facings as necessary of a limited variety of very popular products?
Operators have needed to know these things for decades now. As the radio commercials say, "Well, now you can!" In-machine data capture, retrieval of this data with handheld route computers, and the use of computer programs written to analyze and summarize the information all work together to allow the industry to supplement its well-informed visceral sense of what patrons want with hard facts about what they actually buy.
This information is increasingly important in maximizing sales revenue from each machine, and pleasing the greatest number of customers. The time to get it is now.
Topic: Editorial: Vending
• Using The Technology You've Paid For
• Coffee Vending And The Upscale Market
• A New Day Dawns For Vending
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Need to make more money from your customers? Here’s why a price hike might be your best option.
Internet music company Pandora is one of those businesses that can do well in the stock market just by not doing as badly as people expect. Revenue grew 58%, as was announced Wednesday, but losses more than doubled year-over-year. Now, most entrepreneurs don’t have to worry about keeping stock prices up, but there’s an important lesson to learn from Pandora’s roller coaster: Sometimes you need to face the music and ask customers to pay more.
Why Pandora Is in the Red
The ongoing problem for Pandora is that even as it grows, with the active audience increasing 53% year over year, so do the music royalties it must pay. As a result, its quarterly earnings reports have shown a constant flow of red ink. [read]
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Warming down on the rollers
March 5, 2012 § Leave a comment
I knew it was going to be a great day at the races when JR, after finishing his race, donned his trademark fedora, lit up his trademark cigar, hopped in his pimpmobile and gunned it. He’d forgotten to put away his rollers, though, which got sucked up into the undercarriage by the spinning car wheel. This created a small explosion followed by lots of cracking, grinding, and broken parts flying everywhere.
One of the onlookers pithily observed, “Yo, JR, them things roll smoother when you put the bike on them instead of the car.”
I’d had to hire an investigator to perform “deep Internet” searches to find enough qualifying events for my Cat 3 participation upgrade, but after digging around for six months he found out that I had completed a 45+ crit in 2004 that gave me the magic number of race completions to move out of the certain death category and into the probable suicide one. I was raring to test my Cat 3 skilz in the local CBR crit held in South Compton, but affectionately called “Dominguez Hills” by the promoter so as not to scare people away.
Excerpted from O’Dooligan’s “Encyclopedia of World Cycling”: The U.S.A.-type “criterium,” or “crit,” is an event held on a flat, ugly, unchallenging course with four turns, of one mile or less in length and never enough port-o-potties. The “race” places an emphasis on being easy enough not to require any particular bike handling skills except for gradual turns and crashing on the last lap (Cat 3/4/5). Slow enough that anyone can finish, even the incredibly fat guy whose buttcrack hangs out of his shorts, but fast enough that no one can get away, the denouement of the race follows a set pattern: high speeds the first three laps, a futile breakaway that is reeled in, lollygagging until the last six laps, another futile breakaway followed by a mad dash on the last lap which is won by the team with the best lead out train. (U.S.A. amateur bicyclists actually have pro-style lead out trains, with a designated sprinter. The point of this is so that the same person can win every time, and the helpers, although losers, can share in the $75 prize list.) Crit racing is especially popular among wankers who fear hills, tactical racing, and being stranded long distances from the burger shoppe, and by promoters who like charging $34/head for 125-man fields, and then chopping 15 minutes off the 40 minutes of racing time promised in the flyer.
Dog is on your side
As I warmed up for my race by lying in the grass eating M&M’s and sipping on an ice cold Hoppy Snockered IPA, Prez shouted over at me from the sign-in table. “Hey, Wankmeister! Wanna switch numbers? You’ve got my number!!”
I looked at my number, 316. “What are you talking about?”
“That number! I want that number!” Then I realized it…Prez is a super devout Christian, and 316 is, you know, that part from the Bible, Tebow 3:16–
For Dog so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but finally bring the fucking Lombardi Trophy back to Denver.
Without thinking, I hollered back. “Sure, you can have it! All you have to do is come over here and lick the sweat off my nuts!”
A few moments later up came Prez’s lovely wife and their three awesome children. “Listen here, Mr. Pottymouth,” she said. “You’ll be cleaning up your oral toilet now. Our youngest overheard that last remark and said, ‘That’s gross!'”
Normally that would not deter me, as I’ve always viewed filthy language to be an integral part of a proper upbringing, but she is so pretty and reputedly has a badass left hook, so I apologized profusely and promised to do better.
Today’s class assignment: compare and contrast
Earlier in the morning I’d completed the 45+ race and had placed an extremely competitive 58th, just behind the elderly lady who used to race professionally, and several bike lengths in front of the chubby short fellow with a ponytail and downtube shifters. I could immediately tell the difference between the 45+ field and the Cat 3 field. Only a fraction of the Cat 3 field appeared to be on drugs, and unlike in 1984, last time I’d lined up for a Cat 3 race, the average equipment expenditure per biker was easily $8,000, except for the enormous guy (290 pounds of sweaty love, easy) in the CVC jersey who probably spent an additional grand on fabric extensions and a steel truss apparatus to keep the worst part of his stomach and ass contained in his skinsuit. (*Note to sneerers: yes, he beat me by several bike lengths).
As you’d expect from a field comprised of young, healthy, well-trained, competitive athletic men in their 20’s and at the height of their physical abilities, the race was much slower than the 45+ event, many of whose 100+ entrants were well into their 50’s. That’s the importance of having a healthy diet!! The other difference was that in the old farts’ race it was virtually impossible to move up without a crowbar. The field was tightly packed and everyone fought like hell for every position, even Ol’ Gizzards, that guy who looks like he came from the Pleistocene and who dropped me so badly at Boulevard.
The Cat 3 field, on the other hand, was much looser, and despite the fact that only a handful of riders were juiced to the gills, the riders were more verbally aggressive. This is because even when you fill a 55 year-old skinbag with the most potent drugs known to man, it still only gets him a ten-minute erection, whereas a 25 year-old on no drugs whatsoever is so filled with testosterone and serotonin and thyroxine and triiodothyronine and norepinephrine and sperm, sweat, boogers, and three-headed satanic skull tattoos that have the wrong kanji for “Merchant of Death” that, when placed in an even mildly competitive situation, he will try to kill you.
So whereas the duffers would say, “On your left, dude,” or “Sorry!” if they pulled a boner, the Cat 3’s, when they got excited, which was pretty much the entire fucking race, except at the end when they really got worked up, tended to scream “YOU STUPID FUCKING IDIOT FUCKING ASSHOLE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU FUCKING DOING YOU DOUCHEBAG ASSHOLE FUCKBAG FUCKER FUCKETY FUCK FUCK FUCK!”
Counting…it’s not just for children anymore
But the biggest difference of all was the final lap. In the 45+ field, everyone knew the script by heart: fart along, flail a bit, maybe think about taking a pull, and then in the last five laps either drift to the back away from the action or move to the front where the action is. Then, with roughly 50 guys in contention on the final lap, on turn three half of those guys eased up and called it a day. Finally, around the final turn, of the remaining 25 vying for the win, half threw in the towel and you had a nice, clean, safe sprint to see who’s going to get the twelve-pack of energy drink and case of pistachios.
With the 3’s however, only about half the field knew the drill, as most had only just upgraded and it takes hundreds of these cookie-cutter races over a period of years for the pattern to finally take hold in the igneous, reptilian brain of a bike racer. What this means for you and me is that, with five laps to go everybody thought, “FIVE laps to go!”
Then it took them a couple of laps to count down to one, by which time they realized, “It’s now THREE laps to go!” After another lap of down-counting, they all realized at the same time that there was only one lap to go. Whoops,make that two. Or was it one?
Whatever! They all dashed for the front at the same time, and since no one had been riding very hard for the last fifty minutes, and they were all young and dumb and full of cum, the peloton pressurized like firing a water hydrant through a garden hose. Unlike the 45+ field, where the combination of powerful drugs and lots of experience automatically separated the field, each little Cat 3-er suddenly saw himself as a possible winner of the race.
Not yet beaten down by the relentless hammer of reality and decades of defeat, and finally having worked out the math so that it was clear, even to them, that there were only two turns left before the sprint, many of the Cat 3’s celebrated their youth and enthusiasm and vigor and passion for sport by taking the third turn too wide, clipping a wheel, and causing a massive collision which sent half the field of cursing idiots into the curb, carbon frames snapping, 3-lb water bottles flying through the air like oversized bullets, the terrible sound of plastic helmets shattering on pavement, the grinding shriek of metal spokes popping and shearing away from their carbon rims, bodies slamming with the dull thud of a bag of potatoes dropped off a roof, and the surreality of twisting and weaving my way around, through, and over heads, arms, legs, torsos, and the detritus of that $8,000.00 charge on the Specialized credit card that was only just paid off two weeks ago.
I’m b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-c-k. Or just a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-c-k.
As if any proof were needed that the Cat 3 race is ridiculously easy compared to the 45+, I took a strong 47th, narrowly beaten out by the lummox with the steel undergirdle, but well ahead of the guy with the friction headlamp and panniers. Couple more of these races and those punks’ll know whose boss without having to read about it in a fucking blog.
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The Worst (I’m Already So Tired of Trump)
I’ll start with the obvious: By any reasonable measure, Donald Trump is the worst person to have ever been nominated by a major party in the United States, and he will be the worst person to be elected on the off chance he doesn’t completely implode over the next six months. Now, simply being a bad person, the kind of guy who’d get violent with his wife over a bad day at the hair restoration joint, doesn’t disqualify you from the office.
Trump’s campaign promises have been…interesting…to say the least. His most recent speech did a marvelous job of pinpointing a very legitimate point of pain for many Americans.
Yesterday, she even tried to attack me and my many businesses. But here is the bottom line: I started off in Brooklyn New York, not so long ago, with a small loan and built a business worth over 10 billion dollars. I have always had a talent for building businesses and, importantly, creating jobs. That is a talent our country desperately needs.
That kind of populist nationalism resonates, but is there any real reason to believe he actually believes what he’s saying? Campaign Trump is the same guy who gave an awkward speech at a religious university betraying a complete lack of familiarity with the subject of faith. He’s the one who talked about defaulting on the national debt. He wants racial profiling. He wants to make Mexico pay for a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. If you’re going to take him at his word on the good things he says, you have to take the nutty stuff too.
But why should you take him at his word? Not only is Campaign Trump wildly at odds with pre-Campaign Trump, he’s also a profoundly dishonest person. Compare Trump’s record on the fact checking sites against Hillary Clinton’s. The TL/DR: While Clinton is often less than 100% accurate, Trump’s in a league of his own when it comes to pulling facts out of his ass. He lies. He lies constantly. There are those who would call this “masterful rhetoric,” but it’s just plain, garden variety lying.
I suggest that a better way to get a measure of Donald Trump is to look at what he’s done, as opposed to what he’s saying he wants to do now that he’s trying to get people to vote for him. His actions may be dishonest, but at least they’re his actions, right?
There are basically two hallmarks of how Donald Trump does business. He gets people to pay for things that he doesn’t deliver, and he gets people to do work for him or provide services without paying for them. Trump University gets a lot of attention, and rightly so. It was a scam dressed up as an educational program designed to get people to empty their wallets in exchange for getting the “instructors” to stop bugging them about emptying their wallets. Trump resorts? Ask the investors. Just Google “Trump” and “investors” and “sue.”
Then there’s the matter of not paying people. He brags about his multiple bankruptcies as “good business,” but understand them for they are: They’re screw people he owes money to out of the money he owes them. When you’re broke and can’t feed yourself, bankruptcy is a good way out. When you have boatloads of cash and just don’t feel like paying? You’re being a dick. Of course, he doesn’t just screw banks, he screws the working man too! He just flat out bilks contractors out of the money they’re owed on the principle that he can. It’s true, but again, he’s being a dick.
So, you know, all that populist stuff he’s spouting about being on the side of the American worker? It’s all crap. He routinely screws the American worker and he brags about it. He’s proud of it. That’s what’s made him the man he is today.
Trump’s got a race problem, too. Even if you discount all of the blatantly racist stuff he’s encouraging on the campaign trail, his problem goes way back and it runs in the family., of all sites, has the most in-depth look at the allegations that Donald’s father, Fred, was a Klansman. It’s worth a read, and I never thought I’d say that about Vice. The short version is that a man named Fred Trump was arrested at a Klan rally in New York in 1927, but wasn’t charged. The papers identify this Fred Trump as living at the same location as Donald Trump’s father did. They also say that all the arrested were wearing Klan robes. I’ll let you draw the conclusions.
In 1972, Donald himself was at the center of a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination on his part. I know it’s a long time ago, but if you read the article, you’ll recognize the Donald Trump we see today. When attacked, he attacks back, even if there’s no basis in it. It’s a weird sort of “anti-truth.” If you punched me in the face, it would be a lie if you said “I did not punch you in the face.” The anti-truth version would be “No, YOU punched ME in the face.” There’s the bluster, the “win at all cost” tactics, and then, of course, he settled the suit because, well, duh, he was being racist as hell. If you can stand going to the Huffington Post, there’s a pretty good list of additional examples of racism by The Donald.
It’s not hard to see why Trump is the darling of the alt-right. He favors a sort of populist, borderline racist version of nationalism. He wants to make America great again, and that means white and Christian if you can hear that particular dog-whistle pitch. He hates “political correctness,” which is to say, he hates that people want him to treat other people with respect. Most importantly, he’s about winning by any means available, regardless of the principles involved. Even when he’s wrong (and my oh my is he wrong about a lot things), he has to win. That’s alt-right ideology in a nutshell, isn’t it?
So, really, what it boils down to is this: Can Trump continue to keep the rabid support of the racist, sexist, nationalist fringe who identify so strongly with him while at the same time convincing enough of the rest of America that he’s really just a populist outsider who has America’s best interests at heart? That’s a hell of a tightrope, isn’t it? Even if he somehow manages to keep it together, is that coalition enough to win the general election? In firing up his base, he’s shit all over women and non-whites. Those are huge demographics to write off.
If he does make it to November (and there’s a non-zero chance he won’t), I think election night will go badly for him. A lot can happen between now and then, but he’s been Donald Trump for a long, long time now, and Donald Trump is, at the core, an asshole. We’ve elected jerks before, but never anyone like Donald Trump. For once, the hyperbole is correct: Donald Trump is the worst.
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And Then There Were Two*
This should be fun. Clinton is very much “the devil you know.” She’s the closest thing the Democrats have to Bob Dole in the sense that her candidacy feels as though it’s a result of it being her turn as much as anything. I like Bernie Sanders, but I’d wager that a stronger Democratic candidate would have put him away a long time ago. She’s been in the public eye for decades, but it’s hard to remember any time she’s every received much positive press. It’s hard to point to much in the way of achievements. She’s rightly perceived as elitist and she’s much more comfortable discussing the minutiae of policy than she is delivering a rousing stump speech.
On a broader scale, she gives every indication of being the next in an unbroken line of Reagan-ish presidents. She’s hawkish on defense, fiscally conservative, pro-Wall Street, but generally liberal on social issues. A Clinton presidency would likely look a great deal like a Reagan, Bush, Obama, or, um, Clinton presidency. Probably more like her husband’s terms than any other, not because she isn’t her own person, but because there would be an endless sideshow of fake scandals in the press***. If you like the way things are going now, and have gone for the last 35 years, then a Hillary Clinton presidency looks appealing.
Donald Trump offers a much greater opportunity for amusement. Like Clinton, one gets the impression that a strong opponent would have swept the floor with him. Instead, he squared up against Ted Cruz, whose “I’m Just Like Donald Trump But Not Donald Trump” marketing plan didn’t have any more appeal than the “I’m Ted Cruz” plan.
Trump’s campaign strategy of “saying whatever he thinks people want to hear” has been stunningly effective. There’s no compelling reason to believe that he actually believes anything he’s saying. Remember the jab against Cruz, suggesting that Cruz’ father was linked to Lee Harvey Oswald? Trump flat-out admitted that he didn’t actually believe it; he was just saying it because he thought it would be effective. Some people call that a clever use of “rhetoric,” but c’mon, he’s just lying. That’s what he does.
It’s hard to imagine what a Trump presidency would look like because he has no track record, he dishonest about his beliefs, and there’s little indication either party would work with him. It might just be a ridiculous side show, or it might be a complete train wreck. Sure, Hillary Clinton has been party to war crimes but at least she has the good grace to evade questions about them. Trump has stated that he admires war crimes and wants to commit more. His supporters have suggested that he’s only saying this to get votes, but even if that’s true, that’s hardly a reason to vote for him.
As for the campaign, it’s going to be really weird. Clinton is relatively easy to attack and, while you’d think someone like Trump would be, the fact is that it’s very hard to pin someone down when they’re not constrained by facts. Clinton can attack his terrible record as a businessman and he’ll just say something like “Hillary’s just a loser. I’m the richest, most handsome, most successful businessman in the history of the United states and she knows it.” It’s crap, but it’s really, really hard to deal with in a debate setting, especially when the moderators have been cowed into non-participation in the name of “neutrality.”
We just haven’t seen a candidate like Donald Trump before. Even Ross Perot had beliefs and scruples (not to mention the fact that he was a genuinely successful businessman). My gut feeling is that Trump’s negatives are so enormous, even greater than Clintons, that even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would get 40% of the vote against him. That’s a tough starting point. Maybe he can expand his support, maybe he can attack Clinton effectively enough to drag her down with him. There’s not precedent for this so anyone who claims to know how it’s going to play out has a better crystal ball than I do.
I’ll tell you this though: It’s going to be very, very amusing to watch.
* Barring a miraculous comeback by Bernie Sanders. I’m not holding my breath.
** Of one’s or the other’s political career, I expect.
*** While the real scandals are swept under the rug.
Filed under Politics, Uncategorized
We Report, You Decide
John C. Wright said this.
George R. R. Martin responded with this.
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Hugo Awards 2016: Geez, not this shit again
Welp, it happened again: The Rabid Puppies, the folks who want to destroy the Hugo Awards, nearly swept the nominations again this year. Not that anyone expected their defeat last year to discourage them. They seem to revel in the whole “If we can’t have what we want, at least we can ruin it for everyone else” thing, so of course they’re back for another go.
At least they avoided being completely tedious and changed their tactics a little this year. Instead of attacking the politicization of the Hugo Awards by nominate tepid right-wing polemics, they mixed things up and nominated some worthy works as well. I’m sure this is some devious mind game or clever stratagem, but it’s not really worth the effort to untangle it.
The Puppies are upset that their preferred flavor of sci-fi seldom wins Hugos. The reason they don’t win is obvious: In a popularity contest, the most popular work is going to win and the stuff the Puppies like is not the most popular. If 60% of the voters prefer one type of book, while 40% prefer another, will the less popular type win 40% of the awards? No, it will win none of the awards because 60% > 40% every time. Obvious, right? That sucks for the fans of the less popular style, but that’s the tyranny of math.
Last year, they gamed the nomination process to sweep the several categories, and the Hugo voters gamed the awards process to ensure that every Rabid Puppy nominee finished below “No Award.” This strikes me as just and the only possible way to preserve the integrity of the awards. The downside is that giving out “No Award” year after year isn’t a lot of fun.
Filed under hugo awards, rabid puppies
ESPN’s coddling of Curt Schilling ends badly
Parker Molloy wrote a much better recap of the events surrounding Curt Schilling’s dismissal from ESPN than I ever could, so if you want the long version, I strongly suggest you read the whole thing here. She breaks it down in great detail, but I’ll sum up here for those of you who didn’t follow my advice. Curt Schilling, who’s been warned multiple times for posting inflammatory and offensive things on Twitter was let go for failing to heed those warnings and retweeting a genuinely stupid meme*.
ESPN’s reason for firing Schilling is both transparent and obvious. In Molloy’s words:
“As for ESPN, someone in Bristol must have calculated that the benefits of Schilling’s baseball knowledge no longer exceeded the financial and public relations costs that would be incurred by keeping him on the air. There are clearly many other announcers just as (if not more) capable than he is, so it will be little skin off ESPN’s back.”
ESPN is a business. I’m sure they’ll stick up for all manner of asshole so long as said asshole doesn’t cost them money. Principles are great and all, but this was a business decision and as such it’s not hard to understand.
It’s too bad, because he was a great pitcher and a very solid addition to the ESPN team. This wasn’t an on-air performance issue; Schilling had been warned not to keep making an ass of himself on Twitter. He ignored the warnings, so they did the obvious thing and booted him.
The frustrating thing is that Schilling doesn’t seem to get it. He’s playing the victim because that’s his default pose. He started his post concerning his firing with this little gem:
Right. That’s code for “I’m about to be a total dick and I’m going to try to preemptively prevent you from holding me responsible for it.” We’re off to a really bad starts. He doubles down in the very next sentence:
“And for you people too dense to understand this one very important thing. My opinion, 100% mine, and only mine. I don’t represent anyone here, on facebook, on twitter, anywhere.”
This is a man who has no business working in any field where he faces the public. If he cannot understand that, as a public face of ESPN, he has to manage his public persona better than he has, then he’s going to struggle. It’s going to feel to him like the world is against him because he can’t understand the requirements of his job.
Of course, there are people, perpetual victims all, who are determined to twist this event to fit their narrative. They want this to be about political correctness bringing down a man whose only crime was to be too honest. They want this to be about trying to squelch free speech, or social justice warriors run amok, or some other bullshit.
It’s worth noting, too, that ESPN suspended Keith Law from Twitter for defending the theory of evolution. He was doing so in response to one of Schilling’s characteristically bizarre tweets. They suspend their employees for making statements that they feel might damage their business. Pushing the narrative that ESPN has succumbed to political correctness is dishonest.
Curt Schilling, as an on-air ESPN employee, couldn’t understand that his public statements reflected on his employer. ESPN gave him plenty of chances, probably too many, and he couldn’t change his behavior. This was a business decision, this was justified, and Curt Schilling brought this on himself. Trying to make this a fairy tale of political correctness is either dumb or dishonest.
Probably both.
EDIT: Of course Ted Cruz would come out on Schilling’s side. He even cited “unchecked political correctness” because that phrase plays well with his handful of supporters and honesty has never been a Cruz hallmark. Glenn Beck, demonstrating his keen grasp of his own imagination, said that, if bathroom bills “save one little girl from being molested by a heterosexual pervert, we should do it.”
I’m not sure which of these three is most soiled by association with the other two.
* No, I’m not going to link directly to it. It’s in Molloy’s piece. Go read it.
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The derp in here has gone up a couple of degrees
What is fun, though, is that these dipshits are so incredibly bad at it. Client change science isn’t particularly controversial among scientists, so watching The Usual Suspects, the folks with the credibility and intellectual horsepower of an unusually dense 8 year old, try to mock the idea is really, really funny, albeit not for the reasons they probably meant. It’s like watching someone spray paint “Your dumb! Hur hur hur!” on a statue of Einstein.
They’ve somehow managed to bring racism, sexism, and Milo into it, so you know the kind of people we’re dealing with here. It’s probably not something I should be proud of, but it’s a hoot to watch them fail…again.
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Vox’s Jason Blum Gets It All Kinds of Wrong
Let’s start with one thing he got right:
“Every year, millions of piracy “transactions” take place, accounting for incalculable lost revenue to those who actually paid to make and distribute those films.”
That is technically correct, in the sense that the lost revenue cannot be calculated. The music industry keeps trying to make this argument, but the numbers don’t work. They have yet to make a convincing case for a demonstrable amount of lost revenue. You can’t just say that a pirated video is the same thing as a lost admission to a theater. If that person wasn’t going to go in the first place, you’ve lost literally no revenue. If seeing a pirated version gets them to go see the legitimate version, or buy merchandise, or see the sequel, then you’ve gained revenue. Yes, there is evidence that piracy may actually increase revenue.
I’m not going to make that argument, though. I don’t think the numbers are anywhere near solid enough to say, without reservation, that piracy increases revenue. It does, however, suggest that the argument that piracy is killing the industry is not very solid.
Another problem with Blum’s piece is that he suggests that piracy will selectively kill off the more prestigious films (the good ones) while leaving the blockbusters (the bad ones) untouched. This is an odd argument to make. The assumption behind it is that the art films are just a gift that the studios give us, a gift that will likely lose money, and they won’t be able to give us nice things anymore if piracy continues.
If anyone believes that studios make art house films out of the goodness of their hearts and not with the intent of making bags of money or winning loads of awards, please raise your hands. Didn’t think I’d see any. In fairness, Blum does address this issue, but never addresses the problem that these films would be uniquely vulnerable to the loss of revenue due to piracy.
None of this addresses the real problem: You can’t stop piracy.
I’m not saying that piracy is moral, or legal, or anything remotely positive. I’m saying that, from a strictly technical standpoint, there’s fuck-all you can do about it and all the shouting in the world isn’t going to make any difference. As long as there are computers, there will be piracy. That is the fact of the matter.
Any system which can play a file can copy what is being played back. That is true of all digital media. If you can watch a movie on it, you can pirate a movie on it. Same technology.
Here’s my advice to the industry: Stop focusing on the things you cannot change. I understand that it is frustrating to see people rip off your work. It’s wrong of them to do it, but you literally cannot stop them from doing it*. Focus on the things you can control. Live presentation, tie-ins with talent, merchandise, and commercial use of the property and things still within control of the rights-holders. Use the thing you can’t control, the digital media, as an advertisement for the things you can.
The current model won’t stand up over the long term. Even if the overall revenue keeps growing, and it likely will, there will be people who benefit from the changes in the way commerce works, and there will be those who can’t adapt. I feel from the folks who can’t make the changes, because it feels like something’s been taken from them. That, for better or worse, is the nature of change, and trying to act as though you can stop change isn’t going to end well for anyone.
* I can hear the complaint already: “That’s like saying ‘lie back and enjoy it’ to rape victims!’ No, no it isn’t like that. Now, if you want to compare it to trying to stop someone from taking your picture when you’re out in public? That’s a reasonable analogy. It’s nothing like violent crime.
Filed under Uncategorized
Apparently, NASA has something in common with the Wu Tang Clan
I can’t stand Facebook, but this has to be one of the most beautiful moments in the history of the site. Sure, it’s just one man, but it’s one man whose story will serve as a cautionary tale for “the uninformed and conspiracy theorists.”
Is this a good use of NASA’s time and resources? Yes. Yes it is.
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Encryption on WordPress?
About damn time.
Good things are starting to happen on the encryption front. This is important. The problem with expensive and/or difficult encryption is that it won’t be universally adopted. At the extreme in of the spectrum, that means that anyone using encryption is instantly flagged as a Person of Interest. That kind of defeats the purpose, ya know? In the slightly less bad version, it restricts secure certs to those who can afford them. Neither situation is optimal.
What the internet wants and needs, obviously, is for everyone to use encryption. That means that no one stands out from the crowd and it’s accessible to everyone. This should be about as controversial as saying “everyone should have locks on their front door.”
I get so negative because, well, it’s easy to be negative. There’s so much that’s bad that it’s easy to default to point my fingers and yelling “Hey, look at this asshole, he’s an asshole.” It’s nice to get to write about something good.
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False Dichotomy
The BBC link reads:
Racist troll’ – or conservative free speech crusader?
If you read the post, and it’s worth reading as it’s contributed by the excellent Olivia Crellin, you’ll likely come to the same conclusion as I: “Both.”
I mean, Andie Pauly isn’t even trying to be anything but a troll. She’s making statements that are long on provocation and short on reason, truth, or honesty. She’s trying to get a reaction, not to make any particular point.
As someone with a passing familiarity with people who play characters online (hint: WTF Pancakes might not be my real name!), her bio reads like…well, let’s just say she blocks “beta males.” This isn’t someone trying to be taken seriously.
She’s racist. She’s sexist. She’s aggressively stupid. She is the perfect poster child for both racist trolls and conservative free speech crusaders.
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Boot up: Windows 8 desktop shock, how iPads saved Greece, Apple's bad store move and more
Plus Brin wears Goggles in SF, what's a modern browser?, the n0tice experiment, smartphone data and more
OK, an iPad couldn't restructure this - the Greek Acropolis. Photograph: Alamy
Apple has removed Airfoil Speakers Touch from the iOS App Store >> Rogue Amoeba
John Gruber thinks it is due to use of public APIs "in ways Apple doesn't want" - where Rogue Amoeba reverse-engineered the method to let iOS devices receive AirPlay content. That undermines Apple's authenticated chip hardware revenue stream.
No-cost desktop software development is dead on Windows 8 >> Ars Technica
If you want to develop desktop applications--anything that runs at the command line or on the conventional Windows desktop that remains a fully supported, integral, essential part of Windows 8--you'll have two options: stick with the current Visual C++ 2010 Express and Visual C# 2010 Express products, or pay about $400-500 for Visual Studio 11 Professional. A second version, Visual Studio 11 Express for Web, will be able to produce HTML and JavaScript websites, and nothing more.
Flipping heck. Former Microsofties are appalled.
Just say "No." >> Dustin Curtis
Yahoo has just announced Axis, a browser extension thing and mobile app that "redefines what it means to search and browse the Web [sic]."
Curtis explains why it shouldn't have, and how this tells us more (as if we needed it) about Yahoo right now.
Google releases new copyright transparency report >> Electronic Frontier Foundation
Striking is the sheer volume of takedown notices Google receives: in just the last month, it processed over 1.2 million requests for Search alone, from 1,296 copyright owners and 1,087 reporting organizations. That scale allows it to present trends in the data that might not otherwise be apparent. For example, even in the case of notorious "pirate" sites like The Pirate Bay, Google has received takedown notices for less than 5% of their indexable pages.
On the other hand, this report also provides a clearer look into the abuse of copyright tools. Google explains that it's complied with 97% of takedown requests received between July and December of 2011, but also provides examples of obviously invalid copyright requests it's received.
Also covered elsewhere on this site.
Google Privacy Inquiries Get Little Cooperation >>
Mr. Caspar asked [in spring 2010] to see the hard drive [with the Wi-Fi data collected from Street View]. Google said handing it over could expose it to liability for violating German telecommunications law, which prohibits network operators and other data managers from disclosing the private communications of their clients.
This made no sense to Mr. Caspar, who explained that as data protection commissioner [for Hamburg] he was empowered to receive the data. Finally, in autumn 2010, the company yielded and gave Mr. Caspar the hard drive. By this point, Hamburg prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation.
Google was equally resistant with the American authorities.
Apple is still exploring ways to make stylus worthy of iPhone and iPad >> Unwired View
Wait... did someone say haptic? Hang on, though - stylus? (Thanks @PaulJReynolds for first, aha, pointer)
Google's Goggles Spotted on Streets of SF >> Technology Review
Like Google's press images for what it calls "Project Glass," the glasses Brin wore while walking down King Street were lens-free with a small, clear prism-like display mounted above the right eye. It wasn't clear if the glasses were completely self-contained, or if they were wired to what appeared to be a smart phone in his left hand. Brin, who has been seen sporting the headgear before, wasn't using them at the moment, though - he said they were out of power.
Oh, yeah, battery life.
Modern Browsers >> Aventine
After some experimenting with what you do and don't need to get the Moog Google Doodle of a few days ago:
In the end, the conclusion is that a 'modern browser' according to Google is a browser which sends 'Chrome' as its UA string and supports Flash or the Web Audio API.
Can we instead on production sites standardize on something like "this site requires (experimental) features not yet present in your browser" (Thanks @getify for the idea) and a link to instructions on how they can update their browser, or if it is a browser specific feature, information about the feature and why it isn't yet supported in their browser of choice.
The Guardian's n0tice experiment and why media businesses should build APIs >> TheMediaBriefing
The Guardian has led the way in API-based development since 2009 and now its spinoff hyperlocal social network n0tice has launched its own set of API tools to entice users and brands to build things using its content and functionality.
Get excited and build stuff.
How Tim Cook is changing Apple >> Fortune Tech
Subtly, it seems.
Meet Mike and Maaike, the design studio ushering Google into hardware >> Co.Design
Interesting: just as Google acquires Motorola, it also buys a design studio. Maybe hardware really is where the money is.
How 100 iPads saved Greece $140 billion >> Fortune Tech
Philip Elmer-DeWitt:
I got a London call last week from Bob Apfel, a Brooklyn neighbor (and fellow Oberlin College graduate).
"Two weeks ago," he began. "I completed the debt restructuring of Greece."
With the aid of a custom app uploaded specifically to 100 iPads so that the Greek leadership team trying to coordinate thousands of bondholders around the world signing off the default-in-all-but-name could connect to clearing services and back offices. (Original article interviewing Apfel in a Greek paper.) They used iPads because an app meant they could visualise how debt was happening. It was the world's biggest-ever debt restructuring - quite possibly prevented total economic collapse. (Thanks @rquick for the link.)
Android- and iOS-powered smartphones expand share of market in 1Q 2012 >> IDC
Puts smartphone shipments at 152m, up 50% year-on-year. Android is 59%; Apple + Samsung is 75m, or half the total. A two-horse race.
| <urn:uuid:ac20c808-81b5-4e71-97de-e3d05025d3d4> | https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2012/may/25/technology-links-newsbucket | en | 0.936688 | 0.030446 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2013, 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc."]] [[!meta license="""[[!toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[!toggleable id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled [[GNU Free Documentation License|/fdl]]."]]"""]] The *mapped-time interface*, that is, a `mmap`able read-only memory page containing a `struct mapped_time_value`. See the [[reference_manual]]. Typically available as `/dev/time`, [[hurd/translator/storeio]]. Using that, [[hurd/libshouldbeinlibc]]'s `` provides `maptime_map` and `maptime_read`, see the [[hurd/reference_manual]]. Candidate for replacement with [[open_issues/vDSO]] code? # IRC, freenode, #hurd, 2013-11-20 braunr: about the mach device interface, if i open a device, and then create a memory mapping using device_map, does that increment the open count of the device ? can i call device_close w/o destroying the mapping directly after mapping it ? teythoon: I have a vague recollection that the mapping (or more precisely, the memory object) is not bound to the open once established... but don't take my word on it -- it's been some years since I played with that stuff :-) antrik: yes, that would actually match my expectation hum normally, mapping increments the usage count of the resource mapped, but not the open count i don't know if that's the case for mach devices teythoon: which mach device btw ? time libshouldbeinlibc/maptime.c line ~53 the device is opened but never closed is that a problem ? not sure, but I'd think so, yes why ? the open count is incremented each time at map time ? ah no, since that's your question the open count is normally decremented when the send right for the device is destroyed, which occurs when tasks exit hm but wouldn't only important long running servers use the mach device ? all tasks do a simple call to gettimeofday will use it well, but only privileged processes may get teh device master port the device is probably accessible through some other method yes. /dev/time err, have you looked at the function ? ;) no which one ? maptime_map i did once but quickly if use_mach_dev, the mach device is used, /dev/time otherwise gettimeofday apparently uses __host_get_time mhmm ok so i was wrong the time device, whether it is the mach or the hurd one, seems to be mapped only by translators 14:10 < teythoon> but wouldn't only important long running servers use the mach device ? so yes :) so we should close the device why ? to prevent an overflow in the open count when is it open multiple times ? isn't it ? maybe /me lacks some context ;) it's called once at init time well, ok then gettimeofday-like functions then only read the mapped memory at least, that's how it's done in the servers i've looked at such as pfinet makes sense, yes something i learnt from experience and failures: check the problem actually exists before fixing it :p well, if the memory mapping is independent of the device, then there is a problem the device is kept open for no reason teythoon: if you can determine that the device doesn't need to stay open for the mapping to remain, then you can close it otherwise, it's such a minor leak that we don't care at all i wouldn't even consider it a leak more than a small static variable used at init time only looks like, yes also, it's only in the rootfs translator ? only the root filesystem uses the mach device directly ok well, /dev/time too right ? yes, but that is a storeio translator that does not use this code yes hm only the root filesystem uses the mach device directly *using this function* | <urn:uuid:240ddccc-cd32-4a09-9e9f-a1d52d99a996> | http://darnassus.sceen.net/cgi-bin/hurd-web?page=microkernel%2Fmach%2Fgnumach%2Finterface%2Fdevice%2Ftime&do=getsource | en | 0.895873 | 0.084858 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Michael G Schwern > Class-Object-0.01 > Class::Object
Annotate this POD
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Module Version: 0.01 Source
Class::Object - each object is its own class
use Class::Object;
# Generate an object, give it a method called 'foo'
my $obj = Class::Object->new;
$obj->sub('foo', sub { return "FOO, I SAY!\n" });
# Generate another object, give it a different method called 'foo'.
my $another_obj = Class::Object->new;
$another_obj->sub('foo', sub { return "UNFOO!\n" });
# Get copies of those methods back out, just like any other.
my $obj_foo = $obj->can('foo');
my $another_foo = $another_obj->can('foo');
# Same names, same classes, different methods!
print $obj->foo; # "FOO, I SAY!"
print &$obj_foo; # "FOO, I SAY!"
print $another_obj->foo; # "UNFOO!"
print &$another_foo; # "UNFOO!"
print "Yep\n" if $obj->isa('Class::Object'); # Yep
print "Yep\n" if $another_obj->isa('Class::Object'); # Yep
# $obj->new clones itself, so $same_obj->foo comes out as $obj->foo
my $same_obj = $obj->new;
print $same_obj->foo; # "FOO, I SAY!"
Traditionally in OO, objects belong to a class and that class as methods. $poodle is an object of class Dog and Dog might have methods like bark(), fetch() and nose_crotch(). What if instead of the methods belonging to the Dog class, they belonged to the $poodle object itself?
That's what Class::Object does.
For the most part, these objects work just like any other. Things like can() and isa() work as expected.
my $obj = Class::Object->new;
Generates a new object which is its own class.
my $clone_obj = $obj->new;
Generates a new object which is in the same class as $obj. They share their methods.
$obj->sub($meth_name, sub { ...code... });
This is how you declare a new method for an object, almost exactly like how you do it normally.
Normally you'd do this:
package Foo;
sub wibble {
my($self) = shift;
return $self->{wibble};
In Class::Object, you do this:
my $foo = Class::Object->new;
$foo->sub('wibble', sub {
my($self) = shift;
return $self->{wibble};
Only $foo (and its clones) have access to wibble().
This is just a proof-of-concept module. The docs stink, there's no real inheritance model... totally incomplete. Drop me a line if you'd like to see it completed.
DO NOT rebless a Class::Object object. Bad Things will happen.
Michael G Schwern <schwern@pobox.com>
Class::Classless is another way to do the same thing (and much more complete).
syntax highlighting: | <urn:uuid:8140ecf3-b485-4752-bac9-1d1d3269fc7f> | http://search.cpan.org/~mschwern/Class-Object-0.01/lib/Class/Object.pm | en | 0.747541 | 0.974891 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Binary options gold dress | <urn:uuid:2cd1b56b-1517-4b76-8875-5fda3654d48b> | http://sk-treid.ru/binary-options-algorithm-images-1.html | en | 0.841869 | 0.020077 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Geri Stengel
Search Vistas Blog by Category
Mission Fit Essential in Cause Marketing Programs
cause marketing guidelines, nonprofit integrityGenuine is not sticking a pink ribbon on a tub of friend chicken and calling it cause-marketing, as happened this year. I was one of the many who called foul when KFC promised money to Susan G. Komen for each bucket of fried chicken was sold. Let's face it, pairing fried chicken with breast cancer, a disease that is affected by high-fat foods, isn't a fit.
Mission-consistency is probably the most critical element of any cause-marketing campaign. That goes for the for-profit partner as well. Timberland, makers of outdoor gear, has partnered with musician Wyclef Jean and his foundation, Yele Haiti. Timberland is now getting some bad press based on allegations about Jean and his use of foundation money, among other things. That's not the way cause-marketing is supposed to work.
But then comes transparency. Alas, I hate to pick on Susan G. Komen and KFC again but ... people were told that if they bought a pink bucket of chicken, a donation would be made. The very fine print on the deal, as explained in an April 14 press release by KFC, was more complicated. The 50-cents-per bucket was raised not when consumers purchased a bucket of chicken but when franchise owners purchased the empty pink bucket from KFC.
In other words, it didn't really matter if the consumer bought the chicken. The pink buckets could remain stacked in a storeroom, the consumer didn't have to consumer high-fat food at all in order for Komen to get the $4.2 million the
Transparency: The consumer should know exactly what benefit the nonprofit will get from the action taken, whether buying a bucket of fried chicken or texting a donation. Does everyone know that 3 percent of that texted donation will go to the credit card company? Nothing wrong with paying for service rendered but the donor should know.
Nonprofits and their cause-marketing partners must ensure transparent communication. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of consumers don’t think companies are giving them enough detail, according to 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study.
The trick is to give enough detail without turning customers off to the concept of cause marketing. Product(RED) is a case in point. In this campaign, companies such as The Gap and Nike donate part of the purchase price of certain products to The Global Fund, which helps people with AIDS. The percentage donated varies, from 50 percent of profit for The Gap to Apple's donation of about $10 on the sale of the $149 Nano.
Critics of Product(RED) claim that the campaign is just a way for the companies to sell more product and make more money by exploiting people's compassion. It is better, they say, if donors give money directly, eliminating the middle man.
Maybe. But will they give directly? If the consumer is already going to buy a product, cause marketing merely sways the purchaser in favor of the product-with-a-cause. Many of those consumers would have bought the Nano anyway and would not have taken the time to donate $10 as well.
Cause-marketing works because:
• The advertising power of the for-profit raises awareness of the cause
• People can take immediate action to help.
• Consumers are choosing to give. They could choose to give $10 directly for AIDS relief or if they can choose to spend an additional $139 to have the Nano as well.
As to exploiting compassion to make money: If the consumer is fully informed about the net donation it isn't exploitation. Key words: fully informed. Cause-marketing is, in the end, marketing. The companies involved are aiming to make a profit either through the sale of a product or by attracting new customers. Sometimes both critics and consumers forget this important fact.
My last guideline is: Keep the conversation going.
Let people know how you are doing. How much money has been raised? How many books purchased for children? How many mosquito nets purchased or trees planted. Update regularly on your social media platforms. That's one of the problems Timberland is having: It hasn't revealed how many trees have been planted in Haiti.
So, my guidelines to maintain the integrity of cause-marketing are three:
• Make sure the partnership is in keeping with the nonprofit's mission;
• Fully inform the customer about the amount of money going to the cause; and
• Let people know the results of the campaign.
But my three are only a start. I'm sure there's more. And I want to hear them. If cause-marketing campaigns can't stand up to scrutiny, consumers will no longer be interested. Better to do nothing at all than make a bad match that smears both your name and the ability of the rest of the sector to use this tool.
What are your guidelines to ensure the integrity of cause-marketing? What cause-marketing partnerships have caused you concern? | <urn:uuid:ede1a60e-664b-4153-acbd-22e4c4015d62> | http://ventureneer.com/vblog/mission-fit-essential-cause-marketing-programs | en | 0.959796 | 0.018548 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Why the FPS Rage? A Look at Call of Duty Camping and Snipers
Feature Matthew Schuchman
3/7/2013 at 12:27PM
Why do people rage out over Call of Duty campers and snipers?
It’s been a long day; you’ve been berated by your twit of a boss since 9am; the neighbor’s dog is barking at that car alarm that has been screeching for the past ten minutes; and your girlfriend just left you for a man three times her age. 10pm rolls around and you finally have a few minutes to yourself for relaxation and stress relief, so you pop a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II into your videogame console of choice and hit up the multiplayer lobbies to vent your frustrations.
You’re a few rounds in and having a decent run when you notice that every one of your current opponents in Team Deathmatch on the Drone map are all hiding in the trees at the other end of the map. You sneak around the side, pop up besides the unsuspecting snipers and take them all out. You hardly move two steps before they try to exact, same revenge on your head, but they prove to be easy pickings. You know they are just going to keep coming back, so you hide on that small ledge of the rock face that they don’t seem to know about. Covered by the large leaves of whatever exotic plant the developers added for effect, you sit and wait for the over eager team to return and make swift fools of them. The round ends and you see you have a message incoming from one of the opponents that reads, “camper U bad!” [Intentional, recreation of actual message]
Minus the part about the obscenely bad day that led up to an intense gaming session, that exact scenario happened to me a few weeks ago. I could care less about what an inconsequential, sore loser who ended up on my team in the next match (whose SPM and K/D ratio were pitiful next to mine) thinks, but the fact of the matter is there’s a massive stigma when it comes to multiplayer FPS games in general in terms of how people play and frankly, I’m sick of it.
People who consider themselves hardcore gamers, purists, the try-hards if you will, look at a game like Black Ops 2 and claim the only proper way to play is to run-n-gun. Their cries and complaints over campers, snipers, knifers and over-powered weapons shamefully litter YouTube and the internet. Now, I’m not so delusional as to believe a videogame should hold to the realistic aspects of life, but let’s be honest kids; the theory that a team of developers sat around for years to create a highly detailed game complete with perches, hidden corners and tools to aid your killing spree just so you can go Leeeeeeeroooyyyyy Jenkins all over the place, is a sad misconception.
There’s a lot of truth to the saying, “Sometimes a good offense, is a great defense.” If I start up a match in BO2 and notice my opponents are all in a clan together and cutting through the map like a plague of locusts, mowing down everything in their sight, I’m not going to simply sit there and allow them to violate my poor avatar without trying to do something about it. Though just a game, the object is to win and if my best chance at doing so is to bait the enemy into a trap and calmly pick them off one by one, then that’s what I’m going to do.
Certainly, if you’re playing an objective style game, there are some different rules that apply and it’s easy to flip out on someone who isn’t playing said objective and is just running around killing everyone instead; but that harkens back to the idea of an offense and a defense. Just because everyone has a gun, doesn’t mean everyone is on the offense. If you have to capture a point or defuse a bomb, it makes sense that only part of your team focuses on achieving that goal, while another helps stop the opponent from deterring your goal oriented team members from succeeding. The people who get angry at other players for their actions have a very narrow minded view of what the online gaming experience should be.
You might be a stout SMG carrying run-n-gunner reading my previous statements and say, “Sure, I understand that, what upsets me is the n00bs who just run to a spot when the game starts and sit there the entire time, never moving.” Yeah, I can see where that becomes an annoyance for both the opposing team and the random players you’ve been assigned to assist in computer generated warfare glory. I’ve been known to become upset when my team is loosing 60-30 and there are two guys sitting in the middle of nowhere, far from the action with their thumbs up their asses, waiting for anyone to pass into their view. Again, this is a videogame, but it’s difficult not to compare certain feelings about the situation, to real life. This doesn’t just pertain to the previous situation either; this is a working fact of the entire game.
Imagine yourself in a dilapidated complex, in a war torn foreign country. Your platoon has been cut down by a tyrannical enemy attack, leaving you and four others left to fight for your lives. Every, single member of your remaining friends is carrying short range weapons and a couple of flash grenades. You’re unaware of the exact locations of your rabid attackers, so you put your heads together to concoct a plan for survival. Though the options are limited, more than one strategy exists. Finally, you all agree on what your next move should be and on the count of three every man runs head first in the enemy’s direction in a tight grouping. It won’t be more than a few seconds before a bullet smacks you directly in the face and your killer is off to a relaxing meal seated beside your severed head.
Planning your attack, even if it’s a slow developing one, is a positive move in both the real and virtual world. It’s no secret that the military have had games created to field test prospective soldiers for actual deployment. If a top military strategist watched some of the kamikaze tomfoolery that persists in the world of online gaming, they’d probably shoot themselves in the head. If the world spun into disaster and our country was taken over by armed terrorists turning our skate parks into strategically configured war zones, Colin Powell isn’t choosing the guy who wasted a total playing time of three months on Call of Duty as the man he wants standing by his side. That individual will be trotted out as a brick in the human wall intended to serve as cannon fodder. Though, as a player, you’re not worried about the real world implications of your carefree play, you’re here to win, but so is the guy hiding in the shadowy corner surrounded by claymore mines and shock charges.
Just last week, I listened to some poor soul whine during the final kill cam, because the player featured was using the target finder scope. Put yourself back into that real world line of thinking again. You’re in a room preparing for your next battle and there’s a huge toy chest filled with unimaginable weapon attachments that help you see your enemies through walls, or highlights them with a huge read square even if they’re cleverly camouflaged, there’s even a drink that makes you virtually invisible to the enemy! You start grabbing for all the equipment that will make you the most efficient killer when a squad mate rolls up next to you and says, “Those things are for pussies and n00bs, real men don’t need that shit.” This is the same guy who careens blindly into the middle of the battle field jumping head first onto his belly after being shot three times and miraculously stands up and runs off to do it again after killing a man by throwing an axe that ricochets off the target’s toe.
The game hands people tools, says choose ten and do the best you can. You can’t fault people for taking advantage of the tools the maps offer them. If the intention of the game was to have players run around in cloud of random fire, the intentional sniper perches and hidden corners wouldn’t exist, it’s that simple. Some people have a talent for being patient, sharply following your animated representation run foolishly around the confined walls of the battle arena through their super magnified scope until the perfect line of sight aligns, leaving your character’s body limp and lifeless from a single shot. Get upset if you want, because they just broke your score streak or because you just can’t deal with any aspect of negativity in your life, but don’t rant and rail against a whole group of people because someone decides to do something differently than yourself. In the saddest turn of events this side of the whole “Mission Accomplished” aircraft carrier appearance, the internet and multiplayer videogame lobbies have become a breeding ground for the most offensive generation of sorry twerps in world history and that bigoted overtone has mutated into a loathsome fervor of petty squabbling. When all is said and done, it’s just a game people, not a way life.
In ways, it’s tough not to get mad at every type of player out there. It’s your right to get upset when something doesn’t go your way or when something happens that you disapprove of. The fact is though, just because you disapprove of something doesn’t mean it’s wrong or improper. Stomp your feet all you want, get angry and scream if you need to, but don’t openly do so into an un-muted microphone or your pathetic YouTube channel; you’re just making a fool of yourself at this point. If there’s one thing I personally can’t stand, it’s trick shooters. I don’t understand the concept of the whole thing, it seems pointless and meritless; especially since I’ve never actually witnessed anyone successfully pull off a trick shot. Then again, I don’t send these morons messages filled with poor grammar and spiteful intentions. I just rewatch the sections of me shooting them over and over again as they spin around whilst falling off a ledge in an attempt to randomly shoot me or another teammate, from multiple angles in my own personal replay room.
There’s a laundry list of player types who do deserve the hatred and anger built up against them. I can’t count the number of times I’ve rewatched some of my matches to find teammates who spent the entire time laying down tactical inserts onto a bridge only to throw themselves off the edge, the second the spawn in. I’ll never understand players who need to shoot off their gun the second a round starts or spend time blowing up the cars in the garage on Raid. Yesterday I watched a teammate spend 5 minutes shooting at a fire extinguisher; only to swipe at it with his knife for another minute before someone finally sent an RPG heading his way. Why do you even turn the game on at that point? Obviously, there are people who just want to be trolls and get on other people’s nerves, but those people actually spent $60+ just to do so; there are few scenarios that exist in life more pathetic than that. Those types are all people who deserve to be the focus of anyone’s ire who is just tying to enjoy, or yes, excel at a game. But any energy expended on these people is too much. The fact that a casual gamer has to endure the misdirected anger of another’s misguided life is petty and distasteful.
No one can control the rampant mess of crying fools who inhabit the World Wide Web and everyone has their right to complain, but it’s time a movement started; a movement to try and broaden the thought process of those who put too much weight on the importance of a videogame. The chances that you’re a professional gamer with money riding on your success at an online match are slim to none. If you’re going to get upset, fine, no one can stop you from reacting to what you deem unfair; but keep it to yourself for the love of God, because no one really cares that you’re a sore loser.
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U.S. stock markets are having a slow start to the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) struggling to move past breakeven after an early morning drop.
The ISM nonmanufacturing index rose to 55.2 in April versus a reading of 53.1 a month earlier -- yet another sign that companies are feeling positive about the economy. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, although I still don't think we're in any kind of hot economy.
The big move today came from homebuilders, who were blasted at an influential conference for hedge funds.
Grundlach blasts homebuilders
The Ira Sohn Investment Conference is taking place today, and there some of the world's most well-known hedge fund managers unveil their latest investment idea. Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital said he was short homebuilders and thinks the worst is ahead for these stocks.
KB Home (NYSE:KBH) and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) were hard-hit once the presentation was made, falling 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Keep in mind that both companies are improving their operations, and they focus more on the high end of the housing market, where consumers are doing quite well.
KBH Revenue (TTM) Chart
KBH Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.
Housing data hasn't been inspiring recently, as a number of factors have hit the industry. Mortgage rates are up since last summer, incomes aren't rising as fast as hoped, and new potential homebuyers are choosing to rent instead. Gundlach thinks those factors will continue and will keep homebuilder profits below expectations.
Building activity in the housing market has slowed recently.
Should you follow a hedge fund giant?
What does this mean for you if you own KB Home, Toll Brothers, or any of their competitors? I wouldn't advise anyone to follow a hedge fund's investments blindly, because you never know what the real story or position is behind their public statements. Take this thesis into consideration when making an investment thesis of your own, but don't act solely on what Gundlach is doing.
More importantly, hedge funds don't always beat the market, and Gundlach's call at last year's conference shows how wrong they can be. He made a short call on Chipotle Mexican Grill, and that stock happens to be up 38.5% in the past year.
In the short term, traders will follow these hedge fund calls closely, but they've often been wrong over the long haul. Don't panic on the call or the move today, and just take it into consideration when making your own investment thesis. If you're right, it can be gratifying knowing you made the right call while a hedge fund giant didn't.
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Transcript of a Press Conference by Thomas Dawson, Director External Relations Department, IMF
October 31, 2000
Mr. Thomas Dawson
Director, External Relations Department
Tuesday, October 31, 2000
9:30 a.m.
MR. DAWSON: Good morning, everyone. I'm Tom Dawson, Director of External Relations at the Fund. Welcome, again, to one of our regular press briefings. I really don't have any announcements, particularly. I would note, however, that next week, the Managing Director will be in Europe. There will be two public events that he will be participating in on Monday evening, November 6th, he will be addressing a joint conference of the Austrian National Bank and Joint Vienna Institute on transition economies, and, on Tuesday morning, he will be appearing in Brussels for an informal session with a couple of committees of the European parliament. Both will be open events with press allowed to attend. I believe we will have a text available for the Vienna appearance, and I think we will also have one for the European parliament appearance. But as I say, they both will be on the record.
With that out of the way, I'll be happy to take any questions that you may have.
QUESTIONER: I believe the Article IV for Russia was discussed in September and it hasn't been released yet. Are there any plans to release it, and if there are, do you know when that's likely to be?
MR. DAWSON: We don't have anything precisely to say on that, but we do hope a decision will made on that in the next few days.
QUESTIONER: Is the decision with Russia--and presumably with the Russian government--and they have to decide whether to release it?
MR. DAWSON: Correct; that's correct.
QUESTIONER: Can you tell us what the situation is with Pakistan at the moment? They've made a loan request, but--
MR. DAWSON: Well, I think the draft program is still being reviewed, the documents are being prepared. In one sense of the word, I don't think there's an update beyond that joint press conference that the minister and Eduardo Aninat had given in Prague. But at this point, I think our expectation is that the request for a stand-by would be considered by the Executive Board in the second half of November. So in that sense, it's on track from the schedule that was basically laid out on the closing day of the annual meeting in Prague.
QUESTIONER: When are there going to be more HIPC countries reaching the decision point?
MR. DAWSON: We believe we continue to be on track for the twenty by the end of the year, and I don't have a precise schedule since, board schedules are always subject to change. But I think it would be reasonable to expect that starting in November you'll see quite a steady stream of them coming up. In fact we have been discussing adjusting the board's schedule to make sure we can accommodate the requests. So I think it's a matter of, in the post-annual meeting, getting the document prepared, but we still are reasonably optimistic that we'll reach the twenty figure that's been cited.
QUESTIONER: How many countries do you have left?
MR. DAWSON: I think it's nine.
QUESTIONER: So are, are you telling us that within the next two months that you will complete the negotiations with nine countries?
MR. DAWSON: Yes; that is correct.
QUESTIONER: Are you satisfied that the policies are all in place?
MR. DAWSON: There's an enormous amount of effort being put into that. If the policies are not there, then they won't go forward. But we believe that we will be able to get the twenty. We have a slightly larger number than nine that we're working from, so there is, there is some possibility of adjustment in that.
QUESTIONER: Belarus. Are there expectations of a program for Belarus any time soon?
MR. DAWSON: I don't know that we would go quite that far. Just let me check, I don't have anything in terms of any news on that. There will be some discussions in the near future but I would not say that we're anticipating a program at this point.
QUESTIONER: Argentina's Secretary of Finance Daniel Marx was here last week. He had a meeting with the Deputy Managing Director Mr. Fischer, and he said that Argentina is actively involved in the redesign of the contingency line, and he suggested that Argentina wants to change its stand-by to a contingency line, and that that could happen as soon as in a couple months. Do you agree with that time frame, and what do you have on that?
MR. DAWSON: As people know, we have been discussing streamlining Fund facilities, the improvement of the CCL to make it more useable, and the Argentine authorities and representatives have been actively participating in that, and have as a matter of record, expressed an interest in having a workable CCL.
In terms of your specific operational question, no, I don't have anything on that because we're not at that point yet with regard to having a facility that would meet those criteria, although we believe we have the basis for that but I think the formal decision is being submitted to the board in the next few days or couple of weeks.
So I'm not challenging in any sense what he said, but it's not something where we have a facility that is ready to be used, and I don't have any information. As I say, I was unaware of that statement that you referred to. I don't have any information in terms of anything with regard to any kind of a formal request, since there's no facility that is of that nature yet-an improved facility. In terms of the present agreement, it is on track, and by all indications, the performance criteria are being met.
QUESTIONER: When is it going to be discussed by the board?
MR. DAWSON: The board has already agreed on the streamlining of the facility. Formally, the board needs to put that in effect, and that will be coming up in the near future. I've seen the documents that are being circulated for people to review, to make sure it's correct. It will be in the next few weeks, I believe.
MR. DAWSON: On the CCL. Right.
QUESTIONER: So you expect to have it approved in which time frame?
MR. DAWSON: The next few weeks.
QUESTIONER: Next few weeks?
MR. DAWSON: Yeah; for the overall. But in terms of the Argentina interest, I don't have anything for you on that. What I do stress, however, is that they have the present precautionary arrangement, which they have been meeting the criteria on, and as far as we know, they are reasonably confident, are still on track.
QUESTIONER: Would you say there are ongoing discussions or just Argentina's participating in the design of the line?
MR. DAWSON: They are certainly participating on design of the line. I'm not aware of any discussions on the use of it.
QUESTIONER: I'd like to come back to Belarus for a moment. The figures. You recently had the Article IV discussion with them and in the PIN you cite their growth figures, their official statistics. I notice that some of my colleagues, when reporting on that PIN, operated with a different set of figures, citing IMF, IMF forecasts, like minus six, for instance, for this year, which seems strange because Belarus should be lifted by the upturn in Russia.
So my question is what is the operative set of figures?
QUESTIONER: Can we go back to debt relief?
QUESTIONER: Given the congressional approval for debt relief, and the fact that there are two months left in the year 2000, and that you said that you expect a steady stream in, in November, do you feel--
MR. DAWSON: --and December.
QUESTIONER: And December. Do you feel as though the IMF has sort of "gotten over the hump" on this issue and that it's not going to be as much of a problem for the institution as it has been?
MR. DAWSON: Well, I'm not sure what problem you're identifying.
QUESTIONER: Well, Jubilee 2000 and all that.
MR. DAWSON: Let me try to identify some of them and if I don't cover it, you come back. In terms of providing the funding that is necessary for the HIPC process to go forward, the recent congressional action and U.S. ability to fully participate in the funding, certainly removes the concerns we had as to whether we would have an effective, financed HIPC program going forward. So in that sense of the word, yes, we have the ability to go ahead. That does not, however, mean--I think you may have used the word, "clear sailing" or something like that. As the other questioner sort of asked: Are you really going to be able to get all this work done in the next two months?
I mean, the premise of his question is quite correct. There is a lot of work, a lot of details that have to be done, so there's a lot of hard work to be done in that regard. So it's not a sense of it is all "clear sailing," as you say, because we do have to work to get the programs implemented, and working with the authorities in that regard.
So, yes, that particular stumbling block has been removed but there is still a great deal of work, and then we do have, following on, the countries that are not expected to be able to participate in it this year, which are the countries that won't make it by the end of the year, plus we have the conflict and post-conflict countries that are still having to be dealt with.
So there's a great deal of work to be done, but it's less on the funding side and it's more on the program side.
QUESTIONER: On the same subject: What's the rush? Why do you need to promise to be there by the end of the year, because the IMF, at least in my experience, in watching you work with Russia, my experience was always that you worked on a different set of principles--policies first, aid next.
MR. DAWSON: Well, I think we're still operating on the basis of policy first, but I think it's quite clear there's been a very strong belief in the international community reflected by our own--originally called Interim Committee, now IMFC Committee, as well as in communiques of various groups of ministers, whether it's G-24, G-7, that they would like the institutions, both the Bank and the Fund--after all, it is a joint process--to work as expeditiously as possible, and that the goal--this is all following up, essentially, from the Cologne summit of a couple years ago--the goal of twenty by the end of the year is one that I think enjoys broad support in the international community.
QUESTIONER: Have you heard from North Korea? The last time we were here, you said that you had expected to hear from them shortly. I wondered if you have.
MR. DAWSON: I didn't mean to leave quite that impression. As you may recall, they were invited to be special guests at the meetings in Prague, and had indicated that because of the short notice and lack of time for preparation, they had been unable to accept that invitation, and we do continue to expect to be in touch with them.
I'm not aware--and I think I would be--of any further contacts. But I don't think that's particularly surprising. But we do expect to be hearing from them.
They've indicated a desire to learn more about the institution and that would be the next stage. It would be some form of contacts, whether it be visits here, or a mission, or whatever, quite likely to be jointly with the Bank of course.
QUESTIONER: Beyond Argentina's involvement in the design of the facilities, there are no requests?
MR. DAWSON: That's correct; absolutely correct. The program is on track and I think Daniel Marks was quite clear in denying reports, in the last few days, about possible emergency. I mean, it's quite clear.
QUESTIONER: And they continue to have no plans to draw on the loan?
MR. DAWSON: That is correct. It continues to be a precautionary arrangement; yes.
QUESTIONER: What advice are you giving them on changing their currency regime?
MR. DAWSON: As I said, the program is on track and that doesn't seem to be an appropriate question or answer.
QUESTIONER: I'm sorry. A follow-up. Actually, Secretary Marks did not deny the fact that they were interested in the contingency credit line.
MR. DAWSON: That is not what I said. There were reports about requesting emergency financing, et cetera, and that's what he denied.
QUESTIONER: With U.S. Treasury and all that.
MR. DAWSON: Correct.
QUESTIONER: But he did say what you seem to deny now, that-
MR. DAWSON: No, they have an expressed an interest in a contingent credit line; absolutely. I have not said that.
QUESTIONER: What about the IMF? How do you, as the IMF, view that interest? Do you think it would be an unusual line for the actual situation in Argentina, or not?
MR. DAWSON: I mean, at this point they've expressed an interest, in general, for this. There is absolutely nothing going on in terms of the specifics. When we have a facility that is possibly active, we may take a look at it. But there is no need. There's no desire. There's nothing going on in that regard at, at this point. I mean, we believe we need to have this facility. The Argentines believe that the Fund needs to have this facility right now. But at the moment, we are on track. We're on track with the present program, so there is just no need to go in that direction.
QUESTIONER: The fact that Argentina is involved with this--they say they're interested and they're involved in the design of the line, has to do with the actual requirements, or the previous requirements, Argentina would not be able to get into the--
MR. DAWSON: It's not Argentine-specific. Nobody has been able to use the CCL in the past. We are trying to make it generally more attractive. There is nothing specific about it except for the fact that Argentina is playing, as it has, for the ten years that I've known this institution, an active role in the discussion. But there's nothing Argentine-specific about the review of the CCL.
The CCL itself has proven not to be as attractive to potential borrowers as had been expected when it was established two, or two and a half years ago.
QUESTIONER: But the CCL has been changed in the last month?
MR. DAWSON: I thought I made this clear. The board has discussed in the streamlining of Fund facilities making the CCL more useable. Broadly speaking, they've agreed on what needs to be done, but the steps to formally implement it have not yet been adopted and that's what I referenced is going to be reviewed in the next several weeks, formally, by the board. This is all old news. I mean, we have press releases describing what we did.
It is simply we have not yet formally, legally, adopted the measures that we agreed, in principle, just before the annual meeting.
And Argentine's Executive Director--Mr. Zoccali takes an active role in that, as do a number of other directors.
QUESTIONER: Would you give us a report on the mission, the joint mission to Belgrade, and what progress is being made in their membership, and what arrangements or progress has been made on a bridge loan to repay their debt. And have they approached you about helping develop a currency board system?
MR. DAWSON: I have nothing at all on the latter, on the currency board issue. The mission was in Belgrade October 24th to the 30th. It was a Fund mission. At the same time, there were visiting delegations from The World Bank, EBRD, EC, as well as bilaterals.
The mission has just left Belgrade and is on its way back. In terms of the status of the membership discussions, which is, I think, the other part of your questions, I would draw you to the press release of 1992, Press Release No. 99, which set forth the three criteria for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia assuming its portion of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's membership in the Fund, and those criteria, first, included that the authorities would have to accept the conditions set forth in that December 1992 decision, and the authorities have informed us that they accept that decision.
The second issue, which you also raise, which is in terms of the clearance of arrears, is something that is being looked into, and I can't get into details, but it would likely require some sort of a bridge financing of a sort to clear the arrears, and that is sort of a next issue to be discussed in more detail, and we would expect a mission would be returning to Belgrade to discuss that subject, once we have the government in position to sort of formally agree with us.
There is an issue in terms of their accepting the conditions. As I understand it, a Minister of Justice has to be in place to be able to make the commitment on their part, and, then, the final condition for membership is a finding by the executive board that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is able to fulfill its obligations under the articles of agreement, and that's the last stage, that's sort of the board assessment, and I don't have any sense of timing as to when this would be.
I do repeat what I'd indicated in the last briefing, which is that there are no particulate deadlines in this. There had been, I think at one point, a misunderstanding, because we do, as a matter of course, review the membership issue, status of membership issue every six months, but that is not a requirement to make a decision changing that at the six month period. We will be able to do it at whatever point the authorities are ready to meet the conditions and the executive board is ready to review it.
QUESTIONER: The World Bank has said that they are confident about the new government in Mexico for the first time in 70 years, that there is a big chance that the country won't have any financial crisis at the end of this government. But Mr. Fox still has to take office, and he has not named yet his Cabinet. There is still some political instability and now there are some people who fear that by the end of the year, the peso will be one dollar for ten pesos. So I wonder if, at this point, the assessment of the Mexican situation at the IMF has changed. Do you know, if you still have the same confidence that things will be okay with the next government?
MR. DAWSON: Yes. I think we continue to have the same confidence. More questions?
QUESTIONER: I have a question on Romania. I believe the Article IV for Romania is due to be discussed in November, and the loan may also be discussed at the same time, but that's not sure yet. Do you have any indication as to when the loan will actually be discussed?
MR. DAWSON: The Article IV is going to be discussed by the board in mid-November. We don't have a firm date since, as I think you all know board schedules are subject to change for a variety of reasons.
The Fund and the authorities are still discussing issues that would need to be resolved before the release of the second tranche of the SBA. If the issues are resolved by the time of the Article IV discussion at the board, it could be part of the discussion, but we do not know at this point, and the unresolved issues including disagreements on wage policy, arrears, budgetary policies and privatization, are still subject of the ongoing discussions with the authorities.
QUESTIONER: Since we last met, has the Fund moved any closer to any program for Ukraine?
MR. DAWSON: Yes. I have some news for you, but I don't think I'd quite be able to say yes or not to that. So let me give you what we have. John Odling-Smee, and Julian Berengaut, who's the mission chief, have been invited to visit Kiev by the Ukrainian authorities and will be there November 3rd to 5th, and so after that, we will have an assessment as to whether a mission would be appropriate, and if it were appropriate, we would be in a position to put together a mission on reasonably short notice, and the mission would be the vehicle in which discussions of a possible program would be.
But I think we need to wait for the results from the visit of John and Julian.
QUESTIONER: Can I just come back to Argentina?
QUESTIONER: I'm still not clear. Did anyone from Argentina ask you about getting a disbursement from that credit?
MR. DAWSON: No; absolutely not. Absolutely not. We have a precautionary arrangement and there's been no discussion, no request, whatsoever, about the CCL.
QUESTIONER: I'm not asking about the CCL.
MR. DAWSON: There's been no discussion about drawing under the present arrangement; none. It remains precautionary.
QUESTIONER: Is it possible to actually change one program into another? That's what Mr. Marks was talking about--changing that into a CCL. Is that allowable?
MR. DAWSON: I mean, programs can be ended; new programs can be started. I mean, it would be conceivable, but that's not on the table at this point. But program are quite often changed from stand-bys to EFF's, et cetera, et cetera. I mean, nothing like that's happened with the CCL because one of the problems with the CCL, to date, is it has not been found to be a useable facility, which is why we're changing it. Of course "useable" doesn't mean you actually use it.
Okay? Thank you very much.
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Madshrimps Forum Madness
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- - geforce fx 5200 vs. nvidia geforce 6600 gt (
Railz 12th February 2005 13:34
geforce fx 5200 vs. nvidia geforce 6600 gt
currently I'm owning a geforce fx 5200 128 MB. but now I want to upgrade to a nvidia geforce 6600 GT 128 MB. The price is approximately 215 Euro.
My question: can you advise me to buy this 6600 gt? So will i see a lot of difference in games?
system: intel p4 2.6 Ghz and 512 mb ram.
I've also seen another version of this card: the nvidia geforce 6600 DV ? what's up with that cause I don't trust the DV :s
Da_BoKa 12th February 2005 13:58
yes! you will have a nice boost from the upgrade, the 6600gt is an mid range gfx and your current fx5200 is actually a "desktop" card, sot suited for games!
got a link from that DV?
Railz 12th February 2005 14:19
Nope, lost the link sorry.
but can you give me an example in fps for let's say doom III or half-life 2.
I can give you the fps for my doom 3 settings:
medium quality
I get about 33 fps with my fx 5200. Can you say approximately how much fps I will get with that 6600 GT?
I'm just curious how much the boost will be with this upgrade.
thx, greetz
Da_BoKa 12th February 2005 14:31
yes I can :)
The Senile Doctor 12th February 2005 14:31
over 100%
you'll be playing it at 1024*768 hi quality
Railz 13th February 2005 00:10
Thx for your reactions.
but maybe still one problem. My power supply is only 300 watt. will this be any problem with this new 6600 GT? I have connected a dvd writer, dvd-rom, floppy, and geforce fx 5200 now. So the only change will be the 6600 GT. but will this be enough? If I have to buy a new power supply, is there a difference between supplies for ide or sata? just in case.... ;)
Is there maybe a program wich tells you how much your power supply is? don't think sisoft sandra 2005 has this feature...
and i have read something about a mole x connector that is needed because agp doesn't have enough juice for this card. is the mole x connector included with the card? and is it difficult to install?
[Bonbon] 13th February 2005 10:12
should be no problem
Da_BoKa 13th February 2005 11:21
it depends, how many hard drives do you have?
The 6600GT is no power beast, but still!
What brand is your psu, if it is a cheap no name psu you probaly have to forget it!
Railz 13th February 2005 12:24
yeah maybe I should order another psu, cause this one I bought together with my case and it wasn't expensive :)
thx for your help all.
Wired 21st March 2005 07:51
The 6600GT AGP does need to be connected to your PSU via a molex connector. 400 watts is more the norm nowdays for PSUs and having a spare PSU around is advisable.
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Brooklyn, NY | <urn:uuid:b39f7141-155f-420e-8085-2ca9ba5efcfa> | http://www.omniglot.com/long_island_city_writing_tutors.htm | en | 0.942297 | 0.054453 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Biker Boyz
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Fishburne is Smoke, a mean old mo-fo who holds the fiercely contested crown 'King of Cali' - the fastest rider from all the biker gangs in Southern California. The mo he fo'd was Anita (Calloway), whose impetuous kid Kid (Luke) is hoping to follow in Smoke's tyretreads, even though he has just seen the chap he always thought was his real dad getting neatly decapped by a way cool flying motorcycle. As Smoke and Kid go head to head, it's Darth vs Luke on bikes. While this has the requisite burning rubber, roaring engines and oh-my-gosh stuntwork, it also has an emotional underbelly that appears actually to have been written into the script, rather than added in the editing room. For some, this is the very problem - too much speakin' and not enough speedin'. It might not hit the Harley on the hooter every time, but hell, at least there's an attempt to provide something deeper than a generic cheap thrill. The acting ain't bad either. And the racing is pretty cool. A cult in the making.
Release details
Duration: 111 mins
Cast and crew
Director: Reggie Rock Bythewood
Screenwriter: Craig Fernandez, Reggie Rock Bythewood
Cast: Laurence Fishburne
Derek Luke
Orlando Jones
Djimon Hounsou
Lisa Bonet
Brendan Fehr
Larenz Tate
Kid Rock
Rick Gonzalez
Vanessa Bell Calloway
1 person listening | <urn:uuid:3d318baa-5eae-4b09-863e-2feeae5882b3> | http://www.timeout.com/london/film/biker-boyz-2003 | en | 0.944673 | 0.024646 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Putin Pens New York Times Op-Ed, Talks Foreign Policy
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"Recent events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies," he begins, referring to the United States' desires to see the Assad regime blown away for deploying sarin gas.
Putin talked about the failure of the League of Nations followed by the founding of the United Nations, occurring in the wake of the world's bloodiest wars to date: "No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization." The implication here is that the United States would be responsible for the collapse of both international efforts.
Putin articulated his own frank opinions on the desires of the United States to strike Syria: "[Striking Syria] will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance."
Putin also defended Russia's role while simultaneously attacking U.S. wars on foreign soil: "From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law... No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army... It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan 'you’re either with us or against us.'"
As to the White House's response, the BBC has reported White House spokesman Jay Carney saying that "the military is ready, and it is waiting for a certain period of time. it will not negatively affect their ability to inflict the kind of damage that we envision on Assad's capabilities if that were to become necessary; we should pursue this diplomatic avenue and we are."
Politico quoted a senior administration official as adding that "President Putin has invested his credibility in transferring Assad’s chemical weapons to international control, and ultimately destroying them. The world will note whether Russia can follow through on that commitment."
The same BBC report followed up with a Free Syrian Army video, which expressed frustration at the Russian plan: "We ask that the international community not be content with withdrawing chemical weapons, which are a criminal instrument, but to hold the perpetrator accountable and prosecute him at the international criminal court. Removing criminal tools is one matter; holding the criminal accountable is another."
Wrapping up his piece, Putin said optimistically that "If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues."
Read the full piece here.
[Image via a YouTube interview of Vladimir Putin describing how the chemical weapons exchange plan came about] | <urn:uuid:ddea4ba4-1e18-4442-8c98-f05c5ad6eb42> | http://www.webpronews.com/putin-pens-new-york-times-op-ed-talks-foreign-policy-2013-09/ | en | 0.947969 | 0.057862 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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"Laicism" redirects here. For laicization of priests, see defrocking.
Not to be confused with Laicization.
French secularity (French: laïcité, pronounced [laisite]) is the absence of religious involvement in government affairs, especially the prohibition of religious influence in the determination of state policies; it is also the absence of government involvement in religious affairs, especially the prohibition of government influence in the determination of religion. [1][2] French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.[3] Dictionaries ordinarily translate laïcité as secularity or secularism (the latter being the political system),[4] although it is sometimes rendered in English as laicity or laicism by its opponents. While the term was first used with this meaning in 1871 in the dispute over the removal of religious teachers and instruction from elementary schools, the word laïcité dates to 1842.[5]
In its strict and official acceptance, it is the principle of separation of church (or religion) and state.[6] Etymologically, laïcité is a noun formed by adding the suffix -ité (English -ity, Latin -itās) to the Latin adjective lāicus, loanword from the Greek λᾱϊκός (lāïkós "of the people", "layman"), the adjective from λᾱός (lāós "people").[7]
The word laïcité has been used, from the end of the 19th century on, to mean the freedom of public institutions, especially primary schools, from the influence of the Catholic Church[8] in countries where it had retained its influence, in the context of a secularization process. Today, the concept covers other religious movements as well.
Critics of laïcité argue that it is a disguised form of anti-clericalism[9] and infringement on individual right to religious expression, and that, instead of promoting freedom of thought and freedom of religion, it prevents the believer from observing his or her religion.
Another critique is that, in countries historically dominated by one religious tradition, officially avoiding taking any positions on religious matters favors the dominant religious tradition of the relevant country. Even in the current French Fifth Republic (1958–), school holidays mostly follow the Christian liturgical year, though Easter holidays have been replaced by Spring holidays which may or may not include Easter, depending on the vagaries of the liturgical calendar. However, schools have long given leave to students for important holidays of their specific non-majority religions, and food menus served in secondary schools pay particular attention to ensuring that each religious observer may respect his religion's specific restrictions concerning diets.
Other countries, following in the French model, have forms of Laïcité – examples include Albania, Mexico and Turkey.[10]
Contemporary French political secularism[edit]
• whether the organization disrupts public order.
French political leaders, though not by any means prohibited from making religious remarks, mostly refrain from it. Religious considerations are generally considered incompatible with reasoned political debate. Political leaders may openly practice their religion but they are expected to differentiate their religious beliefs from their political arguments. Christine Boutin, who openly argued on religious grounds against a legal domestic partnership available regardless of the sex of the partners, was quickly marginalized.
The term was originally the French equivalent of the term laity, that is, everyone who is not clergy.[citation needed] After the French Revolution this meaning changed and it came to mean keeping religion separate from the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government. This includes prohibitions on having a state religion, as well as for the government to endorse any religious position, be it a religion or atheism.
The strict separation of church and state which began with the 1905 law has evolved into what some religious leaders see as a "form of political correctness that made bringing religion into public affairs a major taboo."[11] Former President Sarkozy initially criticised this approach as a "negative laïcité" and wanted to develop a "positive laïcité" that recognizes the contribution of faith to French culture, history and society, allows for faith in the public discourse and for government subsidies for faith-based groups.[11] Sarkozy saw France's main religions as positive contributions to French society. He visited the Pope in December 2007 and publicly acknowledged France's Christian roots, while highlighting the importance of freedom of thought,[12] arguing that faith should come back into the public sphere. In line with Sarkozy's views on the need for reform of laïcité, Pope Benedict XVI on September 12, 2008 said it was time to revisit the debate over the relationship between church and state, advocating a "healthy" form of laïcité.[13] Meeting with Sarkozy, he stated: "In fact, it is fundamental, on the one hand, to insist upon the distinction between the political realm and that of religion in order to preserve both the religious freedom of citizens and the responsibility of the state toward them." [13] He went on: "On the other hand, [it is important] to become more aware of the irreplaceable role of religion for the formation of consciences and the contribution which it can bring to – among other things – the creation of a basic ethical consensus within society.”[13]
Sarkozy later changed footing on the place of religion in French society, by publicly declaring the burqa "not welcome" in France in 2009 and favoring legislation to outlaw it, following which in February 2010 a post office robbery took place by two burqa-clad robbers, ethnicity unknown, who after entering the post office removed their veils.[14] Following March 2011 local elections strong disagreement appeared within the governing UMP over the appropriateness of holding a debate on laïcité as desired by the President of the Republic. On 30 March a letter appeared in La Croix signed by representatives of six religious bodies opposing the appropriateness of such a debate.
A law was passed on April 11, 2011 with strong support from political parties as well as from Sarkozy which made it illegal to hide the face in public spaces, affecting a few thousand women in France wearing the niqab and the burqa.
State secularism in other countries[edit]
Main article: Organized secularism
In Belgium, "laïcité" refers to the separation between church and state, although under the Belgian constitution ministers of religion are paid with government funds.
The constitution was amended in 1991 to give the same right to persons fulfilling secular functions. Public schools must now offer pupils the choice between religion and secular courses.
Québec (Canada)[edit]
In the fall of 2013, the government of Quebec proposed Bill 60, the "Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests." The bill would alter the provincial human rights law to prohibit public employees from wearing objects that overtly indicate a religious preference. The people who would be most impacted by such a law would be Muslim women wearing a hijab, Jewish men wearing a kippah, and Sikh men (or women) wearing a turban. Employees who do not comply with the law would be terminated from their employment.
Bill 60 follows a European secularism model versus the United States model. Unlike secularism under the U.S. Constitution, it does not interpret laïcité to include a right to the "free exercise" of religion nor does it create a policy against governmental "establishment" of religion. The bill also leaves untouched current practices in Quebec that would violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, such as the use of public funds for private and religious schools and the creation of a values / ethics curriculum component in all secondary schools where students are regularly asked to give a profession of their religious faith. The party that had proposed the bill, the Parti Québécois, was defeated in the 2014 election by the provincial Liberal party (who hold a majority of seats) which opposed the bill. As a result, the bill is considered 'dead'.
Proposal in Mexico[edit]
In March 2010, the lower house of the Mexican legislature introduced legislation to amend the Constitution to make the Mexican government formally "laico" – meaning "lay" or "secular".[16] Critics of the move say the "context surrounding the amendment suggests that it might be a step backwards for religious liberty and true separation of church and state".[16] Coming on the heels of the Church's vocal objection to legalization of abortion as well as same sex unions and adoptions in Mexico City, "together with some statements of its supporters, suggests that it might be an attempt to suppress the Catholic Church's ability to engage in public policy debates".[16] Mexico has had a history of religious suppression and persecution. Critics of the amendment reject the idea that "Utilitarians, Nihilists, Capitalists, and Socialists can all bring their philosophy to bear on public life, but Catholics (or religious minorities) must check their religion at the door" in a sort of "second-class citizenship" which they consider nothing more than religious discrimination.[16]
Main article: Secularism in Turkey
Contrast with the United States[edit]
In the United States, the First Amendment to the Constitution contains a similar federal concept, although the term "laicity" is not used either in the Constitution or elsewhere, and is in fact used as a term to contrast European secularism with American secularism. That amendment includes clauses prohibiting both congressional governmental interference with the "free exercise" of religion, and congressional laws regarding the establishment of religion. Originally this prevented the federal government from interfering with state-established religions. But after the 14th amendment, these clauses have been held by the courts to apply to both the federal and state governments. Together, the "free exercise clause" and "establishment clause" are considered to accomplish a "separation of church and state."
See also[edit]
Notes and references[edit]
4. ^ Collins Robert French Dictionary Unabridged, Harper Collins publishers
6. ^ TLFi dictionary:
8. ^ Excerpt of Nouveau dictionnaire de pédagogie et d'instruction primaire, 1911:
9. ^ "The Benedict Option: Why the religious right is considering an all-out withdrawal from politics". Retrieved 29 April 2016.
12. ^ "Sarkozy breaks French taboo on church and politics - Christian News on Christian Today". Retrieved 29 April 2016.
14. ^ "Burqa-clad robbers hold up post office". ABC News. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
15. ^ admin. "Secularism and its discontents – The McGill Daily". Retrieved 29 April 2016.
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A Few Questions for SOPA
January 5, 2012
If you are not familiar with SOPA, perhaps the PIPA bill rings a bell. SOPA is the offspring of PIPA, and to be frank it is scaring a lot of people. Why? In a nutshell, SOPA allows to government to potentially sift through your downloads for the purpose of finding illicit material, block websites that infringe copyright, and makes all those who are deemed liable in aiding copyright infringement subject to a maximum of of five years in prison. In other words, anybody involved in the distribution of copyrighted goods can be incarcerated thanks to the broad language of this bill. But good news for youtubers who like to post Gaga covers because this bill will supposedly not affect you (as of now).
I realize I have brushed over a few details here, but I wanted to bring to light a few questions this bill raised for me:
1.) Because the bill states that a website and any other liable party (scary language) can be punished, does this mean that even the advertisers on the site will be punished too, or will they be excused? Why not? If advertisers knowingly support copyright infringement, why let them go?
2.) So, we will all go to prison. Wait, isn’t there a problem with overcrowding in prisons? Not to mention, when you go to prison, you typically lose your job. And bill co-sponsor Bob Goodlatte stated that one of the reasons he is supporting the bill is because he wants to protect American jobs…
3.) … Which leads me to: how can Goodlatte make the argument that this bill will protect American jobs? I am a little tired of the whole bit about how this act or that law will “create jobs/destroy jobs”. This coming from a government whose tax system is pushing major US companies overseas. This continues to boggle my mind.
4.) This bill is also supposed to prevent consumers from buying prescription medications from online foreign pharmacies. Without getting too into my views on how we should be able to put into our bodies what we want to, I have to say this part really irks me. I recently bought a prescription medication from an online Canadian pharmacy, and not because I wanted to be a rebel. The Free Clinic I was going to is no longer filling my prescription for Prozac and I was running out of options fast. What I can say about this is that the pharmacy is not the problem, the health system and our overly protectionist laws are the problem. Excuse my ranting, but it is my personal belief that mental health and the relatively new science of psychiatry was one of the best things to come out of the 2oth century. For me to be able to go to a Free Clinic to obtain these drugs, then have the clinic drop me with no refills and no referral to another doctor I can afford should be an ethical violation. Look US doctors, my life is better with Prozac and I should be able to buy it without your script.
5.) Government takes down illegal website, another one pops up. Is this really a worthwhile use of resources? Oh, and that huge market crash in 2010 and those companies that cost the US economy trillions (yes not billions but trillions). Can we pretty please punish those people first?
6.) In this world of the DJ sample artist, it has been stated that it is harder and more expensive to sample ten seconds of a song than to sample the whole song. You tell me, who does this favor and why? I will give you a hint, it is not the artists who made the music.
Last but not least, I must state that file sharing is indeed a crime and this is the government and record labels trying to enforce their rights. Honestly I do not care one bit if the record labels crash and burn. New ones pop up all the time and big name labels are notorious for screwing over artists in exchange for the artist getting rich and famous (tradeoffs, tradeoffs). But what I do really care about is the ability to obtain art, knowledge, and culture freely and cheaply, which file sharing makes possible. Yes, music is education. Needless to say, the internet is a HUGE deal. The best thing since Gutenberg invented to printing press is seriously being threatened for the sake of the rich getting richer.
Bottom line, big name sites who oppose the bill (e.g. Google, Facebook) profit from the traffic created by illegal file sharing. A lot of money is at stake here. Who will win? Some of the richest companies in the US, or our broke government and the broke record labels supporting it?
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1. Great post! I am glad to see you writing. I can answer the question about job creation: If we put most of the population in prison, the newly privatized prisons can hire lots of new personnel. Those in prison will drop off the unemployment rolls ’cause they’re no longer actively looking for work. Bingo!
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Citizens Take Aim At Gun Control Laws
January 16, 2013
BY LAUREN RIGGS - Staff Writer ( , Wetzel Chronicle
As the gun control debate rages on amongst policymakers in Washington, the nation's citizens appear to have taken their own public, albeit individual, stances on the issue, opening discussion and debate amongst themselves and in the world of social media.
Those in charge of an online movement titled "Gun Appreciation Day" are hoping that those against more gun control measures will show their support for the second amendment this Saturday, Jan. 19. In a press release on Jan. 7, "Gun Appreciation Day" is described as a day for those to turn out "en masse at gun stores, ranges, and shows from coast to coast."
Article Photos
When asked if he would give up his guns if new gun control laws stipulating such are passed, Bill Talkington of Talkington’s Gun Shop had the following answer: “Over my dead body...Out of my cold, dead fingers will my guns leave me. That’s the only way.” (Photo by Lauren Riggs)
"Go out to your local gun store, gun shop, local gun store. . . buy a few bullets," stated GAD Chairman Larry Ward in an interview by phone with the Wetzel Chronicle this past Friday. "Make a statement and remind politicians about your Second Amendment." When asked how he felt about President Obama possibly using executive privilege to pass more gun control laws, Ward stated, "I think that would be greatly foolish to do that. You can't legislate with an executive order. If (Obama) tries to circumvent Congress, there will be very strong pushback from the American people."
Ward, who describes himself as a Constitutionalist with a background in advertising and marketing, had the following final advice: "We'd like for the people to come out and spend the day and make a strong, peaceful, and loud protest."
As for his opinion on possible new gun control laws, Congressman David B. McKinley said in a statement to the Chronicle, "There are no easy solutions to gun violence; and we should not respond rashly or try to politicize the tragedy in Connecticut." The Congressman continued, "Limiting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens will not change the behavior of those determined to use firearms to commit horrific crimes. The tragic shooting is a reminder to all responsible gun owners to properly secure their weapons at home. Part of the solution also includes enforcing and reviewing existing laws, changing how government and society should deal with mental illness, and addressing violence in popular culture. The issue will be perplexing us for some time."
Fact Box
The Associated Press reported Tuesday afternoon that President Barack Obama is expected to reveal his proposals on gun regulations as early as today, some of those steps possibly being ways that can be enacted without legislative approval.
"The president said he would unveil a comprehensive roadmap for curbing gun violence within days," reported the AP. "This plan will be based on recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden's gun task force and is expected to include both legislative proposals and steps Obama can implement by himself, using his presidential powers."
On the local level, the position against any more gun control appears to be overwhelming. Local gun shop owner Bill Talkington adamantly opposes new gun control laws, stating "(Nationwide), we've got 22,000 gun laws now, and hardly any of them are even enforced. It's already illegal to own fully automatic handguns or rifles. We don't need any more legislation. We've got plenty."
When asked if he would give up his guns if new gun control laws stipulating such are passed, Talkington responded, "Over my dead body. . . Out of my cold, dead fingers will my guns leave me. That's the only way."
Furthermore, Talkington warns, "If you don't know what happens (with gun control), read about Hitler. In 1936, Hitler took all the guns from the Jewish people. The ones that wouldn't give them up, (the Nazis) just shot them, they executed them." Talkington adds, "That was (Hitler's) form of gun control, and it was successful."
Talkington continues, "There's going to be a revolution if things don't change. People are getting ready for it. They are buying everything and anything." Would stiff gun control laws get rid of guns?" Talkington gives an example: "What happened when they outlawed whiskey? There's more of it." He adds, "It's the politicians we've got. If they had a brain in their head, and most of them don't, they would know that outlawing guns from the good citizens of this country will not work." He cites a quote he's heard before, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them."
"That's just my opinion," Talkington states. ". . . People have always killed people. They always will."
Surprising to some, might be the fact that what Talkington describes as "a good investment," might go unused by many buyers. "I sell hundreds of guns to people who don't even shoot them, who don't even fire a shot," he says. Talkington also mentions the fact that for approximately 41 years he taught around 3,986 people in hunter safety courses. "Not one has ever been involved in a firearms accident," he states.
Local resident Mike Rokles teaches both concealed carry courses as well as hunter safety courses. He explains that he is certified for teaching in four states and has been teaching hunter safety for over 20 years. Currently, he teaches several classes a year in Ohio and West Virginia.
In a phone-interview with the Wetzel Chronicle, Rokles states that he believes response of more gun-control is a knee-jerk reaction to the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Conn. Of the mass shooting at the elementary school, he states, "It just saddens me, that our society shows so little respect for human life. It just breaks my heart. . . I'm a parent."
He continues, "The thing is, during my lifetime, when I was a kid in school, you never heard of a mass murder." Rokles adds, "In the 40s and 50s, there was no gun-control to speak of. Now we have all kinds in areas such as Chicago, Washington, D.C. But that never stopped gun-violence." Rockles states that he has no problem with every gun being sold having a background check. He thinks this could help a little bit. As for being outlawed, Rockles points to drugs, stating, "Heroin and cocaine. . .it's illegal, and people still have it. . .If you just look at drugs. They're illegal, but they're everywhere."
He continues, "I think it's a big cultural difference. Kids today have no morals. I don't feel more control is the issue."
Rokles elaborates on the various cultural issues today: "Today's society, both parents work, and you know we have that term, latchkey kids, where kids come home and have too much time by themselves. . .It's just a combination of things. . ."
When asked if he believes that video games can play a contributing factor to today's violence, Rokles responds that in video games, "The person that gets the most kills gets the most notoriety. . .There's a correlation there in my eyes." Rokles states that despite this correlation, not every kid that plays these kind of video games "is going to kill a bunch of people."
He adds that he also believes violence "has to do too with mental health issues, bullying. . .abused kids, depressed kids. . .There's not one magic answer, and I don't think gun control is the one magic answer."
One thing that is apparent is that Rockles' own children have the right combination of both fear and respect for a gun. When asked if his children hunt, Rockles states, "My youngest daughter and I are best hunting buddies." At the same time though, Rockles can describe a conversation he had with his eldest daughter, who recently stated that she knew when growing up, that she was "dead meat" if she touched a gun.
Rokles also partially blames the media for "sensationalizing these big mass murders." He explains, "I think the person that commits this murder, his name, should not be mentioned. Don't sensationalize his name. Don't mention his name."
Rokles also explains another aspect of the gun control debate that he has an issue with. "I have an issue with people, like Piers Morgan, talking about (gun control), that has absolutely no understanding of firearms. . .(Morgan) described a gun that fires 60 rounds in a second. That is a machine gun. How many American people have machine guns?" Rokles adds, "There's a difference, and if you are going to take about guns, you need to know what you are talking about."
The question of gun control was posed online to the Wetzel Chronicle's readers. The following question was posted both on our Facebook Page as well as on our site's message boards: What stance do you take in the gun control debate? Would new gun-control laws effect you?"
Message board user "Goodfellow" stated the following: "The government may be struggling about gun control, but wait until they track how much ammunition you can buy in a certain time period." Goodfellow continued, "Our mental health system is not adequate. Also, parents may not be monitoring their kids as well as they should, including their medical needs, including medical concerns. Finally, I fear that we are raising a generation of sociopaths/psychopaths that have NO idea of consequences created by their choices, or do not care about their consequences. Ironically, the most connected generation in history is seriously disconnected when it comes to person-to-person relationships."
"Gerald" had the following take on the issue: "Guns are certainly a factor in this debate because they are so easily available. However, I think a far more important factor is the way our culture has developed in the last several decades. Human life has lost value and is regarded as basically disposable when justified. The media, movies, tv, video games, etc., and probably the most to blame wars, have created a culture that portrays killing as an acceptable behavior. It only has to be rationalized. Our government rationalizes war as a means to protect us from some, largely, exaggerated evil. The government hegemony vilifies and demonizes our so called enemy so that killing vermin, i.e., human beings is acceptable. Collateral damage then becomes nothing more than a necessary evil. We know how many innocent children were killed in Newtown, but do we know how many have been killed in Iraq? Does it even matter? When the media and the government quit killing people, so will its citizens."
"Still the best gun controls is 'Grip tightly with both hands.' As far as our children, it's not video games, tv or movies. It's parents or the lack of. If people who reproduce would also work at being involved parents a lot of these tragedies in the recent time wouldn't have happened. Don't blame guns, blame the criminals. New 'gun control laws' will only work to further burden the law abiding tax payers that support this country now. How about some new 'entitlement reform?' Help those who are willing to help themselves," added "ImJustSayin."
On the Chronicle Facebook page, Guy Wetzel had the following to say: "The Obama administration wants to put a control on guns. My personal stance is simple. If he wants us to give up our right to defend ourselves, then he can give up his secret service toting around the standard sidearm glock gen 4's, correct? You don't feel safe with us having guns, fine. I don't feel safe about my president surrounded by guns 24/7."
Brenda Dorsey gave the following feedback: "Laws cannot be written to account for people's lack of common sense or morality. I fear the real goal of gun control is citizen control-it will not affect lawless criminals who would ignore it anyway.
Donna Cecil has similar views: "I don't think changing the law will have any effect on someone who doesn't abide by the law to begin with. . . if a person has it in their mind to harm someone, they will find a way to do it regardless. I personally don't think the ordinary person needs a gun that will hold 20 or 30 bullets, those types of weapons should be for the military and police. Maybe the only answer to stopping crime is for all law abiding citizens to get a permit and carry a gun. . . nothing else seems to work, maybe that would put a stop to a lot of crime. If nothing else, by having a gun you would at least have a chance to protect yourself and anyone else if need be."
The Wetzel County Prosecuting Attorney's Office released a statement Tuesday evening saying it defends the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by Constitution. They also support the right of individuals to use reasonable force to defend themselves and others, supports the Castle Doctrine, and tougher penalties for those who steal firearms or use them in the commission of any crime.
"Laws should punish criminals, not law abiding citizens," said Prosecutor Timothy Haught. "Laws should prevent criminals from possessing firearms, not law abiding citizens."
Ed Mellott, preacher at the Church of Christ in Steelton, had the final opinion for this feature: "I'm not in favor of them adding new laws," he stated. "I don't personally think that will protect us at all. I think the law-abiding citizens will be affected by that. I don't believe that will affect the criminal population any."
Mellott did mention, however, that he was in favor of adding guards at the schools. "It'll provide jobs," he stated. "It'll provide more security for the children."
Mellott was asked that, as a pastor, what did he believe was causing the increase in violence in society? He responded, "My view is, is that our society is becoming more and more atheistic. We've taken God out of schools and just about everything. It's almost as if freedom of speech applies to those of those opposed to Christianity. . . Children are taught that there's no God, that they have evolved from an animal. Then people are surprised when they act like animals."
He continued, "When I was a kid, they whipped us in school. My daughter said that's terrible, but I said, 'When we had whippings in school, we didn't have shootings in schools.'"
(Editor's note: No comments on our Facebook or Message Board were in favor of more gun regulations.)
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I've read Recovering from forgotten lock pattern which states that there is an option to disable the lock using my Google account information. However I did not noticed such an option when I entered my password five times wrong. (Although there was also a 20s or 30s delay to complicate brute force attacks.) I use Android 4.0.3 on a Asus Transformer Prime TF201.
Would factory reset work?
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Why do you think, factory reset may not work? It wipes out every custom configurations.. – Evil Angel Mar 22 '12 at 10:02
As the device is locked I did not know if I could employ a factory reset. I just guess that there is a key-combination like: volume down + power button or something similar.. I was not sure. – math Mar 22 '12 at 13:04
Yes.. you can factory reset from recovery mode. How to enter this mode varies as per devices. – Evil Angel Mar 22 '12 at 13:19
up vote 8 down vote accepted
Install Screen Lock Bypass (free) from web interface of Play Store. It'll not reset/remove your PIN, but unlock your device on each reboot. If you want to permanently reset/remove PIN, you'll have to purchase its pro version.
In the last, you can always factory reset your device if these apps are not working for you. Factory reset wipes out all custom configurations including PIN/Security Lock.
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So an unauthorized person only needs to reboot, right? – math Mar 22 '12 at 13:05
This app (free) is for one time use in case you're out of option and you need your data back. – Evil Angel Mar 22 '12 at 13:21
So, Use pro version which could reset PIN. Then, setup a new PIN and device security will become as before. – Evil Angel Mar 22 '12 at 13:24
After that you can uninstall the app.. – Evil Angel Mar 22 '12 at 13:27
Do it from web interface of Play Store… from PC. Google will push that app to your device and install it. – Evil Angel Mar 22 '12 at 13:39
I don't know if you were able to unlock you phone, but what I would like to suggest is once you are able to unlock your phone then get a great app vipsha2 - Remote Phone Screen Lock from Google play. This app has helped me a lot and its free. We just need to send an sms from other phone and we can lock or unlock our phone.
Edit by Izzy:
As the following screenshot shows, you set up an "attention word", which then has to be send by SMS to trigger the Lock/Unlock. Not sure where the password comes into play, as I do not use this app.
Configure password Unlock SMS
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Would you mind to share a link to this app? – ce4 Nov 8 '12 at 15:53
I was so free to add the link ;) – Izzy Nov 8 '12 at 22:48
protected by eldarerathis May 26 '13 at 16:40
Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?
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Don't Worry
Rockie Fresh
Featuring Rebecca Jordan
Album Driving 88
Don't Worry Lyrics
[Hook: Rebecca Jordan]
Why do we make it, so complicated
And question 'til we're sorry
Every day happy belated
Don't worry, don't worry
[Verse 1: Rockie Fresh]
Okay I'm rolling while I'm sipping, I ain't ever tripping
Chi-Town living, bad bitch getting
Trying to prove I'm different, than the ones that ain't shit
They at the plate, they swing late and they can't hit
Me I'm bringing three home, that feel like a grand slam
And I can still probably pull 'em in a Grand Am
Cookies and some apple juice, I feel like that man can
Change gon' come when I cook, like that man Sam
Clearing all that damn scam, making sure my people eat
One time for the birds, one time for the street
I'mma show you love, and that's any time that we should meet
Never on that beef shit, cause that shit be hella weak
First they hating than they speak, no they not about it
People dying over drama, I'm just trying to live without it
Like the homie Future say, it really ain't no way around it
When you on the up and up, there's always people trying to doubt it
First they love it then they hate it man
[Hook: Rebecca Jordan]
[Verse 2: Rockie Fresh]
Okay I'm rolling while I'm sipping, I ain't ever tripping
Chi-Town living, bad bitch getting
Can't trust new niggas, we ain't never flipping
Sticking with the ones that I was with since the beginning
And y'all ain't gotta worry about me
I'll be chilling low-pro while I'm twisting OG
?? yeah my flow below three
If I want it I'mma earn it, I know nothing comes free
Fresh clothes on me, the young homie styling
Caesar with the dressing, but the leathers come Italian
We ain't even tripping, spending thousands on the island
It ain't really nothing look at all that we've been piling
Faith in the situation, ?? know I've been waiting patiently
While I'm falling in love with the places life is taking me
Trying to make sure I can handle every issue
If I'm witchu then I'm witchu, I'm I'm not then it's forget you
I'm just trying to make it simple but
[Hook: Rebecca Jordan]
About “Don't Worry”
Track Info
Recorded At
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In this headline:
Wie Franziskus die Machtachse der Kirche verschiebt
there is this word, Machtachse, which I haven't been able to find anywhere (so I don't even know if it's really a word).
In the same headline there is also verschiebt, which, presumably, is the present of the verb verschieben, which means either to move / to shift, or to change, even to postpone.
Unfortunately, I cannot infer what this verb means in this context unless I have a translation for Machtachse.
share|improve this question
Substantivkombinationen existieren real, sobald man sie ausspricht, aufschreibt oder vor sich hindenkt. Es gibt keine Zertifikationsbehörde der man sie vorlegen muss und keine Inkubationszeit. – user unknown Jul 28 '13 at 22:31
Macht means power, and Achse means axis. Together, it means the axis of power. I didn't read the article, but the headline express how possible it is that the "axis of power" (or rather part of it) could be translated from the Vatican to Latin America.
Just as a hint, if you don't find a word in the dictionary, you can divide it in words which you know (or which you might find in the dictionary). Sometimes it is sufficient to identify just one of them.
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So die Machtachse der Kirche actually means the church's axis of power doesn't it? With der in der Kirche being the genitive marker: of the church, correct? – indoxica Jul 27 '13 at 12:06
Danke schön! Great. – indoxica Jul 27 '13 at 12:19
Machtachse means axis of power. Verschieben in this context best translates to shift, I think. So the sentence would be:
How Franziskus shifts the church's axis of power
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I think Franziskus stands for the new pope. – c.p. Jul 27 '13 at 12:05
@c.p. Ah, yes, sure. I'm not quite used to the new guy, yet. But chirlu deleted my edit anyway. – bouscher Jul 27 '13 at 12:06
@bouscher: Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you were editing as well. There was no warning about a conflict. – chirlu Jul 27 '13 at 12:59
@chirlu NP, you saved me from having my ignorance exposed by associating Franz von Assisi with Franziskus rather than Bergoglio – bouscher Jul 27 '13 at 13:02
And I thought the article talked about the CEO of Franziskaner Weissbier getting influence in the catholic church by special sponsoring. – Toscho Nov 23 '13 at 10:32
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Sorry About That
By Edwin L. Battistella
New from Cambridge University Press!
Sociolinguistics from the Periphery
Review of Arte de Hablar
Reviewer: Laura Dubcovsky
Book Title: Arte de Hablar
Book Author: Eduardo Benot
Publisher: Lincom GmbH
Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
Philosophy of Language
Subject Language(s): Spanish
Issue Number: 23.3596
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AUTHOR: Eduardo Benot
TITLE: Arte de Hablar
SUBTITLE: Gramática Filosófica de la Lengua Castellana
SERIES TITLE: Lincom Classica Vol. 14
YEAR: 2012
Laura Dubcovsky, School of Education, University of California, Davis
“Arte de Hablar. Gramática Filosófica” (‘The Art of Speaking. Philosophical
Grammar’), consists of the complete version of Benot’s book published in 1910.
It has biographic notes written by his disciple, José Torres Reina, and
published in the Heraldo de Madrid in December, 1905. Torres Reina complemented
Benot’s grammar with notes on his personal life and his working conditions as a
teacher, politician, thinker, and orator. He also wrote the prologue that
emphasizes the three main linguistic operations proposed in this book:
determination, connection, and enunciation. In Benot’s words, “Al hablar,
realizamos tres operaciones fundamentales y necesarias; DETERMINAR, CONEXIONAR,
ENUNCIAR. El espíritu humano, sin aptitudes para sondar en lo absoluto, percibe
únicamente relaciones, y procede siempre por abstracción y generalización al
formar sus ideas” (“In speaking, we carry out three fundamental and necessary
operations: DETERMINING, CONNECTING, STATING. The human spirit, without
aptitudes to probe at all, only perceives relationships and always proceeds by
abstraction and generalization in forming its ideas” (prologue, xvii).
“Arte de Hablar. Gramática Filosófica” presents four parts, each of them divided
in sections as follows: Part One includes nine sections and addresses
preliminary notions; Part Two focuses on combination forms of complete and
independent meaning through five sections; Part Three explores sentence systems
in three sections; and Part Four explores the ending systems in five sections,
respectively. The first section of Part One elaborates on preliminary notions of
oral and written signs, including vowels and consonants, roots and affixes used
for word formation, accents, and syllabification procedures in Spanish. Section
Two defines independent and dependent clauses and their illocutionary
combinations, giving particular attention to the meanings and limitations of
word extension and comprehension. The following three sections address verb
endings and conjugations: Section Three situates verbs within the clausal
combination; Section Four focuses on the relationship between verbs and nouns,
with special emphasis on the uses of nominative, accusative and dative cases;
and Section Five explores verbs in combination with adverbs and ablatives. While
Section Six completes the word level analysis by classifying determiner and
determinable words, including some changes in word meanings, Section Seven leads
to the clause level analysis, placing content words, conjunctions and
determiners in sentence combinations. The section closes with a well-rounded
summary of key notions explained throughout Part One that builds Benot’s
“language architecture.” The final two sections of Part One focus on the use of
special combinations, such as interjections and conjunctions (Section Eight),
and abnormalities found in some constructions and idiomatic expressions (Section
The second part of this book describes the verbal classification and its
specific nominative, accusative and dative cases used in independent clauses. In
the first section, verbs are classified following meaningful and structural
criteria. As a result, distinctions are made between absolute and relative types
of impersonal verbs, transitive and intransitive verbs, and verbs that require
one or more words to convey complete meaning. This section also discusses
grammatical persons and their corresponding endings, in light of verb agreement
with nominal, accusative and dative cases. Section Two explains general uses of
the reflexive form, while Section Three focuses on the passive voice formation
in Spanish, by using either the copulative verb “ser/estar” (‘to be’)” or the
reflexive “se” form. Section Four describes reflexive forms, possible meanings,
ambiguities and exceptions, and special agreement in the passive voice. The last
section explains the dative case in depth, following previous classifications
based on meaningful, structural and functional criteria. This section also
pinpoints co-occurrences between dative and accusative cases and concludes with
a graphic synopsis of the mentioned categories.
Part Three of this grammatical book describes sentence systems; following
adjectival, adverbial and nominal characteristics. Section One takes up the
adjectival sentence system, explaining gender and number agreements in both the
active and passive voice. It also presents a classification based on accusative,
dative, genitive and ablative determination, and closes with a thorough chart
that shows examples and possibilities of these classes and species. Section Two
describes the adverbial complex system, emphasizing relations of time, place,
manner, purpose and cause, both in finite (i.e. with a conjugated verb) and
non-finite (i.e. non-conjugated verb) clauses. Special attention is given to
conditional sentences, emphasizing the appropriate conjunctions and temporal
sequences needed in these constructions. Furthermore, the section focuses on
comparative and superlative formations in Spanish, including relative, absolute
and special constructions. Section Three explains the nominal complex system,
including its main characteristics and necessary conjunctions. It emphasizes
particular verbs that introduce nominal constructions, such as those of
understanding, for example, “conviene que” (‘it is convenient that’) and “es
preciso que” (‘it must’), verbs of will, such as “quiero que” (‘I want that’)
and “prometo que” (‘I promise that’) and verbs of feelings, such as “me gusta
que”(‘I like that’) and “me alegra que” (‘it pleases me that’), and highlights
needed temporal verb sequences. It also revisits nominative, accusative, dative,
and ablative cases as used in phrases and sentences.
Part Four focuses on Spanish verbs based on the -ar, -er, -ir endings of
infinitives, as well as on time, mood, person and number inflections. The first
section presents the paradigms of regular verbs, such as “hablar” (‘to speak’),
“aprender” (‘to learn’) and “aplaudir” (‘to applaud’), and irregular verbs, such
as “haber” (auxiliary) and “ser” (‘to be’). The second section follows a
conceptual classification of verbs within independent clauses, reviewing notions
of “absolute” and “relative” as used in the present, past, and future tenses and
in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. The final three sections
follow the same verbal classification within dependent clauses of nominal
(Section Three), adjectival (Section Four) and adverbial (Section Five)
characteristics. Section Three particularly explores sensing and mental verbs,
in addition to some uses of the subjunctive mood in clauses with nominal
meanings. Finally, Section Four gives special attention to meanings of certainty
and uncertainty included in adjectival dependent clauses, while Section Five
focuses on specific verbs and conjunctions with adverbial functions, as well as
on infinitives, gerunds and participles used in dependent adverbial clauses.
The book ends with a synthesis of Benot’s main ideas of determination,
connection, and enunciation, as he writes the following:
“Al hablar exteriorizamos nuestro ser íntimo: el pensamiento, el sentimiento, la
voluntad, buscan en el lenguaje su expresión más adecuada. Afirmar, negar,
interrogar, exponer ó narrar, evidenciar o demostrar, manifestar deseo,
admiración, extrañeza, repugnancia, etc., etc. son siempre EL FIN DE TODA
ENUNCIACIÓN. Pero toda enunciación ha de referirse necesariamente á algo. De
otro modo nuestras afirmaciones, negaciones, etc. recaen siempre sobre una ó más
individualidades. Y para que no quepa duda acerca de cuál puede ser el objeto de
nuestra enunciación, esas individualidades están necesitadas de una
('When we speak we externalize our inner being: thoughts, feelings, and will
seek their more appropriate expression in language. Affirm, deny, question,
expose or narrate, evidence or demonstrate, manifest desire, admiration,
surprise, disgust, etc., etc. are always THE END OF ALL UTTERANCES. But every
statement must necessarily refer to something. Otherwise our affirmations,
denials, etc. always fall on one or more individuals. And make no mistake about
what may be the object of our utterances; these individual units are in need of
“Arte de Hablar. Gramática Filosófica” is an essential grammar book written in
and commenting on Spanish. The re-edition of Benot’s original grammar will be
very well received by language historians and philologists interested in studies
on Spanish language development from a historical perspective. Scholars will
have access to an old text book which holds valid and substantial grammatical
concepts. Moreover, Torres Reina offers a clear introduction that highlights the
main points of this work, thus facilitating its reading, especially for young
scholars. Although the grammar book presents some dense concepts written in an
old-fashioned style of Spanish, explanations are clear and straightforward.
Benot shows his pedagogical skills by offering numerous examples for each of the
notions, as well as comprehensive summaries and charts at the end of each part,
making the manual more accessible. Even less specialized audiences will be
pleasantly surprised by the completeness of explanations, which link grammar to
philosophy, as stated in the title of the book. Moreover, both the erudite and
lay public will enjoy the applicability of some of Benot’s concepts to today’s
Spanish grammar.
Among the preliminary notions of Part One, Benot explains with eloquence and
wisdom the concepts of ‘word extension’ and ‘comprehension.’ He details two ways
to increase comprehension, both by adding demonstrative, possessive or quality
words or by expressive endings of qualities. For example, given the word
“caballo” (‘horse’), we can increase its comprehension by adding one more word,
such as the determiner, “este caballo” (‘this horse’) or with a complete
expression that may contain demonstratives, possessives and qualities, as in “tu
caballo inglés de cinco años es negro” (‘your 5 year old English horse is
black’). Within the expressive endings are diminutives, such as “caballito”
(‘little horse’), and superlatives, such as “caballo grandísimo” (‘a very large
horse’). Likewise, Benot explains two ways to limit word extension, both through
isolated words and word endings. The former are represented by articles and
cardinal and ordinal numbers, such as “el caballo” (‘the horse”), “dos caballos”
(‘two horses’), and “el tercer caballo”(‘the third horse’), respectively. Word
endings refer to number (i.e. singular and plural), as in “caballo, caballos”
(‘horse, horses’), where changes only affect the extension of the word.
Benot never limits his presentations to structural explanations only; rather, he
always considers meaningful implications. For example, Section Six of Part One
exposes word order based on determining and determiner words. Benot includes
examples that illustrate clear changes of meanings as a result of word order
alternations, such as “El Rey Profeta” (‘the prophet king’),where “prophet” is a
modifier of “king”, as opposed to “El Profeta Rey” (‘The king prophet’) where
“prophet” is the substance. Another strong contribution is given in Part Two,
where Benot lays out a comprehensive verb classification scheme following both
structure and meaning, as well as nominative and accusative cases. Within his
thorough classification, Benot discusses topics of agency and position, which
hold validity for current grammatical discussions. Within the nominative case,
for example, Benot makes a distinction between impersonal verbs of the following
types: those without agency, such as “llueve” (‘It rains’); those with pseudo-
agency, as in “Juan se afeita en casa de un barbero sevillano” (‘Juan shaves in
a Sevillian barber’s house’); and those with real agents, as in “El hombre
trabajaba” (‘The man used to work’)
In spite of the mentioned strengths, this historical book also has limitations.
First of all, since it is written in an old-fashioned style, it restricts the
range of interested audiences. Sometimes Benot offers examples which are richer
and more vivacious than the wordy and, at times, difficult explanations. This is
the case for some uses of the verb “caer” (‘to fall’), where Benot brings
interesting and clear sentences to the table, such as “Esa calle cae hacia los
barrios bajos” (‘That street falls toward the slums’), “Yo caigo en ello” (‘I
realize this’) (p. 115), which are buried under more arid explanation. Moreover,
the present edition remains a little short in providing information about the
author. For example, a chronological chart that situates Benot’s work within a
socio-cultural framework would have been appreciated by all readers. Likewise,
more information about his disciple, Torres Reina, would also have helped, in
order to better appreciate the biographical notes and the prologue. As a final
suggestion, this new publication could have presented some paragraphs translated
into English, which would also allow for appeal to an audience interested in
Spanish linguistics that does not yet have solid control of certain historical
forms of Spanish.
Laura Dubcovsky is a lecturer and supervisor in the teacher education program at UC Davis. She has a Master’s in Education and a PhD in Spanish linguistics with special emphasis on second language acquisition. Her areas of interest combine the field of language and education. She is dedicated to the preparation of prospective Spanish/English teachers, and has presented her preparation course in different forums. She analyzes linguistic features of both bilingual teachers and children, drawing from a Systemic Functional Language approach, e.g., in her 2008 article, ‘Functions of the verb decir ('to say') in the incipient academic Spanish writing of bilingual children,’ which appears in Functions of Language, 15(2), 257-280.
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Attorney General Holder grants BATFE expanded forfeiture powers
Details here, from Americans for Forfeiture Reform. In short, BATFE becomes another federal agency which gets to seize large sums of cash, based on presumption that a large sum of cash must be related to an illegal transaction in controlled substances. And notwithstanding the fact that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a Bureau whose job involves federal laws about alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, not controlled substances. | <urn:uuid:a5a02b4c-a939-41cd-adad-939796074593> | http://volokh.com/2012/08/29/attorney-general-holder-grants-batfe-expanded-forfeiture-powers/ | en | 0.91964 | 0.059593 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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#18. The Solar Wind
(Files in red–history)
16. The Sun
16H. Schwabe, 1843
16a. Schwabe paper
16b. Carrington, 1859
17. The Corona
18. Solar Wind
18H.Solar Wind obs.
18A. Interplan. Field
18B. Heliosphere.
19. Magnetopause
19H.Chapman, 1930
20.Global Structure
21. Lagrangian pts.
22. "Wind" s/c
The first indication that the sun might be emitting a "wind" came from comet tails, observed to point away from the Sun, whether the comet was approaching the Sun or whether it was moving away. Kepler in the early 1600s guessed that those tails were driven by the pressure of sunlight, and his guess still holds true for the many comet tails which consist of dust.
Comet Halley, with
plasma tail kink
Comets however also have ion tails, shining in their own spectral lines, not just in scattered sunlight. Such tails may point in slightly different directions, and are at times observed to accelerate quite suddenly, causing them to become kinked or bent. Comet Hale-Bopp , a prominent comet which was at its brightest in March-April 1997, clearly exhibited such twin tails. While the dust tail was much brighter, the plasma tail had a different color, tending towards the blue.
Sunlight pressure cannot explain such behavior, but in 1943 Cuno Hoffmeister in Germany, and later Ludwig Biermann, proposed that apart from sunlight, the Sun also emitted a steady stream of particles, a "solar corpuscular radiation" which pushed the ions. Variations in the speed of the particles would explain the accelerations, and the tail did not point straight away from the Sun because the flow velocity of the particles was not too many times larger than the velocity of the comet itself.
Parker's Theory
No one gave a good reason why this "particle radiation" should exist, until Eugene Parker of the University of Chicago in 1958 tried to derive the equilibrium structure of the corona.
The corona, like the Earth's atmosphere, is held down by the Sun's gravity. In any atmosphere, the average velocity of atoms, molecules and ions depends on their temperature. Individual velocities are spread out around this average, and a few particles are always fast enough to "evaporate" and escape the restraining gravity.
Our Moon's gravity is weak, 1/6 of the Earth's at the Moon's surface, and it is believed that if it ever had any atmosphere, it would have evaporated long ago. The stronger gravity of Earth, on the other hand, has managed to hold on to a substantial atmosphere, on which all terrestrial life depends.
The Sun's gravity is much stronger, but a million-degree atmosphere is too much for it. If the Sun's corona behaved like the Earth's atmosphere, it would gradually get cooler with increasing distance, with a cool top in equilibrium with the surrounding space. Parker however found that the conduction of heat interfered with such an equilibrium and instead another solution suggested itself, in which the topmost layers of the corona flowed away from the Sun at a velocity like that of Biermann's "corpuscular radiation." The flow was named "solar wind" and its existence was later confirmed by instruments aboard spacecraft.
The solar wind shapes the Earth's magnetosphere and supplies energy to its many processes. Its density at the Earth's orbit is around 6 ions per cubic centimeter--far, far less than that of the "best vacuum" obtainable in labs on Earth. The distribution of ions in the solar wind generally resembles the distribution of elements on the Sun-- mostly protons, with 5% helium and smaller fractions of oxygen and other elements. (Of course it has electrons too, balancing the positive charge of the ions and keeping the plasma electrically neutral.) All this flows away from the Sun with a mean speed of about 400 km/sec, and as shown by the Voyager 2 space probe, this flow extends past the outermost planets, more than 30 times more distant from the Sun than Earth, and it probably continues much further than that.
The Interplanetary Magnetic Field
The regions where the solar wind starts are immersed in the Sun's magnetic field (though perhaps in regions where that field is relatively weak). However, plasma outflows from regions of magnetic fields can spread those fields to wherever they arrive. This happens by "field line preservation," a property derived from the equations of an ideal plasma. By those equations, in an ideal plasma ions and electrons which start out sharing the same magnetic field line continue to do so later on, as if the line were a (deformable) wire and the particles beads threaded by it.
If the energy of the magnetic field is dominant, its field lines keep their shapes and particle motion must conform to them; that is what happens in the radiation belts. On the other hand, if the energy of the particles is dominant--that is, if the field is weak and the particles dense--the motion of the particles is only slightly affected, whereas the field lines are bent and dragged to follow that motion. That is the case with the solar wind.
Imagine a field line extending from the bulk of the Sun to the upper corona. The particles at its "roots" stay with the Sun, but those in the high corona flow out with the solar wind, to the Earth's orbit and far beyond. All that time (under ideal conditions--a fair approximation) the same field line continues to link both groups. Thus some solar field lines will extend to the Earth and further out, producing the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). It is the IMF that allows the solar wind to "pick up" the ions in a comet's ion tail, as it also did to an "artificial comet" produced in a 1985 experiment (see positive ions, "clouds of barium ions"). As will be seen, the IMF plays a major role in linking the magnetosphere to the solar wind.
A graphic exercise on tracing the shape of interplanetary magnetic field lines is presented in the next section.
Questions from Users:
*** Use of solar wind for space propulsion
*** Any connection between Solar Wind and Solar Flares?
*** Can anything solid be carried by the solar wind?
*** The Speed of the Solar Wind
*** The solar wind and solar escape velocity
*** Solar wind effects on our lives
*** A solar wind contribution to global warming?
*** Can upper atmosphere atoms join solar wind?
Next Stop: #18H. The Solar Wind--History
Last updated 8 August 2007
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The Jewish Ethicist: Reluctant Recipient
The Jewish Ethicist: Reluctant Recipient
Only truly needy people should accept charity.
Q. Our family lives on a tight budget, but we always make ends meet. We have a wealthy relative who wants to give us charity. I don't want to take charity, but the money could help with the children's education.
A. Your reluctance to accept charity is easy to understand. Rabbi Yakov ben Asher, an authoritative 13th century rabbi, writes:
A person should always distance himself from [accepting] charity. He should afflict himself with discomfort rather than become dependent on others. And thus our sages commanded: Make your Sabbath like an ordinary weekday rather than becoming dependent on others. And even if he was an honored scholar and became impoverished, he should engage in his trade, even a less respected trade, and not became dependent on others. (1)
Likewise, perhaps your relative could have been more sensitive. The Tosefta (a collection of legal aphorisms from around the time of the mishna) teaches: (2)
Two brothers, or two partners, or father and son . . . can give their poor tithe one to another. Rebbe Yehuda said, misfortune befalls someone who gives poor tithe to his father.
A family member is a permissible and even a preferred recipient of charity; Judaism certainly affirms that "charity begins at home". Based on the verse that we should help "the poor person with you" (Exodus 22:24), the Talmud learns: "your poor take precedence over the poor of your city". (3)
However, any needy person should preferable be helped without giving charity directly, and this applies a fortiori to a parent. If at all possible, the father should be supported by the regular family budget, not from the charity budget which relates to him like a beggar. Maimonides writes that any poor person should preferably be helped by giving him a gift, or a job, so that he does not fall into the need for charity. (4)
While there is no reason for you to accept charity, there is no shame in having your son accept a gift from a relative for his education. Even the wealthiest people trade gifts. I think the best suggestion is to ask your relative to deem the money a gift to your son for his education, rather than as a charity donation. Since your relative can no longer take the money from his charity budget, that may make it impossible for him to help. But if the money can be given in a non-demeaning way and it can help you son's education I think that is the best solution.
SOURCES: (1) Tur Yoreh Deah 255 (2) Tosefta Maaser Sheni 4:7 (3) Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 71a; see also Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 65b; Bereshit Rabba on Genesis 2:18. (4) Maimonides' Code, Gifts to the Poor chapter 10.
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Visitor Comments: 3
(3) SusanE, December 25, 2009 5:34 PM
Charity or Gift?
Why is there such a difference between charity and a gift? I don't understand why the relative could not simply give the amount or set up an account as a gift and never mention charity. Is there a big difference?
(2) Anonymous, December 24, 2009 2:11 PM
What happens when a relative constamt;y finds fault with a service you gave or berates you for a gift or service you did and
Our religion does indeed give guidelines that make your actions take into account the sensitvity or a recipeint relative, but what happens when that relative constantly reacts negatively no matter how you try to behave in a sensitive manner, belittling you no matter when. Interesting though that she never refuses a gift, only makes me feel badly that she had to take it.
(1) ruth, December 22, 2009 4:12 PM
ethics and issues of Jewish ethics
I love it that we, as a people, engage in deep and profound thought about ethics, and that we are torn by such questions, to take or not to take, and in this initial question, about our children, not having quite enough and knowing the children would benefit. I honestly believe, that yes, there are guidelines and that these and all commentaries should be considered, and if one asks, then one is requesting something of another, by way of wisdom. In the end, if we have no recourse to such dialogue, I say, gather the flowers that are in your garden, and follow your heart, because love is rarely an arrow that takes us to the wrong place, if it's inclusive and about others. And so I would have come to the same conclusion following my own route, and yet, we all do have our paths and our pathways, that often do bring us to the same place.
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Russia's Unemployment Rate Hits All-Time Low Of 5.2% - Or Does It?
By Gregory Gwyn-Williams, Jr. | December 12, 2012 | 9:13 AM EST
The unemployment rate in Russia has hit an all-time low of 5.2%, according to Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policies, Olga Golodets.
Golodets said on Tuesday:
"Today we have registered an unprecedented low unemployment level of 5.2% calculated using International Labor Organization methodology. Russia has never before achieved this level in its history and we are proud of this."
Despite Ms. Golodets comments, there is skepticism about the accuracy of the numbers.
According to, data shows the real unemployment rate in Russia could be more than three times higher than the official number, with one poll reporting unemployment among women at 22% and 19% among men.
The 5.2% official unemployment rate in Russia is lower than the 7.7% rate in the United States and the 11.7% rate in the Eurozone.
Golodets said that Russia has huge potential for job creation but also admitted that there are challenges ahead, particularly for young people.
"The Russian economy has substantial potential. We have a great advantage compared to European countries because the European Union has virtually used up its possibilities for job creation."
At the same time, problems still exist in the Russian labor market, she said.
"It is difficult for young people to find employment after university. If we use proper strategies to build bridges on the labor market for those categories who really find difficulty with employment, then we can say we are capable of ensuring employment for the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens."
So, is 5.2% accurate? Who knows?
At least, in the U.S., we've developed a methodology to getting to a lower unemployment rate: don't count individuals who have given up looking for work. By removing these individuals from the labor force we can artificially adjust the rate lower - and justify doing it.
In Russia, however, it appears one simply needs to blurt out a number for it to be official.
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Assisted dying
Assisted dying is when a terminally ill, mentally competent adult, making the choice of their own free will and after meeting strict legal safeguards, takes prescribed medication which will end their life. Assisted dying is currently illegal in the UK.
We believe the current law is not working because it forces some dying people to suffer against their wishes. With our members and supporters we are campaigning for the law change to allow assisted dying – a campaign with overwhelming public support.
An assisted dying law has worked in Oregon USA for over 18 years. There have been no cases of abuse and no calls to extend the law beyond terminally ill, mentally competent adults.
Assisted dying is not the same as assisted suicide, voluntary euthanasia or euthanasia
• Assisted dying only applies to terminally ill, mentally competent adults and requires the dying patient, after meeting strict legal safeguards, to self administer life-ending medication. Assisted dying is legalised and regulated in the US States of Oregon and Washington
• Assisted suicide allows assistance to die to chronically ill and disabled people who are not dying. Assisted suicide is permitted in Switzerland
The Current law is not working
We believe the law is not working and propose new assisted dying legislation similar to that in place in Oregon and Washington that would give terminally ill adults choice and control over the timing and manner of their death.
You can read more about how people are affected by the failing of our current law in our personal stories section.
How you can help
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Public Release: Technology transfer and postdoc entrepreneurs
Inderscience Publishers
Post-doctoral researchers see their role as being vital in technology transfer where scientific findings become useful to the local economy, but most have little interest in running their own business once their research fellowship ends. That's the surprising finding of a study published in the International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development.
Edmund Zolnik, a public policy specialist at the George Mason University, in Arlington, Virginia, has surveyed postdoctoral fellows in the US National Capital Region. He found that most saw technology transfer as an important part of research. However, only a few were actively preparing for self-employment and of those initial wealth was a distinguishing factor. Zolnik suggests that educational courses and programs should be emphasized that give postdoctoral fellows insights into entrepreneurial career tracks and offer them the option to be mentored early in their transition from apprentice to entrepreneur.
The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 was the first spur to encouraging the flow of technology from national laboratories and universities into the commercial sector but 30 years later, the number of spin-offs from laboratories remains lower than expected despite the tens of billions of dollars that are invested each year in research by the federal government. Zolnik suggests that more recent empirical evidence does suggest that technology transfer from national laboratories has improved but there is still a considerable lag.
The primary focus of studies as to why there is such a lag has until now focused on what technology is transferred rather than how and by whom it is transferred from the academic to the commercial world.
Zolnik explains that as the home to many national laboratories and universities at the forefront of scientific advancements, a study of "postdocs" and their impact on technology transfer in the National Capital Region could provide useful insights into what is preventing the commercialization of research.
"The role of postdoctoral fellows in technology transfer: evidence from the National Capital Region of the USA" in Int. J. Knowledge-Based Development, 2010, 1, 158-175
| <urn:uuid:d80599f8-ce42-4802-93f1-b6ded1d1ac80> | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/ip-tta100410.php | en | 0.958863 | 0.172242 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Gay pride parade
A gay pride parade (Reuters)
Kuwait will conduct medical screening tests to "detect" homosexuals who attempt to get into the Gulf kingdom, according to a senior official.
In Kuwait, people involved in a homosexual acts can receive up to 10 years in jail if they are under 21. In 2010 the conservative Gulf country banned the screening of Egyptian film Beddon Rakaba (Out of Control or Uncensored) saying that it "encouraged debauchery". The film focused on youth people using drugs and having homosexual relationships.
A member of the censorship board said that some of the scenes were "too hot" and that the lesbianism theme was "too bold."
In 2012, Kuwaiti police officers arrested two men for allegedly having homosexual acts in a car at a café's parking lot in Kuwait city. Police also found the men had a four-year-old "marriage contract" and were planning to travel abroad to obtain a legal marriage certificate.
Bahrain arrested 127 people in 2011 for holding a "depraved and decadent party", according to Gulf News.
READ: Kuwait Gay Test: Video Condemns Kuwaiti Men as Closet Gays and Hypocrites | <urn:uuid:3a1ccb5a-f68f-4c68-8ba2-1237e01a148f> | http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kuwait-gay-test-gulf-lgbt-homosexuals-detect-511930 | en | 0.957458 | 0.020369 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Pensioners forced to replace 'illegal' windows: Council follows conservation rules to the letter in cottage fight. Peter Dunn reports
COUNCIL workmen will end a four-year planning dispute tomorrow when they descend on a pensioner's 18th century thatched cottage in Whitelackington, Somerset, and remove four illegal plastic windows. They will replace them with officially approved lattice frames made of oak, mild steel and greenhouse glass.
Jack Green, 75, a retired engineer, and his wife Lucie, 72, cannot afford to pay the pounds 2,500 for the work on their home, despite a grant of pounds 817. So South Somerset District Council has lent them the balance. To ensure that they get it back if the Greens die or sell up they have taken possession of the deeds of The Forge, a Grade II listed semi-detached property.
Exhausted by their long fight, the Greens have conceded defeat. 'We've decided to take it on the chin and get it done with,' Mrs Green said yesterday. 'We've both been ill and they do say that stress does cause these things. I was 40 years without a doctor and now I'm there every month.'
The Greens, retired Londoners, moved into their cottage - an old forge on a dangerous bend near Ilminster - 10 years ago. It had been gutted by fire in 1935 and much of its structure, including chimneys and windows, dates from then. It was listed Grade II, along with its older neighbour, The Lodge (to Dillington Park), in 1958.
The four windows facing the main road were rotting with condensation and letting in traffic noise and the cold. Eight years ago, when a pounds 4,000 endowment policy matured, the Greens decided to spend the money doing up the cottage, including pounds 1,800 on new plastic windows.
'The previous owner said Grade II meant you couldn't make structural alterations,' Mr Green says. 'So with these windows I was just putting in what looked the same but wouldn't need any maintenance.
'I said to the man that put them in, 'It's a listed building so they've got to look exactly the same, same number of panels, everything'. We were joint secretaries of the Ilminster Historical Society so obviously we cared about these things.
'Two years later, a man from the council went to tell the man next door to take down an illegal satellite dish. Then he saw our windows and came round and said he was the 'enforcer', and said we'd be reported and probably prosecuted because the windows were illegal.
'When it went to the public inquiry we'd got a petition of support from everyone in the village. The council said the reflection's wrong because instead of individual pieces of glass between each light it's one sheet of glass with lead panels. I'm most unhappy about it. The council says the loan's got to be repaid within six months of the death of both parties or disposal of the property.'
A council spokeswoman said yesterday: 'I'm well aware that some people feel we've been heavy-handed. But legally we can only follow legislation . . . As I'm sure you know, they installed the windows without consent and this is a criminal offence. We weren't obliged to lend them the money . . . but decided to do so in the very special circumstances.'
The Greens' neighbour, Henry Best, chairman of the South Somerset Council for the Protection of Rural England, says the community is angry at the treatment of the Greens.
'We've said, 'Look if they're replacing a window which isn't original, which has no architectural or historical merit, why can't they use modern materials?' There's no doubt the council has right on its side because the inquiry inspector has said so. But the council could then have said 'Don't do it again', and left things as they are because it's not a terrible thing they've done.
'The council and English Heritage say it's the integrity of the building that counts. Very few old buildings are integral these days. They've got concrete underpinning stone, liners up chimneys, damp courses . . . Let's face it, if our forebears could afford to get rid of lattice windows and put in nice modern sashes, they did so.
'Last winter a man from the district council was invited to talk to the village about listed buildings and how the system worked. He was barracked because of what they'd done to the Greens. By being so obdurate . . . I think they've done the cause of conservation a disservice.'
Leading article, page 19
(Photograph omitted) | <urn:uuid:b1d33dd5-45b8-42e3-a7e0-a983c1a7bac7> | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/pensioners-forced-to-replace-illegal-windows-council-follows-conservation-rules-to-the-letter-in-1463018.html | en | 0.973462 | 0.149828 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
A Closer Look at Leptos
(Leptonycteris curasoae: Lesser long-nosed bat)
Photos by Merlin D. Tuttle,
Bat Conservation International
Captions by Katharine Hinman
bat_LLN_TuttleBCI01 bat_LLN_TuttleBCI02 bat_LLN_TuttleBCI03
Here's a Lepto approaching a saguaro flower. The flower has a strong odor to attract the bats and the big white flower makes it easy for them to see it even with only starlight to guide them.
Most flowers pollinated by bats grow at the top of the plant, like this organ pipe cactus flower, or on branches so they are easy for the bats to find and get to. Leptos can hover, but only for a second or two, so they need to take good aim when they approach the flower. (They wouldn't want to miss and hit those nasty spines!)
bat_LLN_TuttleBCI04 bat_LLN_TuttleBCI05 bat_LLN_TuttleBCI06
The saguaro flower is a perfect fit for a Lepto's head! It sticks its face right into the flower to get the sweet nectar. The nectar pools right at the base of the flower, so the Lepto has to stick out its long tongue to get to it. When fully extended, its tongue is longer than its head!
In Mexico, Leptos visit other kinds of cactus flowers besides just saguaro and organ pipe, including this cardon.
Even after the flowers are gone, the bats aren't done feeding off the cacti. They'll also eat the sweet juicy fruit and help spread its seeds.
After a few visits to flowers, the Lepto's faces are covered with pollen. They carry some of the pollen to other flowers, but they groom most of it off and swallow it. This pollen will give them the protein they need to survive.
That's me (Katharine Hinman) getting a Lepto out of a mist-net I strung up next to a blooming century plant. The bat wasn't paying attention and got caught in the net. You can see the yellow pollen on its face.
Even though these bats mostly eat nectar and pollen, they still have teeth and will bite in self-defense, so I always wear gloves. Just in case!
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2006 Light-Middleweight Cruiser Comparison
HD 883 Custom :: Honda Shadow 750 Aero :: Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic :: Suzuki Boulevard M50
Bigger is better, right? When you're talking cruisers, you bet it is. In the last ten years, we've seen enormous growth not only in the size of the US cruiser market, but also the size of the cruisers themselves. Where an 1100cc machine was considered big in 1995, it's now dwarfed by 800-pound, 1800, 2000 and even 2300cc behemoths. And don't get us started on the two-wheeled muscle car that is the Boss Hoss.
Even the "middleweight" category is getting bigger, not unlike the very consumers they are being sold to. Those of you who suffered through Gabe's V-Star 1300 introduction report may have been as scandalized as he was to find that a bike with a 1.3-liter engine -- the same size as a Geo Metro or Mazda Miata -- is a "middleweight" cruiser, according to Yamaha. Logically, then, the Kawasaki Vulcan 1400, the Suzuki M90 (which is 1,474cc) and Honda's VTX1300 are all middleweights as well. These are machines with heft.
Fry me to the moon...
What's also big on them is price. To get big-cruiser power and feel from a heavy middleweight, be prepared to cramp your fingers writing five-figured (or close to it) checks. For entry-level and other economy-minded folks, that price of admission can be daunting. How to get onto a bike bigger and more comfortable than an entry-level machine without taking out a second mortgage?
Fortunately, the Japanese factories feel your pain and want your business, with a selection of light-middleweight cruisers offered at prices less than half of what they charge for their flagship (or do we call them "heavy heavyweight"?) machines. We got on the MO OEM hotline phone -- with its power to instantly summon, genie-like, whatever motorcycle we'd like to test* -- and had Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki send over their light-middleweight offerings like rare sweetmeats at an imperial banquet.
Honda's emissary is their venerable 750 Shadow Aero. The Suzuki is the cryptically-named M50, and Kawasaki is represented by a newcomer, the Vulcan 900 Classic. Harley sent over a Sportster 883 Custom because The Maven likes them and if the 883 isn't a light middleweight, nothing is. How do they measure up?
Harley Honda Kawasaki Suzuki
The Contest
To test a motorcycle, you should use it as its prospective customer will use it. For a light-middleweight cruiser, that means plenty of commuting, short freeway hops, moderately-paced jaunts on country roads and boulevard profiling. Since we are but three MOrons and we had four bikes, we placed a call to Will "Will" Tate, an old friend of MO who has helped with a few tests and knows cruisers, as he's also Victory's fleet manager (and there's no conflict here... Victory doesn't compete in this price segment). We mapped out a few hundred miles of twisty blacktop around the El Lay area, spent some time commuting on the bikes, strapped them to the dyno, and then started testing. After we'd ridden and worked out the cramps and backaches caused by sitting on our tailbones with little suspension travel or rebound damping for two days, we tallied our votes and tabulated the results.
Meet the Testers
Will Tate,
Guest Tester
Age: Many, many moons.
Height: Greater than Great Bear seeking honey.
Inseam: higher than the sapling in the spring.
Favorite Fried Food: Arby's Jalapeno Bites® with Bronco Berry Sauce®
Will Tate has been a prominent figure in the life of MO, running the fleet center for some of our favorite brands of motorcycles and being incredibly patient and flexible. He's also an enthusiastic cruiser and sportbike rider, with the amazing ability to somehow turn back time and ride on the racetrack like a 14-year old.
Gabe Ets-Hokin,
Senior Editor
Age: 37
Height: Not Much
Inseam: 30"
Favorite Fried Food: tempura-battered copy of Heidigger's Being and Time with Best Foods mayonnaise
As Gabe's sense of free will and identity are mulched by the grinding MO work environment and his weight continues to increase due to his diminishing self-esteem, he finds it more difficult to enjoy riding sportbikes. That means the comfy seating and enforced mellowness of cruiser riding is increasingly attractive to The Hairy One, prompting him to investigate making MO all-cruiser and moving to Phoenix.
Pete Brissette, Managing Editor
Age: 36
Height: 5'8"
Inseam: 30"
Favorite Fried Food: Two-way tie: Jalapeno poppers or cheese sticks
If you think you've put a lot of hours in on a motorcycle, multiply that by infinity and add 30 miles, and you'll be close to the miles Pete's packed in on two wheels. Former motorcycle messenger, current teamster-in-waiting and expecting a baby next year, Pete adds his flowering talent as scribe and motorcycle tester to discern what is the best bike in the test. Plus he gets us lunch.
Alfonse "Fonzie" Palaima, Executive Editor
Age: 37
Height: 5'10"
Inseam: 33"
Favorite Fried Food: Tums (saves the waiting)
A secretly-funded government experiment involving Banquet-brand frozen meals and a trained harbor seal in the early 1970s resulted in Fonzie, our hard-charging, hard-riding, hard-headed and magnificently grumpy executive scribe, bottle washer, clock-cleaner and wagon-fixer. He loves Harley-Davidsons but sometimes has an odd way of showing it, not that there is anything wrong with unconventional expressions of love.
Tied for Third: 2007 Harley Davidson Sportster 883 Custom
$7,795 ($8,545 as tested)
The Sad Story of Little Richard
Sun, Fun and a Sportster.How can this be? How can the original cruiser, a bike that's been around almost as long as the National Basketball Association, lose to three upstarts? Have we been eating paint chips again?
If only it were that simple. We all liked the Sportster a lot, but like all of you, we have a lot of choices. Let's look closer at the Sporty.
Its heart is the venerable air-cooled, 883cc pushrod-actuated made-in-USA V-twin. For 2007 it boasts fuel injection, and we were quite taken with how smooth-running and torquey it was. "It feels old but works great" said Will Tate, and we could swear that's what Mrs. Tate said, but we digress. Gabe agreed; "I wasn't expecting the least-expensive Harley-Davidson engine to work so well." It starts and runs smoothly, and while it isn't the powerhouse of the group it's not the slowest, either, able to hold its own on the freeway or twisty roads without too much annoying vibration, thanks to the rubber engine mounts that the Motor Company has been using since 2004. The gearbox is good as well, "surprisingly smooth", according to Pete, "with just enough `thunk' and `thud' to let the rider know it's in gear."
The chassis isn't exactly ground-breaking, but it represents a huge leap forward for Sportster-kind. In 2004, the motor was rubber-mounted, the frame was made heavier, and although the Sportster now weighed in a 564 pounds dry (claimed), it was now much smoother, better-handling, and more pleasant to ride. The rubber mounts allow the rider to rev the engine and really enjoy it, and the traditional look of the Sporty remains; twin shocks, small tank (although it has been enlarged to 4.5 gallons) and small, hooded headlamp.
You can see the muffler almost scraping here...That the styling is spot-on for the Sporty should be no surprise. "The styling has improved since it got its new tank shape a few years back" said Will, and Gabe liked the styling as well; "Harley's designers achieve the classic look effortlessly while the other bikes seem a little affected". We think Gabe might be affected as well, but that's another issue. One issue we should mention is the mirrors; Pete noted that the stems are very short, leaving the mirrors too close to the rider's knuckles, which bump into them when reaching for the levers. However, they do offer a wide, vibration-free view to the rear at freeway speeds.
Comfort is a mixed bag. The seat is low and the reach to the bars is rational. The seat is low enough that Al told Gabe it made him look taller, which prompted Gabe to award the Harley 50 brownie points. However, Gabe found that seat "horrible"; hard and lacking room to move around on. There's also a powerful wind blast at freeway speeds, although the tall gearing (at least in this company, although it's short compared to the 1200 Sportster) means it also feels the "least busy" on the freeway, according to Gabe.
The handling was not bad, although it was limited by a few things. It steers easily and "surprisingly" holds its line the best at high speeds, according to Will, and it has the most cornering clearance here. Unfortunately, that's not saying much in this company, and when the Sporty does touch down, it's the all-too-solidly-mounted exhaust pipes, which Will says can be "downright scary" when they drag. Aside from that, Pete found the "chassis provides good stability for virtually all situations", and Gabe is "still impressed by the new Sportster's chassis."
However, we all wished the suspension were a little more plush, especially the rear. Pete described being in a "world of hurt", Will said Harley had "no excuse" for the short-travel, harsh-over-bumps rear suspension, and Gabe just called it "harsh." Filling in the details, Pete also criticized the front end, describing its "jackhammer-like" qualities over freeway expansion joints, with either too much rebound or not enough compression damping. "When the road becomes rough or uneven...the bike basically comes off the ground." On smooth roads, at a moderate pace, the ride is OK, although you could probably say the same thing about a skateboard on smooth pavement.
The brakes also reward a moderate pace. Will noted "numb feel" from the single disc, and although Pete conceded the brakes "offer enough stopping power, considering how most people will use the bike", when pushed the brakes "fade substantially and their limits are quickly found". Gabe noted a "wooden feel and high effort" as well. Would it be a good idea to have powerful, dual-disc brakes on a skinny front tire?
Perhaps it wasn't fair to pick the most-expensive Custom for this test, but we wanted something with a little more flavor than the bare-bones 883. The look, sound and classy heritage are all here in spades, and that counts for a lot. However, in functional terms, the 883 Custom couldn't compete with the more practical bikes here. We'd recommend looking at the basic 883 or the 883R for a nicely-priced, good-functioning Harley.
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Grabbing that mouse cursor in X11
by strredwolf (Chaplain)
on Apr 23, 2010 at 01:43 UTC ( #836388=perlquestion: print w/ replies, xml ) Need Help??
I'm building a Perl script that follows the mouse in one screen, snapshots the area, and puts it into a window on a separate screen. I got 99% of it written using Gtk2 and tested; it's working great except for one thing.
In X11, the mouse cursor doesn't get grabbed.
Is there any way to grab the mouse cursor? Anyone try calling the XFIXES extension of X11 from Perl? If I can grab the data I can glue it into the screen and smack it to the destination window.
EDIT: Here's my code for ''. It grabs from the current screen. If you give it an argument (like, exactly like the DISPLAY env variable), it'll display it on that screen you gave. I have it going from my Linux box to my Mac running
#!/usr/bin/perl $|=1; use strict; use Gtk2 -init; use Glib qw/TRUE FALSE/; my $s = Gtk2::Gdk::Screen->get_default; my $iw = $s->get_root_window; my $isw = $s->get_width; my $ish = $s->get_height; my $ddisp; if($ARGV[0]=~/:/) { my $dest=$ARGV[0]; $ddisp=Gtk2::Gdk::Display->open($dest); } else { $ddisp=Gtk2::Gdk::Display->get_default; } my $scr = $ddisp->get_default_screen; my $win = Gtk2::Window->new('toplevel'); $win->set_screen($scr); $win->resize(640,480); $win->set_resizable(FALSE); my $img = Gtk2::Image->new(); $win->add($img); $win->show_all; Glib::Timeout->add(50,\&track); Gtk2->main; sub track { my ($sn,$x,$y,$m) = $iw->get_pointer; # print "$x, $y -->> "; $x=($x > 320 ? $x-320:0); $x=($x>$isw-640 ? $isw-640:$x); $y=($y > 240 ? $y-240:0); $y=($y>$ish-480 ? $ish-480:$y); # print "$x, $y\n"; my $p = Gtk2::Gdk::Pixbuf->get_from_drawable($iw,undef,$x,$y,0,0,6 +40,480); $img->set_from_pixbuf($p); return TRUE; }
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Re: Grabbing that mouse cursor in X11
by Anonymous Monk on Apr 23, 2010 at 09:27 UTC
In X11, the mouse cursor doesn't get grabbed.
Do you get an error message? Can you post a short program for testing? Maybe its permissions maybe its a bug.
No errors, just doesn't happen. I think it's just a X11 limitation that needs to be worked around; I see the same problem documented in the x11vnc app.
Re: Grabbing that mouse cursor in X11
by tospo (Hermit) on Apr 23, 2010 at 09:18 UTC
Won't work. I need to grab the X11 mouse, and that uses XFIXES.
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Software counterfeiter jailed for 15 months
Sold through UK auction sites
A man who made an estimated £54,000 a year selling counterfeit software through auction sites has been jailed for 15 months.
London-based Pakistani national Bilal Khan, 23, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday after he earlier pleaded guilty to five charges including possessing and selling counterfeit computer programmes and obtaining money by deception. He also asked for a further 11 offences of supplying counterfeit software to be taken into consideration in sentencing. He agreed to pay costs of £15,000 to Lewisham Council.
The case was brought to court following a lengthy joint investigation by Lewisham Council Trading Standards and the Business Software Alliance (BSA). In court, prosecutors said Khan was turning over £4,500 a month through his software piracy scam. In some cases he took people's money and failed to supply the software he offered through auction sites like eBay and QXL. Khan claimed that the software he was supplying - actually pirated Microsoft, Adobe and Macromedia packages - was genuine.
The severity of Khan's sentence reflects the fact that he had previously jumped bail. He fled to Pakistan when he was awaiting sentence after admitting to his crimes last year. In Pakistan, Khan continued his counterfeiting operation.
However he returned to the UK after eight months and was re-arrested on March 4 this year when he was re-arrested after police stopped him for a routine traffic offence.
Khan has spent the last four months in prison. ®
Related Stories
Software piracy 'kingpin' captured in Bangkok
£40m software piracy ring smashed in Italy
BSA in Euro piracy crack-down wins BSA court search battle
Cut software piracy and jumpstart 'stagnant' economies | <urn:uuid:9232fffa-d31b-48bc-b693-db434854c8fe> | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07/07/software_counterfeiter_jailed/ | en | 0.978604 | 0.032265 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
This week, a woman named Yaz’min Shancez was murdered in Florida. Her body was set on fire behind a dumpster.
Here is a list of twelve transgender people murdered in 2012. The Transgender Day of Remembrance honors the memory of murdered transgender men and women every year, and their lists (like this one from 2013) are haunting.
Ireland has been in the news recently because trans people are speaking out against the violence and aggression they have faced their on a regular basis, usually being met without sympathy or support from authorities.
At a rate much higher than any other sexual orientation- or gender-based group, transgender people suffer abuse from their peers, a culture that often pushes them toward suicide or self-harm, and dehumanizing language from politicians and religious leaders, not to mention bloggers.
Most of the time, when Christians talk about transgender men and women, they are only doing so to condemn them, describe them as sexual deviants, or paint them as threats to society.
I am issuing a plea to two groups of Christians.
To group one, which is made up of people who view transgender people as confused, living in sin, or deceived: Please speak up about violence against trans people. You may not understand or approve of the decisions made by trans men and women, but surely you must believe that they do not deserve to be verbally attacked, sexually assaulted, or murdered. No one deserves that. For all its faults, I believe the Christian church has a rich history of serving those that society has rejected. This should extend to transgender people, who are often excluded by their families, communities, churches, and employers. Think about the fact that one of our faith’s first converts was an Ethiopian eunuch–someone who didn’t conform to traditional cultural gender norms.
I am not asking you to change your mind about trans people, even though I would like you to. What I am asking you to do is recognize their humanity. When you hear people talking about laws that would allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify as, think about how that law protects their safety. When your friends talk about trans people, speak up and tell them about the constant threat that transgender people–especially trans women of color–are under, simply for existing. When a story breaks about the murder of yet another trans person, share that story with your social networks with humility, not with “This is what happens,” but rather, “We need to stop this.” Challenge your friends not to use discriminatory and hurtful words like “tranny” or “he-she” or “it.” When a movie features a cheap punchline about a man having sex with a prostitute who “turned out to be a dude,” criticize the dehumanizing nature of that.
I realize this may be a lot to ask if you really do view being transgender as a sign of psychological problems or sin. I believe you’re in the wrong on this one, and I think you need to reconsider your understanding of gender identity. I think your beliefs are inherently hurtful to transgender people. That said, you have an opportunity to be a voice of compassion toward people you fundamentally disagree with. Your voice matters. Simply by saying, “People deserve compassion,” you are doing more than the average Christian on this topic.
To group two, which is made up of cis (that means non-trans) Christians who view being transgender as perfectly acceptable and normal: Please speak up about violence against trans people. We cis men and women benefit from our bodies matching our spirits, and we need to speak up to benefit those who don’t have our privilege. We also benefit from the social privileges of being part of the predominant faith tradition in America, and our voices are automatically given a certain degree of weight. Use that to do the things I mentioned above, but with the intention of normalizing the trans experience and supporting transgender people in our communities and churches. Even better than speaking up is providing a platform for trans voices. Spread the word about things like Transfigurations, a play by Peterson Toscano about gender-nonconformity in the Bible. Read interviews, Twitter feeds, and books by public trans figures like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, Toni Newman, and Calpernia Adams. Read blogs like American Trans Man, Becoming Hailey, the Post-Transition Tumblr, the Tumblr trans tag, and Lawrence Richardson’s writing for The Salt Collective. Share their writing. Confront transphobia when you see it.
Violence against transgender people is real, and it is a constant threat. Our beliefs on whether or not it’s a sin to be transgender shouldn’t matter when it comes to challenging a culture that responds violently to people who are vulnerable. What can you do to help stop this violence? | <urn:uuid:e8d39013-fea8-436f-b991-35f525f055d3> | https://lizboltzranfeld.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/all-christians-must-speak-up-about-violence-against-trans-people/ | en | 0.962899 | 0.056192 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Red Light Robins
As the light turned yellow, I stopped before going through the intersection. Suddenly, a car shot past me on the inside after the light had turned red three or four seconds previously. We’ve all experienced this scenario, as men or women, not satisfied with waiting for the green light, drive right through the red one, seemingly unconcerned that they might smash into a car coming from the side or opposite direction. These same drivers refuse to stay in line on the road behind someone else, but drive at breakneck speeds to get ahead of cars in front of them. I label these terrors of the road, “Red Light Robins”.
What is it about them that moves someone to act this way? These men and women, young and old, drive all kinds of cars. Most are not late for anything, but act as if the rules for stopping and speed control are for everyone except themselves.
Such drivers reflect a growing movement in today’s world at large that holds everyone else accountable except oneself. Does this spring from selfishness, or anger, or frustration, or the unwillingness to believe that we can’t have everything the way we want it? If you are a “Red Light Robin,” examine the way you drive and change your attitude before it is too late.
| <urn:uuid:0631057b-fdd2-4b50-ab84-d41bc2fd3dd7> | https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Organizations/Article/TabId/662/ArtMID/13702/ArticleID/15663/Red-Light-Robins.aspx | en | 0.959547 | 0.119523 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
May 5, 2000
News Release 00-059
Invs. Nos. 731-TA-825-826 (F)
The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) today determined that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of certain polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan that the Department of Commerce has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value.
Vice Chairman Marcia E. Miller and Commissioners Jennifer A. Hillman, Stephen Koplan, Thelma J. Askey, and Deanna Tanner Okun found two like products in these investigations, voting in the negative with respect to low-melt polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan and in the affirmative with respect to all other subject polyester staple fiber from these countries. Chairman Lynn M. Bragg found one like product and voted in the affirmative in both investigations.
As a result of the Commission's affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will direct the U.S. Customs Service to impose antidumping duties on imports of certain polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan other than low-melt polyester staple fiber.
The Commission's public report Certain Polyester Staple Fiber from Korea and Taiwan (Investigations Nos. 731-TA-825-826 (Final), USITC Publication 3300, May 2000) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.
Certain Polyester Staple Fiber from Korea and Taiwan
Product Description:
The imported product subject to these investigations is certain polyester staple fiber, a synthetic fiber similar in appearance to cotton or wool fiber when baled. The subject polyester staple fiber is known in the industry as "fiber for fill," as it is primarily used as polyester fiberfill. The subject fiber is distinguished from other staple fiber by its diameter, 3 denier or more; length, 1 to 5 inches; and in some cases by the finish and the "crimp" of the fiber. The majority of polyester staple fiber is used as stuffing in sleeping bags, mattresses, ski jackets, comforters, cushions, pillows, and furniture.
Status of Proceedings:
1. Type of investigations: Final antidumping.
2. Petitioners: E.I. Dupont de Nemours, Wilmington, DE 1/; Arteva Specialities S.a.r.l. d/b/a/
KoSa, Spartanburg, SC; Wellman, Inc., Shrewsbury, NJ; and Intercontinental Polymers,
Inc., Charlotte, NC.
3. Investigations instituted by the USITC: November 4, 1999.
4. Commission's hearing: March 28, 2000.
5. USITC vote: May 5, 2000.
6. USITC determinations to the U.S. Department of Commerce: May 15, 2000.
U.S. Industry:
1. Number of producers in 1999: Six.
2. Location of producers' plants: DuPont: Kinston, NC; Intercontinental Polymers:
Morristown, TN; KoSa: Salisbury, NC and Spartanburg, SC; Martin Color-Fi:
Edgefield, SC; Nan Ya Plastics: Lake City, SC; and Wellman: Darlington, SC,
Johnsonville, SC, and Marion, SC.
3. Employment of production and related workers in 1999: 1,241.
4. Apparent U.S. consumption in 1999: 890,151,000 pounds.
5. Ratio of total U.S. shipments of imports to total U.S. consumption in 1999:
40.4 percent, by quantity.
U.S. Imports:
1. From the subject countries during 1999. 2/
2. From other countries during 1999. 2/
3. Leading source during 1999: Korea.
1/ DuPont is not a petitioner in the investigation involving Taiwan.
2/ Withheld to avoid disclosure of business proprietary information.
-- 30 -- | <urn:uuid:9f6cf3cf-218c-403f-81c5-5d524c0757d6> | https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2000/er0505x1.htm | en | 0.889191 | 0.026274 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The animals eat the pineapple. (Marvin Joseph/WASHINGTON POST)
This is the concluding moral of a reading comprehension test question actually posed to eighth graders across the country — most recently, in New York state.
The story, The Pineapple and the Hare, features a pineapple who challenges a hare to a race. “How could an immobile fruit win a race?” the other animals wonder. But the crow points out that perhaps this is what the pineapple wants them to think. Maybe it wants them to root for the hare so it can embarrass them when it prevails. No doubt, the crow insists, the pineapple has something up its sleeve. They decide to cheer for the pineapple and foil its plan. Of course, the pineapple does not move, and the hare wins.
The animals eat the pineapple.
Then come the questions.
Why did the animals eat the pineapple?
(A. They were annoyed. B. They were amused. C. They were hungry. D. They wanted to.)
Who is the wisest?
(A. The hare. B. The moose. C. The crow. D. The owl.)
Yes, really.
This may well go down in the annals of history as the least comprehensible reading comprehension question of all time.
This question has been administered all over the country to baffled schoolchildren. There’s even a Facebook group celebrating it.
I can't find and verify a copy of the exact question text. The only one online (the one the Daily News quotes) sounds excruciatingly colloquial and since you can’t take the booklets home, I assume that it was reconstructed by a student after leaving the test.
The state confirmed that the question was on the test but did not elaborate.
Reading comprehension passages are supposed to be hard to comprehend, not literally incomprehensible.
Ken Jennings put it mildly when he said, “Is this a joke? The story makes no sense whatsoever. The narrative has no internal logic, the ‘moral’ is unclear, and the plot details seems so oddly chosen that the story seems to have been written during a peyote trip. (The prose is clunky too, but I hate to pile on.)”
It is hard to improve on that description.
“The pineapple’s motivation is so murky and behavior so inexplicable that it’s impossible to even know what ‘wisdom’ would mean in this bizarre universe of nonlinear action,” Jennings notes.
No wonder the story’s blowing up.
This is everyone’s worst test-taking nightmare. It has an absurd, dream logic to it. Who was the wisest? Why did they eat the pineapple? This is the sort of riddle Snake-Headed Woman poses to you when you fall asleep after eating anchovies.
This sounds like something Yoko Ono would tweet. This sounds like something Ted Nugent would say to a crowd of NRA members.
If your eighth grader can comprehend this, this is cause for concern. It is a sign that he is doing serious drugs.
This is like requiring the eighth graders to tell you the sound of one hand clapping, or describe the noise a tree makes falling in the forest with no one to hear.
It would be a satire of the test-taking process, but it’s a real question.
Tests are vastly important these days.
Teaching to the test may or may not work, but it certainly won’t unless the test actually measures a skill that it is possible to obtain and isn’t a Surrealist nightmare of sleeveless fruit.
In its contract with Pearson, the company behind this maddening question, New York stipulated that on tests “The material ... have characters that are portrayed as positive role models, have a positive message and be well written.”
It certainly violated that contract.
But this points to a larger concern.
So much is based on test scores these days. If they are meaningless — if all this seemingly incontrovertible hard data measures nothing more than an ability to guess a test-maker’s feelings about racing pineapples — then chaos prevails. We gaze into the abyss, and the abyss squints back and whispers, “Probably not the owl.”
With admissions rates to Elite Institutions dropping every year, the criteria for selection are increasingly random. Nothing guarantees admission — not perfect scores, not ground-breaking inventions. You can only do your best, wait, and hope. Perhaps the pineapple writer is right. Abandon all pretenses of merit and order.
This is everyone’s nightmare — you answer poorly written, meandering questions about pineapples with or without sleeves, and then the rest of your life you are judged by the number that results.
“You just have to give it your best answer,” said New York eighth grader Tyree Furman. “These are important tests.”
I wish I were making this up. | <urn:uuid:fa6c1804-5557-4f6c-83c1-166d74476b53> | https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/talking-pineapples-and-unanswerable-questions/2012/04/20/gIQAZ6M3VT_blog.html | en | 0.960023 | 0.066459 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Ever since upgrading to 13.04 I have been experiencing a rather weird phenomenon. At the office, we primarily use Ethernet, but there is also a WiFi network in the building (lets call it wifix). If I want to use the Ethernet rather than wifix I must make sure my laptop has booted with wireless disabled; if wireless is enabled it will connect to wifix during bootup, and the Ethernet will somehow not work. Even if I then disable wireless after booting. So to get Ethernet to work, I must disable wireless, and reboot my machine. This means I must remember to disable wireless each time I shut down my laptop. Or else I must reboot just to get the freaking Ethernet to work.
There must be a way to fix this, but how?
share|improve this question
Try executing this command
it usually solves all ethernet-related issues
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Your Answer
| <urn:uuid:24664e38-c213-4ca9-ab5d-084c549b2a31> | http://askubuntu.com/questions/316345/ethernet-does-not-connect-when-wifi-is-enabled | en | 0.920155 | 0.336663 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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North Brooklyn Start-Ups Find Office Space Is Scarce [✜]
Though there are plenty of start-ups that favor Williamsburg and Greenpoint, developers, local officials and real estate brokers say there is a dearth of office space. Most landlords, lured by the promise of building lucrative apartments in the increasingly popular residential area, are reluctant to devote space to commercial tenants who can pay little and might wither as quickly as they bloom.
"Industry" in Brooklyn is booming, it is just not the smokestack-type industry that we all associate with Brooklyn. Whether start-ups, artisanal manufacturing, food processing, or film production, there is a huge demand for "manufacturing" space in North Brooklyn. And a huge need - the more jobs that can be made local, the less demand there is on our transportation infrastructure.
Although many buildings have retail space on the first floor, upper-floor offices are hard to come by, according to several people who have recently looked… Part of the problem is zoning: though parts of Williamsburg and Greenpoint are zoned for mixed commercial and residential use, the zoning tilts residential.
Ironically, this was among the objections raised in the community response to the 2005 rezoning - in converting hundreds of blocks of outdated industrial zoning to largely residential use, the city was turning a mixed-use community into a bedroom community. | <urn:uuid:db0a506f-8596-4d3d-bf8e-c64ba43a01e5> | http://brooklyn11211.com/2013/01/office-space/ | en | 0.9542 | 0.018387 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Maccabee era correspondence discovered
Breaking News
"[The text reveals] Seleukes appointed one of the members of his court as an official to oversee worship in the area and equate religious services throughout the empire," Gera said."Such an appointment might have been considered by the Jews to be offensive."
In the book of Maccabees II, Josephus tells the story of a Greek-Syrian official in a similar position who tries to rob the Temple of its gold. The stele is believed to date from 178 BCE, just over a decade before Judah Maccabee rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem....
comments powered by Disqus | <urn:uuid:d6235d7a-d1e6-4b78-8905-5be4d9107437> | http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/121308 | en | 0.953929 | 0.052386 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
You've seen the poster for Uwe Boll's fatsploitation superhero film Blubberella — now feast your eyes on its disaster of a trailer. One think you can say about Boll's work: at least he's consistent in lowering the bar.
All we knew about this film was from the poster's tagline:
But now the trailer reveals that the main character, played by Lindsay Hollister, is a dhampir (half vampire half human) who fights Nazis, while the rest of the cast makes fat jokes. Yep, sounds about par for a film that's being made specifically to piss people off. Also, did Boll spend too much on Nazi costumes that he's having to amortize now? Counting his Auschwitz film and Bloodrayne 3, this is his third Nazi movie in a row. | <urn:uuid:aba38de4-cade-470d-ac04-fc9961732eb6> | http://io9.gizmodo.com/5685153/uwe-boll-releases-his-trailer-for-the-first-fat-female-superhero-blubberella | en | 0.97054 | 0.098495 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
30 November 2004
Jesse at Pandagon makes a connection that I should have noticed before.
I read a good four to five pieces each week declaring that academia is a cesspool of fermenting liberalism, from which spouts the bitter wine of postmodernist humanism. However, they're all from conservatives who, themselves, have expressed no desire to work in academia. If the situation were different, they would still be the $100,000 a year op-ed columnist who gets to be on MSNBC and CNN five times a month and only has to copy think-tank studies from the Heritage Foundation and call it a day. Or, you know, they simply cut out the middleman and work for the think tank itself.
Note to my regular readers: "four to five pieces each week"? Obviously my punditry addiction is not really as bad as I thought, in comparison.
And if you're interested in a long, thoughtful essay following up this point, check out what Juan Cole has to say.
Update: If you're interested in a very silly essay following up this point, check out what Bérubé has to say.
Ninja festivities
As part of our ongoing ninja coverage here at Miniver Cheevy, I inform you that this Sunday will be the second annual Day of the Ninja.
Forget "Talk Like a Pirate" Day. This will truly be our chance to show the world what ninja are made of.
Hmmnn. Ninjas and pirates are rivals? It may be news to this guy, but there seems to be general agreement that it is so. Given my strong pirate allegiance, this may have to be my last ninja post ...
29 November 2004
Bye, Colin
Juan Cole, as usual, knows what's what and offers his summation on Powell's resignation, which may be even worse news than I thought.
... insiders in Washington have told me enough stories about Powell victories behind the scenes that I am not sure the marginalization argument is decisive. Powell had an alliance with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the two of them could sometimes derail the wilder plans of the Department of Defense. Blair, and probably Powell, convinced Bush to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan before going on to an Iraq war. Imagine how dangerous the situation would be if the US were bogged down in Iraq as it is now, but Bin Laden's 40 training camps were still going full steam!
Unsurprisingly, he has nothing nice to say about Condi.
Why your kids need Batman
Indri tells me that a study covered in New Scientist reveals that Superman is a counterproductive role model.
Got that right. Teach your kids about Batman, who's just a very determined guy. My mon Bats, he don't shiv.
28 November 2004
Pharyngula is my new hero. His blog is available in both regular and pirate mode.
27 November 2004
I don't need sweaters; I've got that one covered.
I've been cackling with glee over the trailer for National Treasure. The whole thing is stupid, of course, and I gather that the movie is a turkey, but as usual Bruckheimer is the best short filmmaker in the world. I really think that he produces these films in order to get a hundred million dollars to finance the making of the trailer. But what's not to like about a pop culture exploitation of the legend of the Templars begetting the Illuminati begetting the Masons begetting the American Revolution, and leaving their secret code on the Great Seal of the United States? And then stealing the Declaration of Independence?
The other thing that I love about it is that it reminds us that the National Archives in Washington DC is cool. I went there some years ago when I was visiting my folks, and it was as mighty as the Lincoln Memorial.
Of course, you get to see the Declaration of Independence, for which I have veneration beyond even the American norm. And the Constitution, ditto. And they had a display of the Magna Charta on loan from the Brits. (Slightly less impressive, as it turns out that they were smart enough to have King John sign several copies.)
They also have a rotating display of other cool stuff from the archive. My Dad and I cackled with glee over Nixon's resignation letter. (It's short.) I bowed before the might of Maya Lin's original design for the Vietnam Veteran's memorial. (It's handwritten, her handwriting is terrible, and her sketches suck too — neatness counts, my eye — but looking at it you can still see how brilliant the design is.)
Most delightful of all, there was a recent political cartoon that someone at the archive had clipped from the paper. In the cartoon, the President is reading the newspaper, and there's a headline about Vladamir Zhiranovsky, the scary Russian populist who was very big at the time, saying “Zhiranovsky demands return of Alaska.” The cartoon President is on the phone, saying, “Can you find me a receipt?” And sure enough, next to to the cartoon, there was the original receipt for Alaska.
I could just see some person who worked at the Archive seeing that cartoon in the paper in the morning, saying “I can find that!” Delicious.
Hey, kids! Apostropher found these cool stickers! I like this one:
Remember, most Americans think science is bunk, and the Cobb County, Florida school board is working hard to keep it that way, so let's make sure that people understand that "spooky action-at-a-distance" is just a theory.
And while you're at it, you know Gary Pearse at bOING bOING has another idea for stickers.
26 November 2004
Is it just me?
Or does she look like Hiro Protagonist?
The problems of populism
Digby just hits the nail right on the head, pow, with a long post about the challenges of constructing a Democrat populism that will play in red America.
But, as we've seen, people are not rational.
It's long, and well worth reading the whole thing.
I'd further emphasize the difficulty of the problem in that the VRWC has a whole noise machine built that churns out the raw material of infosphere manipulation to make sure that the the Republican populist smokescreen is secure. They have think tanks and advocacy organizations, busy turning out books and reports and bogus research and talking heads to appear on TV. This is to make it seductively easy for the mainstream news media --- increasingly short of time, attention, and resources because of their corporate masters' penny-pinching --- to play the political discourse using their terms and ideas. Plus they have whole media outlets which they outright own and control. And they have pots of money to give to politicians. And they have tightly-run, well-funded political organizations that span the local to the national. And they have their people well-trained to coordinate their talking points, stick to them, and articulate them well.
A few good populist ideas are not enough. It's going to take money, dedication, discipline, and time.
24 November 2004
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. I, for one, know that I have a lot to be thankful for.
In honor of the day, I'd like to solicit some insight about a mystery that I have wondered about for some time.
I see Thanksgiving as a food-oriented holiday, and I'm comfortable with that, in spite of the creepy mythos of the holiday's origins. Eliminating Thanksgiving is a level of cultural reconstructive surgery that I'm not prepared to undertake, but I do think that all Americans need to acknowledge the problems in the "Squanto brings maize" myth. So I gather that Native Americans don't feel so charitably about the holiday, and I certainly respect that.
Among American Jews, it's a great legendary pseudo-tradition to go out to dinner at a Chinese restaraunt on Christmas Day. You have the day off from work, no other place is open, you don't celebrate the holiday, and everyone knows that pork is kosher if it comes in the form of pork fried rice. It's not actually something we ever did in my family; in a great show of Jewish-Catholic syncreticism, we kinda figured that more holidays equals more fun, an attitude which I have retained. But it's a well-known practice, and here in San Francisco it's commemorated by Kung Pao Kosher Comedy night, a revue of Jewish comics performing at Christmas in a Chinese restaraunt.
So I wonder: is there a Native American equivalent on Thanksgiving? Are all of the SF Native Americans over at Café Bastille right now, partying with the European expats? I hope that folks who have good reasons to feel uncomfortable with Turkey Day are doing something fun to reclaim the holiday for their own purposes.
Does someone in my vast reader population know?
Big fat lie
Why do we teach this to children?
I before E
except after C
and when sounded like A
as in neighbor and weigh
.... with just a few exceptions:
• ancient
• caffeine
• concierge
• conscience
• deity
• efficient
• either
• Fahrenheit
• feisty
• financier
• foreign
• forfeit
• height
• heist
• heinous
• kaleidoscope
• keister
• leisure
• obeisance
• protein
• reify
• reïnforce
• science
• seismic
• seize
• slight
• society
• sufficient
• their
• weird
• ....
Arianna Huffington has a fascinating article about the mistakes of the Kerry campaign.
In conversations with Kerry insiders over the last nine months, I've heard a recurring theme: that it was Shrum and the Clintonistas (including Greenberg, Carville and senior advisor Joe Lockhart) who dominated the campaign in the last two months and who were convinced that this election was going to be won on domestic issues, like jobs and healthcare, and not on national security.
As Tom Vallely, the Vietnam War veteran whom Kerry tapped to lead the response to the Swift boat attacks, told me: "I kept telling Shrum that before you walk through the economy door, you're going to have to walk through the terrorism/Iraq door. But, unfortunately, the Clinton team, though technically skillful, could not see reality --- they could only see their version of reality. And that was always about pivoting to domestic issues. As for Shrum, he would grab on to anyone's strategy; he had none of his own."
Her description rings true, as far as it goes, but given how crafty the Republicans are at framing the debate, I wonder whether other strategy really could have worked any better. Yes, tactically, the Kerry team should have had a rapid-response team early to KO stuff like the Swiftvets for Bullshit, but strategically, it's going to take a long-term party-wide (and beyond) effort to take control of the issues on the table.
23 November 2004
Not the kind of design I do
I caught The Incredibles last week and it's as fun as everyone says.
It's strange to say this about a movie with no real props or sets, but one of my favorite parts of the picture is the production design, which an article in Design Observer describes delightfully.
Arriving at the estate of Edna Mode, visitors are led up a manicured hillside to an International Style house of uncertain provenance. Edna’s diminutive size (she admits to three-foot-eight) makes the scale of her minimally furnished home seem even more preposterous: from the Miesian lobby to the Bulthaup-inspired industrial kitchen (and let's not forget the George Nelson benches) it’s an aesthetic travesty: design beyond reach. Edna herself is a kind of cross between the diminutive actress Linda Hunt and the design impresario Murray Moss --- with dashes of Anna Wintour and Edith Head thrown in for good measure. In Edna’s domain, design manifests as a kind of Napoleonic obsession. A devout minimalist permanently clad in monochromatic shades of black and grey, she’s the ultimate cartoon embodiment of design.
Though it's strange that the article misses how much of Carrie Donovan there is Ms. Mode.
The mass psychology of Republicanism
I have three heaping servings of the dark psychosexual undercurrents of politics for you.
Mark Ames makes some very unhappy speculations about Bush voters in his recent essay The Spite Vote. (He later published a revised version of this essay.)
This is why [the left] will forever struggle to understand the one overriding mystery of why so many working- and middle-class white males vote against their own best interests.
I CAN TELL YOU WHY. They do so out of spite. Put your ear to the ground in this country, and you'll hear the toxic spite churning. It's partly the result of commercial propaganda and sexual desperation—a desperation far more common than is admitted. If you didn't know anything about how America's propaganda worked, you'd think that every citizen here experienced four-dimensional multiple orgasms with beautiful, creative, equally satisfied partners, morning, noon and night.
The wretched truth is that America is an erogenous no man's land. Most white males here (at least the straight ones) have either dismal sex lives or no sex lives at all. As bad as this hurts, the pain is compounded every time you expose yourself to the cultural lies that await you at every turn—that is, every waking hour and during deep REM sleep, when the subliminal messages kick in. This wretchedness leads to a desire for vengeance, to externalize the inner famine—it leads directly to the Republican camp.
non-millionaires who vote Republican, the so-called “Reagan Democrats,” know that the country is not theirs. They are mere wage-slave fodder, so their only hope is to vote for someone who makes the very happiest people's lives a little less happy. If I'm an obese 40-something white male living in Ohio or Nevada, locked into a permanent struggle with foreclosure, child support payments and outsourcing threats, then I'm going to vote for the guy who delivers a big greasy portion of misery to the Sarandon-Robbins dining room table, then brags about it on FoxNews. Even if it means hurting myself in the process.
George W. Bush and Milosevic have a lot in common.
Now I don't want to sound like I'm overstating the case. I don't believe that everyone who ever votes Republican is driven mainly by spite and deep psychosexual frustration and jealousy. But I think that Mark Ames is right that this is part of what's going on—think of the resonance that the meme of the “limosine liberals” in the “cultural elite” has for so many Americans.
There's a striking resemblence between that screed and what Wilhelm Reich, Freud's protégé, wrote in The Mass Psychologly of Fascism in 1942. (A book which the Surveillance Camera Players have conveniently summarized quite cunningly.) In “Preface to the Third Edition,” Reich says
The suppression of one's primitive material needs compasses a different result than the suppression of one's sexual needs. The former incites to rebellion, whereas the latter—inasmuch as it causes sexual needs to be repressed, withdraws them from consciousness and and anchors itself as a moral defense—prevents rebellion against both forms of suppression.
It is not only by means of this process that sexual repression strengthens political reaction and makes the individual in the masses passive and nonpolitical; it creates a secondary force in man's structure—an artificial interest, which actively supports the authoritarian order. When sexuality is prevented from attaining natural gratification, owing to the process of sexual repression, what happens is that it seeks various kinds of substituting gratifications. Thus, for instance, natural aggression is distorted into brutal sadism, which constitutes an essential part of the mass-psychological basis of those imperialistic wars that are instigated by a few.
Now bring it back to the Sontag essay about Abu Graib that I linked some time ago.
What formerly was segregated as pornography, as the exercise of extreme sadomasochistic longings—as in Pier Paolo Pasolini's last, near-unwatchable film, Salo (1975), depicting orgies of torture in the Fascist redoubt in northern Italy at the end of the Mussolini era - is now being normalized, by some, as high-spirited play or venting. To “stack naked men” is like a college fraternity prank, said a caller to Rush Limbaugh and the many millions of Americans who listen to his radio show. Had the caller, one wonders, seen the photographs? No matter. The observation —or is it the fantasy?—was on the mark. What may still be capable of shocking some Americans was Limbaugh's response: “Exactly!” he exclaimed. “Exactly my point. This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation, and we're going to ruin people's lives over it, and we're going to hamper our military effort, and then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time.” “They” are the American soldiers, the torturers. And Limbaugh went on: “You know, these people are being fired at every day. I'm talking about people having a good time, these people. You ever heard of emotional release?”
I'd add one little coda. This makes clear to me something about the ongoing kulturkamph.
To folks like the cheerful San Francisco libertines I know, it's absurd that anyone should think that dirty pictures are dangerous. Yes, much of American porn is both aesthetically and conceptually ugly, one might admit, but we can solve that problem by creating and enjoying beautiful, uplifting, joyful erotica. People understand the difference between fantasy and reality. They're just pictures, or words on paper, just fun.
True for folks who have other erotic outlets, perhaps. But in a culture with an unhappy ambivalence about eros, without other outlets? Where women have to get drunk to enjoy desire and being desired, where men are awash in frustrations at every level? Is not erotic art of any kind not a cruel taunt—be it Playboy, Mapplethorpe, Susie Bright, or pretty girls in beer commercials? Why are we making so much of the stuff? And where does the frustration finally surface?
What have we built here?
22 November 2004
Short sharp shock
Deadly Warren Ellis has just finished his 50 part series of very short fiction and essays, "Scream Talking", published on the web.
They are good, but not nice. Really not nice. Don't say I didn't warn you.
I give up
I have lost my faith in the productiveness of our dialogue. Take this most recent round as an example ...
I made a post quoting Mark A.R. Kleiman saying that, contrary to many lefties' protestations to the contrary, Americans are quite right to worry that the left is eager to impose its moral principles on them, as demonstrated by the Civil Rights Movement.
You commented to that post with a scattershot collection of observations. The red states of the '04 elections don't match the slave states, no matter what your lyin' eyes tell you looking at the maps. Government programs don't work because they discourage people from taking responsibity for themselves. The teaching of evolution had nothing to do with the results of the election. Kerry wants to tax the rich, but people don't want to vote for that because they might be rich someday. There's nothing special about slavery in the South because in the North many people were wage slaves, trapped by debt.
You cover a lot of ground, Kevin, and in order to try to clearly address just one of those points, I have to take time to unpack it clearly.
In this case, I responded in three pieces. First, I tried to clarify my own central point that Kleiman's thesis tells us that the South's resistance to liberalism is not a consequence of some Southern moral failure, but rather a direct experience of the heavy hand of the left. Second, I countered your seeming defense of Southern slavery by describing how it was more unjust than wage earners' situation in the North, taking great care to make clear that though slavery was a moral wrong unique to the South, it certainly did not make the North (or West) morally superior to the South across the board. Third, I connected your point about slavery to two other places where you have made statements that seemed morally slippery --- calling UK Guardian readers "terrorists," and saying that the Abu Graib "torture is bad, but so is terrorism" --- and proposed that you should state very plainly that, of course, you didn't mean to speak in support of torture, slavery, or treating British liberals as terrorists.
Take a close look at that post. In the first part, I came to the defense of anti-liberal South, saying they have a good cause for their anti-liberal sensibility. In the second part, I started by stacking up a bunch of facile lefty critiques of the South and shot them down, then took pains to critique your comment in a narrow and specific way. In the third part, I made sure to offer that it was likely my misreading of your writing that led to these disturbing conclusions. Yes, my writing was forceful, but also conciliatory, polite, and grounded in specific things that you said.
You responded by saying, of course I don't believe in those bad things, but then offer no real clarification of what you did mean.
On slavery, you still did not allow me my very narrow and specific claim.
The North is not always correct in this matter
I'm sorry, Kevin, but this is exactly my point. The North is not always correct, true. But in this matter, the North was correct and the South was wrong. In the matter of slavery, the South had a brutal practice that the North did not. I hope that you understand why lefties like me become so very uncomfortable when folks on the right will not simply let it rest when we say "slavery in the South was wrong."
On calling the UK Guardian readers "terrorists," you just flatly deny the connection I made without any explanation.
Nobody is advocating killing the misguided British (and other) letter writers
Well, you said very clearly "These pasty-face English liberals are as much terrorists as those in Al Queda," and also said "We need to continue to kill terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Europe, or anywhere that they assemble." So you can understand my confusion. How do I reconcile these three statements? Are the Guardian readers not terrorists after all? Or are they a special class of terrorists who we should not kill? What are you talking about, here?
And strangely, you follow up that point with this:
accusing the President of lying as you did ... Do you think that it helps anyone? Debate is good, but name calling is not so good.
Eh? Saying that I think the President lied because, gee, he keeps saying things that are not true, that's name-calling. Saying that the Guardian letter-writers are "terrorists" is not name-calling, it's ... debate?
At every turn in our dialogue, you've answered my attempts to clarify key disagreements with comments that are scattered, unclear, and seemingly self-contradictory --- as I've catalogued in this post. Do you see why I find it just too difficult to puzzle out what you mean, Kevin, and respond to it thoughtfully, clearly, and civilly? I had hoped to learn something about where you're coming from in this dialogue, but I emerge only more frustrated and confused from each round.
So I give up. Is there something we're accomplishing here that I don't see? Because I'm feeling like I've wasted your time, for which I apologize.
21 November 2004
Today's quote
So I learn from Errol Morris' wonderful website that Donald Trump's favourite film is, of course, Citizen Kane.
Morris: If you could give Charles Foster Kane advice, what would you say to him?
Trump: Get yourself a different woman.
Tip o' the hat to Kottke for spotting the clip.
20 November 2004
Stay on target
Part of how a lot of lefties, like me, got fooled into thinking that Bush would lose the election was that we imagined that the Bush "rally the base" strategy was ill-conceived. Traditionally, that's a Democrat strategy, since Democrats' turnout is more variable than Republicans'. Where was the extra base to draw from?
This was an underestimation of Republicans' organizing power, and an overestimation of Democrats'.
There's a lot of "let's get to work" talk on the left right now, and I think Todd Gitlin discusses the point well by comparing to how the right organized in the last few decades.
Those in the Democratic camp and the rational liberal-left who believe in long-term institutional politics should conclude that they could not possibly have compensated for 30-plus years of right-wing base-building with one year's fever of anti-Bush resolve. They should, like the Republican Party after the Goldwater cataclysm of 1964, sigh, shudder, mourn--and organize. They'll pick themselves up and get back to work building their start-up think tanks and media and Internet networks, from the Center for American Progress through Air America Radio through MoveOn.org and various 527 soft money distributors, all of which, despite starting late, made up for a good deal of Democratic organizational weakness in 2004.
That is, if they're smart. The post-Goldwater Republicans were smart. Despite what looked like a calamity, they didn't bolt from the GOP. They didn't break off as a third party, though some of them dearly wanted to. Will the rebellious left discipline itself, cool its boiling blood, and decide that the pleasures of sectarianism are worth less than the steady resolve of infrastructural work?
I hope progressives will be able to hold this thought in the coming years.
19 November 2004
Today's quote
Via noir svengali Thomas Roche, I offer you Delana Davies, concerned parent, who wonders
A promotion?
So Colin's out, and Condi's in.
American Prospect Online observes observes tartly
The feminist movement, whose early “assaults” on traditional morality sparked the backlash in the first place, is now utterly victorious. Under George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice has become national security adviser, mismanaging the interagency process with more gusto than any man ever achieved; the word on the street is that she'll soon be promoted to Secretary of State for her troubles.
Indeed, I've heard for years in feminist circles that the sign of equality wasn't that competent women would have no barriers to success, but that equality would be when there were as many incompetent women in positions of prestige and authority as incompetent men. I've never found that to be a terribly inspiring way for feminism to frame its goals, and here we're vividly reminded why.
Of course, like so much of the Bush administration, Dr. Rice is not only inept: she's inept, malicious, and in a position of authority, like a sitcom boss. DeLong has some choice words about her 9/11 testimony, for which she should have lost her job. If you're hardcore, there's much more detail from the Daily Howler, and there's video of the key bit.
If you're not hardcore, just go see what they said on the Daily Show, or reflect on how grumpy she is.
18 November 2004
Map crazy
In case your hunger for electoral maps remains unabated, there's lots of them.
Classical skyscrapers
If you like that sort of thing, City Journal has some lovely sketches from architects imagining new skyscrapers as cool as the old ones, with some gratifying grumbling about Le Corbusier.
Okay, okay, Peter Pennoyer's Parthanon-on-a-hypertrophied-plinth idea is a bit goofy, but nothing's perfect.
Flag redesign
Tom Toles and Internebbish seem to have had the same idea.
16 November 2004
If Japan did not exist, we would have to invent it
Goofy Japanese TV commercial
Rumour has it that the woman holding the torch in the Columbia Pictures logo is the actress Annette Benning.
Not so. Roger Ebert has the scoop.
So now you know.
15 November 2004
So I saw this picture in a recent post on Mike Epstein's delightful photoblog Satan's Laundromat. As a caption, Mr. Epstein asks, "Does anyone know what this is advertising?"
Reaching into my deep knowledge of corporate stuff, I send him an email.
That's the logo for LG Electronics, a major electronics manufacturer that until recently did not have a very public brand. They used to just make "invisible" stuff like the radio that comes with your car. It seems they've decided to become more consumer-oriented.
But I've missed the point. He writes back.
I meant the R* (I know LG), but thanks.
Duh. But I'm on the case now!
Ha! I didn't even see that! I think it must be for ROCKST*R energy drink.
But no. I'm being anti-helpful, and he's way ahead of me.
I've been informed that it's for Rockstar Games
So I'm a brand-identifyin' loser. I write back one more time.
I guess that ad really didn't work on me.
Here in San Francisco, the Stadium Formerly Known As Candlestick Park has recently sold its name, and become Monster Park. I thought that the job-hunting people had bought it, but actually it was the cable manufacturer.
So see, Mike, I'm not a clueless loser, this is just an opportunity for me to make a hip observation about the ironies of consumer culture. He responds.
worst name EVER.
wait, no, pro player stadium is worse.
second worst name EVER.
Sure, Mike, dis the 49ers' stadium. Fine. Just don't remind me that I just gave a bit of free advertising to all these stupid companies, just like they wanted.
Don't click those links, people.
Except to Satan's Laundromat, which is cool.
14 November 2004
Missing the point?
Thanks for dropping in again to comment. It seems that I didn't make my point clear in that post.
I think you read me as implying that the states that went for Bush did so because they were tainted by the evil legacy of slavery, which I agree would have been an arrogant claim. But my post was motivated by me wanting to refute that reading of the maps, which is why it centered around the Mark Kleiman piece that I quoted.
Kleiman observes that when Americans uncomfortable with liberalism assert that liberals are quick to use the government to impose their moral principles on other people, they are right, as demonstrated by how in the 1960s liberals dismantled Jim Crow. Most liberals have a hard time seeing this because they think of conservatives as the only ones who are quick to impose moral principles through government. (Abortion, sodomy laws, drug laws, censorship, et cetera.) I connected that to the maps which show a strong correlation between slave states and states which awarded their electoral votes to Bush, the Republican candidate, in the ’04 election: they are states which experienced a particularly vigorous imposition of liberal moral principles in the aftermath of the Civil War. Thus many folks in those states have a hard time trusting liberals to leave them alone.
But I have to say that if my guess is right that you read me as claiming that the evil taint of slavery remained in the former slave states and territories then I am astonished by your response. There are so many pointed ways that you could have responded to that claim.
Had you said, “you lefties are always trying to blame the South for the sins of the past,” I'd have apologized for having inadvertantly implied that; we should live for the present, first. Had you said “if there's some evil lurking in the soil where I live because of the slavery of 150 years ago, then I'm sure there's evil in the soil where you live because of the endless massacres of Native Americans at that same time,” I'd have admitted that the South has no special monopoly on evil, nor does my beloved lefty town of San Francisco have any special claim to virtue. Had you said, “you lefties are always talking about the racism in the South when you should be cleaning up the racism in your own backyard,” I'd have said amen brother, because the left is and the left should.
But no, you leapt to the defense of slavery!
I think that it is the pinnacle of arrogance to claim moral superiority in the area of slavery. The north used people in their factories to produced goods. Those people were practically owned by the factory owners. They could not leave their jobs, they were in debt.
[emphasis mine]
I'm sorry, Kevin, but I think that in the area of slavery there's a lot of moral superiority to claim. Yes, the factory workers of the 19th century North were often trapped by their debts, as were many of the workers of the West. But they were not considered anyone's private property. They had no "owners" who could beat them, murder them, sell the members of their families away from them at will. Yes, I know that most slaves of the South were not treated nearly so badly as that, but some were, and all slaves lived with the threat that these things were permitted ... even protected ... by law.
It is absurd to say that the wage slavery of the North was indistinguishable from the slavery of the South. In the North there was injustice, there were people deprived of essential liberties, there was racism which was arguably worse in some ways than in the South. But in the area of slavery, as you say, I don't think there's any arrogance at all in saying the South had a unique moral problem.
I dearly hope that I am somehow misreading what seem to be some very strange moral arguments I hear you making. Workers deprived of some important liberties by their debts are not equivalent to slaves deprived of their most basic liberties by the law of the land. Obnoxious Brits writing letters are not equivalent to Al Qaeada terrorists. And terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda Saudis certainly do not justify the torture at Abu Graib in Iraq.
Tell me that you are not a defender of torture and slavery. Tell me that you don't think that writing rude letters marks lefty Brits as terrorists in need of being killed.
Please, Kevin. Please.
13 November 2004
Haunted house
The Dionaea House is a terrific, scary little work of fiction which takes good advantage of the web as a medium. If you like experimental fiction or spooky stories, take about an hour and read it.
12 November 2004
Red state thinking
Mark A.R. Kleiman is about a millimeter away from being the next contribution to my blogroll's bloat. He has a very insightful post about why the left rubs a lot of Americans the wrong way. It includes this gem ...
Not treating people badly because of their race, for example, is a moral principle; everyone knows that. And liberals insisted, pretty successfully, on imposing it on the rest of the population. The fact that the imposition was so successful that the principle of racial tolerance has now diffused itself widely didn't make it any less of an imposition, and many white Southerners who no longer hate black people still hate liberals for messing with their way of life, or learned to hate liberals from their unreconstructed parents and older friends.
... which explains the very disturbing maps which show that Bush won the states that had slavery 150 years ago. (For extra credit, see what Digby has to say on that subject.)
Kleiman goes on to say some very insightful stuff about gun control that every lefty should read. Check it out.
Then, for extra credit, go see Brad DeLong waxing snarky about the intellectual implications of Kleiman's prescription.
11 November 2004
Armistice Day
Before it was "Veterans' Day," November 11 marked the end of the Great War. Crooked Timber marks the occasion well.
Yassir Arafat
Grandfather of the unrealized Arab Palestinian state
Father of modern terrorism
I'll admit it. My first thought was ... good.
But my second thought is more complicated.
I've spent a fair bit of time studying and thinking about the fate of the modern Levant, the question to which Arafat devoted his life, and it's really fucking complicated. When talk turns to Israel, I typically wind up arguing with whoever's in the room. In loopy lefty circles, that typically means defending Israel by patiently explaining the history of the region — trying to stick to those precious few things that are clearly agreed upon as fact — to people who really don't know anything about it. In staunchly Zionist circles, it typically means criticizing Israel by painstakingly distinguishing Arab Palestians from Syria or Egypt or Jordan, pre-’67 from post-’67. In more daring circles, it may mean talking about how Zionism fits into the history of nationalism and European imperialism, asking why Israel was even a good idea in the first place, or reflecting on whether Brooklyn isn't the New Jerusalem.
So my second thought about Arafat is complicated.
On the first day after a person's death, I try to honor the tradition of not speaking ill of the dead. I gritted my teeth and did it for Reagan. But I cannot do it for Arafat. Amygdala reminds us not to cry any tears for him, and is right.
Yes, Arafat has been at war with a real injustice, fighting for a people wronged by history. But he has made his war against the wrong enemy, the Israeli people, by despicable means, awash in the blood of innocents. He has failed as a leader of his own people, robbing them of their honor, their gold, and the truth. He is one of the principal authors of our era of terrorism, leaving a curse for all humanity. We are all well rid of him — even, and perhaps especially, the Arab Palestinians.
It has been said that they are a people who “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” This is, of course, both true and false — and most vividly so of Arafat. Perhaps now, without him, that will change.
So no tears. But today I can hope for the better parts — only the better parts — of his dreams to come true. In that spirit, I offer Miriam bat Asherah's beautiful poetry and irony:
Moses never made it to the promised land.
Let's forget for a moment those who say,
“Of course not; the Exodus never happened,”
Those archaeologists who would argue themselves
Out of existence (for we know if there is no
Moses walking through the desert there is also
No Miriam, no Red Sea, no timbrel).
Let us imagine for now a moment in imaginary
History, Moses standing on the precipice —
God saying, “You can look but not touch,
See but not possess, give but never benefit.”
Let us imagine that old man who has given his
Life to create a space for his people,
His son's foreskin to be a bridegroom of blood.
Let us imagine him looking over, in his final
Moments — will they cross over? Will the wandering end?
Does it matter for now if an historical sojourn
Happened? For we all know exile, as those writers did:
That endless hike through desert, the wondering, the waiting,
The knowledge sinking in: all who knew the old way
Must first die before their tree bears fruit.
Not, of course, that the new way is any better.
Let us forget those who say that Jericho's walls fell
Centuries before the text assures us. Let us imagine
Joshua taking the inheritance: coming in
Horns blasting, helped by a friendly whore,
And bringing the fortress of Jericho's ruins down.
Let us imagine his young blood surging — old wine, new skins.
The newspaper tells me this morning: “Arafat Dies;
His Nation Unrealized,” and somehow I think of Moses,
That ancient dreammaker (and, some say, dream) who
Forged a people that he would lead only in exile,
Who dreamed of land he would never know. And I think
Of what it means to wander: exile itself sometimes the goal:
Realizing the destination is beyond us, and still walking.
God help us
Why are elections hard?
The computer industry understands the science of user-interface --- that knowledge should be applied to ballot design.
Possibly the most stunning thing I've read all week. Consider just one example of the insanity of this comment.
Raymond's recommendations center around the idea that open source developers need to meet the needs of "Aunt Tillie", whom Raymond defines as "the archetypal nontechnical user". (Hereafter referred to as A.T., because the name Aunt Tillie is so queer that it makes yours truly a tad queasy.) The idea being that if open source software is usable by A.T., then it'll meet the usability needs of everyone else, too.
But the whole A.T. angle is quite disingenuous. It wasn't A.T. who couldn't connect to a shared printer. It was Raymond himself who couldn't figure it out. Yes, I see the point that if it were so easy and obvious that A.T. could do it, a nerd like Raymond could do it too. But this is putting the horse way in front of the carriage. In what world does the "archetypal nontechnical user" have two computers connected by Ethernet? When A.T. needs to configure a printer, it's going to be connected directly to her computer, not shared over a network.
By focusing on A.T., Raymond is ignoring the actual depth of the problem. It's easy to say, The open source community needs to do better, we need to create software A.T. can use. But they're so far away from this right now that even an expert like Eric Raymond can't figure out how to use their software.
Sorry, but for professional reasons I'm sensitive about this stuff.
10 November 2004
Jon Stewart = Da Man
For those of you who, like me, don't have a TV, a friend has passed on a web archive of Daily Show clips provided by witty, fetching Mistress of Political Video Clips Lisa Rein. Hooray!
And while I'm on the subject, Jon Stewart has apparently read all of the same books I have, including The Fourth Turning. Dig his commencement address to graduates of William & Mary.
Lets talk about the real world for a moment. We had been discussing it earlier, and I --- I wanted to bring this up to you earlier about the real world, and this is I guess as good a time as any. I don't really know to put this, so I'll be blunt. We broke it.
But here's the good news. You fix this thing, you're the next Greatest Generation, people. You do this --- and I believe you can --- you win this war on terror, and Tom Brokaw's kissing your ass from here to Tikrit, let me tell ya. And even if you don't, you're not gonna have much trouble surpassing my generation. If you end up getting your picture taken next to a naked guy pile of enemy prisoners and don't give the thumbs up you've outdid us.
Definitely read the whole thing.
09 November 2004
We'll be free soon
It will suck. I will see it anyway. StarWars.com currently has the teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. (And the teaser poster is quite nice.)
You know how someone will send you a link, and you'll hang on to it, and finally read it months later, and be glad you didn't lose it? This is one of those.
How to handle subway preachers
08 November 2004
The hyaena in winter
Y'all may have noticed how, in deference to a friend's request, I'm trying to take it easy on the politics here and emphaise the popkultur side of my blog some more. Very difficult, in these trying times. As a step in the right direction, I offer you a profile of Hunter S. Thomson.
Thompson, 67, who is a friend of Benicio Del Toro, Bob Dylan and Johnny Depp, and the only one of that illustrious quartet who openly uses a spittoon, clears his throat and expectorates into the receptacle below his desk. His chair is surrounded by work spaces on three sides, like a mission-control centre. Across the living-room, the huge television set, which is never turned off, is showing highlights of a football game from Seattle. Stuck to the screen is a yellowed piece of paper that reads: "No music + Bad TV = Bad Mood + No Pages."
"Interviewing Hunter," Loren Jenkins [Newsweek bureau chief in Saigon, currently based in Baghdad] told me, "was the most excruciating experience of my life."
It's a combination of things, really: the ubiquitous firearms and narcotics; his nocturnal regime and sudden mood swings. I first encountered him in the early 1990s when I was working for another newspaper which had decided to send him to join the Royal press corps for the Highland Games. I met Thompson at Gatwick, at 6am. He lit his hash pipe while we were still in sight of the customs hall and insisted on being driven to Smithfield Market for whisky. When we reached his hotel, he barricaded himself in his suite for 36 hours, then fled back to Aspen in the middle of the night. His subsequent faxes referred to me as an "evil treacherous dingbat" and a "weird limey freak".
"In a strange way," says Ralph Steadman, "insults are Hunter's way of articulating affection."
Going up the driveway to his ranch --- before you see the wandering peacocks and the Cadillac convertible commemorated in his writing as the Red Shark --- you pass incrementally threatening signs such as "Keep Out" and "Danger Zone", culminating in: "Guns in Constant Use".
There is, however, a little bit about politics in there, I'm afraid.
07 November 2004
For all of you fans of Bee Season, I offer "Craziest", the animation-illustrated tale of a Scrabble qabalist.
05 November 2004
The galling thing
Why is this election so special? Lefties often go into a funk and mutter about incipient fascism after an election goes badly, but we get over it. This time, a lot of us --- and I count myself among that number --- are truly shell-shocked.
Part if it is how very bad the administration really is. Part of it is the creepy media environment we live in now. Part of it is the fear that American society really has become unhinged. And I have a long, serious post in the works about that stuff.
But there's a very immediate thing that I think has us stunned. We tried really hard this time. We dug deep into our pockets and gave money to the Democratic party. We gave our time to organizations. We went out to the swing states and worked door-to-door. The progressive wing didn't grumble and try to pressure the party; we pandered to swing voters every way we knew how. The Republicans ran a buffoonish candidate who didn't even win the election last time; we ran an articulate, politically moderate war hero candidate.
And still we lost. What more does it take?
Revolving door
On the very important subject of how superheroes' tendency to die and get resurrected can screw up their romantic relationships, I offer you this.
Since, for whatever reason, Scott (Cyclops) Summers decided he didn't like the Jean (Madeline Pryor) Grey he married out of happiness for the untruth of the death of Jean (Phoenix force) Grey, who hadn't, after all, really been his Jean (Jean Grey) Grey, Scott left Madeline, presumably to return to Jean. [By now, Cyclops had slept with no less than three separate Jean Greys, and remained unhappy; wisdom would suggest that perhaps he needed to pursue other conquests rather than follow this destructive course of attempting to sleep with every Jean Grey in the multiverse.]
I had trusted Bryan Singer to deliver us from this evil, but no such luck.
04 November 2004
I am beyond my capacity to write about it now. I'm in no mood.
Go check out these wacky infographics my brother sent me, if you need something to cheer you up.
02 November 2004
Election day
It's not over yet, but it sure doesn't look good for Kerry.
I'm on the road, so more articulate comments will have to wait.
Election day
All y'all know what to do. Vote early, vote often, vote no.
Tonight, with any luck, I'll be partying like it's 1992.
And whatever happens, Tom Toles gives us reason to cheer.
And on the dark side
Orcinus is maintaining a "Right Wing Thug Watch"
I'm not tracking voter fraud (unless violence is involved) or sign theft (likewise). Thus the list is restricted to actual violence, threats or intimidation, or behavior that exceeds the normal bounds of partisanship
It's going to be a long day.
Dewey defeats Truman?
Breslin thinks there's something fishy about the election polls.
Cell phones. Long I have wondered how many there were. Everybody I know, smart people, politicians, news directors, thought that there were, oh, 40 million or so. I call the cell phone institute in Washington last Sept. 12. They told me that there were 165 million cell phones in use in the United States, That is 165,000,000. One month later, I asked again. It was up to 170 million --- 170,000,000. Yes, a great number also had land lines. But of this 170 million cell phone users there were 40 million between the ages of 18 and 29, and these people usually have no other phones.
That had to be Kerry.
Not one cell phone in the United States had been reached by a political poll.
Then a night or so ago, somebody finally tried a poll of cell phone users between the ages of 18 and 29. John Zogby conducted the survey in conjunction with Rock the Vote and the results showed Kerry at 55 percent and Bush at 40.
Then the Kerry people ran their own poll, which took a lot of work. It was the first time they had reached any cell phone users. The result was Kerry 59 and Bush 39.
Sound familiar?
01 November 2004
Weird science
Thanks to Nina Kisch of Bibliovore fame, I can now offer you a link to What's New, a snarky review of the latest in weird pseudoscience. Today I learned about teleportation, Warp Drive Metrics of Las Vegas, positron bombs, and the Raelian's concern that particle colliders are doing nasty things to the teeny tiny people who live inside of protons.
Joe Bob says check it out.
Late-breaking news
Election day is tomorrow. Today I'm busy, and only have time to link quickly.
Kos reports on Republican dirty tricks to suppress the vote
DeLong tells us why the Bush campaign is happy about the Bin Laden tape
See the best guess about the electoral vote --- reading Kerry 298 / Bush 231 at the moment, though polls seem to be nearly worthless right now
The Rude Pundit calls John Kerry a superhero | <urn:uuid:3cd6344c-c0c0-4be8-a422-de99c4f21bf7> | http://miniver.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_archive.html | en | 0.970291 | 0.025442 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Orbiting Earth
Jennifer Loomis, NASA, Exploring Earth
This Flash animation contrasts the geostationary versus polar orbits for satellites. For a geostationary orbit, the satellite remains directly above a fixed point at all times; in time with the Earth's rotation, the satellite circles the earth once every 24 hours, continually viewing the same part of Earth. For the polar orbit, the satellite circles over both poles in a constant plane while earth rotates beneath. Earth's rotation exposes different parts of the surface on each orbit. The animation is useful for a discussion on how remote sensing imagery and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) signals are derived. The animation can be paused and rewound to stress important points.
This resource is referenced here:
Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science, Atmospheric Science:Climatology
Climate Literacy Principles: The Nature of Science:Observational DataKeywords: orbits, GPS, earth orbits | <urn:uuid:8d3d390f-1861-4552-9cbe-5d748f797d32> | http://nagt.org/resources/39089.html | en | 0.74035 | 0.813496 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Essential Guide
Expect the unexpected with a solid cloud DR strategy
For SMBs, cloud disaster recovery may be best choice for disaster recovery storage
Pierre Dorion discusses the basics of disaster recovery storage and whether it's better to sign up for a cloud disaster recovery service, or keep DR all in-house. recently spoke with Pierre Dorion, senior consultant with Long View Systems Inc., about the basics of disaster recovery storage, particularly whether it’s better to outsource disaster recovery, or keep it in-house. In this podcast, you will learn about data storage best practices for disaster recovery, whether or not tape backup is still a good choice for your organization, and about the pros and cons of cloud disaster recovery.
Listen to our podcast on disaster recovery storage, or read our transcript below.
Let’s start with the basics. Can you offer some disaster recovery storage best practices?
There are a number of technologies we can leverage from a best practices standpoint. Obviously, each technology will have to fit the need, and we’re talking about the volume of data that’s backed up. Traditionally, we’d use tape, today, we’d use more and more disk. And some instances, in small environments, you can use removable media. With that said, the one common element to all of these is that data needs to be taken elsewhere, offsite, or away from the main location.
There are two things you want to protect your data from: obviously system failure, which is why you copy the data, but further than that, there could be a disastrous event affecting your facility, causing loss of your IT environment. It doesn’t matter how many backups you have on site at that point, if the data was not moved from that location, the data is lost.
Is tape backup still relevant for disaster recovery?
We hear a lot of talk about tape going away. I would say that in a sense we’ve improved technology. That said, there’s some significant investments that were made in tape technology, and it is still relevant today, as much as it is an older technology. You can think in terms of smaller environments … because they have the same data protection requirements as larger companies in the sense that they need to protect their data, it needs to be available for them to do their business. That said, they don’t have the same budget. And a lot of times, if you made an investment a few years back in tape technology, and if it is still working for you, it is still very relevant. It is a question of how much data you’re backing up and how quickly you need it restored.
And that is a very important question when you’re talking about disaster recovery. You need to plan your strategy in terms of how quickly you need things restored. Obviously, if you need things restored instantly, tape technology may not be the answer in most cases. If you need failover-type scenario where you can’t have any downtime, tape is not your answer. You need to start looking at data replication and clustering, and so forth. Tape is not conducive to supporting that type of technology.
What do you need to make remote replication effective? For example, is WAN optimization necessary?
WAN optimization is definitely a plus. We talked earlier about the volume of data—that’s where it’s starts counting, because we need to realize that WAN optimization devices are not cheap. That technology comes at a price, and it's only really valid when you have large amounts of data you need to replicate. When we’re talking about block-level replication, we’re minimizing the amount of data we’re replicating. We’re not doing full mirrors all the time, we’re not copying (all the data), on top of that, we’re hearing about deduplication coming into play.
Deduplication uses a similar pattern as WAN optimization. So it is useful in some cases, but not necessary all the time. One thing I need to stress here when we talk about data replication. Data replication is meant to take your data elsewhere, take your data offsite. We tend to focus too much about taking the data out of here, but we lose focus on what happens when that data needs to be used in event of a disaster.
If the connectivity is poor, or restricted enough to need something like WAN optimization to get our data across the wire, what happens when we try to get it back if we had a major site disaster? It becomes an issue—you need to think about that: it’s not all about backing up the data, it’s about being able to use it following a disaster. That’s the ultimate goal here.
If you’re trying to bring back an entire data center after it was destroyed, well, now we have serious issues and we need a lot of bandwidth to bring it back. It’s a very important point to consider.
What are the pros and cons of cloud disaster recovery? And, are cloud disaster recovery services really just for SMBs or is it a relevant approach for the enterprise?
For smaller companies, if you remember a few years back, we had Mozy purchased by EMC, these are useful for small amounts of data where you can send it across the network to a home connection. When you’re increasing the amount of data you’re backing up, because the backup itself is incremental or block-level, or file-level, depending on how its done, that’s all fine and dandy, the data is protected. Accessibility when you need the data becomes the issue,
In a very large company with terabytes of data that is stacking it up to a cloud service provider, you need more than that, because you’re going to want to access that data from a specific location, and the type of pipe between your chosen recovery location and where the data is needs to be taken into consideration. You’ll need a lot of bandwidth.
When you start looking at enterprise-level backup, you have to start considering where I will recover my systems, my applications and how will I access that data. And a lot of times it brings you to the conclusion that not only is it okay to back up your data on the cloud, but you should have more services on the cloud to access that data. You still want your applications relatively close to your data. So, large data volume, it goes beyond simply cloud backup. We need to start talking about the infrastructure of the service, platform of the service on the cloud, and how to bring our infrastructure closer to our data.
What about other service providers—can a company outsource DR entirely rather than just storing data in the cloud?
If you look at companies like SunGard and IBM, these companies have had some very successful services providing DR. They are basically providing an alternative recovery site; your data is being replicated; they have standby equipment that is ready to be deployed, sometimes even hot equipment for where replication is taking place. And today, some cloud service providers are starting to offer similar levels of service. There’s definitely a big plus to outsourcing your DR, as opposed to just the backup, especially in very high volume. But it’s also useful for the SMB that doesn’t want to deal with the cost of the standby infrastructure. You’re buying into a service, it becomes an operational cost, it becomes an insurance policy.
On the flip side, why not just keep DR in-house?
Obviously, running your own DR has its own advantages. Especially if you’re in a high-security, highly confidential, protected-type of data, sending your data to the cloud, to a service provider that is not strictly dedicated or cannot provide you the level of comfort from a security perspective might force you to own your own DR. The downside to that is obviously the cost. Now there is a capital cost you have to take into consideration. It really depends on the type of IT budget as well, the skills you have, the type of facility you have. It may be relatively easy for you to own your own IT infrastructure if you have, for example, three data centers in three different towns and your company is big enough to have that. You can start leveraging each facility as DR for the other facilities.
With that said, we need to take into consideration the element of capacity. You don’t want to be spending money on idle equipment, so you tend to leverage that equipment to make the best out of your IT investment and not have things dormant.
This is where the concept of the private cloud comes into play. The public cloud is obviously when you deal with a service provider. You can create your own private cloud and leverage your own private infrastructure for DR. It is capital expensive, so it is not for everyone. I would say that smaller companies gain a lot by outsourcing DR.
Pierre Dorion is the data center practice director and a senior consultant with Long View Systems Inc. in Phoenix, Ariz., specializing in the areas of business continuity and disaster recovery planning services and corporate data protection. Over the past 10 years, he has focused primarily on the development of recovery strategies, IT resilience and recoverability as well as data protection and availability engagements at the data center level.
This was first published in June 2011
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Video exploring critical thinking and how it leads to great citizen involvement
Last updated on: 9/29/2014 7:35:58 AM PST
Should Teachers Get Tenure?
PRO (yes) Comments (19)
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• +6 +11 -5 Garrett Oden Jul. 30, 2014
"I have both pro and con arguments, so I will be posting in both columns:
Most/some teachers who have tenure are usually very good teachers. They work hard and are well diciplined in their teachings. Multiple surveys that have been completed show that those teachers have higher passing rates, compared to a teacher who has just started teaching because they have more experience. So, if the students are doing better, tenure is there to protect that teacher from being fired, should anything happen."
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• -4 0 -4 Peter Alexander Sep. 20, 2014
"Why do NYS Teachers need tenure? Why can't they accept a typical Civil Service appointment and live by Civil Service laws? There are Hundreds of Thousands Civil Servants in NYS that do not have "tenure" and have secure jobs. If they break laws or incompetent they go though a civil service trial. A typical civil service trial costs about $22,000. But if a teachers goes through a trial because of intemperance, they first need a year of "support services" , and then the trial costs about a quarter of a million dollars. That's way school district don't go through the trouble.
Just make ALL teachers equivalent to NON-PROFESSIONAL Civil Servants and all your NYS educational woes will be solved"
• +1 +5 -4 Jon Feb. 27, 2015
"Your CON statement that "Tenure is unpopular among educators and the public" is not supported by your own facts. Teachers support it 53% and 32%, and while education professors overwhelmingly want it to be easier to terminate incompetent teachers, that's not equivalent to saying they don't support tenure. Firing incompetent teachers is a part of the tenure system."
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• +1 +7 -6 Anthony Rossi Nov. 7, 2014
"I understand the comments of many of the con postings, but as a someone who teaches subjects that are often political and controversial I feel that due process protections are essential to my profession. Tenure is not a "job for life." Many public professions have similar permanent status protections, many achieved after 6 months of satisfactory performance. Teachers often must wait 2 to 3 years for permanent status and can be released without comment before that time. Many jobs had these protections prior to the 1970's. It's very easy to misinterpret a profession or job when your only experience has been from the outside. Additionally, what constitutes "bad teaching" is very subjective. A bad teacher for one student may be a good teacher for another. Evaluation systems currently in place may need overhaul, but replacing them with systems weighted toward outcomes beyond the control of a teacher in the classroom is equally flawed. As a public institution, everyone feels they know what teaching is like based on a very limited sample of teachers they've come into contact with. Additionally, people are often ideologically motivated, overgeneralize, and unwilling to entertain evidence contrary to their stated position."
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• -1 0 -1 TheCorrector Feb. 4, 2015
"As a one-time teacher I have no problem with review. Don't you think it's preposterous to say "You've been here 3 years so now you are here for life"? As in "we can't fire you if we want to"? This isn't about controversial subjects, or your right to teach what you want. It's about being able to make sure a teacher doesn't get lazy, and allows us to fire that teacher without an act of Congress. It's not about holding teacher's back, it's about making sure kids get the best education they can, and if someone comes along better than you, I think you should be replaced."
• 0 0 0 Allyson May. 25, 2016
"I think that teacher tenure is good because then good people can keep their jobs.
Before tenure, teachers could be dismissed when a new political party took power or a principal wanted to make room to hire his friends.
Without the protection of tenure, teachers may feel pressured to use the same lesson plans and teach directly to standardized tests.
Without the anxiety and fear of losing employment, teachers can focus their efforts on providing the best education for students."
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• -1 +1 -2 jop Mar. 17, 2015
"yes they shall"
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• -1 +4 -5 Mike Eyeteach Jul. 29, 2014
"I have never heard one teacher talk about tenure except in there first three years. No one in my school feels "safe/protected" because of it. This has been my experience in my district and surrounding ones and response each con on the list:
#1 Complacency-insults 90% of the teachers. #2Unions work with teachers/principals to get poor teachers to improve. How is under performing evaluated? Test scores? Political protection does more harm than tenure. #3 protection from being fired due to cost cutting. It will happen w/o it. #4 There are more teachers than jobs so of course people will flock to jobs. Tenure has nothing to do with it. #5 Just like congress thinks racism no longer exists.#6 W/p proper evaluations or just cause teachers shouldn't be fired. #7 Fine increase the years needed. #9 It is earned because you have to be satisfactory as a teacher through evaluations. #10- Really? 2,600 Americans? There are 317 million people in us...3.7 million teachers. Let's poll them.#11 not valid. This is about employment. #13 Really?? I've taught for 23 years. I have NEVER been given a choice of assignments. All principal choice.
Teachers still need protection from budget cuts and unfair firings. Plain and simple."
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• -1 0 -1 TheCorrector Feb. 4, 2015
"No, you don't. Everybody everywhere else has to answer to budget cuts and better men and women coming aboard. What makes you think teaching is an exception? Unfair firings meaning what?"
• -1 0 -1 Robert C Novak, CPA Oct. 29, 2014
"Teachers do not deserve protections from budget cuts any more than anyone else does. In corporate America budget cuts are a frequent source of job losses. It is naive and unfair to think that teachers are somehos expmpt from this. Unfair firing? There are US employment laws that apply to all. Providing teachers with special/extra protections is absurd and underserved."
• -2 +1 -3 LB Apr. 29, 2015
"The fact that Most School Board Presidents would prefer a system that makes it easier to fire teachers is an argument in favor of Tenure. It shows that seasoned teachers are still in danger of losing their jobs to arbitrary cost cutting measures that tenure currently protects them from. Veteran Teachers have more classroom experience. They get paid more than newbies. Of course the school board would love a system that makes it easier to fire teachers. The tenure system is what protects the good performing teachers from being fired for being more expensive."
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• -2 +1 -3 jake Apr. 6, 2015
"i think they should"
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• -2 +2 -4 x46pqv Jun. 25, 2014
"The O.J. Simpson trial took a year and cost $9 million, yet due process had to be followed."
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• -2 +7 -9 BA Nov. 5, 2013
"I entirely support teacher tenure, but I also agree that there needs to be a mechanism that removes poor performers."
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• -3 +1 -4 Patrick S Sep. 21, 2015
"I think that the general structure of our educational system really needs modification and tenure just happens to be a consequence of a larger broken policy."
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• -3 +4 -7 Charles H. Ellis III Mar. 29, 2014
"I saw the News Hour's discussion of this matter on March 29. While I am sympathetic to the middle school students who got shortchanged in their learning, I am very much in favor of keeping teacher tenure, and having a fairly short probationary period (2-3 years, not 5) for new teachers. In my experiences as a parent of school children, PTA leader, and (most recently) a school volunteer, I have encountered no teachers who are anything less than "borderline saints." They teach not for the money but for the high purpose; it takes character, courage, judgment, and hard work."
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• 0 0 0 TheCorrector Feb. 4, 2015
"Babysitting requires the same virtues. We are not talking about babysitting."
• -5 +8 -13 michael mccachren Aug. 28, 2013
"i am a retired teacher. several awards, incl .who's who, 3 yrs,, several honour soc., grad degrees and professional experience in both areas. tenure gives one the time to learn to teach, as well as students backgrounds & particular needs. timing, building working relatinoships
w students, parents; curriculum needs, building student skills, & all in 9 months time. Not many do this well,
at first. Knowing you will have the time to learn to teach is v important-esp to those who had not planned to teach. What professional person wants to work for little pay, long hours, while raising their own, w little promise of protection from district politics."
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• -8 +15 -23 Mark Heinig, Jr. Jun. 22, 2012
"Tenure has never been about teacher quality. It's about offering teachers job security as an inducement to remain in a poorly paid profession. Any state can retain effective teachers without tenure by paying them as much as people in other professions requiring a college education. (That means higher taxes.)
A tenure contract is not unbreakable. I'm a retired principal, and I have done it. It simply requires a valid reason, administrators willing to do the extra work to build a strong case and school board members willing to risk the possibility of a negative community reaction. Most poor teachers aren't offered tenure in the first place!
The real problem isn't teachers; it's money. We offer our youth the cheapest education that money can buy! We've been doing that for decades. Other countries don't. It keeps taxes low, and that's politically expedient. The importance of a well-educated work force to our prosperity grows every year.
What's happening now is that we're getting what we paid for! If we abolish tenure the problem will be even worse. We've always paid our teachers poorly, substituting job security for dollars. What happens if we provide neither?"
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• -2 +2 -4 BIFF Jul. 10, 2012
"my kid's teacher has a guaranteed job and cannot be fired and makes a salary of $60,000 per yr with an elementary education degree !. Add in the guaranteed retirement, sick days, free health care and it is around $100,000 per year for a job that is 180 days and 6 1/2 hour days ! make me laugh you need to come see how teachers live. They are living far better than me with my B.A. in Business MGT. GO CRY ME A RIVER ! THIS IS A PART TIME JOB !! AND GUESS WHAT THE CIRRICULUM HAS NOT CHANGED IN 30 YEARS AND WE KEEP FALLING FARTHER BEHIND OTHER COUNTRIES THAT TAKE IT FAR MORE SERIOUSLY !"
• -9 +12 -21 greg Feb. 14, 2012
"yes BUT with performance bonuses or raises. So tenure with mediocre performance gets no raise. AND demonstrable intentional deplorable performance can result in a firing if it can be shown the teacher is antagonistic to most students."
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• +1 +1 0 Jason Feb. 29, 2012
"Are we okay with mediocre performance? Does a teacher need to be openly antagonistic to be fired? No, education is too important to waste on people that do not care to work for there jobs. If tenure was removed, good teachers would still be good teachers, and they would still have job security. The only change would be to the teachers that are mediocre and bad. Why should we settle for mediocre teachers when they can be replaced with GOOD teachers."
• -13 +13 -26 Mary Todd Jun. 23, 2012
"Having worked for a prejudiced principal who happened to have no principles, I would never have made it past three years without tenure. She would have fired every white teacher and hired only those of color as the came to apply. She harrassed white teachers to noend, and left non-white teachers alone when they were doing a terrible job.
She eventually retired jjust as she was getting investigated for embezzlement. In anothher case, as long as you uwere HIspanic, you got the jjob. Or if you carried a Bible into the interview with you you were hired over other people who were greatly qualified, had experience, but were African. Until administrators are held accountable by teachers and are fireable, then teachers need tenure."
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• +4 +4 0 Beeg Sep. 7, 2012
"Welcome to the real world. There are bad bosses and there are good bosses. I had to deal with bad bosses myself and decided to quit. Why do teachers get preferred treatments just because you are a teacher?"
• -14 +20 -34 Kevin Jul. 28, 2011
"Most of the states who are at the BOTTOM of student achievement have no teacher tenure because they don't have collective bargaining. So the argument that tenure destroys education is ridiculous. Finland is ranked #1 and they have 98 percent union. Teacher tenure is not the problem with public school education. If you hear about the US ranking behind all these other countries, keep in mind that the US would be ranked #1 in the world if you didn't count the lowest 10 percent.( the average teacher salary in Korea is higher than the average teacher salary in the US) Florida does not have teacher tenure. It isn't that difficult to get rid of bad teachers. The real problem is that if you 50 percent of your new teachers quitting in the first 5 years, you are constantly replacing QUALITY teachers. There was a time when pregnant teachers were sent home as soon as they were showing. Or, in some places if you didn't go to the right church or if you were gay you went first. Michelle Rhee taught for 3 years. You wouldn't ask a pilot or a doctor with just 3 years experience to solve a serious problem.. They would have no credibility. And, MANY of the claims Rhee makes don't seem to withstand any scrutiny at all."
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• +5 +5 0 Brayden May. 2, 2012
"Finland is not america, my good sir"
• +3 +3 0 jon Apr. 28, 2012
"if you cant do your job inside and out in 3 years you are worthless and dont deserve said job teachers need to be treated this way because they need to be pushed just as hard as students to strive for better"
• 0 0 0 Scottie L Jan. 9, 2013
""In ten years, only about 47 out of 100,000 teachers were actually terminated from New Jersey's schools. Original research conducted by the Center for Union Facts (CUF) confirms that almost no one ever gets fired in Newark, New Jersey's largest school district, no matter how bad. Over four recent years, CUF discovered, Newark's school district successfully fired about one out of every 3,000 tenured teachers annually. Graduation statistics indicate that the district needs much stronger medicine: Between the 2001-2002 and the 2004-2005 school years, Newark's graduation rate (not counting the diplomas "earned" through New Jersey's laughable remedial exam) was a mere 30.6 percent. I'm sorry what were you saying? Sir, the school system fails more than you think, look up the facts."
• -16 +11 -27 debbie jenkins Nov. 30, 2011
"until organized sports are removed from schools, it will be necessary to protect the non-coaching teachers jobs from being replaced by coaches."
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• +2 +2 0 jon Apr. 28, 2012
"schools in new york the budget for sports and arts is almost non existent because of the teaching staff and there need for more benefits every year"
• -19 +8 -27 Edgar Flores Mar. 22, 2012
"The good thing about it help the good teacher know they being successful and they should follow this more because they can justify which teacher belong there and help them know which teacher is having success also it show the teacher care about the student"
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CON (no) Comments (57)
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• +63 +84 -21 Mark Grimm Jul. 28, 2011
"Tenure's fundamental flaw is that it puts job security ahead of student achievement. While there are many great teachers, the tenure system protects poor ones and we cannot afford to "waste a year" of a kid's schooling. However, leaving teachers' job security up to the whims of administrators and politicians is unacceptable, too. We need to replace tenure with a fair system of evaluation that includes input from fellow teachers, supervisors, and most especially, parents."
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• +1 +1 0 LB Apr. 29, 2015
"I agree with most of what you say, except that I don't think we need to replace tenure. I believe what is needed is for states to have a clearly defined evaluation process for granting tenure...so administrators aren't rubber stamping mediocre teachers into complacency but instead are rewarding seasoned, and accomplished teachers with the benefits of greater job security. Student achievement is influences by many factors outside of a teachers control. (Such as parent involvment or lack thereof, or district resources.)"
• +1 +1 0 Jewel Klier Dec. 4, 2013
"That's right I agree"
• 0 +2 -2 greg Feb. 14, 2012
"Local parents must demand their legal right to influence and determine the employment fate of teachers, the curiculuum and text books. The Fed must stop bribing and black-mailing our states using our money to entice our legislators."
• +26 +46 -20 DKDAy Jul. 28, 2011
"Tenure has too many negatives. Bad teachers get retained too often while good ones without tenure are let go. What is wrong with treating a teaching position like any other work place job? As long as you're the best for the job you get to keep it. Your customer or product may change but if you remain the best, you retain the right to the job."
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• 0 0 0 jess May. 28, 2016
"Teaching is not like any other work place. We are required to teach students who have no respect for themselves or others. We are required to teach concepts parents can't understand. We are switched from grade to grade and room to room. There is no other job like it. Some classes have great students and some classes have horrible students. Tenure protects us from those horrible years as those students affect our instruction daily."
• 0 0 0 LB Apr. 29, 2015
"You are focusing on the negatives. More good teachers get retained than bad. And if bad teachers get retained, that is an issue that needs to be addressed administratively. Administrators aren't required to grant tenure without evaluating the teacher's performance. If they are simply rubber stamping a mediocre teacher for tenure, then it is THAT system that needs to be overhauled."
• -3 +2 -5 matt Apr. 30, 2013
"it's not bad teachers. Don't blame idiocy on teachers. Most children now adays are raised by failure parents. Raise your own kids ya lazy bums."
• +14 +34 -20 Falcon Jul. 28, 2011
"I fail to see what is so unique about teachers that their actions and performance are virtually unassailable by superiors and the public who pay their salaries. Tenure is worse than the actions that are feared. We can easily have a system that checks the unwarranted actions of administrators.
At the same time I would say that it is not entirely fair to hold teachers solely responsible for students performance. Parents and the students themselves must bear their appropriate share. In the interim, until that knotty problem is solved, we should resurrect tracks in teaching so that less prepared, less talented, or less motivated studetns do not interfere with education. The notion that there is only one level of learning is demonstrably untrue. Mainstreaming is a fine social goal, but it is not conducive to the best educational performance."
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• 0 0 0 LB Apr. 29, 2015
"Tenure simply ensures the teacher has an impartial hearing before being fired. It doesn't grant them a job for life. (And what makes their position unique is how easy it is for a local dad, disgruntled about how little playing time his mediocre football-playing son recieved, to run and get elected to a local school board for the sole purpose of firing the teacher who coached the football team.) If your job were tied to the political whims of a handful of local politicians' interests, I imagine you would demand similar protection."
• 0 0 0 Daniel Mar. 26, 2015
"And you know what is conducive to best educational performance how?"
• +12 +26 -14 Steven Oct. 27, 2011
"Tenure eliminates the need for humanity's most fundamental driving force that motivates self improvement. That force is competition, when a teacher has no fear of being fired in favor of a teacher of superior caliber, they will see no need to improve their ways, or the need to act professional in their work environment. Many years I have dealt with such unmotivated teachers who make a minimalist effort to assist classes I have attended or accommodate and help me overcome my learning disabilities. This has forced me to pick myself up and find a way to manage after the culture shock and mental shock of not being prepared enough for my essential classes of writing and arithmetic in college. And like many who have worded it in other ways, why fear being fired when you know you are the best at what you do? You only need such compensation if your aware you have some form of inadequacy that would get you fired. it is easily mitigated by a constant strive for self improvement through the need to be better then the potential teacher on the street looking for your job position, just like any other form of employment competition."
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• +6 +6 0 Erin M Dec. 2, 2013
"Two of my teachers has tenure, and has been charged with more than a few accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault on students, but still have their jobs because they have tenure."
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• +5 +14 -9 Jim Sep. 17, 2012
"Can anyone tell me why a teacher can have a job for life after 3 to & years and no one in this world can but them . What so hard about what thay do the harder then Police, Fire fighters, doctors Ect . Most jobs you have to work 20 to 30 years to get what the teachers get in too short of a time."
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• +3 +5 -2 Jewelklier Dec. 4, 2013
"I'm against teacher tenure because it does nothing to benifiet the kids nd all it does is let teachers get the chance to ruin our education.thats why I'm against it"
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• +3 +9 -6 Katherine Oct. 19, 2013
"Human are not perfect.
They may work very hard at point of their life, however, we ALL make mistakes; which is why we were put in this earth....
For a test,
So, I strongly believe that tenure is not a solution, nor a wise decision,
we should be awarded for what we do...
but it does not make any sense to give a lifetime award for... just a few years of hard work?
That can not be.."
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• +2 +11 -9 K. Goodman Jun. 5, 2012
"It protects bad teachers from getting fired. If we get rid of teacher tenure, teachers will have to raise the bar for themselves when it comes to student performance. The rest of us have to perform at an acceptable level to keep our jobs. Why shouldn't teachers?"
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• 0 0 0 Mary Jun. 23, 2012
"Silly girl, teachers don't handle the bars. Admin does. if yuo fail too many students for lack of preparation, home guidance, and willingness to work, then you get written up. Teacherrs are told they can only have so many Fs, Ds, Etc. No matterr where you teach, who you teach, or if they speak English. If you want better education tell the ones in charge, not the teachers, and tell the parents too!"
• +2 +19 -17 Meghan Dec. 2, 2011
"Tenure is pure stupidity. It is basically giving a teacher a reason to slack off and still get paid. For any other job, if you were doing poorly, you get fired. Plain, simple, and how it should be. I am in highschool and I have encountered teachers who simply do not care to put effort into their work. Telling us to read a textbook and fill out a worksheet isn't teaching. Bad teachers don't deserve tenure because they don't perform well at their job. Good teachers don't need it because their good performance will keep them with a secure job. It's a win win situation; bad teachers go bye bye and good teachers stay."
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• +1 +2 -1 kevin massimino Aug. 1, 2014
"this is Ragism on steriods! Sure the less expensive labor will get the work,but who will work every year and act as this is a profession;you want long term employment and experience;any evaluation is always based on popularity;i was a state worker;ask the gas worker in western penna,"
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• +1 +4 -3 Elba Jul. 29, 2014
"I have seen tenured teachers get fired here in NYC but I have also seen tenured bad teachers get to keep their jobs and that is a problem. I think it all depends on the administrators in each particular school because I worked in an elementary school in the Bronx in 2006-2008 as a para professional and I witnessed the teacher I was assisting violently shove a 10 year old child. I reported her anonymously but they went on a witch hunt and found out it was me, they then promised graduation with honors to all her students in exchange for lying and saying they did not see her which they all did. These are little children and the dept uses these children who are scared to save them and this is not fair. Anyway, I ended up getting fired for supposedly lying about my identity when I reported this very out of control teacher and she is still working doing the same thing, putting the children down by calling them losers and telling them that they will become drug dealers and such. I know this because I have friends in the school and they tell me that she is still the same except that they do evaluate her quite often but she should have been fired but because of Tenure, she is still abusing children."
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• +1 +3 -2 Cady Jul. 29, 2013
"I feel that teachers do not perform as well in the classroom because no matter what they do they won't lose their jobs. It is unfair to students across the country as well as an added reason as to why louisville dropout rate is higher then kentuckys."
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• +1 +4 -3 Mary West Jun. 13, 2013
"Unfortunately, I have had contact with a few really bad teachers. The school districts and people need to realize that teachers are human and although some are very good, some are very bad. Tenure, allowed these teachers to teach for many years. They could not be fired but were reprimanded. The children were the victims. All the other issues they say tenure protects against could be dealt with in a court of law just as the rest of us have to resort to.
If we all had tenure on our jobs, would we care as much about job performance? Why should anyone have job security above other working people? Anything they say Tenure protects them against could be dealt with in a court. After all isnt that what the rest of us have to do? Children should come first, always!"
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• +1 +4 -3 Keith Dec. 26, 2012
"I just watched "Waiting for Superman" and my informed belief is that tenure is the main cause of the USA's poor performance in the global scope of education."
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• 0 0 0 Bridgett May. 25, 2016
"Teacher tenure
Personally, I think teacher tenure is not the greatest idea. It's very hard to remove teachers who poorly perform.The Teachers also can have no impact on kids.It could also take months and lots of money to get rid of poorly performing teachers,but there is a positive side of teacher tenure as well its dose protect preforming teachers who have no wrong doing and a teacher it self that has done no wrong doing makes great impact on kids,But I still conclude this for no teacher tenure."
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• 0 0 0 justthefacts May. 7, 2016
"Can anyone name me any profession who works less hours than a teacher r u kidding me they have the whole summer off not to mention they have every holiday on the books off even voting day in many states / city & towns we spoil them rotten and now you can't even fire the ones who are not doing a good job r u kidding me ?
What gets me if I was 1 of those good / great teacher working hard to make sure I 'm giving my students the best possible education I would be very upset watching these poor useless teachers destroying all my hard work"
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• 0 0 0 Madison Mar. 25, 2016
"Teacher Tenure?
Have you ever heard of teacher tenure? Well if you have, I'm here to tell you why I think teacher tenure is a bad idea.
The first reason is that it's not needed to recruit. At Sacramento High School, which doesn't offer tenure, had 900 teachers apply for 80 job openings.
The second reason is that it cost money to remove a teacher from tenure. It costed $250,000 to fire a teacher that was on tenure in New York City.
The third reason is because in k-12 levels, it's not earned, it's given to nearly everyone. To receive a tenure at university level, you must earn it, even in k-12 it's given to you if you "stick around".
In conclusion, I don't think teacher tenure is a good idea because it's not needed to recruit, it cost money to remove s teacher from tenure, and k-12 levels get it given to them. What do you think?"
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• 0 0 0 Leroy Mar. 14, 2016
"Applied to another profession, tenure still makes no sense:
1. Tenure protects nurses from being fired for personal, political, or other non-work related reasons.
2. Tenure prohibits hospitals from firing experienced nurses to hire less experienced and less expensive nurses.
3. Tenure protects nurses from being fired for issuing unpopular, controversial, or otherwise challenged patient care.
4. Nursing tenure is a justifiable reward for several years of positive evaluations by hospital administrators.
5. Tenure allows nurses to advocate on behalf of patients and disagree openly with Medical Doctors and hospital administrators.
6. Tenure protects nurses from being prematurely fired after a patient makes a false accusation or a family member threatens expensive legal action against the hospital.
7. Tenure encourages the careful selection of qualified and effective nurses.
8. The formal dismissal process guaranteed by tenure protects nurses from punitive evaluation systems and premature dismissal.
9. Tenure allows nurses to work more effectively since they do not need to be in constant fear of losing their jobs."
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• 0 +1 -1 Patrick S Sep. 21, 2015
"I thought it was interesting that the high school that eliminated tenure saw so many applications."
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• 0 +1 -1 Brad Feb. 5, 2015
"I am a current high school student, and I believe that tenure is one of the most horrendous activities ever known to man. The notion of tenure is flawed; no where else in the metaphorical "real world" can a person under perform consistently, but keep her job under the premise that the safety net helps keep them work better. I personally have had under performing teachers who have kept their jobs because of tenure, and it is annoying. Some of these teachers are arrogantly awful."
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• 0 +1 -1 TheCorrector Feb. 4, 2015
"Absolutely not. It's sad to see the same teachers ruin so many kids because they got lazy when they got tenure. It gives teachers no incentive to stay on top of their field. In primary grades, I have seen people with no knowledge other than that required for a teaching certificate teaching children. What does such a person have to teach? So, we allow them to teach, but they must come up for yearly review, which means no tenure. Few other jobs that aren't paid by the government grant such tenure, you have to perform. In my opinion, it is unqualified people teaching that has led to our current sorry predicament. Certainly review is the only way we can be sure we have only the best teaching our kids."
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• 0 +2 -2 RGIII Jan. 22, 2015
"Tenure protects bad teachers from being let go. Kids with bad teachers don't get the education they need to be successful in life."
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• 0 +1 -1 Peter Alexander Sep. 20, 2014
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• 0 +1 -1 Looky! Sep. 19, 2014
"The whole scapegoat deal looks like more of an anti-con instead of a pro..."
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• 0 +1 -1 Hannah Ervin Sep. 7, 2014
"I think that teachers should not have tenure because it is not fair to new teachers. If you are young and are looking for a teaching job and all of these schools that have teachers with tenure then they may never be able to find a job unless a teacher decides to quite. I also disagree with this subject because if a teacher is so bad that kids are not learning anything then it is not fair to the children at the school. You should get that teacher out of there to benefit the kids. If the kids do poorly in classes then it makes the school look bad so why allow these terrible teachers to stay?"
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• 0 +3 -3 Mason Unthank Feb. 13, 2014
"If teachers suck, then they can't get fired!"
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• 0 +3 -3 bob Jan. 6, 2014
"teachers would rely on their tenure... such as my kid's teacher--- all she does is: draw, pay attention, do ridiculous things, follow whatever she does, and that's it. She doesn't even teach the class... especially that she is the teacher of the GATE class"
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• 0 +4 -4 James Nov. 4, 2013
"I'm con because I have an English teacher that is doing the exact opposite of teaching. She refuses to answer questions, think's she is always right because she is teacher, refuses to listen to anyone but herself, spills confidential information infront of the entire class about other students, yells and screams at students, and gets angry at us when she cannot work the computer because she is hilariously technologically incompetent. But this is no joke, I'm a student and I feel like I cannot learn anything worthwhile from this woman and worse I am not sure if she can be fired or even scolded because I'm not sure if she's tenure. If she is tenure, I feel like there's no hope left in the educational system if we're letting pathetic baby boomers keep harrasing and berating students, making us lose all drive for learning anything. To sum it up, it's bad teachers with tenure that are provoking students to drop out. No teacher, not even great ones, should ever get tenure."
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• 0 0 0 Mojii Apr. 15, 2015
"That is my 5th grade experience. Down to the gender of the teacher, the subject, and the mannerisms. The only difference was that my teacher was a extreme environmentalist: only write essays about how humanity is the scourge of the earth, anyone?"
• 0 +3 -3 LoLo (H.S. student) Oct. 10, 2013
"Hello! I'm a junior in high school and have written an essay on this subject for my AP English class. I have found this website extremely helpful and have incorporated ten quotes and stats into my essay. The main reason that I believe that teachers should not receive tenure is that it is completely against the way people earn a living in the private sector. The private sector is based completely on competition. Apple only continues to keep creating and releasing new iPhones, for example, because Microsoft and Samsung provide competition in the cell phone market. Unfortunately, student's low test scores compared to other countries have proven that most teachers will not take time out of their lives to improve their teaching and lesson plans. What is the point to essential working overtime to become a better teacher if there is no pay off for them? In the same way, if the iPhone was the only phone, there would be no reason for Apple to take extra time to improve the device. Teachers need incentives if we want to truly raise the education level of American public schools. However, tenure classifies all teachers with 3 years of experience into one standard salary group. Educators should be paid in response to their performance. --LoLo"
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• 0 +7 -7 Kristy Dec. 2, 2012
"I DO NOT agree with teachers getting tenure! Do any other employees get tenure? An employee at AFLAC, BCBS, Walmart or Target can't get it so why should a teacher? What so they can do a GOOD job for a few years and be protected?? I think tenure is absolutely LUDACRIS!! I have 3 kids in the public school system and a teacher that my child has had this past year is protected by tenure and the school has nothing, but complaints from parents. She is not a good teacher, but she is protected. I think there is too many people looking for jobs and if the teacher is not willing to do a GOOD job EVERY YEAR, then there will always be a good one looking for one! I actually think EVERY PARENT should be able to rate the teacher in a survey at the end of the year that goes straight to the Professional Standards Committe and the school should also have to report EVERY parent Complaint about the teacher to the professional standards committe that certifies these teachers!! Can a Doctor or Nurse get tenure? Every person should be held accountable for their job performance!!!"
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• 0 +7 -7 phl Sep. 30, 2012
"I'm a college senior. I graduated from high school in '09. I can say, from recent experience, that tenure for high school teachers brings about negative consequences, at least in a low-income area. I am from Hidalgo County in Texas, one of the poorest in the nation. It is easy to understand why some teachers would give up on lower level students in this area. Although their reasons are clearly evident, these teachers shouldn't be granted tenure. No, I am not a teacher, so I may not understand the aspect of job protection, but the whole idea of education focuses on students and granting them the highest level of learning possible. Giving a teacher tenure allows for complacency after that tenure is granted. I'm interested in seeing the difference in the quality of education coming from teachers in higher income areas than those in lower income areas. Does anybody think there is a difference in teachers' attitudes?"
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• 0 +6 -6 Marie Powning Sep. 13, 2012
"We have current laws for the discrimination they fear. It cost 100's of thousands of dollars to fire a crappy teacher who is suspended WITH pay, no other career has such a ridciulous policy, get rid of it."
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• 0 +4 -4 Beeg Sep. 7, 2012
"Tenure cheats students. I grew up in the Chicago public school system. Many teachers never taught anything. They allowed students to run around the classroom while they read newspaper. They were paid as much as the teachers who cared about the students. Thankfully I was in honors classes and had great teachers. Why was (and is) tenure fair to the good teachers and to the students? Why is it fair to tax payers? We will no longer be the world leader when our school system fails our kids. If tenure is so great, why are our children so behind?"
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• 0 0 0 bob Jan. 6, 2014
"Same here.... my kid's teacher never taught things... even he is in honors, his teacher is just... well... tenure is just problem"
• 0 0 0 Carol Jul. 29, 2013
"very true!"
• 0 +4 -4 Refugio Magallon Aug. 3, 2012
"I do understand why this law got passes and exist. Also why teachers decide to get tenure. I understand this causes problems and is not fair for older, or more experienced teachers. Here is the thing, why have teachers that either wont teach, or will get lazy and just sit in the room not doing anything. Also do you want the youth to get even more stupid as every school year that goes by? The change is needed, the United States is not first on education anymore and its been that way for a long time now. The youth is what will describe our country in the upcoming years. Do you want everyone to be stupid or smart? Everyone in the planet will be able to attack us and we wont know how to defend ourselves. Technology gets better as time passes, we will have guns and others will have machine controlled weapons. Tenure makes teachers lazy, anyway if its not about the race, gender, or personal reasons, why would you be scared as a teacher if you know how to teach?"
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• 0 +5 -5 web brewer Jun. 10, 2012
"As stated, we have discrimination laws now that render anachronistic the original arguments in favor of tenure. If we don't trust superintendents/principals to make good decisions about their staff, then we're hiring the wrong people for those jobs."
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• 0 +3 -3 Randal Agostini Jun. 5, 2012
"Many of the reasons that Tenure was introduced no longer apply. Tenure also makes it difficult for a Teacher to move on, move out, or move back in to the education system. Tenure also applies to pension benefits, which should not be the case. Teachers should be able to contribute to and earn benefits as soon as they have passed a probation period."
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• 0 +5 -5 Danielle May. 24, 2012
"I attended WVU to both my undergrad and masters in accounting. Overall the professors were wonderful however in the grad program's Mergers and Acquisitions class we had a professor who had a stroke many years ago. He no longer knew what he was teaching. The class was a joke. It took him over a month to cover chapter one. He was always late and continuously asked us if we (again a graduate level accounting class) had heard of Enron. Students never went because you truly did not receive an education from attending. I found out that he has been like this for years. Whenever you would speak with other faculty all they would say is that it's a "difficult situation." the difficult part is knowing that he's getting paid over $100,000, while I'm out of an education on a topic that will be on the CPA exam. I promise that I am not being dramatic. He would hand out quizzes and then give us the answers BEFORE collecting them. He appeared to always be delayed. I feel bad for him, but why would I lose out on an education (that I paid for!!) just because he was a good teacher over a decade ago? They teach us about how firms need quality control however with tenure, quality control of professors seems impossible"
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• 0 +7 -7 Ray in NC Apr. 2, 2012
"IMO: Tenure is equivalent to entitlement. It allows people to slow down and not continue to strive for a better way."
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• 0 +9 -9 Gregg Feb. 23, 2012
"The test for a teacher should always be results, did the students in his/her care learn to their potential? Tenure is a bad joke played on defenseless children."
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• 0 +7 -7 Anonamous Feb. 6, 2012
"Bad teachers are protected, when good teachers are laid off. Come on!! I had a crappy teacher for 4 years, and she couldn't get fired because of it!!"
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• -1 0 -1 bluummbboo Nov. 27, 2012
"they arent always bad teachers"
• -1 +1 -2 Max S. Jun. 17, 2014
"Tenure is an anachronism. It was designed for another time. These days, it creates a zero accountability environment - resulting in teachers who can't be fired - and lots of abuse. Tenure ends up limiting learning and lowering teacher credibility by protecting poor performers. Unions could fix many of these problems (especially termination for poor performance), but won't.
Most teachers are great. But, we need to stop protecting ones that are bad. Bad teachers hurt students - with far reaching effects.
Teachers and all public employees should face the same risks and meet the performance expectations seen in the private sector. This is a surer way to protect and nurture our children."
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• -1 +1 -2 Barb Williams Jun. 11, 2014
"As a 35 year teacher I agree with most but a few other things need to be considered. #1 Administrative review... Many are administrators because they did not like to teach. How would teachers be evaluated? Something needs to be done as to who enters the profession. Having had many student teachers I have learned one can almost tell when a student teacher enters the room if they will be a good teacher or not. Some things can be learned but most are part of ones personality."
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• -1 +1 -2 Amy Jun. 10, 2014
"As a veteran teacher, I am not a fan of tenure. I have taught in both a tenure and a non-tenure state (the information presented in the article that claims that all states have tenure is incorrect). In the good schools where I taught, most teachers work hard and care about students, although that may not be the case in all places. In both states, mediocre teachers can and do stay for years. However, in the tenure state truly awful and incompetent tenured teachers take years to fire even when administration is actively trying to take care of the situation. In the non-tenure state there was still a process of documentation and remediation for the teacher but the worst, most ineffective ones were fired. Society need to realize, however, that the best, brightest, and most inspiring teachers will not rush to take jobs a low performing schools without compensation comparable to what an exceptional, highly educated worker can make in the private sector. The best teachers have options as to where to work, and most want to work where working conditions are good. We love what we do so we are willing to do it even though we could make more money doing something else. Something must change to attract top professionals to some schools."
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• -1 +1 -2 Dan May. 25, 2014
"The argument that it protects teacher from religious, political, or other types of judgement from administrators is invalid, because those same types of persecutions can happen in any workplace."
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• -1 +2 -3 Art Jan. 27, 2014
"As a parent, from personal experience, I have had to deal with the Education Mafia at Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) in regards to my 3 children as they attended local, Land Park schools. NO, District employees, to include non-Teachers, Teachers and Administrators who are only collecting a pay check, should be held to a higher standard, continually. There should not be carte blance employment rights, but specific rules and regulations that need to be followed. We still have a High School- Part time, off campus Cross Country/T&F Coach and Principal who are presently 'out of their league' but untouchable, due to the SCUSD Education Mafia refusal to remove or replace these employees."
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• -1 +2 -3 Dan Oct. 4, 2013
"It doesn't allow incentive to do your best. In the private sector you can be fired to doing a bad job and you get rewarded for a good job. Making it a free market will allow good teachers to get paid more and filter out the ineffective teachers."
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• -1 +2 -3 Adair Aug. 25, 2013
"I can't help but shake my head at the excellent teachers who say they need tenure to speak out against bad decisions by the administration or to engage their students in controversial projects. They're selling themselves short. Teachers of their caliber and passion are rare enough and needed everywhere--if they get fired unfairly and decide not to sue, they'll just find an excellent job somewhere with an administration more willing to support them, and the unjust administration they left will flounder and hopefully change or get fired themselves. I work in a highly-skilled professional field where qualified workers are in short supply, and, yes, you can still speak out without too much fear when you know you're that valuable."
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• -1 +10 -11 John Daly Apr. 17, 2012
"Tenure ? No. The public school system is so poor in the U.S. that 70% of computer science P.H.D's in this country are earned by foreigners on H1B visas. ANY SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY WILL NOT PERFORM TO A HIGH STANDARD.
The public school system in florida is run by the unions for the unions and no one is going to tell them that we are 84th in math in the world. My kid's teacher gets a package worth $ 100,000 a year if you include retirement and insurance AND GOVERNOR SCOTT WANTS TO
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• -2 0 -2 Lisa Barone Nov. 14, 2014
"As a contracted support person who has spent most of my career working in the educational environment I have seen and heard a lot! I am absolutely against teacher tenure. Teachers feel safe after tenure and will then stop teaching and coast until retirement. I've seen this too many times! I've witnessed student abuse by teachers that is covered up. I've reported and nothing is done. Teachers spend their time on the computer or cell phones while kids color or watch a movie. I've Actually been told, I cannot take a day off because I'm not tenured yet! As soon as they are tenured they go on mini vacations. I've seen teachers pinch, pull hair and drag students down the hall. No one does anything. Because I am contracted, Ive seen this in many many districts so it isn't just one. Parents would be appalled by what I've seen. The administration has even witnessed this and they do nothing. They protect teachers, and teachers protect teachers. The good ole boys cub is alive and well amount teachers. What other job can you have where no matter how poorly you perform you are garunteed your job?! I've witnessed an early childhood teacher take a child for a walk in the snow in just his socks because he refused to don shoes."
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• +1 +1 0 Brutus Feb. 19, 2015
"I seriously doubt that there is much truth to what you have written. You write that teachers are protected from pinching, puling hair, physically dragging children and forcing children to do activities that are harmful to their health because they have tenure and that is total BS. If, and I highly doubt that this occurs with any prevalence, occurs in a school, administrators have grounds to suspend and initiate the firing process, tenure does not protect that behavior at all! The fault in these types of situations should be placed on administrators and those who saw the actions as well. You say that you've witnessed abuse too many times and reported it, is that it! You have essentially confessed to seeing a crime, child abuse, and all you did was report it to administration and not child protective services or the police!? I think that the complacency here is not just teacher, but you are complacent as well."
• -2 +4 -6 Scottie L. Jan. 9, 2013
"I'm con because I am part of the school system in a college preparatory school as a student. At my school, it seems you are more likely to become a "super-senior" (A senior in college and high school classes who has to repeat their senior year). Many people have had to repeat 2-3 times just because of a few teachers, such as a UCD teacher at my school who has a cockamamie system of grading and is very bias. She actually failed me (along with around half the class) and I have to double up on classes my senior year now. Only one senior will graduate on time this year because of her. All others will have an extra semester to a year. Along with a teacher we have currently who doesn't speak full English and reads more than he teaches. Tenure has failed the school system because sometimes teachers can gain it in as little as 2-years. In which case, it is borderline impossible to fire a teacher who is failing all of their students. A teacher must conduct lewd actions in order to get fired if they have tenure. Watch a documentary called "waiting for superman" because, to be honest, I think I would learn more if the school system shut down and I joined an intern program to develop my future career. It is honestly sad to think this."
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• -2 +4 -6 Mike K. Nov. 15, 2012
"It has its benefits but a different solution like a performance pay system would benefit our school system tremendously"
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• -5 +6 -11 jonathon rosalia Apr. 28, 2012
"its no longer needed with current laws and breads bad teachers"
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A brief history of Indian electronic music
A brief history of Indian electronic music
Artist Samrat B traces this rapidly growing genre from the earliest Indian melodic ragas performed on synthesizers to Goa psytrance and namedrops all the artists worth knowing along the way
Editor's note: The essay "1982-2010" features in the newly released "HUB" yearbook, India's first and only anthology of electronic music, and is written by project director, independent musician Samrat B. Re-printed with permission in CNNGo. Available via free download, or order the print version at hub@mgmh.net which comes with an 11-track CD compilation of select Indian electronica.
'The computer is the future.'
A remark someone made in 1976. The same year that Kraftwerk from Dusseldorf, Germany released their album, Trans-European Express, and although the thought behind the statement was true, it would take a couple of decades to manifest itself.
Technology would extend itself into creativity (almost like an evolutionary parasite) in a gradual, incremental way for millions of people across the world and for hundreds of different reasons.
The story of electronic music and the advent of mass culture amplified by technology made a definitive impact on India in the new millennium, just like it did in Germany in 1970s; in the UK and US, and Japan in the 1980s, thereafter smashing its way from Rio to Beijing.
The 1970s as a decade of experimentation in jazz and rock, witnessed the rise of a pioneering electronic music subculture via German bands like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dreams and Can.
Futuristic and sci-fi driven; inspiring a handful of composers across Europe and America, electronic sounds and tools became ‘ear friendly’ and ‘pop compatible’ for musicians and audiences.
Electronic music eventually spilled over into mass appeal, post the Kraftwerk’s breakthrough album, Man-Machine released in 1978 (first German band/album to top British charts for six weeks) and Giorgio Moroder's historic classic hit “I Feel Love” (selling 300,000 records in 1982).
Why David Bowie, Nick Cage or Brian Eno exited the gloomy post punk Thatcherised England to seek newer grounds and sounds, is anybody’s guess. Electronic sound and instruments had finally come of age, and were now being viewed as harbingers of the avant-garde music culture of the future.
The Indian spot
As early as 1982, Charanjit Singh (a synthesizer and guitar player working in leading Bollywood studios) recorded the album, Ten Ragas to Disco Beat; which remains the earliest recorded feature of Indian melodic ragas performed on synthesizers in sync with machine rhythms via the TR808 and 909.
Though the album remains very obscure and minimal in terms of consumption and interest, the reappearance of this record, holds a great debate within.
Charanjit Singh as a composer and his attempts are clearly contiguous to the rise of acid and techno music around the world; the first acid house records were produced a year later (in 1983) in Chicago, by a group called Phuture, founded by DJ Pierre, Earl Jr. and Herbert Jackson in 1983).
With his attempts to fuse classical overtures with 'square bass lines' and 'disco beats', Charanjit Singh remains the earliest and most curious Indian pioneer of electronic music. The album resurfaced in vinyl collectors’ circles and as late as 2009, re-released by a UK-based label, The Bombay Connection.
Unconnected and high in contrast to Charanjit’s album, were the smash hit Hindi-disco songs of the Pakistani siblings Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, produced by London-based Bangalore-born producer Biddu in 1983; who eventually became a Bollywood music director in the late ‘80s.
Their single, “Disco Diwane” went on to become a longstanding hit in South Africa, and was surprisingly hailed from other places as far away as Sao Paulo, Dhaka and Toronto. (Yes, and in the same breath, we dare not ignore the much-appreciated, cult native-disco creations of Bappi Lahiri and Usha Uthup).
The crux of Indian listeners, audiences and composers would remain mostly unaffected by the surge of electronic music and technology much through the ‘80s; the real change would be felt with the arrival of digital recording systems and synthesizers in Bollywood studios.
Brilliant and almost obscure cult movies such as Om Dar Badar (directed by Kamal Swaroop) featured moody psychedelic mash-ups of electronic sounds, bass lines, drum machine beats and vocoders mixed with native voices and lyrics, composed by Rajat Dholakia (now a big commercial music producer in Mumbai).
Nevertheless, electronic music flavours and the vast composition possibilities offered by synthesizers and samplers remained in the 'safe hands' of a few elite composers in India throughout the decade.
Click to read on about Goa trance and the Asian Underground.
First waves
The late ‘80s in Goa saw the rise of tourism and a never-before felt intercourse of international cultures with the influx of the second wave of neo-hippie culture pouring out of the UK, Germany, Israel, America and France.
Electronic music and sound was arriving to Indian shores via DJs, writers, filmmakers and tourists from Berlin, London and other destinations in Europe. For close to three decades now, Goa has been a bustling, fertile zone for intercultural exchange, a place to party and escape urban pressures, apart from being a psychotropic and psychedelic haven teeming with nocturnal party people.
It is in this socio cultural melting pot that the popular, psychedelic electronic-music form now known as ‘Goa trance’ was born.
The Asian Underground music movement became the voice of a generation that was wary of the subcontinent’s clichéd identity.— Samrat B
Goa trance met with enthusiastic responses from the numerous young people who were jaded by Bollywood music and/or traditional forms of rock and pop. Nascent, chaotic and 'psychotropic friendly’, this genre would eventually travel to and thrive in the far corners of Israel, Germany and Scandinavia.
Goa trance eventually got absorbed and mutated into further progressive genres of psy, minimal and house music circa 1996.
With an increasing number of DJs, self styled producers and record labels seeking newer audiences and markets in India and the world, the first wave of electronica had finally crashed on Indian shores.
Electronica was curtailed to the Euro-centric rave culture in Goa and other hippie refuges around India until the mid 1990s when, amongst the increasing musicians and bands who pushed the (indie, metal and Hindi) rock music scene in India, a few chose to breakaway from the ‘traditional’ sounds and dived straight into music technology.
In tandem with these sporadic movements in India, Asian diasporas in the UK and US (Asian Dub Foundation, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, State of Bengal, Shiva Soundsystem, etc.) were attempting a fusion of underground electronica forms (breakbeats and drum & bass) merged within layers of retro Bollywood flavours, semi classical ragas and the tabla; sequenced and mixed via turntables, samplers and synthesizers.
The height of this cultural upheaval came in 1998 when Talvin Singh clinched the coveted Mercury Award, setting off an avalanche of reactions and opinions in international media and music circles.
Asian DJs and producers were making their mark at nightclubs, local radio channels and indie record labels in London, New York and San Francisco.
Though the potential of this outburst was never fully realised, with the propagators moving to more lucrative and popular environments, thousands of expat Indians and Asians came on to the dance floors, and the Asian Underground music movement became the voice of a generation that was wary of the subcontinent’s clichéd identity.
Parallel to Asian flavoured electronica being produced in the UK and US, in India, the effort to fuse Indian voices, jazz ideologies, folk instruments, synthetic sounds and digital production platforms led to a much-awaited change in the musical taste of urban India.
In 1998, Ram Sampath wrote and produced his only album, Color Blind, replete with dark, mature songs produced on exciting electronic sound; and in the following year, Bombay Black Collective released compilation albums that remain among the most progressive attempts in Indian electronica.
At the same time, the MIDIval PunditZ emerged with their desi yet eclectic sound and went on to become one of the most-heard Indian electronica acts abroad. A dose of groundbreaking drum & bass parties of the Bhavishyawani order of DJs in Bombay, has been getting dance friendly audiences off their feet since 1998, and continues to do so with French DJs Charlie & M-Mat now at the helm.
Meanwhile, the psychedelic trance and progressive house channels was also growing heavier (and headier) as tribes of ravers moved to the mixes of DJ Ma Faiza, Asad and Who-Sane.
Click to read on about the impact of technology on Indian electronic music artists today.
Empowered by technology
In a nation of one billion and counting, where music remains a traditional source of entertainment that’s less often seen as a field of progressive artistic endeavour, this 'audio revolution' of sorts, resulted in an electronica spillover that became a legitimate, alternate musical experience in big cities across India.
Thanks to easy-to-use technology providing endless sonic possibilities and quality mixing options available across the world at affordable prices, Indian musicians and DJs found the window and acceptance in to night clubs, discotheques and eventually, bigger outdoor events.
HUB"HUB" cover artwork.The spread of electronic music technology became progressively evident with the quantum rise in home studios, use of synthesizers, software and hi- fidelity mixing gadgets.
The Roland MC303 - a trademark sequencer with 'acid house' sounds, that I acquired in 1998 (after endless mesmerizing hours of The Chemical Brothers and Propellerheads on my stereo), seems like a primitive, yet special toy in contrast to the universally acclaimed and amazingly progressive Ableton Live software; the byword in the musician/producer/DJ realms in India.
Speaking of technology, perhaps the greatest revolution to have rocked the foundations of the music industry was the internet. Since the worldwide web explosion around 2000, the issues of piracy, free music sharing/downloading, distribution and exposure have challenged orthodox methods of music business.
On the flip (brighter) side, the internet aided thousands of musicians in finding the space and speed to showcase and exchange music from across the world, and eliciting instant reactions from fans and contemporaries. Indeed, the hard sell of music has been altered in the rising face of independent music distribution via online mechanisms like myspace, soundcloud, last.fm, bandcamp and endless others.
The presence of Indian musicians and electronica online in terms of events and marketing has fostered the much-needed awareness, and created space for information interchange, downloads, marketing and promotion.
Emerging with greater confidence and diverse sensibilities, Indian electronic music artists like Jalebee Cartel, Teddy Boy Kill, Nucleya, Mental Martians, Yidam, Vinayaka, Tempo Tantrick, Dualist Enquiry, Shaa’ir + Func and Da Saz present a wide spectrum of musical influences.
Indian DJs have come of age too, delivering a plethora of styles ranging from house, minimal, drum & bass and breakbeats to swelling urban audiences. In recent years, cross-collaborations among DJs and musicians have become the new mode to deliver seamless live electronic music.
Moreover, the constant cross-migration of various musicians of Asian-Indian origin from New York, San Francisco, London and Germany has created further inroads and solidarity in making Indian electronica a vested global movement.
All artistic and culturally hip trends and groundbreaking voices emerge out of fringe subcultures around the world. Borne out of a need to break traditions and re-evaluate traditional ideologies of music and the arts, Indian electronica will also be seen more legitimately as it grows in the near future. | <urn:uuid:a3fe8a0b-3052-4991-b931-2552a1f41ed0> | http://travel.cnn.com/mumbai/life/1982-2010-brief-history-electronic-music-india-665555/ | en | 0.943705 | 0.026111 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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I have a Hotmail account which I haven’t used for about 6-8 years. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t have a Windows Live account back then.
How can I still login to that account with my old credentials? Will my account even still exist?
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Why don't you just try and see? – Tschareck May 15 '12 at 11:07
According to this Microsoft site, accounts were deleted after 120 days of inactivity in 2007. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/msn/factsheet/hotmail.mspx. Lifehacker confirms this: http://lifehacker.com/5325867/never-use-hotmail-inactive-webmail-as-your-secondary-email-account
And Hotmail user names are up for grabs 6 months after expiration or so by anyone else.
I am pretty darn sure your Hotmail account is gone. (Unless you have used it for Microsoft Apps like Outlook Express, Live Mesh or something like that. This would have counted as login.)
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Account expiration. In Windows Live Hotmail, customers have four times longer than with MSN Hotmail before their account expires: 120 days of inactivity instead of 30 days.
See this about.com article also.
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Volume 09 No. 05
Earn CME
Accepted Papers
Scientific Investigations
A Multi-Step Pathway Connecting Short Sleep Duration to Daytime Somnolence, Reduced Attention, and Poor Academic Performance: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study in Teenagers
Santiago Perez-Lloret, M.D., Ph.D.1,2; Alejandro J. Videla, M.D.3; Alba Richaudeau, M.D.3; Daniel Vigo, M.D.1; Malco Rossi, M.D.4; Daniel P. Cardinali, M.D., Ph.D.1; Daniel Perez-Chada, M.D.3
1Departamento de Docencia e Investigación, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2Pharmacology Department, School of Medicine, Toulouse University, France; 3Pulmonary Medicine and Psychiatry Divisions, Department of Medicine, Hospital Universitario Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 4Neurology Department, Raul Carrea Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI)
A multi-step causality pathway connecting short sleep duration to daytime somnolence and sleepiness leading to reduced attention and poor academic performance as the final result can be envisaged. However this hypothesis has never been explored.
To explore consecutive correlations between sleep duration, daytime somnolence, attention levels, and academic performance in a sample of school-aged teenagers.
We carried out a survey assessing sleep duration and daytime somnolence using the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS). Sleep duration variables included week-days' total sleep time, usual bedtimes, and absolute weekdayto-weekend sleep time difference. Attention was assessed by d2 test and by the coding subtest from the WISC-IV scale. Academic performance was obtained from literature and math grades. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the independent relationships between these variables, while controlling for confounding effects of other variables, in one single model. Standardized regression weights (SWR) for relationships between these variables are reported.
Study sample included 1,194 teenagers (mean age: 15 years; range: 13-17 y). Sleep duration was inversely associated with daytime somnolence (SWR = -0.36, p < 0.01) while sleepiness was negatively associated with attention (SWR = -0.13, p < 0.01). Attention scores correlated positively with academic results (SWR = 0.18, p < 0.01). Daytime somnolence correlated negatively with academic achievements (SWR = -0.16, p < 0.01). The model offered an acceptable fit according to usual measures (RMSEA = 0.0548, CFI = 0.874, NFI = 0.838). A Sobel test confirmed that short sleep duration influenced attention through daytime somnolence (p < 0.02), which in turn influenced academic achievements through reduced attention (p < 0.002).
Poor academic achievements correlated with reduced attention, which in turn was related to daytime somnolence. Somnolence correlated with short sleep duration.
Perez-Lloret S; Videla AJ; Richaudeau A; Vigo D; Rossi M; Cardinali DP; Perez-Chada D. A multi-step pathway connecting short sleep duration to daytime somnolence, reduced attention, and poor academic performance: an exploratory cross-sectional study in teenagers. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(5):469-473.
Insufficient sleep time in school-aged teenagers is a common phenomenon. A recent meta-analysis of 41 studies on adolescent sleep patterns surveys showed that weekdays total sleep time was 7.4 hours, 8.3 hours, and 7.6 hours for North American, European, and Asian teenagers, respectively.1 In a recent study of Argentine teenagers, insufficient sleep was reported in 49% of the studied sample.2
Sleep deprivation among teenagers is associated with a wide range of behavioral, cognitive, and mood disruptions, including hyperactivity, reduced school grades, and depression.3 Academic performance is strongly affected by insufficient sleep.46 Kahn et al. reported that the risk of failing one or more years at school doubled in poor sleepers as compared to normal controls.4 Similarly, lower grades usually correlate with later bedtimes on school nights and increased delay of sleep onset on weekends.7
Insufficient or fragmented sleep can induce sleepiness,8,9 thereby impairing learning.3,9 In a previous survey using the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS), we found that somnolence was independently and significantly related to poor grades in language or math after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and the presence of snoring or apneas.2 Daytime somnolence in sleep deprived children may lead to reduced attention, causing impaired learning and academic failure.10
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Academic performance is known to be strongly affected by insufficient sleep. The path connecting reduced sleep to impaired academic performance has been insufficiently explored.
Study Impact: It was observed that diurnal somnolence and reduced attention were in the middle of the pathway connecting insufficient sleep to poor academic outcomes. Therefore, short sleep duration should be discouraged in teenagers as it significantly impacts cognitive performance.
Based on the correlations between each pair of variables, we hypothesized that the effects of short sleep duration on poor academic performance may be mediated by increased daytime somnolence resulting in reduced attention. Our hypothesis proposes a multi-step causality pathway connecting short sleep duration to daytime somnolence in a first step, which in turn would lead to reduced attention, finally causing poor academic performance. We set out the present study to further explore this hypothesis by using structural equation modeling (SEM) on the data from a cross-sectional survey.
The main objective of using SEM was to assess the statistical significance of a multi-step pathway connecting short sleep duration to daytime somnolence and attention, ending up in academic performance, adjusting for the presence of potential confounding variables. We believe that such objective would not have been achievable by using simpler statistical methods. While frequently used in education sciences,11,12 SEM is not commonly used in sleep research.
Study Sample
Teenagers assisting to public schools in 3 suburban areas of low socioeconomic status in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were invited to participate in this study. Subjects in middle school (13 to 17 years old) attending morning classes were eligible for participation. Informed consent was obtained from parents and informed assent from participating students. A total of 1,264 students attended classes in the morning; 1,194 agreed to participate in this study (94% response rate).
This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Austral University.
The research team went to selected schools and invited children to participate. Some days later, subjects who fulfilled inclusion criteria, wanted to participate, and had brought parents' authorization completed a self-administered questionnaire. Finally, trained neuropsychologists conducted attention tests in the first available opportunity.
We used a survey including the Spanish version of the PDSS to evaluate sleepiness.2,9 The scale consists of 8 questions dealing with several aspects of daytime somnolence in students, such as feeling sleepy in classroom or while doing homework, being alert during daytime, problems for getting up from bed, feelings of tiredness during daytime, the need of being woken up, falling asleep after being woken up in the morning, or feelings of insufficient sleep. PDSS scores range from 0 to 32, with higher scores indicating more severe daytime somnolence.
Data on bedtime and waking time on weekdays, hours slept during weekdays and weekend, and nap time during the week and weekend were also collected. The absolute difference between total sleep times on weekdays and weekends was also calculated. Gender, height and weight data were collected. Age- and gender-adjusted z-scores were calculated for BMI according to the parameters derived by LMS transformation as proposed by Cole et al.13 Children's mathematics and literature grades as provided by teachers were used as indicators of academic achievement (possible range: 1-10, with higher values meaning better achievements).
As measures of attention, the d2 Test of attention (Brick-enkamp's attention-concentration endurance test)14 and code subtest of the WISC-IV (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV)15 were used. From the d2, the following parameters were calculated: (1) total number of items processed, corresponding to the sum of all items processed, whether correctly or incorrectly, to measure of processing speed; (2) total number of items processed minus errors, measuring effectiveness and inhibitory control; (3) concentration performance, calculated as the number of correctly processed items minus errors of commission, a measure of concentration. From code subtest, the total of correct marks was used as a measure of processing speed and sustained attention.15 Positive indexes indicated increased attention.
Statistical Analysis
Bivariate correlations between studied variables were evaluated by Pearson coefficients. Multivariate analyses were then performed by SEM.1618 A more thorough review of this technique can be obtained from other sources.18,19
SEM is a method for representing, estimating and testing a theoretical network of linear association between variables. It is a generalization of both regression and factor analysis and allows the consideration of unobservable (“latent”) variables, which may only be measured imperfectly by a series of indicators. In our study, the “latent” multidimensional variables were sleep duration, daytime somnolence, attention, and academic performance. Only indicators loading significantly to their corresponding latent variable were retained. This analysis was performed by built-in confirmatory factor analysis. Sleep duration reflected the combination of longer weekdays sleep time, earlier bedtimes and lower weekday-to-weekend sleep time absolute difference. Daytime somnolence resulted from the combination of PDSS survey items. Attention included correct marks and concentration index from D2 test as well as WISC-IV code sub-score. Finally, academic performance included math and language grades as indicators.
SEM assesses whether a sample covariance matrix (i.e., the associations between all possible pair of variables) is consistent with a hypothetical matrix implied by a predefined model. SEM evaluates how well a prespecified model of postulated relationships between pairs of variables “fits the reality.” Thus, SEM is highly dependent on predefined models. For our study, we constructed series of models before conducting the analysis. Such models were always built around the principal hypothesis, which postulated a set of linear correlations exist between sleep duration and daytime somnolence, daytime somnolence with attention, and finally, attention with academic performance. Models differed in the way of handling the confounding variables (i.e., all other variables measured in this study).
SEM is mainly a confirmatory technique rather than an exploratory one, and its use is recommended in order to determine if a certain model is valid, rather than to purely explore previously undefined models.19 Model's validity is assessed by several indexes, such as the χ2, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and Normed Fit Index (NFI). For our study, models with RMSEA > 0.08, CFI < 0.8, or NFI < 0.8 were rejected because of poor fit. For comparisons between models, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) was also employed.19
Results from SEM are presented in terms of age-, gender-, and BMI-adjusted standardized regression weights (SWR) between pairs of variables. Such coefficients represent the strength of the relationship between any pair of variables independently from confounding factors. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
IBM SPSS Statistics v.18 and AMOS v.18 software (Crawfordville, FL, USA) were used for the analyses. Alpha error was set at 0.05. Missing data were imputed by using AMOS built-in regression techniques. The Sobel test was used to further explore the possibility that the relationship between two variables could pass through a third variable (commonly called “mediating” variable).20
The “final model” was also fitted with (1) the subset of the dataset containing no missing cases, (2) excluding the WISCIV coding subscore, as it may also measures other aspects of cognition besides attention. Results remained unchanged.
Population features and missing data for each variable are shown in Table 1. Mean age was 15 years; 54% were males; mean PDSS score was 13.8 points; and mean math and language grades were 6.6 and 6.7, respectively.
Descriptive data
table icon
Table 1
Descriptive data
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Significant unadjusted correlations were found between language and math grades and sleep duration (r = -0.14, p < 0.01), sleep duration with attention score (r = 0.06, p = 0.05), and attention scores with academic achievements (r = 0.29, p < 0.01). Other important correlates of language or math grade were age and gender, as shown in Table 2.
Correlates of language and math grades
table icon
Table 2
Correlates of language and math grades
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A possible multi-step relationship pathway from sleep duration to academic achievements was further explored by SEM. Through SEM we built a model which offered an acceptable fit according to usual measures (χ2 = 794, RMSEA = 0.0548, CFI = 0.874, NFI = 0.838). As depicted in the path diagram shown in Figure 1, an age-, gender-, and BMI-adjusted positive correlation between sleep duration and somnolence was found (SWR = -0.36, p < 0.01), whereas correlation between somnolence and attention was negative (SWR = -0.13, p < 0.01). Furthermore, reduced attention correlated with lower academic achievements (SWR = 0.18, p < 0.01). Interestingly, we also found a negative direct correlation between somnolence and academic achievement (SWR = -0.16, p < 0.01). Conversely, the relationship between sleep duration and academic outcomes was not significant (SWR = 0.10, p = 0.2). A Sobel test confirmed that short sleep duration influenced attention through increased daytime somnolence (statistic = 2.27, p < 0.02), which in turn influenced academic achievements through reduced attention (statistic = 2.99, p < 0.002).
Path diagram representing the relationships among sleep deprivation, daytime somnolence, attention, and academic achievements, as obtained by Structural Equation Modeling
Age-, gender-, and BMI-adjusted standardized regression weights for each relationship are given. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
Figure 1
Path diagram representing the relationships among sleep deprivation, daytime somnolence, attention, and academic achievements, as obtained by Structural Equation ModelingAge-, gender-, and BMI-adjusted standardized regression weights for each relationship are given. *p
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Our results suggest a multi-step pathway connecting short sleep duration with increased somnolence, which in turn correlated with reduced attention, ending up in lower academic achievements, as disclosed by a complex, holistic statistical method. While several studies have suggested the existence of associations between each pair of variables, this is the first time that all variables are connected in one single pathway by using an unselected large sample and a powerful statistical technique. Such a goal could not have been achieved by using simpler techniques such as correlation or multiple regression analysis. These results further suggest that improving sleep quality in teenagers could be an effective measure to increase academic efficiency.
Experimental studies have shown that sleep deprivation is related to inattentiveness, impaired learning, and reduced arousal. In a recent study, 16 subjects completed two sessions of five consecutive nights of restricted or unrestricted sleep in a crossover fashion.10 In comparison with subjects with normal sleep, sleep deprived participants performed worse on quizzes and displayed more inattentive behaviors. These data lend support to our initial hypothesis. According to this paradigm, short sleep duration would set up a “chain reaction,” with increased daytime somnolence and reduced attention as intermediate links leading to reduced academic efficiency. Interestingly, we observed that somnolence correlated negatively with academic performance in spite of its relationship with attention. Such findings may suggest that the somnolence effect may go beyond attention, thus involving other herein unstudied cognitive function. Therefore, further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of somnolence on other variables such as working memory or motivation. On the other hand, we found no significant direct correlation between sleep duration and academic achievements, suggesting that other factors besides somnolence and attention may be relatively less important in conveying the effect of the former on the latter.
Our study included a great sample size and applied a powerful statistical technique for assessing relationships among variables. Although SEM is not a new technique, it has been seldom used in neurosciences.18 Detailed description of the technique can be found elsewhere.19 One of the main advantages of this approach is that variables can serve as independent or dependent factors at the same time, thus allowing modeling of multi-step pathways and networks. Furthermore, complex theoretical constructs, such as somnolence or attention, could be modeled by using a wide range of indicators, which not only improve variable's validity but also reduce measurement error.
SEM analysis is not devoid of pitfalls and limitations. Firstly, paths essentially represent correlation between variables, which by themselves do not prove causality in cross-sectional studies.21 Furthermore, temporal aspects of relationships between sleep duration, sleepiness, reduced attention, and academic performance could not be evaluated in this study, thus further limiting our ability to evaluate causality. Important variables connected with academic achievements such as motivation,22 memory consolidation,23 personality,24 presence of behavioral disorders,25,26 respiratory diseases27,28 or other environmental factors29,30 were not assessed in our study. Therefore, our model should be regarded as a hypothesis-generating one to be further refined and enriched by adding other variables. Finally, many variables were self-reported, which could have also introduced some bias or uncertainty in the evaluations.
In summary, our results suggest that increased somnolence and reduced attention may be in the middle of a multi-step pathway connecting short sleep duration to poor academic outcomes. These results may have important implications for public health. Short sleep duration resulting from unhealthy sleep habits should be discouraged, as it may significantly impact cognitive performance.
The study was funded by the Carrillo-Oñativia Grant, Ministry of Health, República Argentina. Drs. Perez-Lloret, Vigo and Perez-Chada are Research Career Awardees from the Argentine Research Council (CONICET). The authors are indebted to the member of the Buenos Aires Sleep Disorders Study Group: Esperanza Tamburini, Psychologist; Ana Pérez, Psychologist; Analía Giuzzi, M.D; and Pablo Vizzotti, Sociologist for their active participation on the field work.
Gradisar M, Gardner G, Dohnt H, authors. Recent worldwide sleep patterns and problems during adolescence: a review and meta-analysis of age, region, and sleep. Sleep Med. 2011;12:110–8. [PubMed]
O'Brien LM, author. The neurocognitive effects of sleep disruption in children and adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2009;18:813–23
Kahn A, Van de MC, Rebuffat E, et al., authors. Sleep problems in healthy preadolescents. Pediatrics. 1989;84:542–6. [PubMed]
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Moore M, Meltzer LJ, authors. The sleepy adolescent: causes and consequences of sleepiness in teens. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2008;9:114–20. [PubMed]
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O'Donnell K, Murphy R, Ostermann J, et al., authors. A brief assessment of learning for orphaned and abandoned children in low and middle income countries. AIDS Behav. 2012;16:480–90. [PubMed] | <urn:uuid:2b82e23e-572f-453f-be57-e76082f09aac> | http://www.aasmnet.org/JCSM/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=28947 | en | 0.91196 | 0.073935 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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8. Be A Peacemaker
Be A Peacemaker
In most sports, a borderline play can lead to jawing and an escalation of tension between the two sides. While you might be tempted to sit back and watch as your teammates and opponents make idiots of themselves, don’t be afraid to play the role of peacemaker to keep things amicable. When a guy on your team gets in the face of an opponent, pull him away and get him cooled down. Escalating tensions might be amusing, but they never lead to anything positive. | <urn:uuid:8e18da32-3973-4ae5-bbda-21eba92b68db> | http://www.askmen.com/top_10/fitness/ways-to-stand-out-at-sports_8.html | en | 0.939743 | 0.08436 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Question: English & Literature
What is EMP? How does this signal that the aliens are not friendly? How do people respond?
Orm Irian appears to be a woman who can turn into a dragon, who was the only woman to ever be schooled at Roke by the Master Patterner, the Master Herbal, the Namer and the Doorkeeper. She appears to be a tall, strong woman of strikingly good looks who deals with other people in a friendly but powerful way.
Irian is actually one of the daughters of Kalessin the Eldest dragon (who could take human form) who was born on Peln and later travelled to Roke to discover her true nature. There she also destroyed the Archmage Thorion, who himself was a dead-man walking, or a person who had died but had clawed his way back from the lands of death through the use of his magical arts. She has now rejoined her dragon family and speaks on their behalf at the Council of Dragons.
Irian is an imposing and proud figure in The Other Wind, who feels strongly the injustice done to the Dragons and the horror that the mage's of Roke are committing by keeping the wall between the dead and the living standing. She cares a little for the humans of the archipelago, seems to side with the dragons who are threatening their invasion.
In English & Literature | Asked by bookragstutor
Asked from the The 5th Wave study pack
EMP is an electronic magnetic pulse that can cause all electrical items near the pulse to stop working. The aliens let off an EMP at the beginning of their invasion in order to cut off all of humanity from the electrical devices they have come to rely on. This suggests hostility on the part of the aliens, but only leaves the humans confused as to its origins.
bookragstutor | 877 days ago | <urn:uuid:3a55f80d-04fb-4fea-82a5-bcd179eb257e> | http://www.bookrags.com/questions/english-and-literature/The_5th_Wave/What-is-EMP-How-does-this-signal-that-the-aliens-are-not-friendly-How-do-people-respond-181399/ | en | 0.978897 | 0.589307 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Source: Science Daily
Comments Threshold
RE: Chills!
By kattanna on 8/8/2012 1:30:06 PM , Rating: 2
didn't have issues with Speech class
My niece had a speech class last semester..100% online
think about that for a second..sad
me personally..english has been a rocky subject. the first time I tried english 101 one of the first projects we did I followed the teachers instructions to the letter, and failed it because she actually wanted it in another format. When i pointed out her instructions her response was.. well.. i meant the other way. LOL I dropped the class because with a more then full time job, the math and chemistry class was more then enough as it was.
the second time I tried it, I was pointing out spelling and grammar mistakes that the teacher had made herself. ended dropping the class because once again work got in the way and I wasnt dropping biology which I had a strong A in. I'll get past it eventually..LOL got more chemistry and astronomy this semester. one thing I have noticed though about the english classes is how astonishingly bad is the grammar of these new kids in college. Me.. i was born when we were landing men on the moon.
I keep getting the feeling I'm supposed to be doing something more significant than just a server admin
if you are helping the porn to flow.. then there is NO higher calling
RE: Chills!
By MrBlastman on 8/8/2012 1:45:23 PM , Rating: 2
That's just women being women. They say stuff all the time that is the opposite of what they really mean.
They get all pissed off too when us men don't figure it out. Other times, we actually do the opposite and they get mad because they meant what they really said.
It is a wonder that all men over forty aren't completely bald. That, or carrying around giant cudgels to smash things.
It is perplexing. Machines are typically predictable--they work in a calculated, mechanical way and generate an obvious end result. Humans are nothing more than electro-chemical machines, yet, for some strange reason, the female variant has managed to defy science completely by incorporating a true random-number generator in their brains.
It is inconceivable yet, as I see it, true. Perhaps there is some sort of multi-dimensional quantum rift buried somewhere in their brains that men have yet to find. It is in there--it has to be!
RE: Chills!
By JediJeb on 8/8/2012 2:07:30 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe women are the key to quantum computing, where a bit can be on, off or anything in between.
RE: Chills!
By MrBlastman on 8/8/2012 2:27:14 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly! We should behead them instantly and place them all on spindles and begin computing... Oh hell, I don't want to even know what goes on in there.
If we do that, it could be like opening a Lemarchand box...
Eureka! I've figured it out!
Pinhead. Yes, Pinhead, he is the source of all mankinds lusts and woes! It isn't sand trapped in there at times, no, NO!
It is Pinhead, bristles and all, raking his crown across their grant vestibules!
Or is it? Who is up to the challenge? I'm not.
Of course, the Lament Configuration might have already been realized. Was Man ever meant to figure this out to begin with? Is it already too late... I better go hide.
RE: Chills!
By MrBlastman on 8/8/2012 2:30:19 PM , Rating: 2
grant = grand. :-| (Maybe my typo saved us all?)
RE: Chills!
By Spuke on 8/8/2012 7:26:56 PM , Rating: 2
Women only act that like that when they're with someone they don't really want to be with OR when we (men) let them act like that. I don't put up with that stuff and I'm no Billy Bad Ass either. If a woman wants me to understand something, she'll have to say it in plain English or I'll just act like a total dumb ass until she does. It's FAR easier to frustrate the living piss out of them until they spit it out in anger than to try and guess what they really want. Sorry, but I just don't play those games.
| <urn:uuid:bf099e58-00a4-473c-aff6-eb2dc422409a> | http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=25355&commentid=792243&threshhold=1&red=1827 | en | 0.953663 | 0.08026 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Cooking for My Man
I've always been a terrible cook. Or maybe just a lazy cook. But for whatever reason, the food turns out terrible. Overcooked pasta, bland sauces, dry brownies...No matter how hard I tried, I just didn't have the knack.
But now that Alex and I are living together, I can't keep eating my usual carrots and hummus for dinner, and if we order in every night, we'll go broke. So, I realized that we'd have to start cooking dinner. I was kind of nervous—Would it take forever? Did I know enough basic techniques?—but then a single article saved me.
I came across Mark Bittman's New York Times article 101 Recipes for an Inspired Picnic, in which he describes cheap, easy, delicious recipes—such as edamame with mint, lemon juice and pecorino; or feta and grapes. Now, Alex and I have been having picnics every night and loving it!
Get Glamour In Your Inbox!
Get the Newsletter
| <urn:uuid:53891031-39d1-4e3f-846e-0b9651fed46f> | http://www.glamour.com/story/cooking-for-my-man | en | 0.939771 | 0.037986 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Automotive Sensor Technology.
Penny + Giles provides an insight into the sensor technologies
used in the motorsport and heavy-duty automotive applications
- including potentiometer, inductive and Hall Effect.
Displacement sensors are used throughout the automotive industry to
monitor the position of moving parts on a vehicle, providing continual
feedback on the operating conditions. As a result, they allow designers
and engineers to maximise the operation of the vehicle and improve
operator safety.
Automotive applications are typically hostile environments and sensors
have to endure extreme shock, vibration and high temperatures. With
current demands in the motorsport market requiring ultimate reliability
to achieve peak performance, and demands in the heavy duty, off-road
vehicle market for more reliable and long-lasting sensors, it is clear to
see why non-contacting technologies are fast becoming the preferred
choice amongst vehicle designers and OEMS.
Sensor technologies are chosen to provide optimum performance and
reliability in specific applications.
Potentiometer technology is well established and has provided reliable
position measurement in a wide variety of applications for over 40 years.
Two of the key advantages of this technology are its linear output and the
versatility it derives from its simplicity. It consists of a printed carbon-based
track (or 'hybrid' conductive plastic-on-wire track) with no complex circuitry
or electronics. As such it is not susceptible to electromagnetic interference
or magnetic fields. As a contacting device, it can be susceptible to the
effects of shock and dither vibration and is not always the most appropriate
choice for high intensity use applications, or high dither or vibration induced
The majority of suspension position monitoring on saloon cars, single seat
race cars and motorbikes use hybrid linear potentiometers. They are simple
voltage dividers and don't need any special conditioning electronics - they
simply work off a dc supply and supply a dc signal. In addition, they monitor
in real-time, without any signal lag from electronics, to give an accurate
representation of what the suspension is doing.
In heavy duty applications, linear sensors such as Penny + Giles' SLS320
are used on refuse trucks for sensing the position of the hydraulic rams
that move the lifting arms on front loader and side loader vehicles. Again,
potentiometer technology is used because it is a simple solution without
the need for complex electronics. Rotary sensors are used to monitor the
movement of vehicle pivot points.
Inductive sensors used in the automotive industry are constructed from
one primary and two secondary coils forming a transformer. These work
on the principle of mutual inductance, producing an electrical signal
proportional to a separate moving core. Also known as linear or rotary
variable differential transformers (LVDTs or RVDTs), they are non-contacting
and provide a long operational life which is not affected by vibration.
Inductive sensors, however, require sophisticated signal conditioning electronics
to condition and linearise the coil signal. This complexity is the main reason
why they have been superseded with other non-contact sensors such as those
based on the Hall Effect which generally cost less and are simpler to use.
In the motorsport market they can be used to provide measurement and feedback
for brake pad wear or steering angle. These applications are not critical to the
control of the vehicle, but give data to assist engineers in performance improvements. Developments in GT and Fl brake caliper designs have given the option of monitoring
the wear of the brake pads and discs during a race - the movement of the calliper
position is sensed by a very small LVDT embedded in the caliper body. The sensors must withstand extremely high temperatures of up to 2000G. Two LVDTs are fitted
to each caliper and the signals are fed to the car's data acquisition system and
alert engineers to the condition of the brake pad and disc wear.
The sensors are also used in control functions such as throttle pedal position
and clutch actuator position, which are fundamental to the operation of the car.
Failure of displacement sensors in these applications would have an immediate
effect on the car. Engine throttle uses a closed loop electro-hydraulic system
that requires a displacement sensor on the driver's foot pedal and another on
the actuating mechanism mounted on the engine. An on-board computer monitors
the demand from the throttle pedal and the feedback signal from the engine-mounted sensor and the closed loop system works to match the signals. This arrangement
allows faster acceleration and can preserve engine life by restricting the driver from
going beyond the maximum safe rev limit for the engine.
In heavy-duty, off-road vehicles, single coil inductive linear sensors are fitted inside
the hydraulic actuators to monitor and operate the lifting mechanisms of buckets. Traditionally this movement is measured using linear, contacting potentiometers
to give the operator feedback about the position of the arm. However, the conditions inside the hydraulic actuators are harsh and problems can often occur because
of a lack of, or uncontrolled, maintenance. The hydraulics systems can become contaminated and this can affect the contacts on potentiometer sensors. Designers looking for increased reliability are turning towards inductive sensors because
they are non-contacting and are unaffected by the condition of the hydraulic fluid.
Hall Effect
Hall Effect sensors are based on the small electrical potential created when a
stationary magnetic field is placed perpendicular to a current-carrying conductor.
They produce a digital or analogue output proportional to the magnetic field
strength which is amplified to enable different voltage outputs. Hall Effect
sensors are fast becoming an attractive alternative to inductive sensors,
offering the same reliable, virtually unlimited life as a non-contacting technology,
but at lower cost as they do not require sophisticated electronics. The main
disadvantage is that they are sensitive to electromagnetic interference but
this can be overcome with the use of appropriate shielding and good internal
circuit design for all but the most demanding environments.
These are particularly suitable for designers in motorsport and heavy-duty
applications who are looking for the long-life of a non-contacting sensor, but
without the complex signalling that inductive sensors require. In most cases,
wherever a rotary potentiometer is being used, it could (in theory) be replaced
by a Hall Effect device depending on the surrounding environment.
For example, Penny + Giles engineers are designing a rotary Hall Effect
sensor, SRH2BO, which could be suitable for existing potentiometer applications
such as those used in sequential gearbox indicators. These indicators combine
a set of electronics and a highly accurate rotary sensor fitted to the selector
corresponding to the selected gear and the rotary Hall Effect sensor measures
this position precisely and allows the electronic control unit to calculate and
offers highly reliable and repeatable results, compared to microswitches that
by the driver.
Automotive demands
Traditionally, designers in motorsport and heavy-duty applications favoured the
use of simple potentiometers for position monitoring. This is because they can
be connected directly to the data acquisition system without the need for the
complex signal conditioning. Demands within the automotive industry for ultimate reliability, however, mean designers are switching to inductive displacement
Rotary and linear position sensors are used extensively throughout the automotive industry, especially in motorsport cars and off-highway vehicles. Developments
in sensor technology from potentiometer to Hall effect technology provide designers
with a range of long-life sensing elements which provide a highly reliable solution
for all position sensing problems.
For more information contact:-
Penny & Giles Controls Ltd.
Tel: +44(0) 1202 409409
Website: www.pennyandgiles.com
October 2005
Why not submit your Application Story ... | <urn:uuid:105d9882-1b8d-465d-81e6-12258b5b7e6c> | http://www.sensorland.com/AppPage080.html | en | 0.894936 | 0.055677 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious is unoriginal, but it's not plagiarism.
Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious is unoriginal, but it's not plagiarism.
Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious is unoriginal, but it's not plagiarism.
What to eat. What not to eat.
Oct. 24 2007 4:32 PM
Not That There's Anything Wrong With That
Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook is unoriginal, but it's not plagiarism.
Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious.
Missy Chase Lapine's The Sneaky Chef.
Jessica Seinfeld, however, has done no such thing.
For starters, the timeline is all wrong. Cookbooks take a year or more to produce. Lapine's book came out in April, and Seinfeld's came out in October. (Disclosure: Seinfeld's book was published by HarperCollins, which is also my publisher. However, I have no relationship with anybody involved in the Seinfeld project, and I write my own books.) There was simply not enough time to incorporate Lapine's work into Seinfeld's. In fact, Seinfeld's agent told CBS that her book was already being bound when Lapine's came out.
Spend 10 minutes comparing the Seinfeld and Lapine books, and you won't be able to seriously contend that there is plagiarism. (And in all the articles I've found about this tempest in a teapot, not one has pointed to a specific example of plagiarism.) Sure, the two books are based on the same unremarkable, unoriginal idea. And a handful of recipes employ some of the same obvious tricks (mostly based on hue, such as hiding sweet potato puree in a grilled cheese sandwich or spinach in brownies). But the books are quite different. For example, Seinfeld's recipe, titled "Mashed Potatoes," calls for simple cauliflower puree. Lapine's recipe for "Mystery Mashed Potatoes" specifies "White Puree," which is a separate recipe earlier in the book that consists of cauliflower, zucchini, and lemon juice. In a table comparing recipes, a New York Times blog notes that both books contain "Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins" without noting that, among several other differences, Seinfeld calls for carrot puree while Lapine calls for "orange puree," based on sweet potatoes with the addition of carrots. Not that either trick is a revelation—fleshy vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots have long been ingredients in cakes, pies, breads, and muffins.
Differences don't end at the recipes. The Lapine book is a straightforward cookbook. Seinfeld's is much more elaborate, from its unusual, hardcover-over-spiral binding (in the style of a family scrapbook), to its gorgeous line art and photography, to a writing style that captures the fantasy of Seinfeld as the reader's BFF. Every potentially similar recipe I've compared has had more than token differences—they seem to have been built independently, from the ground up, using different voices. Of those PB&J muffins, Lapine tells the story of Alison, who hates sweet potatoes but was fooled by the muffins: " 'Yum,' she squealed, 'these are great!' " Seinfeld says only, "I don't know who likes these more, kids or grown-ups."
Plagiarism is a serious accusation. It can get students expelled; it can ruin writers' careers. And if it's occurred, it should. But the news media should take plagiarism seriously enough to not use the word unless it truly applies. Many things can be said of Seinfeld's book and its runaway success. A sad commentary on the state of parenting? I think so. A triumph of celebrity over substance? You bet. Further evidence of the decline of the West? Definitely. But an act of plagiarism? No way. | <urn:uuid:762bdb9b-b3ef-4bd2-b846-9c24fe13d8a1> | http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2007/10/not_that_theres_anything_wrong_with_that.html | en | 0.968375 | 0.102996 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Mach 1 Mach Exhaust Improvements
Discussion in 'Special Production' started by GTBEE, Mar 6, 2004.
1. So what does everybody think about exhaust improvements on the Mach? I listened to a few different set-ups on, but wanted to hear your opinions before I spend the $. I liked the Borla Stinger with Magnaflow catalytic-X, but can't tell if the sound is what I am looking for. I want to deepen, but don't want to need earplugs. Also, when going through parts ordering, I am cool when I see the 4V designation... but when the only options are GT or Cobra, which way do I go???
Thanks for the help everybody.
The BEE
2004 Shadow Gray Mach 1
2002 True Blue S-281 w/tan vert
2. I assume when you say improvements, you're talking about sound and not necessarily performance. When it comes to performance, Ford did a pretty damn good job with the Mach 1's exhaust system. I've seen several instances where people have actually hurt the performance by replacing either the cat-back or the mid-pipe on the Mach 1. As far as which item to choose when the only options are GT or Cobra, pick the GT.
3. GT catback and mach our could get away with the packs...deep loud but not annoying
4. I gained 15 hp and 28lbs of torque with just a non-catted BBK X-pipe. Major seat of the pants change! Sounds exotic too. I only made 5rwhp and 7rwtq with just a Magnaflow cat back. If you change your X-pipe, go with the non catted since you won't need to smog it for four years. Just swap in the stock one when you smog it! :nice:
5. Thanks Everybody
Still scratching my head, but the magnflow X may do the trick. I will keep you posted.
The Bee
2004 Shadow Gray Mach 1
2002 True Blue S-281 #382 (tan vert)
6. Well I learned one thing. If you put 2 1/4" Flowmasters in front of the stock Mach 1 2 1/4" tailpipes, you will get terrable droning at 2000 rpms.
Then I put on 2 1/2" Flowmasters with 2 1/2" Magnaflow tailpipes and the drone is way less. Dont know why but I like it now. :D
7. I put a Magnapack cat back on my Mach. VERY happy with it. Fit great, nice quality, and it sounds like a Mach1 SHOULD sound! :D The packs are a little on the loud side, (quite a bit louder than stock) but I was used to my GT that set off car alarms a half a block away. If you just want something a little louder than the stock pipes, go with the Magnaflow system. Still sounds very good, (my son has one) but not as loud as the packs. I haven't dyno'd the car, but the but-o-meter says, there's a noticeable increase in performance too.
8. Hmmm, doesn't seem too loud. Can you say how much louder you think it is driving normally?
How about at WOT?
Is this the Borla system with the round straight through mufflers?
What about the 2000 rpm drone, much different than stock?
The stainless steel and rolled tips are the way I'd like to go, but I'm not looking for extremely loud....
Sorry for so many questions, but I want to only do this once :)
9. You can hear is much more than you can the stock system around town but on the highway in 5th it's almost stock quiet but stand on it and it comes alive.
The 2000 drone is a little louder than stock but not annoying at all...
The tips are rolled like stock but a little bigger. Like I said at idle and cruising on the highway it is very quiet but get on it and it is much louder than stock..
10. Way to go Borla!
They look great and sound great. Where did you get them, and did you install yourself?
The Bee
11. I got them from ask for Bill
I installed them myself with just a floor jack in a hour and a half....
12. MAC ProChamber H-Pipe and Cat-Backs
I am extremely happy with my MAC exhaust setup. I definitely picked up some horsepower, but I'm not sure how much exactly. And when it comes to looks, the fat chromed tail pipes are just beautiful.
Here's what my exhaust system sounds like:
13. Anyone have an SLP Cat-Back on their Mach 1???? I was wondering how they sound/feel.
14. I have only heard the sound clips of them on the net and it wasn't the sound I was looking for (deep rumble) so I went with the borla kit but people that have them on their machs seem to be very happy with them...
15. Bassani Catted X-pipe & MagnaFlow catback!
I have installed the Bassani Stainless Catted X-pipe and Magnaflow (not packs) catback exhaust. I absolutely love this setup. It sounds close to stock while idleing, but when you you get on this baby she roars like a lion. Also there is absolutely no drone in the car at any speed.
On March 6 here in Atlanta, we had the first SouthEast Mach1 Meet at Team Ford in Marietta, GA. There we were able to dyno our Mach's. The stock Mach1's with the auto's averaged 255hp 285lb/ft at the rear wheels.
The stock 5 speeds averaged 265hp 290lb/ft at the rear wheels. A drop in K&N filter was good for 6hp & 2 lb/ft at the wheels for both the auto's and the 5 speeds.
At the time I dynoed mine I had the following mods:
K&N Performance Gold Oil Filter
Mobile1 0W/20 Synthetic
K&N Drop in Air filter
MagnaFlow Stainless Catback
my dyno numbers were: 292Hp 317lb/ft at the rear wheels.
I would have to say that the catback was well worth the money. I plan on dynoing it again soon. I estimate that the Xpipe was good for about 15 more hp. I will post the results as soon as I have them.
16. Damn only 265 average for a stock mach1????? That seems a little low compared to all the other stock mach's dyno on the registry....
17. Yea, usually you see and average of 280-RWHP 300-RWTQ
18. Well most of the stock ones had low miles. (about 2500 avg) These motors haven't had enough time to loosen up a little. We did have a stock 5 speed with 7400miles and a K&N drop in filter pull a 284hp 301lb/ft run.
If you figure in a 15% parasitic loss through the drive train it equals approximately 304.75hp & 333.5lb/ft. Which is right on with Ford's flywheel #'s. Also different atmosphere conditions and altitudes affect the results.
By the way all of these were SAE ratings.
And my Mach only had 3100 miles on her when I made these runs.
19. Actualy, when you figure parasitic loss, you have to subtract 15% from your flywheel horsepower, becuse you are lossing this amount through the transmission. Some people make the mistake of just taking the rear wheel horsepower and adding 15% which is wrong. For example, 320 flywheel horsepower minus 15% equals 272 rear wheel horsepower.
While some mach's are dynoing at 265, some are dynoing at 281-282. the majority seem to dyno around 272 which equals 320 flywheel horsepower, same as the 01 cobras. Some of this difference can be attributed to a variance of + or - 5 horsepower from dyno to dyno. Some variance can also be attributed to the temperature of the engine and engine oil. It is not unusual to see someone make three pulls on the dyno back to back and have three different numbers. Usually the second or third is best because the oil is good and warm, therefore thinner. But if the engine itself starts getting to hot it will lower the numbers due to heating the incoming air.
Also, tire pressure can make a difference. Just like for drag racing you want to increase the front tire pressure to decrease rolling resistance, a low tire pressure on the dyno can affect results by increasing rolling resistance.
But anyway, 320 flywheel horsepower seems to be the general concensus. | <urn:uuid:ca3aa58e-488e-42e6-babb-2cdde0d90884> | http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/mach-exhaust-improvements.434318/ | en | 0.957805 | 0.050295 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Northwest hip-hop wasn't born when Oldominion formed in 1999. But the expansive Portland/Seattle crew united the local underground rap scene for the first time, and in the band's 12-year run, its influence is still being felt far and wide (a new full-crew album is rumored to be in the works as well). So what does Oldominion look like? We attempted to put it on paper. Now get to Googling! | <urn:uuid:d4898d57-5bcc-4986-9691-014bf18f0385> | http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-16387-the_oldominion_effect.html | en | 0.97324 | 0.56379 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Guest Post: The Shape Of The World In 2020
Tyler Durden's picture
Submitted by the Global Intelligence Report
The Shape of the World in 2020
Comment viewing options
Mongo's picture
Leadership... well not in this generation and the next is mezmorized by tv-shows and series... so let's hope there is a generation not lost in the coming century.
Malcolm Tucker's picture
Look what happens to people that actually want to get involved. This is in Canada no less. What a fucking disaster...
Dental Floss Tycoon's picture
Very interesting embedded video. It is very clear that the real power in the world is not governmental. It is financial.
The implicit message is that if change is going to come it will not be peaceful.
fellatio is not fattening's picture ... This man tells it like it is, I wanna see him on MSNBS
the rookie cynic's picture
2010-2020: The waiting for Godot decade.
RockyRacoon's picture
And hopefully banking will go back to being that staid old job that attracts the guys who like green eye-shades... like it used to be long before the magic of leverage and alphabet soup of devices for theft.
Vergeltung's picture
no meaningful analyses of 2020 can be had. it's just too far off. silly, really.
Mark Medinnus's picture
Your easy dismissal implies that you are young. Since I'll be eligible to draw SS by 2020, however, I value any sensible analysis of future trends and likely outcomes. One personal projection: there will no meaningful SS will be available to me when I retire; consequently, I'm funding my retirement with this insight in mind.
Vergeltung's picture
just turned 48. I made a cryptic comment, yes. however, more so than when I was younger, future developments seem subject to far more variables now. to sound cliched, life was indeed simpler then. predicting ONE year ahead takes great skill now, let alone 10 years....
Mark Medinnus's picture
Hey, I agree with you, really. 10 year predictions are tough. But I'm 53 now and the specter of retirement beckons.
You know, when I think of it, I felt I was still bulletproof at 48. Wow, to be in my 40's again, when my head wasn't taller than my hair.
Thomas's picture
You are right: long-range predictions are notoriously bad. With that said, the method behind the prediction has merit in some instances. I would say this is a reasonably thoughtful bad-case (not worst-case) scenario, and I found it engaging.
A Nanny Moose's picture
Life is what happens while you're making other plans
centerline's picture
Nah, easy. Inflation will be monetary. That is coming to an end. Deflation will be physical. That is just starting. In 2020, there will be a lot less people around than there are now. Just not enough resources, and too many promises. The prospect that suddenly everything is going to change for the "greater good" is not supported by any historical reference.
greenewave's picture
The horror of war and MASSIVE political and civil unrest is COMING TO THE UNITED STATES.
Please watch the video “Hero of War” at ( and see what the MAINSTREAM MEDIA doesn’t want you to see.
Wow this look like a movie but the truth is that it’s not.
Dr. Sandi's picture
Deja vu. Seems like I've seen this before somewhere!
You make the erroneous assumption that the MSM gives a rat's ass about what I see.
BrosMacManus's picture
be gone, brownshirt, organize in the more furtile climes of the uneducated.
G-R-U-N-T's picture
The "horror" the horror". Yeah right, the Greeks rioting because Daddy cuts them off.
Terrible tragedy when the adult masses depend on the Governments tits for entitlement social welfare programs. I call this syndrome EDD (Entitlement Destructive Disorder). They have the "idea" that they cannot make it on their own, and they end up having all the characteristics of a young child while an adult (also called Developmental Arrest). What we are seeing here is a dependent whining temper tantrum from spoiled dependent children which is a symptom of EDD. There are many more symptoms indeed, however I haven't the time to share them. There is a cure...
themosmitsos's picture
Except that they're not waiting for it in Russia
Flakmeister's picture
May be our avatars should get together
themosmitsos's picture
I have no idea what you're talking about
Cheesy Bastard's picture
I'm sorry could you repeat that?
themosmitsos's picture
I have no idea what you're talking about
Alienated Serf's picture
its the SS beavis and butthead! cute couple.
Flakmeister's picture
Hey, I just liked the F.... :)
boeing747's picture
In 2020, we will live in John Lennon's Imagine World without FedRes, we pay each other with SDR, flip Burger and clean floor in a McDonald.
Mark Medinnus's picture
Hey, it's a brave new McWorld, dude. Every happy meal comes with a Bangdeho. "So supersize me, bitch."
Instant Karma's picture
The contrarian trade is to look for economic growth, confidence, and stock prices to steadily increase in the next decade, similar to the 1980s followed the 1970s.
mauistroker's picture
Anything's possible. But the risk is assymetric (sp?). Avoiding the market and taking a very defensive stance means we might miss out if someone finds another 'North Slope' and 'North Sea' or develops practical fusion but it's looking very unlikely right now. The balance of probabilities is skewed toward the shit hitting the fan so fucking hard that it smashes it. And then blows the fucking window pane out and sprays crap all over the street.
tmosley's picture
So the mainstream media, Fed, and government officials are all contrarians?
CIABS's picture
(re: instant karma.) i like the simple, obvious patterns. stocks in real terms since ww2 have followed a rhythm: a long bull trend begain in mid-1949. it reversed in very early 1966. reversed again in mid-1982. again in early 2000. the next reversal would therefore be expected some time in 2016 or 2017. will there be another long bull market? i don't know, maybe not. if there is one, will it start notably ahead of schedule? i doubt it.
Cdad's picture
I want to weigh in on the question posited in the title of this essay. Unfortunately, my favorite tv show is on...AFV. Now I know how that might sound to some of you sophisticated ZH'rs out there...but too bad. I confess...I never get tired of seeing a guy catch it in the biscuit. Hi ho.
But I wanted to make a guess on the shape of the world in 2020 now until later when I have more time to read the essay...and I'm going to guess that the shape of the world in 2020 will be NOT PEAR.
Later, I'll amend this post with actual knowledge after reading the actual I strive to read every single article on ZH each day...and then try to make one informed or informative comment per article. It has to do with a resolution I made....but I digress and will catch you later....
Cdad's picture
Whew...another good bucket of belly laughs. If you watch my favorite tv show too, then you know that two universal truths continue to hang tough: 1. Piñatas are a bad idea 2. Trampolines are a bad idea. And of course, a guy catching it in the biscuit is still lololololololol.
Cdad's picture
So having had one giant martini, and having read the article now, what I have to say is this:
1. Your opening sentence is sweet and enticing. I get a little lost in what I would call "unconventional use of punctuation."
2. Paragraph two is both sweet and solid.
3. Ah...Para 3 is a it delivers what I would have thought would be delivered in para 1...but who cares...that may just be style. Never been wed to convention, myself.
4. Para 4 is strongest in "truth." Spot on.
5. Ummmmm...."faith" is not really a "psychological attribute." In fact, it is exactly NOT that. Unless you further qualify that remark...I will not EASILY follow your point here. The rest of that is pretty sweet...but I hit that snag, you see.
6. True
7. Bunk. This is your weakest link so far IMO. In fact, it completely overeaches. Radical change should be resisted. Faith and tradition, for example, require that. So you have over generalized here...but not so much that I am not still reading.
8. "it has been said" whom?
9. “a step of sighs”....sweet. Hat tip on that one.
10. "So, then, the coming decade promises a continuation of the declining fortunes in major modern economies, absent the catalyst to reverse the trend." There is something true here...however, if you had included the word "If"...then it weakens. And inserting that word is quite natural...not a stretch. Not sold here.
11. About the PRC and such...true.
12. True...but I confess to not having read your column noted.
13. OK...the first sentence sings like a sweet bird...and the second one does not as it dies in the word "determinables." Now, I like artistic license...I do. But never let that overtake your point on the last word of a paragraph.
14. Right on! [about manufacturing and real estate]
15. beginning "It was this fundamental..." should be merged with prior paragraph.
16 On the subject of amassing capital...yes yes yes....but you muddle the point. Be direct here. However, I have a passion on this take me with a grain of salt here.
17. I have no knowledge of the floods in Pakistan...and cannot
18. On the point of the major demographic problem, here being the Baby Boomers, correct. Had I listened to my own words on the matter ten years ago, I would not have been stung by all the madness of 2008. Hi ho. Critical point.
In final, I would have gone less artsy in the end. Leadership, waiting for it, mobility, all of it....all good points. However, I would have gone full on concrete at the end...laser sharp and unavoidable clear, contemporary examples at the end. In this way, I would have not given my reader the option to interpret differently and dodge the critical issues, which as I see them in your essay...loss of confidence in the system, shrinking demographics, shy capital, and broken systems. And those are numerous. I would have gone, how does Spalding say it...I would have monkeyhammered concrete examples right on home at the end. You could go artsy at the end, but that would have required more concrete stuff in the body of the essay.
Well...I would say you are sophisticated with language, allbeit unconventional with punctuation. I like your topic...but I would move towards more concrete examples and conclusions...and less flowery language as the essay moves towards its conclusion. I would make it easier for my reader to reach my intended know, considering how many contemporary Iphone zombies are out there...
Carry on I think we are all working towards the same end....
Phaethon's picture
You know, I like this. Perhaps you can start a recurring thing: Cdad's post-giant martini "take"
Cdad's picture
Thanks. I agree...but mostly because that would require more giant martinis to reach those "takes."
Consider your idea me, at least. As for how others might feel about it....either "we shall see" or " they can kiss my ass 'cause this is ZH....whatever."
Cdad was here...
Chappaquiddick's picture
Very considered. I would like to add a few mls of sodium pentathol to this debate.
Hubberts peak might be symmetrical in theory but in practice the down slope will be littered with discontinuities. A key question that I think we need ask to frame the debate is how long into the decline before we encounter one of these.
My ongoing research into this is casting a light on a very bumpy road ahead. To draw a very simplistic analogy in climbing terms we have climbed very high on the back of our global hydrocarbon resources but we are now at a point where we can't climb any higher but at the same time we have also realised we can't climb back down either. We're stuck. The effect could well be a very nasty perhaps fatal fall from these dizzying heights.
I don't see a gradual decay of service or an erosion of wealth over time - for me it looks like a phase change, a sudden alarming shift will be marker to denote we just stepped into the abyss. Of course sudden is relative to the time frame you apply and for me that might traverse a period of a handful of months or perhaps a few years. But I'll be extremely surprised if we still blogging here in ten years.
Thorny Xi's picture
"I'll be extremely surprised if we still blogging here in ten years."
Indeed. Or blogging anywhere. Most people have no idea what it takes to keep the lights on, literally and figuratively. The IEA WEO 2010 implictly acknowledges that Hubbert's global peak happened right on schedule - 2006. Not to worry, since developed economy demand for oil will simply decline. With declining foundation energy, you bet demand will decline. Leverage depends upon an increase in future value, else the discount rate will reflect the expected loss. With declining oil production, the future value of an oil based civilization doesn't look good at all. Which explains the looting in Wall Street, where people have research departments and know what's coming.
Chappaquiddick's picture
The futurists at GS have enabled LB to 'Undertake' Gods work - apologies for the funereal jest - but that fucker won't be satisfied until neofuedalism has been rolled out and field tested on an eager US populace.
Gone are the hopes for human exploration of the cosmos - nope - its horse shit and gruel from now until the supernova - we blew folks, we are a collective set of cosmic cock heads -- did we really deserve anything better??
Jimmy Carter needs some recognition, as he at least tried - the rest of 'em - pay per view primetime gallows. (The take on that would pay off the national debt!!)
mauistroker's picture
errrr.....OK? Who the fuck is THIS guy?
Misean's picture
Way way OT, but still humorous:
SGI forges overclocked servers for Wall Street
Weimar Ben Bernanke's picture
In the year 2020 the US debt crisis will begin as interest payments of 600 billion plus will be needed to service the debt it self. It amazes me that people in zero hedge still believe a dollar collapse will happen in this decade. I for one do not see a dollar collapse for another ten years,the reason being their is no good alternatitves right now. The euro? It is on life support and will ultimately die in two years max. The yuan? Hello China bubble,their rate of inflation is about to get worse. The rubble,rupee,Brititsh pound ,yen and real? Dont make me laugh. The dollar will die but it is going to take 10 more years because if you look at the post-2020 fiscal outlook it is downright apocalyptic, for two reasons. First, the aging of the U.S. population will drive sharp increases in health care costs (and at the same time, more Americans will be retired). Second, federal interest expense will rise exponentially, as the Treasury's borrowing costs grow with the debt. So the dollar will die but it will take more time because the current curriences are shiity like pigeon shit.
akak's picture
The universe is not known for patiently waiting for "good alternatives" to patently unsustainable and failing human situations. Reality does not recognize nor worry about anyone's emotional discomfort or arbitrary intellectual roadblocks.
Oh regional Indian's picture
Spot on akak. I think the 2020 prognosticators miss the point. In today's world, 1 year is what 20 years was in the 50's, 10 years in the 80's, 5 in the 90's and back to 1 now.
One only needs to look at the world since late 08. 07's happenings were noted by the few, the resulting bitter fruits were tasted by all (most).
We are entering the most non-linear times we or anyone alive has ever seen. They always ended in War.
War re-writes everything. Especially a global one, which of course has been long underway, only subtly. The pawns were advanced and sacrificed.
Now, the big daddies are coming into play. Kings and Queens, literal and figurative.
I say plan well for tomorrow and live fully today.
The rest, we'll watch together, eh?
Chappaquiddick's picture
How about this for a scenario - US debt default -> economic collapse -> Military collaspe. China invades US to make good on the debts owed.
BruceH's picture
the title is "shape of the world in 2020"
somehow i expected to read an answer....but you just wrote a bunch of nothing...
oh well...
Thomas's picture
The Fourth Turning ought to sell well in the decade going forward. | <urn:uuid:9e214c08-84fa-4b19-b3ee-9c4bfb1fc8ae> | http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-shape-world-2020 | en | 0.930487 | 0.02125 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
AAS 199th meeting, Washington, DC, January 2002
Session 109. Galactic Center and Milky Way Formation
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[109.06] Starcounts, Outer Halo Clusters and the Formation of the Milky Way
M. H. Siegel (UVa, STScI)
I present the results of two related programs aimed at obtaining insight into the formation of the Milky Way. The first is a CCD starcounts survey of several Kapteyn Selected Areas designed to evaluate the spatial distribution of the stellar populations of the Milky Way. I find that the distribution of stars is best described by low scale height (280 pc) thin disk, a moderate scale height (750 pc) thick disk, a flattened inner halo and a spherical outer halo. While these provide a reasonable fit to the data, the description is still imperfect. This may be the result of substructure in the outer halo. This density distribution is consistent with expectations from models that posit a merger origin to the thick disk, a global collapse origin to the inner halo and an accretive origin to the outer halo.
The second portion is a detailed examination of several outer halo objects, with a particular emphasis on testing the proposal that outer halo dSph galaxies and globular clusters formed in several discrete accretion events. I examine the color-magnitude diagrams and proper motions of the Pal 13 globular cluster, the Leo II dSph and the Sculptor dSph as well as the variable stars of Leo II. While their properities are consistent with an accretion origin for the outer halo, no specific accretion event(s) is implicated as the origin of these clusters. Pal 13 also show signs of undergoing present disruption by the Galaxy.
[Previous] | [Session 109] | [Next] | <urn:uuid:26e19008-f62c-4125-9565-9e651441e41d> | https://aas.org/archives/BAAS/v33n4/aas199/1268.htm | en | 0.900312 | 0.106542 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Imperialism: The Illogical Nature of “Humanitarian” Wars
Dr Delacroix is simply unable to grasp my argument. There are two possible reasons for this:
1. He simply does not want to grasp it
2. He simply cannot grasp it
Most of the time I believe that Reason #1 is responsible for one’s inability to grasp a concept, at least when we are dealing with high intelligence individuals like Dr Delacroix.
But I think this is a case where Dr Delacroix and other like-minded imperialists simply cannot grasp the logic behind my argument. Allow me to hearken readers back to my recent post on “Libertarian IQ” where I quote an academic computer programmer on the inability of some students to grasp the concepts he is trying to teach:
Dr Delacroix is in a position similar to that of the student.
When I point out that the post-colonial states of the Middle East are, by their very structure, incapable of anything other than autocracy, he responds by pointing out that the West has often taken sides in the various conflicts that erupt in these states. The logic behind this reasoning follows accordingly:
Brandon: This hot dog is undercooked, so eating it will make me sick.
Dr Delacroix: Yes, but it has chili on it.
B: No dude, eating it will make me sick.
DD: Yes, but it also has brown mustard on it.
B: I’m sorry dude, but I’m not eating the hot dog.
DD: Now you’re just being senseless (and rude!).
You see how that works?
Dr Delacroix and other “humanitarian” imperialists seem to believe that when the West picks a side in a conflict that has nothing to do with national security, imperialism suddenly becomes a perfectly acceptable way of fixing the problems of the world. Yet just like the programming student in the example above, Dr Delacroix’s attempts to fix a superficial problem (with bombs no less) actually end up exacerbating the real, underlying problem, which is that the states currently in place in most of the world are not seen as legitimate by its “citizens.”
Post-colonial states are not considered legitimate by their subjects because they never had a say in how to go about structuring such a state. They had no say in where the borders should be, or who they could trade with, or how to best accommodate foreigners.
Because they are not legitimate, power struggles (even in long-lived dictatorships) for the center are constant since those who eventually end up controlling the center receive legitimacy from the UN and other imperial institutions (but not their own people). Why bother trying to gain the legitimacy of an impoverished populace when you can simply capture the rent associated with running a post-colonial state?
11 thoughts on “Imperialism: The Illogical Nature of “Humanitarian” Wars
1. Irregardless of the government that we’re talking about, one constant explains it all; by these leaders failure to properly address intellectual argumentation in pertinence to their inaction, they enable themselves unabated in their course to stall and destroy us “little men of big ideas!”
2. […] The US should embrace political disintegration in Levant wholeheartedly. Doing so would mean recognizing sovereignty of nasty-looking regimes. Yet is would also end the power struggles for the “center” in Sykes-Picot states, which would in turn end the reign of strong men in the region for good (for a concise explanation on why strong men emerge in post-colonial states, see “Imperialism: The Illogical Nature of Humanitarian Wars“). […]
Please keep it civil (unless it relates to Jacques)
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Bowdler: I don't feel good at all
A mea culpa from Tim Bowdler, outgoing chief executive of Johnston Press, who leaves behind a company with £465m of debt and a shrunken market value of £77m: "However much you rationalise it and claim it is down to factors beyond your control, you are the person who is responsible. I don't feel good at all — I can't deny I have presided over a considerable loss of value." (Via The Sunday Times) | <urn:uuid:70a66b6a-e5ab-4218-b65a-c0a5897aa944> | https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2009/jan/05/johnstonpress-local-newspapers | en | 0.976453 | 0.027407 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Worthy territory
Roger Downey raised important issues in his thoughtful article "People who run with aliens" (9/30). The challenge that scientists have not taken up
". . . it challenges our perception and may lead to entirely new ways of perceiving human psychology, biology, andthe nature of reality."
Worthy territory
Roger Downey raised important issues in his thoughtful article "People who run with aliens" (9/30). The challenge that scientists have not taken up is this: regardless of whether the phenomenon is "real," thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of people are experiencing something that affects them emotionally. At the least, this should qualify it as worthy territory for serious study. At best, it challenges our perception of reality and may lead to entirely new ways of perceiving human psychology, biology, and the nature of reality.
The real from fantisy
Good work in your September issue on UFOs, alien abduction, and the need to believe ("People who run with aliens," 9/30). Just like John Mack, [Roger Downey] kept his distance of opinion. It is well known by all that to believe without scientific proof is a dillusion. If it can't be repeated under controlled conditions—it's not real. And for our own safety—it should remain that way. . . .
I am an experiencer. I am an x-file. I am dillusional—and I can't spell worth a darn. At a May 1994 Alien Abduction, my Abductor asked, "Have you ever been abducted by a ship like this one?" then he pointed to a classical UFO—like from the movies. In that same dream, I saw another ship like from Star Wars. And several types of beings, greys-angels; but the one I remember the most was the 1st being who guided my about the belief in life after death. And that classical ship was not his.
What I am saying is that if you ever want to write something way beyond the normal—and keeping yourself far from believing it, contact me. . . . And if you wonder—yes, I do know the real from fantisy.
Close Encounters
Re: Winston's two-page ad in the Seattle Weekly (9/23): "If aliens are smart enough to travel through space, why do they keep abducting the dumbest people on earth?" Not only is Winston systematically undermining the physical health of the world's population, but though this campaign of ridicule, they now seek to savage our psychological health as well.
We two psychotherapists have—for the past five years—worked clinically with (and interviewed) people who have experienced Close Encounters. Far from being "the dumbest people on earth," our clients have included a medical doctor, nurse, dentist, psychologist, Navy pilot, molecular biologist, videographer, secretary, computer programmer, stockbroker, consumer electronics distributor, internet corporate executive, realtor, massage therapist, systems analyst, mental health counselor, and social worker. These people come forward with great reluctance because of the considerable public ridicule they face. That ridicule and cultural denial is a major part of what makes such contact traumatic.
So why are these people suddenly the targets of R.J. Reynolds? Apparently such people signal the significant cultural change in store for us that is threatening to the status quo Winston represents. After all, people who "awaken" from the cultural trance are less likely to be snowed by media campaigns, whether the ad promotes ridicule, intolerance—or addictions.
Please reconsider accepting Winston as an advertiser.
This week's cover (9/30): what a cheap shot—bait and switch.
Your cover (?) story had nothing more to do with Robert Anton Wilson than barely a decent paragraph could describe. Even then, most of what was written was paraphrase. Wait—maybe we're onto something here. Parastory? Parafeature?
Harsh realities
Thank you for the really good article about Brian Derdowski ("Brian Derdowski: Californicated?" 9/23). It reflects a considerable knowledge of the politics on the Eastside and some of the harsh realities of the politics of growth.
You don't have to be 'Green' to understand the importance of a Brian Derdowski on the King County Council. And those who have fought the growth machine to maintain the quality of life on the Eastside saw the writing on the wall after the campaign for the city of Sammamish City Council. In that race, the 'dark side' used disgusting tactics that were successful in convincing the voters of the new city to abandon the very people who had worked to create the new city and had their best interests in mind.
That campaign of lies, misrepresentations, impersonated newsletters, direct mailings filled with deceptive statements, sign stealing, etc., and its support from local papers like the Seattle Times and the Eastside Journal to get the developers' dream-team elected, was just too overpowering for voters who didn't know the facts or the history of the Plateau. Too many voters were simply too apathetic and lazy to read beyond the Developers' Journal or the deceptive signs on the side of the road.
The defeat of Brian wasn't the real wake-up call. The wake-up call is in recognizing the tactics of the growth machine that is winning elections—victories that could never happen if the press was doing their job to point out the lies and the slime behind these negative campaign tactics.
The Seattle Weekly is a gem of a paper because of its courage to report things the way they are. But unfortunately, the Weekly doesn't reach everyone, and that means that the lies, innuendo, and the rest of it is prevailing.
Ask the neighbors
Congratulations on a fine piece by Knute Berger on Derdowski's demise ("Brian Derdowski: Californicated?" 9/23). Clearly the failure of local memory was a major component in the Irons victory. The housing developments on the Pine Lake Plateau cater to and were created for newcomers. Most are middle managers who have arrived here from similar developments in other places. The whole idea of these developments is that they are interchangeable. In four years when transferred once again, the sellers can quickly unload the house here and buy a clone somewhere else.
What might be efficient and workable as a lifestyle for the Klahanites has been most unfortunate for those of us with roots in the community. Finding road systems or school systems that don't work, the newcomers might think that what you have here is a systems problem, a management problem. And cleverly, Irons presented it as such.
In fact, the problems on the plateau go much deeper. Allowing the developers to determine how many people will live in which places has lead to a near breakdown. Adding new roads or more schools might appear as a manageable fix in the short run, but as those new amenities come on line they only encourage more development and more disaster.
To a newcomer it might appear that the mess and bother simply comes with the territory and it has always been like this. How can they know any differently—ask their neighbors? When the cultural memory goes back only a couple of years, where would they encounter the long view? Remember, this is the land of the rolled out front lawns, the instant community. Eastsideweek published thoughtful, insightful analyses of the complex development issues. Seattle Weekly has done much less of that. If there is to be real dialogue, and with it a search for real solutions, we will require the help of more than election post-mortems. Mr. Berger, we desperately need thoughtful ongoing reporting on development issues. Sock it to us.
A modest proposal
Funny you should mention Mayor Schell on the radio last week, our senators rapping Sound Transit's knuckles for lack of community consensus, "tons of money" for transit on the Eastside (do tell . . .), yet Seattle needing to raise taxes to pay our transit tab,and the Mariners' Stadium, all in one breath ("Tied to the rails," 9/23).
Traffic jams are cited as the biggest blight on our region's quality of life and the prime reason we need light rail. The bridge traffic is the biggest and most ubiquitous blight in every radio traffic report. Funny, in all those reports, we rarely hear of the snarls caused by games at Husky Stadium, the Key Arena, or Safeco Field—any one of which bogs down at least two major highways and often the bridges too. It's as if sports games were somehow Above Suspicion as traffic culprits.
Schell says it'll take a decade. Yet, as soon as a millionaire wanted it, the Mariners' stadium was built post haste, regardless of the fact that Seattle voted against it. So it
follows, to get a train across the lake, all we need is a millionaire—say, a certain Eastside multibillionaire—to want one.
I modestly propose that we start a petition to ask him if he hasn't always wanted a train set to play with. And to spur him on, I propose that we boycott—and heavily tax the tickets for—games in his old pal's stadium
and the other sports venues in Seattle, until someone builds that cross-lake train. Then we'll play nice again. But until then, let's play hard ball.
Cut out the middleman!
What is all this fuss about the WTO (see "Will labor fight" 9/30, "W-T-wOes," 10/2)? Americans are always complaining about the size and cost of government. Here is our chance to get rid of it. Just imagine the lower taxes: No messy legislators to pay for. No judges' salaries. Who needs a Chief Executive when you have competent CEOs to decide what is profitable and, therefore, good for society? And consider the lower prices when corporations rule the world and write the laws: We won't have to pay for their campaign contributions and lobbyists anymore. We won't have to pay the costs of those pesky labor and environmental laws anymore. Here is a sample of what the WTO has accomplished so far: Forced the US to modify the endangered species act and the clean air act, overturned American restrictions on toxic pesticides, forced the province of Ontario to dismantle a successful single-payer insurance system, forced Canada to import ineffective but dangerous fuel additives, and unilaterally imposed punitive sanctions on European imports in blatant support of American-based corporate giants.
I say cut out the expensive middleman and just let bankers and corporations run things directly.
The rank and file speaks
Recently, Geov Parrish wrote an article in the Seattle Weekly regarding big labor's little whimper on the issue of the WTO ("Will labor fight?" 9/30). Another article by Sarah Luthens appeared in both Labor Notes and Eat the State. Both of you did a great job illustrating the rank-and-file union members' opposition to the "reform the WTO" line the union bosses are trying to ram down our throats.
However, none of these articles mention the single most important fact related to this issue. That is, rank-and-file AFL union members, IWW members, and other labor militants have organized the "WTO Labor Mobilization Committee"—and it has been meeting for MONTHS now. Martha Baskin has done much work on this committee and deserves recognition, but really, we are more than just one person! This committee is open to all workers whether in unions or not, and meets the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at Teamsters Local 174 on Denny Way at 7pm until December. Our central focus as a committee is to mobilize workers (both union and nonunion) to take the day off, walk out, call in sick, or do whatever necessary to get down to the mass labor march in the middle of the day on Tuesday, November 30.
Shaking things up
Of course Geov Parrish is dead on about objectivity in reporting ("Watching the reporters," 9/30). It should be noted, however, that this idea of objectivity is a recent invention—promoted precisely because the media was consolidating. Back when there was such a thing as two or three independently owned newspapers in each town, everyone knew that reporters—being human after all—had their biases just like everyone else. Each paper had its own take on the issues, but competition forced them to work to get better information to their readers.
As chains bought up newspapers and wiped out the less than profitable system of competition (or set up joint operating agreements to "manage" competition) the myth of objectivity was created to reassure the public that they would still get the straight dope.
So not only does the media get more biased toward corporations and the government (which exists primarily to support corporations these days), but the myth of objectivity helps it along. The myth of objectivity gives the government an excuse to allow consolidation, and it gives us reporters and editors an excuse not to ask the tough questions or come to some basic conclusions.
Luckily, there's a few alternative news sources still out there to shake things up. Keep it up.
Prepare for battle!
I suppose I should just wait and let Eric Scigliano and the rest of Seattle be surprised, but I can't keep a secret: the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is not going out of business. In the Weekly's September 30 edition, Eric concocted a fanciful explanation for why The Seattle Times dropped their jazzy masthead in favor of one that bears a resemblance to the classic masthead of the P-I (Quick & Dirty, "Thin blue line"). He opined that it might be a way to soothe morning readers as they coped with the certain death of their favorite morning newspaper. Well, like all the prognostications about the future of Seattle's dailies, this one, too, was founded on antique assumptions about the Hearst Corporation and the self-serving bombast emanating from the Times newsroom.
Two popular but shallow death scenarios keep getting repeated. The first is that The Seattle Times is so dominant that, as soon as the Times manages to switch to mornings, readers will abandon the P-I and it will quickly wither away. The second scenario says that the P-I's owner, Hearst, will kill the P-I so that they can rake in their guaranteed profits from the joint operating agreement without having to actually pay to run a newspaper. Both these scenarios are dramatic but wrong.
Hearst is a very big, very rich communications company. Though the corporation went through a long period of somnolence during which they let their newspaper division slip, that era is long past. Today, Hearst is expanding on all fronts. They want a presence in the Seattle market. Hearst carried the ailing San Francisco Examiner for years until the family which owned the San Francisco Chronicle gave up the fight and sold out to Hearst. Now Hearst has it all. Could the same happen in Seattle? The P-I is not ailing. Hearst is making money here and the Times' lead in circulation is not substantial. Times publisher Frank Blethen, of course, has made it quite clear he is not going to give up his family legacy and none doubt him. But conditions can change over a decade or two and Hearst would be happy to purchase full control of a major market, especially one that has been kept vibrant by competition between two healthy newspapers.
This is going to be a long fight between two committed rivals who both have resources for a sustained struggle. In the long run, it's impossible to predict who will win. In the short term, though, I think there's a good chance it will be Seattle readers who win, because they will have a choice of two dailies far more energized, competitive, and agile than they have been up to this point.
So, forget the silly obituaries for the P-I. Get ready for battle.
Sweet on Cherry
Cherry Pop was a wonderful surprise to discover some months ago. I was shocked to see that last weeks letters to editors had a letter "dissing" her. It was also silly to compare her to Dan Savage, who is about as ill-informed as any half-talent scratching his way to the top. Dan Savage represents no one but himself and speaks for no group. I just thought you might like to know that even some of the people who advertise in the Stranger can't stand Dan Savage and love Cherry Wong.
Why? Because I'm tired of the male perspective on women's sexuality and anatomy, such as Savage and Leykus. I'm tired of the male-identified women who feed into the hatred of women, such as Dr. Joy Brown, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, and a myriad of other mainstream right-wingers. Cherry Pop is lusty and smart and doesn't have shame about being a female who loves sex. I'm a big ol' bull dyke who could care less about about the rules. Live and let live, you uptight yuppies and pompous freaks, and leave us women something we like for a change. Cherry Pop? I love it! I love it! I love it!
It's time
Thanks so much for John Longenbaugh's wise column about the sadness of animals in circuses ("Seeing the elephant," 9/23).
For animals held captive in circuses, life consists of cramped cages, shackles, and daily beatings. When PETA's investigators went undercover at a Florida training school for big cats, we documented trainers hitting tigers in the face with ax handles, shoving ax handles down lions' throats, dragging leopards across the ground by chains around their necks, and depriving animals of food to force them to perform. And when PETA's investigator traveled to South Africa this past spring, she witnessed elephant babies separated from their mothers and savagely beaten to prepare them for sale to circuses, where they will perform under threat of punishment night after night, eyes always riveted on the person with the metal hook or the whip.
We applaud the trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope-walkers, and acrobats, but let's leave the animals in peace. Sweden, Denmark, Finland, India, Switzerland, and the UK have all banned or restricted the use of animals in entertainment—it's time for the US to do the same.
Just a tiny black hole
Fred Moody's "Black hole sonsabitches" (9/23) about the "threat" posed by the Brookhaven National Lab's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is woefully misinformed.
The Brookhaven experiment will be no more dangerous than events that occur naturally all the time, less than a hundred miles above us, where high-energy cosmic rays (fast-moving atomic nuclei released by distant stars) collide with the upper atmosphere. Since the Earth has withstood billions of years of such cosmic ray bombardment, it's reasonable to assume that it will survive the Brookhaven experiment.
Even if the Brookhaven experiment were to, somehow, create a tiny black hole, the black hole would pose no threat; such a black hole would "evaporate" almost immediately due to Hawking radiation. Without going into details, suffice it to say that all black holes are subject to evaporation at a rate which rises dramatically the smaller the black hole is. Any man-made black hole would be so tiny that it would evaporate long before it could swallow even a single subatomic particle. (Only black holes resulting from collapsing stars are large enough to consume matter faster than they evaporate.)
Perhaps Moody is someone who gets more agitated whenever he hears reassurances, or perhaps he was just looking for something to write about during a slow week. It's a pity; the most alarming thing about his article is its demonstration of how ignorance of science can lead to scaremongering.
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Friends to Follow | <urn:uuid:ae260601-eeba-4af2-9949-dc40e53834be> | http://archive.seattleweekly.com/1999-10-20/news/it-challenges-our-perception-and-may-lead-to-entirely-new-ways-of-perceiving-human-psychology-biology-andthe-nature-of-reality | en | 0.95859 | 0.052359 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Cartoonist Frank Cammuso publishes latest in graphic-novel series: 'The Battling Bands'
Sara Tracey By Sara Tracey The Post-Standard
on September 22, 2011 at 9:28 AM, updated September 22, 2011 at 1:25 PM
Cammuso book scan.JPG"The Battling Bands" is the latest installment in the "Knights of the Lunch Table" series of graphic novels about middle school students. The book was written and illustrated by Frank Cammuso, political cartoonist for The Post-Standard.
By Sara Tracey
Contributing writer
Frank Cammuso, political cartoonist for The Post-Standard, has come out with "The Battling Bands," the third installment of his "Knights of the Lunch Table" series. The graphic novels are an updated twist on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In Cammuso's version, Artie, Wayne and Percy are students running the gantlet of life at Camelot Middle School.
The series debuted in 2008 with "The Dodgeball Chronicles" followed by "The Dragon Players" in 2009. As with the cartoonist's first two graphic novels, "The Battling Bands" (Graphix/Scholastic, $10.99) is full-color and more than 100 pages. Cammuso, 46, also is author of the "Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective" picture-book series and has been a contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Slate and National Public Radio.
He will discuss and sign "The Battling Bands" at Barnes & Noble bookstore in DeWitt on Friday. Cammuso recently talked about his latest book, fatherhood and his next book.
Are Artie, Wayne and Percy growing up as the books progress?
Not really. I mean I think they would be the way I have it now; time's passing, but it's not the seasons are changing.
I don't know if the series will keep going. I'm signed up for four books, but we'll see. I don't have any plans for them going to high school. I write these books, so it's not very, like, episodic. They're almost stand-alone. You could pick up the third book and not have to read the first two.
Your son, Khai, is 2 years old now. How did that affect your work?
It takes a lot longer to write when you have a 2-year-old running around. This book was definitely a challenge. It was a challenge just to get work done.
I do kind of write these things with some kind of moral or some kind of message to them. I try not to hit kids over the head with it, because I don't think people like that. I always envision my son reading these and getting the message out of them.
Have any similarities popped up between your graphic novels and political cartoons?
They've kind of melded. It's definitely changed my style. I think my work, my political cartoons, have gotten a lot less, umm, a lot lighter-looking. Maybe not in message, but definitely in look.
You receive fan mail?
I actually had this school in Canada write me a big list of what they think the next story should be. It was funny. I thought, wow, maybe there'd be a good idea in there. They were more like, they (the characters) can play dodgeball again. Kids' ideas, you know? Like, let's do this again, but on fire. Just things like that. I just thought, yeah, I can't do that one, but it sounds like fun.
What are you working on now?
070308CAMMUSO4DL.JPGFrank Cammuso
I'm working on the fourth one now. I'm not quite sure what it's about yet. I'm at the fun stage of it now, when I'm doing all my research. I'm thinking, I'm figuring out what it's going to be. I think I want it to be a little different than the other ones.
I'm not sure if I'll keep going with the series or not. If they want more, I'd like to do more. If they don't, that's cool, too. I don't know if I should wrap some things up. At this point, I'm trying to figure out what's going to happen.
Do you have a favorite scene in "The Battling Bands"?
There's a couple rock, paper, scissor battles that I really had fun with. There's one where they're down in an indoor pool and they're up on the scaffolding, and the lighting is really... I wanted to make it as close to a sword fight as I could. How am I going to have these kids battle without actually fighting and hitting each other with sticks or something? I came up with this whole thing of rock, paper, scissors.
When will the fourth installment be finished?
I don't think they'll try to publish it next year. I don't think I could get it done. I'm thinking late 2012 or early 2013. I think they'd like to have it come out in the summer because it's a nice summer-reading book. | <urn:uuid:781c39a6-47a6-4a79-b435-b6a75f2b5cdc> | http://blog.syracuse.com/cny/2011/09/cartoonist_frank_cammuso_publishes_latest_in_graphic-novel_series_the_battling_bands.html | en | 0.979253 | 0.027856 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Friday, October 13, 2006
Friday the 13th: The darkest day for the Knights Templar
Today is Friday, October 13, 2006, the 699th anniversary of the mass arrests of Jacques de Molay and his Knights Templar by French King Phillipe VI and Pope Clement V, which effectively shut down the open operations of the Knights.
Two weeks ago, I had planned to write a great essay on this event, and publish it here today.
I forgot.
Fortunately, Bro. Greg Stewart at the Masonic Traveler didn't forget, and neither did GrouchoGandhi. Both have written great articles on This Dark Day in History. Don't miss them.
"Jacques de Molay, tu es vengé!"
Image: Many people believe the image on the Shroud of Turin is that of Jacques de Molay, not Jesus. The Shroud has been carbon-dated to about the same time as de Molay's death.
| | | | | |
1. I'm not buying the Lomas-Knight theory of the image being De Molay's no matter how much I like the idea.
I really find the Lynn-Prince theory that it's an early pinhole camera technique of Da Vinci doing a self-portrait makes the most likely and practical possibility. Hence why it's so unique.
The Jesus-it's-a-miracle theory, yeah right.
2. Hmm... it's really Da Vinci's face, huh? Interesting... and I do see the resemblance there to Tom Hanks. Hmm... I smell a SEQUEL!
— W.S.
| <urn:uuid:cf8441c0-e8d5-484e-8db1-49c79ec52dee> | http://burningtaper.blogspot.com/2006/10/friday-13th-darkest-day-for-knights.html | en | 0.940851 | 0.32152 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Raw Food Diet, Day 89- Bad Dreams
Since my raw meat order for this month is now a week late in arriving at my door, I'm really starting to get stressed out. Last night I was in my crate and I had a bad dream. I dreamed that the meat man was driving down the street, when all of a sudden, the back of his truck busted open and my goat escaped, running throughout the city. My goat was so fast, I couldn't catch him. He ran to the land of the uncatchable rabbits never to be feasted upon again.
Worried about my goat,
Big Pupi likes to play play play
Stanislaw and I have 2 big baskets of toys, one in the living room and one in the office, and we like to spend our days making sure that they have been emptied and our treasures are scattered about the apartment. I cannot express my joy when I wake in the middle of the night to hear one of my humans step on something loud and squeaky on their way to the bathroom, and I know that I had left that toy there the evening before. So fun!
Every so often our people will order toys from a wholesale store online called PetEdge, and a few days later a man appears at our door with a box full of goodies just for Stan and me. Some toys on that site are as little as 80 cents! (I think that is equal to one-half piece of cheese for all you dogs out there.) Regardless of dollars or cheese, we get lots of fun stuff this way.
My super favorite toy, the singing Christmas Tree Mouse Toy, didn't come from the magical computer store. It came from my grandma human instead. Boy oh boy. That toy is just the greatest. I love it so much I couldn't bring myself to completely detach the right ear like I do with all my other toys. I left it only partly severed. He is just so special to me -- I will even sometimes take him out for our potty walks so he can get some fresh air. He sings to me when I thrash him and his little tree decorations light up. I make sure to give him at least 5 good thrashings after breakfast each morning, and I know my humans just LOVE to hear him sing his song over and over and over. The battery never dies! It's so great!!
But sometimes Stanislaw and I like to be entertained with a different kind of toy... the kind we can tear and shred and destroy and not feel bad about. On those occasions, our humans will take an empty cardboard paper towel roll, cut it in half and make us our little tear toys. They cut 2 slits in each end of the piece of towel tube to make flaps, then Stan and I will drool as we watch them put some treats inside and fold down the flaps to close the tastiness into the tube. Then we each get one and it's shredding time!
It's super fun to get to exercise our tearing instincts and not get in trouble for it. And my brother and I will do anything for a treat. I'm a pro at ripping that thing to bits in seconds, eating my treat and then stealing my brother's away from him and eating his treat too. It's great!
**If your human does decide to make this toy for you, tell them to keep an eye out while you're playing with it. Some dogs, (like Stanislaw), will try to consume the cardboard and that's just not good.
Ellen said...
Stan, once the meat man sees your expression in that top picture, he will be sure to rush to your door with the goat. Remind me not to make you cross! :)
Ellen said...
Hey Stan,
I think I had a bad dream too. My mom doesn't have work today, so we were hanging out in her bedroom. I was relaxing and fell asleep next to her bed. All of a sudden, I yelped and ran out of the room and hid in my favorite safe spot behind the dining room table. My mom was really scared and looked me over very carefully to see if I was hurt, but she couldn't find anything. Finally I left my safe spot and got into my crate and I wouldn't come out until she got out my harness and said the word P-A-R-K.
Now we're home again and I still won't go back in the bedroom. Do you have any suggestions for me and my mom? She will be lonely if I don't sleep near her bed, but I'm scared!
Stanislaw said...
You don't happen to wear one of those invisible fence collars, do you Beckett? My grand humans had a dog once that wore one, and that dog would yelp and be afraid of certain parts of the kitchen. Turned out that there were "hot spots" in the house created by other electrical frequencies and the fence person had to come and change the frequency of the collar and the fence. Didn't take him long to loose his fear of the kitchen though. After all, there is food in there...
Steven Marte said...
Hey Stan! Thanks for visiting my blog. I love tearing up cardboard too, but I always spit it out. My mom has tried putting me on a RAW diet, but I'm a very finicky eater and wouldn't touch the stuff. Right now my mom is trying to transition me into it, but it may take a while.
I'm glad to hear that you're gaining weight on your diet. I was 50% below ideal weight as well (only ~20lbs when i should be 40-50lbs), but after 5 months at a new home I've gained 20lbs! i don't like to eat so I could have gained more, but I'd rather play all day. Good luck on gaining those last few pounds!
Bonnie @ AZhttp said...
Award Code
Thank you,
famous quotes | <urn:uuid:fb291385-d0ab-4b3c-8439-24d77c669670> | http://ieatrawmeat.blogspot.com/2008/04/raw-food-diet-day-89-bad-dreams.html | en | 0.978072 | 0.02344 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Was this really worth it?
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, recently convicted on racketeering and money laundering charges in connection to her Washington DC escort service, killed herself today.
Apparently before the trial, another woman involved with the trial, Brandy Britton, killed herself as well. (Time)
That's two deaths as a result of the high profile trial. In case you forgot, during this trial, the women who worked at the escort service were asked personal and invasive questions about sexual positions and menstruation and a navel officer was discharged as a result of her participation in the trial. What questions about sexual positions and menstruation were doing at a trial on money laundering and racketeering, I don't know.
In case you were wondering, none of the customers who used the escort service were charged or punished in anyway.
Don't worry - it's the women who worked for the service fault. After all, "when a man pays $250 for 90 minutes of time with a woman, what do most men expect?"
Amelia said...
Thank you for posting on this. I just read about this, and was going to post on it myself if someone else hadn't already.
It's incredibly sad and shameful, the way this whole case was handled.
At the very least, this will help keep this in the spotlight, and perhaps it will be addressed.
Jen said...
Some people I know are talking about how it's a conspiracy. I highly doubt that, but it's a shame nonetheless. These women are very much less guilty than the men who bought women to objectify for years, and yet got immunity. Now these women are dead, partly because of the bias of our legal system. Makes you really mad, doesn't it?
Lindsay said...
Although I have to admit, if I was in her situation I'd probably kill myself too.
50 years in prison? I just watched 25th Hour where the main character is facing 7 years and that seems like forever.
And then to compare this to Scooter Libby and his pardon? The world sucks. | <urn:uuid:31a6cd74-54ef-40cb-9823-b3d1a6dd8879> | http://impersonated.blogspot.com/2008/05/was-this-really-worth-it.html | en | 0.984938 | 0.045711 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tragedy at the Pays des Maures rally in Southern France this weekend as a competitor made a wrong turn at an intersection, plowing into spectators. A rally marshal is believed to be one of the dead and several of those injured were children. The driver may face criminal charges.
French Minister for Sport Valerie Fourneyron says the incident raises "serious question about the safety of the public at car rallies."
According to reports, the driver was meant to take a right turn at an intersection, but due either to confusing signage or poor vision, carried on straight through instead.
"The car took off straight ahead," stated another driver to the local newspaper. It crashed into a first row of spectators before peeling off and mowing down other people who were further off."
The Pays des Maures rally takes place every year along a 98-mile route composed of public roads that are closed for the event. That distance makes it extremely difficult to keep spectators away from the course; they're frequently seen standing extremely close as the cars pass at high speed. | <urn:uuid:daf7c306-c838-486b-b845-73a477899d62> | http://jalopnik.com/5911954/two-dead-fifteen-injured-as-rally-car-hits-french-crowd | en | 0.979553 | 0.298455 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Different Strokes
Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._and_Lyndon_Johnson_2 1
Dissent Magazine has pulled together an interesting symposium on intellectuals and the American left. EJ Dionne’s contribution concludes by touching on my favorite themes from Max Weber:
As a general proposition, democratic politics demands an ethic of responsibility. Persuasion is a long process, reform is always achieved in steps, compromise is inevitable, and moving forward is better than moving backward—even if the number of steps taken at any given moment can be limited by circumstances. A single election, a lone health care reform bill (even a big one), this civil rights bill, that labor law reform: all are steps down a road. They are not a destination.
But some critics will hold out and say they are not satisfied. They will call power to account even when those in power have some sympathy for their goals. They will lay out the requirements for a future better than the present even during times of progress—perhaps especially during times of progress.
Both kinds of critics are necessary. Both can, if they keep Weber’s admonitions in mind, contribute to democratic progress. Lincoln needed the abolitionists and the proddings of Frederick Douglass; Franklin Roosevelt needed the labor movement; John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson needed the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Something I think it’s sometimes difficult for “sensible liberal” pragmatists of my own ilk to keep in mind is that it’s a good thing for the cause of sensible meliorationist liberal pragmatism to see some feisty folks with a more radical vision gaining some traction in the public discourse. Being sensible and pragmatic only works when there’s some people out there anchoring the debate and giving you the opportunity to be the sensible pragmatist rather than the wild-eyed radical.
By the same token, people hoping for big change need to recognize that the change you get is always more marginal than the change you were hoping for. There’s never—not in 1933, not in 1965, and not ever—some moment of total where the forces of the status quo admit defeat and the utopia comes rushing in. Any day you’re moving forward is a day that something important is being accomplished. | <urn:uuid:f35a7049-55dd-4508-b7e9-57b8271d8ebb> | http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2010/01/11/195736/different-strokes/ | en | 0.929887 | 0.025859 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Neurodiversity Is Supernatural
A real-world atypical neurological condition, most often autism or schizophrenia, is presented as the result of or the presence of something supernatural. Bonus points if it doesn't occur naturally at all in the fictional universe.
Strange conditions spark the imaginations of writers, leading them to imagine otherworldly forces behind them. Just as Most Writers Are Male, so are most writers neurotypical. Though non-NT writers are by no means unknown and they might use this trope as well for various reasons.
In some uses of this trope, all cases of a particular neurological or psychiatric condition are the result of supernatural circumstances, and you can't have one without the other. Other times, a given condition can be caused by something supernatural, but the same condition can also develop without the involvement of the paranormal. For example, in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, being a demigod isn't the only cause of dyslexia and/or ADHD.
This trope can potentially overlap with Go Mad from the Revelation, if a character ceases to be neurotypical as the result of tangling with the supernatural or learning Things Man Was Not Meant to Know. However, most of the time their condition is played as a side effect of an ongoing supernatural connection instead.
Can overlap with The Soulless in regard to sociopathy. See also Mad Oracle and By the Eyes of the Blind. If the character gets something useful out of their supernatural connection, it's also a case of Disability Superpower.
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• In The Omen remake, Damien shows signs of having some sort of developmental disorder, and it's bizarre how his modern, 2006 mother automatically subscribes to this trope instead of having him tested. The fact she's right doesn't lessen the unrealistic oddness of her reactions.
• In Dexter in the Dark, all sociopaths are possessed by beings implied to be the children of Satan.
• In Harry Potter, the Dementors are evil creatures connected with depression, and it's implied that they cause it in Muggles, who don't see magical things and attribute it to scientific causes.
• In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, demigodhood correlates strongly with dyslexia and ADHD (though they can both occur in mortals). The latter is due to being wired for adventure and battle rather than schoolwork and officework, and the former is due to demigod brains being wired for ancient Greek.
• In A Wizard Alone by Diane Duane, Darryl becomes autistic in an attempt to withdraw from the sensations of being malignantly observed by the Lone Power. It's portrayed very differently from the experiences of real-world autistics, though it looks similar from the outside. In which case it's subverted in that it's not really autism, just resembles it from the outside.
• In Wicked, it's implied that a lot of Elphaba's oddities are a result of her being a "child of both worlds", which also comes with immense natural magical talent.
• In Everworld, Senna believes that crazy people are at least partially aware of supernatural things, much like witches like her. They can also hear her when she's using Astral Projection, while talking to normal people requires the more taxing effort of creating an illusionary form.
• While it's nigh-impossible to be sure of anything in a Philip K. Dick story, some of them imply an extraterrestrial or sci-fi origin for schizophrenia and psychosis. Although he has N-Word Privileges here - he had a full-blown schizophrenic breakdown in the late 70s, and the warning signs were there starting from about the time Time Out Of Joint came out.
• In Gillian Anderson's A Vision of Fire, Arni's synesthesia is presented as a link between human and animal brains, giving him the Mysterious Animal Senses necessary to access the transpersonal plane.
• In Peter Watt's Blindsight autistics and psychopaths are descended from vampires. Which were a Human Subspecies that had a deficiency in a protein found only in humans and evolved several traits to prey on them. Such as a complete Lack of Empathy and super-savant mathematical abilities. However, their hyper-savantism caused them to develop seizures when they saw right-angles, and they died out millennia ago. Until a biotech company experimented with gene therapy "cures" for autism and psychopathy and accidentally turned them into vampires.
Live Action TV
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel:
• Both shows generally portray soullessness as being sociopathy to the extent that an early Angel episode implies normal human sociopaths are people born without souls.
• In Buffy, season 5 Big Bad Glory feeds off people's sanity and makes them insane. The terms are kept vague, but the results resemble schizophrenia.
• Doctor Who:
• There appears to be a link between Vincent van Gogh's madness/depression, and his ability to see invisible aliens. Which one causes which is somewhat unclear, though.
• "In the Forest of the Night" features the cute-as-a-button little girl Maebh, who can hear voices that turn out to be some kind of sci-fi fairies.
• Eli Stone:
• The whole premise of the show is that Eli's brain tumor means that he's a prophet and that his hallucinations are visions sent from God to instruct him.
• In the first episode, the strange actions of an autistic child are a way God communicates with Eli. It's not one of Eli's hallucinations; God is behind the unfathomable actions of an autistic child, linking autism with the supernatural and treating the child as more a part of nature than a human being with agency.
• In Eureka, Kevin's autism is the result of a mysterious supernatural force never quite explained. Kevin is eventually able to cure his autism by figuring out how to time travel and changing events so that the force never affects him.
• Heroes presents synesthesia as a superpower. Though the power is later shown to be more of an ability to manipulate sound, its introduction has it as simply sound-to-color synesthesia.
• The sixth season of Supernatural had Sam missing his soul, which was treated as sociopathy. Dean's reference to Dexter in describing him implies there are natural sociopaths, though.
• In The X-Files:
• In the episode "Fallen Angel", it's implied that aliens are responsible for Max's epilepsy.
• In "E.B.E.", Mulder suggests that Gulf War syndrome is the result of alien encounters.
• In Touch, Martin's son Jake appears autistic (though the doctors never could diagnose his disorder). He also has the ability to see complex connections between different people in the world and tell his father how to use those connections to help people.
• All Alphas have some kind of mental or physical disability to accompany their abilities. Gary for instance is autistic and able to sense and translate radio waves, he's also immune to Nina's Compelling Voice because his brain is too "rigid".
• One episode gets pretty explicit about it, with a manifesto video by the Alpha terrorist group Red Flag talking about "the recognition of true neurodiversity."
• An episode of Sanctuary plays with and subverts this when it features an autistic boy with a supernatural power and at the end brings in his neurotypical brother with the same power, showing that the power is unconnected to his autism.
• Game of Thrones has Jojen Reed, a teenager who can see the future, but has bouts of what can be clearly identified as Epilepsy to a modern audience. According to his sister, his epilepsy is a direct effect of his powers.
Tabletop Games
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse: If a human child fails to become a wereraven (because their magical spirit egg was stolen before their first transformation) they tend to become autistic suddenly (despite autism spectrum disorders being congenital in real life).
• KULT: Schizophrenia is actually the ability to see behind the veil covering mundane reality. Mental illness in general is one of two roads to supernatural mojo (sainthood is the other one, but power-wise they're mutually exclusive).
• Mutant City Blues: Mutants with force field powers have a significant chance of developing adult-onset autism.
Video Games
• In Dragon Age II, Hawke and company come across a man who swears he hears demons telling him to harm people, but the Chantry and your own resident mages agree that he's not possessed. While Hawke is certain he's just making the voices up as an excuse, the savvy player will realize he's likely suffering schizophrenia instead, and in a world where demonic possession is a very common occurrence, no one believes there are any other sources for voices that simply aren't there.
• Many of the symptoms of Possession in Crusader Kings and its sequel resemble those of certain real-world mental illnesses like schizophrenia, meaning that it's possible many of these instances are simply dysfunctional people in a world that views them through a supernatural lens.
Web Comics
• Last Res0rt has a place on the soul spectrum for Light Children, who are born with just a little more / less soul than the average person (Sterlings). It's not that this causes things like Autism or Schizophrenia — rather, they happen because the Light Child hasn't been trained properly (compared to the Celeste) to deal with their new powers and sensory abilities. It's implied that with proper training, these individuals can leap right into Disability Superpower territory.
• Murray, the werewolf main character of ''Bloody Urban',' suffers from sensory processing disorder as a result of having hyper-acute senses and an inability to filter out sounds and smells beyond normal human perception.
Western Animation
Real Life
• Some people involved with the New Age belief system believe children with autism, ADHD, and other disorders are indigo children, children with indigo auras sent to heal the world.
• For much of history, before the advent of modern psychology, many cultures believed that Demonic Possession caused epilepsy and other mental disorders. Though notably, Catholic exorcists didn't believe this and still don't. They always sent you to a doctor first. If the doctor was stumped, or their diagnosis appeared to be wrong or their treatment didn't seem to be working, then they might consider exorcism.
• In the ancient world, epilepsy was sometimes seen as being a sign of greatness of one touched by the gods. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar were both considered such. The seizures were sometimes linked with divine prophecies.
• Among the Hmong people epileptics are believed to act as an intermediary between the spirit and material world and so they are often made into shamans. The book "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" chronicles how one Hmong family in California ran into issues with the medical establishment when they attempted to treat their daughter. | <urn:uuid:d54a4564-471d-49b2-a056-970588b74457> | http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeurodiversityIsSupernatural | en | 0.965323 | 0.160035 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Extended data analysis using DeCyder EDA
Key words: DeCyder EDA • extended data analysis • workspace • base set • differential expression analysis • principal components analysis • pattern analysis • discriminant analysis • Ettan DIGE
DeCyder™ Extended Data Analysis (EDA) Software was used to perform advanced statistics on samples from a study on human ovarian cancer. The known samples could be clearly separated into normal, benign, and malignant, agreeing with classifications made by pathologists. The classifier created from the known samples was used to classify the unknown samples. All unknown spot maps were classified correctly, except for one from a poorly cast gel. The incorrectly classified sample was a duplicate of a sample that had been correctly classified.
The Ettan™ 2-D Difference Gel Electrophoresis (DIGE) system has greatly reduced system variation, to a level that allows the detection of minor expression changes of as little as 10%.
Univariate analysis within DeCyder 2-D Differential Analysis Software (DeCyder 2-D)—Student’s t-test, one-way Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA), and two-way ANOVA—allows the identification of proteins that have altered expression with a given statistical confidence, as well as the interaction of two conditions.
Nevertheless, there might be remaining questions:
• How many groups or classes exist in a given data set?
• Are there proteins or spots that behave similarly to a given protein or spot (i.e. co-regulation)?
• Are there proteins that might be used for the development of noninvasive tests (i.e. diagnostic markers)?
• Are there proteins or protein patterns that might be characteristic of a biological state (e.g. tumor versus normal tissue aje, F. Cluster validation techniques for genome expression data. Signal Processing 83, 825–833 (2003).
11. Tibshirani, R. et al. Estimating the number of clusters in a dataset via the gap statistic. J. R. Stat. Soc. B 63, 411–423 (2001).
12. Webb, A. Statistical Pattern Recognition, 2nd edition, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York (2002).
13. Witten, I. H. and Frank, E. Data Mining, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, San Francisco (2000).
14. Golub, T. et al. Molecular classification of cancer: class discovery and class prediction by gene expression monitoring. Science 286, 531-537 (1999).
15. Dudoit, S. et al. Comparison of discrimination methods for the classification of tumors using gene expression data, Department of Statistics, University of California, Berkeley, CA (2000). [Online.], report number 576.
16. Nguyen, D. V. and Rocke, D.M. Tumor classification by partial least squares using microarray gene expression data. Bioinformatics 18, 39–50 (2002).
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This application note describes the use of DeCyder Extended Data Analysis Software (DeCyder EDA) to answer these remaining questions, using an example from a human cancer study.
The analysis workflow for DeCyder EDA is shown in Figure 1.
Set concept
DeCyder EDA uses a set of data for analysis. A set is a group of spot maps with matched spots—a group of spot maps and proteins. A set of data can be displayed in several ways depending on the context, for example as a heat map where each row represents a protein and each column represents a spot map.
The original data set consists of the Biological Variance Analysis (BVA) workspaces imported and linked in the DeCyder EDA workspace. Before any analyses can be performed, an EDA workspace and a base set must be created from the BVA workspaces. Setup consists of three main steps:
1. Workspace: creating an EDA workspace by importing and linking BVA workspaces.
2. Experimental design: assigning experimental groups and conditions for the different samples included in the EDA workspace.
3. Base set creation: creating the base set automatically or manually by filtering and normalization of the data.
After setup is finished and a base set is created, calculations are enabled. The different calculation methods are divided into four main groups:
• Differential expression analysis
• Principal components analysis (1–3)
• Pattern analysis (4–11)
• Discriminant analysis (12–16)
There are a number of subanalyses within each of the calculation groups. The different calculatio ns that might be selected can be performed in any order.
Differential expression analysis is performed by applying Student’s t-test or one-way ANOVA for a multiple-comparison test. The results from the differential expression analysis are used to reduce the data set, for example limiting it to proteins that show changes in expression level. In this study we used one-way ANOVA.
Principal components analysis (PCA) helps identify some underlying sources of variation, and will give a first impression if, and how well groups and classes might be separated. This type of analysis is extremely sensitive to outliers and might help to identify possible mismatches. In this study each patient sample was run as a duplicate on separate gels that included dye swapping. The two spot maps from the same patient should show up close to each other in the diagrams.
Pattern analysis finds patterns in the expression profiles in the EDA data without any prior information about the variables. Items with similar expression profiles—such as proteins, spot maps, and experimental groups—are clustered. In this study we applied two types of unsupervised clustering:
• Hierarchical clustering, which is displayed as a heat map with dendrogram, showing if and how many different classes exist in the data set
• K-means clustering, which shows clusters of proteins with similar expression patterns
Discriminant analysis identifies markers, and creates a classifier. The classifier is used to classify unknowns. This analysis also helps find proteins that might be useful for the development of a noninvasive diagnostic test.
Based on the results from the different calculations, new sets can be created and new calculations and biological interpretation can be performed.
DeCyder Extended Data Analysis Software, one network u ser license 28-4012-03
DeCyder 2-D Differential Analysis Software v6.5, preinstalled network 28-4012-01
(including PC and single concurrent network user license)
Original data set
The original data set was a BVA workspace from a study on human ovarian cancer. All samples were classified by pathologists into one of the following three groups: normal, benign, or malignant. A subset of samples from 18 patients (three normal, four benign, 11 malignant) was run in duplicate and used to perform all subsequent analysis. For the classifier, nine (one as duplicate) “unknown” patients were used to verify the analysis, as well as the classification made by the pathologists.
We created our EDA workspace by importing the BVA workspace from the cancer study. No statistical values from the BVA workspace were copied into the EDA workspace. Standard spot maps from the master and matched gels (to provide matching information) were copied into the EDA workspace but were not included in the actual analysis.
Experimental design
In the BVA workspace we imported, an experimental design was already defined. This was transferred to the EDA workspace.
Base set creation
The starting material (biopsy tissue) had a large variation, from both the inherent biological variation and the sample preparation. This led to a situation where only a small number of proteins was present in all spot maps or not matched.
For our cancer study we decided to filter out unassigned spot maps (master image and other spot maps not assigned to given groups), as well as proteins present in less than 80% of the spot maps. The remaining spot maps and proteins comprised our base set (Fig 2).
From this base set two subsets were created: one containing all known samples, the other containing all unknown samples. For the final classification the set called “unknowns” was used; for all other calculations the set called “base set–unknowns” and its subset “p<0.001” were used.
Data reduction
We further reduced our data set by restricting it to proteins that showed differential expression. From the differential expression calculation routines, we selected One-Way-ANOVA for multiple-comparison tests. Because all samples were run in duplicate, we found some artificially low p values. For filtering we selected those proteins with p values < 0.001. The remaining 150 proteins now formed the new data set “p<0.001” on which all subsequent analysis was performed except classification.
Answering questions
Question 1: How many groups or classes exist in the data set?
To answer this question we performed two different analyses on the “p<0.001” data set: PCA and hierarchical clustering.
The results from the PCA show that on the expression group level the three valid groups normal, benign, and malignant were well separated. Benign and malignant were close to each other while distant from normal (Fig 3).
At the spot map level the maps from the malignant group were well separated from the benign and normal. Spot maps from the benign and normal groups partly overlapped in the 2-D view, but were still well separated in the 3-D view. This first overview analysis showed clearly that the three valid groups are separable and we should find some valid markers helping us to classify the unknown samples later on.
In the hierarchical clustering we found two main clusters, one consisting of all malignant samples, the other containing all the normal and benign samples (not well separated). The malignant cluster showed three subclusters in partial concordance with the classification from the pathologists (Fig 4).
Question 2: Are there proteins or spots that behave similarly to a given protein or spot?
To answer this question we performed K-means clustering with gap statistics. We found nine clusters, each containing 2–40 different proteins, with very good accuracy (Fig 5).
These proteins are candidates for further analysis. Identifying those that are co-regulated might help to uncover the biological basis for this co-regulation.
Question 3: Are there proteins that might be used for the development of noninvasive tests?
To answer this question we performed a discriminant analysis using the Partial Least Square Search routine as the search method and the Regularized Discriminant Analysis (alpha+gamma 0.7) routine as the evaluation method, with 10-fold cross validation. We found that a subset of 13 proteins allowed discrimination between the known classes with 100% accuracy (Fig 6).
If any of these 13 proteins are highly abundant, they will be good candidates for diagnostic tests.
Question 4: Are there proteins or protein patterns that are characteristic of a biological state?
To answer this question a classifier was calculated using the same method that was applied for feature selection. The confusion matrix from the cross-validation showed no errors for the known samples (Fig 7). The created classifier was then applied to the “Unknown” data set.
The result was one more benign than expected and one less malignant than expected. Looking at the classification results, we found that the only “ unknown” patient who was run as a duplicate came out once correctly as malignant, and once incorrectly as benign (Fig 8).
A detailed analysis of the images showed that both spot maps from the duplicate patient were of very low quality. Both gels were from the same casting batch and showed severe polymerization problems, as well as dust particles and air bubbles.
The purpose of this application note was to demonstrate how the different analysis procedures provided by DeCyder EDA might be used to answer the remaining questions from the DeCyder 2-D software BVA analysis.
It was not necessary to apply all possible calculations; neither would that provide clearer answers. We defined the questions to answer, and then selected the analysis tools that were suitable.
The remaining questions from BVA analysis were the following:
• Q1: How many groups or classes exist in the data set?
• Q2: Are there proteins or spots that behave similarly to a given protein or spot (co-regulation)?
• Q3: Are there proteins that might be used for the development of noninvasive tests?
• Q4: Are there proteins or protein patterns that might be characteristic of a biological state (e.g. tumor versus normal tissue)?
If and how many classes were in our data set was partly answered by the results from PCA and from hierarchical clustering. PCA showed that on the expression group level, as well as on the spot map level, the respective spot maps from the known groups were well separated. Hierarchical clustering worked well with the 150 selected proteins, but subclustering for the malignant samples did not follow the classification from the pathologists. If subclassification of the malignant samples was necessary, the experimental design and the anal ysis procedure would have to be changed.
Proteins that behaved in a similar way were nicely clustered by using K-means clustering. We could identify proteins that were differentially expressed between normal and malignant, normal and benign, and benign and malignant samples.
Discriminant analysis showed that a small subset of 13 proteins allowed us to discriminate with 100% accuracy between the known groups. The top-ranked proteins from this analysis are candidates for a noninvasive diagnostic test for cancer. The high-abundance proteins from this list are ideal candidates for such a test, because they offer a high probability of being detected as leakage proteins in plasma. Data sets could be created from the top-ranked proteins to build classifiers for the classification of the unknown samples.
If samples show a huge variation (either inherently biological or from sample preparation), proteins could be missing in one or more spot maps, which would affect the final classification. In such a case, one should use a less restrictive data set (i.e. more proteins) for discriminant analysis.
The most important question was whether and how well unknown samples could be classified using DeCyder EDA. We were able to demonstrate that all spot maps could be classified correctly, except for one. Nine unknown patients were classified (10 spot maps, one patient in duplicate). The incorrectly classified sample was one of the duplicates. This sample and its correctly classified duplicate were from poorly cast gels; they should be rerun.
A final comment must be made on the experimental design. For this type of study (classification of unknown samples), we highly recommend having a balanced design. In our study we had only four patients in the benign group and three in the normal group, but 11 patients in the malignant group (all patients run as duplicates). We should have similar numbers of samples in each of the different kno wn groups, otherwise the discriminant analysis and classification might be affected.
10. Bolshakova, N. and Azu
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Business and congressional liberals are gearing up for a major battle over health insurance for former employees. Under a law known by its acronym, COBRA--taken from an otherwise obscure budget bill--companies must allow departing workers to buy benefits at group rates for 18 months. Employers say that because the former workers who take the coverage are often older or sicker than average, COBRA drives up premium costs. That's why they're worried about efforts to expand the law. Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) are pushing for changes that would allow spouses over age 50 who lose benefits because of death or separation to maintain their insurance coverage indefinitely.
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London Open - Rules of Play
From 2010, the London Open rules of play are the AGA-style rules, with the one exception that the illegal move rule is replaced by the EGF rule 4 below. The London Open Rules implements the second option for the rules of play in the EGF General Tournament Rules.
The following highlights the key points from the rules document:
1. Komi in an even game is 7.5 to White. In a handicap game, White wins Jigo.
2. Whenever a player passes, the player must hand a 'pass stone' to the opponent. This stone is added to the opponent's prisoners.
3. It is illegal to play so as to recreate a previous board position with the same person to play (ko and natural situational superko).
4. If an illegal move is made and if this is noticed within three moves, then the game must be unwound to the position just before the illegal move and play continues from that point. If the illegal move is noticed after three moves, the game just continues as it is.
5. Play pauses after two consecutive passes. The players must then attempt to agree on the status of every group. If the status of all groups is agreed, then the players must ensure that White passes last. So if necessary, White must pass again and hand over another pass stone.
6. If there is a dispute about the status of any groups after two consecutive passes, then play resumes on the clock, with the opponent of the last player to pass going first. The resumption can be repeated as many times as necessary with two passes causing the game to pause for an attempt at agreement on group status.
7. If at the start of a resumption, both players pass (so making four consecutive passes in all) then the players accept that they cannot agree on the status of all groups. In this case the game stops and all stones remain on the board for counting purposes. Again the players must ensure that White passes last.
8. The score is determined exacly as in normal territory counting i.e. place any prisoners into the opponents territory. Territory is defined as empty points surrounded by stones of the same colour. So eye points in seki do count as territory.
1. Dame are worth one point each.
a. Fill all dame before passing. Missing the last dame costs you two points.
b. Play any dame within a seki that does not destroy the seki.
2. Playing inside your own territory or your opponent’s costs nothing.
So you can reinforce any potentially unsafe situation at no cost. However do this only when all dame have been filled.
3. Bent four in the corner must be played out.
Bent four is not treated in any privileged way. For example, if there are external ko threats that cannot be removed, then the fight continues. If necessary, this and any other special situations must simply be played out until the relevant stones are actually captured.
4. Repeating positions are illegal.
Situations such as cycling round triple ko are no longer treated as jigo. Playing a move to complete the cycle is illegal and Rule 3 would then be applied.
5. Considerations about the last end-game ko can get complicated.
For example, if the opponent plays dame instead of a real ko threat, just fill the ko and don’t play another dame.
6. Resumption.
Suppose you pass, your opponent passes, and while checking the status, your opponent challenges the status of a group. You must resume.
First look for any needed re-inforcing moves that may have been missed on either side. Then look for any genuine dame and if none, just play a stone anywhere. If you do pass again, the game stops, and all groups on the board are alive!
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Mabe In America - About the Series
About The Series
Tom Mabe sees things a little differently than most people. Part troubleshooter/part troublemaker, he goes after things that make people mad and has a lot of fun doing it. Mabe in America is Mabe's hilarious take on everyday life through hidden camera pranks and his amusing, spot-on commentary. Known for plotting revenge on telemarketers with his comical phone antics, Mabe and his crew are reeking havoc on unsuspecting passersby with pranks that include preying on common pet peeves such as annoying loud cell-phone talkers and Bluetooth users as well as reactions to incompetent doctors and lazy ambulance drivers. Mabe is a nationally recognized comedian whose CDs include Prank It Up and Revenge on the Telemarketers. He makes a living delivering jokes about junk e-mail, bad customer service, high gas prices and anything else that ticks off Americans. Mabe has been dubbed the "troubleshooter-troublemaker" and "comic with a cause" by several national magazines and TV shows.
Show Info
CMT - Get country. | <urn:uuid:6c71f978-50a8-42bb-afcc-a1157f834dd8> | http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/mabe_in_america/137882/series_about.jhtml | en | 0.967033 | 0.043778 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
No April Foolin', Bravo's "Southern Charm" continued with its fifth episode Monday night. I should have known it wouldn't be canceled, considering I heard George Michael's "Father Figure" on the radio three times in as many days last week.
Monday night brought us JD's all-inclusive Carolina Day party. And by all-inclusive, I mean it actually included T-Rav "taking it outside" and threatening to pull out his old wrestling moves. But I'll talk about smelling what T-Rav is cooking later.
We begin with T-Rav and Kathryn discussing him wanting to take her to the Carolina Day party. He advises her not to be nervous about what people will say, and he offers to buy her a little black dress - one that's braless and accentuates every nook and cranny of her physique. She's 21 years old. She's not old enough to have nooks and crannies. She needs to eat a couple of sandwiches.
Whitney and Cameran meet at Charlestowne Tobacco and Wine to discuss his dating options, and wouldn't you know it, before too long she comes out with the "let me be your real estate agent" proposition. Because he has money and she needs cash, she says, adding that he doesn't need to be living with his mother. But Whitney has his own wing in the house; it's not all Norman Bates or anything. It's here that we learn that Cameran doesn't get the Norman Bates reference. How is that even possible?
In preparation for the big party, T-Rav goes to Gents Barberspa, which is one of JD's businesses. Of course it is. After his grooming session, they talk about T-Rav's relationship with Kathryn and his wanting to take her to JD's party. Because she's a "great gal" and has all the qualities he looks for in a woman. Who cares if people wonder if he's showing up with his daughter or his niece, he says.
For someone who "can't worry about it," T-Rav sure seems to talk about it a lot.
Shep decides that he's going to confront MJ about hanging out with her ex-boyfriend. He wants her to explain herself and apologize to him for the confusion because he felt like he "got punched in the stomach." I almost fell for the man-child's "sensitivity," but then I noticed his body language.
It's hard to take him seriously when he's all slouched back and splayed out. A little tip: you don't want to actually appear spineless when trying to get a girl to like you. Ultimately, MJ bails on the conversation, and the "relationship," it seems.
Whitney and his mom meet T-Rav at Husk for a drink. Whitney's mom's "medicine" is gin, but it felt like it took five minutes for her to order it because of all the instructions. Whitney orders "spherical ice" for his drink. Spherical ice. It's a real thing. A real big ice ball. Basic frozen water isn't even good enough for these people anymore.
Whitney's mom gives T-Rav some "motherly counsel" regarding Kathryn: Rather than impregnating 21-year-olds, she suggests he needs to "refocus." Enter long, uncomfortable silence here, then laugh it off pretentiously.
Since T-Rav and Kathryn are dating now, he meets her at Stars for a drink and rehashes what went down with Whitney and his mom. And because it's all about timing with these two, Kathryn lets it slip that she once kissed Whitney "for a moment." I say she lets it slip, but actually, T-Rav starts quizzing her about it. Were they in Whitney's bedroom? Was it a French kiss? Gosh, Dad, stop asking me such weird and embarrassing questions.
As T-Rav and Kathryn are getting ready for JD's Carolina Day party, T-Rav is already getting himself all bowed up and fired up about Whitney. He's tired of how Whitney is always "full of unsolicited free advice." But he stops long enough to flatter Kathryn about how good she looks in her dress and how he wants to take it off. Then he actually asks her if they "have time." Nice.
Break to the Carolina Day party at The Mezz, another business that JD owns. Of course he does. You can tell that this is the part of the episode where all the magic is going to happen, despite all the rain. You know it's going to be magic because this is where the preview shows T-Rav talking about slapping people.
The party is a very formal affair requiring black tie for the men, with white tuxedo jackets, mind you. An unshaven Whitney brings his "personal assistant" Brandy/Brandi, and Jenna and Cameran arrive with each other. Cameran looks amazing and Jenna looks, well ... she's wearing a long black dress-type thing with a Queen of Sheba collar/neckline thing, and I think what's supposed to be harem pants. To me, they just look like parachute pants or Hammer pants. She's too legit to quit, I guess. I never claimed to understand fashion.
Shep brings a gal that's not MJ and then comes Craig. In a black tuxedo jacket. Bless his heart. Whitney nails it, though: "He's from Delaware. He doesn't know." And since this event is also acting as T-Rav and Kathryn's "coming out" party, they arrive together and the gossip and whispered insults begin. Most of them are too hateful to repeat, and thanks to the remarkable editing by Bravo, I felt really sorry for Kathryn.
I'd tell you what food was served, but I can't pronounce any of it. There was lobster, though, as I expected. And lots of booze. Which is what leads to T-Rav's confrontation with Whitney about hooking up with Kathryn, which Whitney vehemently denies. T-Rav gets loud, everybody turns to look, and then all the ladies leave the tables and go to the bathroom. Because that's what we do.
As for the hushed talk in the room, everybody is saying that T-Rav is clueless and he's being used and he needs an intervention. The future attorney, Craig, best sums it up: "The whole thing is super weird."
After the commercial break, and more booze, T-Rav and Whitney get into another argument about some other thing that Whitney says that bruises T-Rav's ego. T-Rav then says, "We should step outside so I can tell you what I'm now thinking." That's a lot of words when what he's really thinking is "HULK SMASH."
Whitney goes outside with him, open umbrella and all, they drop lots of F-bombs, and T-Rav actually threatens to roll out his college wrestling moves right there on the asphalt. He'd win, too, because Whitney has a "smaller frame" than T-Rav and he could put him down in "two seconds." I didn't mean to laugh out loud. But I did. And then Whitney threatened to call the po-po and charge him with assault.
Silly, Whitney. T-Rav isn't afraid of the police. Whether they are here or in the state of New York.
BEST QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "He needs to be ambushed. He's a moron." - Whitney to his mom about T-Rav
BEST MADE UP WORD: "Ultimatuming" - as in, "Are you ultimatuming me?" - MJ to Shep
HOW YOU DON'T WANT SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN THE COLOR OF YOUR RED HAIR: "It's like a clown color." - Whitney about Kathryn
THE "I'M NOT SURE IT'S A COMPLIMENT" COMPLIMENT: "She's got potential." - T-Rav about Kathryn
NEXT WEEK: T-Rav wants to host a party and share his wisdom to the younger cast members, I mean, his friends, and Craig takes that as an opportunity to throw Kathryn under the bus. Hard. | <urn:uuid:cda31d72-2df1-4c0a-8408-ea7fc7b865c4> | http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140401/PC16/140409955 | en | 0.976578 | 0.038625 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Its free provision privileges the pleasure-seeking of a cultural majority -- but does nothing for cultural minorities, including gays and lesbians.
birth control fullness of the full.jpg
Social conservatives and progressive feminists are convenient foils for one another. Is anything more unnerving to the average Rick Santorum supporter than the prospect of young women with free birth control, a capacity for guiltless indulgence in premarital sex, easy access to abortion, and a growing tendency to unashamedly bear children out of wedlock? For their part, do progressive feminists find any well-known politician as alarming as Santorum, who asserts that all non-procreative sex is problematic, that states are empowered to ban birth control, that abortion should be banned even in the case of rape, and that America should subsidize traditional families?
The disproportionate attention these polar visions attract can obscure the fact that neither are entirely shared by most Americans, who reject both Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body and the cultural agenda of the sex positive, non-traditionalist left. Among the many positions missing from the contraception debate in particular is my own: an enthusiastic embrace of easy access to birth control pills and intrauterine devices, coupled with a rejection of what a NY Times editorial described as "an essential principle -- free access to birth control for any woman."
Hurray that most humans enjoy non-procreative sex. I favor permitting pharmacies to sell contraceptives without a prescription, health-insurance plans that cover the use of contraceptives for medical reasons, and subsidizing birth control for poor women who cannot afford it. But I dispute that a universal subsidy for contraception is "a victory for women," a necessity if women are to be free from sex discrimination, or a just mandate. There's a powerful liberal case against subsidizing birth control for every female. It is grounded in the importance of pluralism. Progressives, who focus on arguments made by social and religious conservatives, haven't confronted alternative critiques of their position. Before articulating such a critique, I want to run through the arguments they make for a universal birth control subsidy and the political history that led here. Enormous credit is owed them for expanding women's rights in the process.
The Long Fight Over What Constitutes Equality in Health Care
President Obama's attempt to expand access to subsidized contraceptives through employer provided health insurance is best understood as a small victory for progressives in a fight they've been waging for decades. Its origins are instructive, and though it's difficult to say just when the story begins, one significant moment occurred when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law. Title VII of that legislation stated that employers covered by its provisions could not "refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." It's made our nation a better place.
Several years later, in 1971, several female employees of General Electric got pregnant and applied for benefits under a program that the company had recently established for all its workers. It dictated that a worker would receive 60 percent of his or her normal paycheck if he or she became disabled as a result of nonoccupational sickness or accident. When GE reaffirmed its position -- that getting pregnant didn't count as a disability for the purposes of its program -- the women sued. The case would eventually make it all the way to the Supreme Court.
The justices disagreed on the merits of the lawsuit. Some thought that pregnancy was unlike a sickness or disability -- that it plausibly belonged in a different category. These justices pointed out that "there is no proof that the package is in fact worth more to men than to women." After all, they reasoned, men and women employed by GE received equal benefits for all the risks to which both groups are subject: if an employee broke a leg skiing, got injured in an automobile accident, or suffered from cancer of the breasts or prostate, they'd be treated equally regardless of their sex. "For all that appears, pregnancy-related disabilities constitute an additional risk, unique to women, and the failure to compensate them for this risk does not destroy the presumed parity of the benefits, accruing to men and women alike, which results from the facially evenhanded inclusion of risks," these justices argued. And if pregnancy were covered by the program, GE defenders observed at the time, wouldn't it guarantee that the company spent much more money on claims made by women than men? Equality turned out to be tricky.
The Supreme Court justices who took the women's side were as determined in their arguments. "The rule at issue places the risk of absence caused by pregnancy in a class by itself," one wrote. "By definition, such a rule discriminates on account of sex; for it is the capacity to become pregnant which primarily differentiates the female from the male." Said another justice: "General Electric's disability program has three divisible sets of effects. First, the plan covers all disabilities that mutually afflict both sexes. Second, the plan insures against all disabilities that are male-specific or have a predominant impact on males. Finally, all female-specific and female-impacted disabilities are covered, except for the most prevalent, pregnancy."
The majority sided with GE.
As far as the Supreme Court was concerned, employers weren't obligated to treat pregnancy the same as what proponents of their decision might call "sicknesses and disabilities," and what detractors might call "other medical conditions with similar effects." The decision was handed down in 1976, as Jimmy Carter campaigned for president. And it provoked a big backlash.
In 1978, President Carter signed into law The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a congressional response to the recent Supreme Court decision. It amended Title VII of The Civil Rights Act, stating that "women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work." The GE plaintiffs wouldn't benefit but women in situations similar to theirs would fare better.
The progressive agenda on women's rights and benefits stalled for more than a decade, as Presidents Reagan and Bush occupied the White House for 12 consecutive years. When President Clinton was elected in 1992, progressive activists sought numerous reforms that would increase women's equality as they saw it. Their major accomplishment was The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required most employers to provide job-protected leave to employees if they suffered from a personal or family illness, had a child, adopted, or served in the military.
A less remarked upon change came in 2000.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that interprets and enforces Title VII, received a complaint that year from a registered nurse whose employer provided health insurance didn't cover contraception. It did cover numerous prescription drugs, preventative care including pap smears and mammograms, and vasectomies and tubal ligation surgeries.
Progressive activists argued that health insurance plans of that kind were discriminatory. What justification could there be, they demanded, for a policy that covers the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra for men, but doesn't cover birth control for women? Didn't that prove that the health-care system privileged male sexuality? Defenders of the discrepancy saw it differently. In their telling, a prescription for birth control was different from a prescription for Viagra. A fertile body was healthy and working as intended, whereas an impotent man's body was malfunctioning, they argued. And birth control was different from other types of preventative care in their view, for a vaccination or a mammogram guards against contracting a virus or metastasizing cancer, whereas birth control guards against becoming pregnant, something that usually doesn't occur absent the voluntary decision to have sex, and isn't equivalent to a disease. Finally, Viagra was arguably better suited to an insurance market, for a lot of men could enter into a risk pool for years, with only some of them developing the need for Viagra, whereas most women could predict at an early age whether or not they'd want a birth control prescription.
In this instance, the federal bureaucrats deliberated and the progressive arguments prevailed. "The fact that it is women, rather than men, who have the ability to become pregnant cannot be used to penalize them in any way, including in the terms and conditions of their employment," the agency stated in its decision. "Contraception is a means by which a woman controls her ability to become pregnant. The PDA's prohibition on discrimination against women based on their ability to become pregnant thus necessarily includes a prohibition on discrimination related to a woman's use of contraceptives. Under the PDA, for example, Respondents could not discharge an employee from her job because she uses contraceptives. So, too, Respondents may not discriminate in their health insurance plan by denying benefits for prescription contraceptives when they provide benefits for comparable drugs and devices." Whether contraceptives are "comparable" to other drugs and devices was, of course, core to the controversy. The agency concluded, plausibly, that contraceptives are comparable to other preventative health care measures and prescription drugs. After the decision, an employer could stop offering its workers health insurance that covered preventative care and prescriptions, but with few exceptions it couldn't offer those benefits and exclude birth control coverage.
Enter President Obama, whose progressive vision -- shared by the aforementioned New York Times editorial -- is a population of women who are 100 percent insured, and entitled (via their health insurance) to their choice of birth control without a co-pay or increased premiums. A relatively small number of Americans object to that vision because they're averse to birth control generally. Although their dissent is most frequently talked about, there are other Americans, like me, who favor universal access to birth control but object to a universal subsidy.
Covering birth control for the poor may reduce costs overall insofar as it prevents unintended pregnancies that would ultimately cost more to cover. But the higher up the income scale you go, the less this logic applies. As noted in the 1995 study the Obama Administration has cited for its contested claim that its broader mandate is cost-neutral, "If, by expanding coverage, a payer simply finances the contraceptives that would otherwise have been purchased by individuals, then the payer's net costs are likely to increase." Among the middle and upper classes, providing 'free' birth control is inevitably going to subsidize it among a lot of people who'd be paying for it themselves if it wasn't covered. And it's also going to permit them to consume more expensive forms of birth control without bearing any added cost, even as pharmaceutical companies are incentivized to raise prices on even the cheapest products they offer, and to develop more expensive forms of birth control to exploit the lack of price-sensitivity. The Obama mandate may be cost neutral compared to some hypothetical alternative, but it is more expensive than the alternative that I am proposing - subsidizing birth control for poor women, and everyone else paying their own way - and also more expensive than a system that subsidized only the cheapest form of birth control pill. It also creates incentives for the cost of birth control to rise in the future.
The Case Against Subsidized Birth Control For All
A short history of health care in the United States might go something like this: once upon a time, people could pay a doctor, rely on charity, or go without medical treatment. Then some employers began offering health insurance as part of the compensation package negotiated with workers. The government encouraged that system through tax incentives, and later by requiring an increasing number of employers to offer health insurance. More recently, government has increasingly dictated even the coverage details of the policies that are negotiated.
We're now in the last stages of a transition to a health care system where what's covered by health insurance isn't a matter of what policy an individual chooses to buy, or the deal he or she strikes at work, or even what health care costs are most suited to being covered through risk pools. Nowadays, what's included in health "insurance" is a matter of what our polity, through its elected representatives, bureaucrats accountable to them, and judges who aren't, decide that we ought to provide to all citizens. We've moved from coverage dictated by what markets will bear to coverage dictated by the sorts of inevitably redistributionist policies that a legislative majority regards as just. It's gotten increasingly contentious because our values are increasingly implicated, something progressives sometimes try to elide by saying that something is "just part of health care," a phrase that now effectively means "part of a system in which everyone is forced to participate, and that makes contestable judgments about what ought to be included." We've blurred what is an insurance benefit and what is a subsidy or entitlement, for participating in a risk pool with our fellow citizens will no longer be a voluntary decision, thanks to Obama's reforms.
There are going to be redistributive consequences, or the equivalent of subsidies, no matter what health care system we choose. Resources are just going to flow from healthy people to diseased people. And it is widely thought that resources are spent unequally, but justly, when one man lives a healthy life and dies at age 60 in his sleep while another, who pays the same insurance premiums or taxes, contracts multiple sclerosis at age 45, requires two decades of costly care, and dies at 65. Another category of things many people think that health insurance should cover might be called "the malfunctioning body." If you're born needing surgery to see, if you break your leg, if you need fertility treatments to get pregnant, or if you can't get an erection without a pill, the notion is that folks whose functions are intact justly wind up subsidizing the costs of caring for the afflicted.
Including birth control (as distinct from contraceptives used for other purposes) in universally mandated health-care coverage has its own unique redistributive effect, one that seems more problematic in a pluralistic society than funneling resources from the healthy to the sick or malfunctioning. Mandating participation in an insurance risk pool that covers birth control redistributes resources based partly on lifestyle choices, values, and conceptions of what is fulfilling. For example, gays and lesbians have no use for birth control, but are being made to participate in risk pools that cover it, effectively leaving them with fewer resources as a result of their status as a cultural minority group, rather than a part of the majority that desires birth control.
The effect on gays and lesbians hints at the larger nature of this subsidy. If we broadly agree that we value "treating disease" and "fixing the broken body," in what category do we put taking birth control? It's a highly contested matter, confounding in that there is no consensus. As ever, progressives want to put it in the category of "preventative care." But it is at least different than less controversial sorts of preventative care: 1) A small number of Americans have a moral objection to it. 2) The condition being prevented, pregnancy, isn't identical to a disease. 3) The condition being prevented, pregnancy, can be avoided through an alternative approach, abstinence, that is completely effective and free -- or a very cheap method, condoms, that have various advantageous and disadvantages that the thoughtful reader can supply him or herself.
These differences alone don't mean that birth control ought not be covered as part of America's universal package of health-care benefits. But they did cause me to struggle towards a more nuanced category in which to put birth control. Its purpose is not only to prevent an undesired condition, for which it isn't strictly necessary, but to do so while preserving an individual's ability to partake in an activity most people regard to be pleasurable and/or meaningful: heterosexual intercourse. I can think of no satisfactory, real world analog to compare it to.
But hypotheticals can assist us. Don't be put off by their implausibility, for they help to clarify what's at stake. Imagine that scientists developed all three of the following innovative pharmaceuticals:
1) A pill that permitted heterosexual men -- but, for some reason, only heterosexual men -- to drink alcohol without damaging the body in the normal ways.
2) A pill that permitted women -- but for some reason, only straight women -- to experience during yoga physical pleasure and stress relief equivalent to orgasm during intercourse.
3) A pill that permitted anyone to safely experience all the salutary effects of a good LSD trip without any risk of addiction or ill health effects.
Like birth control, these hypothetical pills must be taken throughout the course of the month to be effective, and cost roughly the same amount. Should any or all of them be offered free to anyone who wants them via the American health-care system, and therefore effectively subsidized by all the people in the same risk pool who either don't want to take them or won't benefit? I would say that they should not be included, although I'd celebrate the invention of all three pills.
My reasons for opposing their inclusion -- for refusing to ask that everyone in the American risk pool underwrite their cost for the sake of those who would benefit -- would be similar to the reasons that I oppose universal "free" birth control. That some people, or even a majority, would find healthy alcohol or orgasmic yoga or consequence-free LSD intensely pleasurable or deeply meaningful is great, but isn't itself grounds for defraying the cost of their supply by spreading it to people who feel differently. So it goes for sexual intercourse between straight people. The more you thinks about it, the more apparent it becomes that pooling the costs of contraception produces lots of winners and losers, and that contrary to the progressive rhetoric, it isn't women as a class who benefit. A less obvious cultural majority, one that includes many women, benefits. A cultural minority -- including more than just gays and lesbians -- are the losers.
Once birth control for the poor is covered, I wonder why so many on the left either don't recognize or don't object to the redistributive consequences of pooling contraceptive costs among everyone else, even people who could afford them on their own. Compared to a system that just took care of the poor (or even to a system that included only the cheapest kind of birth control), here is a more detailed but by no means complete look at the winners and losers:
- Those who are sexually active, especially over long periods, benefit at the expense of those who aren't, whether by choice or for lack of opportunity. This sure seems non-materially regressive.
- A wealthy man who holds assets in common with his wife benefits as the cost of their household birth control prescription is reduced, even as an unmarried, working class woman who wants to wait until marriage to have sex belongs to the risk pool that is defraying their costs.
- The fertile, who benefit at the expense of the infertile.
- Folks in their child-bearing years, who benefit at the expense of younger and older people.
- Those engaged in recreational sex, or who are trying to avoid pregnancy, who benefit at the expense of those trying to have kids.
- Folks who use expensive forms of contraceptive, who benefit at the expense of folks who rely on condoms or natural family planning.
- Straight people, who benefit at the expense of gays and lesbians, who have no use for birth control.
When it comes to marriage or gender-neutral bathrooms or transsexual rights, progressives are careful to insist that cultural majorities shouldn't impose their heteronormative standards on society, but when it comes to the birth control debate, they've been quick to exploit the ways in which their preferences are shared by a cultural majority. They understand that frequently engaging in non-procreative, heterosexual sex while using prescription birth control is widespread.
As they see it, the existence of that cultural norm is an argument in favor of a subsidy for the cultural majority. Never mind that there are Americans who don't value non-procreative sex, or who don't value it as highly as some other fulfilling pursuit, whether surfing or Gregorian chants or yoga or hunting. As Amanda Marcotte argued, the straight, secular relationship to sex is "normal." But why should the sexually "abnormal" (minority groups like gays and lesbians, asexuals, people who never manage to attract very many sexual partners, people who just care about sex relatively less than the average person, or care about other goods much more) have less with which to pursue what they value due to public policy that disadvantages their preferences?
Surely we can conceive of a woman assessing a year's income, whether at age 18 or 24 or 35 or 44, and deciding that among her $27,000 or $35,000 or $64,000 or $102,000, the fraction that she could spend on birth control in the coming year would be better applied to a Hawaiian vacation, or a charitable donation, or a new dog, or a retirement investment, or a meditation class, or higher status as a Scientologist. Once you decide that society is going to mandate that something is universally available, even those who partake in the benefit lose the ability to opt out and spend their own share of resources in a way that suits them better, if only temporarily.
They can forgo the benefit, but will still need to pay the cost.
Reflecting on the legislation, court cases, and administrative decisions so far discussed -- in sum, the history that has brought us to the current regime of birth control subsidies -- there are many advances in women's equality to celebrate. There are also bits of reasoning that I find unpersuasive. Rather than argue with settled law, I want to reflect on its real world consequences. It has expanded access to birth control. Insofar as benefits have flowed to poor women who couldn't otherwise afford female contraception, that is a good public policy outcome.
But this series of legislative, judicial, and bureaucratic decisions, many of them defensible or even desirable on narrow grounds, add up to a health-care system that is unjust, for it needlessly privileges cultural majorities at the expense of cultural minorities, and obscures redistributive consequences that are sometimes regressive, especially compared to the alternative I suggest: subsidizing contraception only for the poor who can't afford it. Individuals ought to decide what they find fun or meaningful enough to spend their money on. As progressives argue with social conservatives, whose positions on sex and contraception I too find wrongheaded, the progressives are unwittingly saying that subsidized birth control is desirable even when it involves forcing into the same insurance risk pools people who want little or no contraception with people who want a lot of it. Some claim that's the only way our health-care system can avoid discriminating against women. Never mind that the resulting system arguably leaves some women, all gays and lesbians, and various other cultural minorities worse off than they'd be under the alternative system we should consider, where the middle and upper classes cover the cost of their contraception themselves.
Image credit: Reuters | <urn:uuid:3e9a0f56-332e-4f0a-926f-58784549cd8f> | http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/03/the-sex-friendly-case-against-free-birth-control/254281/ | en | 0.967748 | 0.436602 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Ex Phys Home
Oxygen Deficit, EPOC, Lactate Formation, Lactate Threshold Training
Describe and Explain the Oxygen Deficit.
During the first few minutes of cardiovascular exercise, the anaerobic energy systems (CP-ATP and glycolysis) supply the needed ATP for this work. The energy provided during this deficit phase of exercise is employed until a steady-state (or steady-rate) of oxygen consumption is utilized, thus indicating that mitochondrial respiration is the dominant energy system being utilized. However, it should be noted that energy for exercise is not merely the result of a series of energy systems “switching on” and “switching off,” but rather the smooth blending and overlap of the body's three energy systems.
Describe and Explain the EPOC.
EPOC stands for the Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption. This is the recovery period after cardiovascular exercise where there is elevated oxygen consumption. It can be described as the amount of oxygen consumed during recovery in excess of that which would have ordinarily been consumed at rest. Some factors that contribute to EPOC include the replenishment of CP and ATP, the conversion of lactate to pyruvate, and the resynthesis of glycogen. In addition, during this recovery period the increased oxygen demand is needed to help the body in adjusting the increased body temperature, heart rate and ventilation to a resting level, as well as the reoxygenation of hemoglobin (in the blood).
Explain the Lactate Formation.
At the end of glycolysis there are two pyruvate and two NADH+H+ molecules. During resting and steady state conditions, the NADH+H+ shuttle their hydrogens to FAD (reducing FAD to FADH2) in the inner membrane of the mitochondria and pyruvate is transported to the mitochondrion matrix (for further oxidation). However,
in strenuous exercise, the energy demands exceed the oxygen supply in the ETC (and a back-up occurs in the ETC). The NADH + H+ moleculres are inhibited and thus donate their hydrogens to pyruvate, reducing pyruvate to lactate. NAD+ can now return to Step 6 of glycolysis to pick up more hydrogens and glycolysis can continue. Rebecca Fattley, 2004.
Class, the following is EXTRA information that is not tested. It is just for your 'Breadth, Depth and Understanding' and how we still use the build-up of lactate (measured in the lab) for training purposes.
Describe and Explain the Lactate Threshold (Reviewing what we already know to go to the next step)
At rest your blood lactate is about 1.0 mM/L. As exercise intensity increases there is a point where your body begins to produce more lactate then it can eliminate. Scientists have identified this point to be where blood lactate is from 2.0 to 4.0 mM/L. During this demanding exercise, mitochondrial respiration is unable to keep up with the pace of the oxygen demand. Thus, the body accommodates by increasing glycolysis. However, glycolysis becomes limited by the fact that it cannot shuttle the NADH + H+ (from Step 6 of glycolysis) through the mitochondrial membrane. Therefore, pyruvate reacts (in the cytoplasm) with NADH + H+ to form lactate, which begins to accumulate in the blood. The intensity at the lactate threshold represents the maximal intensity at which steady-state exercise can be maintained.
Training the Lactate Threshold (Summary thoughts from Steve Burns, M.S.)
Training the lactate threshold is similar to training for strength. The body adapts to stress overload placed upon it by becoming more efficient. To stress the body to cause an increase in efficiency, the athlete needs to increase the lactate above that which he/she can tolerate. This is done in training by exercising at a high intensity for several short periods and recovering between hard bouts, allowing excess lactate to clear the muscle. The higher the intensity, the greater the lactate build-up. The less the rest between hard bouts, the higher the lactate build-up. A proper mix of hard efforts with short recovery, and some medium hard efforts with longer recovery, will raise both the lactate threshold and the VO2max. Also, endurance exercise is included to increase overall musculoskeletal health. Remember, while training the aerobic energy system the athlete will also be training the phosphagen and glycolytic system.
For a Complete article on Lactate Theshold Training, CLICK HERE! | <urn:uuid:13d89840-4d11-48e0-9e99-b284f6b6a575> | http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Exercise%20Phys/deficitepoc.html | en | 0.936568 | 0.631757 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |