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Academic says gay animals overlooked
Feb. 9, 2013 at 6:35 PM
LONDON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A British academic says documentaries by David Attenborough are not a true reflection of nature because they do not show animals' "homosexual" behavior.
In a paper recently published in the European Journal of Cultural Studies, Dr. Brett Mills of the University of East Anglia accused Attenborough of portraying all animals as heterosexual despite a wealth of evidence they engage in a variety of sexual activity, The Daily Telegraph reported.
"The central role in documentary stories of pairing, mating and raising offspring commonly rests on assumptions of heterosexuality within the animal kingdom," Mills wrote. "This is despite a wealth of scientific evidence which demonstrates that many non-human species have complex and changeable forms of sexual activity, with heterosexuality only one of many possible options."
Mills noted that Attenborough's voice-over-style documentaries play a key role in telling viewers how to make sense of what they have seen.
In one of Attenborough's documentaries cited in the paper, male chimpanzees are shown fighting for dominance before embracing each other while one is behind the other.
"The voice-over states, 'After a quarrel they embrace one another, to re-establish their bonds of friendship,'" Mills wrote. "Yet reading such a moment as merely an 'embrace' ignores alternative possible interpretations, despite the ample evidence of primate homosexuality."
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Aim higher, reach further.
Wanamaker Dreams Come True
Peter Richard Conte celebrates 25 years as Grand Court Organist
Peter Richard Conte playing the Grand Court Organ at the Macy's Center City store in Philadelphia. ENLARGE
For two and a half decades, Peter Richard Conte has had one of the strangest, most wonderful jobs in all of retail. Twice a day, six days a week he has performed 45-minute concerts on one of the largest pipe organs in the world, an instrument improbably located in a downtown Philadelphia department store.
The organ, built for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, was such an enormous—and enormously expensive—undertaking that it bankrupted the manufacturer. It was claimed that the instrument, with some 10,000 pipes, was "capable of producing 17,179,869,183 distinct tonal effects."
After its starring role at the world's fair, the organ languished in storage for a few years until it was bought by John Wanamaker as the centerpiece of the new store he was building in Philadelphia. In 1911, the organ debuted in the Grand Court—a seven-story, marble atrium that proved too large for even such a monster. And so Wanamaker and his son Rodman had the organ vastly expanded through the teens and '20s—to more than 28,000 pipes.
For more than a century, there has always been an official Grand Court Organist at the department store. The longest serving was the second, Mary E. Vogt, who performed at Wanamaker's from 1917 to 1966. "You must entertain without distracting," she said. You don't want to "annoy people who after all have come into the store to shop." Vogt managed the six keyboards at the massive console, but couldn't quite reach all of the organ's 729 color-coded "stop tablets" (the domino-size paddle-switches that turn ranks of pipes on and off). She would throw the more distant tablets with a whack from a rolled-up newspaper.
Mr. Conte still follows Vogt's repertoire advice, shying away from the atonal and modernistic, and avoiding extravagant works from composers such as Olivier Messiaen. "Great music," he says of Messiaen, "but not shopping-conducive."
On a recent Saturday afternoon Mr. Conte performed the sort of accessibly eclectic program that the organ, and the organ's commercial environment, calls for. The mix included a third-act scene from Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier," a scherzo from Alexandre Guilmant (the French organist-composer who famously performed on the organ during the St. Louis World's Fair) and "The Easy Winners," a Scott Joplin rag.
Mr. Conte's specialty is symphonic works that he transcribes for the organ himself. His scores are housed in black binders, and the sheets inside are crowded with little fluorescent sticky-dots in magenta, green and tangerine that he uses to mark the many changes to the stops.
Mr. Conte was a choir boy at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, N.Y., when he took up the organ. After earning his degree at Indiana University, he began pestering the third Grand Court Organist, Keith Chapman, to let him audition to become an assistant. Chapman finally gave him a chance in 1987 and Mr. Conte got the gig, which entailed performing when Chapman was on tour, travels he made at the controls of his own plane. It was on one of those trips, in the summer of 1989, that Chapman crashed in the Rockies. In September 1989, Mr. Conte was named the fourth Grand Court Organist.
The organ had long since fallen into disrepair. By the 1990s, only about 10% of the instrument was playable. "For most of my tenure, the organ was in steady decline," Mr. Conte says. "We were limping along with very few ranks."
But it was a benign sort of neglect. Sixty years ago, celebrity organist E. Power Biggs championed a fad for building organs in the style—and using the technology—of the 17th century. "The best way—in fact the only way—to build an organ," Biggs insisted, was "the classical way." He sneered at the "machines" measured by their "volume and number of stops," and, as if explicitly describing the Wanamaker instrument, he sneered at organs designed to imitate all the sounds of an orchestra. And so, under the outsize influence of Biggs, many of the lavish orchestral organs of the first half of the 20th century were ripped out and replaced by what Mr. Conte derides as "Neo-Baroque squeak-boxes."
Not the Wanamaker. Come the 1950s and '60s, the department store could barely be bothered to pay for minimal upkeep on the instrument, let alone even consider the monumental expense of tearing the organ out and replacing it. The organ escaped the "Organ Reform Movement" unscathed (even benefiting from it by gaining some tuba pipes salvaged from a less-fortunate church organ).
When the department store became a Lord & Taylor in the late '90s, the retailer began the process of repairing the organ. But it was when the landmark store became a Macy's in 2006 that the organ's restoration began in earnest.
Now at full strength, "Baby"—as the organ is nicknamed—produces a huge, enveloping sound without screaming or screeching. Many smaller organs blast away like a fire hose; the Wanamaker Organ has the elemental power of surf and tide. The ranks of strings, equal to three orchestras' worth, are silky and lush and, with the Grand Court's lingering echo, melt away like a mouthful of cotton candy.
On Saturday, Mr. Conte will be performing for "Wanamaker Organ Day," one of several special performances during his 25th anniversary year. The evening program includes both Sergei Rachmaninoff and George Gershwin. Jeremy Filsell will be at a Steinway grand to play the solo parts of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor and "Rhapsody in Blue," while Mr. Conte, seated at Baby's keyboards, will provide the orchestral accompaniment.
"You don't get tired of playing this instrument," Mr. Conte says. "There's a reason I'm only the fourth Grand Court Organist."
Mr. Felten is a writer and musician in Washington.
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Retrieving small versions of data stored in Evernote
The Evernote service can produce thumbnail images for notes and individual resources. Thumbnails are not accessed through the Cloud API. Instead, a HTTP POST request is made to the Evernote service. If no resources are attached to the note (i.e. it is note that contains only text) the thumbnail will be a image of the first few lines of text in the note. To retrieve the thumbnail for a note, use the URL:
• [service] is the name of the Evernote service (either or
• [shardId] is the shard ID where the note is stored
• [noteGuid] is the GUID of the note that is being linked to
To retrieve a thumbnail for a single resource, use the URL:
Where [resourceGuid] is the GUID of the resource you wish to retrive the thumbnail of.
Thumbnail Image Type and Size
Thumbnails will be of type PNG, JPEG, or GIF (as indicated by the response "Content-Type" header). You can specify the image format that you want by appending .jpg, .gif, .bmp or .png to the GUID.
Thubmnails will fit within a 300 by 300 pixel square without requiring you to crop or scale them manually. One or both dimensions of an image may be less than the size of the box, so the image should be centered with an appropriate background and/or frame. You can request a smaller thumbnail by passing the size POST parameter with a value from 1 to 299, indicating the desired size of the bounding box in pixels. The server will return an image that will fit within this box, but one or both dimensions may be less than the requested value. The image will look best if the size is an even multiple of 300, such as 150 or 75.
The following examples access thumbnails for an Evernote account on shard s1 of Note that no authentication is required for these examples because the are in a public notebook, and that we're using GET instead of POST to simplify the example.
Get a full-size thumbnail for the note with the GUID e669c090-d8b2-4324-9eae-56bd31c64af7:
Get a 75x75 thumbnail for the same note in JPEG format:
Get a full-size thumbnail for an image resource with GUID 8528dddd-1d71-4e4d-9006-377be7517dfb:
Here's how the authenticated POST request might look in the real world:
Note the inclusion of the auth POST parameter; this valid authentication token—a developer token would also work here—must be included if the requested note or resource is not shared publicly. Again, for public notes and notebooks, the auth parameter is not required and should be omitted.
The following is a fully working example that writes all the thumbnails of the notes in a specified notebook to the current directory using Python, Evernote's Python SDK and Requests (a Python library for making HTTP requests):
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Comment Trying to prevent legitimate political change (Score 2) 813
Anonymous free speech is one of the cornerstones of our democracy.
Sometimes people have things to say that the government doesn't want anyone to hear.
For them to be able to say it, they need to feel safe from reprisals.
People being able to post stuff on the net through an open wireless access point is one way that one can say something important without fear of official retribution.
For example, one could blow the whistle, anonymously, on a crime that has been committed by a government official. Reports of such official crime, for example presidential employees wiretapping the opposing political party, have already been enough to cause a regime change in the U.S. - most slashdotters are too young to remember but Dubya is old enough.
Most methods of internet access (such as all those AOL CDs) leave audit trails. They may not be able to prevent people from posting to the net, but they can track them down and either imprison or kill the posters afterwards, and to a large extent, the knowledge of that possibility is enough to prevent many people from speaking out.
So let me suggest that a good way to ensure a free and fair presidential election in 2004 would be to remove the password from your wireless access point.
Thank you for your attention.
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Issue No.03 - June (1990 vol.5)
pp: 8-15
<p>A brief history of planning research done by the group that produced the RMS (remote mission specialist) planner is presented. Space telerobotics under study at JPL is then discussed, and RMS is described in detail. How RMS functions in an example execution is examined. The planner's capabilities are summarized, and possible future applications are suggested.</p>
Mark Rokey, Sven Grenander, "Planning for Space Telerobotics: The Remote Mission Specialist", IEEE Intelligent Systems, vol.5, no. 3, pp. 8-15, June 1990, doi:10.1109/64.54669
14 ms
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A/N: Finally! put a catagory for Gun Sword! im happy. speakin of which...Welcome to my GXS fanfic! I'm glad you chose this one to read. I hope I stayed true to the characters. I got obsessed with this anime a while ago, and when I got to the last episode, and they left it on a total cliffhanger i was like, "What the...?! Not fair! So much could still happen!" So, here's my imagination gone buckwild. lol! Enough of this, enjoy this fanifc!
Chapter 1: Together Again
Wendy stared at him, her head spinning. She had hoped to see him soon, but not this soon! The first time they've seen each other in years and all she could do was stare at him. Snap out of it, Wendy!
"Van," she breathed, standing and totally forgetting the other man at her table.
"Hey," he replied, straightening a little. "Uh…girl."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Wendy shouted. "You don't remember my name?!"
"Do I know you?" Van frowned, examining her face from where he stood. "My memory's not what it used to be."
"Y-You really don't remember?" Wendy frowned back in wonder.
"I don't believe it!"
Wendy and Van looked to the man at the table as he stood staring wide eyed at Van.
"You're Van the Incredible?! The man we've been talking about this whole time, Wendy!"
"Wendy?" Van frowned as she looked back at him. He was looking at her with wide eyes in recognition of that name. He looked at Kamayo and a light bulb went off in his head as he looked back at her. "Wendy."
"Yes, Van?" she smiled slightly, now knowing that he remembered.
"You've grown up, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah. It's been near ten years now."
"Ten years, huh?" Van smirked a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. "Didn't seem like that long."
"Mr. Van," the man called, walking toward him. "I'm a reporter for the local newspaper. Mind giving me an interview about your recent travels and that incredible armor of yours?"
"Actually, I do," Van replied flatly.
"Huh?!" Wendy and the reporter said in unison.
"Interviews are just a waste of my time," Van replied, walking to the table and sitting. "And besides, I'm hungry."
"But, Mr. Van---"
"These days I go by Van of the Gun Sword."
"Van of the Dawn was nicer," Wendy mumbled with a bit of a blush.
"Van, Sir, the people here think you're dead."
"Well, then, tell them I'm not. Tell them you saw me. That'd be better than an interview, and it won't take up so much time."
"I said no."
Wendy stared at Van in shock at his tone. There was subtle impatience, and irritation in his voice that she had only heard when they were facing some kind of danger. What was wrong with him?
"Maybe you should go," Wendy whispered to the reporter. "I'll talk to him and contact you later."
The man opened his mouth to argue, but opted to nod and leave instead. Wendy shut the door behind him and whirled around to stare at Van in anger.
"You didn't have to be so rude!" she said and Van turned in his chair to look at her.
"You were so rude to him! You could have said you would think about it, or…something!"
"But I wasn't gonna think about it," Van replied. "I didn't want to give an interview. Why would I tell him I'd think about it when I wasn't going to?"
Wendy stared at him with wide eyes but her expression softened a bit.
"You haven't changed, have you?" she murmured.
"Guess not," Van shrugged and turned to the table. "Got anything to eat?"
"Oh, yeah!" Wendy walked to Kamayo and took the plate of food from his back then hurried to Van. She placed the plate in front of him and smiled as he stared at it. He looked up at her and she sucked in a silent breath, hoping he would at least tell her thank you.
"Could I, uh, have all your condiments?"
"Can't you just eat it the way I served it?!"
"Why not try it like this?" she wondered, gently pushing the plate closer to him. "I put some seasoning on it already."
"Oh, well, it's not really the seasoning, but…" Van trailed off as he looked back at the plate and rubbed the back of his neck.
"But, what?" Wendy asked, trying to catch his eye.
"You still want me to try eating it regular, huh?"
"Well, I think you'll like it."
Van groaned in thought and picked up one of the fries. He stared at it a minute, scratching his face as Wendy stared at him impatiently. As if he was afraid it would blow up in his mouth, he slowly brought the food to his mouth. Wendy slowly smiled as he did this. He's going to! He's really going to eat it the way I served it!
Kamayo suddenly made his little turtle sound and walked into the table, making Van drop the food onto the plate again and the plate fell to the floor.
"Oh, man," Van said calmly. "That sucks."
"Oh, Kamayo!" Wendy sighed. He was so close!
"Sorry," Van said.
"It's ok," Wendy replied. "I'll make something else." She walked to the kitchen and began bustling around as Van watched her from under his black hat. He may not have changed, but Wendy sure had. She was taller. Her hair was longer and she didn't have the little girly clips at her ears anymore.
"Hey, uh…Wendy?"
She jumped and turned to him.
"Yes, Van?"
"You're, uh…You're not, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. Why are you asking her this? "Never mind."
"Uh, ok," Wendy frowned in confusion then turned back to her task of making something for both of them to eat. "So, Van?"
"Are you on any specific journey now?"
"Not really. Just tryin' to survive."
"Oh. Have you run into anybody?"
"What do ya mean?"
"Like, Pricilla or Carmon or anybody?"
"Oh. No. Haven't seen them in a while."
"That's a relief. After what they told him, he'd probably fall for one of them instead of..."
"How's Dann?"
"He's alright. We just fought in this major tournament."
"Another one?" Wendy giggled, remembering the last time he was in an armor tournament. "Were you an alternate again?"
"Nah. Just wanted to ride him a while. We haven't been in any real life or death battles or anything."
"That's good, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess. I don't care either way."
"He really hasn't changed."
"So, what have you been up to besides that?"
"Just wandering."
Silence reigned between them as Wendy still bustled around to make stew.
"What about you?" Van wondered, finally breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?"
"What have you been doing?"
"Oh, nothing, really. I work the late shift at a diner a few blocks from here. Not as exciting as the way you've been living, I'll bet," she giggled. More silence.
"Great. The first day he's back in my life and we have absolutely nothing to talk about."
"Hey, uh, Wendy?"
She turned to look at him.
"Yeah, Van?"
He sat up a bit and scratched at one of his side burns wearing his expression blank, as usual.
"I, uh…I missed you."
Wendy's eyes grew a bit wider as she felt her face heat up a bit.
"Y-You did?"
"Yeah," Van shrugged. "You were pretty funny."
"I'm not so klutzy anymore, ya know?!" she said loudly. "So if you mean to say that I amused you because I was always falling on my ass---!"
"Whoa, hey, I didn't mean it like that," Van interrupted, holding his hands up in surrender and her rage turned to wonderment. "It was just kinda funny, 'cause you were this kid following me around and… I dunno, it seemed kinda funny."
"Well, I'm not a kid anymore," Wendy said, turning to make her stew.
"No," Van agreed. "You're not."
"Man, that's good!" Van shouted as he ate his stew.
"Glad you like it," Wendy groaned. He had found every single condiment she had and poured it in. She thought what he had done when they were in the blimp was gross, but this took the cake.
"Do you want more milk?" she wondered, seeing his glass was near empty.
"Oh, yeah," Van replied. "Thanks."
"Well, at least he's thanking you."
"So, Van? What are your plans?" Wendy asked, pouring him some more milk.
"I dunno," Van shrugged woofing down his food. "Guess I'll just go back on the road again till I find a place to stay for the night."
"Oh, well, why don't you stay here for the night?" she wondered, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. Van stopped, mid-shove of food to his mouth and looked at her. They were both thinking the same thing:
"Did I really just ask him that?!"
"Did she really just ask me that?!"
Van lowered his spoonful of stew and condiment mush and looked away from her innocent gaze.
"I don't wanna be a burden," he mumbled.
"You wouldn't be," Wendy replied. "I have an extra room you could use. It's not like I always get company. You'll be comfortable, I'm sure."
"Nah, it's ok, really. I can stay in an inn somewhere or on the ground outside, or…whatever. It's fine."
"But I want you to stay."
Van turned a wide eyed gaze to hers and she looked away this time.
"I mean, gosh, Van, we haven't seen each other in years and you just wanna eat and leave?" she giggled, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"Well, no, but I don't wanna take up space or anything. As I recall I do nothing but lounge and nap, right?"
"I won't ask you to clean, Van," she smirked, looking up at him. "We could just…catch up."
Van sat back in the chair and smiled a bit at her. Her blush deepened a bit at that and she looked away.
"Well, I guess if ya want me here that bad---"
"Well, don't feel like you have to!" Wendy said quickly as she looked back at him. "I mean, you always do what you want anyway, but…" She almost couldn't finish, seeing him stare at her with wide eyes full of surprise. Those deep, crimson eyes. "If you don't wanna stay---"
"It doesn't matter to me, really," Van shrugged, starting at his food again. "I'll stay here, if you don't mind me staying."
Wendy nodded, but felt her heart clench a bit. It didn't matter to him. Of course it doesn't matter to him! Nothing matters to him!
"Hey, you got any more of this stew?" Van wondered, pushing his bowl toward her as a hint that he was asking for more.
"Oh, yeah," she said, taking the bowl and standing to serve him more. "You really like it?"
"Yeah, it's really good," he replied, leaning back in the chair a bit. "You turned out to be a really good cook."
"I'm glad you think so," Wendy replied with a small blush. She placed the bowl in front of him and Van reached for one of the condiments as she sat down again but pulled his hand back. Wendy noticed the action and asked: "Is something wrong?"
"No," he simply replied, and reached for his spoon. Slowly he dipped it into the stew and pulled up a big helping but froze and stared at it a moment.
"He didn't put anything in it!" Wendy realized. "He's gonna try it without anything! He's gonna eat it the way I made it!"
Van swallowed, as if he were afraid that without putting anything in it, it was going to kill him. He glanced at Wendy who was staring at him in awe then he closed his eyes.
"Just do it, Van!" he told himself. And with that thought, he shoved the spoon into his mouth. Wendy nearly screamed with glee, but she held it back. It wasn't over yet. She watched with growing anticipation as he chewed slowly on a piece of food. She frowned in confusion as he twitched a little.
"He's gonna go into convulsions," she thought, sarcastically.
"This…" he finally sputtered. "This is…"
"This is GREAT!" he shouted, standing as Wendy jumped at his sudden excitement. "I'll never eat this stew with condiments again!" He sat back down and stuffed his face with it as Wendy stared at him in total and utter shock.
"He actually did it. And he actually likes it!"
"W-Well," she breathed. "I guess I can put these away then, huh?" She stood and still watched in awe as Van shoveled food into his mouth. She gathered all of her condiments and put them away then pulled out a large bowl and scooped some stew into it. She picked it up off the counter and walked toward Kamayo as he stood next to the table.
"Here ya go, Kamayo," Wendy smiled as she placed the bowl on the ground in front of him and he thanked her with his turtle noise making her giggle. She sat down at the table again and noticed Van was staring at Kamayo.
"He's, uh…" he said, hesitantly. "He's gotten big, hasn't he?"
"Yeah," Wendy giggled. "I didn't think he would get so huge!" She watched Van begin to eat again then gazed into space. "I still have that puzzle you gave me."
Van froze and looked at her blankly.
She nodded then said: "I never put it back the way it was. I've always kept it solved, the way you gave it to me."
Wendy nodded again.
"You don't have to."
"I know, but, I wear it sometimes. On special occasions."
"Wear it?"
"Yeah. Around my neck. Like you suggested." Wendy dug into the pocket of her dress and pulled the puzzle out, still solved, with a string around it. She pulled it over her head and looked up at Van to see how he would react.
"You said it would suit me better than a turtle."
"Yeah. It-It does."
Wendy blushed and looked away.
"Well, I guess I'd better go get that room ready," she decided. If I stay here too much longer I'll faint from all this blushing! She stood and walked down the hall toward the guest room.
"Hey, Wendy!" Van called, standing as well. She froze and turned to him in surprise. Van straightened and looked away, glancing at her every few seconds. "I, uh…I wanna thank you for letting my stay. I, uh…I appreciate it."
"Oh," Wendy breathed then smiled, sweetly. "It's no problem! Stay as long as you like! I don't mind!" She turned back to the hall and hurried to the guest room. Stay as long as you like?! What was I thinking?! She sighed. You love him. Just admit it. You love him.
A/N: i just realized, Our Song by Taylor Swift would totally be Van and Wendy's song! lol! well? how'd i do? reviews r appreciated. and, no Van will not start eating EVERYTHING normally. we still have to stay true to him, don't we? lol! just thought i'd let u no that before u freak out. reviews, please? | <urn:uuid:a87d3049-8ad4-4b49-8f17-14bdb8c90798> | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4694517/1/Second-Chance | en | 0.992112 | 0.105616 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
tagNovels and NovellasBlood of the Clans Ch. 31
Blood of the Clans Ch. 31
Argus was getting anxious to get back into the story telling, seeing so much attention being given over to the Hand-fasting. He nudged Stuart to get his attention from Tavish.
"Stuart, can we get back tae the telling, noo. We'll be here all night talking of this ceremony and I ha'e something tae add, before we go any further and get things fouled up. Ye did'ne say anything about Fletcher turning intae the Glaistig."
"Aye, yer right, Argus, I did'ne. I should ha'e added that in before I stopped. I was just a wee bit excited tae show them the ribbon." Stuart apologized, smiling in the happiness of the moment.
"Ye've almost past by what MacRae had done too. If ye don't talk of it the noo, it'll no make sense tae why Braedon came tae Tioram later. Remember?" Argus reminded him, letting him know that things had to be told in order.
Stuart thought of what MacRae had done and didn't relish the idea of having to bring it up. He could see Argus was gnashing at the bit to bring it to its gory best and was fraught over inflicting the guests to another of Argus' resplendent tellings. In as much as he knew it had to be told, he knew enough to forewarn any who might get offended by the brutality of the punishments.
Stuart whispered his reservations of what had to be told to Argus, who nodded in approval that he'd try to curtail the gore to a minimum. Argus looked at the guests and then back to Stuart and smiled. Stuart wasn't sure what the smile was for, but he hoped he would heed him.
Stuart arose and tapped his glass, bringing focus to him once again. Many were still anxious to help be a part of the ceremony tomorrow, offering anything they could think of to ensure a memorable time. He apologized for breaking up the enthusiasm and hesitantly introduced them back to Argus.
"Now, Argus has reminded me that we've strayed a bit of course and almost missed a few events. Of course ye's know that it had tae be of a nasty nature fer Argus tae want ye's tae know, so if any of ye's feel disinclined tae hear of some vileness like ye've ne'er heard, please enjoy a moment away from the hall, while Argus says his peace. I promise once it's o'er, we'll ha'e some grand things tae tell. Argus, gi'e those people a moment tae leave and the rest are yer's tae ...entertain." Stuart said to him and sat down, knowing Argus wouldn't disappoint the brave souls who stayed with some history, best left undisturbed in his opinion.
Argus drank some water and made a face at it, wishing it was more of Stuart's liquid gold instead, but thought of his stomach and knew better of it. He saw that only a few women had left and most had stayed. He smiled at the thought, that a good bit of blood and guts and boogeyman talk was still interesting to them.
"Okay, well let's clear up a bit about Fletcher first and then I'll tell ye's what murderous heathen's the MacRae's were and James especially. Then ye's will understand why Braedon pops back in later, when Tavish tells ye's the soppy parts." Argus stopped and turned to Tavish, "Are ye telling about that, or is Stuart?"
"What? When Arabella and Braedon get back t'gether? I can tell that part. I think Stuart's going tae tell about the ceremony though and all of what happened here at Dunvegan." Tavish told him.
"Aye, I'll tell of the Hand-fasting and all that happened after." Stuart told him, confirming who was telling what.
"Alright then, let's spend a moment tae know Fletcher a wee bit better and then I'll tell ye's about MacRae. Now, Fletcher was very old. He was around the castle and surounding area fer ages. His parents had died because of a battle, back in fifteen thirty-nine. The Earl of Huntly, before Douglas, wanted lands brought under control and of course your lot were among the worst offenders." Argus told them, looking at Stuart and Tavish, bringing a few snickers.
"Before anything could be done by anyone, Fletcher's parents were burned tae death in their cottage. Fletcher was away, fighting alongside Grayson and Arabella's father, John, and was put intae prison wi' him. When they finally got out two years later, after King James the fifth died, they came back and John of course took back Tioram and was ready tae wed his first wife Amy. Fletcher came back tae nothing, really. His parents were buried, but no one could really remember where. The land was there, but he had no crops and no place tae live." Argus could see the effect he was having on the people, playing on the sadness
"John had a shelter built fer him and he lived in that fer a long time. At some point, no one's sure when, he developed a way wi' animals. Did'ne matter what kind it was, they just knew enough tae trust him. Some thought he was off his head, and blamed it on his losses, but others knew him and knew he was still keen and alert. No matter where he went though, he was ne'er alone. He always had some wee creature tae keep him company. Anyway, it's enough tae say he was well loved by animals and no really bothered in any way by people." Argus saw the sympathetic looks and knew it was time to pluck some heart strings.
It was the next morning, a grey, cloudy, mist-filled morning that surrounded the castle like a shroud. Few were up and tending to the fires and livestock, the merriment of song and dance, along with far too much whisky, keeping many in bed. It was the low moans of the cats and dogs, as well as the chuffing of horses, that warranted the most attention. Donald entered the stable and was immediately warned away by several dogs. He tried to see why they guarded the closest stall and before the dogs chased him right out, he caught sight of a pair of feet.
He entered the keep and talked with the kitchen staff about his narrow escape and also the body in the stall. Donald was just looking for someone to call for Arabella, when she appeared on the stairway. He went to her quickly, his worry clear on his face.
Lady Arabella, there's something no right in the stables. The animals are acting strange and there's a body in the first stall that they won't let me come near. I don't know what tae do?"
Arabella left the hall and went outside to the stables. As soon as she entered, several dogs rose up and barked at her. She stood and showed no fear to them, waiting until they calmed, but watched her carefully, as she started to approach. She slowly made her way to the front of the stall and looked in, seeing Fletcher lying there, Once she was close enough, she called his name and no response came. Her fears were realized when she reached out to shake him and he didn't stir. His face was in a state of complete calm, as though he went to sleep in a happy mood.
It took her by surprise and she soon realized he had passed away and the animals were protecting him. None of the cats and dogs left his side, as she squatted down and softly touched the wrinkled, leathery skin of his face with her hand. A cat circled her legs, rubbing up against her and several dogs sniffed at her, making sure her intentions were friendly towards Fletcher.
Slowly she rose and went back into the keep and found a groggy Grayson, coming into the hall and looking for some food. She caught up to him, speaking to him in hushed tones..
"Grayson, Fletcher has passed. He's out in the stables and the animals are protecting him."
Grayson tried at first to understand what she was saying, but when she turned towards the window, he remembered him from earlier.
"What do ye mean he's passed, Bella?" the whisky clouding his thoughts.
"He's gone. Dead. He's lying on the ground and I fear the animals will try tae attack anyone who tries tae move him."
Grayson went to the window and looked at the stables. Sure enough, the cats and dogs were guarding the entrance to the stables. Grayson turned back around, shaking his head in astonishment. Heather saw his face as she came in and took a note of concern.
"What is it, Grayson? Why the sad face?"
"The old man outside has passed away. The one ye's were looking at earlier, wi' the animals." the vision sobering him from the celebratory mood just hours ago.
"Och no, the poor soul." she said and went to the window to look.
Soon, more people were looking out and wondering at first what was going on. As they turned away from the window, every face was saddened by the sight. Grayson went out and stood looking at the scene, trying to decide what to do. He slowly walked towards Fletcher and the dogs growled lowly, as he approached. They watched him carefully, sensing his intentions, as Grayson bent and gently gathered Fletcher in his arms, cradling him. The animals stayed close to his feet, making it hard for him to walk, without stepping on one of them.
He came into the keep and carefully laid the body on the table beside the door. A couple of cats jumped up and circled around, before lying over his chest. Grayson looked at Arabella, his eyes hoping she would make preparations for him. She knew what her brother was asking and gathered a few women to her, sending them get water and cloths, fresh clothes and wrapping cloth. The teary-eyed women left and sought out what was needed, as the men and women stood back from the table, not wanting to upset the animals.
The women came back and went to the table to take care of Fletcher, but the growls from the dogs, kept them from getting close to him. Grayson was at a loss for what to do, understanding the need to have Fletcher prepared for burial and the love the animals held for him, to protect his body. He slowly went to Fletcher again and the dogs at first made a line of defence, but allowed him to approach, sniffing at him with every step he took. Grayson picked up the body and looked to Arabella.
"I'll carry him tae the kitchen, Keep the animals out here as best ye can and close the door behind me."
Two women rushed to clear the preparation table in the kitchen, while the newly arrived, Garreth, Sorley, Randal and Robert made a circle around Grayson, keeping the animals back. Slowly they walked to the kitchen, until Grayson was making his way through the doorway. The men stopped, holding the animals back from getting in with Fletcher and the door closed behind him. The men tried herding the animals back outside, but Randal tried too aggressively and one of the dogs latched on to his leg. Grayson laid the body down and slipped back out the door, only to see Randal shaking his leg to get the dog off him.
Randal drew his sword in defence, but Grayson quickly stopped him. Grayson spoke softly to it, commanding it to let go. The dog's eyes focused on Grayson's and saw the calm state in them. Randal was relieved to feel the pressure of sharp teeth ease and the dog letting go. Soon the animals were all out side and the door closed behind them. Howls and whines from the dogs started, as well as sorrowful moans and wailing from the cats. The look on everyone's face told the story, that it affected everyone the same.
The moment sobered the men from their intoxicated revelry, as the women went about washing and re-dressing Fletcher's body. A sombre pall was cast over the excitement of earlier, as memories of Fletcher were shared by those that knew of him. Not much was said, as he had lived a lonely existence and the animals had become his only true friends. Arabella gave orders for two men to start digging a grave for him, at the burial site at Cul Dorlinn. She went to Grayson and asked him to preside over his burial and say a few words about him. Grayson looked at the strain on his sister's face and could see she was struggling with her own conflicted emotions. He hugged her to him and found she accepted it with a great sense of need. He wished he knew what was ailing her heart and troubling her so deeply, but knew he held no answers for her.
A litter was brought out and Fletcher's prepared body was laid upon it. Grayson looked to Robert and Gordon to take an end each, while he led the small procession of clan and guests out of the castle and across the causeway to the site. Gregor played a sorrowful dirge that brought emotions to the point of sadness, that tears were present on the faces of everyone there. The animals were all gathered around the stretcher, as they made it to the site and laid his body on the ground.
Grayson stood with Heather at his side, as he did his best to find things to say about Fletcher. It saddened his heart to think this man had lived amongst them for so long in his life and so little could be said. He prayed for his soul and a wish for him to be at God's side, before he motioned for the men to lower the body into the grave. It was as though the animals knew what was occurring and wailed and moaned their own sorrow, as the first shovels of dirt were tossed on the body.
The small procession slowly made its way back to the castle, the pipes being silenced and now only the sounds of shovels in the dirt, breaking the sound of the animal's sorrowful wailing. The grave was surrounded by cats and dogs, once the men walked away, a sadness filling them to hear their sounds of loss.
Only the animals were aware, that the spirit of the man had joined them once more and they were in its presence. A troop of four-legged and winged companions joined in a different harmony, as they sang in happiness, sensing Fletcher's energy among them. Soon the dismal grey turned a shade brighter, as the sun warmed the air and broke through the clouds. A tiny beam of sunlight found its way onto the marker-less grave and cast a brightness over it, the silent majesty of the moment shared with those who truly loved the frail, old man and they rejoiced in their praise of it.
"Okay, now ye's ha'e a better understanding of Fletcher. Now, as history has it, Fletcher is the one who became the Glaistig. There's many stories written about it, how it calmed animals and helped horses tae be steady in battle. One of the first times I heard about the Glaistig, is in the battle tae come. So now ye's know who and what the Glaistig is, when it's talked about later on and who it is that's doing it."
Argus took a long drink of water, as he looked at the faces of the guests. He knew what he was going to get into now, was as low as human depravity went, but the truth and the whole truth, should be told, if it was to be told at all.
"Alright, as Stuart said earlier, this is going tae be more than a wee bit gruesome. I know it can upset some of ye's, e'en though ye think ye can handle it. If it's tae be told, it's tae be told as it happened. Do ye's know about the massacre at the Falls of Lora?" a show of shrugs and shakes of the heads told Argus no, "It's no something that's told very often. All I'll tell ye the now is, it no something that should e'er of happened."
The lifeless, grey sky offered nothing more than the bleak light being cast. To James MacRae, it was the perfect day. In his mind and his mind only, lay the results of what today would bring. The two birlinns, loaded with men and arms, eased out into calm waters, the windless air offering no assistance to them. The oars plied through the water, the bow splitting it into curling froths, as they left Ballachulish and made their way out of Loch Leven towards Loch Linnhe. The dark waters held little contrast to the slate sky, as the two birlinns made their way through the narrows. MacRae turned to look at the remains of the birlinn, now since stripped of anything of use. The wood had been scavenged and barely the skeletal bones were left. Soon those too would light the fires that warmed and fed the living.
The MacLean's were sailing from Loch a Choire as planned, coming straight across Loch Linnhe and headed down the channel between Lismore and the mainland. Close behind, MacRae's birlinns passed Shuna Island, quietly being noted by the lookout on top of Castle Stalker. He watched them join up and sail another seven miles, before they turned to port and disappeared around the point at Tralee Bay. He made a mental note to inform his Lairdship of the movement, when he was relieved.
Marching up from the shores of Oban, through the mountain pass, Malcolm MacDougall and MacKenzie of the Douglas', along with his lieutenants, Roland and Tormod, led the combined forces of over a thirty men on horses and a hundred on foot towards the rising sun. Every face was set with a purpose, a purpose of enacting revenge. Whatever they did that morning, it was in the name of vengeance for what was done to their clan members by the Fraser's and whatever James MacRae deemed as just punishment. The low clouds clung to the tops of the ridges, acting like a canopy above them. Drizzle fell in tiny droplets that clung to the men, coating skin and cloth in glittering sheets of them. The five mile march was made in silence, but the dampness added misery to their thoughts, filling them with more reason to despise the Fraser's.
The birlinns slid up onto the coast, grinding their keels into the gravelled shore. Men jumped down and the three birlinns were pulled further up, the ebbing tide eventually stranding it. MacRae amassed his men and stood with Iain MacLean in front of them. He scouted the terrain for signs of spotters and gave MacLean his instructions to proceed.
"Take yer men and go o'er the hills that way." James told him, pointing with his sword. "Come around and MacDougall and MacKenzie should be there wi' their men. The horses will go up tae the shore and we'll drive them all tae the flats in between us. I want every man, woman and child rounded up, no a soul left out. Once we ha'e them all t'gether, we'll find out what happened tae Douglas' lads that night. This time, they'll tell us the truth."
Iain MacLean headed off to fan out his men along the ridge, creating one line of the net. MacRae took his men and fanned them out, so they covered the coast and the ridge of high hills in front of them. MacRae had his men lay in wait, until all the men were in place, before they closed in. He stood on the ridge and looked south to the pass, where the Douglas' and MacDougall's would come through. In his mind, he hoped that both would have their men prepared and ready to do what must be done. He also hoped that nothing led them to battle one another and kill each other en route. He was starting to feel that maybe Fate was setting the table against him. All his leaders dead and an army of men with little or no direction, wasn't adding up to the plan he saw in his mind.
Malcolm and MacKenzie halted their men, as they came to the end of the pass and the flat, green lands began. The crackle of branches had them taking guard, until they saw it was MacLean clansmen coming through to them.
"Ye've made it, good. I'm tae gi'e ye's yer orders on how we're tae proceed. All yer men on horses are tae ride up tae the coast and fan back. All the men on foot are tae bring up the centre. MacRae is coming in from o'er there." the MacLean clansman told them, pointing out the areas where they were to go and how they would move in.
The foot soldiers followed the MacLean's and made a solid line of men all the way back to MacRae. Word was passed down the line that all the men had arrived and awaiting the signal to march. The men on horses made their way up along the edge of the mountains, spacing themselves out. MacKenzie sat with Roland and Tormod, looking across the broad, flat land at the settlement, filled with the Fraser clan going about their daily lives. He looked across to the ridge on the far side, looking for MacRae. He spotted him high on the ridge, looking from him, all along the line of men, until they were covered by trees.
He raised his sword in the air and circled it above his head. Slowly, one line of men started moving towards the other, closing the space between them. The Fraser's were alerted immediately and took up arms. They concentrated themselves around the perimeter of their encampment, arrows and spears at the ready. Young children were herded into huts, while the older ones stayed, ready to help re-arm the men with arrows and spears, or swords and knives.
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all 94 comments
[–]countmontecristo 37 points38 points (11 children)
Screw spice, worst decision to make
[–]justhanginout_ 10 points11 points (9 children)
fuck yes ^
if i could change one thing in my life, it would be to go back and never smoke spice again.
IT DOES NOT GET YOU HIGH. spice DAMAGES your brain to the extent of you feeling "high". that is not high bros, thats you feeling the direct effects of brain damage. do your fellow stoners a favor and if you ever see spice being sold at convenient stores, bitch them out and let them know of all of the soldiers and innocent people it kills because they can smoke it and not fail a fucking drug test. dammit now im worked up.
I would also like some citation. Although I agree with you and dislike the substance my understanding of the molecule leads me to believe that you may be mistaken unless there are studies proving otherwise. Either way I am interested.
[–]Prof_Toke 8 points9 points (4 children)
Do you have a source for that claim?
[–]iama_stabbing_robot -1 points0 points (2 children)
[–]Prof_Toke 0 points1 point (1 child)
Ehhh, that doesn't mean brain damage happens whenever you smoke it, show me a scientific article and i'll believe, i'm genuinely curious about this.
[–]iama_stabbing_robot -1 points0 points (0 children)
You know what, it is a good idea. toke away professor
[–]soundtracktomary 0 points1 point (1 child)
It makes me pretty vehement too just thinking about it.
[–]LETSBACON 0 points1 point (0 children)
Excuse me but I wanted to know if weed is addictive and I heard that it still brings tar into your lungs unless you use a vaporizer is this correct?
Bad memories
[–]kevinhugh91 28 points29 points (5 children)
There's always that one guy that will defend the shit out of spice and continue smoking it because everyone else tells him he's an idiot
[–]Sttmb12r 13 points14 points (3 children)
Used to be that guy till my accident and the doctor telling me my CPK levels were high as fuck from smoking that shit for a few months.
[–]eggplantpatch 30 points31 points (2 children)
CPK? Don't know what that is. I prefer weed- my KFC levels go through the roof though
[–]empireofnyy 21 points22 points (0 children)
CPK = California Pizza Kitchen
[–]WeedTaco93 0 points1 point (0 children)
Not just that. It can also develop an addiction. My friend got hooked on spice and for 4 months thats all he would talk about, smoke it, and try to obtain it. Almost lost a friend like that.
[–]jmz899 22 points23 points (16 children)
Hey ...what's spice?
[–]SKIISH 4 points5 points (15 children)
It may as well be dirt. It is fake weed. Offers a similar feeling as smoking salvia with just as bad a taste
[–]muddytoejoe 16 points17 points (0 children)
Synthetic cannabanoids are legitimate chemicals that should be used for scientific research.
You should not use things such as "spice" "spike" "K2" or any other number of 'herbal blends' sold in headshops or gas stations. The main problem with these chemicals are dosage and which chemical you're actually getting. Like many RC's there are many synthetic cannabanoids that vary in lethality, side effects, and high.
They high from synthetics is usually stronger than with bud. It is also very different, often lots of paranoia and an even more noticeable increase in heart rate, sometimes with palpitations and other weird shit for lack of a technical term.
Synthetics are NOT RELATED TO SALVIA this is a common misconception because at one point and in some states they are both legal and sold often in the same place. Salvia is a potent dissociative/hallucinogen with a well documented history of use.
[–]Airway 13 points14 points (2 children)
Smoking dirt would be a much smarter choice, man. Spice is fucking horrible for you. It's straight up poison, you don't know exactly what you're getting and doing it too much can fuck your life over.
Yeah I was just talking to one of my friends who is a recovering Spice Addict, he was living in Cali and moved to NY for a while, got hooked on it, then when he moved back to Cali he still couldn't quit. The crazy thing is, he said it cost him more than weed, and that it would make him super-aggressive. Now he's smoking herb like crazy, but he says it has messed up his tolerance and weed buzz for a long time. I just hope he gets better, this guy was always the one who could smoke more than anyone else, and now he's barely getting a buzz.
[–]muddytoejoe 6 points7 points (0 children)
Straight up poison
Not entirely true. There hasn't been enough research done, combined with an utter lack of regulation and quality control has led to that notion.
[–]MSN420 1 point2 points (0 children)
As Salvia? Are you fucking kidding me? Salvia is an extremely potent hallucinogen, people are normally drooling, and have no clue what they're doing, at all.
[–][deleted] (9 children)
[–]soundtracktomary 1 point2 points (1 child)
It's not a real cannabinoid
[–]l3pr0sy 0 points1 point (0 children)
"Spice" is not a cannabinoid, because it is a blanket term for synthetic marijuana, but the chemicals in the various types of "spice" have generally been cannabinoids.
[–][deleted] (4 children)
good job! you have to stay off of it. One of my friends was hooked on the spice and he said you get normal, but that it really sucks when you don't have it. He still smokes weed but will never touch the spice again.
[–]Shadoman 2 points3 points (0 children)
Im right there with ya. I smoked it for about 3-4 months straight this summer. I had some awesome trips and what not but as soon as I would come down, I'd have the worst depression I've ever felt. So I would smoke spice to get rid of it. Became a major addiction. Never again...
[–]Smashley_pants 1 point2 points (0 children)
That's exactly how I felt on it! Stupid awful high but you just want more and more.
11 months clean myself, keep at it man, you should be easy sailing from here. DONT EVER GO BACK! I smoked that stuff for 15 months, i lost the girl of my dreams because of that stuff, i regret choosing it over her every day of my life.
[–]poo706 13 points14 points (4 children)
They still sell that shit?
[–]i_like_bath_salts 4 points5 points (1 child)
Yeah it's illegal here in Michigan.
In Missouri they just raised the age to buy to 21. I wish it was illegal. That shit fucked up mine and my friends lives for a summer.. Crazy shit man.
[–]Raxkor 5 points6 points (0 children)
that's like bringing petrol to a party instead of beer. Fucking savages.
[–]Dbppaintballer529 6 points7 points (3 children)
I actually had to start smoking spice before I ever smoked weed. I got drug tested very often, so I couldn't risk having THC in my system. For whatever reason, I smoked a lot of spice instead. And I just have to say: While I will never smoke spice again(Well maybe once or twice more), I still miss my spice days in some regards...I don't know why, but I just can't achieve the absolutely ridiculous kinds of highs very often smoking weed...Spice fucked me uppp every damn time. I kinda liked spice highs once in a while though...some of those highs were the craziest experiences. Just my opinion, man.
[–]AbovetheIgnorance420 1 point2 points (0 children)
It's fine that you have that opinion. I appreciate you sharing it. However, I'm going to have to disagree with the intensity of spice being part of what makes it desirable. It really depends onyour motive for coming to the substance in the first place. I use MJ to heal, relax, enjoy life. I don't use it to escape any problems I have or otherwise temporarily "get fucked up". I enjoy 100% knowing what is in my smoking mix because any other circumstance is taking an awfully large risk with your brain and overall well being. but that's just like, MY opinion, man.
[–]moorhs 4 points5 points (0 children)
I was in a similar situation as you. I had drug tests as well and started using spice heavily. Now I only smoke bud, but the highs I got from spice were just plain ridiculous, like experiencing a whole different reality. Don't really wan't to go out and obtain it again, but if it was passed my way, I wouldn't say no. The stuff is just plain awful though, I agree with most of what people here say about it.
[–]Goalie_4_fieldhockey -1 points0 points (0 children)
Oh my gosh, yes. Like it (the high) was so much...cooler. I honestly prefer spice over weed, just because it IS stronger.
[–]bigsuit13 2 points3 points (0 children)
Does it even need to be an epic blaze session for somebody to ruin it by bringing spice?
[–]verybadwolf 3 points4 points (0 children)
Spice scares me.
[–]Prof_Toke 3 points4 points (1 child)
Hey man, if THEY want to do spice I'm fine with that.
[–]stuartduck 1 point2 points (0 children)
To each his own.
[–]Chazzelstien 2 points3 points (2 children)
<--long-term Novice
[–]bobandgeorge 3 points4 points (1 child)
It's fake weed that you can buy at a crappy gas station legally. It's advertised as incense or whatever and it specifically says on the packages (doesn't matter which one) "not for human consumption" but people smoke it anyway. It's also not screened for in drug tests.
I've tried it before and I've got to say that it's a completely different high from weed. I've had pretty okay experiences to straight up terrible trips. Whenever I came down I came down quick. Like I would be at a solid {7} or higher and then a solid {0} before I even knew it. It also tastes terrible. Seriously, that shit tastes like burnt hair wrapped in toe jam.
I don't recommend it over weed.
[–]Chazzelstien 4 points5 points (0 children)
thank you kind sir, i have definitely heard about it
So as a person that has never smoked spice before,what are its downsides and what is the high like?
[–]YeOldeBaconWhoure 2 points3 points (0 children)
I took one hit of spice, had time to pass the bowl, then had a seizure. So...I don't really remember...but I won't touch the shit.
[–]SpottieOttie 0 points1 point (0 children)
You never know. For me, heart palpitations at 2 AM and waking my roommate up to make him watch me and make sure I didn't die. I had used it for a few weeks/months but got a new brand that did something else entirely. Just stay away.
[–]the_real 0 points1 point (0 children)
I've tried it before and it was awful. I forgot who I was. I couldn't move for a while. Also, I thought I was King Kong, and I tried to kill my friend.
[–]therangerfromtexas 2 points3 points (0 children)
No soup for you!
[–]Miklagard 2 points3 points (0 children)
[–]Jolly_Jay 3 points4 points (10 children)
Do your self a favor, stay with something natural and mostly cheap than something chemically made and dirt cheap.
This is good advice for more than just bud.
[–]sdakljn132 0 points1 point (8 children)
I'm pretty sure MDMA and LSD aren't as bad for you as Opium or Cocaine.
Neither cocaine nor opium are natural.
[–]morgangangful 1 point2 points (3 children)
Isn't Opium naturally grown in poppies?
Opium is not just picked from the poppies. It is synthesized in a chemical reaction.
[–]morgangangful 1 point2 points (1 child)
Thanks for clearing this up for me.
[–]soundtracktomary 0 points1 point (2 children)
Opium is grown in poppies and harvested from the pods. And cocaine comes from the coca leaf. Durp.
One uses an acid-base reactions, the other a solvent that both change the molecular chemistry of the drug. Not natural in any way.
Cocaine production often uses diesel as a solvent to extract the coca from the coca leaves.
Opium resin from the plants themselves is refined into a tar, morphine base through acid base extraction.
[–]tohighforhighschool 1 point2 points (0 children)
used to make a nice blend with some zombie matter, it was bomb, i never chain smoked it for a extended period of time. Just a pinch for enhancement.
[–]Kursawow 1 point2 points (0 children)
When someone brings spice.
EDIT: formating
[–]tristanisneat 1 point2 points (2 children)
Is that really a prevalent thing? I've been smoking for ages in both the US and Canada and have never seen it before.
[–]Smashley_pants 0 points1 point (1 child)
Yes. It's big amongst people who get drug tested on the regular because its doesn't show up on the test.
[–]tristanisneat 0 points1 point (0 children)
I understand the reasoning and all, it's just that I've been smoking pot for nearly a decade and have never even heard of it outside of r/trees.
Was with a chick who said she was gonna smoke me up (fucking was also hinted at.) Turns out it was spice, but since I wanted to get laid I smoked some with her. That night ended up with me not feeling anything and her screaming and crying in my car because she was gonna be killed by the tree people.
I had a friend lose months to spice.
Don't do it.
It's not marijuana. Everything good about marijuana is not in spice.
It's not even synthetic marijuana. It just makes you feel like shit and really confused and scared.
[–]Arodsteezy2 0 points1 point (0 children)
Spice can also refer to DMT, if that was the case.
[–]analbumcover 0 points1 point (0 children)
I don't honestly care if someone wants to smoke it, I just don't want it to be smoked out of the community bong/bowl because, to quote Walk Hard, I don't want any part of that shit. They have a right to put whatever they please into their body as long as they aren't causing harm to someone else just like I do.
I smoked several types of spice in the past and some experiences were fair but overall it wasn't that pleasant. Sometimes the high was too unbearable and left me feeling terrible. A few of my friends stuck with it and a lot of them ended up having the same experience at some point and quit. Some had a lot of trouble quitting and one claimed to seriously feel as if he were addicted to it and that it was having a negative impact on his health. I only know one person that still smokes it and he uses it rarely/moderately because his profession administers drug tests frequently and still wants to catch a buzz but he acknowledges at times that there's something really odd about it and the side effects it causes. Of course, this is all anecdotal but I figured I would share anyway.
[–]Muntberg 0 points1 point (0 children)
Lol le epic blaze sesh xDDD
[–][deleted] (1 child)
[–]yemeson 1 point2 points (0 children)
so noticeable of a difference that i don't even feel obligated to explain it any further.
[–]Tokenroseman 0 points1 point (0 children)
Tru dat
[–]teawrit 0 points1 point (0 children)
When someone brings spice to any blaze session
[–]spehizle 0 points1 point (1 child)
Sorry, I've been smoking for years and I don't know what spice is. Halp?
[–]spehizle -1 points0 points (0 children)
Never mind, googled it like an adult. We just call it Tea or K2 here in Canada, (or at least in Saskatchewan.)
[–]dubious_battle 0 points1 point (0 children)
That finger wag! so prime
[–]Bobilip 0 points1 point (0 children)
Spice gave me the worst trip ever. Fuck that shit.
you should punch them in the throat go all agro on them brah
[–]redfrojoe 0 points1 point (0 children)
Don't bring drugs to the circle, just weed.
[–]teh_cheat 0 points1 point (0 children)
Honestly I've never even seen spice. I know it's awful though.
[–]Arrow156 -1 points0 points (2 children)
There is a lot of different legal strands out there and they are all not gonna have the same health effects. There is a difference between Spice and other fake weed, please don't demonize something you haven't researched when it the only legal alternative in one's area. That shit might not be good for you but it's less harmful than 5 years in prison.
[–]soundtracktomary 1 point2 points (1 child)
It's giving people heart attacks and strokes. Do some research
[–]Arrow156 0 points1 point (0 children)
Spice is, what of all the other different brands and recipes? I'm just saying that there is simply not enough research to condemn all synthetics as dangerous.
[–]InsaneSensation -1 points0 points (0 children)
his finger looks like a dik=c
[–]wheredoesthemeatgo -1 points0 points (0 children)
i like it
[–]Cuddz -1 points0 points (0 children)
are headshops still a thing ?
[–]snarkhunter -2 points-1 points (0 children)
I thought the only people who messed with that stuff were people who did so out of desperation, having tried very hard to find any real stuff for a while. Or stupid teenagers who don't know any better.
To any teenagers who are offended, I'm sorry. Tough love. Sooner you realize how stupid you are, the better. And trust me, you will.
[–]gackfydd -1 points0 points (0 children)
Regardless of the health effects, you're still smoking untested chemicals. The dude in the lab doesn't know what it'll do besides make him money.
You really want to be a lab rat? | <urn:uuid:1daad61c-db22-4ddd-bf07-048ae8469065> | https://www.reddit.com/r/trees/comments/147n83 | en | 0.955158 | 0.57953 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Giles Fraser is never taken in by establishment self-delusion
Fraser wasn't so foolish as to imagine the City takes more notice of a bishop than the Occupy protest – unlike some Anglicans
protest st pauls cathedral
Giles Fraser has resigned over plans to forcibly remove Occupy London protesters from outside St Paul's Cathedral. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
How is it that an organisation as full of clever people who believe that they must love one another can manage to behave with the monumental stupidity and pettiness of the Church of England? The resignation of Giles Fraser, the canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, is a loss to everyone concerned: he loses his job, his family lose their home, the Church of England loses respect and sympathy, the cathedral loses a cogent and attractive advocate. The dean may believe he saves face.
Fraser has his faults. He's far too fond of ecclesiastical politics, until now as a spectator rather than a piece on the board. As a journalist I can't think this is a vice, but as a friend and human being, I do. None the less, he is one of the very few people in the Church of England who can think about important questions out loud in ways that are comprehensible to the outside world.
Conversation with him always feels like watching a fast-burning fuse in a cartoon. It's exciting in itself, and you know there will be explosions from which everyone will, miraculously, emerge unscathed. He loves to shock, but he also loves to think and the simple pleasure he takes in life is quite remarkable. Time in his company makes me feel better about being alive.
I remember the night I introduced him to the poetry of John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester. We were sitting outside a noisy wine bar in the smokers' courtyard: Fraser, for once with a dog collar on, which made him more impressive when he approached a complete stranger to bum a cigarette for me, and more impressive still when he started to read with noisy relish from the screen on my laptop:
"So when my days of impotence approach,
And I'm by pox and wine's unlucky chance,
Driven from the pleasing billows of debauch,
On the dull shore of lazy temperance …
When we got to the verse that starts "Nor shall our love fits, Cloris, be forgot" there were people looking as they had never looked at a vicar before.
He enjoyed that. The delight in shocking is part of his character but it is also connected to his most valuable gift to the Church of England. He actually notices the audience reaction. So much of the church's energies are taken up in make-believe about its position in society that Fraser is really shocking to anyone used to professional Anglicans.
There was an example of this just this week in the Bishop of London's statement about the protesters explaining that they could go away now because the grown-ups had taken over: "The St Paul's Institute has itself focused on the issue of executive pay and I am involved in ongoing discussions with City leaders about improving shareholder influence on excessive remuneration."
Never mind that the St Paul's Institute was run by Giles Fraser, who the bishop must have known was about to resign. There is one huge shrieking question about a press release like that: who is it meant to fool? Does anyone really think that the City takes more notice of a bishop than of a genuine popular demonstration? Does anyone in the wider world think that the bishop's words count for as much as the protesters' acts, or that they mean anything at all?
Fraser was never taken in by that kind of establishment self-delusion, in part because as a former private-school boy and an Oxford don, he knows it from the inside. There are precious few others like that where it matters in the church.
Still there may be one glint of hope in all this. For the first time in perhaps 50 years, the public has seen that Christians can act on principle in a disagreement that has nothing whatever to do with sex. Is it too much to hope this will go on? | <urn:uuid:207ac30b-06d3-4029-b893-126ef2899779> | https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/oct/27/giles-fraser-establishment-delusion?view=mobile | en | 0.984245 | 0.043597 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Monday, June 18, 2012
Juan Williams Jumps the Shark....Again
The relevant point is that the court may do irreparable harm to is reputation with anotehr highly political split between justices appointed by Democrats and justices appointed by Republicans. A 5-4 defeat of the healthcare law will erode trust in the justice system.
So says Juan Williams. I guess he has forgotten this:
The poll also asked respondents if they think the individual mandate is constitutional or unconstitutional. Seventy-two percent said it is unconstitutional. Though there were some partisan differences, a clear majority of even Democrats, 56 percent, think it is unconstitutional. Ninety-four percent of Republicans and 70 percent of independents said the individual mandate is unconstitutional.
And this has been constant throughout the debate on healthcare. The difference is that democrats, for the most part, don't seem to care that it is unconstitutional. They want Obamacare and it matters none if it violates my rights or hurts the healthcare industry in this country.
The real question that Juan Williams should be asking is why possibly 4 justices that were appointed by dems would so blatantly disregard the constitution and say that the federal government has the right to force us to by a product simply because we are alive? When you are willing to answer that question Mr. Williams, then we can talk.
1 comment:
The Griper said...
the answer is simple. the Supreme Court took it upon themselves to be the sole interpretor of the Constitution so that gives them the right to declare any law constitution or unconstitutional depending upon the theory that is held by each of them.
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What do you call a slide transition ? Can you give an illustrated example ? – lauhub Feb 27 '14 at 15:28
It seems there's no known solution to this… – Kevin Grabher Mar 6 '14 at 0:10
up vote 1 down vote accepted
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defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool NO
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Although your answer may be a solution to the problem, you give no context on how the OP should execute this command, nor do you back up your solution with more explicative information and a link (or two) to authoritative sources where you discovered this solution. It may be deleted. – IconDaemon Oct 21 '15 at 11:32
It's also not the right command for slide transitions, but for window zoom – Tetsujin Oct 21 '15 at 16:59
This has no effect switching between full screen desktops using Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right arrow keys (aka "slide transitions") as mentioned previously – Mark Edington Mar 11 at 16:29
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Two evenly matched players have reached the endgame after exchanging off all their pieces except the King and 3 Pawns. Having castled on opposite sides, we have now reached the following interesting position.
8/pppk4/8/8/8/8/4KPPP/8 w - - 0 1
Quite clearly, this is now a race for pawn promotion. What should be the strategy in this position (for both players)? Should your King go after the enemy pawns, or lead your own pawns to promotion?
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Good question. Draw I suppose. – Zistoloen Dec 7 '12 at 13:08
Who has the first move here? – xaisoft Dec 7 '12 at 17:19
The position is symmetrical so it doesn't matter. Let's just say white has the first move. – Masked Man Dec 7 '12 at 17:23
Well if it is white's first move and both players just move their outside pawns for promotion, white will win. If it is black's first move, black will win. This would mostly likely be the course of play though. – xaisoft Dec 7 '12 at 17:27
For these types of positions, I play the computer against itself. When it's done, I look at the moves to find those with which I disagree. Then I go back, and force the moves I like to see how the computer punishes me. This helps me understand why the computer made the move it made. It's like having an instructor. – Tony Ennis Dec 8 '12 at 14:38
up vote 10 down vote accepted
The two previous answers both suggested that this position is a draw, but I believe it's a win for White.
Stockfish 5 evaluates the position at more than +10 if left to run for long enough (e.g., to depth 40), which sounds pretty decisive, but of course Stockfish isn't infallible. I generated a FinalGen tablebase for the position, but unfortunately it wasn't able to solve the position fully, though it did show that the moves 1.Kf3 and 1.Kf1 lose. Stockfish evaluations for the positions after 1.Kf3 and 1.Kf1 eventually drop below -10, which suggests that Stockfish does understand what is going on here, and its evaluations (at depth 40 or more) should be taken seriously.
The question, of course, wasn't about the game-theoretic status of the position, but about the strategy. The basic strategy is to block the opponent's pawns and aim for zugzwang. White's first move appears to give him a decisive advantage in doing this, provided he starts by moving his king towards the queenside (1.Kd1, 1.Kd2 or 1.Kd3). Here's a sample line:
[FEN "8/pppk4/8/8/8/8/4KPPP/8 w - - 0 1"]
1.Kd3 Ke6 2.h4 Kf7 3.h5 Kg7
( 3...a5 4.Kc4 a4 5.Kb4 b5 6.f4 c5+ 7.Ka3 c4 8.Kb4 Kg7
( 8...Kf6 9.g4 Kg7 10.f5 )
9.f5 Kg8 10.g3 Kg7 11.g4 Kg8 12.h6 Kh7 13.g5 Kg8 14.g6 Kf8 15.f6 $18 )
4.g4 Kh6 5.Kc3 a5 6.f4 a4 7.f5 Kg5
{ The kingside is now mutual zugzwang: Black can't move there without allowing promotion, and White can't move there without losing a pawn. Play therefore switches to the queenside. }
( 7...b5 8.f6 $18 )
8.Kb4 b5 9.Ka3 c5 ( 9...c6 10.Kb4 c5+ 11.Ka3 c4 12.Kb4 $23 { Zugzwang. } )
10.Ka2 b4 11.Kb2 a3+ 12.Kb3 c4+ 13.Ka2 c3 14.Kb3
{ The queenside is now also mutual zugzwang, so Black to move loses. }
14...c2 15.Kxc2 a2 16.Kb2 b3 17.Ka1 Kf6 18.h6 Kf7 19.g5 Kg8 20.g6 Kf8 21.f6 1-0
Black could try to avoid zugzwang by mimicking White's moves, but he can't mimic checks, and this is in any case a recipe for losing a direct race to promote. Here's a sample line:
1.Kd3 Ke6 2.h4 a5 3.Kc4 Kf5 4.h5 a4 5.g4+ Kg5 6.Kb4 b5 7.f4+ Kh6 8.f5 c5+
9.Ka3 c4 10.f6 c3 11.g5+ Kxg5 12.f7 b4+ 13.Ka2 b3+ 14.Kb1 a3 15.f8=Q a2+
16.Ka1 c2 17.Qc5+ 1-0
share|improve this answer
So you're saying the initial position is already a black-losing zugzwang, given proper play ? In the first diagram, 7... Kg5 looks like a blunder, what if B just pushes pawns ? Is 9... c5 and c6 the same ? – Nikana Reklawyks Nov 17 '14 at 6:09
@Nikana: In the initial position, the player to move wins, so it's not zugzwang. In the first diagram, 7...Kg5 is necessary in order to stop the white pawns continuing to advance - otherwise essentially the same thing that happens after 17...Kf6 would happen immediately. 9...c6 doesn't seem to help - see the variation I've added to the diagram. – Stephen Nov 17 '14 at 9:12
Looks pretty sound, +1. What if (first diag) B (or any player really) rushes pawns ahead, instead of "losing time" with Kg7. The goal would be to force the other's king not to move, while having one's own king free to lose tempi (e.g. Kh7). Of course white should win at this game, but maybe both kings only must not commit themselves into the f5 g4 h5 formation. – Nikana Reklawyks Nov 17 '14 at 13:13
@Nikana: I've added a variation in which Black refrains from 3...Kg7 and instead starts pushing pawns. This line results in mutual zugzwang on the queenside, but Black is then unable to stop White's pawns. – Stephen Nov 17 '14 at 14:55
I used to think the following draw by repetition looked optimal for complicated reasons (detailed below), but now I doubt it. White may well have a winning strategy, involving putting Black in zugzwang on both sides. See Stephen's answer.
1. h4 a5 2. h5 Ke7 3. h6 Kf6 4. g4 a4 5. Kd2 Kg6 6. g5 a3 7. Kc2 b5 8. Kb3 b4 9. Ka2 Kh7 10. Kb3 Kg6 ½-½
Neither player can advance the ♟c/♙f, or will end up in zugzwang.
If White advances the ♙f, Black wins.
[FEN "8/2p5/6kP/6P1/1p6/pK6/5P2/8 w - - 8 9"]
9. f3 c6 10. f4 c5 (9. f4 c5) 11. f5+ Kh7 12. Ka2 (12. f6 Kg6 -+) c4 13. Ka1 b3 14. Kb1 c3 15. Ka1 c2 (13. Kb1 b3 14. Ka1 c3 15. Kb1 b2 16. Ka2 c2 17. Kxa3 c1=Q -+(16. Kc2 a2 17. Kxc3 a1=Q -+)) 16. g6+ Kxh6 17. g7 c1=Q# (15. Kc1 a2 -+)
If Black advances the ♟c, White wins.
Notice how it falls back to White playing ♙f4 with reverse colors.
9. Ka2 c6 10. f4! c5 (9... c5 10. f3! c4 11. f4 +- see Wf4) 11. Kb3 c4+ 12. Ka2 +-
I wouldn't call that a full analysis, especially as the first moves are played so hastily, but I don't think neither player is in zugzwang from the start, as back-and-forth moves on columns seem free.
As neither the rush of pawns work, nor helping one's pawns with one's king (which must stay in the opponent's far-pawn's square), I think the position is symetrical enough to be a fair draw.
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Hooray for the replayer in which this was carried on. – Nikana Reklawyks Dec 8 '12 at 11:59
I think the key is both players must keep their "inside pawns" back; it took me a while to see that. It is very tempting to try to build a Phalanx(f4,g4,h4), which I believe is actually losing. – Akavall Dec 8 '12 at 16:15
I think all of this analysis is correct, except for the very first move: 1.h4 throws away the win. – Stephen Nov 21 '14 at 19:17
@Stephen: You may very well be right, emphasizing "as the first moves are played so hastily". However, you show a (supposedly winning) line going 1. Kd3 Ke6 2. h4 : could you explain how that is different from 1. h4 … Ke7 … Kd2 ? – Nikana Reklawyks Nov 21 '14 at 20:44
@Nikana: The important difference is the move order (the difference in the king moves is not very relevant: 1.Kd2 Ke7 2.h4 seems similar to 1.Kd3 Ke6 2.h4). The problem with starting with 1.h4 is that Black can play 1...a5, and White is no longer a tempo ahead on the queenside, which seems to make it impossible for White to put Black in zugzwang. In particular, after 1.Kd3 a5 (or 1.Kd2 a5) I think White needs to immediately move his king to the c-file, whereas after 1.h4 a5 he can't. – Stephen Nov 21 '14 at 22:13
Unless there is careless pay, I see this ending up in a draw, play might continue:
1. Kd3 Ke6 2. g4 a5 3. h4 a4 4. h5 Kf6 5. Kc3 b5 6. h6 Kg6 7. g5 a3 8. Kb3 b4 9. Ka2 Kh7
10. Kb3 Kg6 11. Ka2
Black can't do 11... c5, because then it is basically over with:
6. h6 Kg6 7. g5 a3 8. Kb3 b4 9. Ka2 Kh7 10. Kb3 Kg6
11. Ka2 c5 12. f3 c4 13. f4 c3 14. Kb3 a2 15. Kxa2 c2
16. Kb2 b3 17. Kc1 Kh7 18. f5 Kg8 19. f6 b2+ 20. Kxc2 Kf7
21. h7 Kg6 22. h8=Q
share|improve this answer
Errr, most of the moves you show in the second diagram are totally unenderstandeable if you don't explain the underlying zugzwang a bit more. What about 11... c6, if each and every tempo are important ? If White f4, then he's the screwed one. (Unfortunately, I can't carry the analysis myself.) – Nikana Reklawyks Dec 7 '12 at 18:43
If black plays 11...c6, white should still play 12. f4. If white, however, plays 12. f3, then he is screwed. Going back to 11...c6, it could continue 12. f4 c5 13. f5+ Kxf5 14. h7 Kxg5 15. h8=Q" – xaisoft Dec 7 '12 at 18:53
13... Kh7 makes more sense. – Nikana Reklawyks Dec 7 '12 at 19:40
Whoever downvoted? An explanation would be nice? – xaisoft Dec 8 '12 at 13:06
Why is this downvoted? I don't see a difference between @NikanaReklawyks post and this except some more detail in theirs. – xaisoft Dec 9 '12 at 18:31
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dealsuzi black aircraft aluminum tactical defense pen…
$3.99 cheaper than the same item at thinkgeek, where it's marked down from $19.99 (but thinkgeek sent a Fisher space pen refill with mine) -
No cap for the pen, and if the point retracts I haven't figured out how. So if you stick it in your shirt pocket, use a pocket protector!
Sale ends 2:00 a.m. EDT Thursday 7/28, 11:00 p.m. PDT Wednesday 7/27. | <urn:uuid:1615b6a2-08be-4cea-a0cb-b4eb7b2092a2> | http://deals.woot.com/deals/details/d40c296f-876d-4f3f-ac6f-cb758bf6c266/uzi-black-aircraft-aluminum-tactical-defense-pen-dna-extractor | en | 0.832795 | 0.193909 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Web Graph Database
Term: Transaction
In InfoGrid, all modifying access to MeshObjects in a MeshBase must be performed within Transaction boundaries. Read-only access, or access for the purpose of receiving Events does not require a Transaction.
Because distributed InfoGrid applications can be composed of many distributed Nodes that are not necessarily even under control by the same entity, InfoGrid Transactions are necessarily less strict than traditional ACID transactions. They are used primary for the following reasons:
• data modified during a Transaction only gets written to persistent storage when the Transaction completes. This is an efficiency measure.
• data modified during a Transaction only gets conveyed to another NetMeshBase via XPRISO once the Transaction completes. This simplifies processing on the receiving end, and improves efficiency.
• two threads performing updates cannot get into each other's way.
See also:
Last modified 7 years ago Last modified on 01/19/10 17:51:47 | <urn:uuid:a0396086-4659-443e-91c7-a8248aba205a> | http://infogrid.org/trac/wiki/Transaction | en | 0.897287 | 0.020319 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
We love all of our readers and thank you for following us to our Emergency Broadcast Tumblr, but I want to offer a special thank you to Pavol Buday. He is a loyal reader from Slovakia, and he answered my call last night for screencaps of any readers that were so dedicated to Kotaku that they still had our home site open on their computers days after it went offline.
Pavol sent me these two shots, showing that he'd kept Kotaku.com alive on his computer for at least 48 hours after it had technically gone kaput. I checked back with him today. Still there? No, he apologized. He had to reboot his computer to install some updates. No worries, Pavol. You're still pretty awesome. - Stephen Totilo | <urn:uuid:52d915c2-5216-40b9-9179-c800dabee443> | http://kotaku.com/5957387/no-headline | en | 0.984698 | 0.021639 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Today's Headline at the Los Angeles Times? It Depends Where You Look
Today's (Friday December 16, 2005) Los Angeles Times appears to have delivered two different versions of "headline news" yesterday morning. The actual print edition celebrated the election in Iraq with a generous headline and a jubilant color photo (see below). However, visitors to the same morning got a different lead story.
Actual Print Edition:
Online edition ( this morning (Fri.)):
As you can see, the glorious Iraq election was relegated to a lesser status for internet viewers. Instead, online viewers this morning were given the blaring news that "Bush Folded."
Why were their two different headlines from the Times?
(HT to Doug McIntyre at KABC Los Angeles who noted this on his morning show some time between 6 am and 7:30 am PST this morning.)
Dave Pierre
Dave Pierre is a contributing writer to NewsBusters and the creator of | <urn:uuid:95785ff3-6613-4052-8031-a60d982668f8> | http://newsbusters.org/node/5244 | en | 0.948463 | 0.045537 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Seattle starlet Jinkx Monsoon made her RuPaul's Drag Race debut on Monday night and was totally beguiling.
Her primary achievement in episode 1: Coming out as narcoleptic. As Jinkx explained it (after being caught dozing on a sofa), she refuses to be ashamed of her narcolepsy and is OUT AND PROUD.
After the episode, I sent the following email to Seattle's premiere Jinkx Monsoon historian Adrian Ryan:
Is Jinkx Monsoon a narcoleptic, is Jerick Hofer a narcoleptic, or neither? (My secret dream is that he's faking it as a hilarious character trait for Jinkx, but let me know what you know.)
Adrian's reply:
oh hell no, he's totes faking it. it cracks me up.
I agree. What a way to subvert the drama of RuPaul's Drag Race and the drag world in general: Throw in a queen who may fall asleep at any moment. It's genius. GO JINKX!
(And congratulations on being named Dlisted's Hot Slut of the Day!) | <urn:uuid:bb1d2d7a-8b88-4656-b6a2-97877ec90989> | http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/30/seattles-premiere-jewish-narcoleptic-drag-queen | en | 0.918291 | 0.70831 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Walk Me
Walk Me is an advanced and versatile, yet easy to use, pedometer.
Walk Me's main features are:
-Keeps track of:
*How many steps you have taken
*How long distance you have walked
*How many calories you have burned
*Your average speed
*The time you have walked
-Keeps daily statistics which can be browsed freely and exported to a text file
-The creature, which you can make happy by walking
-Customizable interface
-Works in the background*
*Note that some devices and versions of Android turn off the accelerometer when the screen is turned off. If your phone happens to be one of these, you can use the 'Lock screen' -feature. Walk Me will not work in standby on these devices.
A free slightly limited version is also available. Just search for 'Walk Me (Free Edition)' on the Android Market.
!!!Galaxy Note has a known problem where the creatures are not visible. This is being worked on!!!
Tags: walk me , walking speed gps , star walk для , step detector , walk me orskari anttalainen , walking speed , walkme , how much did i walk , speed walked 1.57 miles how many calories did that burn
Users review
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Anti-Malware , Fraud , Phishing
Is Dridex the Most Dangerous Banking Trojan? Symantec's Haley on What Makes This Malware so Effective
Is Dridex the Most Dangerous Banking Trojan?
Kevin Haley, director, Symantec Security Response
Think spam is an ineffective way of spreading malware? Think again. Researchers at security firm Symantec say the moneymakers behind the banking Trojan Dridex are successfully infecting thousands of users worldwide on a monthly basis, purely through spam.
In a new report on Dridex, these researchers point out how stealthy spam campaigns have pushed Dridex to the top of the list among the world's most dangerous banking Trojans.
"We think Dridex is the most dangerous, mainly because of its prevalence," says Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response, where he oversees security content gathered from Symantec's Global Intelligence Network.
In the new report, released Feb. 16, Symantec notes that while overall spam rates have declined globally, Dridex attacks continue to be waged exclusively through spam, and they're primarily targeting victims in English-speaking countries.
"Overall, the spam rates globally have been going down consistently every year," says Haley in this interview with Information Security Media Group. "In fact, we hit a point where less than half of all email in 2015 was actually spam."
That's good news, he says.
"But this group, clearly, is very successful at spam, and we think a lot of that has to do with the effectiveness of their social engineering," Haley adds. "They continue to tinker and tinker and tinker to find out what works. And they've come up with a formula, and they're really being successful with it."
What's more, the number of Dridex attacks being waged through spam has increased, in spite of the overall decrease in spam, he says.
"We can see one to three different campaigns being run every single day," Haley says. "And each one of those campaigns can send out 200,000-300,000 emails."
Even though all of those emails are typical spam emails - meaning they are indiscriminate and not targeted at a specific user - they're proving effective, he says.
And because the brands being spoofed during these campaigns are being spoofed very well, unsuspecting users are falling for the spammed requests, even though the messages are not targeted.
"We are seeing about 300 different financial organizations being targeted," he says. "You have to remember that in a global economy, there is a global underground economy. So we see emails that come in that don't have typos or bad grammar. The other thing is they are very good on the subject. Most of these emails have something to do with an invoice. And the domains these emails appear to come from look dead-on correct."
During this interview (link below image above), Haley also discusses:
• Steps businesses and consumers should be taking to ensure their spam filters catch more of these spoofed emails;
• Why researchers and law enforcement are confident that the threat actors waging Dridex attacks are very skilled;
• Where law enforcement believes the group or groups behind Dridex are most likely based.
At Symantec, Haley educates customers about security issues and incorporating security content into Symantec's enterprise and consumer product lines. Haley also serves as the technical advisor for the Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR).
Around the Network | <urn:uuid:000811cd-b22b-4be6-b1f0-041d5f659000> | http://www.bankinfosecurity.co.uk/interviews/dridex-most-dangerous-banking-trojan-i-3084 | en | 0.957775 | 0.059024 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
People across Saskatoon are slowly assessing the damage from Wednesday's onslaught of high winds and higher temperatures.
A common sign on Wednesday. (CBC)
According to Environment Canada's website, the high of 7.5 C makes it the warmest Jan. 15 in Saskatoon since record keeping began in 1893.
The wind peaked with gusts of 115 kilometres-per-hour. That's not a record, but it's the highest winds in the city since the mid-80s.
Thursday morning, the city reported that many of the storm-related disruptions have been addressed.
The power was back on in the Varsity View, Sutherland Industrial, Montgomery and Queen Elizabeth neighbourhoods.
Bus service was also back to normal.
Anyone travelling downtown should watch out at the intersection of 4th Avenue South and 22nd Street. The winds knocked out windows from the Saskatoon Square tower, and officers remained on scene Thursday to keep people and traffic from the corner until workers can fix the building.
Replay the Saskatoon Morning live chat about the wind storm. | <urn:uuid:74eaf1db-4f94-4601-9678-816a12529191> | http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-cleaning-up-after-record-temps-and-strong-winds-1.2498733?cmp=rss | en | 0.919009 | 0.023203 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Front Tine Tiller Vs. Rear Tine Tiller
Choosing the right kind of tiller for your garden is an important decision. You need to consider the size of your garden and the type of gardening you do. A machine that is too small will not be able to do the job, while one that is too large for your needs will be hard to use and a waste of money. Before you decide on size, however, you will need to choose between the two types of tillers. These are front tine tillers and rear tine tillers. In addition to the placement of the tines in relation to the engine, they have some other differences you should consider.
Front Tine Tillers
Front tine tillers tend to be slightly smaller, lighter and less expensive than rear tine tillers. The tines are in front of the engine, and it is the tines biting into the soil that propels the machine along. The wheels are not driven by the engine. The tines rotate forwards, which means that the user has to constantly hold the machine back to make it chop up the soil thoroughly. Being smaller, front tine tillers don't take up a lot of storage space.
Rear Tine Tillers
Rear tine tillers are the machines used by professionals and serious gardeners. They are more expensive than front tine tillers, heavier and often have one or more forward gears, plus reverse. Some models have tines that rotate forwards, others have tines that run in the opposite direction, which are called counter rotating tines. Rear tine tillers have wheels that are driven by the engine, which means that the tines work independently of the wheels. These machines are fairly long and take up quite a bit of storage space.
How Front Tines Work
The tines of a front tine tiller have to be pushed into the soil by raising the handlebars. As the tines encounter the soil, they drag the machine forward. The user has to hold it back to get thoroughly tilled soil. This is not a problem in soil that has been worked and broken up previously, but it can require strength and effort if the soil is undisturbed sod. As the machine travels forward, if the tines grab a lump or rock the tiller will jerk forward, sometimes violently. Some models have a depth control bar that allows the user to choose the tilling depth. Some users compare using a front tine tiller with wrestling a bull by the horns.
How Rear Tines Work
The tines on a rear tine tiller are lowered into the soil to the depth chosen by the user. New ground that has not been tilled before should be tilled once with the depth control set fairly shallow. A tiller with forward rotating tines will try to buck or leap forward if it is set too deep. For tilling new, unbroken ground, a large rear tine tiller with counter rotating tines is the best choice. Because rear tine tillers are generally fairly heavy, once the depth control is correctly set, the machine quickly settles down and can be run with one hand as the user walks alongside. These tillers are usually too heavy to be lifted by one person, and sharp turns require some physical strength.
If you are starting a new garden on soil that has not been broken up, it might be worth renting a large rear tine tiller, with counter rotating tines, just to get it started. Once the soil has been thoroughly worked, you can buy a front or rear tine tiller to maintain it on a regular basis. Generally speaking, a small garden can be worked quite well with a less expensive front tine tiller, while a large garden will require less effort if you have a rear tine tiller.
Keywords: front tine tiller, rear tine tiller, counter rotating tines
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Detainee alleges abuse en route to Guantanamo
[JURIST] Benyam Mohammed [also Binyam Ahmad Muhammad], a 27-year-old Ethiopian man held at Guantanamo, claims he was tortured in Pakistan, Morocco, and Afghanistan before arriving in Cuba. While there is no independent verification for Mohammed's claims, it is not the first allegation of US-facilitated abuse in foreign countries [JURIST report] utilized in order to get around US laws against torture. Mohammed says he was not physically abused after arriving in Guantanamo. US officials have told Mohammed's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith [Wikipedia profile] that Mohammed was an associate of terror suspect Jose Padilla [Wikipedia profile], a claim Smith calls "total nonsense." He also demanded an explanation for scars on Mohammed's body, which Mohammed says were caused by the abuse [Guardian report]. Mohammed's allegations are generally similar to those made in January by now-released Australian detainee Mamdouh Habib, who said he had been transferred by the United States from Pakistan to Egypt, where he was subjected to torture by beating, electric shock, and near-drowning [JURIST report] before being sent on to Guantanamo Bay. The Washington Post has more.
About Paper Chase
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Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks play in London to advance David Stern's expansion plot
david-stern-063011.jpg NBA commissioner David Stern will attend today's Detroit Pistons-New York Knicks game in London and is likely to reiterate his recently stated stance that the league will expand into Europe within the next 20 years.
LONDON -- Today marks another central cog in National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern's grand vision of European expansion. Logistical issues aside, the Detroit Pistons are privileged to be part of it when they "host" the New York Knicks at The O2 in the third regular-season NBA game played in Europe.
Stern's vision won't reach fruition during his tenure. He is scheduled to retire next year. Yet he steadfastly sticks to his position that European expansion will happen in relatively short order, even if someone else must oversee implementation.
The questions about that implementation are exhaustive, from structure to scheduling to travel. The NBA already suffers enough from poor attendance -- look at just about any Pistons home game, or those in Milwaukee, or Charlotte, or Sacramento -- and there is ample reason to wonder how Europe will embrace the game.
The British Basketball League finished its cup championship Sunday with 7,500-plus reportedly packing a small arena in Birmingham to see the Leicester Riders win the title. That happened only a month after UK Sport rescinded basketball's £8.6 million funding ($13.8 million U.S.) for Olympic basketball development.
Riders coach Rob Paternostro, a Connecticut native, told the Daily Star after the game, "The thing about basketball in Britain is this -- we have got to get people to the game."
There are plenty of domestic NBA teams, including one playing here today, thinking the same thing.
To be sure, there are basketball hotbeds in southern Europe, particularly in places like Greece, Italy and Spain.
Here in London, you would be hard-pressed to find a middle-aged person who knows anything about the NBA and its biggest-name stars.
Conversely, you would be hard-pressed to find a child here who doesn't know who LeBron James is.
That's a product of the NBA's brilliant international marketing, including offices in several points worldwide, one of them here. The sales job is keen and directed at the audience the league wants to woo when the time is right, not the stale one set in its ways.
That's not a new marketing strategy -- anyone in that business will tell you buying habits are set early in life and the best way to build for long-term success is to build those habits from the start, not by trying to change existing habits -- but one the NBA has embraced better than most with its personality-driven sales pitch.
How that translates into European expansion remains to be seen but Stern, as recently as two weeks ago, when asked on ESPN Radio whether European expansion is likely within the next 20 years, said yes.
“I think so," Stern replied. "I think multiple NBA international teams. Twenty years from now? For sure. In Europe. No place else. In other places, I think you’ll see the NBA name on leagues and other places with marketing and basketball support but not part of the NBA as we now know it.”
Stern and his replacement-in-waiting, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, will be at the Knicks-Pistons game, scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern time, 8 p.m. locally, and both are likely to say very much the same thing again.
How it would be structured is unclear. There likely would need to be a mass expansion into Europe, something in the range of a half-dozen teams simultaneously, so as to allow U.S. teams to play most or all of their European counterparts in one trip.
That's a massive undertaking, with one possibility being to absorb some of Europe's top teams -- like Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, the Greek powers Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv -- into the league. That would provide built-in operations mechanisms and fan bases to ease the transition.
There is no professional sports league anywhere in the world better positioned for such an effort. The NBA has spent enormous resources the last two decades building the groundwork for global expansion. In Stern's timeline, that means the endeavor has reached roughly its midpoint en route to realization.
Twenty years sounds about right.
It seems the only variables are precisely when and where.
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Glasgow needs a spec savers
carver 12:51 17 Mar 13
Honestly the thing is 2ft high and some body just walked off with it enter link description here it isn't as though you can just put it in a bag or in a coat pocket and I believe you would look a bit suspicious with it shoved up your jumper.
spider9 14:58 17 Mar 13
....and some people think Scots don't have enough skills to be independent??
spuds 15:11 17 Mar 13
The thing that would concern me the most, is how a children's charity might afford £10.000 designer egg as a fund raising gimmick, and at the same time, apparently have no safeguard in action?.
The next questions: Was this a prank - Will it be on an auction website - Was this mistaken for a Cadburys egg with the fancy wrappers - Or was there a conspiracy?.
carver 16:09 17 Mar 13
spider9 thank you for making my afternoon, there is still humour out there and spuds the police have issued an identiphoto enter link description here
fourm member 16:31 17 Mar 13
Given the Scots understanding of nutrition, I'm expecting to hear about cases of fibreglass poisoning.
What does a deep-fried fibreglass Easter egg taste like?
spuds 17:16 17 Mar 13
fourm member- I was going to add similar comments, but thought that the humour or intent would not be appreciated?.
fourm member 17:47 17 Mar 13
I can't bring any of them to mind but I know I've read stories about things getting stolen because the thieves didn't realise they were fakes.
rickf 19:09 17 Mar 13
On a more serious not what has this country and it's people become. It's sad!
rickf 19:13 17 Mar 13
Meant to add that treating it with humour seems to me to excuse the culprit/s. Part of problem is society has a tendency to see the funny side of things. I do think humour has its place but not when it's outright theft and a total disrespect for others' property.
carver 19:28 17 Mar 13
rickf sometimes you have to resort to humour because other wise how do you cope with this sad world.
Woolwell 19:59 17 Mar 13
spuds - There are 101 (now 100) giant eggs the bigegghunt. I suggest that they were all donated and are due to be auctioned at the end. I don't know where it was but inside a shopping mall or shop would seem likely so safeguarding it shouldn't have been a problem.
On a lighter note has Aitchbee seen it on his bus or at the pub or bookies?
This thread is now locked and can not be replied to.
How to Draw Realistic Female Superheroes
| <urn:uuid:d080df84-27e8-4b63-89fd-60e1c87d7043> | http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forum/speakers-corner-16/glasgow-needs-spec-savers-4217446/ | en | 0.95779 | 0.042747 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Alcee Hastings on Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 in a press conference
Florida set off yet another firestorm about voting rights in May when state elections officials forwarded a list to counties of about 2,700 potential noncitizens who illegally registered to vote.
The state told county election supervisors to contact the residents and ask them to supply proof of citizenship. If the voters failed to comply, they’d be removed from the voter rolls within one or two months.
A partisan war broke out: Democrats cried foul that this was directed by Republican Gov. Rick Scott and just happening months before a presidential election. Republican leaders pointed out that it’s a felony for noncitizens to vote. A Miami Herald analysis determined that there were more Democrats than Republicans on the list and that about 58 percent were Hispanic.
The U.S. Department of Justice ordered the state to halt its noncitizen purge on May 31. A DOJ lawyer argued that Florida was violating federal law including the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Gov. Rick Scott is fighting the DOJ’s demand.
A few days before the feds intervened, two Democratic congressmen from South Florida -- Alcee Hastings and Ted Deutch -- held a press conference with a voter flagged by the state: Bill Internicola, a Brooklyn-born World War II vet, who had voted for decades and is a Democratic voter in Davie, a town in Broward County.
Before the press conference officially started, Hastings asked Internicola if the Broward Supervisor of Elections had mailed him a stamped envelope to send back his proof of citizenship. The answer: no. That led Hastings to say this during the press conference:
The process for documentation for those on the list
The Florida Division of Elections started with a list of about 180,000 potential noncitizen voters based on drivers’ license data, which is not updated when someone later becomes a citizen. The state sent an initial batch of about 2,700 names to counties.
From there, county election supervisors mailed out letters asking the potential noncitizens to send back documentation proving U.S. citizenship (a copy of a birth certificate or passport, for example). Miami-Dade, the county with the highest number of voters on the list, did not provide an envelope while neighboring Broward County provided an envelope but no stamp.
Florida division of elections spokesman Chris Cate said the voters could respond to their county supervisor in a number of ways including in person, mail, email or fax.
"We have an obligation to ensure the integrity of Florida’s elections, and making sure the voter rolls are accurate is a crucial part of upholding the integrity of our elections," Cate said.
Some voters with access to a fax and a copy machine could have completed the process for free (or for the cost of the paper). For those who had to buy a 45-cent stamp and make copies or deliver it in person requiring gas and parking, we figure the cost for some could be less than $1 or up to $3.
History of the poll tax
We interviewed 14 professors about the poll tax and Hastings’ claim. We also read this article by California Institute of Technology Professor Morgan Kousser and portions of a book about the history of voting rights by Harvard history professor Alex Keyssar. We also consulted our False ruling of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-Weston) claim that compared GOP-backed voting bills to Jim Crow.
Poll taxes referring to a tax on each male head had been around in various forms for many years, but after Reconstruction it was taken to mean a tax required to vote. Florida adopted one in 1889.
Southern states passed these poll taxes to raise revenue for state governments and to prevent poor blacks and poor whites from voting. Some experts described it as a concerted effort to halt blacks from voting while others said it was more a matter of class power.
"It wasn’t so much a matter of racial discrimination -- it was a matter of class power," Keyssar said in an interview. "Black people were tenants and workers."
Some states required poll taxes to be paid several months before an election and required voters to bring a receipt to vote -- further barriers to voting. The poll tax was effective because at $1 to $2, that was a significant amount of a person’s cash income.
The effect on turnout was significant. During the presidential races in the 1880s, black turnout in Georgia, which had the poll tax, was less than half of that in Florida, Kousser said.
It’s somewhat difficult to pinpoint the number disenfranchised by the poll tax or other voting restrictions. But Kousser said the poll tax disenfranchised millions in the South.
"It was more than any other single device responsible for fastening white supremacy on the South for 70 years or so," Kousser said.
Southern states starting repealing the poll tax in the 1930s including Florida. The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1964 barred poll taxes in national elections and two years later the Supreme Court in Harper vs. Virginia barred them in state elections under the Equal Protection Clause.
How is it the same or different than poll tax
We asked experts on the poll tax and elections if they agreed with Hastings analogy and found no consensus. Some experts agreed with Hastings at least in part -- one professor said he’d start to use the same comparison.
"If voters, as a practical matter, are required to spend money out of their own pocket -- even a relatively small amount -- in order to prove their eligibility and therefore vote, then it's functionally equivalent to the poll tax," wrote Daniel Tokaji, election law professor at Ohio State University.
But other experts saw key differences in the poll tax and Florida’s recent potential noncitizen voter purge. One expert cautioned us that this is a partisan issue and that it might be difficult for PolitiFact to reach a factual conclusion.
"To most Democrats, what Hastings says is self-evidently true: Yes, it’s a back-door poll tax. They are trying to make it harder for poor people to vote," wrote Michael Klarman, a Harvard law professor who identified himself as a Democrat in an email. "Most Republicans would deny this, and I think they truly believe what they are saying: They are trying to eliminate or reduce vote fraud. Most Democrats don’t acknowledge that such fraud exists."
Here are the arguments for how the noncitizen voter documentation effort and the poll tax are the same:
Both disproportionately affected minorities: The poll tax reduced the number of blacks who could vote. Florida’s potential noncitizen voter list was 58 percent Hispanic, 14 percent black and 13 percent white.
"Thus, Rep. Hastings' term, ‘a backdoor poll tax,’ is accurate as it applies to blacks as a group, because still today blacks have a lower median income than whites. Granted, it is not as onerous monetarily as the tax was back in the sixties, but it is still a tax that imposes a heavier burden, proportionally, on blacks than whites," said Chandler Davidson, a sociology professor at Rice University.
Requiring extra steps for voters is a burden: Voters often had to show their receipt to vote under the poll tax which is analogous to the potential noncitizens having to present documents at elections’ offices in advance of voting.
Both require at least some voters to pay to vote: In the case of the poll tax, it applied to all men but in reality was a burden for poor blacks and whites. Florida’s recent noncitizen voter purge required some residents to provide proof of citizenship which meant a cost for many to mail in documentation, make copies or drive and possibly pay to park at an elections office. Note this category also includes a difference: The poll tax applied to all while the recent purge applied to few.
Now, how it is different.
The cost for voters: The poll tax of between $1-$2 was a significant sum for blacks and poor whites at the time. The cost of a stamp and making a copy of a birth certificate today is less than the cost of the poll tax instituted more than 100 years ago.
"Now, when Mr. Hastings says potential voters might be disfranchised by having to buy a stamp, I say, ‘Give me a break!’ That is absurd," wrote East George College history professor T. Adams Upchurch. "To put it in perspective, my home state of Mississippi levied its poll tax in 1890 at $2. That was tantamount to Florida voters today having to pay about $200 for the privilege of voting. Poor people could absolutely and rightly claim discrimination if that were the case. But a stamp? Please."
Numbers: The poll tax disenfranchised the majority of black residents as well as poor whites -- one professor said it disenfranchised about two-fifths of voters. The noncitizen voter drive affected a very small percentage of Florida’s electorate -- even if the state had continued to send names from the list of 180,000 that would be less than 2 percent of the overall nearly 11.3 million voters in Florida.
Right to vote: Poor blacks and whites should have had a right to vote. In the current Florida case, noncitizens don’t have the right to vote -- it’s a felony. We haven’t heard anyone argue that noncitizens should get to cast a ballot -- the controversy is that there were errors on the list -- many were citizens. And some critics say that some voters simply didn’t get the letter or would be discouraged from responding. Since the many of those who received the letters didn’t respond to elections officials and the state was working with outdated information, it’s unclear if the majority on the list are citizens or not.
• Every expense associated with voting isn’t a poll tax: Many voters drive to the polls to vote -- the cost of gas isn’t a poll tax. In the noncitizen case, a stamp isn’t the only way to deliver the form -- someone might get a ride from a friend and drop it off.
We sent Hastings’ office our list of similarities and differences and asked if they wanted to respond and did not hear back.
Our ruling
After Broward residents received letters asking them to submit documentation proving their citizenship in order to vote, Hastings described it as a "backdoor poll tax" because they had to buy a stamp to mail in the documents.
Hastings is correct that there are some similarities between the poll tax and Florida’s recent search for noncitizen voters. The most important similarity is that minorities in both cases were disproportionately affected. And in both cases, it added costs and burdens to vote.
"Any effort to introduce an election procedure that requires some voters to incur financial costs could be thought of as a metaphoric or perhaps real poll tax," Keyssar said.
But there are some important differences including that the poll tax had a far more widespread effect than Florida’s search for noncitizen voters. While poor black sharecroppers couldn’t afford the poll tax, the issue for some of the Florida voters may be more of the inconvenience than the expense.
We rate this claim Half True. | <urn:uuid:219edc68-0383-4c16-9cca-dc52d895d94c> | http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2012/jun/07/alcee-hastings/us-rep-hastings-says-floridas-noncitizen-voter-pur/ | en | 0.969875 | 0.040925 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Employer Paid Annual Physical
Jun 4, 2012
I work for a semi-governmental agency that provides (mandates) annual physical exams for their leadership teams. My question is, how protected am I? If I disclose information about my status, will/can that be provided to my employer. I am a white collar employee that is not in the medical field. I know that my employer will not allow me to go to any out of the country assignments due to my condition, but how much should I worry about what I decide to share. Is it legal for the clinic to disclose information to my employer? I'm really worried.
Response from Mr. Chambers
What is the reason for the exam? Is this something every employee is required to do every year? Is it for the benefit of the employer or is it considered a "perk" to the employer? Is there something about your job that would warrant the need to make sure you are in good health?The answers to those will give you an idea of what information the employer is looking for.
It sounds as if you may travel out of the country frequently for your work. If so, physical exam or not, you may want to be very careful about traveling to countries that blatantly discriminate, especially if you travel with medications. Assuming your agency falls under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they may have to make reasonable accommodation for you that would avoid traveling to certain countries.
Before any doctor, including one hired by your employer, can release your medical information to anyone, other than another doctor as part of your treatment, you must sign a release. Medical confidentiality was made even more secure through the federal law, HIPAA. If you don't sign a release, the doctor cannot, under federal law, release any information to your employer.
If you are asked to sign a release, read it carefully. If it gives your employer access to the results of your exam, you should question what the exam is for. I know that alone raise red flags. Being quasi-government, this physical requirement should be due to a written policy. Check the employee handbook to see if there is a mention there. If you are part of a bargaining unit, even if white collar, check with your guild or union, because they would have agreed to it.
It is important, however, that you not lie on the exam or to the doctor. That, in itself, is usually grounds for termination.
I hope this helps some. If not, write back with more details, and I'll try to help more.
Good luck, Jacques
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Varietals - Syrah
Deep in color, and a rather lush, full-bodied red wine with conflicting flavors of blueberry and an animal-like aroma and flavor. Bacon fat, smoky and earthy are used also to describe this grape no matter where it is grown.
It is very fussy about yields and when appropriately pruned will make a powerful wine. A little less pruning makes a dramatic difference in the wine causing it to become much lighter and losing a lot of its character in the process.
Australia and Syrah (it labeled Shiraz) are now almost synonymous. Its finest red wines come from this one grape. As with life, Australians seem to try and outdo each other with this grape as many are as big a wine as is imaginable. Syrah from here takes a turn seldom seen elsewhere with the use of new oak and for an appreciable amount of time. So, along with the typical smoke, bacon, currant and earth flavors are the sweet vanilla components and spiciness of oak. Unique for sure and very popular. Conversely, Syrah also accounts for many of Australia's inexpensive and everyday offerings when grown under higher yields and lesser areas. While these versions are no match for the big boys, they still account for the country's best values.
Very popular with both winemakers and the consumer where it has enjoyed incredible growth, especially in Santa Barbara where many of the finest examples are made. Added to the typical smoky and earthy components is an engaging ripe plum and cranberry amalgam that causes it to be compared to its Northern Rhone brethren. Napa and Sonoma have made their share of examples, but few growers are willing to sacrifice their Cabernet cash cow for the superb, but admittedly less popular, Syrah.
The Northern Rhone villages of Côte Rotie and Hermitage are considered the holy grail of Syrah. Cornas is a close second and St. Joseph and worthy contender. The best are very big wines with enough smoke to start a three alarm fire and aging potential for decades. At times the tannin levels can get a little out of balance, but generally the Northern Rhone produces the worlds best examples of this grape. Syrah plays a relatively small role in the Southern Rhone and always as a supporting player with the more highly regarded Grenache in Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas.
A few experimenters have played with it, almost exclusively in Tuscany and with great success, but it has a way to go to compete with the other French favorites, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The few stand alone from top producers can be compared to the best from California, France and Australia.
South Africa
As with Australia, a very popular red grape and is also similarly labeled Shiraz. Produces some of this country's best red wine. Normally not as dense and imposing or with as much oak as the Australian version, but still delivering the heady components of the grape.
South America
Argentina has made impressive inroads with the grape and may establish its best reputation with it.
United States
Washington is the only state to even come close to comparing with California. While gaining in popularity, it still plays a distant third to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. | <urn:uuid:debb08f5-5a14-4c7f-ab12-f5eafb6ce47e> | http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com/product/Syrah | en | 0.95949 | 0.044823 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
If you were here I'd accept defeat
with my head held high, and I could meet
my enemies with brave words and a smile,
and come out of hiding, if just for a while.
But no. You're elsewhere - and I am scared;
too frightened to try; too frightened to dare
to attempt to leave my comfort zone,
or escape the iron safety of home.
I can no longer hear your voice in my head,
or even remember the words that you said
when you cared
and I was brave
and it was different. | <urn:uuid:ef4d1ac9-575d-4d7e-9736-6b70c56ebc19> | https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2898560/1/Elsewhere | en | 0.98382 | 0.095118 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
• transitive v. Physics To limit the possible values of (a magnitude or quantity) to a discrete set of values by quantum mechanical rules.
• transitive v. Physics To apply quantum mechanics or the quantum theory to.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
• v. To limit the number of possible values of a quantity, or states of a system, by applying the rules of quantum mechanics
• v. To approximate a continuously varying signal by one whose amplitude can only have a set of discrete values
• v. approximate (a signal varying continuously in amplitude) by one whose amplitude is restricted to a prescribed set of discrete values
Sorry, no etymologies found.
| <urn:uuid:6b4786b1-d6bf-457e-89c8-167b6da2b961> | https://www.wordnik.com/words/quantize | en | 0.827503 | 0.024022 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Some more ACW!
Well, my pots of grey and blue paint are running low! I've been painting ACW for a a while now and there is no end in sight.... well, actually maybe after Nashcon at the end of May I'll be able to take a break. At the moment I'm adding a few more units for a Shiloh game I'm running with John Hill to promote his new rules "Across A Deadly Field". I'm painting a 25mm Frontier Figures CSA infantry unit (17th AL) and I also ordered some Sash and Saber figures (mounted officers and the 14th Brooklyn). The castings are wonderful and I'll post some pics of those figures as soon as I'm finished. Here are some pics of the odds and ends I've been painting.
Confederate prisoners captured after the first days fighting at Shiloh. 28mm Dixon figures
Some Union engineers start on some entrenchments. Well, one man is working and the other is "supervising".
Some CSA engineers start on some works in front of an old farmhouse.
A 10mm USA officer. I'm simultaneously working on a 10mm Shiloh project! | <urn:uuid:de92f6ec-f288-477d-bc02-25de7506d6b1> | http://cigarboxheroes.blogspot.com/2014/04/some-more-acw.html | en | 0.969142 | 0.023613 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Friday, July 17, 2009
TGIF - Warning, It Gets Rando...
Well, I made it through another work week. I'm not sure how, but the reasoning is much less important than the success of the situation. With the busy second half of the week, I have yet to begin work on my promised "best of" which will be basically best-in-slot gear for different raid tiers. The way I will set it up I will make sure that you get enough hit (as a horde and assuming a spriest/boomkin) and then look at the amount of haste/sp you would have at that point.
Another thing I want to work on is somewhat of a resto shaman guide. I know that a couple people have voiced their frustrations to me about some different aspects of it. What you have to understand right now is that we are better single target healers in a lot of situations, letting ancestral awakening heal someone else for part of the crit. Until I get around to it, there are some other guides to read like ensidia's mek. He and I seem to agree on the current situation resto shaman are in, and the fact that in patch 3.2, things aren't gonna put us in much of a different situation -- there are some good things and some bad. I think if I can send myself a copy of all the shaman patch notes from home I will work on getting out a positive/negative post on how they aren't actually fixing us (cue sarcastic,"Yay, 12.5 yards on chain heal..." -- This isn't really going to fix much at all, I was looking for at least 15 since so many fights in Ulduar require spreading out so much)
In guild news: We had probably one of the worst ever nights of raiding, half of which I'm glad I didn't participate in. One of our tanks had work till 10, so we weren't getting back into Yogg-1 until he got back on. To keep people online, as officers we decided to take requests on old 25 man runs -- well some people did anyway, I have my limits. First we did a 25-VOA which took all of 5 min even with only 20 people in the raid and one of those afk at the entrance. So, to keep people on for later, we asked what people would like to do -- Maly-25 or 3d-sarth-25 were the continual answers. The deciding votes went to Maly-25 and I went afk, cause I hate maly. It doesn't matter how good your gear is in phase 3, when you forget how to do the fight things get fail. Luckily, I was playing cod4 and had vent on my speakers. It sounded like the worst thing ever. It eventually started to piss off our mt that people either couldn't remember or didn't know how to do things so he made the decision to roll over to a sarth 3d. This I was up for, it's easy and people still need Illustration and the Pennant Cloak. I was flying over when everyone else was inside when someone pulled the left side group onto the group while the mt was getting a drink. Needless to say, all the frustration from Maly-25 boiled over and we just sat and waited until our tank got back from work.
Now, I don't know if all this fail led to all the fail attempts at yogg, but it was possibly the worst I'd ever seen it. We only made it to phase 3 once in 2hrs -- granted, we called for a lot of wipes early that we could have made it there, but that means out of about 12-15 attempts, we only had one good p2. Embarrassing for a group of people who come in and one shot yogg most of the time. The worst part is Sunday is our weak attendance night, and normally a weaker group, so our holy pally is worried about seeing his legendary this week. We even have tried enticing people saying that when this is over, we can just go for hardmodes... Who knows when it will be over though I suppose.
That seems like a lot of qq and hate, so I'm gonna pick it up by talking about how awesome I am. If interrupting the shadow volley on yogg was a competition, it still wouldn't be, I get the interrupts when the melee are on him, I get the interrupts as he goes/gets to Sara. Unfortunately, I think that my ability to interrupt has caused others with an interrupt to forget that there is something to use it on -- since I'm not always focused on every target (I know, what a nub right? Well, suck it, cuz I'm just only so good) some happen to go off when I'm not around, aka killing the adds on yogg, cuz, lets not forget that through all this interrupting, I'm the sickest ele shaman you might ever meet. I chuck lightning bolts from my hands, ass, and eyes. It looks weird at first, but you get used to it and the 5k I do while just running around shocking and slangin' that hate. Yea yea, you do more than that, well screw you, moving hurts me and my dps and thats all I do in p1, now relax before I take your mother out for a nice seafood dinner.
I feel myself getting a little silly, probably because as I'm writing this I am checking in for my flight back to where I went to school (U of Michigan, bring the boos you haters -- and if any of my fan base is from Ohio, well, nm they don't have internet there I don't think) for a little bit of golfing and a lot of partying. I might be getting to old for this, I'll know Monday when I come to work while it feels like someone shot my liver and punched me in the kidneys all weekend.
Enjoy your weekend, do something useful -- start getting the old school rep towards the insane or some new mounts, do a couple old world test towards your loremaster, run some bg's and pwn the people with less than 20k health (They are generally pve geared), or just sit on the bank sign in org (personal fav).
You know you're addicted to WoW when your microwave goes ding and you say, "GRATZ!!"
-B rab
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Post a Comment | <urn:uuid:a928c294-59b8-4260-8814-2e589aa73e69> | http://imahybrid.blogspot.com/2009/07/tgif-warning-it-gets-rando.html | en | 0.980551 | 0.035522 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Henning: Terrariums good way to lighten up winter
Posted: Wednesday, December 20, 2000
Wintertime can be somewhat depressing. We get up in the dark, go to work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then turn around and come home in the dark. If you're lucky, you might get a chance to steal away a few hours in the sun over the weekend to take care of outdoor chores. But if you're like I am, its much easier to be happy when you have something new growing.
Growing Places
more Henning columns
If you own a greenhouse, the opportunities are limitless, but what about the rest of us. Do you have an old fish tank, a cider jug or any other transparent glass or plastic container? If so, you're well on your way to gardening in a terrarium. Terrariums are like mini-greenhouses; they can be used to start transplants, or even to grow a miniature landscape. The true terrarium is tightly closed, but as long as it's clear, almost any type of container may be used.
Many plants are suitable for growing in terrariums. However, plants that don't need a lot of light, and have a low, dense growth habit are usually preferred. Plants like begonia, creeping fig, club moss, English ivy, pothos, pink polka dot, philodendron, Irish moss, spider plant, and Venus fly trap will all grow well inside a terrarium.
Most terrarium plants have a medium light requirement. These plants will grow best when the terrarium is located within several feet of a bright window, but not in direct sun.
Soil for terrariums must be high in organic matter, clean and well-drained. Sterile growing media that are high in peat moss and pine bark work well. These soilless growing media are available at most any garden center.
If you're wondering how people plant a terrarium, it's really quite simple. In general, the bottom quarter of the container will be filled with pea gravel or aquarium gravel for drainage. Next, a 12 inch layer of horticultural charcoal is placed above the pebbles to prevent the soil from developing a sour smell. Then dry soil is added to a depth of at least 112 inches. Rocks and wood are the last addition before planting.
When it comes to planting, plants should be placed so that the top of the root ball is level with the top of the soil. If you're having trouble planting a container with a small opening, try digging holes with a pointed stick and use slender tongs or a stick with a wire loop on the end to place plants. After a plant has been placed in the hole simply fill in and firm the soil gently using a long stick with a cork on the end.
After planting, mist to clean soil sticking to leaves or the sides of the container. The water from the mist should be sufficient to settle the soil and provide moisture. Mist again the next day. The water level at the bottom should not exceed a quarter inch. Keep the container uncovered until the leaves completely dry, then apply the cover if you have one.
The closed terrarium probably will not need to be watered for four to six months. Open terrariums need occasional watering, but not as often as other house plants. However, waterings should always be light.
Even in these the darkest days of winter, the greenery of plants growing in a terrarium can bring a ray of springtime cheer.
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Rediff News All News » Sports » NZ happy with security arrangements for Delhi Games
NZ happy with security arrangements for Delhi Games
March 21, 2010 16:40 IST
New Zealand chef-de-mission for 2010 Commonwealth Games Dave Currie on Sunday gave a thumbs-up to the security arrangements for the October 3-14 mega-event in Delhi.
Currie, who visited the CWG venues and Games village during the recent Chef-de-Mission seminar in Delhi, said he was happy after watching the arrangements in venues, including the February 28-March 13 Hockey World Cup.
"I went there pretty grumpy and somewhat cynical, thinking 'you guys are going to have to work hard to convince me' and, by and large, they did," Currie was quoted as saying by New Zealand Herald.
Currie was also happy after seeing the security blanket at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium - where the world Cup Hockey took place.
"The World Cup hockey security started a bit scratchily, but after a week it was impressive.
"For example, going to the stadium meant your first stop was about 800 metres away. Mean-looking commando-type dudes were always parading around. There was a higher level of visible security than I've seen anywhere," Currie said.
"And let's face it; the risk of not doing it is enormous when you consider the Cricket World Cup is there early next year," Currie added.
"It's not to say other devices mightn't go off in Delhi and around India because that happens quite often around soft targets. But I am more comforted that they're working hard on it. The level of security for the risk is appropriate now. However, in six months you don't know what might happen," Currie said.
"Bags were checked thoroughly. Transport was manned by security and there were forces in front and behind. Police were also 'parting the Red Sea' at intersections. However, I can't imagine Delhi residents will find it that easy to get around when roads are closed," he added.
Meanwhile, Kiwi coach Shane McLeod and shooting team manager Laurie Gray were also of the opinion that security was under control in the city.
"Waiting in Perth, Australia, was actually the worst part of the trip because of the anticipation. However the security fulfilled expectations and I think the organisers would have learnt a lot because teams like Canada and England could be pretty demanding.
"There was a visible presence. When we left the hotel there wasn't too much screening but when we returned there were plenty of metal detectors. It was always a worry organisers wouldn't live up to their word but at this stage I'd have no hesitation going back," McLeod said.
Gray expressed satisfaction about the way they were treated in the city during the seminar.
"We have issues to deal with every time we travel around the world, due to the paperwork associated with firearms, but the five athletes we took (to the test event) were treated like royalty," Gray said.
| <urn:uuid:db6b8f93-1e62-4ffb-9760-a8dcc1e41e58> | http://sports.rediff.com/report/2010/mar/21/currie-new-zealand-happy-with-security-arrangements-for-delhi-games.htm | en | 0.987249 | 0.018526 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Scary Movie 5 Official TRAILER #2 - Charlie Sheen, Ashley Tisdale Movie
movieclips movieclipstrailers movieclips movieclipsDOTcom movieclipscomingsoon zedison zefr "scary movie" "scary movie 5" "sequel" "charlie Sheen" "lindsay Lohan" "kate walsh" "Ashely Tisdale" "Terry Crews" "Jerry O'Connell" "Heather Locklear" "kat Williams" "Molly Shannon" "Mike Tyson" "Audrina Patridge" "Kendra Wilkenson" "Malcolm D. Lee" "funny movie" "scary sequel" "paranormal activity" "horror spoof" "saw spoof" "evil dead spoof" spoof | <urn:uuid:0a69f262-ff0b-4b62-b6ae-602a14ad9705> | http://tucson.com/scary-movie-official-trailer/youtube_391bd038-9f33-11e2-8269-001a4bcf887a.html | en | 0.794318 | 0.416902 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Monday, October 24, 2011
Google To Finance Yahoo Bidders
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Message Text: Google has reportedly spoken to private equity firms about possibly helping them finance a deal to buy Yahoo, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
However, although Google and partners have held preliminary discussions but have not come up with a formal proposal, and Google may end up deciding not to pursue a bid, the paper added.
Representatives of Google have not commecnted on the report.
Google could be interested in selling some advertising across Yahoo's websites. However, any potential deal between the two biggest Internet companies would arouse antitrust scrutiny.
Microsoft is also considering financing part of a bid for Yahoo by a private equity firm, the WSJ added.
Last month Yahoo fired CEO Carol Bartz and has been seeking for a new CEO. Ms Bartz had made significant changes to the management team and cut jobs to save on costs. She also shifted the focus of the traditionally search-oriented firm towards more personalised content. However, Yahoo! had not seen enough of a turnaround under Ms Bartz's leadership, since the company has has failed to make significant strides in search and social networking.
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the Degree Confluence Project
India : Karnātaka
9.5 km (5.9 miles) S of Mūdbidri, Karnātaka, India
Approx. altitude: 68 m (223 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest Multimap world confnav)
Antipode: 13°S 105°W
#2: Looking South from 13N75E #3: Me soaked wet in the middle of nowhere !! #4: Looking East from 13N75E #5: X marks the target!!
13°N 75°E (visit #1)
#1: Looking West from 13N75E
(visited by Amaresh chamkura, B G Pereira, Sunita Pereira, Sonia Pereira and Severine Pereira)
01-May-2004 -- This was my first "hunt" for a confluence point. It was successful, thanks in large to Mr. B.G.Pereira who was instrumental in helping find the confluence point. The point was about 25 kilometers at a place called Iruvail village close to Moodabidri (about 15 miles from the place where we stayed, called kateel). Our plan was to get a fair idea of the locality before we set out on the actual hunt. So we went on a surveying spree the previous day and realized that the confluence point was in the middle of a forest on a hill. There was a road where we could stop our car, my GPS showed the point to be 1.5 miles from the road. We decided to come the next day and catch those sweet numbers on my GPS the next day.
Day 2 turned out to be quite an adventure. What looked like bright sunny day when we set out from home turned out to be a really wet day (for which frankly we were not prepared). So it was all hunky dory until we reached the road, parked the car in the side and were about to set out to the point’s thought it was a piece of cake walking a mile and half, thanks to the sudden downpour, it made the adventure even more memorable. There were some rice fields that we had to cross initially; it started to rain heavily once we crossed the fields. We were soaking wet from head to toe. The GPS led us to the foot of a hill and the compass was pointing uphill. Here apparently we met a local who advised us that there was nothing beyond the point only forest and that it was dangerous. We were totally discouraged by his words. However My father-in-law offered to engage the guy in sweettalk, while I slipped into the forest.
I still had about a mile to go into the forest. I had quite a time trying to reach the point since there was no path and I had to clamber over in the forest terrain. The GPS was showing the spot to be only a few meters but I felt like it was miles!! I had to actually climb up the hill and then climb down, since the spot was on the other side. As I started to climb downhill (slipping many times due to some loose gravel!!)I realized my GPS showed 'em the magic numbers! Took the mandatory pictures(it was still raining when I took the pictures) and returned basking in the glory of a hunted confluence point!!
All pictures
#1: Looking West from 13N75E
#2: Looking South from 13N75E
#4: Looking East from 13N75E
#5: X marks the target!!
ALL: All pictures on one page (broadband access recommended) | <urn:uuid:c4e1e1ed-8981-4e32-b32a-5110e6b34e72> | http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=13&lon=75 | en | 0.969205 | 0.032528 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Topics - Jesse James
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TV-9D9 / Star Wars Rebels - Season One (Spoilers)
« on: October 6, 2014, 02:47 PM »
This is on the WatchDisneyXD App, and I watched it over the weekend...
There are spoilers here if you're waiting for it to be on TV or can't watch it so beware, more or less.
I did NOT like this episode as much as the previous one. There was some darkness with the implication that the weapon they were after does nasty things to living beings, but the idea a simple rifle can shoot and bring down a walker? Kinda lame.
Likewise, how'd the Empire have and use these on Zeb's species, but now need prototypes to mass produce them? They had them before, and used them to put down a species more or less!
I felt like the pacing was a little goofy, and 3PO and R2 were really crowbarred into it IMO.
I did like I guess why they were there, and where they ultimately wound up, and how there are more to the rebellion (and more powerful groups obviously) than our main characters.
I didn't loathe this episode by any means, but it just wasn't as good as I was hoping.
I liked the Capt. Rex cameo though, and I'm all the more happy I own a Starspeeder toy sized to action figures. :)
Oh, one more thing, the alien animation is thus far a good deal more redundant than it was in TCW... I know that's a thing the animators try to overcome as a series goes on but it's been way too noticeable so far. They really need to diversify their alien character library they can go to. The Aqualish all wearing the same jacket is getting old.
1:6 Scale Figures and Collectibles / SS 1/6 TIE Pilot
« on: July 22, 2014, 04:15 PM »
And another 1/6 Imperial Trooper teased today... Now the TIE Pilot, which is must-have to me, is being teased. I may order this fellow out of the gate. :)
Frankly, unless the SS one is vastly superior, I love the Hasbro one and I'd be going that option. It's cheap, but was scaled pretty spot-on (despite for years the 4" one being way too large).
I've told myself I'd only buy Bossk and "Militaries" figures from Sideshow, and then barely any PT stuff... all OT.
Sideshow is making me think I need to reconsider that because I can't afford even all the OT stuff they're putting out, as great as it looks. There's just tons of it!
Just a heads up that Sideshow will be revealing apparently a behemoth Darth Vader figure at Comic-Con in a couple weeks. Should make JesseVader go crazy. :)
1:6 Scale Figures and Collectibles / SS 1/6 C-3P0
« on: July 14, 2014, 03:33 PM »
Just teased, but Sideshow is revealing a 1/6 C-3P0 at SDCC in a couple weeks.
Watto's Junk Yard / Regional Pop (Soda) You Love?
« on: July 9, 2014, 09:31 PM »
Saw this mentioned in an article, and it got me thinking... Is there regional pop you love? Maybe you didn't even know it was a regional thing?
Cherikee Red's gotta take the cake for most racist soda in my neck of the woods. It's good stuff though, and hails from out east a ways, but I still consider it pretty regional.
Very regional is a bottling company about 20 mins from where I live called Natrona Bottling, which still sells pop in glass pop-top bottles. The flavors are heavy, and the carbonation isn't a mechanical process like most are now. They actually bought old carbonating machines to do things old school. Pricey, but love it.
Tried and true Faygo is still big here... Not just for the Juggalo either. Love the black cherry.
I love micro-brew beers, but I've found almost every place making its own beer makes its own root beer too, and so I also love to sample the thick syrupy micro-root beers around here too. I'll even buy a growler, but that stuff can make you sick if you hit it too hard. It's a diabetic nightmare.
1:6 Scale Figures and Collectibles / 1/6 Bomb Disposal Clone
« on: July 7, 2014, 08:57 PM »
I used to think my Hasbro Clones took up a lotta space but then... yeah...
Clicky and enjoy!
I dig how he comes with the clippers, the bomb, and the pack. Pretty slick little extras.
Jocasta's Reading Room / Original Trilogy Storyboards
« on: May 14, 2014, 10:54 PM »
It's on its way to my house... Time for some good insightful stuff. :)
1:6 Scale Figures and Collectibles / 1/6 R2-D2 Coming Soon
« on: April 28, 2014, 08:47 PM »
R2-D2 is now on the way, and wow did that Teaser Video leave you wanting more!
Looks like some kind of, at the very least, magnetic doors to open up... I'm wondering if there isn't a good deal of metal on him though, and the magnet was that little tool they were using to open his panels?
That's pretty awesome if he's largely made of metal though. I love stuff like that.
This one looks to be pricey though... But still you'd think they'd be able to re-use him a good deal, so maybe like the Battledroids, he won't be too bad on the wallet.
Wave 3 at my K-mart now...
K-Mart got TONS of Wave 1 in, but over time (not all at once)... Almost all have sold through, at all the stores I hit.
K-Mart by me got at least 2 cases of Wave 2... Again, almost all gone.
K-Mart got Wave 3 in today. I expect the same thing.
My point is, people need to start faulting retail a ****load more for their over-ordering (or not changing DPCI's, or not supporting the line at all), rather than faulting Hasbro for stuff... I know that's the "in thing" to do, but seriously... Case assortments weren't GREAT, but at the same time, perhaps in a non-movie year, retail should be held somewhat accountable... If K-Mart can do it, why can't Wal-Mart? Or Target? They can too. TRU would be in bigger trouble if not for sales... which again, where are WM and Target on that front?
Other Collectibles / Star Wars Mini-Skateboards (Tech Deck)
« on: March 10, 2014, 05:18 AM »
Because if it exists, it must have Star Wars licensed versions of it, now "Tech Deck" mini-skateboards are licensed to put Star Wars characters on them.
I have to say the art was kinda neat. They're something I sadly have looked at over the years. The boys used to want them, and they annoyed the **** out of their mother and I, but I saw a purpose...
The purpose was that Tech Deck USED to make some elaborate sets to play with that were replicas of skate parks, and they're about action figure scaled... Sets of staircases, etc. I bought many on clearance and some looked great for displaying figures around out of the box, others take work. Others went better with my military figures.
Anyway, long story short, I loved the sets... Wouldn't it be neat if they made Star Wars locations you could play with your Star Wars Tech Deck on? Like a Mos Eisley empty Hutt Swimming Pool playet? Or a Coruscant rail you could slide along or fall 9,000,000 stories to your death if you missed it? Nothing quite like playset teases.
These were spotted at a local Pittsburgh Target by moi, and they're neat looking but I bought none. I'm sure Jeff wants a Han figure skating around on that Han board though. :D
1:6 Scale Figures and Collectibles / 1/6 Geonosian Battle Droid Sets
« on: February 19, 2014, 05:26 AM »
SS is pulling out all the stops with the Geonosian variation of the Battle Droids. A 2-pack of troopers, and a Commander with a holographic Count Dooku stand that lights up? $130 for each set, but 2 figures or a figure and a great accessory is pretty cheap for Sideshow stuff.
I was not going to get many PT army builders but these I may pick up eventually to compliment the few Clones I do pick up.
Star Wars Rebels / Star Wars Hero Series X-Wing
« on: February 15, 2014, 01:57 PM »
A 30" X-Wing was shown, listed as a "Hero Vehicle". Not compatible with 4" or 6" lines though... Interesting.
30" sounds like it might be damn close to being compatible with the 4" line though. Have to crunch numbers. If it's looking good, it's a good base for customs perhaps? I'll wait and see.
Sounds like it's mostly just a way to put a big vehicle into kids hands that isn't too complex. I'm intrigued!
Other Collectibles / Star Wars "Command" - Lil Plastic Army Men Line
« on: February 15, 2014, 01:55 PM »
Basically Hasbro's trying the "little plastic army men" idea in the line...
Didn't Hasbro already try these? Between mini-Unleashed, and the original Clone Wars 3-packs? ???
Star Wars Rebels / Star Wars Rebels "Mission Series" 2-Packs
« on: February 15, 2014, 01:54 PM »
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Trent's lot and the Cardinal's sin: A tale of two denials | To the poetic minded, Sen. Trent Lott's accidental outing as a terminal good ol' boy on the 100th birthday of Strom Thurmond, the South's eldest member of that particular and peculiar club, had the assuaging effect of a perfectly rhymed couplet.
Where better to expose oneself as belonging to another century than at the centennial celebration of a man whose decaying physicality spoke metaphors about the racist ideas he once espoused. Watching Thurmond sitting there, faded and oblivious to his own presence, buzzards circled in the mind's eye.
That Lott effectively lynched himself by his own ignominious remarks, waxing sentimental about Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid, is what the muse must have had in mind when he inspired the term poetic justice. What goes 'round comes 'round.
Does that make Lott a bigot? Maybe, maybe not. But his words in wistfully recalling the Dixiecrat party platform - once in 1980 and again in recent days - suggest, as JWR's Charles Krauthammer eloquently wrote, that Lott missed the whole story of the civil-rights movement. By his "terrible" choice of words, as Lott put it, the Senate majority leader made clear that he's too dense to lead a nation that neither misses nor wishes to resurrect the good ol' days.
Meanwhile, higher up on the map in a parallel universe called The North, Cardinal Bernard Law's stepping down as archbishop of the Boston archdiocese following the priest sexual-abuse scandal has a similar ring of justice. America's highest-ranking member of the world's oldest extant boys' club, Law looked the other way while grown men of the collar sexually abused the children in their keep.
Law's denial of a truth that ruined dozens of lives doesn't make him a pedophile any more than Lott's careless eulogizing of an old man necessarily makes him a racist. But Law, like Lott, missed the big story, the part about protecting innocents from evil and banishing sinners from their midst.
To add irony to the too-clear parallels between the defrocking of Law and the outing of Lott, the two men both began their careers in Mississippi, if on opposite sides of the philosophical divide. Law began his in 1961 in Natchez, Miss., fighting for civil rights. During that same period, Lott was fighting racial integration of his Sigma Nu fraternity at Ol' Miss.
This week, as these two otherwise dissimilar men made simultaneous headlines, it was hard not to notice the common subtext of their lives: Two men at the peak of their careers were fallen upon their own swords.
More poignant, and frankly refreshing, is that few have rushed to break their falls. Why? I haven't checked with astrologers or geologists to see whether there's been some celestial realignment or a shifting of the tectonic plates, but there does seem to be something loose upon the land.
Whether it's the trickle-down, no-nonsense effect of Sept. 11 or an inevitable evolutionary step, what seems clear is that our national conscience seeks higher ground. In the face of real enemies - at the threshold of a war that could leave few prisoners - Americans have neither time nor patience for denial or divisiveness within.
Lott's backdoor commendation of Thurmond's promise to keep blacks in their place creates a gaping, ruined canyon where better men and women had hoped to leave a healed wound and a hairline scar. It and he simply cannot stand.
At this writing, Lott's fate remains undecided. With luck and good counsel, he'll take his cue from the cardinal and step aside. Meanwhile, there is cause for optimism here. By his error, or gaffe, or unintentional honesty, or whatever we end up calling Lott's political suicide, he has forced the Republican Party and all Americans to declare themselves.
If the GOP isn't the party of white men, then what is it and why does it look so white? If Lott isn't a racist, then what is he and why does he seem like one?
Inadvertently, Lott has done a great deed by blasting the race issue wide open. There's no more tiptoeing around it, no more pretending it isn't really there. Lott's legacy, should he ascend to the higher plane illuminated by Law's graceful exit and abandon his post, may yet be one to applaud. It is this: Single-handedly Trent Lott advanced the cause of racial harmony by reminding us of what we once were and what we wish never to be again.
JWR contributor Kathleen Parker can be reached by clicking here.
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TGCL billing problems
Discussion in 'Pesticide & Herbicide Application' started by tlg, Jul 12, 2011.
1. tlg
tlg LawnSite Senior Member
Posts: 645
We have just picked up a few TGCL customers thanks to TG's billing problems. It seems they can't seem to keep track of who has paid for what at this point. Our " new " customers tell me they sent their money to TG's main corporate office ( not the local branch like they used to do ) and somebody either did not post payments properly or they don't know where the checks went. Tru Green of course with their great customer service really irked these customers by threatening legal action on a 30 day old invoice. The two customers we just sold were with TGCL for over 10 years. These people were really mad. Mad enough to tell TGCL were to put their service. Mad enough to pay us considerably more than what they were paying TG just for the opportunity to do business with a company that wants to take care of their customers. Anybody else hear anything similar or get any calls?
2. Shegardi
Shegardi LawnSite Member
from Ohio
Posts: 198
Have not heard that one, but good for us!
3. vencops
vencops LawnSite Bronze Member
from NC
Posts: 1,537
One of my best customers cancelled with a similar co., a few months ago.
About 10 days ago, the company applied lime to their property.
4. fireman gus
fireman gus LawnSite Senior Member
Posts: 517
TG no longer has an office in our city. They send trucks from either Tulsa (125 miles) or Oklahoma City (100 miles). What a way to run a business. They are losing clients here because of that. Why use a company that doesn't have a local office or use local people. And besides that they have a bad reputation here.
5. ted putnam
ted putnam LawnSite Platinum Member
Posts: 4,530
Same here. They run the whole statefrom a branch in North Little Rock.
I have a similar situation to tlg. We have picked up a half dozen of their lawns this year. The new clients have said that they were almost insisting upon prepayment. These folks didn't want to or did so reluctantly because of poor service in the past. (It's really hard to get them out there for repeated service calls for poor weed control when they already have money in hand.) Most were referrals to me by present customers because of talking about their disatisfaction in how TGCL operates with friends, family and neighbors. It sounds to me like they were very cash hungry this Spring. Just my observation. I'll take all I can get:drinkup:
6. Ric
Ric LawnSite Fanatic
Posts: 11,946
This could be an attempt to scam their Customer into paying twice. Many Years ago I had a LCO/CPO sit in my Living room bragging how he billed 13 time a year for Year round monthly service. He simply billed ever 4 weeks instead of Monthly at 4.33 weeks. He claimed 80% paid and never questioned his bill.
This same guy only cut every 10 days instead on weekly. That way he could charge less per month and make more per cut. The bottom line, He was working the system as best he could.
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Happy Birthday for Friday, July 12, 2013: This year you might opt to head in a new direction. The path you choose could be as simple as a change in attitude or as major as a career change. You will be entering the first year of a 12-year luck cycle. You'll know when this phase is active. If you are single, you could date many people or meet one special person who seems as if he or she is "the one." If you are attached, the two of you might choose to go down your new pathway together, and you'll enter a very exciting period in your bond as a result. VIRGO can be your biggest critic.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Last-minute details keep messing up your schedule and/or plans. Confusion could be part of the problem, especially if messages are not received or are not as clear as you might like them to be. Do not hold on to any rigidity. Go with the flow. Tonight: Run errands first, then decide.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Your ingenuity and attention to detail will come into play. You have a lot of ground to cover, and you might not be sure about what to take care of first. A meeting just would confuse you. Make a to-do list, and decide what needs to happen. Tonight: Keep the moment light.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
You might want to confirm plans before you lock in your schedule. A boss or higher-up might add an element of chaos to your day. Worry less about what you think needs to be done and simply go with the moment. You could be surprised by the outcome. Tonight: Head home.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Your intentions might be good, but others are not on the same page as you. You could encounter a misunderstanding as a result. Consider the ways you could have prevented what occurs as you sloth through various obstacles. Tonight: Meet friends at your favorite haunt.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
You could go overboard when trying to eliminate a problem involving your finances. You won't be able to convince the other party of his or her error. At the same time, you also could be at fault. Try revising your thinking in order to find some middle ground. Tonight: Opt for easy.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
You'll experience a lack of understanding, but it could point you to a different solution. Be careful in a situation where you and the other party do not see each other clearly. Some deception might be involved in this interaction. Tonight: Do you dare take off your rose-colored shades?
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
You will want to regain more balance in your daily life. An element of confusion might cause you to adjust your plans. How you feel about a certain situation will make you more receptive to a better sense of direction. Tonight: Vanish, and do some soul-searching.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You might want to reconsider a choice you have made. You could feel as if you have little control over a personal matter, partially because someone involved seems to be misrepresenting a certain situation. You will sense that something is off. Tonight: Meet up with a dear friend.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Step up to the plate. Be aware that there are problems even you won't be able to eliminate. Consider how a boss would feel in a similar situation. You, as well as others, might not have been getting a clear picture. Tonight: Listen to someone's sharing and invite this person out. TGIF!
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
You'll see a situation in a new light. You might wonder where others are coming from. If you feel lucky, take on a low-key risk. Do not invest heavily in the situation. You need to revive your memory of a loved one's advice. Tonight: Be present, and enjoy the person you are with.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You might want to reassess a personal situation. Unfortunately, you are not in a powerful position right now. You can let someone play out his or her agenda without participating. This person might see the issue more clearly than you do. Tonight: Hang with your best friend.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Others will find you vague, but you'll think you are being perfectly clear. Pressure builds, as a friend or loved one makes a difficult request. You need to be true to yourself without creating uproar. You will gain depth and insight. Tonight: Do your normal Friday night activity. | <urn:uuid:52047b41-c0dc-4bec-a691-8069534058eb> | http://www.montereyherald.com/20130712/horoscope | en | 0.966833 | 0.04576 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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The truth about Aust broadband technologies
Is broadband the technology you can't do without or an expense you don't need? We examine the alternatives, pitfalls, myths, and benefits.
Traditional 56K modems and ISDN just don't cut it any more. Compared with the speeds we're all used to over a LAN, these connections seem snail-paced. ISDN is also not what we'd call cheap, especially compared to some of the new broadband options available.
So what exactly is broadband? It depends who you ask. In general, "broadband" refers to telecommunication in which a wide band of frequencies is available to transmit information. Because a wide band of frequencies is available, information can be multiplexed and sent over many different frequencies or channels within the band concurrently. This allows more information to be transmitted in a given amount of time.
So far so good, but when you start trying to define how much throughput makes a connection broadband, that's when the fun begins.
There are various definitions of what actually constitutes broadband. They usually range from 256Kbps up to IBM's definition of a broadband channel being 6MHz wide (this is around 2000 times an average voice-grade line). Under this definition, ADSL and cable would be considered broadband--at least in the downstream direction. However, Telstra claims anything faster than 128Kbps is broadband, and as a consequence even its basic two-channel ISDN service sneaks into its realm.
News source: More Information @ ZDnet Australia
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vol.113 número6A progress report on ultra-high-pressure waterjet cutting underground: the future of narrow reef gold and PGE miningAn algorithm to construct industry cost curves used in analysing cash cost performance of operations for selected minerals in South Africa índice de autoresíndice de assuntospesquisa de artigos
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Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
versão On-line ISSN 2411-9717
versão impressa ISSN 0038-223X
J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. vol.113 no.6 Johannesburg Jun. 2013
Pre-mining stress model for subsurface excavations in southern Africa
M.F. Handley
Principal, Hands on Mining cc
This paper covers in situ stresses in the Earth's crust prior to any man-made disturbances, such as mining. It introduces the Southern African Stress Database, which contains primitive stress measurements obtained from locations spread all over southern Africa. The measured stress data shows large variability without any visible trends, except a relationship with increasing depth. The stress database is reviewed briefly, establishing means to measure the variability or dispersion in the measurements, and showing that the dispersion is not as much a result of experimental error as it is a feature of primitive stress. The paper demonstrates from the beginning that the state of stress in rock is highly variable, but that there are well-defined maximum and minimum limits to all the stress components in rock. Formal error analysis is introduced to check the consistency of the database and to separate out a database of consistent stress measurements for use in a primitive stress model. The aim is to provide a picture of primitive crustal stress based on objective stress measurements together with interpretations of how the primitive stress can be affected by the five main influences; namely, depth, rock mass properties, tectonism, isostacy, and erosion. Four elementary models for primitive stress are introduced and compared with the measured data. It is quite clear that none of the elementary models is sufficient to describe the data. In the absence of a better model, this paper suggests a generic model based on the Hoek-Brown failure criterion and the consistent stress database, since it incorporates the variability in the stress tensor that is likely to be encountered underground all over southern Africa. Rock engineers should take every opportunity to obtain local primitive stress data at every mining operation and civil engineering project, and to adjust the proposed model accordingly
Keywords: primitive stress, Southern African Stress Database, error analysis, generic primitive stress model.
Rock conditions and the distribution of payable ore underground control the mining strategy adopted and the resulting mine layout. Mine stability then depends on the relationship between the strength of the rock mass and the total field stresses, which result from the mine layout. Since the field stresses are always the sum of the primitive stresses and the mining-induced stresses, both must be known to a reasonable degree of accuracy, since the risk of instability may need to be estimated both during mining and after mining has ceased. Either the primitive stresses must be obtained from in situ stress tensor measurements or from a good pre-mining stress model (initially limited to the depth of mining of 4 km), while the mining-induced stresses come from numerical models of the mine and the rock mass structure.
Rock stress data from in situ measurements is scarce because it is both difficult and expensive to obtain. Workable stress measurement technology became available to mining only during the 1960s (Leeman, 1965, 1968; Pallister, 1969). At the same time, means to calculate stress changes induced by mining were being introduced (Salamon, 1965; Salamon et al. 1965; Ortlepp and Nicoll, 1965). There are no good pre-mining stress models because of the difficulty and cost of obtaining stress data. This paper demonstrates that the pre-mining stress models currently used in rock mechanics are inadequate, and addresses the problem of deducing a generic primitive stress model for mining from the Southern African Stress Database.
The Southern African Stress Database is a good source of primitive stress data, compiled from stress measurements made all over southern Africa from May 1966 to October 1997 (Stacey and Wesseloo, 1998a). The compilers state that the database should be used for this purpose by the mining industry, but to date none of the data has appeared in the literature. There is another stress database known as the World Stress Map, which is built up from earthquake data worldwide (Heidbach et al., 2009). This database contains only eight records for South Africa, and none is suitable for building a primitive stress model for mining purposes.
The Southern African Stress Database
Stacey and Wesseloo (1998a) compiled the Southern African Stress Database under the auspices of the Safety in Mines Research Advisory Council (SIMRAC) to make all stress measurement data, previously contained in scattered tenders, contracts, internal reports, and other inaccessible documents, available to the mining industry. The measurements come from all over southern Africa, namely South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Tanzania. This stress database records only primitive stress measurements from mining and civil engineering projects; it does not include measurements of total mining stresses. The database contains 526 stress measurement records. Each record contains the date of the stress measurement, location, depth, stress components measured, and some information on type of measurement, rock formation, and rock type.
The records also contain the measured stress tensor components in the form of normal and shear stress components with reference to a coordinate system in which the positive x-axis is east, the positive y-axis in vertically upwards, and the positive z-axis is north (see Stacey and Wesseloo 1998a, 1998b for a complete description of the stress database). For the mining industry, it is preferable to use the South African Coordinate System, since most mines in South Africa use this system or a variant as a local coordinate system. The South African Coordinate System, also known as the Hartebeesthoek94 Coordinate System and implemented in South Africa on 1 January 1999, sets the positive x-direction as south, the positive y-direction as west, and the positive z-direction as vertically downwards (Wonnacott, 1999). Conversion of stress tensor components contained in the Southern African Stress Database to this system is trivial.
Where complete physical measurements of rock stress were undertaken, the stress tensor is reported in the form of principal stress magnitudes, their plunges, and plunge directions. In instances in which the stress tensor has been inferred indirectly from earthquakes or other indirect means, the data is incomplete in that either some or all the principal stress magnitudes or their directions, or some of both, are not reported. Of the 526 records in the database, 221 measurements were indirect and report the stress tensor partially. The reason for this is the nature of the measurement itself. For example, dog-earing in a borehole or scaling in an ore pass yields the maximum and minimum principal stress in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the excavation. The method cannot yield the magnitudes of the three principal stresses or their directions, therefore records using this method yield only part of the three-dimensional stress tensor. Other methods reported in the database that yield partial results include earthquakes, hydrofracturing, and other physical stress measurements that did not measure the full three-dimensional stress tensor. Stress measurements in which the total field stress (primitive stress summed with mining-induced stresses) are rare, and were not included in the stress database. The only ones known to the author are those by Leeman (1965), Deacon and Swan (1965), Gay (1979), and Handley (1987).
After excluding the 221 incomplete records, the remaining 305 records report the full stress tensor, all measured using physical methods, which will not be covered here but can be reviewed in Amadei and Stephansson (1997) or Ulusay and Hudson (2007, pp. 331-396). These records constitute the only data suitable for analysis and development of a crustal stress model applicable to mining. These records will be referred to in this paper as the Abridged Southern African Stress Database, or the abridged database. The abridged database of 305 records consists of 74 averages, 134 individual measurements that were included in the 74 averages, and 97 individual measurements that were not included in any averages. It therefore really consists of two separate databases: 134 + 97 = 231 individual measurements, and 74 averages computed from the 134 individual measurements. As a result, there is repetition in the abridged database because results from the 134 individual measurements are again reflected in the 74 averages. The small number of complete stress measurements emphasizes the difficulty and expense of obtaining complete stress data: in over 40 years, only 231 full stress tensors were measured over all of southern Africa, amounting to five or six measurements per year.
The most notable feature of the abridged database is the variability or dispersion of the vertical stress values measured (Figure 1). This was originally attributed to experimental error (see Gay 1975, pp. 448-449). Pallister (1969) estimates experimental error in his measurements to be 20%, yet he reports a stress measurement 2400 m below surface at East Rand Proprietary Mines Ltd, Boksburg, with a measured vertical component 43% below the expected vertical component for that depth. Stacey and Wesseloo (1998a) consider this measurement to be sound, grading it 'B' in their grading system with categories 'A' to 'E' going from 'reliable, i.e. at least 80% of the measurements in close agreement to 'results too variable, or irresolvable inconsistencies, and/or contradictory indications'. The classes of their subjective/quantitative system can be seen in Stacey and Wesseloo (1998b).
Figure 1 is a cumulative percentage frequency plot of absolute normalized error computed from the measured vertical stress and the expected overburden stress according to the formula after Taylor (1997):
where e is the percentage normalized error, σmv is the measured vertical stress component, and σev is the expected vertical stress component due to the overburden weight. The cumulative percentages plotted in Figure 1 were then found by counting the number of measurements with less than 10% error computed using Equation [1], the number of measurements with less than 20% error, and so on up to 400% error, and then normalizing the results. This was repeated for each category 'A' to 'E'.
This plot was obtained from data in the Southern African Stress Database because there are 324 data available, which were classified into the five gradings by Stacey and Wesseloo (1998a, 1998b). There are 19 more records included in the plot than are contained in the abridged database (305 records) because these additional records do at least report a measured vertical stress component and an expected vertical stress component, even if the stress tensor reported is incomplete. The data includes 19 ungraded measurements that were lumped with those graded 'E', while the abridged database contains only eight ungraded measurements. No effort has been made to separate the averages from the other data in Figure 1 because it does not affect the overall pattern shown.
Figure 1 shows that the measured vertical stress component is widely dispersed around its expected value, even though it should be fairly well constrained by gravity and crustal equilibrium. The plot also shows that dispersion far exceeds the 20% experimental error cited above. Note that the subjective/quantitative method of grading the data (Stacey and Wesseloo, 1998b) does not reduce the dispersion in the higher grades with respect to that in the lower grades. For example, Groups A and C have almost equal dispersion below 20% error, and then Group C has lower dispersion than Group A above 20% error. The data is judged to be consistent, since Stacey and Wesseloo (1998a) concluded this after recalculating some results, and a second analysis below also shows that it is generally consistent. The dispersion in the data must therefore be a feature of the stress state in the Earth's crust.
Figure 2 shows a scatter plot of the measured vertical stress component versus the expected vertical stress due to the overburden weight obtained from the database. This diagram shows the dispersion in a different way, and does not show the classification of Stacey and Wesseloo (1998b). It highlights the example measurement of Pallister (1969), and shows that there are many other measurements with large differences from the expected result. There is no similar measure to display the dispersion of the horizontal stresses, which may be more widely dispersed than the vertical component, the only limits being compressive buckling, or tensile extension of the Earth's crust. This will be discussed in detail later.
Statement of problem and scope of paper
As has been demonstrated, there is a lot of dispersion in the primitive vertical stress component, even though it should be fairly well constrained by equilibrium requirements and gravity. The first explanation given above is the experimental error of 20%, but this is not enough to explain the observed dispersion of the vertical stress component (Figures 1 and 2). Either experimental errors are far larger than quoted, or there is a natural variability in the vertical stress component that comes about through the discontinuous structure of the rock mass. Stacey and Wesseloo (1998a, 1998b) do not discuss dispersion in the database.
The upper lithosphere is considered to be strong, crystalline, and brittle (Zoback et al., 1993) and therefore able to sustain large deviatoric stresses over geologic time, since creep rates are extremely low. Such large variability as seen in the stress database is therefore likely. To limit the scope, this study is confined to the upper lithosphere, where mining is now approaching 4 km below surface in relatively cool rocks that are subject to relatively low stresses, and where physical stress measurements have been made. It ignores the greater part of geophysical literature on lithos-pheric stress, which contains models to 30 km or more, and which takes account of creep in rock at both low and high temperatures.
Perhaps the most-cited and best-known treatise on rock stress forms the second chapter of Amadei and Stephansson (1997), who cover all the lithosphere stress models that had been published to that date. Many of these are not applicable to this study since they are regional, considering tectonic stresses in the oceanic and continental lithosphere. In describing a lithospheric stress model that could be applicable to mining, Rummel (1986) concluded that most laboratory tests of rock strength conformed to an equation of the form (σ1-σ3)c = A+B (σ3) 1/2, where σ3 is the effective confining stress, (σ1-σ3) is the peak differential strength of the rock, and A and B are constants dependent on the temperature of the rock. This formula is general in that it applies to the entire lithosphere, in rocks that are cool or hot, and in rocks deeply buried or near surface. Using it, Rummel (1986) was able to derive stress difference limits for reverse and normal faulting in both dry and wet conditions down to a depth of 30 km assuming a geothermal gradient of 25K/km. Although this work may be directly relevant to mining, it is considered to be the subject of long-term research, which will need far more extensive stress data than is available at present. Once this is in place, extension of the proposed pre-mining stress model to greater depths will be possible.
The first problem is to describe, and take account of in a consistent way, the dispersion of all the stress components in the Southern African Stress Database, not just that of the vertical stress component. This paper first describes semi-quantitatively how stress can vary in a discontinuous granular medium, and qualitatively how the primitive vertical stress can vary in a typical jointed and bedded rock mass. It goes on to establish whether the dispersion of the vertical stress component is natural or experimental in origin, by reviewing the consistency of the measurements in the abridged database. It then introduces a measure of dispersion, which can be used for all the normal stress components (vertical and horizontal alike), and also introduces limits to stress dispersion in the Earth's crust. It separates the consistent stress measurement data out of the database using error analysis and propagation of errors through calculations. Since this paper is addressed to the mining community, there is a brief introduction to the structure of the Earth's crust and upper mantle, which is included in a pre-mining stress model introduced later in the paper. This is followed by a review of the applicability of current pre-mining stress models by describing them and comparing them with stress measurements from a consistent database. Finally, it introduces a generic primitive stress model for a depth range covered by the stress measurements (<4 km), which can be used in the mining industry to determine the pre-mining stress state objectively.
This work concludes that the generic pre-mining stress model will need modification and refinement as more stress data becomes available. It also concludes that there is much to investigate, including a detailed re-evaluation of the Southern African Stress Database from the original strain relief measurements. A lot more research and data is necessary to produce a reliable primitive stress model for mining that could be extended to greater depths than those encountered today.
Assessment of stress in a discontinuous solid
A quantitative assessment of stress in a granular medium 5 mm on a side is shown in Figure 3 (after Handley, 1995).
Although the granular medium has been loaded vertically by uniform velocity boundaries at top and bottom, and free boundaries on the sides, intergranular movements and opening of cracks between grain boundaries have led to a non-uniform stress distribution in the medium. The larger stresses are now concentrated into 'grain columns' that are relatively stable, while more unstable columns have low stress. The thicker black lines in the picture are opening cracks between the grains.
The stresses are generally not parallel to the y-axis, despite loading of the medium being parallel to the y-axis. This picture is at a granular level and it shows that stress can be variable over very short distances, in this case, in fractions of a millimetre. The granular geometry model is not dissimilar to a jointed rock mass, which is undergoing uniform loading by deposition of sediment. By analogy, the vertical stress component could become variable by a similar mechanism of joint-bounded inter-block movements during loading.
On a larger scale of centimetres to metres, Figure 4 illustrates qualitatively how the vertical stress in a jointed and bedded rock mass may vary laterally. It is supported by successive strain relief measurements taken in boreholes by many authors (see for example Deacon and Swan, 1965; Leeman, 1965; and Handley, 1987). This diagram is intended to illustrate the effects of discontinuities on vertical rock stress. There are two major sets, namely the horizontal and the vertical discontinuities, the former being bedding surfaces and the latter joints. The visible and partly open discontinuities are shown as lines, and where the discontinuities are closed, they are not shown. Some of the discontinuities, both beds and joints, may also not be persistent, ending in solid rock. These will have the same effect as closed discontinuities from a stress point of view.
The axes provide vertical and horizontal scales of stress and distance respectively. The horizontal green line represents the expected average vertical stress magnitude for the appropriate depth in the rock mass illustrated. The green line also represents a line in the rock mass along which the vertical stress is known. This has never been done physically, that is why this is a qualitative illustration based on the quantitative granular model shown in Figure 3. The red line shows the actual qualitative distribution of the vertical stress in the rock. It shows that the rock may experience higher vertical stresses between the boundaries of two horizontal discontinuities, but lower vertical stresses immediately above or below the discontinuities, where they are open. This is because the stress has to be redistributed around the boundaries of the discontinuities. The concept is illustrated in Figure 4 by points 1-3 and points 4-6. Points 1 and 6 also show that the rock mass is able to support a vertical stress discontinuity across a vertical joint, much like the stress in a granular medium.
The red line represents the vertical stress magnitude at many points along a line for an elevation given by the green line. The profile of the red line (i.e. the position of local stress highs and lows) would change substantially if the vertical stress could be measured on similar horizontal lines a short distance above or below the green line. The vertical stress is therefore strongly influenced by local discontinuities in the rock mass. For equilibrium, the area between the green line and the horizontal axis must be equal to the area between the red line and the horizontal axis. Therefore a stress high at one point in the rock mass must be compensated for by a stress low at another point, with the two averaging out to preserve the observed equilibrium of the rock mass as a whole.
Thus on the very small scale of millimetres and the small scale ranging from centimetres to metres, brittle rock stress is seen to be variable. At large scales (tens of kilometres) it is also found to be variable, as demonstrated by Heidbach et al. (2009), Amadei and Stephansson (1997), and others. Since stress variability seems to exist at all scales, it can be extended to the familiar means of computing the vertical rock stress component for an imaginary vertical column of rock as shown in Figure 5. This shows that reaction forces (arrows representing the vertical force component on enlarged surfaces drawn to different lengths and in different colours to facilitate visualization) and therefore stresses at different points on the base of an imaginary rock column (this base could be a horizontal joint or bed) need not be equal. However, the formula for calculating the vertical stress, given by σob = pgz (ρ = rock density, g = acceleration due to gravity, and z = depth below surface) actually computes an average vertical stress component for the imaginary surface at the given depth z. Overall, the point to remember is that the components of the stress tensor can be very variable in a natural rock mass, and that the normal means to compute them will yield averages.
Stress differences can be very significant over small distances in a rock mass, as has been demonstrated above on a granular scale over millimetres. Since typical strain gauges in a stressmeter are of the order of 10 mm long, this illustrates why adjacent stress measurements only 10 cm apart could be significantly different from each other (see Amadei and Stephansson, 1997 or Ulusay and Hudson, 2007 for descriptions of stressmeters). This also illustrates why several closely spaced stress measurements should be averaged to obtain a better picture of the overall stress state in a rock mass. Finally, it shows how stress measurements from several boreholes drilled in different positions may not be compatible with each other, and that this could be a source of inconsistency in some of the stress measurements in the Southern African Stress Database.
Assessing the quality of the stress measurements in the abridged database
In compiling the database, Stacey and Wesseloo (1998) reported that they found several results with errors, such as non-orthogonal principal stress directions. This led to their recalculating measurement results where they had access to the original strain relief data. This turned out to be an independent random check of the reported data, from which they concluded that all the reported data was correctly processed (Stacey and Wesseloo, 1998). Since the Southern African Stress Database does not provide any strain relief data, the author is forced to accept the finding of Stacey and Wesseloo (1998). However, their report suggests that not all results were checked, nor do they specify which results were recalculated, so more external checks have been performed by the author on all the data in the abridged database. This amounts to a complete re-check of the consistency of all the results in the abridged database using error analysis. This does not contradict or conflict with the work of Stacey and Wesseloo (1998); it merely re-evaluates the consistency of the database from another point of view.
Checking for orthogonality, normality, and agreement between the measured vertical stress and the expected vertical stress
The abridged database has been re-checked for the mutual orthogonality and normality of the principal stress direction vectors, and the agreement between the measured vertical stress component and the theoretical overburden stress determined from the measurement depth and rock mass density. These checks are reported in detail because they serve as useful information for future stress measurement checks, and because they are independent of the process used to arrive at the stress tensor results given in the abridged database.
Directional cosines of principal stress directions determine the orthogonality and normality of the principal stress vectors, as they are reported in the abridged database. Figure 6 illustrates how the directional cosines were determined. The normality of the directional cosine vectors is checked by finding the square root of the sum of the squares of the directional cosines for each principal direction. This result is by definition unity (see Appendix A for more detail on directional cosines). Departures from normality are reported in normalized percentage error form after Taylor (1997), using the equation:
where nc, and n def= 100 are the normality computed from directional cosines for the principal stress direction vector as projected onto a pre-defined coordinate system axis, and the defined normality of the direction vector respectively.
Dot products between the directional cosines of any two principal stress components in a principal stress tensor must be zero for the two components to be mutually orthogonal. The orthogonality error has to be computed in a different way, because the dot product is zero, which renders an equation like Equation [2] indeterminate. The deviation from orthogonality is therefore given in percentage deviation of the angle between two principal stress directions from π/2 radians, as follows:
The quantity oc is the dot product between two vectors, in this case the principal stress directional cosines expressed as vectors, and it can take on a range of values given by -1 < oc < 1, but for mutually perpendicular direction vectors, oc = 0 by definition. The quantities given in Equations [2] and [3] are easily computed from the directional cosines on a spreadsheet.
The results appear plotted in Figure 7. The normality and orthogonality error frequency plots are both very similar because both are generated from the same set of directional cosines. Both appear in Figure 7, which shows that approximately 97% of the results (1340 measurements out of a total of 1386 - three normality and three orthogonality tests for each of 231 measurements) are less than 2% deviant from normality (nc = 1.00) and orthogonality (equivalent to 1.8°). The averages are not included in the plot to avoid double counting.
The plot in Figure 7 does not adequately separate the consistent data from inconsistent data, but it does suggest a criterion of separation. The three normality and three orthogonality checks in each record amount to six possible criteria for excluding the record from further analysis, and if any one of the criteria is exceeded, then the record is rejected on the grounds that there may be an error in the calculations or measurements. On this basis, a total of 30 records are found to have absolute errors in normality and orthogonality exceeding 2%, amounting to 10% of the measurement records. This is larger than the 3% error suggested in Figure 7. The remaining 275 records consist of 66 averages and 209 individual measurements made up of 124 measurements included in the 66 averages, and 85 individual measurements, not included in any averages. Further checks in this reduced database showed that there was still inconsistent data. This indicated that more rigorous tests based on a more sophisticated error analysis were necessary to separate the consistent records from the inconsistent records.
Since the author did not have any information on the errors of measurement, an analysis based on inferred errors in the database became necessary. A good start is a check using an objective error criterion for the normality and orthogonality of the principal stress directional cosines. Since Figure 7 already displays that there is uncertainty in the reported azimuth and plunge angles for the principal stresses reported in the database, it is prudent to work with these and use their propagation through the calculations to check for inconsistency. The error analysis is carried out after Taylor (1997), the details of which are described in Appendix A.
The analysis described in Appendix A was repeated assuming three angular uncertainties, namely 0.5°, 1.0°, and 2.0°. The first angular uncertainty is based on the fact that nearly all the principal stress azimuths and plunges are reported to the nearest degree in the abridged database, which amounts to a maximum angular uncertainty of 0.5°. A total of fifteen criteria based on angular uncertainty were used to reject inconsistent records in the abridged database, namely the normality of the three coordinate axis vectors, the orthogonality of the three coordinate axis vectors, and the consistency of the nine stress tensor components. These can be reduced to twelve by the symmetry of the shear stresses. If a stress measurement record listed in the abridged database failed any one of the twelve inconsistency checks it was rejected. The results appear in Table I.
Table I shows that a progressive relaxation of angular uncertainty results in a larger number of records being accepted as consistent. There is no means to decide which angular uncertainty is preferable for the purposes of this paper. It appears from Figure 7 that by 2% error (1.8°), the frequencies have reached some sort of background value, so it seems that accepting an angular uncertainty criterion of 2° may be appropriate. This suggests that stress directions measured in rock are reported with a ±2° error, which is a judgment of the author and not a rigid criterion. It results in 75 records being rejected, amounting to 25% of the abridged database. All further analysis will be based on the remaining 230 records, which will be called the Consistent Database.
Errors between the measured vertical stress component and the expected overburden stress are given by Equation [4]. These errors are also easily computed by spreadsheet, and are shown in Figure 8. The plot shows a large spread of the vertical stress component about the expected vertical overburden stress, as has already been illustrated in the introduction. This plot also shows that averaging individual measurements tends to move stress data leftwards into lower error categories only in the higher dispersion categories (>20%). This is not expected, since averaging is a means of reducing dispersion. This plot again confirms that the vertical stress component shows strong dispersion around expected vertical stresses in the rock mass, for which Figures 3 and 4 provide an explanation. Since all the stress components and their directions are considered consistent, the variability must be a feature of the rock mass and not of experimental error.
Overall, one may conclude at this stage that the vertical stress state in the Earth's upper crust is extremely variable. It is also reasonable to assume from earlier discussion that the horizontal and shear stress components may have more degrees of freedom and therefore greater dispersion than is shown by the vertical component. This is explored next.
A general framework to describe dispersion and limits to dispersion of all rock stress components
A cross-section through Africa along the great circle 27.5° has been constructed to illustrate large crustal features. The section must be drawn on a great circle because the planes of great circles are perpendicular to the spherical surface. To simplify, this rather complex picture, the great circle can be considered to approximate the straight section line given by the small circle defined by latitude 27° South. The section of the Earth's crust, constructed by the author after Mooney et al. (1998), appears in Figure 9. This rather complicated description of the construction is necessary because the scale of the drawing is such that the sphericity of the Earth becomes significant. The section passes through Elizabeth Bay on the Namibian coast, more or less through the centre of the Witwatersrand Basin and the Vredefort impact feature, and finally through Kosi Bay on South Africa's east coast.
The main crustal features shown are the lithosphere, which consists of two layers, namely the green layer of rocks predominantly of sialic composition, and the light brown upper mantle, which consists of rocks of ferromagnesian composition. The term sialic comes from SiAl - the shortened term for rocks rich in silicon- and aluminium-containing minerals, which have a density of approximately 2500-2800 kg/m3, and the term ferromagnesian comes from FeMg, for iron- and magnesium-containing minerals with densities of about 3300 - 3500 kg/m3. The division between the lighter and heavier rocks in the lithosphere is known as the Mohorovičić Discontinuity, discovered by Andrija Mohorovičić in 1909, and in Figure 9 is defined by Mooney et al. (1998) as the base of the sialic crust. This discontinuity represents a seismic wave velocity high, which is approximately 5-10 km deep below oceanic crust, and 20-90 km deep below continental crust.
Mining has not yet penetrated the Earth's crust more than 4 km, which amounts to penetrating the top 4% of the lithosphere (0.06% of the Earth's radius), which is not even visible in Figure 9. The structure of the Earth with its thin, solid crust suggests that it is reasonable to assume that close to the surface principal crustal stresses should possess a vertical component due to gravity and two horizontal components that arise from predominantly horizontal forces in the crust (see Figure 9). The rationale behind this is that crustal stresses are driven primarily by gravity, which acts vertically, and then by geological processes such as burial, denudation, and horizontal tectonic forces in the crust induced by movements in the mantle, all of which are assumed to have effects on crustal stress vertically and/or horizontally. The fact that the measured results are generally not vertical or horizontal is probably only local, and the result of the anisotropy and geological history of the rock in which they were measured.
As stated above, the primitive stress tensor is gravity driven, therefore its principal components will tend to be vertical and horizontal, unless some relatively recent or current geological event has affected, or is affecting, the rock mass of interest. This has been confirmed approximately by measurement, with deviations having origins described above (see Amadei and Stephansson, 1997, pp. 30-31). Therefore shear stresses on vertical planes tend to be zero. The exceptions to this rule come from the completely different mechanism of plate tectonics, which can cause shear stresses on vertical surfaces at plate boundaries, for example the San Andreas Fault and its offshoots, and other similar geological environments where there is relative horizontal movement between plates (see Lowrie, 2007).
At mid-ocean ridges, where sea floor spreading takes place, vertical transform faults develop more or less perpendicular to the line of the mid-ocean ridge because some parts of the ridge generate new sea floor faster than others (see Lowrie, 2007). There is horizontal shear on these vertical faults. Horizontal shear can develop between two plates where one plate is being thrust below another, although this shear will tend to follow the plate down as it bends downwards into the mantle. In mountain building processes, all manner of phenomena come forward: thrusting and other similar mechanisms that would create horizontal shear stresses. The primitive stress tensor will therefore tend to have vertical and horizontal principal components, except where presently ongoing or recent geological processes have resulted in changes to this pattern. In brittle rocks such altered stress states may be preserved for a very long time.
In recognition of the above discussion, McGarr and Gay (1978) expressed the crustal stress tensor in terms of a vertical component and two principal horizontal components with directions named σv, σh1, and σh2 respectively (see also Amadei and Stephansson, 1997, pp. 30-31). These components are found from the measured principal stress tensor by converting its components to a standard coordinate system. If the database coordinate system is used, then the vertical normal stress component is σv = σyy, and the two horizontal principal stress components σh1 and σh2 and their directions with respect to north are found from σxx, σzz, and σxz, all of which lie in the horizontal plane. The stress measurement results are listed in this form in the Southern African Stress Database.
This representation is not a complete stress tensor, since only four of the six independent stress tensor components for three dimensions are given, i.e. shear stresses along any vertical planes are omitted, although they are included in the database. Note also that many geological structures such as faults, dykes, and joints are inclined with respect to the horizontal, so that shear has vertical components, but that these were probably induced by changes in horizontal and vertical forces only. They are ignored in this analysis, because there are no large active transform faults, sea floor spreading, or plate subduction taking place in southern Africa.
To simplify the variability of magnitude and direction of each stress tensor component, there is also a need to ignore the direction of the horizontal components in the analysis, because two tensor components acting in different directions are not directly comparable i.e. to treat the horizontal principal stress component values as scalars when dealing with them statistically. The directions of stress components will be reconsidered in the construction of the proposed pre-mining stress model later. It is now possible to introduce a simple measure of the variability or dispersion of any of the three normal stress components.
The scalar equivalent of stress in solids is pressure in fluids. Since fluids cannot sustain shear stress, pressure is the same in all directions. If rocks could not sustain shear stress, then the rock stress would always be equivalent to pressure, and this pressure would be the same in all directions surrounding any given point in the rock. It would vary linearly in proportion with its density and the depth as σlith = ρgz (ρ is the density of the rock, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and z is the depth below surface). In rocks, such a stress state is called a lithostatic stress state, and it can be used as a reference to obtain a measure of variability of stress in rock, because any deviation from the lithostatic state must involve the rigidity of the rock and one or more geological processes. Plotting the magnitude of the lithostatic stress versus depth as shown in Figure 10a results in a lithostatic line, which must be zero at surface, increasing with depth as shown.
The lithostatic stress can be considered to have a vertical component, and two horizontal components, all equal to each other, since the lithostatic stress state is the same in all directions. A measure of variability of any of the normal stress components σv, σh1, and σh2 is given by the scaled horizontal distance by which each of these components is removed from this line, as shown in Figure 10a. We can ignore the directions of the horizontal stresses, since there will always be horizontal lithostatic stress components parallel to the horizontal principal stresses. Thus it is possible to note only the deviation of the horizontal and vertical stresses from the lithostatic line, as shown in Figure 10a.
When dealing with more than one stress measurement, we can define dispersion in a manner similar to the definitions of variance and the standard deviation in statistics. The magnitude of the lithostatic stress is linearly related to depth as described above, and this substitutes for the mean used in statistics to calculate the variance, since it is the average stress for that depth (see Figure 4). The lithostatic stress is therefore the expected stress at the depth of the measurement - this is equivalent to the mean in statistics. The average deviation from the mean for all the stress components is given by:
where âsigv is the average deviation for the vertical stress component, σv(i) are the vertical stress measurements, σlith(i) are the corresponding lithostatic stress values for the respective vertical measurements at their respective depths, and N is the number of data used in the calculation.
Depth is automatically eliminated in Equation [4], because the expected value of the lithostatic stress (the mean) is depth dependent, and so is the measured stress depth dependent. To find âsigh1i and âsigh2 the values for the maximum horizontal stress σh1 and the minimum horizontal stress σh2 are substituted for the vertical stress component in Equation [4] to find the average variance and deviation for these components, but the corresponding lithostatic stress data remain the same.
Using the lithostatic stress as the equivalent of the mean in Equation [4] is correct, since subtracting the horizontal stress data from the lithostatic stress data at the equivalent depth is physically meaningful, because there is always a lithostatic stress direction parallel to the direction of each measured horizontal stress component. We have to ignore the directions of the differences when summing up the squares of the differences and dividing by the number of data in the sum. The name average variance is given for the average of the squared differences, while the square root of this quantity is called the average deviation. These name changes differentiate them from the standard statistical definitions of the variance and standard deviation.
Neither the average variance nor the average deviation can have a direction ascribed to them. A total of twelve average deviation estimates can be found for the abridged database, where the measurement records are split into the averages and the individual measurements, and the consistent database split in the same way, as shown in Table II.
The most important feature common to these two databases is that the average deviation of the horizontal stresses from the lithostatic line is not affected by averaging stress measurements to reduce dispersion, or by selecting the consistent database from the abridged database. This suggests that the stress state in rock is intrinsically variable, and must be accepted as a very important feature of crustal stresses. In fact, the stress state seems to be so variable that including inconsistent data from the abridged database does not materially affect the average deviation. The averaged measurements also have higher average deviations than do the individual measurements, which suggests that averaging individual stress measurements has not reduced the dispersion. This is also partially confirmed by Figure 8.
In addition to this measure of dispersion, there are definite limits to the range of possible stress states in the Earth's crust governed by the strength of the rock. If one assumes that the southern African subcontinental rock mass will fail at stresses predicted by the empirical Hoek-Brown failure criterion, then one can conjecture the stress limits at which processes such as jointing, faulting, intrusions, and mountain-building may take place. The Hoek-Brown failure criterion, introduced by Hoek and Brown (1980), is given by:
where σ1 and σ3 are the maximum and minimum principal stresses respectively, σc is the uniaxial compressive strength of the rock, m is a Hoek-Brown parameter that depends on the rock type, and s is a second Hoek-Brown parameter that depends on the degree to which the rock is dissected by discontinuities. Although Rummel (1986) may have proposed a more general limit to crustal stresses, the author chooses the Hoek-Brown failure criterion for this purpose because it is well known in the mining industry, it is based on a large experimental database, and it is applicable to relatively cool and shallow rocks where mining is currently taking place.
In order to determine the minimum possible horizontal crustal stress, first assume that the maximum crustal stress is vertical and equal to the overburden weight i.e. σ1 = ρgz, and solve for the minimum possible horizontal principal stress σ3 that can exist in the Earth's crust by manipulating Equation [5] into the general solution for a quadratic equation in σ3:
Choose the negative root because this gives a meaningful result for the minimum possible σ3 given that σ1 is vertical and equal to the overburden weight. Equation [6] renames σ31 as σhmin, in order to avoid confusion with the standard principal stress names used in the Hoek-Brown failure criterion and elsewhere, and to denote that this is a minimum crustal stress limit or tensile limit. The measured minimum horizontal principal stress data (σh2) listed in the abridged database must always be greater than or equal to the minimum crustal stress for stability.
To find the maximum possible horizontal stress that can exist in the Earth's crust, one must assume that the minor principal stress is vertical and equal to the overburden weight, that is σ3 = ρgz. The maximum possible stress is now horizontal and given by σ1, which is obtained directly from the Hoek-Brown equation for all depths z:
The positive root must be selected for a meaningful answer, and the resulting maximum possible horizontal crustal stress σ1 is renamed σhmax in the model. This will avoid confusion with the standard principal stress names used in the Hoek-Brown failure criterion and elsewhere denoting that this is a maximum crustal stress limit or compressive limit. The measured maximum horizontal principal stress data (σh1) listed in the abridged database must always be less than or equal to the maximum crustal stress limit for stability.
Figure 10b, c, and d show three general cases of an overall crustal stress state. In the first case (Figure 10b) the crust is in relative tension. Here, the horizontal stresses are both less than the vertical stress, a condition that is commonly seen in the deep gold mines in South Africa (see measurements in Figure 11 below 2000 m). As can be seen from the diagram the crust is still in horizontal compression except near to the surface. The tensile limit is the minimum possible stress in the crust if the maximum stress is equal to the overburden weight. The difference between σ1and σ3at all depths is governed by Equation [5], while the tensile limit is computed using Equation [6].
Direction can be accounted for on a surface map on the right of the plot in Figure 10b, which shows a larger relative tension in a NW-SE direction, and a smaller relative tension at 90° to this in a NE-SW direction (these directions will be determined by the stress measurement data but are arbitrary in the diagram). At depth, these relative tensions will be compressive, but they could be tensile near surface, as suggested by the tensile limit in Figure 10b. Such a crustal condition would arise if the surface were undergoing uplift through upwelling mantle rock below the continental crust, or surface rock being eroded and deposited elsewhere. The geological structures that result are the intrusion of dykes and sills, and the development of normal faults and joints.
Figure 10c shows the crust in relative shear, in which one horizontal stress is less than the overburden weight and is at the lowest possible stress limit given that the other horizontal stress limit is greater than the overburden weight. The difference between σ1 and σ3 is governed by Equation [5]. There are many measured stress states in this category scattered across the full range of depths above 2000 m in Figure 11. The maximum shear stress in the crust is then half the difference between the two horizontal stresses, and would result in N-S and E-W faults with vertical dips and horizontal relative displacements, assuming the directions for the horizontal stresses as shown in the diagram. The author emphasizes again that the direction of the faulting is a result of the arbitrary choice of direction of the relative tension and compression in the Earth's crust, chosen for illustration of the concept in Figure 10. The intermediate stress in this case is the overburden stress.
Figure 10d shows the crust in relative compression where the smallest principal stress is vertical and equal to the overburden weight and both horizontal stresses are larger than the vertical stress. The compressive limit is the maximum possible stress that can exist in the crust if the minimum stress is vertical and the result of the overburden weight. At the compressive limit, folding (mountain building), thrust faulting and reverse faulting may develop. The difference between σ1 and σ3 is again governed by Equation [5], and the compressive limit is calculated using this equation while assuming that σ3 is the minimum principal stress and is derived from the overburden weight. Given the direction of maximum compression on the accompanying map, folded mountains would form in a NE-SW trend, while reverse faulting and thrust faults would form in N-S and E-W conjugate pairs (these directions again obtained from the arbitrary choice of relative compression directions). Many of the stress measurements above 500 m exhibit a state of relative compression.
The patterns of stress distribution given by the stress measurements are not easy to interpret, and much more stress data is necessary to gain a better understanding of stress in the Earth's crust. The next step in this paper is to compare the stress measurement data with four simple mining stress models that have been used as a means to estimate the pre-mining stress state.
Four simple pre-mining stress models
The primitive stress tensor is the result of the geological history of the rock mass. The major factors influencing the primitive stress tensor are depth of burial, the rheological properties of the rock mass, tectonism, isostacy, and denudation. Secondary factors include topography, heating and cooling, groundwater, and weathering. Descriptions of the effects of these factors are given by Jaeger et al. (2007), Brady and Brown (2006), Ryder and Jager (2002), Amadei and Stephansson (1997), Hoek and Brown (1980), Jaeger and Cook (1979), McGarr and Gay (1978), and Gay (1975) amongst others, and will not be covered here. The measurement data in the plots all comes from the consistent database, and is included in four simple models of pre-mining stress. This data, together with the simple models, highlights how simplistic the pre-mining stress models are, and how poorly the crustal stress tensor is known.
Lithostatic stress model: Heim's Rule
This model assumes that all rock masses, regardless of how brittle they are, will creep under deviatoric stress conditions in geologic time. If the rock mass remains geologically undisturbed for sufficiently long, the deviatoric stress state will eventually become lithostatic, which is easily predictable with the simplest of models. This model assumes that the stress state in the rock mass is everywhere lithostatic; that is, the vertical stress component is a principal stress, and is equal to the stress due to the overburden weight, while the horizontal stress is the same in all directions, and equal to the vertical stress. This means that every direction in the rock mass is a principal direction, and that there can be no shear stress anywhere. The model is expressed as follows:
assuming a convenient coordinate system such as the South African Coordinate System, commonly used on the mines (Wonnacott, 1999). Note that by default, the conjugate shear stress pairs should always be equal for rotational equilibrium i.e. τxy = τyx: τxz = τzx : τyz = τzy. Because the three normal stresses are principal stresses, Equation [8] can be re-expressed as follows:
in which every direction is a principal direction because the rock mass is completely free of shear stress.
Present or past geological processes will result in a deviation from this pattern in the rock mass. Therefore, any deviation from this stress state in any rock mass is indicative of previous stress states from previous geological processes being preserved, or currently developing as a result of current processes. Even a process as seemingly insignificant as erosion can have a very significant effect on the stress state, as will be demonstrated later.
The lithostatic stress state, or a stress state approximating it, does exist in some rock masses and soft plastic materials, for example salt, peat, saturated clay, or potash. This stress state develops because the material will creep under deviatoric stress and establish lithostatic conditions in a short (geologically) time, perhaps ranging from years to millennia. The rate of creep will depend on the magnitude of the stress components and the material properties. A plot of the measured stress results versus the expected stress tensor components for a lithostatic stress state appears in Figure 11. This plot suggests that the rock mass stress state is generally not lithostatic. Because the measured data is so sparse, this conclusion cannot be assumed to be true everywhere in South Africa.
Three measurements in the consistent database approximate the lithostatic stress state, namely those at Beatrix Mine, Impala Platinum, and the Inanda Wiggens Tunnel (see Table III). The other two come from the abridged database, but are considered to be inconsistent. This does not mean that the lithostatic stress state does not exist in South Africa - the measurement data is simply too sparse to draw such a conclusion.
Rigid confinement model
The rigid confinement model assumes that rock is elastic, and that its Poisson's Ratio dominates the stress state to which it is subjected. This stress state develops in sediments, which during burial and the consequent vertical loading, are prevented from expanding laterally by the surrounding sediments. The Poisson's Ratio v of the unconsolidated sediment is assumed to be the same as that measured in the sedimentary rock millions of years later. This is highly unlikely to be true, but if so the Poisson effect, easily derived from the equations of elasticity, gives rise to equal horizontal stresses related to the vertical stress by:
assuming a system of axes referenced in the equation, with conjugate shear stress pairs being equal for rotational equilibrium. Again, because the normal stress directions are principal directions, the above equation can be re-expressed as follows:
where σ1 is vertical while σ2 and σ3 are horizontal.
Figure 12 contains a plot of the stress data together with the expected stress components with depth according to the rigid confinement model, assuming v = 0.25. As is evident from the plot, the stress data displays far too much spread to give any indication that there are any instances in which this model may be true. Then, the measured horizontal stresses are never equal, as is predicted by Equations [10] and [11]. This could arise from anisotropy, but the overall loading directions of recent and earlier tectonic events are more likely to have resulted in the differences in measured horizontal stresses.
Furthermore, the rigid confinement from the Poisson effect will be magnified during burial, since any horizontal linear dimension must decrease linearly with increasing depth until it becomes zero at the Earth's centre. Therefore the rock will experience isotropic horizontal compression as a result of burial, which will result in larger horizontal stresses than predicted by Equations [10] and [11]. This model is unlikely to produce a good picture of stress in any rock mass anywhere, regardless of the value of the Poisson's Ratio. The next model addresses the effects of burial and uplift on the horizontal stresses.
Erosional/burial model
The erosional/burial model, after Price (1966), Voight (1966), Gay (1975), and Haxby and Turcotte (1976), and others, assumes that the crustal stress consists of a vertical component due to the overburden and two horizontal components that may be equal or unequal. The three components are principal stresses, and they vary linearly with depth. In this model the rock mass is subject to a stress state at depth that is subsequently relaxed both horizontally and vertically by the erosive removal of overlying strata, which results in its isostatic uplift or isostatic rebound. The opposite happens when an existing rock mass has sediments deposited on it. It experiences an increase in vertical stress due to the accumulating overburden, and an increasing horizontal stress due to subsidence as more material is deposited. In what follows, we will concentrate on erosion or denudation and rebound, although the equations to describe the phenomena are equally applicable to burial and subsidence. Only the boundary conditions at the commencement of one or the other process may be different (for example surface stresses at the time of commencement of burial, or crustal stress at the time of commencement of erosion).
The vertical stress relaxation rate is assumed to be directly proportional to the thickness and density of the overlying strata removed, and is therefore linearly related to the thickness of overburden removal. The horizontal stress relaxation rate is also linear. The same would apply to burial; here the density of the deposited sediments is possibly lower than the density of the consolidated overburden in the erosional case. Even with these differences, the equations remain the same, and therefore the discussion will continue assuming denudation and uplift.
The horizontal elongation of rock rebounding isostatically equates to a normal horizontal strain rate of 1.6 x 10-4/km uplift, assuming Earth's radius to be approximately 6367 km. There is also the linear relaxation of vertical stress with overburden removal, which results in a linear relaxation of the horizontal stress through the equations of elasticity.
The horizontal stress need not be zero at surface, whereas the vertical stress must be zero. Haxby and Turcotte (1976) incorporate thermally induced expansion and contraction of the rock mass depending on the geothermal gradient and its depth of burial. They assume that rocks remain elastic at temperatures below 300°C, while above this temperature they flow plastically, removing deviatoric stresses and causing the stress tensor to approach the lithostatic state (Heim's Rule). This is an important paper, although the author does not agree with their assertion that the removal of overburden pressure has a compressive effect on the rock mass. The full derivation of the effects of erosion and isostatic uplift appears in Handley (2012), since it differs slightly from that of Haxby and Turcotte (1976). The equation for horizontal stress changes due to subsidence or uplift and thermomechanical effects derived in Handley (2012) is given by:
These effects are all linear, which will later be shown to be an important feature of stresses near the surface (above 10 km deep). Table IV contains the mechanical and thermal effects due to erosion of -1 km of continental crust using Equation [12] and the equation derived by Haxby and Turcotte (1976) for comparison.
Equation [12] predicts that the horizontal stress rate with erosion is slightly more than the vertical stress rate in the case of sandstone, while for limestone, granite, gabbro, quartzite, and marble the horizontal stress rate is less than the vertical stress rate. The Haxby and Turcotte (1976) analysis results in far greater horizontal stress rates than does Equation [12]. The latter is probably more plausible because the Haxby and Turcotte (1976) equation predicts strongly compressive stress states at surface, unless the horizontal stress at depth is always considerably less than the vertical stress (see Figure 13).
If there are lithostatic stresses at depth, the Haxby and Turcotte (1976) result precludes the development of vertical jointing in rock (see Price, 1966 and Figure 13) - a phenomenon that is seen everywhere. Haxby and Turcotte (1976) themselves assert that rock stress is probably lithostatic at temperatures above 300K, equivalent to a depth of 11 km if a geothermal gradient of 25 K/km is assumed. Although this is probably not true (earthquakes can originate at depths much greater than this), for the purposes of this paper it is assumed true in stable continental conditions such as those in southern Africa, and is therefore the basis of the plot in Figure 13. The best-fit lines described in Figure 13 are explained by Tables V and VI, Equation [13], and Figure 14.
Equation [12] predicts that the horizontal stress rates are fairly close to the vertical stress rates, allowing the horizontal stress to be either mildly tensile or mildly compressive at surface, depending on the state of stress before erosion and uplift takes place, and also on the rock properties. This allows for the formation of vertical joints as well as the observation that there are often compressive horizontal stresses at surface, if the rock mass is in a more or less lithostatic stress state before erosion. Both phenomena are nearly always present at surface, suggesting that the rock mass is most often in a lithostatic stress state or close to it when deeply buried. According to the geothermal gradient, rocks reach temperatures of 300°C between 11 and 12 km below surface, so from this depth downwards the stress state should be lithostatic or near to lithostatic. Rocks from this depth exposed at surface would then be marginally in horizontal tension or compression if Equation [12] is correct, which is the case observed all over the world.
It is well known that the continental rock mass near surface is seldom in a lithostatic state of stress (at least above 3000 m, as confirmed by the measurements in the consistent database), which suggests that the erosional model is important and significant, but it is not the only mechanism at work in determining crustal stresses near surface. The model appears to be too simplistic, possibly for the following reasons:
1. The rigid horizontal confinement at the continental boundaries is almost certainly not true (Haxby and Turcotte, 1976 also mention this fact)
2. Uniform erosion over an entire continent with removal of the eroded material from the continent is an oversimplification of typical erosional and deposition patterns observed globally
3. Uniform rock density is not the case in a homogeneous continental rock mass
4. The geothermal gradient is not uniform, since it varies locally and regionally
5. Assuming a homogeneous, amorphous continental rock mass is incorrect, because it contains geological structure such as joints, faults, dykes, sills, dipping and folded strata, rocks of different texture and type, and many other structures that could have a significant effect on the stress rates induced by erosion, subsidence, and temperature
6. Besides denudation and deposition of denuded material, mantle plumes, sea floor spreading, vulcanism, and subduction of oceanic crust at plate boundaries provide additional mechanisms that influence the stress state in continental crust 7. Detailed crustal stress data may not support the overall linearity of the model, which is supported by the currently available data (see below).
The linear denudation/depositional model described above is further tested near surface by fitting least-squares best-fit lines to the measured data for the vertical and two horizontal stress components versus depth. The correlation coefficients for the stress components versus depth for different collections of measurements appear in Table V.
The correlations are very good, even though the data comes from different locations across southern Africa, from rock masses with differing geological histories, but all in a similar stage of uplift through erosion and mantle upwelling (McCarthy and Rubidge, 2005). They suggest that about 80% of the variance in the stress data is explained by the depth. The 'A'- and 'B'-graded data selected by Stacey and Wesseloo (1998) show significantly improved correlation coefficients. Because of the good correlations one should conclude that there is a linear relationship between the measured stress components and depth, and that the thermomechanical model presented above may have some merit near surface if some adjustments are made to the boundary conditions. It is unlikely to be correct for the whole section through continental crust, and this should be the subject of further geophysical research in the long-term.
A near-surface pre-mining stress model showing a linear relationship with depth can be constructed from Table VI and the ideas of Price (1966), Voight (1966), Gay (1975), and Haxby and Turcotte (1976). The author first chooses a depth of 3000 m at which to define the best-fit stress state because conditions will not be significantly different from the depth of the deepest measurement in the database at 2778 m below surface. The stress state at 3000 m is determined for each horizontal stress using the intercepts and slopes of the leastsquares best-fit lines for the individual measurements from the consistent database in Table VI.
The same is done for the vertical stress component, this time using the slope and intercept for the least-squares best-fit line determined for the overburden stress determined from each measurement site. Again, the individual measurements from the consistent database were used. The reason for this choice is that the slopes determined for all the other datasets in Table VI are probably to too low for known densities of common crustal rocks (see vertical stress rates for different rock types in Table IV), with the exception of the 'A'- and 'B'-rated data from Stacey and Wesseloo (1998), where the slope is possibly too high. This point should be investigated in future research. A negative term (h - 3000) multiplied by the stress gradient with depth is added, so that a linear plot of the stress component versus depth is obtained. The slopes and intercepts are rounded so that the equations provide results to the nearest megapascal. The resulting equations are:
The consistent database stress measurements together with the straight lines from Equation [13] appear plotted together in Figure 14. The naming of the principal stresses in Equation [13] separates the vertical component from the two horizontal components because Figure 14 shows that both ah1 and ah2 are greater than aob near the surface, and both are less than aob at depth. This makes the normal naming convention of principal stresses impossible to apply.
Like the other models already described, the denudation model fails to provide a good visual fit to the data. The directions of the horizontal stresses cannot be specified in Figure 14, but local conditions on a mine will often indicate their directions unambiguously. There is still much work to be done in this area before any conclusions about the validity of one result or the other can be made. For the present, the scarcity and variability of the data and its being sourced from different geological environments may obscure the true patterns. These factors will be considered when building a generic pre-mining stress model.
Mine model
This model is derived from the deep-level gold mines of South Africa, where early stress measurements provided guidance for the assumption that the maximum principal stress was vertical, with the two horizontal principal stresses usually assumed equal and to be about half the vertical stress, i.e. a constant fraction of the vertical stress. This constant of proportionality became known as the k-ratio, which is defined as:
Subsequent stress measurements suggested that the horizontal stresses ranged between 0.4 and 0.8 times the vertical stress, which is shown in Figure 15. The equations for the simple tabular model are given by:
The platinum mines in South Africa also use this model, but in some cases assume the horizontal stresses to be equal to or greater than the vertical stress component.
From the few measurement data available from the gold mines, it appears that the stress tensor has a major principal component perpendicular to the bedding, the intermediate principal component is horizontal, parallel to the strike of the strata, and the minor principal component is parallel to the dip and dip direction of the strata. This pattern is faintly visible in the Carletonville Goldfield, and accounts for the observations that strike-stabilizing pillars are unstable - they punch into the footwall in the back areas - while dip-stabilizing pillars are stable, hence the success of sequential grid mining with dip pillars (Handley et al. 2000).
The vertical component of stress (parallel to the gravity vector) must be equal to the overburden weight, so this puts a limit on the size of two tilted components of the principal stress tensor, namely the component perpendicular to the strata, and the component parallel to strata dip. There are variations to this, especially near faults and dykes, which have been confirmed by observed changes in mining-induced seismicity near faults and dykes. It is therefore possible that non-zero shear stresses develop on vertical surfaces such as dyke boundaries and faults. There is virtually no physical information on this except for papers on stress measurements near dykes (Leeman, 1965; Deacon and Swan, 1965; and Gay, 1979).
Figure 16 contains the plot of measured k-ratios versus depth, inferred k-ratios obtained from the denudation model, and maximum and minimum possible k-ratios from the Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion (see Figure 17 for minimum Hoek-Brown parameters of crustal strength derived from the measured stress data). It is apparent that the measured k-ratio is definitely not constant with depth, and that there is a large spread in values. The superimposed denudation k-ratio curves on the data in Figure 17 produce a qualitatively better fit to the data than any of the other models, even though the linear stress curves produced by the denudation model in Figure 14 do not fit the data any better than any of the other stress models shown.
Voight's (1966) denudation model k-ratio fits the k-ratio obtained from the least-squares best-fit curve of the maximum measured horizontal stress data and the leastsquares best-fit curve of the measured vertical stress data (see Equation [13] for the parameters of these curves). The Hoek-Brown-derived limits of the k-ratio provide maximum and minimum limits to the k-ratio data for all depths after the concepts introduced earlier in Figure 10, and the derivation of the limit parameters discussed below.
Proposed pre-mining stress model
A good pre-mining stress model should recognize two facts: 1) that all stress states from the lithostatic state to a state of tensile or compressive crustal yield exist in every rock mass, and 2) the denudation model discussed above and encapsulated in Equation [13] and Figures 13 and 14 must provide a reasonable approximation of near-surface stress states. These assertions are supported by geological structure everywhere, which suggests that crustal rocks have been subject to successive stress states ranging from the tensile yield limit to the compressive yield limit several times in the geological past.
The tensile yield limit is manifested by joints, igneous intrusions, and normal faults, which could have developed in many different directions as a result of several separate episodes over geological time. Likewise, the compressive limit is imprinted on the rock mass in the form of reverse faults, folding, and mountain building. In addition to these extreme states, the rock would have been subject to every stress state in between. All rock masses in southern Africa exhibit geological structure consistent with both crustal stress extremes, in that both the tensile and compressive features are nearly always present.
The observed variability of stresses in the crust is so high that the probability of measuring a stress state close to the crustal strength, either in tension or compression, must be reasonably good. In addition, there can be considerable variation in the vertical stress due to rock mass structure. If the consistent database contains measurements of crustal stress states close to compressive and tensile failure, then fitting yield curves to the outermost measurements may provide a good indication of actual limits to crustal stress. This has been done in Figure 17, with the parameters given in Table VII.
These parameters were found by fitting Hoek-Brown yield curves to the outlying stress measurements. The Hoek-Brown limit curves predict a horizontal stress range between -11 MPa and 30 MPa at surface, obtained by setting σc = 60 MPa on average, and setting the s-value arbitrarily at 0.25, to represent widely-spaced joints in an essentially granitic continental rock mass. The vertical overburden stress is assumed to be σob = 0.027z, since this is the best-fit line slope for the overburden stress estimated for 180 individual measurements in the consistent database.
By definition, the m- and s-values must be the same for both sets of curves because they describe one continental rock mass composed of many different rock formations. Assuming the s-values are the same, and placing the curves such that they pass though the centre of gravity of the extreme values, we can find m-values by the solution of the equations. The results appear in Table VII. The m-values found for σhmin and σhmax differ only by 7.5%, which should be zero for the same rock mass, as stated above. They also provide good estimates of the k-ratio limits, shown in Figure 16.
These results are thus accepted for the crustal rock mass and used to plot the stress limits in Figure 17. The consistent database stress measurements appear in the plot to provide a visual indication of the stress limit curve fits to the data. The fact that the m-values for an assumed fixed s-value are similar but not the same can be considered to be the result of natural variability in the rock mass. since the extreme measurements in the consistent database were not made in the same location. In addition, the database used seems to provide a relatively good picture of the crustal stress extremes, and supports the supposition that the data-set contains stress measurements close to the crustal stress limits.
The fits of limit curves to the stress data have not contributed much more towards a pre-mining stress model. However, partitioning the space between the lithostatic stress line and the stress limit curves and determining the probability that a stress state will be found in any of the partitions will contribute much more toward a generic pre-mining stress model for southern Africa. Figure 17 shows the divisions, with the 180 stress data measurements from the individual measurements from the consistent database superimposed. The probabilities were determined from counts of the number of measurements of σob, σhmin and σhmax that lie in each division, and dividing these by the total number of measurements performed. The counts were done on the 180 individual measurements from the consistent database, since including the 50 averages would have resulted in double counting. This procedure was repeated for the depth ranges 0-300 m, 300-1000 m, and 1000-3000 m, and plotted as the probability curves in Figures 18-20. The probabilities determined from these curves are summarized in Table VIII.
Figure 18 shows that the pre-mining stress above 300 m tends to be lithostatic, although there is variation in all three of the components on both sides of the lithostatic line. The maximum horizontal stress tends to be bigger than the vertical overburden stress between 0 and 300 m below surface. The minimum horizontal principal stress is generally equal to the vertical stress between surface and 300 m. From 300 m to 1000 m there is still a peak around the lithostatic stress line for the vertical stress component, while the two horizontal stress components are now more spread out, with the maximum horizontal stress being larger than the overburden stress, and the minimum horizontal stress being smaller than the overburden stress. Between 1000 m and 3000 m there are only 19 consistent stress measurements, which are insufficient to provide any definite trends. It appears that the vertical and maximum horizontal components are equal, and that they peak weakly on the lithostatic line. The minimum horizontal stress tends to be lower than the other two components. Much more data will be necessary to clarify these trends.
The most common stress state in the lithosphere is likely to be lithostatic, with increasing deviations from this state at shallower depths, decreasing to the purely lithostatic stress state once molten rocks are reached in the mantle. The depth range of the stress measurements in Figures 18 to 20 is too small to show this trend, but they do show a tendency toward the lithostatic state. Certainly, igneous rocks are liquid when they are emplaced, hence their stress states will always start in the lithostatic state. Cooling and other effects will alter this stress state later.
The same can be said for sedimentary rocks: the pore-water and sediment mixture will almost certainly behave as if it were a liquid prior to solidification, resulting in a more-or-less lithostatic stress state at the time of formation - in direct contradiction of the rigid confinement model discussed above and found not to be in agreement with the stress measurements. The initial stress state at solidification (lithifi-cation) is likely to be lithostatic until it is altered by other geological processes after formation. Metamorphic rocks may also start in the lithostatic stress state if they have undergone partial melting. Sometimes the fabric of metamorphic rocks (for example the alignment of platy minerals such as mica) show that the rock was subjected to anisotropic pressure, and that the rock was probably able to sustain the deviatoric stress at the time. Such rocks probably were not in the lithostatic stress state once they had cooled.
The way to use the probabilities in Table VIII is to first select the depth range in which the mine or part of the mine falls (for mines deeper than 3000 m, use the 1000-3000 m range). For example, Table VIII suggests that a mine in the 0-300 m range will find that the minimum horizontal stress is equal to the overburden stress about 36% of the time, exceeding it 30% of the time, and is significantly less than the overburden stress about 34% of the time.
This means that, since stress variations appear to exist in rock at all scales, variations such as these will be seen both on small and large scales. This will be manifested in the haulage by zones centimetres to metres, and even tens of metres long, where ground conditions are bad and the tunnel needs extra support. This will happen only where the stresses are extreme enough to cause rock instability near the tunnel periphery. These poor areas could be interspersed by good ground conditions at scales ranging from centimetres to tens of metres where less support is needed. If the conditions appear to be uniformly good, it is likely that there are simply no areas present where the stresses are extreme. Overall conditions like these could exist on a mine-wide scale. Since we have insufficient evidence, this interpretation is debatable and will remain so until comprehensive and detailed stress databases from underground mines and civil projects have been compiled.
The actual stress values have to be quantified for the local rock mass in question so that modelling can be used to quantify where failure may occur, and which stress combinations will cause failure. This is done by finding the lithostatic stress line for the particular rock mass using the local density of the rock, or alternatively the generic value of 0.027z. The Hoek-Brown stress limits are found using either local rock mass strength parameters or the generic parameters given in Table VII. The divisions are then found by dividing the interval between the lithostatic line and the Hoek-Brown limits in tension and compression. This must be done at the appropriate depth, and the actual stresses so obtained for each division are relevant for modelling.
Now the expected stress values can be put into the model: for example the vertical stress may be equal to the overburden weight 36% of the time (Table VIII), and one division above this 28% of the time. The actual stress input into the model for higher than normal vertical stress one division above is then the stress due to the overburden weight plus 10% of the stress difference between the lithostatic stress for the appropriate depth and the maximum compressive stress limit for that depth. Similar procedures apply to the horizontal stresses, using the probabilities in Table VIII. The directions of the horizontal stresses are not specified in the model, since there should be either local stress measurements, trends in geological structure, or other clues on the mine giving the direction of the maximum and minimum horizontal stresses.
This stress model in Table VIII, combined with Equation [13] is a generic pre-mining stress model for southern Africa, given the stress measurements recorded over the last forty years. It is incomplete, and should be modified as new data becomes available. It may change from one geological terrane to another, for example the model for the Bushveld Complex would be different to that for gold mines in the Witwatersrand Basin. As an approximation it assumes that the vertical and horizontal stresses are principal stresses (Amadei and Stephansson, 1997, pp. 30-31). It needs to be adjusted for local mining conditions and for the local rock mass properties. The most important local feature will be the geological trends, which will provide information on the directions and possibly even the relative magnitudes of the horizontal stresses. In some circumstances there may be geological data that shows the pre-mining stress tensor has inclined principal components. The generic stress model is therefore not the stress model that one should expect to find in every situation, but it is one that can be adapted to local conditions using the guidelines provided. The proposed model will remain a very general model of pre-mining stress until more detail of the stress state in the Earth's crust becomes available.
Mining has barely penetrated the Earth's crust, and our knowledge of crustal stresses is sketchy at best. Pre-mining stress data remains relatively rare, and until much more data is available, the proposed stress model will remain general. The variety of stress values obtained and shown is an imprint of the various geological histories of the rock formations in which they were made. Thus the Southern African Stress Database represents a polyglot of stress states from rock formations of different ages, geologic histories, and structures. Despite this, there is a strong relationship between stress and depth for all the vertical and horizontal principal stress components.
The variability of measured stresses, coupled with the simplicity of pre-mining stress models such as the rigid confinement model, confirms why none of the simple models show a good fit to the data. The proposed model recognizes this variability, which seems to exist at all scales. It also recognizes the limits on stress variability imposed by the rock mass strength, and uses generic rock mass parameters and the Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion to define these limits. The model presented is confined to the brittle upper lithosphere (<4 km deep), where stress measurements have been taken. Any extensions to greater depth should be supported by further research and additional measurements.
Ideally, at each mine or construction project, rock mechanics practitioners should generate the range of stress states possible using the model described above, and combine it with locally measured rock stresses if these are available. From this, it will be possible to construct a probability-based range of stresses for the mine or construction project. The stress measurements should also be used to confirm whether the vertical-horizontal principal stress tensor approximation is valid, and if so, to define the directions and magnitudes of the horizontal principal stress components. If the vertical-horizontal principal stress tensor approximation is not valid, then rock mass structure such as dip, strike, jointing, bedding, and other features should be used to deduce an overall orientation for the principal stress tensor.
The following specific conclusions arise from this study:
1. Measured stress data is scarce because it is difficult and expensive to obtain, demonstrated by the fact that 180 consistent full-stress tensor measurements have been made over the last forty years over the whole of Southern Africa
2. All stress components, including the vertical stress component due to the overburden weight, are variable in rock masses
3. Measured stresses near surface (<3 km deep) show a strong linear relationship with depth
4. Geological processes over geological time have led to an increase in stress variability in rock masses, especially in cases where the rock material is brittle and capable of storing deviatoric stress states for long periods of geological time
5. A simple means of computing rock stress variability has been introduced
6. This measure of variability or dispersion has assisted in building a preliminary pre-mining stress model
7. There are definite limits to rock stress, here assumed to be governed by the empirical Hoek-Brown Failure Criterion
8. It is likely, given ubiquitous geological structure, that all rock masses have been at the crustal stress limits several times in their histories
9. The possibility that physical stress measurements will determine crustal stress limits, and therefore crustal strength, is good because limiting stress states are likely to have been preserved in the continental rock mass
10. A probabilistic crustal stress model coupled with a linear stress-depth relationship has been constructed from the consistent stress database, and these have been combined to form the generic pre-mining stress model
11. This model is based on relatively sparse information, and should improve as more stress data becomes available
12. Detailed stress studies should be undertaken to improve and extend the database and to establish more completely some of the observed stress patterns, such as linearity with depth.
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Rummel, F. 1986. Stress and tectonics of the upper continental crust - a review. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Rock Stress and Rock Stress Measurement, Stockholm, Sweden. pp.177-186. [ Links ]
Ryder, J.A. and Jager A.J. 2002. A Textbook on Rock Mechanics for Hard Rock Tabular Mines. Safety in Mines Research Advisory Committee, Johannesburg. [ Links ]
Salamon, M.D.G. 1965. Elastic analysis of displacements and stresses induced by the mining of seam or reef deposits. Symposium on Rock Mechanics and Strata Control in Mines, Johannesburg, April 1963 - June 1965. South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg. pp. 71-167. [ Links ]
Salamon, M.D.G., Ryder, J.A., and Ortlepp, W.D. 1965. An analogue solution for determining the elastic response of strata surrounding tabular mining excavations. Symposium on Rock Mechanics and Strata Control in Mines, Johannesburg, April 1963 - June 1965. South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg. pp. 375-402. [ Links ]
Stacey, T.R. and Wesseloo, J. 1998a. Evaluation and Upgrading of Records of Stress Measurement Data in the Mining Industry. Safety In Mines Research Advisory Committee Project Report GAP511. Department of Mineral Resources, Johannesburg. [ Links ]
Stacey, T.R. and Wesseloo, J. 1998b. In situ stresses in mining areas in South Africa. Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, vol. 98. pp.365-368. [ Links ]
Taylor, J.R. 1997. An Introduction to Error Analysis: The study of uncertainties in physical measurements. 2nd edn. University Science Books, Sausalito, California. 327 pp. [ Links ]
Ulusay, R. and Hudson, J.A. 2007. The Complete ISRM Suggested Methods for Rock Characterization, Testing and Monitoring: 1974-2006. Compiled by the ISRM Turkish National Group, Ankara, Turkey. ISRM Commission on Testing Methods. Turkey: Kozan Ofset Matbaacilik San. ve Tic. Sti. 628 pp. [ Links ]
Voight, B. 1966. Beziehung zwischen grossen horizontalen spannungen im gebirge und der tektonik und der abtragung. 1st Congress of the International Society of Rock Mechanics, Lisbon, 1966. vol. 2. pp.51-56. [ Links ]
Wonnacott, R. 1999. The Implementation of the Hartebeesthoek94 Co-ordinate System in South Africa. Internal Note, Chief Directorate: Surveys and Mapping, Mowbray, South Africa. [ Links ]
Zoback, M.D., Apel, R., Baumgartner, J., Emmermann, R., Engeser, B., Fuchs, K., Kessels, W., Rischmüller, H., Rummel, F., and Vernick, L. 1993. Upper-crustal strength inferred from stress measurements to 6 km depth in the KTB Borehole. Nature, vol. 365. pp.633-635. [ Links ]
Paper received Apr. 2012
Revised paper received Nov. 2012
Appendix A
Consistency checks of stress database
There is no information of uncertainties of variables used to calculate the stress data in the abridged database. These uncertainties include the following:
1. Uncertainties in actual strain relief measurements, and the consistency of these measurements
2. Uncertainties in the directions of principal strains arising from uncertainties in the strain reliefs
3. Uncertainties in rock properties (including rock anisotropy)
4. Uncertainties in borehole stress concentration factors.
All these will propagate through the calculations, resulting in uncertainties in the results presented. Errors mentioned by Gay (1979) and earlier workers such as Pallister (1969) may have been recorded along with the different stress measurements, but it appears that they may have not been available to Stacey and Wesseloo (1998), who make scant mention of them. The first clue to the angular errors that may be present lies in the reporting of most of the principal directions in the database to the nearest degree, implying a maximum uncertainty of 0.5 degrees. Since there are no errors given for rock properties or the strain reliefs, these are ignored, and are considered to be zero in the following preliminary analysis, which considers only angular uncertainty. The generalized equation of uncertainty for a function of several variables is given by (after Taylor 1997, p. 75):
The above equation adds uncertainties in a general function of n variables if the uncertainties in the variables are independent and random, and they are normally distributed (Taylor 1997, p. 58). This analysis assumes that all angular errors in the stress measurements are random, independent, and normally distributed.
The magnitude of any vector in three dimensions is defined as:
where λi1, λi2, and λi3 are the components of the vector defined in a Cartesian coordinate system. If the components λij are directional cosines, defined as the cosine of the angle between the ith Cartesian coordinate axis and the jth principal stress direction in the plane defined by these two lines, then |vi| = 1. More detail on directional cosines is available in Handley (2012). The vector and directional cosine subscripts i in the case under discussion refer to the coordinate axes x, y, and z respectively for corresponding values of 1, 2, and 3, while the second subscript refers to the principal stress.
The directional cosine matrix required to convert a principal stress tensor into components in the database coordinate system is given by (each principal stress azimuth and plunge has to be converted into an angle relating the principal stress direction to each coordinate axis - see Figure 6):
where θi and ψi are the bearing and plunge of each principal stress respectively, with i = 1 referring to σ1 and so on. The directional cosine matrix is also an orthogonal matrix, whose properties have been used to check the consistency of the stress data.
The rows of Equation [A3] are unit vectors that represent the database coordinate axis directions in terms of the principal stress directions given in the database, while the columns give the principal stress direction vectors in terms of the database coordinate system. If the directions of the principal stresses are mutually orthogonal, then the length of each vector as defined by the square root of the sum of the squares of each term in each row should be unity, by Pythagoras (Equation [A2]). If the angles θi and ψi are given to the nearest degree, then the maximum uncertainty is 0.5 degrees. The uncertainty in the first directional cosine λ11 when substituted into Equation [A1] is therefore:
and so on for the remaining eight directional cosines. The uncertainty in the normality of the axis direction vector is obtained by substituting Equation [A2] into Equation [A1] for each vector to obtain the total uncertainty in quadrature:
Equation [A5] expands to three separate equations by indexing through i. The uncertainties in the moduli of the three vectors are found easily using a spreadsheet. If the modulus of the difference between the magnitude computed for a principal stress direction and unity is greater than the uncertainty given by Equation [A5], then the principal stress direction vectors are not unity, therefore they must be inconsistent. This is given by the following condition:
If [abs (|vi| -1) δ |vi|, then the magnitude of the direction vector is not unity
It is easy to perform these checks for all three vectors, on all the data in the abridged database using a spreadsheet.
The orthogonality between the three coordinate axes is defined by the dot products between the three directional cosine vectors, namely:
These are all zero by definition for mutually orthogonal vectors. The uncertainty in the dot products is defined by substituting Equations [A6] into Equation [A1] to obtain:
Similar equations can be written for the other two dot products, and these all represent the uncertainty in the value of the dot product. If the absolute difference between the actual dot product and zero is greater than the uncertainty, then the angles between the principal stress directions are not right angles. This check is given by the condition:
If [|v1v2| δ (vivi)], then the two directional vectors are not mutually orthogonal.
When eliminating inconsistent records it became evident that many were inconsistent in only one of the vector magnitudes or one of the dot products. In some cases results proved to be inconsistent in all vector magnitudes and dot products.
Finally, one can find the stress components in the coordinate system defined in the database by applying the following equations:
There are nine equations for the nine stress components when indexing through 1 to 3 in both i and j. The uncertainty in any stress component is given by substituting Equation [A8] into Equation [A1]:
The stress components in relation to the database coordinate system are found using Equation [A8]. The uncertainties in the components are found by Equation[A9), assuming that the uncertainties in the principal stresses are zero, and the uncertainties in the directional cosines are given by Equation [A4]. The absolute difference between the stress components found from the principal stresses and the stress components reported in the database can now be found for all stress components in all the records. If the absolute difference is greater than the uncertainty computed by Equation [A9], then the record is considered to be inconsistent as defined by the condition:
If [|τij - Sij| δτij], then the stress components reported in the database are inconsistent with principal and principal stress directions reported in the database.
The stress components reported in the database are sij (sxx, sxy,....) while those computed from the principal stresses reported in the database are denoted by τij, and it is the latter that have been computed with an uncertainty based on an angular uncertainty (uncertainties in the magnitudes of the principal stresses are assumed to be zero).
Thus a total of fifteen uncertainty checks have been made on each record in the abridged database. There are three more: the stress invariants II, III and IIII, which have not been included but could easily be checked for consistency of the data as well. The reason why these variables have not been checked is that if the stress components are consistent, then the corresponding stress invariants should also be consistent.
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Wireless Networking Communications Hardware Science
Broadcast Radio Turns 100 109
GraWil writes "On Christmas eve 1906, a Canadian physicist named Reginald Fessenden presented the world's first wireless radio broadcast from his transmitter at Brant Rock, MA. The transmission included Christmas music and was heard by radio operators on board US Navy and United Fruit Company ships equipped with Fessenden's wireless receivers at various distances over the South and North Atlantic, and in the West Indies. Fessenden was a key rival of Marconi in the early 1900s who, using morse-code, succeeded in passing signals across the Atlantic in 1901. Fessenden's work was the first real departure from Marconi's damped-wave-coherer system for telegraphy and represent the first pioneering steps toward radio communications and radio broadcasting. He later became embroiled in a long-running legal dispute over the control of his radio-related patents, which were eventually acquired by RCA."
Broadcast Radio Turns 100
Comments Filter:
• Nikola Tesla demonstrated "wireless" communication (which became known as "radio") as early as 1893. In 1943, the Supreme Court declared that Tesla had invented the radio, not Marconi. I'm afraid this celebration is about thirteen years too late... [] []
A really good book to read to learn more about one of the greatest electrical engineers in history is "Man Out Of Time" by Margaret Cheney.
• by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Saturday December 23, 2006 @11:52AM (#17348184) Homepage Journal
Nikola Tesla [], ubergenius, invented radio over a decade before these demonstrations []. He even transmitted electric power by radio, to power light bulbs. And probably the robot submarine he also invented - all in the 1800s.
What is it about Tesla that his pioneering inventions are usually ignored in favor of later copycats?
• by Nate B. ( 2907 ) on Saturday December 23, 2006 @12:01PM (#17348234) Homepage Journal
You do understand that TFA is about radio broadcasting and not just about the invention of radio itself, right?
This celebration is spot on since neither Tesla nor Marconi had anyone "listening" outside of their respective labs or work groups. Conversely, Fessenden did have an audience of listeners as documented by the various shipboard operators that did hear his broadcast. Fessenden's acheivement in no way dimishes the work of Tesla, Marconi, or others, rather he built upon their work and in turn broke new ground.
This is the centennial of broadcasting where speech and music were transmitted to an unspecified number of listeners. Prior transmissions were primarily telegraphy and intended for a specific receiver. This is the crucial difference we are celebrating.
• Re:Radio Music Box (Score:2, Insightful)
by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 23, 2006 @12:16PM (#17348302)
>The upcoming digital TV cutover date in just over two years is a prime example.
>Its adoption is being hindered by the inertia of a huge installed base
>of working analog TV sets.
Not so prime. The push of digital TV comes from the factors of cheap computing power, and $$$.
Digital TV has been possible for a loooong time, but without compression, it would hog a tremendous amount of bandwidth. Digital compression fixes that, and makes it require less bandwidth than traditional analog. When the possibility of freed-up radio spectrum was realized, the business people push us to use digital so they can auction off or use the now vacant space some other way to make $$$.
The consumer gets hosed by having to get new equipment. Recieve stations on the fringe of a reception area are pretty much blacked out. When they used to get a snowy, but watchable, TV show, now they'll get nothing, or at best a bunch of garbled blocks.
Frankly, the digital TV transmissions I've seen all suck. Unlike audio, video compression artifacts are really easy for people to see. Then they buy these huge flat-panel TV sets that show off these artifacts in the worst possible way.
Now, an analog HDTV transmission (with no compression) is incredible. Unfortunately it just isn't viable. I imagine a lossless (or near lossless) digital signal would look good, too, but no one does that.
It's Christmas. I want my snow back.
• by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Saturday December 23, 2006 @12:24PM (#17348346) Homepage Journal
In its early days, radio was a 2-way, peer-to-peer medium. It was instantaneous (zero latency), hifi (plus noise), and global. It could transmit pictures (by wiring it to a pantograph or fancier device). Everyone into the hobby thought it would become what we like to think the Internet is becoming today.
But after a couple of decades, radio was reduced to a one-way, broadcast medium dominated by commercial corporate interests.
The main way this shutdown was executed was by the new US agency, the "FCC". The early tech made necessary a central registry of unique frequencies assigned to "stations", or multiple stations would "interfere", or really just all be heard by a receiver tuned to that frequency. A signaling protocol for yielding could have avoided that centralized control. A transceiver attempting a frequency could have first listened to the frequency for a signal:noise ratio above some standardized threshold before using it as a clear channel, and group comms could have signalled with a "heartbeat" above the threshold of human hearing. Or some other approach either automatic or negotiated. But the US Federal government legislated instead of letting tech solve the real problem. Which also let them control the content of the public airwaves, eventually requiring broadcasters to be officially licensed as publishers. Which now costs $millions, forcing mere hobbyists out of the market.
We can already see this same pattern repeating. Publishing streams of copyrighted material on the Net costs not only a ridiculous $0.0007 per "song" per listener (therefore 10K listeners costs $7, thousands of times more than broadcast, though the tech is cheaper). But the license requires a minimum $500 per year. Which is the cost of about 6 listeners continuously 24x7, to 4 minute average length songs. Or really more like 25 listeners, who'd have to pay $20 a year to listen (or $95 for each of 6) - just for the royalties. That minimum fee puts radio out of the reach of most hobbyists to even reach their friends. It forces streaming to go commercial. The first step towards the really expensive licenses that keep the official publishers in the same billionaire's club, with mostly the same agenda. Purely "political": controlling the people to ensure only rich commercial interests can publish.
And that's all before video streaming is really regulated. They'll surely increase the license fee for that, and probably raise the audio fees "now that the industry has gotten on its feet".
Who believes that "wireless networks", really just digital radio, will stay P2P, unregulated content, when the rest of the industry has the worst history of forcing regulations to define its limited competition? For those who do believe that, look at your radio dial. And, if you can stand it, try listening to it.
• Yes, I understand... but it's a specious analogy to make. That's like saying that the radar wasn't really invented until there were planes for it to track, or the TV wasn't invented until there were a million households from which to gather ratings.
Tesla was using "wireless" almost two decades before Marconi, et al. He used it to power unmanned submarines at the World's Fair in 1896. He used it to transmit electricity! To say that it was "invented" by others just because they had a few people listening on the other end does a great disservice (and one that continues to this day, 60 years later!) to a man whose genius far outshines anything that Marconi or any of the other copycats could come up with.
Even if you go on the basis of the article's premise that you're only dealing with "broadcast radio", there is evidence that Tesla accomplished the same thing before Marconi and Fessenden. However, due to the inventor's unfortunate lack of documentation by his own hand and his inability to focus his efforts at properly lauding his own accomplishments a lot of the time, the world may never know...
• by Phoobarnvaz ( 1030274 ) on Saturday December 23, 2006 @06:12PM (#17349970)
Class D stations are those that are not allowed to operate at all at night, or are limited to nighttime powers less than that required for a new station. (generally, less than 250 watts; sometimes as little as one watt. No new Class D stations are being authorized.) An example of a Class D station on 720 is WGCR in western North Carolina, which goes off the air completely at sundown to protect WGN from interference.
Having previously worked at a daytime-only AM in Western Arizona for several years...couldn't broadcast even with a carrier only at night...due to another "clear channel" in Seattle at the 1000 kHz frequency. At the times the automation equipment went down at the tower for about a week or so & the in-studio system shutting off like normal at sunset with only the hum of the carrier at the frequency during these times after sunset...the "clear channel" in Seattle sent letters & called during business hours to complain. Seems that some local listeners contacted the Seattle station & it came down the line to me & the engineer to figure out what was going on.
Remember reading stories of some US AM stations being authorized to run at 1/2 million Watts or more after sunset during WWII. These powerhouses could literally knock the table radios off of the table when tuned to what frequency they were on. The reason for the increase was to get the signal into anyplace in the world without any interference.
Another station I worked at many years ago was at 1000 Watts during the daytime & went to 250 after sunset. Since they could operate at 250 at night...but didn't want to pay for staff & satellites hadn't come into widespread use yet...they shut it down at midnight.
With the proliferation of satellite & other mediums...the continuation of these dinosaurs as "clear channels" needs to stop. Before the advent & use of modern communication methods..."clear channels" was the only way rural populations could hear national/international news/programming. Since the FCC is still locked into early 20th century thinking about these types of stations...don't see it happening anytime soon.
| <urn:uuid:b10a1fe2-555b-40dc-a932-12d28a6e5c1f> | https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/06/12/23/1327237/broadcast-radio-turns-100/insightful-comments | en | 0.968732 | 0.207672 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Body Bank
Taper weeks make everyone crazy. You, your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/parents/dog–everyone gets a little nuts during taper time.
I get it. It’s tough. You’ve just put ALL this effort into 12, 14, 16, 52 weeks of training and run ALL these long runs and logged ALL those hours aaaaaaaaand now it’s done.
And you wait.
Slide1But it’s good to start thinking about your body during taper time as a bank. You can make a bunch of deposits to use during your marathon or only a few. What you do NOW will determine how you do on race day.
Your race day piggy bank.
Your race day piggy bank.
1. Getting a solid night’s sleep EVERY night.
2. Eating real food.
3. Staying hydrated.
4. Avoiding “active rest” activities.
5. Keeping stress (physical and otherwise) to a minimum.
You could run yourself into the ground with all your newfound spare time. You could finally take your friends up on those happy hour drinks you’ve avoided since training started. You could continue to eat as though you’re running 60+ miles a week.
You could bank that time, stay in on a Friday night for 2 more weeks, and push back away from the table and put those deposits in your body bank for the Big Day.
Yeah! Thumbs up for race day!
Yeah! Thumbs up for race day!
Your choice. And life is full of choices, right Obi-wans?
Now go out and run!
PS. Best drawing of me running ever, right?
photo (16)
2 thoughts on “Body Bank
1. This was the perfect post for me today! I read it just before going on my last long run before the big day and it reminded me that all the other stuff- eating properly, sleeping- is part of training too! I held myself back from kicking too hard in my run, too, thinking about all of that.
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This question already has an answer here:
I'm trying to figure out what's going on with Apple's ratings/reviews system on the App Store. I've had issues with my own app (ratings/reviews not showing) now I see a major app with similar issues...
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2011 free app was released just 2 days ago (Feb 14). It now has 29 ratings and 9 reviews (one review is mine posted from night of 2/15). But this has got to be a well downloaded app right? I'm talking 1000's probably just in the first day, so where are the other reviews/ratings?
Does anyone know if:
1) Apple has humans approve all ratings/reviews before letting them show?
2) Apple has an algorithm for passing/rejecting ratings/reviews?
3) What is the exact time delay between posting a review/rating and it appearing on the App Store?
Also-> Have you had any experience with a review or rating not showing in the App Store ever or only after a long delay?
share|improve this question
marked as duplicate by bmike Feb 24 '14 at 18:32
We can't really provide a concrete answer for this question here. Since we don't know why Apple makes the decisions they do, any answers would just be guesses and speculation. – patrix May 28 '13 at 5:03
Ratings appear very quickly, and do not appear to require approval (can't imagine that they would). The reality is that almost no one rates the apps they download, and since "rate on delete" was eliminated with iOS 4, even fewer ratings will appear. (The removal of "rate on delete," where the OS asked you to immediately rate an app when you deleted it, is generally a good thing, since someone deleting it is much more likely to dislike an app than someone keeping it, which resulted in significantly skewed ratings).
Reviews sometimes appear very quickly -- within minutes of submission -- and sometimes take up to a day to appear. Last year there were some significant abuses of the review system that became public, including mass reviews submitted by marketing companies (through individual accounts set up for that purpose), so it's likely that Apple changed their policies at that point. From what I can tell, if an account has a long history of ratings across multiple developers, reviews can appear very quickly, but there seems to be a delay for new accounts or those with few reviews, which may well be approved by humans.
However, as Phillip wrote, the actual process is entirely unknown, and Apple intentionally keeps it that way.
Personally, its never taken more than a few hours before my reviews appeared, and it's usually within minutes.
Edited to add
Just wrote another review and noticed that below the entry area it says,
If a review is deemed inappropriate, it will not be posted to the App Store.
which implies potential review, and after the review is entered it says,
Your review has been successfully submitted. Please note that it may be reviewed and will not appear in the store immediately.
The "it may be reviewed" at least partially supports my "depends on your account" theory.
share|improve this answer
I think the time for ratings to show in the store is directly affected by the number of ratings submitted and not at all related to time passing.
Once your app hits a (unknown / undisclosed / and perhaps time dependent) critical mass of ratings - the data gets exposed to everyone.
I know nothing other than as a user - sometimes I have left ratings and reviews that never showed up for obscure apps. I have no insider insight and know of nowhere (even inside the NDA discussions) where this is actually documented.
share|improve this answer
This comes up from time to time and, like always, it's probably safe to say that any algorithms related to the App Store rankings, comments, reviews are all company secrets that no one is going to divulge. The same goes for the number of downloads for any app. Unless SI states publicly how many downloads they have so far, there's no way to really find out as Apple treats that information with the strictest confidence. I would be very surprised if anyone had viable (actionable) answers to your questions.
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I have rated many major apps, mostly with positive feedback, such as GarageBand, The Simpsons Tapped Out, and Bejewled, and I have never seen one of my reviews appear on the App Store.
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Did you mean to submit this as a help request to Apple? We, unfortunately, aren't affiliated with Apple at all. I recommend checking this out for feedback. – bassplayer7 May 27 '13 at 23:44 | <urn:uuid:3c362213-27c7-4e74-b0f7-fef49b4d90dd> | http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/8508/why-do-iphone-app-store-ratings-and-reviews-seem-to-get-processed-so-slowly | en | 0.976394 | 0.420924 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Las Ventanas al Paraiso presents itself as a refined beach hideaway in Los Cabos, where the Pacific meets the sky under the Mexican sun in a breathtaking, almost seamlessly connected natural design. Visited by Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba or Jennifer Lopez, Las Ventanas al Paraiso hides a spectacular collection of unique details behind its whitewashed walls. Savage beauty surrounding the resort was embedded in the exceptional design flaunted by outdoor and indoor spaces. Marble showers and Conchuela limestone floors adorn the luxurious suites, while telescopes look towards the sparkling night sky and across blue waters, capturing sea life in its permanent movement.
Being a Rosewood resort owned by Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner, luxurious design and exquisite details pave the way to the ultimate holiday. Staff moves through underground pathways, always being in the right place at the right time, their presence monopolizing your attention only when necessary. Luxury suites and villas sum up to 61 accommodation spaces, where the soothing atmosphere meets exclusive designer furniture and exceptional textures. Visiting Las Ventanas al Paraiso, your only care is which of the three restaurants to choose for your next meal. | <urn:uuid:7975f85b-e212-4d10-b4bd-b6699ee67a04> | http://freshome.com/2012/08/22/exquisite-mexican-beach-hideaway-flaunting-exceptional-design/ | en | 0.874307 | 0.03314 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Geekologie I Watch Stuff The Superficial Hedonistica
Bad Ideas: Boyfriend Visits Dentist Ex Days After Breaking Up With Her For Another Woman, She Pulls All His Teeth
Picture related: worst f***ing nightmare.
45-year-old Marek Olszewski went to visit his dentist ex for a procedure just a couple days after breaking up with her FOR ANOTHER WOMAN and, in a move that proves hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, she put him under and yanked EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS TEETH. Afterward, his new girlfriend broke up with him, because, well, she didn't want to have to chew his food for him. But I love playing baby bird!
The dentist, who works in Wroclaw, Poland, said: 'I tried to be professional and detach myself from my emotions.
Mr Olszewski said: 'I knew something was wrong because when I woke up I couldn't feel any teeth and my jaw was strapped up with bandages.
Mackowiak is being investigated for medical malpractice and abusing the trust of a patient. She could face three years in jail.
Dude, that was pretty dumb of you. Maybe you should have considered ball reduction surgery first so you'd stop living your life with such COMPLETE AND UTTER FEARLESSNESS. Come the f*** on, man -- visiting your dentist ex a couple days after breaking up with her for another woman? What are you, Polish?
Thanks to roo, Brandon and Katie, who serve revenge cold because you're less likely to be implicated that way. SMART. *sending old enemy a box of cat turds*
There are Comments.
• Pocha huntas
that we can utilize it and get more advantage.
• Eva Karea
Thanks friends, for providing such enlightening hr manual
• That sounds even scary to read! I cannot imagine what this guy would be going through right now. Regretting for his mistake!
• coute21
Rolling in dough.
• Aesthetic dental perform is regarded new area in the dental professional community, and I was quite anxious about having any visual perform done. I was harassed as a kid about my unmanageable the pearly whites.
• DeadlyLampshade
Oh and...
"He pulled my heart strings, I pulled his teeth out."
• DeadlyLampshade
I'd give the girl a year for each tooth she pulled out.
• You would think she would serve longer than 3 years.
• 3 years? She deserves more like 20.
• Who ever wrote this article is fucking amazing. I was right there with you! Every word man!
• Ickolith
Polish huh? That explains it.
Polish dentists are scary motherfuckers.
• Just goes to show you females aren't capable of separating their emotions from anything else in life. Sad really.
• Shaun9lives
Yeah, 'cause men NEVER do anything stupid after a break up, like shooting their whole family in a Cracker Barrel or anything.
• That is a stupid, sexist thing to say.
• Not stupid nor sexist. Women are biologically designed to make decisions based more on feelings than logic. Stop pretending men and women are identical in every sense, it's silly really. Men have their flaws too. Imagine saying it's sexist to say that a man has a higher sex drive than a woman. Well guess what? For most cases it's true.
• Precisely: 'most cases'. Men and women aren't identical but all women are not identical either. The original comment is making it sound that all women are incapable of separating their emotions from anything, that all women are the same. If I claimed that all men only thought with their dicks I would be making a stupid, sexist remark. Therefore I stand by my earlier comment.
• Shaun9lives
"a man has a higher sex drive than a woman." Really? That has not been my experience at all. Maybe you're not doing something right.
• This_Update_Sucks
Yeah, It's the guys fault for thinking he could trust a woman to be professional in a work environment. Not in ANY WAY her fault for flawlessly fulfilling every "crazy woman angry at an ex" stereotype in one go. You people still think a female president is a good idea?
• Shaun9lives
Nobody saying it was his fault, just that he was incredibly stupid.
• Three years!? How about one a tooth?
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Nicoleta Roșu (5minutetheft) wrote in hetalia,
Nicoleta Roșu
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"Just be disarming, darling..."
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❖ In the dark streets of London, they roam.
The city is alive with a vibrant history, the boats on the River Thames, tourists everywhere, royal pride, and lost hopes and dreams. People of all kinds converge into one unit here in London. The students and the hipsters, the showgirls and the tourists, the dreamers and the professionals. And of course... thecriminals. The lawless, disturbing the peace and inhabiting the dark underbelly of London. It becomes a problem when they rise to the beautiful silver lace to paint it red.
❖ They lay down their lives to protect her.
The Agents of the MI6 are there to protect her. Protect London, protect Britannia, protect the world. They are the intelligence service of the United Kingdom. They are a special kind of soldier that end your wars before they start, who hold their gun not to kill, but to get to their goal. Their agendas are unknown, their identities changing by the day. They thrive and survive on unpredictability and fear losing their own true identity. But all for the country.
❖ They walk among you. And you among them.
What will you be doing in London? A variety of people inhabit the city, explore it, treasure it, vandalize it, protect it... what is your story in London?
**OCs, Nyo!hetalia, and tons of characters are available!
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Monday, February 09, 2009
Lots of stuff going on
Well, it's been 3 months since my last post, and I've been doing a lot...
Let's start with Kwort. Well we're just there from the release, lots of new improvements are being done around it, and something really interesting is the new network manager and the new user manager I wrote from scratch with a completely new design using gtkdialog.
The new network manager allows you to configure your ethernet and wireless network, supporting static and dhcp, for wireless network, support for several encryption mode are available, from wep to wpa2:
The user manager stills very simple but with a very simple and smooth interface:
So, as you can see we have almost everything, since looking at the screenshot the Xfce settings manager is in it, so Xfce is kinda there, so you might be questioning "What are you waiting for a release?" Well, Xfce 4.6 is in release candidate time, so when they release it final we'll see how's the Mozilla people going with Firefox 3.1, since it would be really cool to ship it with Kwort 2.4.1. I wouldn't matter to ship a beta 3 with 2.4.1, but we'll see, since beta 3 should be released already according to Mozilla's Firefox schedule, and their delivery meeting is schedule to the end of the month (February 25th), which is just around the corner.
Resuming, lots of improvements are going on and I'm trying to make it pretty cool and easy for the end user.
That's just for Kwort, now... Some friends saw I was migrating to git, and yeah, I did, since in the past I used git with which didn't convinced me, I came back to darcs. But now, I discovered GitHub which is really cool, fast and easy to use and with lots of guides around, so you can see and follow my work at:
I have to admit here that I was influenced at work by warlock, which is the author of the wbar, to move from darcs to git, so I found a darcs2git python script and it was like charm.
Also, I implemented lots of cool new features for kpkg, and I merged kpkg with the kwort network manager and user manager making a "big" project called kwtools. Looking right now at the master tree page, you'll see this: "Implemented kpkg search /all with csv support" and you might be asking "What the hell is this guy making with kpkg implementing stuff like this?", well, I hope this feature is just enough, but basically, it is because a friend, x-ip, and I we are writing a graphical interface for kpkg, at the moment the interface is pretty rough but does show the idea, of course, icons and all that stuff is going to be implemented with also a more eye-candy interface, so you can see a preview of the application here:
As I said before and as you can see, the interface looks pretty rough, but give us some time and you'll see how cool it looks. I doubt we get in time to include this new tool in Kwort 2.4.1, we'll try, but I really doubt it since I'm just learning python, which is the language we use to write this, and x-ip is just learning wxPython with me, which is the framework we use for this.
Please, if you have any ideas for Kwort or any of the tools/applications I write, please write me, it would be nice to hear (read) about you and your ideas, and also, I don't know... help maybe? :-)
We'll, this post is already becoming large so I'm off to bed now. Have a nice week and see you around guys.
Rawshock said...
Simplicity is good, i think its the best aspect of Kwort, and the new network manager just enhances that! keep up the great work David!
rabyte said...
Wow, looks/sounds great, can't wait to try it out! Personally I'd like to see Epiphany as the default browser, but it's all about choice in OSS, right?
Nomius said...
Rabyte, I don't see that possible, at least no in a near future. Basically because Epiphany requires a lot of gnome stuff under the hood that I think will make the system heavier.
But Epiphany is the same thing as Firefox, it's just gecko with another (same) interface, so I actually I don't see any change using it.
rabyte said...
I actually was afraid you'd say that, and you're probably right. Though I disagree with you saying Epiphany and Firefox are the same. Epi is more lightweight than that old fat fox :) | <urn:uuid:ba7303b3-496f-4a9e-b182-8f5b16e6e47a> | http://nomius.blogspot.com/2009/02/lots-of-stuff-going-on.html | en | 0.976577 | 0.02263 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Sacred Texts Sagas and Legends English Folklore Index Previous Next
WHEN Tom and his wife had settled themselves in the giant's castle, they took good care not to allow any one to make a king's highway across their grounds. Tom made the hedges higher, and the gates stronger than ever, and he claimed all the run of land on the sea-side, and enclosed it. Tom's wife, Jane, was a wonderful cleanly body--the castle seemed to be always fresh swept and sanded, while all the pewter plates and platters shone like silver. She never quarrelled with Tom; except when he came in from hedging covered with mud; then in a pet she would threaten to go home to her mother. Jane was very famous for her butter and cheese, and Tom became no less so for his fine breed of cattle, so that he fared luxuriously, and all went on happily enough with Tom and his wife. They had plenty of children, and these were such fine healthy babies, that it took two or three of the best cows to feed them, when but a few weeks old. Tom and Jane thought that they had all that part of the world to themselves, and that no one could scale their hedges or break through their gates. They soon found their mistake. Tom was working one morning, not far from the gate, on the Market-Jew side of his property, when he heard a terrible rattle upon the bars. Running up, he saw a man with a hammer smashing away, and presently down went the bars, and in walked a travelling tinkeard, with his bag of tools on his back.
"Holla where are you bound for?" says Tom.
"Bound to see if the giant, whom they say lives up here, wouldn't let a body pass through where the road ought to be," says the tinkeard.
"Oh, ay! are you?" says Tom.
"He must be a better man than I am who stops me," says the tinkeard. "As you are a fine stout chap, I expect you are the giant's eldest son. I see you are hedging. That 's what all the people complain of. You are hedging in all the country."
"Well," says Tom, "if I am his son, I can take my dad's part any way; and we 'll have fair play too. I don't desire better fun than to try my strength with somebody that is a man. Come on. Any way you like--naked fists, single-stick, wrestling, bowling, slinging, or throwing the quoits."
"Very well," says the tinkeard, " I 'll match my blackthorn stick against anything in the way of timber that you can raise on this place."
Tom took the bar which the tinker had broken from the gate, and said, "I'll try this piece of elm if you don't think it too heavy."
"Don't care if it 's heavier. Come on!"
The tinkeard took the thorn-stick in the middle, and made it fly round Tom's head so fast that he couldn't see it. It looked like a wheel whizzing round his ears, and Tom soon got a bloody nose and two black eyes. Tom's blows had no effect on the tinkeard, because he wore such a coat as was never seen in the West Country before. It was made out of a shaggy black bull's hide, dressed whole with the hair on. The skin of the forelegs made the sleeves, the hind quarters only were cut, pieces being let in to make the spread of the skirts, while the neck and skin of the head formed a sort of hood. The whole appeared as hard as iron; and when Tom hit the tinkeard, it sounded, as if the coat roared, like thunder. They fought until Tom got very hungry, and he found he had the worst of it. " I believe thee art the devil, and no man," says Tom. "Let 's see thy feet before thee dost taste any more of my blood."
The tinkeard showed Tom that he had no cloven foot, and told him that it depended more on handiness than strength to conquer with the single-stick; and that a small man with science could beat a big man with none. The tinkeard then took the clumsy bar of the gate from Tom, gave him his own light and tough blackthorn, and proceeded to teach him to make the easiest passes, cuts, &c. Whilst the two men were thus engaged, Jane had prepared the dinner, and called her husband three times. She wondered what could be keeping Tom, as he was always ready to run to his dinner at the first call. At length she went out of the castle to seek for him, and surprised she was, and--if truth must be told--rather glad to see another man inside the gates, which no one had passed for years. Jane found Tom and the tinkeard tolerable friends by this time, and she begged them both to come into dinner, saying to the tinkeard that she wished she had something better to set before him. She was vexed that Tom hadn't sent her word, that she might have prepared something better than the everlasting beef and pease; and vowed she would give him a more savoury mess for supper, if she had to go to the hills for a sheep or a kid herself.
At length the men were seated at the board, which groaned beneath the huge piece of boiled beef, with mountains of pease pudding, and they soon got fairly to work. Jane then went to the cellar, and tapped a barrel of the strongest beer, which was intended to have been kept for a tide (feast). Of the meat, Tom ate twice as much as the tinkeard, and from the can of ale he took double draughts. The tinkeard ate heartily, but not voraciously; and, for those days, he was no hard drinker. Consequently, as soon as dinner was over, Tom fell back against the wall, and was quickly snoring like a tempest. His custom was to sleep two or three hours after every meal. The tinkeard was no sleepy-head, so he told Jane to bring him all her pots and pans which required mending, and he would put them in order. He seated himself amidst a vast pile, and was soon at work. The louder Tom snored, the more Jack rattled and hammered away at the kettles; and ere Tom was awake, he had restored Jane's cooking vessels to something like condition.
At length Tom awoke, and, feeling very sore, he begged the tlnkeard to put off until to-morrow a wrestling-match which they had talked of before dinner. The tinkeard, nothing loath, agreed; so Tom took him up to the topmost tower of the castle, to show him his lands and his cattle. For miles and miles, farther over the hill than the eye could reach, except on the southern side, everything belonged to Tom. In this tower they found a long and strong bow. Tom said none but the old giant could bend it. He had often tried, and fretted because he could not bring the string to the notch. The tinkeard took the bow; he placed one end to his toe, and, by what appeared like sleight-of-hand to Tom, he bent the bow, brought the string to the notch, sent the arrow off--thwang,--and shot a hare so far away that it could hardly be seen from the heath and ferns. Tom was surprised, until the tinkeard showed him how to bend the bow, more by handiness than strength, and again he killed a kid which was springing from rock to rock on the cairns far away. The hare and kid were brought home, cooked for supper, and the tinkeard was invited to stop all night.
The story ordinarily rambles on, telling of the increasing friendship between the three, and giving the tinkeard's story of himself, which was so interesting to Tom and Jane that they stayed up nearly all night to hear it. He told how he was born and bred in a country far away--more than a score days' journey from this land, far to the north and east of this, from which it was divided by a large river. This river the tinkeard had swam across ; then there was a week's journey in a land of hills and cairns, which were covered with snow a great part of the year. In this land there were many giants, who digged for tin and other treasures. With these giants he had lived and worked,--they always treated him well; indeed, he always found the bigger the man the more gentle. Half the evil that's told about them by the cowardly fools who fear to go near them is false. Many, many more strange things did the tinkeard tell. Amongst other matters, he spoke of wise men who came from a city at no great distance from this land of tin for the purpose of buying the tin from the giants, and they left them tools, and other things, that the diggers required in exchange. One of these merchants took a fancy to the tinkeard, named him Jack--he had no name previously--and removed him to the city, where Jack was taught his trade, and many other crafts. The tinkeard had left that city four months since, and worked his way down to Market-Jew. Being there, he heard of the giant, and he resolved to make his acquaintance. The rest has been told.
While this, which was a long story, was being told, Jack the Tinkeard was enjoying Jane's new barley-bread, with honey and cream, which he moistened with metheglin. "Good night, Tom," says he at last; "you see you have lived all your days like a lord on his lands, and know nothing. I never knew father or mother, never had a home to call my own. All the better for me, too. If I had possessed one, I would never have known one-thousandth part of what I have learned by wandering up and down in the world."
Morning came; and, after breakfast, Tom proposed to try "a hitch" on the grass in the castle court. Jack knew nothing of wrestling; so he told Tom he had never practised, but still he would try his strength. Tom put the tinkeard on his back at every "hitch," but he took all the care he could not to hurt him. At last the tinkeard cried for quarter, and declared Tom to be best man.
Jane had made a veal-and-parsley pie, and put it down to bake, when, being at leisure, she came out to see the sport. Now, it must be remembered the tinkeard had broken down the gate, and no one had thought of repairing it, or closing the opening. Two men of Tregender were coming home from Bal, [b] and passing the giant's gate, they thought it very strange that it should be broken down. After consulting for some time, they summoned all their courage, and--it must be confessed, with fear and trembling--they crawled into the grounds, and proceeded towards the castle. Now, no one in that country except Tom and Jane knew that the old giant was dead.
The two men turned round a corner, and saw three very large children playing. The baby, a year old, was riding an old buck-goat about the field. The two elder children, Tom Vean [c] and young Jane, were mounted on a bull, back to back, one holding on by the horns, and the other by the tail, galloping round the field like mad, followed by the cows and dogs,--a regular "cow's courant."
"Lord, you," says one of the men to the other, "what dost a' think of that for a change?"
"But to think," says the other, "that the old giant should ever have a wife and young children here, and the people knaw nothing about it."
"Why, don't everybody say that he ate all his wives and chil'ren too. What lies people tell, don't they, you?"
"Le 's go a little farther; he won't eat we, I suppose."
"I 'll throw my pick and sho'el down the throat of an, as soon as a' do open as jaws."
"Look you," now shouts the other, "you come round a little farther just peep round the corner and thee meest see two fellows wrestling, and a woman looking on."
"Can I believe my eyes, you? Don't that woman look something like Jane I used to be courson of?"
The miners satisfied themselves that it was Jane, sure enough, and quietly beat a retreat. Soon was St Ives in a state of excitement, and all Jane's cousins, believing from the accounts given by the miners that Jane was well off, resolved to pay her a visit. These visits worked much confusion in Tom's castle and family. He and his wife quarrel, but the tinkeard is the never-failing friend. All this part of the story is an uninteresting account of fair-weather friends.
Jack the Tinkeard taught Tom how to till his ground in a proper manner. He had hitherto contented himself with gathering wild herbs, -- such as nettles, wild beet, mallows, elecampane, various kinds of lentils, and chick or cat-peas. Jack now planted a garden for his friends,--the first in Cornwall,--and they grew all kinds of good vegetables. The tinkeard also taught Jane to make malt and to brew beer; hitherto they had been content with barley-wort, which was often sour. Jack would take the children and collect bitter herbs to make the beer keep, such as the alehoof (ground ivy), mugwort, bannell (the broom), agrimony, centuary, woodsage, bettony, and pellitory. Jane's beer was now amongst the choicest of drinks, and her St Ives cousins could never have enough of it. Tom delighted in it, and often drank enough to bewilder his senses.
Tom had followed the example of the old giant, and killed his cattle by flinging rocks at them. The giant's "bowls" are seen to this day scattered all over the country. Jack gave Tom a knife of the keenest edge and finest temper, and taught him how to slaughter the beasts. When a calf was to be skinned, he instructed Tom how to take the skin off whole from the fore legs, by Un-jointing the shoulders, and to remove it entirely clear of grain, and without the smallest scratch. In addition to all this, Tomy Vein (who was now a boy four years old, but bigger than many at ten) must have a coat possessing all the virtues which belonged to the tinkeard's. So a bull-calf's skin was put on to the boy, and Jane had special instructions how she was to allow the coat to dry on his back, and tan and dress it in a peculiar way. The skin thus treated would shrink and thicken up until it came to his shape. Nobody can tell how proud the young Tom was of his coat when all was done, though the poor boy suffered much in the doing.
Now Jack the Tinkeard desired the intrusion of strangers as little as did Tom and Jane, so he set to work to repair the gate which he had broken down. He not only did this, but he constructed a curious latch with the bobbin; it was so contrived that no stranger could find the right end of it, and if they pulled at any other part, the latch was only closed the tighter. While he was at work a swarm of Jane's St Ives cousins came around him; they mistook Jack for Tom, and pointed out how the children, who were playing near him, were like their father. Jack "parlayed with them until he had completed his task, and then he closed the gate in their faces.
Much more of this character is related by the "drolls;" but with the exception of constant alterations of feasting and fighting, there is little of novelty in the story, until at last a grand storm arises between Tom and his wife, who is believed by the husband to be on too intimate terms with Jack the Tinkeard. The result of this is, that Jane goes home to Crowlas, fights with her mother, old Jenny, because old Jenny abuses Tom, which Jane will not allow in her presence While yet at Crowlas another boy is born, called Honey, and, as the cow was not at hand as when she was in the castle, he was nursed by a goat, and it is said a class of his descendants are yet known as the Zennor goats.
[a] In some of the old geese dances (guise dances, from danse diguis!) the giant Blunderbuss and Tom performed a very active part. Blunderbuss was always a big-bellied fellow--his smoke-frock being well stuffed with straw. He fought with a tree, and the other giant with the wheel and axle. The giant is destroyed, as in the story, by falling on the axle. The tinker, of whom we have yet to tell, with his unfailing coat of darkness, comes in and beats Tom, until Jane comes out with the broom and beats the tinker; and then,--as in nearly all these rude plays,--St George and the Turkish knight come in; but they have no part in the real story of the drama.--See later note and Appendix E.
[b] Popular name for a mine: "Bal, a place of digging--Balas, to dig."--PRYCE.
[c] Vean, a term of endearment.
Next: How Tom and the Tinkeard found the Tin, and how it led to Morva Fair | <urn:uuid:12b25384-08af-4b2c-a0d7-bb69befaab9f> | http://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/prwe/prwe016.htm | en | 0.989746 | 0.062143 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
I love walking around Costco to see how much of a specific product a company can package and sell. Why get a pack of four paper towels when you can get a 12 pack? The list goes on and on, but the one commonality throughout the store is simple — buying in bulk saves you money. The idea of buying in bulk is not lost on real estate either, specifically condominium conversion projects.
I had a potential client come into my office two weeks ago. The gentleman wanted to purchase a condominium project — the entire building — and run it as an apartment. He said he was getting a great deal, able to purchase the units for $350,000 each. The total purchase price for the 10 units was $3,500,000. He actually brought up the fact that he was getting a discount on the price because he was buying all the units from the developer at once.
The potential client was bewildered when I told him it appeared he would only be able to attain a 20 percent loan to value, approximately $700,000. Anger was the next emotion before the individual asked “why?” I explained in detail how commercial financing works and how condominium projects are valued differently than apartment buildings. After our cordial conversation, the man realized he was not getting a deal, but rather inheriting someone else’s problem. He laughed and realized that buying the project for the asking price was a losing venture. Obviously he decided to pass on the deal.
At the turn of the 21st century, what are known as condominium conversions became popular. The idea was to go through all of the city and county regulations and transform an apartment building into a condominium project. Broken up and sold per unit, condominiums of that day and era were extremely profitable.
Of course, condominium conversions became popular and sellers quickly began charging ludicrous amounts of money for apartment buildings. Apartment buildings were sold 20 percent to 50 percent above market value simply to be converted to condominiums. Even at a 50 percent increase in price, many condo conversion projects had enough profit to make it worthwhile for a developer.
The problem with a condo conversion is the market itself. A developer who pays a premium for an apartment just to do a conversion is gambling that the real estate market will increase or at the very least stabilize, and definitely not decrease.
Without getting into the specifics, many developers had to sell their projects at a loss or conversion projects went back to the lender. Now some lenders find themselves in the precarious position of having to deal with partially built, empty buildings.
For an investor who can complete a condo conversion and operate it as an apartment, this can be a very good thing. Some investors are moving full steam ahead and purchasing condominium projects for cents on the dollar. Mathematically some of these projects make sense. The beauty with buying a condominium project at a discount is that if an investor is able to run it as an apartment building until the real estate market turns around, then they can sell the units off one by one.
The irony is that by taking apartments offline to convert into condos, apartments in some areas became scarce, placing upward pressure on the existing units, which led to an increase in rents. The downside is those market rents have now plummeted due to multiple condo conversions being placed on the rent market at the same time.
One of the major differences between valuing an apartment and a condominium project is the method that is used. An apartment’s value is dictated primarily from its income. Variables such as capitalization rates, gross rent multipliers and price per square foot all factor into an apartment building valuation. A condominium project’s value is primarily determined by the price of the unit on a per square foot basis, based off of recent comparable sales. Income does not play a part in valuing a condominium project since the units are sold off individually. The difference between the two valuations can be significant.
For example, two identical side-by-side eight unit buildings are placed on the market for sale. The first property is an apartment building with an annual income of $115,200.
The other property is converted to condominiums. Each condo is placed on the market for $350,000 making the effective price of the condo project $2,800,000. This example is to show the difference in value between the two types of properties that are essentially the same minus some improvements.
Now developers and lenders are feeling the pain of aggressive lending, while some investors are getting fire sale prices on great properties. However, as with any important investment decision, understanding what you are buying and for how much are fundamentals that must not be forgotten. It may not be Costco, but buying in bulk can still save you money if you are an investor looking to buy a condominium conversion.
| <urn:uuid:e2c3a7b3-843e-45d0-a5b9-87026f110a5b> | http://smdp.com/buying-in-bulk-saves-cash/73893 | en | 0.971523 | 0.0759 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Breaking News:
Drew Brees has fine line to walk as Saints' leader
Yahoo Sports
CANTON, Ohio – New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is hearing voices these days. Actually, it's only one voice; Sean Payton is still stuck in his head.
"I hear him every day," Brees said of his suspended head coach. "He's not there, but I hear him."
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Drew Brees pass the ball under pressure during the first quarter Sunday. (AP)
As the Saints prepare for one of the most intriguing seasons in recent NFL memory – or as Brees succinctly said, "this is weird" – one of the critical issues facing the team is the void in leadership created by Payton's season-long suspension as a result of the bounty scandal. And Payton's interim replacement, Joe Vitt, will miss the season's first six games as part of the league punishments.
Payton's dynamic combination of intelligence and energy have been a critical element of the greatest run of success in Saints history, including the team's lone Super Bowl victory to cap the 2009 campaign. Now, the Saints must find a way to divvy up that role and it obviously starts with Brees.
Brees realizes that and has already considered the solutions, which are typically different for a player. The coach-player relationship is far different than the player-player relationship, even if you're talking about a quarterback who recently signed a five-year, $100 million contract.
The common assumption would be that Brees should take over Payton's role. That assumption is dangerous.
"The most important thing is don't do too much, be yourself," Brees said. "I think the challenge comes from trying to do too much and that's part of my personality. That's part of what I have to do, check myself so that I'm not trying to do too much or pressing to do too much. I just need to be me.
"Through the course of practice, I feel the vibe of practice and think to myself, 'What would Sean say in this situation? What would Sean say to this guy about what just happened?' And then I try to go do those things. But I do it in my way, so that I'm being me, my personality. I'm taking the things he has taught me and use it if I see it, notice it, recognize it, try to do it. But, like I say, it's within my personality."
Like Payton, Brees is a combination of charming crossed with hyper-controlling.
[Michael Silver: Andy Reid's family pride always on display despite sons' struggles]
For instance, on Sunday during the Saints' Hall of Fame exhibition victory over the Arizona Cardinals, he rarely took his eyes off the field even after his one series had ended. After leading the Saints on an efficient touchdown drive, Brees paid close attention to both the defense and offense and talked to the backup quarterbacks throughout.
Others have noticed his increased intensity since the start of camp.
"Drew is on every detail," tight end Jimmy Graham said. "He's that way anyways, but you can see where he's not leaving anything to chance. Where Coach Payton might have been the guy to say something about how we did this or that, Drew is the one making sure."
At the same time, Brees knows he's not in that ultimate position of authority. Where Payton had the power to essentially hire and fire players, Brees can't cross into that realm. Likewise, Brees doesn't want to step on the toes of other top veteran players, such as defensive end Will Smith or safety Roman Harper.
[Jason Cole: Eagles face tough situation following death of Andy Reid's son]
"I don't want to misconstrue this, I'm not out there trying to be Coach Payton," Brees said. "No one can replace Coach Payton. Nobody. But we are all, within ourselves, trying to do whatever we can to lead, to do our job and, to an extent because we don't have a head coach, to understand where there might be a little bit of a void.
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Drew Brees (R) listens to offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael on Sunday. (AP)
"Where does the slack need to be picked up so that we can kind of share in that role of doing some of those little things. That's what I'm saying about on the practice field. Maybe the tempo is not good and Sean would say, 'Hey, we need to get this tempo up, get going.' I would probably do it anyway because I notice it, too, but it's almost as if he's talking in my head."
Brees said the Saints did go through some of this last season when Payton got hurt after being hit on the sideline during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. From that point on, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael called the plays instead of Payton, who was forced to watch two games from the coaches' booth.
In that way, Brees now has a trust in Carmichael's ability to handle the play-calling in games.
"Sean would be up in the box giving Pete little advice here and there, but Pete was calling the plays. He was the voice in my head. It had always been Sean Payton, no one else, but then I had to suddenly stop hearing Sean and hear somebody else," Brees said. "I have a long history with Pete. We go back to the Chargers in 2002, but this was the first time Pete had ever called plays. He did a phenomenal job, but it was an adjustment, it was a change.
"He was ready. He was so well prepared. You have to know Pete. He's really intelligent. He's understated, doesn't want the limelight, but is extremely intelligent and I love him as a coach and play-caller."
Still, play-calling is only one element of the job. An important element, but only part of the leadership equation. More important is the way Payton handled practices and the daily routine of the team. Payton had a way of putting a positive twist on a potentially negative instruction.
[Jason Cole: Curtis Martin reflects on mother's pain, lack of passion for football]
"Sean has a way of keeping it positive even when he's telling you, 'Don't screw up.' That way of saying it is a negative connotation. He keeps it positive," Brees said. "He'll say, 'Don't force it, be smart.' It sounds the same as 'Don't screw up,' but 'be smart' is more of a confidence thing. They may mean the same thing, but there's a difference and I immediately know what he's saying.
"He might say, 'The worst thing that can happen here is this, so let's avoid that.' These are things that we may have talked about many, many times before, so all he has to say is something to trigger that in my head. If he says, 'Be smart here,' I know exactly what he's saying to me."
Now, it's Brees who has to find a way to convey the same type of messages to a team that has enough talent to contend for a Super Bowl title.
If it can lead itself there.
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How Government Helps and Harms Entrepreneurs
Mar 7, 2014
123456The US is considered one of the top five places in the world to do business according to World Bank rankings. We look at why countries like Singapore and New Zealand have scored even higher and why Israel, known as the "start-up nation", only ranks 38th.- See more at:
In this episode of America Abroad, we look at whether government intervention helps or harms entrepreneurs. And we examine what the United States can learn from the success and failures of other countries.
Listen and learn more here. | <urn:uuid:ac77c4c1-e02d-4196-ac8f-82f7988baf76> | http://wmra.org/post/how-government-helps-and-harms-entrepreneurs | en | 0.933551 | 0.035094 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Dire Warning To Photographers !!!
Started Dec 22, 2010 | Discussions thread
Shop cameras & lenses ▾
Senior MemberPosts: 1,082
US security = a thieves' charter
In reply to JPG, Dec 25, 2010
I would never put my camera gear in my check in luggage.
You aren't allowed to lock you bags in the US? That's insane! Just a thieves' charter. So what happens of you lock it? Do they refuse to check it? Do they check every bag and tell you to unlock it if it is locked?
In the UK they just pull your bag and hold it at the plane. They pulled my bag as they detected N20. They had a look, a chat, spoke to the captain and loaded the bag no problem.
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Gamasutra: The Art & Business of Making Gamesspacer
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Rich storytelling and 'the new episodic' in the mobile space
Rich storytelling and 'the new episodic' in the mobile space
October 10, 2012 | By Leigh Alexander
October 10, 2012 | By Leigh Alexander
More: Console/PC, Smartphone/Tablet, Indie, Programming, Art, Design, GDC Online
How do you re-interpret AAA storytelling techniques for the mobile age? Alex Seropian, formerly of Bungie and Wideload, is now the founder and CEO of Industrial Toys, and John Scalzi has been writing science fiction books since 2005, most recently authoring the New York Times bestseller Redshirts. The pair is now collaborating on mobile games for core audiences, and storytelling will play a significant role.
Scalzi and Seropian -- who actually went to college together -- now share values around the power of epic storytelling to enrich the lives of gamers, and see it as a priority for game designers even if they are not writers.
However, storytelling in games is, of course, a different proposition than it is in other media where the story is processed through observation versus interactivity: "Players inherently are active participants in what's going on, and this is important," says Scalzi.
Many people who don't make games think the primary vehicle for storytelling in games is the cutscene, a linear form of storytelling. "Self-service" lore databases are good vehicles for players that are engaged and want to read, and combat dialogue involves the delivery of information related to the ongoing action. "Using a little bit of game logic is a cool way to make the experience feel like it's the player's own," says Seropian.
In an action game, "magic moments" and memorable scenes can play strong roles. In Heavy Rain, the scene when the character is being goaded to sever his own finger was interesting to players, to where Seropian felt satisfied by his choice even when he pressed the wrong button by accident: "I never felt like I wanted to go back and replay it, because that was my story -- to go back and re-do it would invalidate what had happened," he explains.
The challenge in the mobile space is that players' engagement cycles are much shorter. "People may sit and play for a long period of time, but the way people have been trained on these platforms... is that things are very immediate, things start instantly, you get to the action quickly, and you only have a few cycles to get that engagement," Seropian explains.
How do you translate that AAA, deep experience to a platform when you can only be certain of getting about 60 seconds of someone's time? Moreover, it's common for people to play mobile games with the audio off, so it's best to assume sound isn't going to help.
Neither is the lush app selection -- there are an overwhelming number of games available, many of them free. This fosters what Seropian calls "app promiscuity": There's no penalty for downloading a lot of apps and giving each one a quick try before moving on to the next.
So what are some of the strengths of mobile as a platform for rich play? First, everyone has a phone, and today's devices are always online, giving the developer a constant avenue to communicate with the player. "Similarly, every one of these devices has a store, and has a way to deliver content directly to it, so the friction [of providing] an experience to a customer is the lowest on any platform," Seropian notes.
In Seropian's view, any game can be an "RPG," from the perspective that engaging content contains relatable characters with which the player can grow with over time. Scalzi notes this concept applies to any sort of story, with the basic "hero's journey" monomyth beginning with a character who doesn't necessarily begin as heroic, but ends up that way.
This means one way to capture audiences in a crowded field can be to create a character that is relatable but nonetheless stands out. The problem is there are such a wide array of iconic characters existing just in gaming alone, says Scalzi.
"There are the war heroes, the mechs, the superheroes, any sorts of archetypes, and so every time you go to design a character or try to build that into what you're doing, not only do you have to make that character interesting in his or her own right, but you're also up against every single character that exists, that your players have played before -- every single person they can imagine themselves to be."
So how can you define personality in 15 seconds? The pair demonstrated how many traits you can glean about characters and the relationship they have by only four lines of short dialogue between two people. "We need to hit these things early and often," says Scalzi. "You need to draw people in and immediately you give them context."
The "D&D Method" of world-building involves creating a massive, developed world with a lot of detail and rules, and then running a campaign through it, a la Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.
The other option is to create the story first, and then build the world as such that it accommodates the story but not too much outside of it. Any game on a rail is an example of this, where the only physics of concern are the ones that apply specifically to the necessary moments in that experience.
There are benefits to going "full-on D&D," says Seropian. When you start asking yourself questions about your universe, it builds a framework that answers a lot of the questions that surface about content.
It also helps with the cross-media ecosystem that naturally is more possible in the mobile market, which supports books, video, and apps that can tie in. Without a universe designed beforehand, you end up needing to recruit others to build out that content.
For their own current collaborative project, the pair is going beyond gaming to add in something that resembles "something like a book." But how to include the audience in that narrative? "The audience's expectation is not just to be taken along for the ride, but to be part of the ride," says Seropian.
To him, this forms a "reinterpretation" of the meaning of episodic games, which used to be conceived as something analogous to the television programming model, an approach that didn't broadly catch on for games. But as an overall idea, the pair remains interested in viewing the game-making process as an ongoing one that includes the customer in its iterative loop.
"We learn a lot when a game comes out and it doesn't end there -- we continue to refine, add content and features and update the game by using information we're getting from the customer," says Seropian. "To me that is really what episodic game-making is about, now."
Better than community tools like forums, build tools into the app from the beginning to encourage the gamer to take part in the process. "Mobile is a platform that was born out of the 'killer app' of communication... so building those kind of tools, for us, was kind of a 'duh'," says Seropian.
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Whiskeytown: Stranger’s Almanac (Deluxe Edition)
Despite their volatile history, 90s alt-country upstarts Whiskeytown somehow managed to get it together when they were in the studio. Now released in an expanded version, their sophomore album is a lasting testament to the talents of the band’s stalwarts Ryan Adams (then 22) and Caitlin Cary. Memorable tracks like 16 Days and Yesterday’s News are joined by a goldmine of session demos that include covers of Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Cash tunes. One protracted album later, Whiskeytown were no more, but Stranger’s Almanac would stand as a defining album from the No Depression era. [watch Whiskeytown live in concert] | <urn:uuid:a8562c9b-8667-412e-a3e4-d0bbd59460aa> | http://www.lostateminor.com/2008/03/05/whiskeytown-stranger%E2%80%99s-almanac-deluxe-edition/ | en | 0.940021 | 0.283766 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:01:04 -0600 From: K_V D Subject: Only One Road - 4 This is a work of fiction. All the resemblances are completely accidental. Don't read it if you are not supposed to. You know the drill. My e-mail is if you want to tell me something (insults, praises, and whatnot). Thanks! - IV - After the punching incident Dylan became different around me. I guess he felt really guilty about the whole thing. Back then I didn't know that Dylan feeling guilty was as incredible of a thing as, let's say, a UFO landing on the roof of my house. But we started hanging out together more often, mostly due to the fact that I was never a very popular person and I was usually known as a loner. As for Dylan... Well, he wasn't an unpopular one. On the contrary. Except his popularity was on the nasty side. Sometimes in the beginning of October one of our own personal dictators named Billy Vaughn decided that Dylan is stealing too much of a spotlight from him. So he decided to fix that. Billy had three sidekicks (I called them pets) - Mickey, Wes, and Tanner. Those three idiots were ridiculously loyal to him. Sometimes I thought they would happily jump off the bridge if Billy told them to. Naturally, they were the ones who always did all kind of dirty work for Billy. But in Dylan's case, I guess Billy decided that he wanted to take care of "that obnoxious blond" by himself. I never really knew what happened between them. I guess Dylan told Vaughn to go fuck himself one of those days when Billy was trying his best to dominate Dylan. He also was quite descriptive about the whole thing. So, naturally, Billy decided to show him what happens to people when they get "smart" around someone as Billy Vaughn. Of course, Billy would never do something like that in public. He wasn't the brightest of them all but even he knew that for assaulting and heavily damaging someone (well, that was his original plan) he will end up with crapload of charges filed against him. So one of those days he jumped Dylan all by himself behind some grocery store. Again, I have no idea what actually happened because Dylan never told me. But Billy hasn't come to school for almost a week after that. When he finally did come back, he looked like he was hit by a truck. His face was one ripe bruise, he was missing at least two teeth, and he limped for almost a month. Dylan, on the other hand, only had a hefty scratch on his cheekbone. Apparently Billy cut him with his ring. The outcome of the fight didn't surprise me at all. I remembered how well Dylan could hit. I also remembered how quick he could react. But I was the only one who wasn't dumbfounded. See, when you look at Dylan, the only thing you notice is beauty. He was also on the skinny side even though he was as tall as me. You just don't see someone who looks like that kicking anyone's ass, let alone Billy Vaughn's. After the whole thing Billy and his pets left Dylan alone for a little while. I guess Billy decided to give himself enough time to heal and also to come up with a plan. And life just kept on going on. And then, a couple of weeks before Halloween I realized to my own horror that I was falling for Dylan Mort harder than I fell for anyone in my entire life. At first I just shrugged the very idea off. I mean, it sounded ridiculous. He was a guy for crying out loud! I have never had a thing for guys. Ever. Well, after the last week of October the idea wasn't as ridiculous anymore. Jesus Christ, he was in every single dream and fantasy of mine, it was driving me insane. Every time he'd look at me with those bottomless eyes of his, I'd become completely and utterly helpless. I had no idea about his preferences. I had no clue if he was straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I never asked him that question. He never dated anyone and he was really weird when it came to touching. He would stiffen up every time someone would tap him on the shoulder and if someone would grab his hand for some strange reason, he would look like he was about to kill that person. He never freaked out on me though. I don't know what is was or why, but he acted completely normal if I bumped into him or if my hand ended up on his shoulder. Finally I gave up on trying to stop the insanity. I gave up and decided to go with the flow and, most likely, to suffer. Because I didn't see anything happening between Dylan and me. Ever. It was the first Friday of November and he told me that Kay (who turned out to be his Aunt) left for a photo shoot somewhere in Hawaii. "I am not to touch her car while she is away", he said matter-of-factly. "Can you give me a lift home today? It's raining like a bitch and..." "Sure", I nodded. "No problem." So I took him home that day and when I pulled to the curb, I just waited for him to get out so I didn't even bother throwing the car into park. He looked at me in a slightly amused way. "Turn it off", he said and I blinked. "Turn what off?" I asked carefully. "The car", he said. "I figured you'll want to come in." I almost said that I needed to get home, that I had crapload of errands to run, that I had several projects due on Monday... I didn't say any of that. I just turned the car off and followed him into the house like I was on the leash or something. He made some god-awful instant coffee and pulled two apples out of the fridge. He threw one apple to me and sunk his teeth into the one he had in his hand. It was funny to watch him eat. He would take really small bites out of the apple but every bite somehow looked angry. His wet hair was clinging to his neck and he shook his head impatiently, trying to get it off his skin. "So how is it to live with a model?" I asked after I was almost done with my apple. He shrugged. "It's okay. Her schedule is insane. She gets up at four thirty every morning." "Brutal", I winced. "Yeah", he nodded. "Then she works out like a woman possessed for two hours and then she leaves." "No wild parties or anything?" I smiled. "No", he said seriously. "She is gorgeous", I muttered and threw the rest of the apple away. "Yeah", he nodded. "She looks a lot like my Mom. Well, from what I see on the pictures anyway." "Beauty runs in the family, huh..." I said and immediately bit my tongue. He gave me the same slightly amused look as before. "I guess", he chuckled. "What happened to your Mom?" I asked, desperately hoping for a change of subject. "She died when I was seven", he said indifferently. "I don't remember her well. I can only see the resemblance between her and Kay on the pictures." "I'm sorry..." I muttered and he shrugged. "Shit happens", he replied calmly. "How come you are living with Kay?" I asked. "Because she is my only living relative", he threw whatever was left of his apple into the trash can. "What about your dad?" I frowned. "Never knew the man", he said melancholically. "After my Mom died, I lived with my stepfather. And then he died too... There was fire in our house back in April so..." he shrugged again. "God..." I muttered. "I'm sorry..." "I am not", he said with a strange glint in his eyes. "I hated the son of a bitch." I had no idea what to say to that. Suddenly his expression changed and he gave me a smile. A small one, with the corners of his mouth, a bit crooked. Nothing spectacular, really. But for some insane reason that smile took my breath away. I got up. "Umm, I better head home", I said uncomfortably. "I got stuff..." He stepped closer like he wanted to whisper something in my ear. "...To do...", I finished in a smaller voice. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking or doing, standing so damn close to me. His scent was making my heart thump in some weird broken rhythm. "I'm gonna go..." I muttered. "Kiss me", he said suddenly and I froze. "What?" I squeezed out finally. "Kiss me", he repeated in a softer voice. I managed to make a sound that sounded like very strained laughter. "Is this a joke?" "No", he muttered. "I don't think so... Dylan, I..." I had no clue what I was going to say. "I don't kiss guys"? "I have to go home"? "I think the sky is falling"? No clue. Then something strange flashed in his eyes again. "Do you find me repulsive?" he asked in a tight voice and I just stared at him. "What...?" I stuttered. "No... Jesus, no!" "Then kiss me", he said again. "Oh for the love of God..." I muttered. "Fine, fine... Here..." I leaned forward and touched the corner of his mouth with mine. God, it felt awkward and insanely electrifying at the same time. I was about to pull away and make a very uncomfortable joke about the whole thing when he opened his mouth and then his tongue was flicking back and forth across my lips in quick frantic licks. It felt weird. I kissed my fair share of people (girls that is) and neither one of them did anything even remotely close to what he was doing. I was trying to figure out what to say when I finally do pull away from him. I was trying to find the words when I realized that I managed to catch his tongue in my mouth and now I was frenching him like there was no tomorrow. His hands were everywhere at once, it seemed. They were on my face, my hair, my back, chest... Hell, everywhere. I sunk my fingers into his hair and stopped thinking and worrying altogether. I didn't care anymore. I didn't give a damn about the fact that this whole thing was weird. I could care less about the fact that he was a guy. Nothing mattered. His tongue was as quick inside my mouth as it was on the outside. I always favored slowness but whatever he was doing with his tongue, turned me on right now like no other. Then he suddenly slid out of my mouth and the next thing I knew, he was nibbling on my neck right under my chin. Jesus Christ, I swear, I almost came right there. I guess I was shaking because he pulled away and looked at me with a very slight frown as if trying to figure out whether I am shaking because I like what he is doing or because I, indeed, find him repulsive. My fingers were still caught in his hair and I had no intention of removing them from there. I stared at him without blinking. Holy Mother of God, he was beautiful... I don't know what I looked like right then, but his frown disappeared and I could feel his shoulders relax. I pulled him closer and this time he wrapped both arms around my neck, closed his eyes, and threw his head back. I knew what he wanted and I started sliding my mouth down his neck, all the way to his collarbone, and back. I traveled all over his throat, his chin, cheeks, his entire face. The minute I licked behind his ear, he whimpered and held me tighter. I decided to take advantage of that and nibbled on his earlobe with gusto. Now he was shaking. Finally he almost pushed me away and his eyes flew open. "Stop..." he whispered. "Connor, stop... Shit, I'm gonna..." I didn't want him to explode in his pants so I stopped and cupped his face in my palms. He looked at me like he was in some mild trance, his mouth slightly open, breathing shallow. "Jesus..." I muttered. "Dylan, you are..." I slowly traced his eyebrow with my finger and he blinked. "I know", he grimaced. "A pretty little fucker, I know..." "No", I breathed and shook my head slowly. "No! You are beautiful..." He didn't say anything to that. He just looked at me without blinking. I stroked his face very lightly, with my fingertips. I felt like I was a blind man, trying to read him. I was tracing his lips, my hand shaking, when his tongue struck again. He got the tip of my finger into his mouth and closed his eyes. Oh my God... I had no idea that someone licking and nibbling on your finger can feel so damn erotic. Watching him do that was an enormous turn on as well. I was getting dangerously close to the point of no return and his hips rubbing against mine didn't help. "Dylan..." I breathed, my heart dancing demented polka. "Stop... Oh God... Stop..." He opened his eyes slightly. Instead of stopping and letting my finger out of his mouth, he sucked on it even harder, his tongue dancing in broken circles all over my hand it felt. One of his hands slid down my back and he pressed me harder against himself, his hips grinding into mine almost viciously by now. "Dylan..." my voice sounded like someone was choking me. "Oh Jesus, Dylan... Stop...!" That was when he finally let my finger out of his mouth just so he could attach himself to my lips instead. He was shaking even worse than me by that point. He started moaning into my mouth and it drove me wild. All remaining control that I still had, disappeared without a trace. And then... Okay, you know how the faucet just blows up if there is a broken pipe or something? And all that water just explodes everywhere? That pretty much describes what happened. My arms instinctively wrapped around him tighter and I just convulsed like I was being electrocuted. He grabbed my hair and pulled it so hard that my head jerked back. He was screaming in whisper. I don't even know how to describe it. I have no idea how long we were thrashing against each other. It felt like eternity and just a flash of a second at the same time. Finally he relaxed his grip on my hair and dropped his head onto my shoulder. I buried my face in his hair and I couldn't speak. Hell, I couldn't *think*, let alone speak. "Jesus..." I muttered finally very weakly. "Hold on... You just humped me until we both came..." "Uh huh..." he said, his voice muffled. "How in hell am I suppose to show up at home in these pants now?" He raised his head, looked at me, and grinned. "We'll wash them", he said. "I was afraid you'll just take off, you know? I wanted you to stay..." "All you had to do was ask", I muttered. "I wouldn't go anywhere... Not after I kissed you..." "Well", he gave me the same kind of smile that started this whole thing. "Now I know." "Jesus..." I said again very weakly and dove into the silk of his hair again. "Stay tonight", he whispered into my neck. Stay tonight? Seriously? Am I really gonna do this? I mean, humping is one thing but... When I remained silent, Dylan's body immediately tensed up. "Or not", he said tightly. "Let's wash..." "I'll need to call my mother", I interrupted him. "Let her know that I didn't get kidnapped or something..." "...Your pants..." he finished automatically and raised his head again. He looked like someone who is afraid to wake up. I started kissing him again and he closed his eyes, his heart beating so wildly, I could taste it in his mouth. Then sometimes later we managed to shove our pants into the washing machine and I called my mother. She just hemmed when she heard my voice and told me to "be safe for the love of God". I knew that she thought I am spending the night with my new girlfriend or something like that and I never elaborated enough to let her know otherwise. I didn't think she would freak out or faint but I knew that she will start interrogating me and I had no desire for that. We ended up in Dylan's bed around seven in the evening and we didn't leave it until next morning. It was unbelievable. *He* was unbelievable. If the humping incident left me speechless, then whatever happened in his bed left me with nothing but ringing in my ears. We fell asleep sometimes around three in the morning and the last thing on my mind was "I'll do anything for him". I slept like a rock that night, it was great. Then I woke up (it was eight thirty in the morning) because of someone's terrified gasp. | <urn:uuid:48f04102-09c3-49dc-880b-294a93ebc580> | http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-friends/only-one-road/only-one-road-4 | en | 0.995122 | 0.049148 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thread beginning with comment 515752
FreeBox revolution
by spiderman on Thu 26th Apr 2012 06:45 UTC
Member since:
In France, Our ISP provides personal NAS as part of the service. Included in the contract (€36/mo), You get unlimited ADSL or optical fiber depending on where you live, a FreeBox Revolution with 250Gb of storage, TV, unlimited landline, 2 hours of mobile call + 20 minutes of data, wifi hotspots, etc... The NAS is just part of the service.
Edit: Forgot to mention you also get ipv6, so you don't have to setup a dynamic DNS for your NAS if you don't have a fixed ipv4. And I should mention that ISP that don't offer ipv6 are retarded.
Edited 2012-04-26 06:52 UTC
Reply Score: 2 | <urn:uuid:6c3fad4e-d3d7-40f4-a34b-8b478dcca8b5> | http://www.osnews.com/thread?515752 | en | 0.953525 | 0.027946 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Widget Pages
J2EE patterns: Widget Pages
1. Widget Pages (2 messages)
Widget Pages
An HTTP-Oriented MVC Pattern
by Guilherme Gusm?o da Silva
* HTTP request and response cycle nature impacts the MVC pattern.
* Here we try to describe this impact.
* Based on that description we propose an HTTP-oriented MVC pattern called Widget Pages.
* The new MVC pattern makes extensive use of XMLC and Barracuda technologies.
The MVC Pattern
* MVC separates a GUI in its data (model), its appearance (view) and its algorithm (controller).
The HTTP Protocol
* HTTP separates a Web page in its markup representation and the corresponding Web browser GUI.
MVC versus HTTP (I)
* HTTP distinguishes between a markup view and a GUI view. MVC does not.
* For the HTTP server, there is only a markup view, not a GUI view. For MVC, there is only a GUI view.
* In the HTTP response, the markup view should also represent pure data.
MVC versus HTTP (II)
* A view as a GUI always represents either a valid, or a fake, or even an empty model processed by a controller. So it is also a whole MVC pattern.
* A view as markup can also be a whole MVC pattern - a model processed by a controller.
* However, it can exist before any controller processes any model. So it can be a pure view (for instance: <SELECT></SELECT>).
MVC versus HTTP (III)
* HTTP splits MVC into both a server MVC (sMVC) and a client MVC (cMVC).
* sMVC is the model of cMVC, which is also a view based on an interpretation of sMVC by a client-side controller.
* So sMVC is the view model of cMVC, and cMVC is the controller view of sMVC.
The Data Concept
* The data within the HTTP response view is the sMVC model.
* So the sMVC model is data.
A Controller as Data
* The sMVC data can also be the cMVC view model (for instance: a checked radio button within a table cell).
* To add a view model to an sMVC pure view, the HTTP server has to give a controller another controller as data.
* So the data concept is not restricted to pure data.
The Prototype Concept
* The HTTP response view should incorporate data.
* A pure, empty view to which an sMVC controller adds data is a prototype.
An XMLC Prototype
* XMLC generates Java classes from HTML, XML, XHTML, and WML etc.
* In these classes, each XML tag identified by an ID attribute within the original document is a DOM node accessible by a getter method.
* Such a DOM node is a prototype.
The Widget Concept
* A widget is an algorithm capable of adding data to a prototype.
* So an sMVC controller is a widget.
A Barracuda's Widget
* Barracuda has components capable of adding data to prototypes.
* For a Barracuda's component, data can be another Barracuda's component.
* So each Barracuda's component is a widget.
The Page Concept
* A widget needs access to a prototype in order to add it data.
* This access can be a Java interface getter method allowing the widget to vary its prototype providers.
* Such a Java interface is a page.
Multiple Page Inheritance
* In Java, multiple inheritances are allowed within interfaces.
* Through multiple inheritances within pages, it is possible to vary the prototypes in a Web page without changing or creating any widget.
Widget Pages Core
* The Widget Pages core defines five Java classes.
* These classes include three interfaces, an abstract class and a final class.
* In addition to depending on other Widget Pages core classes, a Widget Pages core class depends only on the Object class.
* Now follows a description of each Widget Pages core class.
* The Widget Pages core defines a mandatory parent class for all pages, the Page interface.
* However, there is no Page method that gets a prototype used by all possible widgets.
* Therefore, the Page interface has no methods.
* The Widget Pages core defines a mandatory interface for all widgets, the Widget interface.
* The Widget interface has five methods.
* Now follows a description of each method of the Widget interface.
* The Widget.getData() method returns a data object:
* public Object getData();
* A data object can be any object, including a Widget interface implementer.
* So the Widget.getData() method returns an Object.
* The Widget.getPrototype() method returns an actual prototype implementation:
* public Object getPrototype();
* A prototype can be any object, such as an org.w3c.dom.Element, or an org.w3c.dom.html.HTMLSelectElement.
* So the Widget.getPrototype() method returns an Object.
* The Widget.getWidget() method returns an actual widget implementation:
* public Object getWidget();
* A widget can be any object, such as a Barracuda's component.
* So the Widget.getWidget() method returns an Object.
* The Widget.getWidget(Object) method returns a Widget interface implementer:
* public Widget getWidget(Object);
* The returned widget is a clone of the invoked one whose Widget.getData() method returns the same Object received by the original widget as a parameter.
* The returned widget is data for the invoker ones.
* The Widget.getPage() method returns a Page interface implementer:
* public Page getPage();
* The returned page is a child of the Page interface used by the widget to get its prototype.
* The Widget Pages core defines a mandatory parent class for all widgets, the PageWidget abstract class.
* It has two constructors, one of which receives a Page interface implementer and an Object as data.
* The PageWidget abstract class provides final implementations of three Widget methods:
* Widget.getData()
* Widget.getWidget(Object)
* Widget.getPage()
* The other constructor of the PageWidget abstract class receives a Page interface implementer, an Object as data and a WidgetDataHandler interface implementer.
* The WidgetDataHandler interface has only one method, called within the Widget.getData() method for changing a widget data as necessary:
* public Object getData(Object);
* The Widget Pages core defines a default implementation of the WidgetDataHandler interface, the DefaultDataHandler final class.
* Its WidgetDataHandler.getData(Object) method returns the same Object received as a parameter.
* This is the class used within the Widget.getData() method when the PageWidget class two-parameter constructor is used.
Pattern Scope
* In addition to multiple page inheritance, the Widget Pages core applies to the full sMVC because of three methods:
* WidgetDataHandler.getData(Object)
* Widget.getPrototype()
* Widget.getWidget(Object)
* Now follows a by-method showing of it.
* This method allows giving a widget other widgets as data.
* So a widget (an sMVC controller) can add any view model to any prototype.
* This method allows using the same widgets for adding data to any prototypes.
* So the same widgets can be used within any other widgets to add data to whatever their prototypes are.
* This method allows adding data to widgets contained in other widgets by means of the containing ones.
* So the same widgets can be used within any other widgets whatever their data is.
Reason For The Name
* The proposed MVC pattern is called Widget Pages for multiple page inheritance directs it toward widget sets that are also pages, widget pages for short.
Main Benefits
* Rigorous isolation between the view and the controller (XMLC).
* Truly generic controllers (Barracuda).
* API independent of both widget and prototype implementations (Barracuda and XMLC).
* Compile-time checking of the widget/prototype contract (XML ID tags).
* Optimized access to prototypes (XMLC-generated DOM node getters).
* XMLC (http://xmlc.enhydra.org).
* Barracuda (http://barracuda.enhydra.org).
* XML Journal article "Enhydra Design Patterns for ASPs" by Nick Xidis (http://www.sys-con.com/xml/article.cfm?id=340).
Threaded Messages (2)
2. Widget Pages[ Go to top ]
Do you mean HTML or *ML rather than HTTP. HTTP is a protocol.
3. Widget Pages[ Go to top ]
| <urn:uuid:c9642025-665d-40f3-b216-77281839d833> | http://www.theserverside.com/discussions/thread.tss?thread_id=15256 | en | 0.77903 | 0.84807 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Nancy Lanza: Did She Play A Role In Son's Breakdown?
Amanda CrumLife
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Nancy Lanza, the 52-year old mother of the gunman who took 26 lives in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, is being portrayed as a potential source of the issues plaguing her son.
Lanza was an avid gun collector and was described by those who knew her as a "survivalist" who stockpiled water and food for an oncoming economic crisis. She was also loathe to let anyone into her home and friends and family say they rarely saw Adam Lanza; it's been reported that he suffered from Asperger's Syndrome, and some say the combination of the disorder and a lack of social interaction could be huge factors in what set him off last week.
Described by those close to him at school as a "genius", Adam struggled with a learning disorder and spent much of his time at home on the computer, absorbed in his own world. Rumors that Nancy Lanza was so protective of her youngest son that she wouldn't let him out of her sight--even to use the restroom--are being circulated after it was reported that she stopped working in order to spend more time taking care of him. Still, the anti-social behavior continued right up until the shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
"You would say ‘‘hi’’ and he would say ‘‘hi’’ back but he didn’t give you a lot to work with. He wasn’t exactly welcoming," said Kate Leen, who attended school with Adam.
An acquaintance of Nancy's who spoke to her in a pub about a week before the shootings says she knew something was going on with her son but felt she couldn't help him.
“Nancy told me he was burning himself with a lighter. In the ankles or arms or something,” he said. “It was like he was trying to feel something.”
Nancy Lanza was found shot to death in her bed after police raided the home, and a computer in Adam's room was smashed to bits on the floor; investigators are currently trying to repair the hard drive in an effort to look for any small clue as to why Adam took off with his mother's guns on Friday and ended so many lives.
Amanda Crum | <urn:uuid:48a2f4ff-f803-478b-9203-8250aa449868> | http://www.webpronews.com/nancy-lanza-did-she-play-a-role-in-sons-breakdown-2012-12/ | en | 0.991244 | 0.018485 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Religion & Ethics: Content from Across the ABC
Date/Time 11 Feb 2016 8:16:52am
Of course in this day and age everybody knows that a "virgin" HUMAN birth is impossible. This is so even from a yogic, mystical, and Spiritually informed perspective.
Tom Wright's religion is entirely exoteric, and therefore essentially anti-Spiritual, and thus at root essentially God-less. As indeed is the religion promoted in all academic theology schools, and with very rare exception in the Christian blogo-sphere too. All of which reduces human-kind and all of human doings to the mortal meat-body scale only. Such is a dreadful situation.
Which is also to say there is not even a hint of any understanding of the esoteric dimensions of our human body-mind-complex. No understanding of the etheric, astral, mystical, yogic, Spiritual or Transcendental dimensions of our existence-being.
What could a "virgin" birth mean? What hidden, long ago forgotten understanding of the inner dimensions and perceptions of Reality does it refer too? Inner dimensions or perceptions which been universally experienced in all times and places. And which are latently true of every single human being in each and every moment.
Unfortunately there are massive cultural taboos against experiencing these esoteric and potentially Spiritual dimension. Especially in the Western world which has long ago gone down the path of esoteric and Spiritual blindness. | <urn:uuid:a17bc7a3-d006-4872-8a68-c0380c12e166> | http://www2b.abc.net.au/tmb/View/NewMessage.aspx?b=273&t=480&tn=&dm=1&m=17527&tpa=&r=%2Ftmb%2FView%2FMessage.aspx%3Fb%3D273%26t%3D480%26a%3D0%26ps%3D50%26tpa%3D%26uto%3D1%26dm%3D4%26ci%3D0%26pd%3D1%26so%3DDateTime%26soa%3DFalse%26p%3D1%26p2%3D0 | en | 0.931395 | 0.102152 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
I'm an experienced programmer new to Drupal. Would like a pointer to any docs on the best way to handle a one-to-many relationship, e.g. a User has-many Tasks or a Company has-many Locations. It's looking like I do this with Views? The examples I've found seem to rely on tags, which seems like it might be relationally iffy, but I'm sure I'm just missing something.
Raphael Apard’s picture
I'm not sure to understand what you want exactly. I would say to use a node reference. See project references.
tomcam’s picture
Thanks for answering!
What I'm looking for would work something like this.
A form has fields on it for Company. A Company must be unique in the database. It has a unique numeric identifier field and a text field for the Company name.
Once you add a Company, and only when you add a Company, you can add 0 or more Locations. A Location has a unique numeric identifier field, a text field for the Location name, and a numeric field that holds a value that's equal to one of the Company numeric fields. Therefore a Location belongs to a company.
If you delete a Company, all its Locations are deleted.
I'm sure this concept exists somewhere in Drupal but I'm still in the middle of an avalanche of documents!
Doren Berge’s picture
If I understand correctly, this seems like you are describing a taxonomy. A Vocabulary with associated terms = Companies with associated locations....
Enable and create a "taxonomy" for input of content (companies, ie. Vocabulary) and define content relationships (locations, ie. terms). Use Views for displaying those various content, relationships.
moehac’s picture
Hi tomcam,
Did you ever find the solution in Drupal for this? i come from a dbase/sql background and I understand your scenario perfectly, but am starting to learn Drupal now. | <urn:uuid:fec11f6f-ccce-453d-afda-e013c7c2b460> | https://www.drupal.org/node/1103484 | en | 0.925185 | 0.652792 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
WBHM 90.3 FM
Your NPR News Station
Tapestry, from 90.3 WBHM
From July 20, 2006...
The temperatures are soaring and the days are long... And you may be looking for a good read to take to the beach or lake. Take your pick... Summer reading on tap today. Plus, R&B from Birmingham's Mose Stovall. I'm Greg Bass and this is Tapestry.
Joshilyn Jackson
"The war began thirty years, nine months and seven days ago, when I was deaf and blind, floating silent and serene inside Hazel Crabtree".
That's the opening line from Joshilyn Jackson's newest novel, Between, Georgia. Set in a small southern town, it's a story about family and identity. A tale of a woman who's lived her whole life "between a rock and a hard place". "Between, Georgia" is Jackson's second novel. Her first "Gods in Alabama" was a critically acclaimed and well-received debut. Jackson spoke with WBHM's Rosemary Pennington about her latest literary offering ... also, about the mythical sophomore curse.
Joshilyn Jackson interview
Imagine being seventeen, a hot shot basketball player, a popular girl when war lands on your doorstep. You're forced to leave your home, your school, your friends. Eventually you take up a rifle and become an adult much too quickly.
Scott SimonThat's exactly what happens in Scott Simon's first foray into the world of fiction Pretty Birds. Simon is the host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday and has spent much of his career covering war ... including the Balkan war that destroyed Sarajevo. It's in that city, in the midst of a siege, that we meet the protagonist of Simon's novel ... 17-year-old basketball star turned sniper, Irena Zaric.
WBHM's Rosemary Pennington talked with Simon about writing the novel and about covering the war.
Scott Simon interview
Simon's book has just been released in paperback.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
The Hmong population have been emigrating to the United States for decades, basically forced to leave Laos after the Vietnam War because of their anti-Communist stand with the West. Over the years, they settled in different pockets around the country -- mainly northern California and the upper Midwest. And that's caused a culture clash in some communities, a clash that author Anne Fadiman describes in the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. In it, a small epileptic child is at the center of a debate over medical treatment and language translation among other things. Fadiman talked with Steve Chiotakis about the book and the little known-Hmong people and why many were forced to come to America in the first place.
Anne Fadiman interview
activeculture.info logo
Mose StovallMose Stovall discovered his love of music in elementary school - but it wasn't the usual piano or violin that grabbed him. Stovall loved the trumpet. He played it day and night! A few years later he discovered he also liked singing - and was pretty good at it. He eventually sang with the Birmingham Civic Opera, Birmingham All City Choir and the State of Alabama Choral. And now, he's got a solo career as an R&B artist, fronts a group called "The Force Five Band and Show" Ensemble, and co-founded the Music Makers Recording Studio. From Stovall's upcoming CD, this is the tune I Can't Stand.
I Can't Stand
There's more of Mose Stovall's music available for download deeper inside WBHM-dot-ORG.
Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott and Michael Krall. Our music producer is Hunter Bell and Francesca Rosko keeps tabs on what's happening around town. Additional reporting this week from Rosemary Pennington and Steve Chiotakis. I'm Greg Bass. Enjoy what's left of the summer! | <urn:uuid:457d6f15-96e2-4e88-86f5-fabefbcc7190> | https://www.wbhm.org/Tapestry/July20-06.html | en | 0.961364 | 0.056359 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Charlie Cook, still the best congressional election prognosticator there is, has entered his biennial weatherman phase. When Cook speaks of an ill-wind blowing for a particular party, that party is usually in trouble.
Cyclical and seasonal forces are conspiring against Democrats, he writes. Cook identifies two: Since the House of Representatives is largely ideologically and geographically sorted out (and because that sorting favors Republicans), Democrats are overexposed, having done better than Republicans in 2012. In the Senate, as Cook notes, if a party did well six years ago, it is likely to have more chances to lose seats the next time those seats are up. These two factors alone should mean that Republicans have a shot at taking control of the Senate and that Democrats have virtually no chance of regaining control of the House. The deep structure of politics is hard to change.
But beyond these forces, there are a number of others that are blowing in the face of Democrats, some of them quite strongly. They are unique to this moment in politics and history. As Cook notes, President Obama's relative unpopularity all but makes it certain that the Democratic base is unlikely to find itself enthusiastic. A few other conventional metrics work to the Democrats' favor. The economy is getting better, slowly, and personal incomes are rising. But I'd wager that Washington has cast so big a shadow over perceptions about which party is doing more to help the economy that people think the country is kind of on autopilot.
Let's look at some others.
1. There are a number of strong Republican Senate candidates, so Democrats will have to distribute their resources to more states. Democratic donors are not enthusiastic about the elections, because they read prognosticators like Charlie Cook, and when they read Charlie Cook, they tend to believe him. (This is why the White House will never admit how precarious the situation in the Senate actually is for Democrats; they would kill off fundraising even more.) The basic point is that Republicans can raise what they need. Democrats will have to struggle to match them.
2. The Republican Party has made significant investments in technology and voting targeting. The Democrats still do it better, but their relative advantage has decreased. (The GOP is not investing very significantly in the future of political consulting talent, and this will be a problem later on.)
3. The Big Democratic Argument about government is that it can work. Right now, they've got nothing to base that argument on. So they are, quite naturally, trying to make the election a referendum on the evil Republicans, like the Koch brothers, who are corrupting American political campaigns. (This is how they get out the base.) Unfortunately, this type of argument almost never works. It just doesn't. It works in focus groups with Democrats, but it doesn't translate into votes. | <urn:uuid:7b8958be-ba8b-4c6e-834c-3eaf168615a7> | http://theweek.com/articles/449275/why-democrats-congress-are-big-big-trouble | en | 0.967746 | 0.569796 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Kathy Bowlen interviews Premier Steve Bracks on the outcome of the COAG meeting in Canberra
Broadcast: 03/06/2005
Reporter: Kathy Bowlen
STEVE BRACKS, PREMIER: Well I think it fared extremely well. This was the most productive, most cooperative COAG meeting I've been at. In the five and a half years I've been Premier there has never been as much goodwill as we had in COAG today. I'm very proud of the fact that we established sometime ago, several weeks ago, that we should embark on a cooperative agenda. I put that position to the Prime Minister, I put that position to the other state and territory leaders. I indicated that we needed to have a new reform agenda around competition policy. That was accepted at COAG today. We need to address infrastructure, we need to address the skills shortage in the country. All those matters were accepted and supported. I was pleased I got support yesterday from my colleagues in the states and territories, and today the Prime Minister endorsed it.
KATHY BOWLEN, PRESENTER: So you can take some credit for that, you think, personally?
STEVE BRACKS: Well I believe the position that Victoria took allowed the Commonwealth to come behind and say that there was an opportunity to stop the blame game. I mean, frankly, Australians are sick of State Governments blaming the Federal Government, the Federal Government blaming the State Governments, duck shoving responsibilities. I think it's time we got on to the job of delivering key services, identifying where we can work together and cooperate, and that was echoed today by the Prime Minister, echoed by my colleagues, and I think it was important that one of the states actually identified that, and that's exactly what we did almost a week ago.
KATHY BOWLEN: Premier, if we could look at some of those key services where the blame game has been played, health is one where you've, for many years, been saying that the Federal Government has been underfunding nursing homes so we've got a lot of aged people taking up hospital beds. Has there been movement on that?
STEVE BRACKS: Significant movement on that today, Kathy, because today, for the first time, the Commonwealth has agreed that there is a problem in our hospital system with the emergency beds, vital hospital beds, being taken up by nursing home patients who should be cared for by the Commonwealth in nursing homes elsewhere. Now that was addressed today and I'm very pleased about that, because that's going to potentially, in Victoria's case, free up something like 5,000 hospital beds in our state.
KATHY BOWLEN: Industrial relations doesn't seem to have moved. Is it likely to end up in the High Court, the fight over who controls IR?
STEVE BRACKS: Well, you're right, there was a disagreement today about industrial relations. We agreed to disagree. There was no compromise on our view, the states' and territories' view, that we believed that the proposals of the Prime Minister are unfair, they go too far, and the notion of a fair go with a strong umpire in the middle has been destroyed, really, in the proposals that are going forward. Now whether or not there is a High Court challenge, that is something that we will reserve our judgment on to a later date. When I say "we", that's the other premiers, the territory leaders. We will take further advice, we will examine the legislation. In the meantime, of course, we'll make sure we collect that advice before we take that action.
KATHY BOWLEN: The national infrastructure program that you put forward, the plan, there is also a plan for a national infrastructure fund. How far did that move?
STEVE BRACKS: Well, the fund was not a matter which was adopted today. But what was adopted was the remainder of the report which I commissioned, the Elgin Consulting Report, which recommended also that COAG, the Council of Australian Government Meeting, have a regular agenda item which discusses and debates and forward plans for infrastructure is this country. We have to do that to be competitive, to compete with the rest of the world. That we not only audit what infrastructure gaps there are, but also have a forward plan for nation building and national infrastructure development. So that was adopted today.
KATHY BOWLEN: Do you have specific Victorian projects you would want as part of that infrastructure plan?
STEVE BRACKS: Yes, we do, and of course the remainder of the National Highway System, the Goulburn Valley Highway, Deer Park Freeway to Ballarat as well, some of our rail systems and looking at the extension of standardisation, for example, across the rest of the state. Things that we know will be driving productivity, things which we know which will add on the employment prospects for Victorians. They're the things which should be addressed.
KATHY BOWLEN: One of the other things on employment prospects is apprenticeships. I understand that there was an agreement to shorten apprenticeships. What impact will that have on people currently doing apprenticeships in Victoria, and on employers?
STEVE BRACKS: Well this move has been there for some time, but with the decision today with the Commonwealth, the territory leaders and state leaders together, we took a decision that it should be about the qualification, the accreditation, the competency, not about time served. But about when you reach the skill level, and when you reach that skill level you should receive the accreditation. That might take five years, it might three years, it might take two years, but to have a simple time-served system does not serve the economy, does not serve the individual. We need to skill up the workforce as quickly as possible. That might mean shortening apprenticeship periods, and it also means making sure you can transfer those skills. I mean it's a nonsense to think you can get a qualification in Victoria and it's not recognised immediately in other states.
KATHY BOWLEN: We're out of time, Premier. Thanks very much for your time.
STEVE BRACKS: Thanks, Kathy, I appreciate it. | <urn:uuid:5f09d6ee-b457-4b78-a03b-b3ca40ce36a9> | http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/vic/content/2005/s1384208.htm | en | 0.978523 | 0.023602 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
AppBrain apps the Android market and discover the best Android apps from AppBrain, the leading Android app directory.en-usAndroidGoogle PlayMobile appsAppBrainAppBrain Web 4.0 Content Management SystemSet as wallpaper, 28 Feb 2011 00:37:37 +0000This app hasn't been updated in awhile, and is known to be buggy at least with Samsung's homescreen application ("TouchWiz"). If this app doesn't work for you or doesn't do what you need, you can try "Wallpaper Wizardrii" (the author of this app has no affiliations with the author of Wallpaper Wizardii) which works like a charm and has over 9000 features. <br>--<br>This application lets you choose an image stored on your Android device (SD Card, internal storage) and applies it as your home screen (or "desktop") wallpaper. <br><br>This particular app has been coded for the older devices in mind (HTC Hero, T-Mobile G1, Motorola Droid, etc), as it is LIGHTWEIGHT: no background processes, no media scanning services, no caching nonsense. This is as simple as it can get.<br><br>** Features **<br>- Browses through your files, with images thumbnails (only actual image files are listed for to not add unnecessary clutter)<br>- Has its own "image crop" window and NOT rely on neither the "Camera" or the "Gallery" native Android app to select and crop your image to apply as a wallpaper.<br>- You can use your usual preferred file manager insted of the one provided in this app. You might have to long press and choose "Open with..", depending of the file manager. (See the third screenshot for an example of this)<br><br>** Limitation **<br>I ask Android "What image size would you like to have as a wallpaper?" and I use this answer to "lock" your selection (in the cropping window) in a certain aspect ratio. You can definitely select a big portion of your images, but a part of the image will be unselectable. On the other side of the coin, the selection fits exactly your home screens.<br><br>** NON-features (This app does NOT have these) ** <br>- This app does NOT fetch images from online repositories to apply them as a wallpaper. There are already over 9000 applications on the market that does this, and this one right here doesn't. This app only reads images on your local SD Card.<br>- This app does NOT cache images, because it only adds clutter on your storage space. Also, since i'm aiming specifically at older devices, I am speeding things up considerably here.<br>- This app does NOT stay "always on" as a background service, because again I try to keep it fast for older devices. When you quit the app, the app quits too. Keep it simple stupid :)<br><br>*** Developer comments ***<br>This is my very first Android application (and I learned Java ONLY to develop for Android), so please try to NOT be harsh if things doesn't work the way you wanted :-)<br><br>Even though this application is my first "baby footsteps" in the Android programming, I have tested this on a HTC Hero, on a Nexus One, and to a lesser extend with a T-Mobile/HTC G1, and found things were doing great with no bugs. However, if you try to load bigger than PC desktop sized wallpapers (roughly 2000x1500 and bigger) into this app, Android will complain about not having enough memory to load up the image. You will see things in the system "logcat" on that matter, but I gracefully reload the image at a smaller scale to circumvent the lack of needed memory to load huge images. I just thought i'd let you know. <br><br>----<br>Keywords: <br>set homescreen, apply homescreen, set background, apply background, all your base are belong to us, set wallpaper, set image wallpaper, set image, apply image, goddammit Notion Ink please ship your orders already :) (Yes, i'm random like that)<br><br>Recent changes:<br>- Adds "Toast" notifications to indicate to the user what to do (on app start and on start of the "crop the image" activity)<br>- Fixes a NullPointerException error that can happens if the user touches the screen after having selected a file in the browser, before the "Please wait" dialog appears.Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:37:37 +0000Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:37:37 +0000 | <urn:uuid:a0070bb0-0728-4348-bf07-9913e9745c5c> | http://www.appbrain.com/rss/browse/dev/Eric+Belanger | en | 0.90424 | 0.027663 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Athletics News
Baylor Launches Applied Performance Department
Bears on Cutting Edge with New Technology.
April 8, 2014
Photo Gallery
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Sitting behind a desk at a computer, going through mind-numbing pages of data, doesn't sound like the work of a strength and conditioning coach.
But as director of Baylor Athletics new Applied Performance department, that's exactly what Andrew Althoff will be doing.
Based off the European and Australian High Performance model that's been used more internationally with rugby and soccer, Applied Performance tries to monitor the additional stressors of a college setting and how they affect athletic performance.
"Everything that stresses a student-athlete - physical, psychological or social - we want to make sure we're aware of it, and find ways to assess that, to make sure we're putting the athlete as a whole in a great position to be successful," said Althoff, who was formerly an Associate Director of Athletic Performance.
"We felt Applied Performance was a more applicable title for us, because we're trying to find out what's going on with these guys, how we can best manage these stressors, and apply it to performance."
While some of the technology has begun creeping into the U.S. with NBA and NFL teams, Baylor is definitely on the cutting edge in the collegiate world.
"We spent a lot of time talking to people, both state-side and internationally, about what they're doing, what they believe in," Althoff said, "and then taking it to our setting, with our individual athletes and our facilities and resources, and how we can structure it where it works best for us."
The idea has been "on the radar" for more than two years, but Baylor began the process last summer with wellness monitoring of its football student-athletes through self-reporting questionnaires that cover everything from sleep and nutrition to academic and emotional stress.
"The first thing is we've got to have great relationships with our student-athletes," Althoff said. "And that starts out with communication with those guys on a daily basis. (In the questionnaires), they'll tell us how much sleep they've had, how good was their sleep, how good was their nutrition, how stressed out they are, how sore they are, where they're sore. Then, we take all that information . . . and as the data stacks up, we look for trends."
Through the wellness monitoring, student-athletes can get advice on the areas where they need to improve to produce the maximum performance in competitions.
"Whereas your performance might be very closely related to your nutrition, somebody else's might be related to how much sleep they're getting," Althoff said. "So, we're able to individualize. Now, we can be specific and say, `I want you to work on this one habit.' Yeah, there are a bunch of things we can do, but I want you to specifically work on this habit."
That can be as simple as taking 10 or 20 minutes a day to "just take a nice, relaxing nap, kind of kick your feet up and calm everything down," Althoff said.
Another aspect of Applied Performance that was phased in during football training camp in August 2013 was the Catapult GPS devices that monitor how fast and far athletes are traveling during practice and training.
The small monitors, which look like mini walkie-talkies, are placed in pouches and strapped to the back of a player's shoulder pads during a football practice. And the GPS units monitor max speeds, changes of direction and distance covered.
"Say you went 3,000 yards at practice. Well, 200 of those yards were 90-plus percent of your top velocity," Althoff said. "And then, this many yards were between 75 percent. So, we can break it down into velocity ranges."
Here's where it gets difficult, particularly as you try to take this department-wide to all the other sports. The Catapult GPS monitoring spits out more than 400 lines of data "per athlete, per practice," Althoff said.
"Really, one of the only issues with this is too much information," he said. "My biggest job is to filter what's important, and then give tangible action steps based off of the data that I found, so that it's not just a bunch of information."
Applied Performance also uses heart-rate and Omegawave monitoring, which uses sensors to assess how an athlete's body is responding to previous exertion while providing insights to optimize the next training session. Just last week, Omegawave was recognized by UK-based Sports Technology Awards as the developer of the "Best Performance Technology for Elite Athletes."
"We can use the Catapult GPS and what we do here in the weight room to measure the external lode," Althoff said, "and then we can use the Omegawave to measure the internal response, or how the body's adapting to the stress that we're applying to it."
Through Project 1, a collaboration model that's attracted attention and approval from the NCAA office, there are also monthly meetings with representatives from other departments that have direct influences on student-athletes - including academic services, compliance, student life and spiritual life.
"We all work together, and we all have the same goals," Althoff said. "We all want to win. So, how can we work together to make sure we're doing that? I think it all starts with communication."
Down the road, as the program transitions to department-wide, there will be other things added like sleep monitoring. "The athletes tell us how much they slept and how good it is, but now we'll have actual numbers and specific data that we can correlate to performance," Althoff said.
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International Journal of Rotating Machinery
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 589720, 14 pages
Research Article
On Mixed Flow Turbines for Automotive Turbocharger Applications
IHI Charging Systems International GmbH, Engineering Division, Haberstraße 24, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany
Received 19 December 2011; Accepted 8 June 2012
Academic Editor: Nick C. Baines
Due to increased demands for improved fuel economy of passenger cars, low-end and part-load performance is of key importance for the design of automotive turbocharger turbines. In an automotive drive cycle, a turbine which can extract more energy at high pressure ratios and lower rotational speeds is desirable. In the literature it is typically found that radial turbines provide peak efficiency at speed ratios of 0.7, but at high pressure ratios and low rotational speeds the blade speed ratio will be low and the rotor will experience high values of positive incidence at the inlet. Based on fundamental considerations, it is shown that mixed flow turbines offer substantial advantages for such applications. Moreover, to prove these considerations an experimental assessment of mixed flow turbine efficiency and optimal blade speed ratio is presented. This has been achieved using a new semi-unsteady measurement approach. Finally, evidence of the benefits of mixed flow turbine behaviour in engine operation is given. Regarding turbocharged engine simulation, the benefit of wide-ranging turbine map measurement data as well as the need for reasonable turbine map extrapolation is illustrated.
1. Introduction
Due to emission legislation, turbocharging of the automotive internal combustion engine is becoming common practice. This is not only the case for Diesel engines but also for gasoline engines. Turbocharging the internal combustion engine helps to achieve the required emission levels while maintaining suitable driving characteristics. The key requirements for new turbochargers are improved performance over a wide operating range while meeting increasingly strict packaging constraints.
To date radial flow turbines (RFTs) are mostly employed in turbocharger applications for automotive engines. This paper describes characteristics about mixed flow turbines (MFTs) leading to the conclusion that such turbines provide considerable advantages for fulfilling the demands in automotive turbocharger applications. In Figure 1, the mixed flow turbine geometry definition employed throughout this article is illustrated.
Figure 1: Turbine geometry definition.
A dominant role for the turbine performance is incidence, that is, the difference between rotor inlet flow angle and blade angle at the rotor leading edge. According to Japikse and Baines [1], the optimum incidence for radial turbines is in the region of −20° to −40°. Off-design operation of the turbine is playing a very prominent role in current turbocharger applications. Due to the intermittent exhaust gas pulse from the reciprocating engine, the turbocharger turbine operates under unsteady admittance. This is even more pronounced during engine transients. How the engine responds during these transients is important in providing driver satisfaction. Additionally, as combined downspeeding and downsizing concepts are introduced, the exhaust gas pulsation amplitudes increase, while the pulse frequency is lowered [2]. Therefore, all technologies that improve the efficiency over a wide range, as well as transient turbine behavior, are beneficial for turbocharger applications. In this regard mixed flow turbines, which have been successfully applied to modern gasoline applications [36], offer advantages. These advantages include a flat efficiency characteristic over a wide range as well as reduced inertia. This study describes the principal properties of such kinds of turbines, illustrates a method for evaluating wide map operation, and provides evidence of the advantages of mixed flow turbines for automotive turbocharger turbines. With regard to quasi-steady as well as transient engine simulation, the advantage of wide-ranging measurement data is illustrated. Moreover, standard hot gas stand measurement data are usually not sufficient for turbocharged engine simulation and extrapolation is needed. The desire for reasonable turbine map extrapolation methods is pointed out. This is closely linked to the correct knowledge of the blade speed ratio for turbine optimum efficiency. A derivation of this parameter is made in Section 3.
2. Turbocharger Turbine Design
It is common knowledge that radial turbines have their optimum efficiency at a blade speed ratio () of around 0.7, whereas the peak efficiency for mixed flow turbines is at lower blade speed ratios (e.g., [7]). For automotive turbocharger applications, the highest power is available at low , and hence the turbine efficiency in this range has a major influence on the performance of the turbocharged engine. Reducing incidence at low speed ratios can be achieved by reducing the relative rotor inlet flow angle and/or backward sweeping of the blade leading edge [8].
Theoretically the rotor inlet flow angle can be reduced by increasing of the turbine volute. However under pulsating flow conditions typical of automotive turbocharger applications this would lead to an excessive dissipation of exhaust gas kinetic energy. This is caused due to the volume of the turbine volute representing a substantial proportion of the overall volume of the exhaust manifold. Therefore, increasing would have an adverse impact on the turbocharger performance. As a result, pulse turbocharging concepts in passenger car applications usually apply the smallest possible turbine volutes, hence accepting an unfavourable inlet flow angle at low speed ratios in order to exploit the pulse energy.
Most of the radial turbines currently used have radial fibres due to mechanical constraints. The blade inlet angle is zero and the combination with a volute with small leads to an unfavourable incidence angle. This disadvantage can be avoided by applying mixed flow turbines which allow variation of the blade inlet angle while maintaining radial blade sections (compare Figures 2 and 8). Therefore the adverse inlet flow angle can—to some extent—be compensated by backward sweeping of the leading edge, avoiding detrimental incidence.
Figure 2: Radial versus mixed flow turbine.
Mixed flow turbines offer the advantage of additional degrees of freedom for aero design compared to radial inflow turbines which usually adopt a radial stacking because of mechanical constraints. The blade inlet angle of mixed flow turbines can be nonzero even with radial blade sections. Therefore, with mixed flow turbines it is possible to realize more favourable efficiency characteristics compared to radial turbines with respect to automotive turbocharger applications. Mixed flow turbines can be designed having a lower inertia which positively contributes to transient response, yet still maintaining allowable stress limits. Stress levels in the turbine back disc are lower for a mixed flow design which supports higher allowable speeds.
Optimum incidence for mixed flow turbines occurs at lower blade speed ratios . A similar impact could be achieved by backward sweeping the leading edge of a radial turbine. However due to mechanical constraints the amount of backward sweep for radial turbines is very limited [8]. Therefore, until today almost all radial turbines are characterized by radial fibres.
The aforementioned considerations are valid for steady flow conditions. However, turbines for automotive turbocharger applications are subject to highly pulsating inlet flows. The concept of pulse turbocharging, which is becoming increasingly popular, is aiming at optimum utilization of exhaust pulses through minimum manifold volume. As a consequence, the instantaneous turbine inlet conditions vary over a wide range of flow rates. Therefore the development focus is not on achieving optimum design point efficiency but on achieving a turbine characteristic which offers a high efficiency over a wide range of flow conditions.
Looking at design point efficiencies would lead to the conclusion that radial turbines are superior compared to mixed flow turbines for the specific speeds relevant for automotive turbocharger applications (e.g., [9]). For high performance under pulsating operating conditions, the turbine efficiency has to be high for low blade speed ratios. For low blade speed ratios, the combination of high mass flow with a high efficiency leads to a high power [10]. In Section 3 basic considerations are given which support the aforementioned statements about mixed flow turbines.
3. Simple Turbomachinery Fundamentals
Throughout this work the nomenclature shown in Figure 3 is adopted. In the automotive industry, index or subscript 3 is commonly used for the turbine inlet position (stage inlet) while subscript 4 denotes turbine exit conditions. For the conditions at turbine wheel inlet, the subscript 3.5 is introduced.
Figure 3: Enthalpy-entropy diagram of an expansion process within a turbine.
Figure 4 displays velocity triangles at turbine wheel inlet and exit. The general velocity triangle (with inlet swirl) at impeller inlet is shown. Furthermore, two velocity triangles at turbine exit—one without exit swirl, while the other with exit swirl—are shown.
Figure 4: Velocity triangles at turbine wheel inlet and outlet.
The equivalent (inlet) diameter of a MFT is defined by (1). This value is also used for circumferential velocity calculation of the mixed flow turbine wheel: Total-to-static turbine efficiency is defined as: The isentropic spouting velocity, which could be achieved if the available total-to-static enthalpy drop would be converted into kinetic energy by an isentropic process, can be expressed as The blade loading factor is given by The relationship between isentropic blade loading factor and the real blade loading factor is derived by If the exit swirl of a single radial or mixed flow turbine is small and circumferential blade velocity at rotor inlet is comparably higher than at rotor exit, the last term in (4) can be neglected, leading to The relationship between stage loading and velocity triangle at rotor inlet is given by Knowing this, the total to static turbine efficiency can be written as The term in brackets is commonly known as turbine blade speed ratio which is most commonly used for assessing turbine performance characteristics. Of key importance is the blade speed ratio at which turbine peak efficiency occurs.
For the ideal case, no losses, no incidence, and negligible swirl at turbine outlet are assumed.(i)In absence of losses, the turbine efficiency equals unity: (ii)No incidence, negligible swirl at turbine exit ( velocity triangle), and perfect flow turning lead to Then, the optimum value of blade speed ratio is given by This value of 0.707 is often quoted as the blade speed ratio value for optimum efficiency of a radial turbine. In fact, as can be seen by this derivation, the value of is itself a function of maximum turbine efficiency, even if the blade loading factor is constant [11]. Additionally, optimum efficiency of a radial turbine occurs at loading factors below one. This means that the flow is approaching the rotor blades with positive incidence as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Radial flow turbine inflow characteristics for different incidence angles.
The definition of incidence is given by By combination of (6) and (7), the loading is defined by Assuming a constant ratio of of 0.5, by changing the incidence angle from 0° to 25°, the blade loading for optimum incidence reduces to Furthermore assuming a peak efficiency of 0.7, the optimum blade speed ratio is calculated to Hence for these parameters and also for a radial turbine, the actual optimum efficiency is occurring at a blade speed ratio below 0.707!
Considering mixed flow turbines, the consequences are as follows. For simplification, the characteristics of a MFT are explained assuming a RFT with back sweep as depicted in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Backswept RFT/MFT inflow characteristics for different incidence angles.
The optimum flow turning within the backswept rotor is achieved for negative incidence, which in fact means almost radial inflow. Thus . The corresponding loading for optimum incidence is hence calculated to Assuming the same overall maximum turbine efficiency, the increased blade loading for optimum turbine efficiency leads to a shift in according to This relationship between blade speed ratio and turbine efficiency is illustrated in Figure 7. The independent parameter for the two plotted curves is blade loading. The two examples derived in the previous section as well as the often quoted value of are highlighted.
Figure 7: Optimum versus assumed stage efficiency for two different blade loadings.
Figure 8: Degrees of freedom for mixed flow and radial flow turbines.
The fact that optimum incidence is achieved at higher blade loading for mixed flow turbines has been reported by several authors. Even optimum blade loading values exceeding unity have been reported (e.g., [12, 13]). The reason why mixed flow turbines behave like radial flow turbines with back sweep is illustrated in Figure 8. When a mixed flow turbine wheel is approached by a flow vector perpendicular to its inlet edge (green vector), a triangle between the radial and the actual flow direction can be drawn (lines: green, white, red). In other words, this means that the flow is not purely radial but has an axial component. By additionally leaning the blade with a nonzero rake angle, this triangle is rotated (lines: blue, white, red). The bottom line is that the resulting flow vector that approaches the blade is the one drawn in blue. While maintaining the radial stacking constraint, the effective flow angle of a radial flow is changed to be nonradial by adding an axial component. If an MFT is approached by a purely radial vector (red vector), the effect described above is not occurring.
For the radial rotor this means that due to the absence of an axial component in the vector approaching the rotor, the flow is by nature purely radial (red vector). The vector triangle described above is not established, and thus even when designing a nonzero rake angle, the “mixed-flow-effect” is not achievable.
It should be emphasized that with regard to mechanical stress constraints, the distinct advantage of a mixed flow wheel over a radial flow wheel is that this nonzero blade inlet blade angle is achieved without violation of radial stacking condition. In addition to this, mixed flow turbine wheels offer the chance to design turbine wheels with reduced inertia. One key benefit is that the back disk is clearly reduced in diameter.
An analytical relationship between cone angle (), rake angle (, and blade angle ( is given by These theoretical considerations of turbine characteristics are in agreement with measurements and supported by several studies (e.g., [7, 13]). For example, Figure 9 shows a comparison of radial and mixed flow turbine efficiency versus blade speed ratio. The shift to lower values of blade speed ratio can clearly be recognized.
Figure 9: Turbine efficiency as a function of blade speed ratio for radial and mixed flow turbines [7].
This characteristic of mixed flow turbines is desirable especially for the requirements of automotive turbocharger applications. Under pulsation conditions, the maximum exhaust gas enthalpy is available for high pressure ratios, occurring directly after exhaust valve opening. As turbine speed does only slightly change—if at all—during an engine cycle, the high pressure ratio results in low values of . Therefore, it is important to have high efficiencies for these conditions [10].
In the current work the enthalpy-based definition of the degree of reaction is adopted: Assuming that within the stator, that is, from station 3 to station 3.5, no losses occur (e.g., ), (19) can be rearranged to Together with (4) the velocity triangles shown in Figure 4 and the assumptions that the investigated turbine stage has no losses (), negligible exit swirl (), and (no diffusion, no acceleration within a radial rotor), (20) can be rearranged to From this, a relationship between and the degree of reaction, depending on the turbine efficiency, is derived: In Figure 10 the interdependency of these parameters is plotted. The highlighted symbol in the graph shows again the frequently quoted optimum value of 0.707 as described before. Furthermore, the graph shows clearly that the optimum values of versus the degree of reaction for nonideal efficiencies can be expected to be lower in real turbine configurations. Depending on the degree of reaction of the chosen turbine stage design, the optimum blade speed ratio can be modified. Moreover, in turbocharger applications—including fixed turbine geometry configurations—it has to be considered that the variation of inlet pressure over time caused by the intermittent exhaust pulses from the reciprocating engine do cause a variation in degree of reaction during operation. This means that there will not be one fixed value of optimum blade speed ratio that describes the on-engine turbine behaviour (compare [14]).
Figure 10: Optimum versus degree of reaction in dependency on turbine efficiency.
Figure 11 shows the measured mass flow parameter and efficiency versus expansion ratio of a mixed flow turbine in comparison with an equivalent radial turbine. The data was obtained on a hot gas stand under quasi-steady flow conditions and is subject to heat flow effects typical for measurements of small turbocharger turbines. This graph already indicates the beneficial characteristics of mixed flow turbines.
Figure 11: Turbine performance comparison: mixed flow versus radial flow turbine.
From the theoretical analysis performed above, there is sufficient reason for investigating the behaviour of turbines over a very wide operating range in more detail.
A potential procedure for doing so is described in the following Section.
4. Steady Wide Mapping Results for a Mixed Flow Turbine
This study was undertaken for a small mixed flow turbine for automotive gasoline engine application. In [15], a new, simple method for wide mapping by variation of turbine inlet temperatures has been presented. By minimising the influence of heat flows, a quasi-adiabatic turbine map was evaluated from measured data. The simple heat transfer model introduced in [15] showed good agreement with the approaches of other authors [16]. The resulting contour map after heat transfer correction is shown in Figure 12. This map is not corrected for friction losses in the bearing system.
Figure 12: Mixed flow turbine efficiency contour plot [15].
The turbine pressure ratio is plotted versus blade speed ratio. The colour and the isolines separate areas of same total to static turbine efficiency. Optimum efficiency is achieved within a range of between 0.56 and 0.62, thus much lower than usually cited in the literature [9].
Furthermore it can be seen that according to theory the optimum blade speed ratio where the turbine offers best efficiency is increasing with pressure ratio.
can (amongst others) be interpreted as a flow coefficient and gives information about exit dynamic head.
and are also related to several loss mechanisms within the stator and rotor. Therefore it is justified to assess stage performance (more precisely: efficiency) using these parameters.
For a fixed geometry (wastegated) turbine, efficiency is only depending on flow coefficient, loading coefficient, and Reynolds’ number. and pressure ratio are strongly coupled. As the turbine exit pressure is typically almost ambient pressure for hot gas stand tests, also gives direct information about exit dynamic head, when turbine inlet temperature is fixed. The blade speed ratio can be interpreted as loading coefficient.
5. Semi-Unsteady Turbine Efficiency Measurement Approach for Wide Mapping of a Mixed Flow Turbine
Based on the steady wide mapping results shown above, a new, instantaneous method for measurement of efficiency at very low values of was developed. The so-called high inertia rotor (HIR) approach of the IHI Charging Systems International (ICSI) is based on acceleration measurement of a rotor which has a significantly higher inertia than the standard turbocharger rotor. To achieve this, the compressor wheel was replaced by a bladeless, zero work, high inertia impeller as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13: High inertia rotor (HIR) assembly.
By measuring the instantaneous speed and utilizing the known rotor inertia, the instantaneous turbine acceleration power is directly evaluated. This instantaneous acceleration power is compared against an almost constant isentropic enthalpy difference, generated by the hot gas burner of the test bench. As mass flow was measured and held constant, temperature at turbine inlet was controlled by setting the heating unit to constant power. This was re-checked by the temperature measurement. However, the applied thermocouples were not fast response and could not determine accurately the temperature with respect to time due to their thermal inertia. Pressure measurements were done with “fast response” pressure transducers to control whether pressure ratio varies during acceleration and to allow for a phase correction between the pressure before and after the turbine. This was done with calibrated piezo-resistive absolute pressure transducers [17]. The absolute pressure value of the fast transducers was cross-checked, with the signal of the standard “slow response” pressure sensor signal before the HIR acceleration was started. A picture of the test-bench setup is shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14: Test setup for unsteady turbine performance measurement.
Turbine housing as well as all hot gas and measurement pipes as insulated to minimize heat transfer between the turbocharger and the test cell environment. Furthermore, turbine inlet temperature, oil conditioning, and water cooling were set to constant low values to minimize heat transfer. Initially, the HIR is locked and the desired turbine pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature are set. After starting of the transient measurement system, the rotor is released and accelerates. An automatic shutdown procedure is applied to prevent overspeed of the HIR.
Regarding maximum rotational speed, two main aspects have to be considered.(i)Firstly maximum allowable speed must not be exceeded, to avoid any damage of the HIR itself as well as the bearing system. It is clear that the rotor dynamics of such a HIR system are very different from a conventional turbocharger rotor.(ii)Secondly, the speed has to be low enough; that is, elastic deformation of the rotor does not change the moment of inertia. Otherwise, the speed signal could not be used for turbine net power measurement during acceleration of the rotor.
A typical result of the instantaneous measurements, for a constant , is shown in Figure 15.
Figure 15: Typical result of an unsteady HIR measurement.
The calculated values for torque, power, and efficiency for very low values of are not reliable. This is indicated on the very left side of the graph. The journal bearings are starting to rotate and the oil film is developing. Thus values of lower than 0.08 have to be omitted. The highest possible value of blade speed ratio is limited by the maximum rotational speed of the HIR and depends on the applied turbine pressure ratio. The higher the desired , the lower the maximum of the that can be achieved due to stress limitations.
The evaluation procedure for instantaneous torque, power, and efficiency is given as follows.
The rotor acceleration is calculated by The instantaneous torque can then be calculated, if rotor inertia is known. The rotor inertia of the HIR is about 28 times higher compared to a conventional turbocharger rotor: Instantaneous turbine power can then be calculated according to The instantaneous power has to be compared with the almost constant burner power or ideal total-to-static enthalpy flow: The instantaneous thermomechanical total-to-static turbine efficiency is then defined by These “semi-unsteady” results are compared with the results of the steady wide mapping results. To do this, the contour plot of Figure 12 is intersected at a pressure ratio of 1.4. Then a single curve of efficiency as a function of blade speed ratio obtained. This curve is compared to the results already shown in Figure 15. Additionally, to judge the quality of the instantaneous measurement and of the extrapolation, the so-called runaway speed has also been measured (Figure 16). This was done as described by Smiljanovski et al. [18], and the corresponding measured value is also included in Figure 17. A zero-friction impeller (ZFI) replaces the compressor wheel, and the resulting speed that is measured for different turbine pressure ratios is the speed, where turbine power and friction power are equal. The results of the runaway speed measurements for two different turbine inlet temperatures and several pressure ratios are presented in Figure 16. It can be seen that for pressure ratios higher than 1.6 the runaway speed remains constant.
Figure 16: Runaway speed measurements for two turbine inlet temperatures.
Figure 17: Comparison of steady and unsteady test results.
For a pressure ratio of 1.4 and a turbine inlet temperature of 20°C, a runaway blade speed ratio of about 1.04 was recorded.
From analysing Figure 17, it can be stated that the steady and unsteady results give a consistent picture of turbine efficiency characteristics. It also proves the values of blade speed ratio, where optimal efficiency is reached.
However, some deviation exists which can be explained. The steady results have been collected by the so-called “turbine net efficiency approach” [19], using the measured compressor power to calculate thermo-mechanical turbine efficiency. Heat transfer effects have been corrected by a simple heat transfer model [15], which in general gives very reasonable results in turbine efficiency trend. Opposed to this, the unsteady approach does not need a heat transfer correction, as measurements have been carried out at very low turbine temperatures and the turbine power measurement is done by measuring acceleration power. But as already mentioned, for this approach, no compressor wheel exists, and hence the axial thrust is different compared to the steady-state wide map efficiency measurements. This has an impact on bearing losses and thus thermomechanical turbine efficiency.
Regarding unsteady turbine operation, it is to note that due to the almost constant turbine pressure ratio during acceleration, no filling and emptying effects within the turbine scroll have to be expected. Thus, although this is an unsteady measurement, the problems that are encountered during efficiency measurement under pulsed conditions are overcome. Thus, the experimental approach presented here is labelled “semi-unsteady.”
6. Turbine Performance under Pulsating Flow Conditions
Due to the exhaust gas pulse from the intermittent operation of the reciprocating engine, the turbocharger turbine operates under unsteady admittance. In Figure 18 the turbine operation during a typical engine cycle is shown. The green filled diamonds represent the available measured data points. The solid blue lines show the data fitted extrapolation, and the red line gives the unsteady turbine operation during engine cycle. The figure illustrates that usually the limited measured data has to be extrapolated far beyond the available range and underlines the importance of accurate extrapolation techniques, what is consistent with findings in [20, 21].
Figure 18: On-engine turbine operation.
Thus, the correct prediction of engine steady operation, as well as unsteady operation or even vehicle acceleration behavior, is strongly depending on sensible and correct extrapolation.
A wide map measurement of turbine data can help to avoid the need for extrapolation. However, usually a wide map measurement is not available. A wide map measurement can be used to develop improved extrapolation algorithms. In general the turbine efficiency data to be extrapolated should not contain friction influence from the bearing system. Friction is not related to aerodynamic parameters but to real shaft speed as well as to thrust load.
However, standard hot gas stand turbine efficiency data usually contains friction data due to the measurement method. Thus, modelling of bearing friction depending on shaft speed, and thrust load can also be a source of error for extrapolation.
In this section it is investigated how various turbine characteristics and designs affect the on-engine operation. From the above sections it is known that the efficiency characteristics of mixed flow turbines can be advantageous for automotive turbocharger applications.
Figure 19 illustrates the calculated increase of boost pressure versus time using the in-house engine simulation code ITES (“IHI Turbocharged Engine Simulation”) by Ikeya et al. [22].
Figure 19: Increase of boost pressure versus time depending on different turbine configurations.
This simulation program is capable of predicting turbocharged engine performance under steady and transient conditions. ITES is focused on the detailed modelling and numerical description of the turbocharger. The study shown in Figure 19 aims to identify turbine configurations which are advantageous for transient operation. The study was performed on a representative four-cylinder gasoline engine for passenger cars with a load step at 1500 rpm. As already mentioned, transient operation is of major importance since steady-state operation of the turbocharger is basically not existent. This is even more pronounced since speeding up a vehicle from stand still as well as satisfactory acceleration during vehicle drives are the most important events in evaluating driver’s satisfaction. Therefore, all technologies that improve the transient turbine behaviour are beneficial for turbocharger applications.
All results are compared to a mixed flow turbine rotor made from conventional nickel-base alloy. This is referred to as the base configuration.
The effects that have been investigated are inertia and turbine efficiency. A clear advantage can be seen when comparing the base configuration with a turbine variant made from gamma titanium aluminide (γ-TiAl). Since the density of this material is much lower compared to nickel-base alloys, the rotor inertia is reduced and hence the acceleration of such a turbine is notably improved and helps to increase the boost pressure rise. It has to be mentioned that this advantage might be compromised due to more severe manufacturing constraints. Due to the unfavourable castability of γ-TiAl and its lower ductility, it is susceptible to foreign object damage. This almost inevitably compromises the aerodynamic design. For example, in Figure 20 two turbine wheel designs—one for nickel-base alloy and one for γ-TiAl—with identical swallowing capacity are compared. The grey wheel represents the “standard” nickel-base alloy design, while the superimposed red single blade shows the γ-TiAl design that requires higher material thickness. To achieve the same flow capacity, the blade angle distribution needs to be modified for readjustment of the throat area of the wheel.
Figure 20: Comparison of nickel-base alloy and γ-TiAl turbine wheel design.
The γ-TiAl turbine wheel from this comparison still has a 46% lower polar moment of inertia compared to the nickel-base alloy wheel. Regarding the rotor assembly (turbine wheel and shaft plus compressor wheel), this advantage reduces but still is about 30%. In the predicted values shown in Figure 20, because of the aforementioned γ-TiAl design constraints a turbine efficiency penalty of 5% is assumed. Any benefit achieved by the reduced inertia is offset by the drop in efficiency. Additionally, steady-state engine brake specific fuel consumption will deteriorate as a result of decreased turbine efficiency. Consequently, depending on individual design requirements, using this material might be neither favourable nor desirable for certain applications.
Please note that the simulation results also depend on the investigated engine load step and especially the starting conditions of the load step for example, acceleration from stand still profits more from reduced inertia.
The effect of modifying the characteristics of the turbine map, the main topic of the current work, was also investigated. Compared to the base configuration, a variant with reduced values was simulated. The peak efficiency of such a (mixed flow) turbine is not necessarily increased as indicated by Figure 7, but the map area where peak efficiency is reached is modified. It can clearly be noted that this modification of the turbine stage behaviour is of benefit for providing quick boost pressure rise. Similar findings are reported in [23]. Of course, a turbine variant offering both—optimized map and low inertia—shows the best transient response.
7. Summary and Conclusion
It is commonly quoted that a radial turbine provides peak efficiency at blade speed ratios of about 0.7, but at high pressure ratios and low rotational speeds the blade speed ratio will be low and the rotor will experience high values of positive incidence at the inlet. The present study shows that even for radial turbines the blade speed ratio where optimum efficiency is reached is usually lower than the commonly quoted blade speed ratio of 0.7. The present work gives theoretical justification and experimental evidence that for mixed flow turbines optimum efficiency can be obtained at even lower blade speed ratios. This can be attributed to a more favourable inlet blade angle, swallowing capacity and inertia when compared to a radial design.
The present study shows that mixed flow turbines have key advantages for automotive turbocharger applications as they have improved performance at low blade speed ratios. This means that a significant portion of the pulse energy available in the exhaust gas can be utilized. The behaviour of a mixed flow turbocharger turbine was investigated by steady-state wide mapping and also by employing a new, semi-unsteady measurement approach. It was found that the unsteady approach shows very good agreement with the steady and runaway measurements. It was theoretically derived that the blade speed ratio for optimum efficiency of a mixed flow turbine is far below the commonly cited value of 0.7. This was also proven experimentally. Finally an investigation of how this could improve on-engine behaviour was described. The benefit of low-inertia mixed flow turbocharger turbine wheels has been clearly demonstrated.
Static pressure (Pa)
:Stagnation pressure (Pa)
:Blade speed ratio (—)
(also π):Pressure ratio (—)
:Velocity in stationary frame (m/s)
:Velocity in rotating, relative frame (m/s)
:Blade speed (m/s)
Enthalpy difference (J/kg)
:Isentropic spouting velocity (m/s)
:Degree of reaction (-)
Incidence (deg,)
:Mass flow rate (kg/s)
:Rotational velocity (1/s)
Time difference (s)
:Time (s)
:Power (W)
:Torque (Nm)
:Enthalpy (J/(kg K))
:Entropy (J/(kg K)).
CFD:Computational fluid dynamics
MFP:Mass flow parameter
RFT:Radial flow turbine
MFT:Mixed flow turbine.
Greek Symbols
Cone angle (deg)
Rake or camber angle (deg)
:Blade angle (deg)
Relative flow angle (deg)
Absolute flow angle (deg)
Loading coefficient (—)
:Simplified loading coefficient (—)
Rotational speed (rad/s).
:Axial, in -direction
:Static to static
tt:Total to total
ts:Total to static
3:Turbine stage inlet
3.5:Turbine wheel inlet
4:Turbine (wheel) exit
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13. S. Rajoo and R. Martinez-Botas, “Mixed flow turbine research: a review,” Journal of Turbomachinery, vol. 130, no. 4, Article ID 044001, 12 pages, 2008. View at Publisher · View at Google Scholar · View at Scopus
14. D. Filsinger, G. Fitzky, and B. Phillipsen, “Flexible turbocharger turbine test rig MONA VI,” in Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Turbochargers and Turbocharging (IMechE '06), pp. 207–222, May 2006. View at Scopus
15. B. Lüddecke, D. Filsinger, and M. Bargende, “On wide mapping of a mixed flow turbine with regard to compressor heat flows during turbocharger testing,” in Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Turbochargers and Turbocharging (IMechE '11), pp. 185–202, 2011.
16. M. V. Casey and T. M. Fesich, “On the efficiency of compressors with diabatic flows,” in Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo Conference, pp. 785–797, Orlando, Fla, USA, June 2009. View at Scopus
17. Kistler Instrumente AG Winterthur, CH-8408 Winterthur, Switzerland, Pressure Sensors Type 4045 and 4075, http://www.kistler.com/mediaaccess/4045A10__000-064m-10.92.pdf.
18. V. Smiljanovski, J. Scharf, N. Schorn, S. Pischinger, and B. Funken, Messung des Turbinen-Wirkungsgrads bei Niedrigen Drehzahlen, Aufladetechnische Konferenz, Dresden, Germany, 2008.
19. S. Scharf, Extended turbocharger mapping and engine simulation [Dissertation], RWTH, Aachen, Germany, 2010.
20. A. Pesiridis, W. S. I. W. Salim, and R. F. Martinez-Botas, “Turbocharger matching methodology for improved exhaust gas energy recovery,” in Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Turbochargers and Turbocharging (IMechE '12), pp. 203–218, 2012.
21. N. Baines and C. Fredriksson, “The simulation of turbocharger performance for engine matching,” Motorprozesssimulation und Aufladung, 2, pp. 101-111, 2007.
22. N. Ikeya, H. Yamaguchi, K. Mitsubori, and N. Kondoh, “Development of advanced model of turbocharger for automotive engines,” SAE Paper 920047, 1992. View at Google Scholar
23. P. Scheller, C. Schnückel, C. Jördens, D. Hagelstein, and J. Theobald, Evaluation Study of Different Turbine Wheel Geometries for Turbocharged Gasoline Engines, Aufladetechnische Konferenz, Dresden, Germany, 2011. | <urn:uuid:fd87d35f-7d77-4ad2-ab48-123314dfd56e> | http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijrm/2012/589720/ | en | 0.901461 | 0.027723 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
As the number of dead pig carcasses in the Shanghai Huangpu River continues to rise, another Chinese river has found itself with a similar problem.
A thousand dead ducks were found floating in the Nanhe river, which runs through the southern Chinese province of Sichuan, on Tuesday. Liang Weidong, a local official in Sichuan, told the state-run Xinhua News Agency that the dead birds were found inside roughly 50 woven plastic bags. Officials removed the birds from the bags and properly sanitized and disposed of the carcasses. Thankfully, the Nanhe river isn't a drinking water source for the area, which officials believe will prevent any threat to local citizens.
Meanwhile, local government officials are seeking to calm the nerves of the most vocal segment of population, the netizens. Many concerned citizens on China’s Twitter-like microblogging site, Weibo, are alarmed about what seems to be a bizarre trend of the dying or dead animals being dumped in rivers.
“How can you tell they are harmless when you don’t know how the ducks died?” one user posted on Weibo, according to the Financial Times.
Earlier this month, officials were removing thousands of dead pigs from the Huangpu River, which happens to be one of Shanghai’s main drinking water sources. Shanghai officials ensured its residents that the dead pigs had no effect on the quality of drinking water, despite the fact that almost 16,000 of the animals were found and removed. According to state news, the pigs had died from a common virus, the porcine circovirus, which isn't harmful to humans.
The pigs were eventually determined to have come from a farming village outside of Shanghai called Jiangxi. Farmers whose pigs had died resorted to illegal river-dumping because of a recent crackdown on the illegal purchase of dead and sick pigs.
Local newspaper Tianfu Morning News reported that tests are being conducted to ensure that the water has no toxins harmful to humans and to determine the cause of death.
Other cases of dead pigs were also discovered in the Xiangjiang River in Hunan province. According to, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported last week, roughly 50 pigs were found on a shoal in the Xiangjiang river and were fished out and buried nearby. | <urn:uuid:08cfbb9b-755c-4b3d-9bda-7371b1d6e3f5> | http://www.ibtimes.com/dead-ducks-found-floating-chinese-river-dead-pig-count-continues-rise-1159057 | en | 0.975507 | 0.080034 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
East to carry, setup and use.
Step 1: Packed Up
The ammo-can in its travel mode currently carries my 1 liter Billy-Can (inside the Billy-Can, I carry tea bags, sugar, fire making kit, Montreal steak spice, a can of milk) two cups, the skewers and hotdogs
<p>Fantastic idea! I'd been wanting to build one that would fold to save space, but this would double as a container, while probably being more sturdy than anything else... Love it. </p>
This is brilliant!
like someone else i too have been into 4x4ing and outdoors most of my life and have used and seen these ammo cans re-purposed as many things but never this and at $5-10 a can ya cant go wrong.<br><br>thanks for the great idea, think ill have to make on of these.
Brilliant. <br>You've not only found a great way to reuse something, you've given a lot of other people inspiration to take what you've done and expand and improve upon your ideas.<br>Thank you.
I like the design that you have created! Neat portable concept!
well thats a smart desigh i like that butt have u ever thawt of maken one out of a biger amo can and ading a stove pipe that way u can use it to heat ur tent just saying
Yeah I've never seen any instructables on here on how to make a mini stove heater. A stove with a chimney to pipe the warm exhaust air into a tent
Pipe exhaust air into a test?<br><br>Sounds like a great way to gas yourself. If the soot etc doesn't kill you, the carbon monoxide will. That's also why you shouldn't use gas cookers inside without proper ventilation, and just never inside a tent unless you want to have a burnt down tent, with you inside.
just curious if the paint is toxic or not
Well now that looks pretty cool, I'll have to build one for the next time I go camping. Also I noticed that the sides are messed up from the heat and rusted, do you know if switching the original paint with something like stove/grill or engine paint would eliminate that problem?
For the optimal size for cooking and portability I would recommend useing a .50 cal MG ammo can.
HI, built this.. but made a slight modification.... above the lower holes I drilled a number of holes and pushed thru some sturdy steel tent pegs.. to make a "bed" for sticks, twigs, brickettes to sit on.. means that more air can get under the fuel also if its on the floor it wont "burn" the ground... <br>I also intend to get some threaded bar.. drill a hole in each corner and use 4x25cm bar as legs.. these legs can be pushed into the ground to stop it from falling over.. or overbalancing. <br>I tested the stove with a kettle on 1 side and found it a bit unstable.. I wanted to boil the kettle and have a pan on the other side with say soup in it... and have a brew and meal at the same time.<br><br>I'll pop some pics up as soon as I've finished.<br>
Hi.. I've done the bits and pieces I said.... and have pics..<br>Changed my mind slightly about the bar and used 4 big bolts. Welded a nut on each corner to screw the bolts into.. which means they are slighly adjustable to make the top level to cook on.<br><br>http://www.thebookonline.org.uk/images/10112010606.jpg<br><br>Is a pic of the stove..<br>Great idea, going to be take this to a LOT of bike rallys and events, when I;m camping with the dog. Thank you Donkycat for the idea.
Would banging a couple of tent pegs in against either side of the box work to stabilize it
possibly, but that means its still on the ground.. and some places dont allow fires on those grounds. Pardon the grammer.. lol<br> <br> <a href="http://www.thebookonline.org.uk/images/10112010606.jpg">http://www.thebookonline.org.uk/images/10112010606.jpg</a><br> <a href="http://www.thebookonline.org.uk/images/10112010604.jpg">http://www.thebookonline.org.uk/images/10112010604.jpg</a><br> <br> With the legs on, it means its not damaging the ground and as such is ok to be used. I'm heading to the Dragon Rally this weekend, where they wont allow camp fires. I sent pics to the rally organisers, and they said fine, its ok as long as its off teh ground.<br> I've also made a modification to the legs, and welded a spike onto the underside of the bolt leg. That way, it sticks into the ground. and wont tip over.<br> Weathers likly to be wet this coming weekend, and the ground muddy, so having a stable fire that wont fall over is handy.<br> <br>
Could you take a can of High Heat Engine paint or BBQ paint and give the out side a good coating to keep it from rusting up? BBQ black spray paint would last a season or two and keep it in better shape....maybe. Just a thought. I'll let you know after I get mine built.
A can of 'stove black' might do the trick
I'm probably one of the three people in the world who has an ammo case and isn't in direct relations to anyone in the military, so I should make use of it in the way you do. I was just using mine for ammo, stupid, eh?
Good Work. Take the rubber seal out of the lid and use it to make pancakes.
i like your design alot, very practical
Brilliant - I'm going to share this one! Instructables should have an ammo box contest - this would be a winner!
<br> .<br> Just a thought..... I am a tight arse and I LIKE to make things a bit extra special to make them work better or last longer etc....<br> <br> Has anyone thought about lining them with a refractory board - to keep the heat in and to stop the case from burning?<br> <br> Also rubbing them down with some oil after the cooking, keeps them nicera between holidays.<br>
Go to an electrical supply, and get a 2" KO seal to seal up the hole on the side when not in use....<br><br>http://www.platt.com/product.aspx?zpid=714590
like it really cool but along with burning off the paint u may want to make sure all gunpowder i gone
<br> No, actually the food cooks better when the box is at least half full of ammunition.<br> <br> Hand grenades also work well in combination with wood as well.<br> <br> If you don't believe me try it.<br>
Nice job. I'd recommend burning the paint off before cooking any food on it. Who knows what kinda fumes that might give off.<br><br>v
That's a cool idea! You almost can fit a kitchen there. :) It seems to be the right size for a stove... can you please tell me the size of the box?
One question: is it easy to find an ammo can these days? That's a great idea for this kind of stove. Lots of good ideas in the comments, too. Good Stuff!
Yes. Any surplus stores (their about $12 though. If your in the US) and online.
Thanks, y'all. I thought those ammo boxes were from WWII or something. I'll ring up the surplus store tomorrow and find out what's available.
an army surplus store
Awesome job, I'm making this.
Awesome matey.<br>
Fantastic idea!! I've been scratching around for a small portable woodburner to carry on my Ural sidecar outfit; there's been a spare ammo box under my workbench for a while now. Top instructable donkeycat!!
making it this weekend!!! you cook sausages or burgers in this? <br />
I've built several like this, and a handy tip; line the sides and end (not the end where you feet the fuel in) with a single layer of clean aluminum foil (heavy like a restaurant uses) and the reflected heat from a smaller fire is amazing. I've cooked whole meals with just twigs. I also notch the lip of the end opposite the feed hole with several small notches filed in the lip, and you can rest skewers with fixings over the grill rods and keep them from rolling off the cooker. This is a great idea and Instructables like this are outstanding.<br />
Tip. Using a triangular file and square skewers make for much easier kabob cooking. You can roll them to cook evenly without them trying to roll themselves to the heaviest side down. Also riveting sheets of polished aluminum plate to the inside will eliminate the need to use foil each time. Haven't done it to mine yet but will be doing so soon. A one quart paint can stuffed with denim fabric scraps and filled with alcohol makes a great smoke free option for stealth use also. Easy to extinguish for fast bug out too.<br />
I like the square skewer idea, easy way to 'index' the kabob for easy even cooking!<br /> <br /> I use the foil for easy clean up, (just fold up the ashes), and to always have a bright surface for heat reflection. Heat will oxidize the aluminum plate faster and you'll need to 'polish' it with sandpaper often.<br /> <br /> The paint can, rags and alcohol trick sounds nifty, and I'd add a few shortened skewers to make a sort of pot support you could drop inside the can when not needed just to add to the functionality of the unit.<br /> <br /> Now, about this fast bug out, you often camp out or stop for a cuppa where the neighbors are less then happy to see you??? I've had to deal with that a few times, but I put it down to the fact her father hadn't forgiven me yet!<br />
I bum camp wherever I find a nice area so smoking fires attract too much attention. I also hang out in semi-residential areas where smoke may bring big red trucks full of eager men carrying axes and shovels. I occasionally make a small fire for cooking and warming up the old bones but only in heavily wooded areas so the smoke is dispersed. Not so easy this time of year with all the trees being nekid. As to the aluminum foil vs plate, I don't carry anything I have to carry out as trash. I repackage my food so I can burn any refuse I carry in. I generally leave zero trace other than footprints. Don't want my host's to become angry neighbors and therefore lose a great camp spot. I also camp in a lot of metro parks which don't allow camping so smoke is a big no no in such circumstances. <br />
I understand the fire requirements for clean camping, and applaud your consideration for the situation, as well as the wisdom of being a good camper. I find that asking the owners can surprise you with permission to camp if you explain your desire to camp of prep a snack, and the sort of stove you intend to use so as not to endanger their property. I have in fact been granted permission to cook up a nice cuppa and have my lunch on private lands simply because I asked for the permission to do so, which put me in a far better light with the owners then the usual sort they had to clean up after! I would take a bag in with me and take out some of the stuff I found there and that also was a solid way to get permission to come back.<br /> <br /> Check out the stoves at http://zenstoves.net/SolidFuelBurner.htm The solid fuel stoves have some small limits, but give a clean small heat source that has stood the test of time in two world wars and a million camps since their inception. I use a small soup can to make my base for cooking with the solid fuel and can heat a quart of water to boil in eight minutes! <br />
Thanks for the tip. I'll incorporate it into my stove. I am also going to use the BBQ paint tip.
wow! thats the coolest stove i've ever seen . will be tacking one fishing with me as soon as i get done making it . the high temp paint is a great idea, thanks to you both.<br />
GREAT!! portable bbq/stove for the army!!! <br />
Very very cool! I'm definitely going to be doing this with one of my spare cans. Thanks for the great post.
This is a really neat idea! Ive been into 4x4's and outdoors for years and have seen and found thousands of uses for ammo cans, but ive yet to see this. ill be sure to make one of these up and throw it in my truck next time i hit the trails. A nice hot lunch would be nice on the trail, or a small fire to keep warm at night while broke down in the middle of no where lol.
This is a great idea, thanks for posting it. Now.......where did I put those ammo cans I had?
About This Instructable
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The Imperial
Credit: Illustration by Arryan Decatur
Named after Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last emperor of Germany, this is a facial-hair enthusiast's favorite and consists of a mustache augmented with hair from the upper cheek. It can take many shapes, but according to the official rules of the World Beard Championships, to officially qualify as an Imperial, "all facial hair not growing from the cheeks and upper lip must be clean shaven" and "no closed curls are permitted." That means growing an Imperial is nearly impossible for anyone with very curly or fine facial hair.
"You need very thick, coarse hair and a lot of it," Decatur says of the Kaiser-style mustache. "Wet the hair and then coat it in a layer of wax. Do not twist or you'll go into Salvador Dali land. Then brush your whiskers upwards every day. . . . It will take a while to train your hair to go against nature, but if you're committed and don't have hair that is too curly, it should work." | <urn:uuid:8b218c1e-9e93-479f-9974-b07a1ad8b6ee> | http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advice/how-to-grow-a-mustache-five-different-ways-20131104/the-imperial | en | 0.96483 | 0.022465 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
A Nice Surprise
I'm an editor for SANS' NewsBytes security "announcements" E-zine, and have been getting really sick of the drumbeat of news items that read stuff like:
Major whatsit admits 2,000,000 user accounts exposed when employee loses laptop at airport.
Federal department of thus-and-so reports 24 million taxpayer records included with hard drive sold on ebay.
Journalist in Iraq buys US Army deployment plans on thumb drive in bazaar for $15.
At TechnoSecurity conference last month there was a vendor demonstrating a very cool hydraulic-powered hard-disk mulcher, intended to make it possible for enterprises to "securely decommission" a drive and its data, without having to worry about the cost of wiping the drive. Cost of wiping the drive? Huh?! Didn't you mean "cost of forgetting your encryption key"? I.e.: Zero.
And, then, to top it off, I bought a new used laptop on Ebay and the seller was kind enough to re-install Windows but not technically savvy enough to realize that XP's installer won't overwrite an existing partition's data. So not only did she get a new laptop but we got a truly amazing collection of gay porn. Well, I didn't look at all 7 gigabytes of it; I was reaching for my OpenBSD boot CD before I was past the second file. Quick! Quick: "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/wd0c" - Cost of wiping the drive?
(drive wiping done easy, courtesy of Sierra Matchking .308)
(Format c: /q - reformatting a hard drive with a .50 BMG APIT round)
Anyhow, it's 2006 and maybe it's time to think about hard disk encryption?
I first experimented with hard disk encryption back when I was at TIS and we were funded by DARPA to do some research in portable security (and build a firewall) for the White House. At the time (1992), there were a lot of white house staffers that were really into MacIntosh computers and laptops and there was a serious concern that some crucial data might be lost someplace. In fact, as it happened, some Clinton big-shot apparently lost a MacIntosh at an airport - including the negotiating stop points for some trade treaty with Japan; since this was pre-Ebay, it probably wound up in a pawn shop someplace. But I digress. Anyhow, Fred Avolio OK'd me buying a thing called SuperCrypt for the Mac, and another thing called Watchdog for DOS, and I spent a day or two playing with them and we made a recommendation that read, basically: "Hey, this stuff is really easy to use; we think you should give it a whirl." The rest, as they say, is history. I mean, of course, that we were completely ignored.
Stop Being Stupid; It's Free
Initial Experience
I've been slowly migrating all of my data over to encrypted volumes; mostly the delay is because moving the data means copying stuff back and forth across my little home LAN and reformatting/creating container files. When you're moving terabytes around, it takes time; there's no way around it.
TrueCrypt is simply a piece of cake to use. It passed my "bozo benchmark"(1) with flying colors: I was able to start using the software without having to read any directions at all. In fact, it has been so ridiculously easy to use that I have been wondering where the catch is. There's got to be one, right?
(From the SourceFire Security Calendar)
Hard disk write speeds on my slow laptop are about 10MB/second, which is a slight performance degradation, but acceptable. I'd already set my laptop up so that my personal files are on a separate volume (C: and D:) and all I had to do to encrypt everything was copy all of D: to one of my network servers, zap that partition, and create a container file that occupied most of the D: drive, then copy the data back. With 18GB of data, that took all of 1/2 hour, during which I entertained the dogs, drank some coffee, and read a book. The hardest part of the process was getting my installation of Eudora to look for its mail archives in another directory - which took 2 seconds of looking in Eudora.ini with notepad. Next time I wipe and reload my laptop (about every 6-9 months) I'll just make the entire partition an encrypted volume, but for now I think I'll leave my MP3 directory unencrypted. If ninjas kill me and get my laptop, I hope they're Ray Wylie Hubbard fans, too.
Creating an encrypted volume to stick all my backup images in was merely an exercise in patience: over my LAN, writing to my fileserver, it took 9 hours (i.e.: overnight) to format a 300GB encrypted container file. Secure backups appear to be something that eludes most major businesses or government agencies; it was a problem I solved for myself while I was sound asleep. I probably could have done my backup volume as an entire encrypted device but my file server is running a 5 year-old version of BSD and I am reluctant to mess with something that already works.
Looking at the TrueCrypt statistics for downloads I see that several thousand people are downloading it every day, and over a million have downloaded it so far. That's pretty impressive!! It's too bad the corporate muckety-mucks who are spending millions of dollars complying with paper exercise security standards like HIPAA can't be bothered to install something like that. And it's a shame that some corporations are going to spend millions of dollars doing damage control because of data loss, when they could have spent, ummmm, nothing, instead.
I rate TrueCrypt as five stars out of five! Get this software. Use it. Sneer at the people who are so lazy that they do not encrypt their laptop drives. Call them stupid. And make sure you do your backups.
Sitting on the porch watching the pond grow, Bellwether Farm, Morrisdale, PA
June 24 2006
(1) The infamous "bozo benchmark" is when you install and start using the thing without reading any directions or warning labels. This benchmark can be used for everything from computer components to motorcycles, weed-whackers, and firearms. My wife says that the "bozo benchmark" is merely a cheap fiction that I created to justify my typical male tendency to want to wade into stuff without reading the instructions. By enshrining that tendency as a benchmark, I legitimize it! She is, of course, completely correct. | <urn:uuid:3685728b-0a9c-4ce8-a2a3-b725d30bacda> | http://www.ranum.com/security/computer_security/editorials/diskcrypt/index.html | en | 0.969688 | 0.053288 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Magazine of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Top religion stories of 2000
A poll of religion reporters from national newspapers — conducted by the Religion Newswriters Assocation — selected the following as the top 10 religion stories in 2000.
1. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, was selected as the Democractic vice presidential candidate.
2. Pope John Paul II traveled to the Middle East, mourning the Holocaust and meeting with Yasser Arafat and Holocaust survivors.
3. Violence erupted in the Middle East, and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process crumbled.
4. Reform rabbis decided to bless same-sex unions, and the state of Vermont allowed benefits for same-sex couples. Mainline Protestant churches continued to fight over the role of gays and lesbians.
5. The Southern Baptist Convention voted to exclude women from becoming pastors.
6. The Vatican issued Dominus Iesus, a controversial theological document that says only Roman Catholic churches hold the "fullness of salvation" and non-Catholic churches are "deficient."
7. Some Southern Baptist state conventions cut their financial contributions to the national church, and President Jimmy Carter cut his ties because of the church's "rigid" doctrines.
8. The pope asked for forgiveness for the Roman Catholic Church's sins over the past 2,000 years.
9. The ELCA and The Episcopal Church entered into a full communion relationship, an agreement that allows the churches to share clergy and common mission projects.
10. Vashti McKenzie, an African Methodist Episcopal pastor, became the first woman elected bishop in a predominantly black denomination.
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++ed by:
1 PAUSE user
Ricardo SIGNES 😄
Perl::Critic::Policy::Lax::ProhibitStringyEval::ExceptForRequire - stringy eval is bad, but it's okay just to "require"
version 0.011
Sure, everybody sane agrees that stringy eval is usually a bad thing, but sometimes you need it, and you don't want to have to stick a no critic on the end, because dangit, what you are doing is just not wrong!
See, require is busted. You can't pass it a variable containing the name of a module and have it look through @INC. That has lead to this common idiom:
eval qq{ require $module } or die $@;
This policy acts just like BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitStringyEval, but makes an exception when the content of the string is PPI-parseable Perl that looks something like this:
require $module
require $module[2];
use $module (); 1;
Then again, maybe you should use Module::Runtime.
Ricardo Signes <rjbs@cpan.org>
This software is copyright (c) 2014 by Ricardo Signes <rjbs@cpan.org>.
| <urn:uuid:487b5e9c-3188-404d-8dfc-1c854a43e7cb> | https://metacpan.org/pod/Perl::Critic::Policy::Lax::ProhibitStringyEval::ExceptForRequire | en | 0.864629 | 0.285244 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Discover and save creative ideas
Explore these ideas and more!
Real Dad.
There's a dad version too. #adoption
Alphabet adoption shirt
#adoption #adopt #baby #kids
Need to add this one to our reading list: Inside Transracial Adoption, 2nd ed. "Just as we cannot prevent our children from experiencing the loss of their birth family, we cannot prevent them from experiencing the loss of growing up in a same-race family. What we can do to take care of our children is confront our own blind spots and biases and work to become effective anti-racist allies."
Adoption Quotes.
Bringing Awareness to Respectful Adoption Language. I agree with the majority of these, however I think some depend on the context of the situation. For example the use of the term "real parent," depends on how the adoptee/parent defines it, how the other person defines it, who they actually meant to talk about, and more context of the conversation. In general, try to be neutral and just ask.
Wish I had this a yr ago when I started our adoption stuff...sadly most won't get it
Cute adoption related t shirts, proceeds go to families who are adopting!
paper pregnant shirt---"So far, no morning sickness, but the paper cuts are terrible!"
Adoption - adoption Photo
Motherhood - no stretch marks required
Adoptive parents become the biological parents through connection. Dr. Karyn Purvis #adoption #quote
50 rules for Dads with daughters. Cutest thing I've ever read.
Adopting 1 child won't change the world but for that 1 child the world will change.
Adoption. Every child needs a family. | <urn:uuid:4e4d88a4-0863-43b1-b415-b4264925b39d> | https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5629568255365636/ | en | 0.924922 | 0.037789 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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The human foot combines mechanical complexity and structural strength. The ankle serves as foundation, shock absorber, and propulsion engine. The foot can sustain enormous pressure (several tons over the course of a one-mile run) and provides flexibility and resiliency. The foot and ankle contain: •26 bones (One-quarter of the bones in the human body are in the feet.); •33 joints; •more than 100 muscles, tendons (fibrous tissues that connect muscles to bones), and ligaments (fibrous tissues that connect bones to other bones); and •a network of blood vessels, nerves, skin, and soft tissue. These components work together to provide the body with support, balance, and mobility. A structural flaw or malfunction in any one part can result in the development of problems elsewhere in the body. Abnormalities in other parts of the body can lead to problems in the feet
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Aben Eubanks
Aben Eubanks
Kelly Clarkson's Band
"Celestion or nothing" Gear: Vintage 30 Web:
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Indonesian presidential elections 2014
Populist versus autocrat
The two candidates in the forthcoming presidential elections in Indonesia could hardly be more different. Prabowo Subianto, former son-in-law of the late dictator Suharto, has adopted a militaristic style, and likes to present himself as a strong leader, while social democrat candidate Joko Widodo is seen as a man of the people and establishment outsider. Christina Schott examines their chances
"Two fingers salute!" shouts the presenter on the stage outside the Sultan's Palace in Yogyakarta. A huge and diverse crowd is gathered in front of him: it includes rickshaw drivers, dragon dancers, palace employees, women's groups, all of whom are now raising their hands in the air in the victory sign and singing: "Don't forget to vote Jokowi!" That's the chorus of the popular "dangdut"-style anthem "Two Fingers Salute for Presidential Candidate Jokowi", recorded by Indonesia's most famous rock band, Slank, along with actors and friends from the music industry.
The song campaigns in favour of the presidential candidate Joko Widodo, alias Jokowi, who is running for election on 9th July 2014 on ticket number 2. Solidarity rallies are being held for him all over the country. These are voluntary events and, unusually for election events in Indonesia, participants are not paid to attend.
Man of the people
Two weeks before the ballot, people in the Central Javanese cultural metropolis Yogyakarta are in festive mood as the hiphopper Marzuki Mohamad, alias Kill The DJ, launches into his song "Unite to Vote for Number 2". "What does Indonesia need? Honest, simple, hard-working: support Jokowi! He may be thin and come from a village, but he is upright and he gives us hope. Jokowi is one of us."
No ballot since the country's democratisation in 1998 has seen Indonesia's intellectual elite get as politically involved as these presidential elections. The reason is this 53-year-old forestry engineer and furniture entrepreneur, who made a name for himself as a politician for the little people, first as mayor of the Central Javanese city of Surakarta and then, since 2012, as governor of the capital, Jakarta. His unannounced visits to poorer residential areas, traditional markets and fairs have helped Jokowi win the hearts of many simple Indonesians. He is seen as a hard worker and, above all, he is regarded as not corrupt.
If elected, Jokowi would be the first president of Indonesia with no professional or family connections to the former dictator Suharto's authoritarian regime. Political analysts are speaking of a turning point for Indonesia's democracy. For their part, Jokowi and his supporters talk of a "mental revolution" that they say will lead to greater tolerance and a transparent government in the country, which is currently plagued by corruption and legal uncertainty.
The Javanese Jokowi, who usually makes public appearances wearing a simple checked shirt, is the presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P), supported by the nationalist parties Nasdem and Hanura and the moderate Islamic National Awakening Party (PKB). At his side is former vice-president Jusuf Kalla, an experienced statesman and influential functionary in various organisations including Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organisation, which represents a moderate form of Islam.
Close-run race
When he was nominated in March of this year, Jokowi seemed destined for a landslide victory. However, only four months later the scenario is very different. The once so popular Social Democrat can no longer be sure of getting a majority. The main reason for this is a major smear campaign by his opponents.
Supporters of the Indonesian presidential candidate Jokowi at an election rally. Photo: Eleonore Schramm
Hoping for an end to corruption and legal uncertainty: Supporters of the populist presidential candidate Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi. He's seen as a man of the people, and as such his election rallies usually resemble an Indonesian folk festival
They claim that, as a member of the secular PDI-P, he deliberately worked only with Christian representatives in both Surakarta and Jakarta, promoting mainly non-Muslim minorities. His opponents say this means he is not a good Muslim, and is not suitable to govern the country with the world's largest Muslim population. Some media have even spread the rumour that Jokowi is actually of Chinese origin, a minority despised by many Indonesians. By contrast, the fact that Jokowi has already made five trips to Mecca usually goes unmentioned.
Suharto's son-in-law
The rumour mill really got going when Jokowi refused to make advance promises of ministerial posts to several Islamic parties and the former Suharto party Golkar in the event of a possible coalition. The Islamic parties PAN, PBB, PKS and PPP were unable to nominate a suitable candidate of their own, due to poor results in April's parliamentary elections. Instead, along with Golkar, the second-largest faction in parliament after Jokowi's PDI-P, they united behind the only other promising candidate: Prabowo Subianto, Suharto's former son-in-law and a former lieutenant-general in the Indonesian army, who is accused of bearing responsibility for brutal human rights violations against regime opponents during the transitional era at the end of the 1990s. Strangely, his religious allies are bothered neither by these accusations nor by the fact that Prabowo's mother was Christian.
With his own party Gerindra ("Great Indonesia Movement"), which Indonesian media like to call "religious-nationalist", Prabowo Subianto promises the voters a better future under his firm leadership. He has made numerous statements to the effect that he considers the current democratic system in Indonesia too lax and wants to introduce tighter structures. He also says he wants to reduce foreign influence over the Indonesian economy and politics. At election campaign events, his appearance is often military to martial, sporting bright white shirts and arriving on horseback or by helicopter. At rallies and on posters he poses in the style of Soekarno, the idolised founder of the republic whose deputy, like Prabowo's, was named Hatta.
Election campaign poster showing Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. Photo: Eleonore Schramm
Offering the people strong leadership: Prabowo Subianto has the support of an alliance of Islamist parties and the former party of the late dictator Suharto. He is promising to bring order to a country in chaos. Subianto was allegedly responsible for brutal human rights abuses during his time as head of Suharto's security forces in the 1990s
There is a music video supporting him, too. To the tune of Queen's "We Will Rock You", four pop stars sing "Prabowo-Hatta, Indonesia awaken, who else should make the country rise up out of its misery?" while holding aloft the national symbol, a mythical bird called the garuda. In the video, the singer Ahmad Dhani, a judge on the "Indonesian Idol" TV show, stomps about in sunglasses wearing an imitation of Heinrich Himmler's SS uniform. The video unleashed a storm of protest, whereupon Prabowo's election team distanced itself from the makers.
Clashes between supporters
"I think it's cool. The video expresses exactly what I think," says Fauzi Aminuddin. A former businessman, he has been working as a taxi driver in Jakarta since his company went bankrupt. Despite the economic improvements in his country, he is pessimistic about the future. The infrastructure is too unsound, the education system too poor, he says. "Indonesia needs a strong man at the top – and that can only be someone with a military background. Jokowi is far too weak and inexperienced to sort out the chaos in this country."
Meanwhile, Prabowo supporters are creating more chaos in Yogyakarta, to coincide with the pro-Jokowi event at the Sultan's Palace. Wearing black masks, members of the militant Islamist United Development Party (PPP) wave green flags bearing images of the Kaaba as they roar around the city in motorcycle convoys. That evening, they destroy a PDI-P post and get embroiled in street battles with equally hot-headed young men from the "red" party. With the start of Ramadan, this kind of violence was suspended.
However, Prabowo's Gerindra party announced that it intended to continue the campaign in the mosques – despite an express warning from the election monitoring authority that election campaigning is banned in places of worship. If the presidential race is as close as polls are predicting, many Indonesians anticipate troubled times ahead.
"Prabowo and his allies have a lot of money to buy votes with. If he wins, we'll go back to the Suharto regime," comments Butet Kartaredjasa, probably Indonesia's best-known comedian and political satirist. "Once Prabowo's in power, he won't simply step down again. But Jokowi is honest. He listens to the people. He stands for democracy. Now is our chance – we won't get another candidate like him!"
Christina Schott
Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire
© 2014
Editor: Charlotte Collins/
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King is a pro wrestler from Mexico with a mysterious jaguar mask. The "original" King from Tekken and Tekken 2 died sometime before Tekken 5. The second (and current) King appears in Tekken 3 through Tekken 6. King was inspired by the legendary Japanese pro wrestler known as Tiger Mask, who also inspired the creation of a manga (1968). King was also inspired by real life Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta, a Catholic priest who became a masked wrestler in order to support an orphanage.
The original King was once
a ruthless street brawling orphan with no care in the world except fighting. During one of his fights, King was grievously wounded and collapsed in front of a monastery. The Marquez Priests saved him from death. After recovering, King realized the error of his ways and resolved to start a new life. He became a Catholic priest and renounced his old fighting ways. He then became a man with a mission; he dreamt of building an orphanage for street children, hoping to save them from becoming the kind of person he used to be.
King has one problem, however. He lacks the necessary funds to achieve his dream. King discovers The King of Iron Fist Tournament and hopes to win the prize money. King enters the tournament and manages to get third place, winning enough prize money for the orphanage. King opened his orphanage, which became very successful. After a child died in his care, King became depressed and, giving up his jaguar mask, returned to the street and became a raging alcoholic. He would have perished had he not been convinced by his old rival, Armor King, to again wear the jaguar mask and join The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2.
King trained intensely and recovered from his alcoholism. He battled Armor King at the tournament and lost. After the tournament, King participated in both pro-wrestling and martial arts tournaments to win money for his orphanage. He also taught his fighting skills to the children under his care as a means of self-defense. Sometime later on, Ogre, the God Of Fighting, was awakened from an ancient ruin in Mexico by Heihachi Mishima's Tekken Force. Ogre attacked several martial artists around the world, including King, who was killed afterwards.
A street urchin was brought up in a Mexican orphanage owned by the original fighter to bear the name 'King.' By the age of 24, this wrestler worked hard with King until one day, news broke of King's tragic death. Seeing that the orphanage would crumble into ruin (the money gained from King's wrestling matches was the only funding received), this man donned the mask of King and imitated his style. Unfortunately, he had only seen King's wrestling moves as a child, and he lost every competition he entered. One day however, another man with a mask visited the new King, introducing himself as an old friend. This man revealed himself to be Armor King, who was interested in finding out if the rumors of a new King were true.
For four years the two of them trained, and the new King learned quickly; maturing into a forceful wrestler with extreme power, known as King the Second. By this time, the now 28 year old wrestler was a worthy heir to the throne, however he longed to punish the one responsible for the original King's death. With rumors of the "God of Fight" circulating, Armor King revealed to his student that the elusive entity was the one most likely responsible. Armor King watched as the new King, fueled with rage, set his sights on avenging his foster father's death and proving himself worthy of wearing the mask.
Before the events of Tekken 4, King discovers that his mentor and foster father, Armor King, was killed in a bar fight. King pledged on Armor King's grave that he would seek revenge against the man responsive for his mentor's death. The man was currently serving time in an Arizona State Penitentiary. With the money he saved from professional wrestling tournaments, King arranged for the murderer's release from prison and sent him a plane ticket. With his plans in motion, King headed for the Tournament to await his sworn enemy, the Vale Tudo fighter - Craig Marduk.
King is later enraged to find out that Marduk has been defeating opponents in a black jaguar mask (identical to Armor King's), and he has issued a televised challenge to King for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Seeing Marduk disgrace his master, King steps into the ring once again to settle the score once and for all. He defeats Marduk once again and the two develop an unlikely friendship for each other.
Surprisingly, a friendship between King and with Craig Marduk developed during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. At the end of the previous tournament, King caught wind of an attack upon Craig. He blew a gasket when he heard the assailant looked exactly like Armor King. "Who in the hell would do such a tasteless imitation?!" King said. King was determined to learn the true identity of Craig's attacker. During that time, King heard the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 would soon be held. He decided to enter the tournament with Craig.
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Tekken 2, Tekken 3, Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Tekken 6, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, Tekken Tag tournament 2, Tekken 7, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, Tekken Hybrid, Tekken Revolution, Namco X Capcom, Street Fighter X Tekken
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Page Updated: Oct. 1st, 2015
As the token pro-wrestler of the Tekken series, King has always managed to be an interesting, distinguishable character in the fighting genre. In every sequel to Tekken, he always added some awesome new moves. Thankfully, King's opponents also always take good "bumps" during King's throws (a la the great animation of Tekken), so his throws always look spectacular. In my opinion, King is one of the best tributes to pro-wrestling the genre has ever seen, as he can perform many iconic WWE moves, and even moves from other fighting game wrestlers! I'd say King has the smoothest, flashiest, and most brutal wrestling moves out of any fighting game wrestler in existence. I can't think of much that he lacks as a design... All I know is, I can't ask for much more out of a well-rounded fighting game wrestler. King is a really fun character to use if you master his moveset, and I'd highly recommend learning him to any pro-wrestling fan (Along with A. King).
On a side note: If I hear one more person refer to King as "that guy with the lion-head"... I swear I'm going Rock Bottom their candyass. For those that still don't know: King wears a Jaguar MASK and is based off of the famous Japanese manga character, Tiger Mask. Got it?! Good. Tell your friends. :)
Fighting Style / Moveset
Personality / Charisma
Outfit(s) / Appearance
Effectiveness in series
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Why interim champs should defend their belts occasionally
Renan Barao won the interim UFC bantamweight title back in July, so you’d think he would have defended it by now, or at the very least been scheduled to defend it. But that’s not how things work in the New UFC where fighters apparently get to decide when they’ve done enough for a title shot or whether they have to take on interim challengers. Last week, Dana White finally conceded that Barao may have to fight again before facing Dominick Cruz. Now that is a certainty:
Dominick Cruz underwent another major knee surgery this past week, and it’ll likely further delay his return to the octagon. Trainer Eric Del Fierro today told MMA Junkie that Cruz’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was replaced after his body rejected one from a cadaver. The UFC bantamweight champion is in Los Angeles today to meet with a doctor who will give him a timeline for his return, Del Fierro said, though he estimated it could set the fighter back another six to nine months.
So for the first time in a long time, the UFC has an interim strap floating around that’s actually pretty legit, as opposed to a stopgap prop used maily to fill title slots at the top of increasingly thin PPV cards. It’s too bad the UFC has already wasted 6 months not doing anything with it.
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I have a proof for a Lemma which splits into an odd and even case.
The proof for the even case was already published by someone else in a different context and the proof for for the odd case is very similar (but not trivial) to the even case proof.
So how should I now proceed about the odd case proof? Is it ok if I make it clear that the odd case proof closely follows the idea of the even case proof, published by someone else?
share|cite|improve this question
closed as not a real question by Mark Sapir, Emil Jeřábek, Felipe Voloch, Bill Johnson, Anthony Quas Feb 1 '12 at 17:46
Is that hard to just tell the truth? As you see it is only few lines long. – Mark Sapir Feb 1 '12 at 16:32
@Mark Sapir I think you misunderstood me, mentioning that my proof follows the idea of the other proof is the least I would do. But I would still reuse many ideas of the original proof and I don't feel too comfortable about it. – user695652 Feb 1 '12 at 16:45
If the odd case cannot be easily recreated (or even if it can), a few words on how to start it or modify the even case would be appreciated by future researchers. For example, "As in the even case, we partition the set, except we create A' to hold these three elements. The same machinery can now be used, except it deals with these three elements as follows:... " . If you need to reproduce the other proof (with attribution) to make the paper more self-contained, well that isn't so bad either. Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2012.02.01 – Gerhard Paseman Feb 1 '12 at 17:07
Also, if you can summarize or exposit the other proof so that it is even more accessible (with the disclaimer that it is your interpretation of the proof), I certainly won't come banging on your door, except possibly to thank you. I suspect I am not alone in such a sentiment. Gerhard "But It's Just My Opinion" Paseman, 2012.02.01 – Gerhard Paseman Feb 1 '12 at 17:11
If you think that your proof follows somebody else's proof, say it. There is absolutely no problems at all. I voted to close as not a real question. – Mark Sapir Feb 1 '12 at 17:22
up vote 5 down vote accepted
Mathematics often progresses by small changes in already extant work. In fact I like to work by writing and rewriting, trying to make things clear, in the first place to me.
You need only say, for example, that the proof for the even case given by X can with some non trivial modifications also work for the odd case.
That seems like progress! Then it is up to a referee.
There are numerous, maybe all too many, examples of writers not mentioning where the ideas came from.
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Some authors got too far the other way, rendering parts of the paper harder to follow than they should be – Yemon Choi Feb 1 '12 at 18:49
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Gnomoria (Review) PC
Gnomoria (Review) PC
Review Score:
Just recently Greenlit, Gnomoria is joining the massive library of games available on the Steam Network. A one-of-a-kind survival simulation, Gnomoria is a sensational mixture of all these genres. Dwarf Fortress would be Gnomoria if it had a GUI (Graphical User Interface).
Even though Gnomoria and Dwarf Fortress are very similar, they’re two completely different games. Granted, there are many similarities, but the same thing could be said about other releases in the genre as well.
Gnomoria is an open sandbox-style simulator that gives you the freedom to do whatever you want. The player has the ability to design and even craft just about anything in the game world. You begin your dynasty with absolutely nothing, except for a few basic necessities and a small band of gnomes.
Since Gnomoria’s gameplay is non-linear, starting a new game will randomly generate a new world. The player decides the size of the map and its difficulty, and the game will customize it for you. This means the game is tailored to your specifications and it guarantees a completely different experience each time you start over.
You need to search for food as soon as you begin playing. Without food and drink, your gnomes will surely die. And that isn’t even the worst of your problems. You also need to worry about predators such as goblins. Aside from food, you also have to build shelter, mine for materials and gather wood.
Since everything needs to be built from the ground up, things can go wrong fairly fast. Learning to manage your gnomes is the key to success. Assigning gnomes to different professions can help your set priorities and get jobs done more efficiently.
The challenging part is deciding where to start the building process for your empire. You can build your fortress on the surface or hundreds of thousands of feet underground; it’s completely up to you. Not only do you have to worry about the placement of your fortress – or whether it’s above ground or not – but you also have to worry about building and setting up stockpiles, farms, gardens, distilleries and much more.
While playing the game, a floating tooltip box appears when highlighting functions inside the menu. This is a great feature; it helps the player understand the functions they’re using. When highlighting a function, a small description will appear right below the mouse pointer.
Gnomoria offers such a rich, robust strategy experience, it allows the player to think outside the box, so to speak. Since the game offers so much flexibility, you can pause or fast-forward time. When important decisions must be made, you can pause the game to consider your options. The fast-forward feature helps to speed up the building process.
As mentioned earlier, Gnomoria has a fully functional Graphical User Interface. This feature makes it easy to figure out the in-game features. If you get stumped for any reason, there is a help guide that is accessible from the upper right-hand corner of the screen. The help topics outline the basic necessities needed to build a strong, profitable civilization.
Just about anything can happen in Gnomoria since it’s an open-ended, sandbox-style game. And even though the game can be complex at times, the satisfaction you feel for establishing your civilization is overwhelming. Basically, the more you put into Gnomoria, the more you get from it.
This isn’t something you find often in today’s games. Usually, once you finish the main story, there is little replay value left (online multiplayer features aside). Gnomoria offers a unique experience that is guaranteed to be different every time you play; this alone adds to the game’s longevity.
The game also includes two different choices of music. You can choose between an orchestrated soundtrack (which includes some of the most atmospheric music ever heard in a video game) or a classic soundtrack that harkens back to the days of 8-bit gaming. Some will find the orchestrated soundtrack to their liking, while others will appreciate the retro-style music of the classic soundtrack. It really boils down to personal preference.
Gamers looking for a truly unique experience will find it when they play Gnomoria. This is the type of game where your imagination is the limit; there are no boundaries. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Early Access Section on Steam and find out what kind of ruler you really are.
James ‘Daripp3’ Pittaro
System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Processor: 2.0 Ghz
Memory: 1 GB RAM
DirectX: 9.0c
Hard Drive: 200 MB HD space
Developer: Robotronic Games
Publisher: Robotronic Games
Price: $7.99
Gnomoria’s Official Website
Review Score
Crisp, clean and beautiful. The best looking tile set in a strategy game.
The music is the best ever heard in this style of game.
One of the best strategy/simulation games I have ever played. It's complex, but not overbearingly difficult.
A fantastic Village Management sandbox experience that does everything right.
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July 2nd, 2008
02:01 PM ET
8 years ago
Cafferty: How should McCain deal with Bush’s negatives?
To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here
Filed under: The Cafferty File
soundoff (309 Responses)
1. Billiam
More shakeups in the McCain camp. I guess all that experience isn't paying off.
July 2, 2008 03:51 pm at 3:51 pm |
2. lilacs
The wo are joined at the spine. Mcain is bushs puppet.If you vote for mccrazy you voting for bush and company. we have dumb and dumber for presidental candidates. American we are screwed no matter which candidate you vote for Puppet Mccain or Gorgeie Nushs clone Obama. I will write my choice on the ballet this year.
3. JA Cook
He should keep adding former Bush campaign veterans, more Swift Boaters and a few more like Gramm. The we'll all be convinced they must've been pluses all along.
4. Dennis
I wish McCain could travel back in time and beat Bush in 2000, back when McCain still made sense. Now he's pandering to the right wing doofuses who still blindly follow the Cheney administration.
McCain 2000
Obama 2008
5. Harvey Weewax
Well let's see-
In 2000, the supreme court ignored the election and picked the president themselves. So maybe he could buddy up with the justices, and make something happen.
In 2004, in the midst of an unjust and unnecessary war, and a tanking economy, the republicans (with the help of a willing media) magically turned the national issue to stem cell research, same-sex unions and they threw in a color-coded terror alert every two days. So maybe he can rally the base by playing to their prejudices and scaring the bejeesus out of them.
Change his motto to: "You may be scared, broke and miserable, but at least 'the gays' can't get married..."
McCain 08
6. John Doe
He should quit the party entirely in protest over Bush's policies. But instead, he shakes up the staff but keeps all his big business and big oil lobbyist advisors. It's like he changed his Depends but forgot to wipe his behind.
7. Eleanor
Maybe he can ask King George I to be his VP running mate! Then there would be someone on ticket older than he, more experienced and qualified than he, and more popular.
8. Francesco Totti
MacCain should talk real and be himself and promise more reasonable things. Never go over your head. Unless you want Obama take the presidential chair.
Sincerely: Francesco Totti
9. scott brauer
jack what about mcain not paying his taxes in california .
I can't still get about the American politics. MacCain and Bush are different, even Bush brothers are different from the actual president; so, what the point?
Will Obama like Clinton? Their are in the same party!!!
Take side, just say, I want Obama to win, period.
11. Pat in Cali
Rent Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11". Get a clue.
12. Steve
It's too late to do anything. McCain has, over the years, carefully positioned himself as a true-blue Republican and a staunch supporter of Bush policies. If he tries to distance himself now, people are watching, and they'll see him try to throw Bush under the wheels of the Straight Talk Express. That will ruin his already poor reputation. If he continues to support Bush, he won't get elected. It's a lose-lose proposition for Mr. McCain. No one is buying the Republican story line these days, except the terminally stupid and the PUMAs (but I repeat myself).
13. Eleanor
He could support the impeachment of the Bush Crime Regime, currently in power. He still won't win... But that would be a worthwhile start!
July 2, 2008 03:55 pm at 3:55 pm |
14. Griff
In a business world, you would redirect your bad publicity, and produce a better thought about the time/period....
15. KG
He doesn't need to. Only you liberal idiots in the press and those liberal idiot robots (i.e. the posters here) who drink your Kool-Aid without going out and researching issues for themselves believe this.
But, the truth is, John McCain has been one of the most "bipartisan, work for the good of the country not himself" politicians that we've head in a long time. Remember the Gang of 14? Remember him fighting (and winning) the fights against Bush (and Republicans/Democats) on campaign reform? Remember him fighting (and winning) the fight against torture? He's got a history of doing what is right, regardless of party affiliation.
Obama's political history? Hmmm, doesn't really have one. Do you ever wonder why companies don't put inexperienced people in charge? BECAUSE THEY CAN"T DO THE JOB!! And, neither can Obama. Which is becoming more and more obvious since he can't seem to come up with any legitimate policies. And, when he does try to come up with something, as soon as anyone looks at it and figures out how amateurish it is, he stutters and stammers and says that wasn't what he really meant to say and that look out at the crowd and go "I'm the leader of change." Yes, you are Obama. They leader of changing your statements. It's become his trademark.
16. No seperation
Please, forward all these comments to the McCain people so he can do this country a great favor by quiting now.
17. scott brauer
if i didnt pay my taxes they would tak my house
18. Joe Reg
It is hopeless, because Bush approaval rating is about 27% and when you take into consideration the margin of errors of about 4%; that means his real approaval rating is more like 24%.
Now, Mcain approaval rating is going to be close to same thing.
It is all because of deficits, wars, losts of properties, skyrocketing oil prices losts of jobs economics slow down and the list goes on.
It is quite clear that the people wants a change from the current admistration to bring prosperity back to American's family and not the big oil like businesses.
America is awake this time.
Obama 08 & 12.
19. matt gallant
he supports bush's Policies, almsot all of them, he would infact be a older version of Gw, Another wolf in sheep's clothing. I think it is funny and sad that someone who is basing his entire run for the whitehouse on his military background and his knowledge of forgien affars, did not even show up to vote for the new war spending bill for funding for the troops. nice huh.
20. Ula Nejad- Sacramento Ca
I think Americans are stupid if they do not see the importance of race as a critical element of their leadership. Change of color will embolden other nations. Race is something this years election is different from any other in history. RACE is a fact. China, India will welcome it....hahhahaha. Someday they would love to see their very own at the reign of the most powerful country in the world...we will see.
July 2, 2008 03:57 pm at 3:57 pm |
21. Keith
How should McCain deal with Bush's negatives? It's very simple, quit while he still can. This man will provide the United States of America nothing new if elected.
22. Chuck
At this point who cares what the Religious right thinks or does. People are sick of the hate talk. They are fading away as fast as Bush's presidency. Maybe we can ship them all to their own little island like they would like to do to anyone who doesn't walk their walk. America has overdosed on Religion.
July 2, 2008 03:58 pm at 3:58 pm |
23. Sandy
Realize the American People are too smart to think he will do anything different than Bush. Maybe he should just quit and save face.
24. Gary H
Heck if he could talk Bush and Cheney into resigning he would win the election in a landslide!
25. KenB
Its politics as usual and unfortunately for McCain its a slow roll down a steep hill...he has to flip flop to keep the republican guard happy on one end and he has to play the roll as maverick to keep the following of American voters that could make the difference in this election. But, its really much ado about nothing...the Sen. can change his swagger and he still looks clumsy (sorry, he looks uncomfortable) in this role play...a capable representative on the hill, not in the white house. So, my opinion...there is absolutely nothing he can do about Bush negatives, especially when he house is shaky and changing residents.
July 2, 2008 04:00 pm at 4:00 pm | | <urn:uuid:07e14c9b-88a1-4046-9887-726399f676e2> | http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/02/cafferty-how-should-mccain-deal-with-pres-bush%E2%80%99s-negative-numbers/comment-page-7/ | en | 0.96968 | 0.046046 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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S.K. Cohn Jr, L.T. Weaver
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcl076 497-503 First published online: 31 July 2006
Black Death and AIDS are global pandemics that have captured the popular imagination, both attracting extravagant hypotheses to account for their origins and geographical distributions. Medical scientists have recently attempted to connect these two great pandemics. Some argue that the Black Death of 1346–52 was responsible for a genetic shift that conferred a degree of resistance to HIV 1 infection, that this shift was almost unique to European descendents, and that it mirrors the intensity of Black Death mortality within Europe. Such a hypothesis is not supported by the historical evidence: the Black Death did not strike Europe alone but spread from the east, devastating regions such as China, North Africa, and the Middle East as much or even more than Europe. Further, in Europe its levels of mortality do not correspond with the geographic distribution of the proportion of descendents with this CCR5 gene. If anything, the gradient of Black Death mortality sloped in the opposite direction from that of present-day genotypes: the heaviest casualties were in the Mediterranean, the very regions whose descendents account for the lowest incidences of the HIV-1 resistant allele. We argue that closer collaboration between historians and scientists is needed to understand the selective pressures on genetic mutation, and the possible triggers for changes in genetic spatial frequencies over the past millennia. This requires care and respect for each other's methods of evaluating data.
In the mid-1990s, it was discovered that possession of the CCR5-Δ32 allele leads ‘to nearly complete resistance to HIV-1 infection’ and AIDS.1 This genetic mutation shows strong geographical traits: while supposedly absent among Africans, Amerindians and East Asians, it is found in up to 14%, in certain northern populations of Eurasia, and more recently this figure has been estimated to be as high as 18%.2 Moreover, within Eurasia the frequency of this gene shows a north-to-south cline, with its highest rates in north-eastern Europe.1–5 Subsequent research has largely sustained these geographical patterns, although geneticists now find that the allele was not wholly absent from non-Eurasian populations, but is also detected in people of African descent.2,,4
In an attempt to explain these findings, it has been suggested that the Black Death may have caused the genetic mutation that conferred protection to Europeans against AIDS.1 In a survey of CCR5-Δ32 allele frequencies in 38 ethnic populations with 4166 subjects, the absence of the allele outside Eurasia, and a north-south gradient within Europe, were affirmed. Frequencies for Asia were very low (0% for Chinese descendents, 0% for Georgians and 3.4% for Uzbeks—the highest for any area of Asia, unless Russia is assumed to be Asian; no distinction was made between Asiatic and European, or north and south Russia). (A later study showed the same pattern from 71 locations, apparently with distinctions for eastern Europe and northern Asia, but did not tabulate gene frequencies.2) The earlier study by Stephens et al.1 speculated that this change did not result from genetic drift, but happened abruptly sometime between 275 and 1875 years ago, and that the mutation occurred only once and rapidly increased in population frequency through strong selective pressure: ‘possibly [it was] an ancient plague, the nature of which is currently undetermined’. Yet, despite the uncertainty of the specificity of this genetic mutation to Europe, the authors argued that the Black Death of 1348 was the ‘best’ candidate for the supposed epidemic that set in motion this ‘enormous selective mortality’.
More recently, the genetic mutation has been attributed to smallpox,2,,6 or to a haemorrhagic disease such as Ebola, with the suggestion that the mutation did not result from a single disease strike, but from recurrence over several centuries.6–10 These claims continue to be made,9,,10 even after new scientific evidence of the allele's more ancient origins and earlier rate of increase,2,4,,5 as well as conflicting historical facts (explored below). Making such connections between epidemics of the past and present, and in particular the Black Death's spread, its character, and its possible association with a specifically European genotype around the fourteenth century, demands careful scrutiny of the historical evidence.
Historical evidence
In hypothesizing that the Black Death of 1348 was the crucial epidemic that caused the genetic shift, Stephens et al.1 assumed that the plague of 1348 was the same disease (Yersinia pestis) as described by Alexandre Yersin in Hong Kong in 1894, and that spread to India and many ports around the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. But bubonic plague is not a temperate or European disease; rather it flourishes in the subtropics. As a number of historians and biologists now argue, the epidemiology of medieval and recent waves of plague had little in common. Their modes and rates of transmission, cycles of infection, seasonality, and relationship between host and pathogen were strikingly different.7,8,11–17
In short, Y. pestis is a disease of rodents in which humans sometimes participate (to paraphrase Robert Koch's succinct definition coined in 1900). For Y. pestis to become a human disease, an epizootic of rodents must first break out. After the pathogen has decimated the rodent population, hungry rat fleas seek other warm-blooded creatures to satisfy their thirst for blood and may turn to man. The transmission is hardly efficient as diseases go. The rat flea must regurgitate the bacillus into the bloodstream of a human host, which occurs successfully in less than 20% of bites. Because of this complex system of transmission, and because rats are homebound creatures, the disease spreads slowly, over ground usually no faster than 12 miles per year. Further, Y. pestis is rarely contagious. In the early twentieth century, physicians in one hospital after another reported to their astonishment that the ‘safest place to be in plague time was within the plague ward’, despite the crowding of relatives around plague-afflicted patients. Moreover, early in the twentieth century, public health workers were able to predict the outbreak of plague in India through its correspondence with the fertility cycle of rat fleas (primarily X. cheopis). It reached epidemic levels only in coolish, humid conditions (temperatures around 50–75°F and humidity >50%.11,,16
By contrast, the Black Death wreaked fear among contemporaries, not only because of the vast numbers it killed (as high as 78% of some populations), but also because of its speed of transmission, travelling almost as fast per day as the rodent bubonic plague does per annum. Such rapid spread and apparent ready transfer from person to person led physicians and the laity alike by the late fourteenth century to distinguish this Black Death from other ‘slower-moving’ diseases with similar skin lesions such as smallpox.11,,16 Although present in the medical literature, the term ‘contagion’ took on common usage only with the Black Death and its aftershocks in the latter Middle Ages. It could strike and peak at any time of year. Yet in Mediterranean areas such as Florence, Rome, Bologna, Barcelona and parts of southern France from the mid-fourteenth to the early eighteenth century, the Black Death consistently reached its highest mortality rates in mid-summer, at the warmest and driest time of the year, when the fertility cycle of the rat flea (both X. cheopis and C. fasciatus, which is more common in Mediterranean Europe) is at its nadir.16
Because of its complex mechanism of transmission, Y. pestis has never caused death of the magnitude recorded for the Black Death in 1348.11,16,,17 The highest mortality wrought by bubonic plague in the late nineteenth or twentieth century for any major city in any year was Bombay in 1903, in which <3% of its population was felled.16,,18 Moreover, pneumonic plague has been even less deadly. The Manchurian plagues of 1911 and 1922 are the only ones to have reached epidemic proportions, and neither killed more than 0.03% of the populations infected.19,,20 By contrast, at least a third and perhaps more than half the population of Europe was struck down in one plague only, that of 1347–1352,17,,21 when cities such as Florence lost three-quarters of their residents in four or five months.16
Yersinia pestis in Europe
There is little evidence to suggest that Y. pestis ever seriously threatened Europe. The worst incidents of this plague were at the beginning of the twentieth century in ports such as Glasgow, Hamburg and Lisbon. Despite great fears that the Black Death had returned, none of these cities lost more than a hundred people. On the other hand, ample evidence indicates that a rat-based bubonic plague had been prevalent in subtropical India, China, and parts of Africa long before Yersin discovered the bacillus in 1894, or the so-called ‘third pandemic’ sprang from its subtropical reservoirs touching several ports in Europe, north America and Australia. Descriptions of diseases, with boils that first struck rats and then spread to humans, fill chronicles and travel reports back to at least the fourteenth century in India, and are widespread in the reports of Western doctors in China in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Yet no one to date has uncovered a contemporary source from medieval or early modern Europe that describes a disease of buboes preceded or accompanied by the death of rats or any other rodent.16 Thus historically the bubonic plague (Y. pestis) appears to have been prevalent in the very places where the CCR5-Δ32 allele is absent among present-day descendants, manifesting the opposite correlation to that asserted by Stephens et al.1 (Figure 1). Furthermore, laboratory tests have shown it is unlikely that the CCR5-Δ32 allele protects against Y. pestis.22,,23 Yet despite these wide historical discrepancies and initial experimental results, scientists and the media persist in asserting the positive correlation between bubonic plague in Europe and possession of the HIV-resistant allele.
Figure 1.
Population frequencies of the CCR5-Δ32 allele (upper section: black >10%, dark grey 6–10%, pale grey <6%) and Black Death mortalities 1346–53 (lower section: black >50%, dark grey 25–50%, pale grey <25%) in Europe. Based on data from Stephens et al.1 For computer-simulated maps, see Novembre et al.2
Moreover, even if we assume that the Black Death and its subsequent late-medieval and early-modern strikes were another disease ‘yet to be determined’, or even a haemorrhagic disease such as Ebola,7–10 the argument that it provoked the HIV-resistant allele remains unconvincing. It is false to assume that the Black Death of 1348 was peculiar to Europe (including Russia), that these plagues, no matter what their agent may have been, ‘were confined to Europe’ as Duncan and Scott blatantly and erroneously assert.10 Instead, contemporary European sources point to the origins of this disease from China, India or the steppes of Russia (where frequencies of the CCR5-Δ32 allele are zero or in Uzbek low at 3%). The Black Death arose outside Europe, and certainly devastated non-European populations as much if not more than European ones.16,24–28 Egyptian chronicles, burials and other archaeological remains point in the same direction. Descriptions of buboes, numbers killed, and mass destruction from Egypt across the Steppes to present-day Uzbekistan, led a historian of plague in the Middle East to surmise that the Black Death and its successive strikes in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries devastated northern Africa and Asia Minor more severely than Europe.27,,28
Those scientists who believe that the Black Death was Y. pestis (and indeed those who do not) have assumed that the north-south European geographical cline in the frequency of the CCR5-Δ32 allele among present-day descendents parallels the severity of the Black Death in 1348, as well as the recurrence of plagues to the eighteenth century. Thus Sweden (in whose descendents the allele is highest at 14%) or Finland (where some have speculated the CCR5-Δ32 allele may have originated)2 would have been the area in Europe hardest hit by the Black Death, while Greece and Italy (whose descendents bear the lowest percentages of this allele, of around 5%) would have been hardly touched. Although plague reached Norway and Sweden,29–32 no evidence (textual, archaeological, or from changes in cultivation) shows the plague invading Finland until 1440, and thereafter it returned only four times,29 compared with thirty or more strikes for individual towns across much of Italy. Furthermore, the first wave of plague from 1347 to 1353 appears to have skipped over large parts of Bohemia, northern and eastern Europe, and the Netherlands (where allele frequencies are also >10%), and some of these northern zones were only lightly grazed in later medieval plagues. There is good evidence, for example, to suggest that the plague did not strike the textile town of Douai in northern France until 1400, and through the later Middle Ages it killed fewer in the Low Countries (and especially Holland) than in most other places in Europe.16,31,,32
On the other hand, narrative sources and quantitative analysis show that the plague hit the south of Europe hardest. Towns such as Trapani in Sicily were completely deserted after 1348, and from tax and burial records, Tuscany lost the majority of its population in 1348 alone. Similarly, Mediterranean cities such as Genoa and Naples in 1656, after an absence of plague for 120 years or more, again registered the highest mortalities anywhere in Europe killing half or more of these populations, a far higher proportion than of London in its Great Plague of 1665 or of Copenhagen in 1711, where in neither city was more than 20% of its population killed.16,33,,34 Thus it is erroneous to assert that the plague mortalities exhibit a north-south cline: rather the opposite seems to be the case (Figure 1).
Finally, Novembre, Galvani and Slatkin2,,6 have asserted that smallpox was the disease that provoked Europe's genetic shift, and maintained its near-unique selective advantage in resisting HIV. But like others who have failed to review the global history of diseases, they neglect the fact that smallpox originated outside Europe, and that there is no evidence that Europe suffered more from it than other parts of the world in medieval, early modern or modern history. Quite the contrary, the New World from the sixteenth century on (when Galvani and Slatkin assume that smallpox was exerting its selective pressure on European populations6) suffered far more.25 The earliest descriptions of smallpox (and the last reported naturally occurring cases) came from outside Europe: from India and Somalia, respectively.25,,35
A historical and scientific synthesis
To understand the significance of the geographical distribution of the CCR5-Δ32 allele, historians and geneticists need to consider epidemics or conditions that were specific to Europe and which show a north-south cline rather than point to diseases such as bubonic plague (Y. pestis), typhus, smallpox, and others whose origins were in the tropics or subtropics. They must be clear and confident of their respective data, and when seeking geographic and demographic associations must be able to define with precision the disease genotypes and phenotypes at different times and places. Molecular methods may be powerful, if properly used. They can be applied to past generations as well as to present-day populations.
Geneticists, archaeologists and physical anthropologists are revising the conclusions drawn in the late 1990s; they are now finding ancient DNA with the mutant gene CCR5-Δ32 in skeletal remains in northern Europe as early as 2900 years ago.36 Some have estimated its age at 5075 years, and have argued that ‘the high frequency of the allele cannot be attributed solely to a strong selective event within the past millennium’.5 Moreover, samples from graves in Lübeck (northern Germany) show no difference in percentages of the allele in those who died before and after the Black Death of 1348.36,,37 On the basis of these findings, along with a specific knowledge of the character of the Black Death (whatever disease it was) and its geographical distribution, there is no connection between plague and the HIV-resistant allele.
There are, of course, many examples of one disease conferring protection or vulnerability to another. Sickle-cell anaemia and malaria is a classical instance of two diseases sharing the same geographical distribution, leading to hypotheses to explain their coincidence.38 Helicobacter pylori and protection from diarrhoeal disease is another.39 The historical record of diseases can point to ones that were largely confined to Europe and exhibited a north-south cline, such as ergotism.40 Lactose tolerance is much commoner among European descendents than from those elsewhere in the world; yet within Europe there is a wide range of allele frequencies, showing a distinct north-south cline: Scandinavian descendents are at the top with 100% tolerance, while those from Sicily and Greece are at the bottom with as little as 29%.41–43 Moreover, the long-term estimates of the emergence of the CCR5-Δ32 gene correspond roughly with those for lactose tolerance (LCT) in Europe.43 In genetic time, both developed through selective pressures remarkably quickly. Perhaps these parallels should be explored further with more detailed samples of CCR5-Δ32 from Africa and other non-European zones, to distinguish between regions populated by ancient herdsmen with lactose tolerance and zones with low frequencies. Considering Africa as a single zone, as is presently the case with CCR5 studies, constitutes a blunt instrument (as crude, if not more so, as considering Europe as a single homogenous genetic entity). While the largest sample of CCR5-Δ32 genotypes now derives from only 71 regions worldwide, studies of LCT comprise 952 geographic areas, with many thousands of humans genotyped.
The exciting correlations discovered by geneticists and epidemiologists between present-day genotypes in human populations, and varying levels of resistance to diseases, now demand a new cooperation between scientists and historians. Together, they can explore the connections between events, environment, biological change, and possible selective pressures that have occurred in the historical (and not just the pre-historical) past. While the methods and data used by these scholarly communities differ, care and respect for each other's analytical traditions, methods of evaluating data, and sources cannot be neglected by either.
We are grateful to Jean Hyslop for help in composing the figure.
View Abstract | <urn:uuid:eb7c21b6-545f-406a-a823-b4d66b857eb9> | http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/99/8/497.full | en | 0.95335 | 0.058971 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Santa Monica College|Academic Programs|Physical Sciences|Chem 10 SLOs
Chem 10 SLOs
Upon Completion of Chemistry 10:
1. The student will demonstrate the ability to solve chemical problems using logical procedures based on well-established scientific principles.
2. The student will be able to use chemical theories to explain and predict observable phenomena, using the principles developed in Chemistry 10.
3. When conducting an experiment, the student will follow written procedures accurately and safely, demonstrate competence with lab equipment and measuring devices, and record data clearly and precisely. | <urn:uuid:4a0b793b-f438-4f7a-9d58-4fb17ff9a800> | http://smc.edu/AcademicPrograms/PhysicalSciences/Pages/Chem-10-SLOs.aspx | en | 0.848369 | 0.048364 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Prop 19 Still Trailing in Polls, But with Hopeful Signs
Proposition 19, is trailing in more polls, adding to a run of disappointing poll results as election day draws near. According to the Talking Points Memo Polltracker, five separate polls in the past week have Prop 19 losing by an average of 50.3% to 42.6%. (A Yes on 19 internal poll not included in the Polltracker has the measure ahead 45% to 42%.)
A SurveyUSA poll released last Wednesday had the measure trailing 44% to 46%, well with the poll's 4% margin of error. As SurveyUSA put it, "not yet enough breathing room for 'No' to be considered a clear favorite, but enough of a 'Yes' erosion for backers to be gravely concerned."
A CNN/Time poll released last Tuesday was worse. It had Prop 19 losing 53% to 45%, with a +/-3.5% margin of error, among likely voters. (The numbers were slightly better for registered voters, 51% to 47%). The measure trailed among both men (46%) and women (44%) and whites (42%) and non-whites (49%). Only among liberals (76%), voters under 50 (57%), Democrats (55%), and in the San Francisco Bay area (55%) was Prop 19 polling a majority.
[Update: A final Field poll released Sunday also showed the measure down.]
The CNN/Time poll measured responses from 1,328 registered voters and 888 likely voters. The poll was conducted by phone interview.
The SurveyUSA poll is worrisome because a series of SurveyUSA polls as recent as October 18 had Prop 19 winning, but it does hold some grounds for hope. It measured both likely and actual voters -- early voting has been going on for several weeks now -- and it also polled cell phone users. Among people who only had cell phones, Prop 19 led, 48% to 36%. It also led among people who rarely vote in midterm elections, but who said they'd be voting this time, by a margin of 53% to 39%. And it led among people who had not yet voted, 45% to 42%, while trailing among those had already voted, 43% to 54%.
Those poll findings suggest that the initiative could still emerge victorious if it can get the young and tech-savvy and the "unlikely voters" who may be motivated by the issue to actually get out and vote. Prop 19 and its allies have been whipping their get out the vote campaign hard, and this week's million dollar infusion courtesy of George Soros may still give it the oomph to get over the final hurdle on Tuesday.
United States
There's only one survey that counts...
There's only one survey that counts, and it's not until Tuesday Nov 2nd.
Ignore the BS.
Save the world.
If it passes.... I still
If it passes.... I still can't have my hemp farm. A 5 foot by 5 foot area just isn't enough.
If we want it legalized, it needs to be full legalization, not change criminal status of it.
if you happen to have just over the alotted amount, you're still charged the same as of the prop never passed
in my opinion, marijuana should be legalized. The prop just needs a good re-writing.
vote no on this one
The bill is not perfect but
The bill is not perfect but it can be changed alter down the road.. Voting no will just push the legalization of marijuana back further.. THIS IS STEP ONE of many steps to come. Dont vote against your own interest. be apart of the movement.. We are trying to make history here!
Prop 19 may be far from
Prop 19 may be far from perfect, but it is a major step in the right direction. It would make some very important incremental changes in the direction of full legalization of cannabis. It makes absolutely no sense for somebody who supports legalization of cannabis to vote no on Prop 19. Prop 19 represents an enormous opportunity for Californians to make cannabis legalization a mainstream topic in American politics, and should not be wasted. Please vote yes on 19. Incremental change is usually all people are willing to accept. Expecting a majority of voters to to vote for complete deregulation of cannabis after many decades of prohibition is unreasonable. Your attitude only serves to prolong prohibition.
Dont worry, prop 19 WILL
Dont worry, prop 19 WILL allow cities to allow you to grow your hemp farm, you may have to move to a city that will allow it but that will still be an option for you. Vote Yes on 19!!
http://www.stopthedrugwar.or; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(182, 171, 142); line-height: 1.4em; font: normal normal normal 13px/1.5 Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; ">
Rewriting? Even if the initiative just said, "hemp production will be legal; no limit in size of hemp farms", it wouldn't be much better than prop 19. It would be the federal government that would not allow you to have your hemp farm, not prop 19. Under prop 19, if counties decide, they can allow hemp farms of limitless size, and probably at least one county would allow it. North Dakota already legalized commercial hemp in 1999, but nothing has happened because of the federal government. The faster you give the finger to the federal government the faster you'll have your hemp farm.
Rewriting? Even if the
Rewriting? Even if the initiative just said, "hemp production will be legal; no limit in size of hemp farms", it wouldn't be much better than prop 19. It would be the federal government that would not allow you to have your hemp farm, not prop 19. Under prop 19, if counties decide, they can allow hemp farms of limitless size, and probably at least one county would allow it. North Dakota already allows its farmers to grow hemp commercially (since 1999), but nothing has happened because of the federal government. The faster you give the finger to the federal government the faster you'll have your hemp farm.
One step at a time. And
One step at a time. And voting YES will be ... one small step for California, but one giant leap for Human Rights."
Poll No, Vote Yes
When you get polled in California, reply NO.
This is to keep you from getting in trouble with your employer, etc.
When you get into the voting booth, vote YES on Prop 19.
Don't believe it...
Just show up and vote Yes on 19, and the rest will take care of itself. The opposition has pulled out all the stops in these last few weeks. I don't believe that 10% changed their mind in one week!
i don't believe them either, but it's a little spooky to come this far and then see polls like that and i LIVE in KY so........i don't know it's kind of hard to see.
prop19 polls
i don't believe them either,but it's kind of hard to come this far and see polls like that and i live in KY.
NO ON 19 !!
If Prop 19 passes it will COST taxpayers to subsidize people to get high...increase in workers comp and insurance as well. Vote smart CA and don't believe the bogus BS put out by to "Weedies"
Nonsense, nonsense, and
Nonsense, nonsense, and nonsense.
How's "subsidizing" billions of dollars in incarceration, court costs, and law enforcement hours/manpower working out for you so far?
Your best argument is a
Your best argument is a personal attack? "Don't listen to the 'weedies'" LOL Seriously.
I have weedies every morning
I have weedies every morning for breakfast.
I have Weedies every morning
I have Weedies every morning for breakfast.
Someguy and Vinnie, I hope
Someguy and Vinnie, I hope you change your mind and vote "yes" on Prop19, at least. It is not a perfect law, but it is a good beginning; and, as many have pointed out, "we don't want the perfect to be the enemy of the good".
As for voting in general, with this election I have stopped voting for candidates to the state legislature and congress, since in my state no third party candidate will ever again get on the general election ballot, thanks to the version of "top two" primary the state adopted after our open primary was declared unconstitutional. I won't vote for any elected position except judges (non-partisan) but I will continue to vote on issues. I am urging my friends and family (and strangers) to do the same, because if enough people do it, a really low number of votes for elected positions in comparison to the total number of ballots voted (and counted) should send a very loud message to the damn politicians that the voters hate the way they've rigged the system, not to mention the way they've legislated.
Proposition 19 Legal at Last
When Proposition 19 passes we begin the process of nationwide legalization.
I have looked forward to this day for a very long time.
Why don't you worry about a really dangerous drug, Vinnie
Alcohol. If society can live with all the death and devastation caused by alcohol abuse, why can't it live in harmony with all the peaceful responsible cannabis users out there? I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about with taxpayers subsidizing people to get high- what's that about? The war against cannabis users is already forcing taxpayers to subsidize a judicial/prison industrial complex, deluxe pensions and all. We want to turn cannabis users from being involuntary tax eaters and turn them into taxpayers. If you'd rather fire more teachers and health care workers, and surrender National Parks and Forests over to drug gangs, and keep drug gangs in charge of distribution because you think that protects children, that's your choice.
Get up stand up
I voted yes for Prop 19 almost 2 weeks ago via mail-in. We are almost at the finish line and can't afford to miss this opportunity or it will be another 30 years wait. If the 18+ generation don't make the effort to go to the polls and vote for Prop 19 then it won't happen. Get up stand up don't give up your rights!!
Yes on 19
I live in Texas where they still think MJ is like the old reefer madness movie. A friend of mine in TX was pulled over on the Hwy with his boss for an expired inspection sticker. The Police said they smelled Marijuana and asked them to step out of the truck. There were 2 Joints found in the console, so the trooper pushed my friend down to the ground handcuffed him cursed him out and bruised him up and he was injured. They were both taken to Jail, and it cost him $750.00 to be released on bail. Then an additional $1,200.00 in attorney and court fees. He then received 2 years probation where he had to pay $65.00 Monthly and take a pee test each time.
I have heard of people being beat up by Texas Police like Rodney King for just having a joint. It is crazy.
It is unbelievable at how horrible this law really is. Marijuana is safe and I believe that people who use marijuana are non violent peaceful people.
Please vote YES on Prop 19.
Moonrider - I understand your
Moonrider - I understand your discontent and wish third party candidates were more accepted and given the voice and viability they deserve. But your argument against voting for the lesser of two evils among the candidates is just the opposite of your well reasoned argument for Prop 19. Please hold your nose and vote for the closest candidate to your values so that the worse of the two in each race doesn't win. Democracy (as such as it is in CA) is still the art of compromise. And, well, you are also still right. Remember to look at Texas and realize it could be a lot worse if the wrong party gets to Gerrymander CA like they did there. There is still a long way to fall my friend...
Something must be done to get better candidates.
If we don't start doing something about that, now, starting with THIS election, we will never get the kind of candidates we want running for positions of power and we all will continue to live under the threat of government violence being used against us for pursuing our happiness in our own manner. Government agents MUST be reminded that we each own our own bodies and government has no legitimate Constitutional authority to interfere in our personal lifestyle choices. We MUST stop tolerating the lesser evil and demand truly GOOD candidates, and we must begin to do it NOW! If it allows some of the greater evils to get elected, well that will, even more quickly, cause more people to recognize the need to stop these two tyrannous parties' lock on elections in the country.
The writer's of this bill are drug dealers(Oaksterdam Cartel), who have gotten rich from selling pot and now want to corner the market and to keep the prices high. With more government control there will be less of a free market and proceeds from the tax on marijuana are specifically earmarked for enforcing marijuana laws against those that aren't in compliance( anyone not named Richard Lee or Jeff Jones and a few others). This bill, does nothing to keep people out of prison, you will still go to prison for selling a joint, growing even one respectable outdoor plant( c'mon 5'x5' space, each outdoor plant require more space than that), you will go to prison with same punishment for more than an ounce of pot. The only differences is that Agramed, Richard Lee and Jeff Jones with a select other few rich pot dealers can co-opt the law enforcement to put their competition out of business. Their business plan to have huge indoor super grows will put massive amounts of pollution into the air to create electricity to run their lights. Their own estimates show that they plan on selling whole sale for $2800 a pound, more than it cost now. They have also introduced new marijuana crimes in this bill. It is a travesty and they are promoting as if it will keep people from going to jail, that is just a lie. They are trying to make themselves rich with no regard for the real victims of the drug war nor the huge sect of the population who supplement their income with small pot farms. These Mom and pop ops and all the people they employ will be put out of business with a new cash cow for these corporate pot farmers.
Let's really legalize it or keep it medical, but not Corporatize pot for a few greedy men and their investors.
borden's picture
don't be a prohibitionist like Johnny Seed
Don't listen to Johnny Seed's propaganda and conspiracy theories. If you vote no on Prop 19, you're a prohibitionist, or maybe you're not but you may as well be. People are going to jail and prison and it has to stop.
PROP 19 doesn't stop people from going to prison, unfortunately
If prop 19 decriminalized any felonies except growing an amount that almost nobody( if anybody in CA) goes to prison for( 5'x5' space), I would vote for it. Instead, it gives lip-service to it and maybe incidentally, some people won't go to jail because a legal defense may be worked out with an expensive lawyer, but mostly it fails in it's supposed aim to legalize pot. It will certainly make a few Business men rich, that is clear, but as for keeping people out of prison, it doesn't affect a brother selling a joint, he will still go to prison. Most marijuana gardens in California are much larger than the permitted size, so they will go to prison and also, the tax money collected is specifically cited to be used for enforcement of marijuana law against those not in compliance with prop 19, PROP is THINLY VEILED PROHIBITION. and I suspect you either you haven't understood the law, haven't read it or have some other vested interest in pretending this law will prevent people from going to jail. it legalizes something that now has a maximum penalty of $100 and is only an infraction ( doesn't even go on your record).
so please explain if you can why you made the innuendo that prop 19n would keep people out of prison?
JohnnySeed Dips**t
Johnny Seed - If anyone is trying to control a monopoly its you and your mom and pop grow OPs. How many of them have paid taxes for growing their weed and selling it illegally for the last 2 decades? And what now they are voting no or not voting at all even after they have been growing a weed they believe in for the last 20 years? The only thing they believe in now is the corruption of the money that it brings them and you. And now your scared that if it passes, you will have to stop controlling your monopoly and go out and get a real job? Haha Loser!! If the corporate giants grow a bunch of weed, it still won't even supply 7 percent of the consumption of just the state of california, so get over the fact that all of the mom and pops will shut down. the only thing different is that you can smoke recreationally instead of hiding in your closet . Say yes on PROP 19!!!!
Monopolies happen when markets are controlled, you seem ignorant
You have more than one oxymoron in your post. How can a bunch of diverse "mom and Pops" have a monopoly? it makes no sense, but what is happening in Oakland with the authors of prop 19( namely Rich Lee and Jeff Jones) is just that, a monopoly, they and Agramed have been given the contract to control the four allowed pot farms in oakland(measure z), making thousands of others illegal and out of compliance. Those guys are projecting 58 million dollars of profit in the first year, so your accusations and arguments hold no water and I wouldn't be surprised if your "real job" is writing these responses to confuse the issue for RICH RICHARD LEE. Either that or you are as ignorant as you sound, I hope it is the latter because Richard Lee is already Rich from selling pot and he doesn't deserve more money. Hopefully this power play will be exposed and we will write a real decrimialization bill, not just a corporatization bill.
No on 19. no to corporate pot.
borden's picture
kooky prohibitionist conspiracy theories
Don't listen to Johnny Seed's kooky prohibitionist conspiracy theories. What's happening in Oakland with the grow regulations has nothing to do with Prop 19. Lobby the city council to keep their promise to create a framework for including small and medium growers and to continue holding off on enforcement against them until they do.
In the meanwhile, Johnny Seed can vote however he wants to, but he should stop these disgusting attacks on Richard Lee, who deserves enormous credit for spending the larger portion of his wealth on the cause, rather than just making money off it as many cannabusinesspeople are doing.
I wish I lived in CA I'd vote
I wish I lived in CA I'd vote Yes....twice.
gotta wonder
Hey Phil, It did occur to me that it was a bit odd that those who have made a tidy sum on medicinal cannabis post prop 215 were the ones bankrolling this initiative as it would possibly put them out of business.
Should Prop 19 pass, and yes, I voted for it early, that would send a message and the legislature would be able to fix most defects with the initiative as they did with SB 420 (!) and Prop 215.
More likely, unfortunately, should Prop 19 fail, then that would in effect call the question in the negative and would result in 10 more years of status quo, not bad for the medicinal cannabis growers either.
Possible reasons for decline in polls
Is it possible that polls started going down right after Eric Holder and Obama said they would crack down even harder if prop 19 passes? Could we assume maybe that scared some people out of telling polls what they were thinking?
No way to tell for sure. Hope it passes.
Cannabis should have never been illegal in the first place. Its “illegality” is not based on any science, just on lies, distortions of fact, and blatant racism. The truth is that Cannabis is less physically addictive than caffeine, and that it may also serve as a much “safer alternative” to alcohol and/or hard drugs. Another Cannabis product, hemp, was used by humans since time immemorial! It is fully recognized that Cannabis use SUPPRESSES VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, and that Cannabis may be used to help not only treat, but to also prevent some devastating illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
The fact is that Cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years exactly because there are so many ways in which this remarkable plant can help us and our planet. So, it is naive to presume that a bunch of fear-mongerers can change this fact, no matter how loud and untruthful they become! I worked in addiction medicine for years, and Cannabis use was the least of my problems, so I do recognize that classifying Cannabis in the same group as heroin and cocaine is one of the greatest scientific fallacies of our times. The so-called “gateway” drug theory was found to be totally invalid, and a very recent large study called this “theory” half-baked. It is simply untrue scientifically.
As Kathleen Parker aptly observed on CNN couple of days ago, “To say that most hard drug addicts start with marijuana is the same as to say that all rapists start with masturbation”. Yeah, that’s about it! Cannabis is not physically addictive, as there is no clearly definable and reproducible physical withdrawal syndrome, observed with alcohol or opiate withdrawal, for example. A recent large study denied any connection between smoking Cannabis and a risk for lung cancer. Quite the opposite, Cannabis use is being found to have some preventative role with such serious conditions as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and according to the latest research, Cannabis may even be an “exit substance” for recovering alcoholics/hard drug/prescription drug abusers. Cannabis criminalization leads to horrendous Civil Rights violations around the country. YES to Cannabis re-Legalization! YES on Cali Prop. 19!
corporate weed.
anyone who actually READ the propositions article AND have been in the game a long time know exactly what time of day it is. just read johnny seed's post. he nails it. corporate america at it's finest... keep rallying your sheep boys, i'm sure the bill will pass. bye MOM, bye POP!
"been in the game for a long
"been in the game for a long time?" so you admit you would lose profits if prop 19 passes?
This could be a pioneer breakthrough
One small step at a time. Returning to hemp farming belongs to the future but right now passing this proposition could be "... one small step for [California], one giant leap for [Human Rights]."
A young man, dressed in a person-of-authority costume, came to my condo door because of a complaint from a neighbor. I knew it wasn't Hallowe'en.
I said:
"I'm 63 years old. I'm hard of hearing. I thought I heard the law was changing on October 2nd and that it was happening in British Columbia. sir."
Then I said:
"No? You don't buy that? Well, how about this... I'm 63 years old. My hearing is still pretty good. I know it's really November 2 and it's happening in California. I was just celebrating a little early. sir."
Then I said:
"That's not going to cut it either? How about this, then... I'm 63 years old. Do you really want to have to strip search me? That would be like strip searching your grandmother, wouldn't it? sir."
Then I said:
" Can I have one more shot at this? How about... I'm 63 years old. Do you really think you are doing the right thing? Wouldn't you rather remember this incident as 'the one you let go'. Because it was time and you knew she was right? sir."
Then I said:
"Good night to you, too. Have a great evening! Sir."
Fields of dreams.
Oh it doesn't matter. There's so much growing up here in the Sierras it's everywhere up here. From August to now I can smell it driving down the road. One time I kept smelling it driving along highway 20 near Smartsville (yes that's the name of the town). So one day I pulled over and followed my nose for about 500' and found a field of 5000 plants growing right along the highway. Up where I live, you can see whole hillsides of it. It's getting real blatant. Nobody buys pot up here this time of the year. It's becoming part of the environment. Soon everybody is going to have it in their back yard.
If Prop 19 passes, it will be
If Prop 19 passes, it will be one of the biggest corporate/government scams ever pulled off. The slogan should be "Let Corporations and the Government make all the money and give us nothing in return!" YAAYY for "legalizing" cannabis!!!!
What do we get out of this Prop? Well....we can carry an ounce of cannabis. Hmmm, Arnold already made that nothing but an infraction a few weeks ago. What else? Corporations could now grow it. That's it guys. Nothing else. We, in CA, get nothing from this Prop now that Arnold has done what he did. This is a money grab. Dozens of communities will be left to ruin. The Oakland Grow-Ops will soak up all the profit and inject nothing back into the CA economy, unlike now where entire counties are supported by the income of cannabis.
It is a legal nightmare, different grow laws in every county and Feds busting people whenever they want to. The LA cops have already said they are going to ignore the Prop if it passes.
No laws against cannabis will be changed. Feds can and will still raid whenever, you still can't carry more then an ounce, you can't grow anymore then you can with a medical recommendation, you still can't smoke in public anymore then you already can, 7 years jail for smoking with someone under 21, can't drive stoned (not that you should ever be able to), can't work stoned. Nothing. There is nothing here but legalizing corporate grow houses (state legalizing).
If you want Camel Cannabis from Walmart, by all means vote for Prop 19. If you want this to remain as income for the PEOPLE of CA and all over America, support decriminalization (like Arnold ALREADY DID) and medical growing (to stop anyone, corporations or people, from soaking up all the profit). This is the one market that we, as people, still control and corporations are blocked out of, let's keep it that way.
If you care about CA and it's economy, VOTE NO ON PROP 19. It's a terribly written, terribly thought out proposition that the Oakland drug cartel wants to lure us into with the big, bright, shiny promise of legal pot. It's a lie.
"It is a legal nightmare,
That's how alcohol laws work.
You're forgetting about the possibility of coffeeshops. Most importantly, you're forgetting that it depends on what counties decide. You're stating that certain regulations would be in place, when no one really knows even whether or not counties would allow corporations to grow it. One possibility that doesn't involve corporations is the dutch system, which is possible would be copied by some counties considering it has been proven to work so well in that country in increasing tourism and collecting sales taxes.
"It is a legal nightmare, different grow laws in every county..."
THAT'S how alcohol laws work.
"...and Feds busting people whenever they want to..."
Although it bears remembering, alcohol prohibition was repealed, at first, state by state, and feds could have come in at any time.
And it bears remembering, the prohibition on medical marijuana, too, was repealed that way (and the feds still raid dispensaries in spite of what eric holder said).
In fact, even in spite of arnold's signing of the decrim bill, the feds can still arrest you for possesing shake and imprison you on a first offense. That's how federal law is written. Does that mean that states passing laws shouldn't mean anything?
"What do we get out of this
Oh, and you're forgetting you can grow 25 sq feet, and store the proceeds for as long and as much as you want. You can have dozens of pounds inside your house legally as long as it was grown by you. That's guaranteed; it's written into the prop; counties don't have to decide on that.
You're also forgetting that, while you can't go to work stoned, YOU CAN'T BE FIRED FOR SMOKING WEED!!! HOW IS THAT NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR YOU?
Decrim? what would you rather have, to pay a 100 dollar fine or not to?
Corporations employ people too, you know, LEGALLY.
We the people? You mean "we the illegal growers and dealers."
About medical growing
Medical marijuana is for sick people, and although i'm all for people getting their weed through dispensaries, it doesn't stop the government from considering recreational smokers criminals, or at best, second hand citizens. And on a practical matter, wouldn't you rather not have to lie to your doctor and pay him a hundred dollars for a recommendation? And what about not being fired from your job? This is about people's RIGHT to smoke weed. That's what the fight had always been about.
There was a story about a Dry
There was a story about a Dry county in Texas where an effort to legalize alcohol was made by referendum every election. The local churches would have bumper stickers printed out and given away that read "For the Sake of My Family VOTE Dry!". Every election the son of the biggest moonshiner in the county would drive around with TWO of these stickers on his rear bumper.
It will pass
Look into the "Broadus Effect" ~ this will pass. Any poll you see on here is not a reflection of what the state's populous will actually vote. Of course lots of people don't want to publicly admit that they support Prop. 19, but behind the curtain all alone, you know what they're going to vote.
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Xbox One Revealed
May 22, 2013
Xbox One Revealed
On May 21, 2013, Microsoft held a press conference with a lot of big news to release to the public. The biggest announcement of the conference was the reveal of Microsoft’s next-gen console, the Xbox One.
The Xbox One is described by Microsoft to be an “all-in-one” machine, hence the name Xbox One. In other words, the new console is being designed so that it is the only machine you’ll need in your living room, home theater, or bedroom.
The new One sports a sleeker, edgier look than the 360, the shape being basically a rectangular prism with a small cut on the front bottom edge, similar to the original Nintendo Wii console. This new design is what Microsoft calls an “industrial design”, meaning that it can support sturdier hardware and will be more resistant to overheating issues. The controller is arranged with the same layout as the 360 controller, with a small aesthetical change. The top of the controller has been recessed, and the d-pad now sports the crosshair style frequently found on Nintendo controllers.
Of course, it being a next-generation console, Microsoft wouldn’t dare release the One without a hardware boost. The Xbox One will be powered with an eight-core, x86 processor. The One boasts a whopping 8 GB of RAM to match the PS4. It also has a built in 500GB hard drive, Blu-ray support, and a new Kinect camera with a 250,000-pixel infrared depth sensor.
Xbox One will also integrate the new Kinect much more than the 360, since the Kinect was developed around old hardware. Now, the Xbox One and the Kinect are dependent upon one another. Each Xbox One will include a Kinect sensor out of the box, and it is actually required in order to operate the console. This time around, Kinect will be used for multi-tasking and navigating the home menu, as well as the original function of body and voice detection during gameplay.
The new Kinect is also more powerful than ever. The new sensor now runs in 1080p definition in order for faster and more precise motion detection. This will directly improve the Kinect’s sign-in function on the Xbox One, since that never really worked on the 360. The sensor has even been improved so much that it can detect posture, the way you’re holding controller, even your facial expressions. The Kinect can now sense the controller’s position, so motion control with the controller is available even without a built in gyroscope or accelerometer. If it is as functional as advertised, this new Kinect can be used by developers to create the fun, immersive, and innovative experiences that the original Project Natal was supposed to provide.
The reason the One has its name is due to the fact that the machine will now provide all your entertainment needs on one machine. The One will provide an easy and fast user interface that allows for multi-tasking between games, Skype, TV and Internet browsing at will. The new ‘Snap’ function takes this a step further by slicing the screen in half vertically and running two different applications at the same time. For instance, you can be watching the football game on the left half, while managing your fantasy team on Internet Explorer on the right. It seems that Microsoft took Nintendo’s idea for the Wii U and found a better way to execute it. This function will give the Xbox One a huge advantage over the PS4 in the family demographic.
Other features of the new Xbox One feature carry-over compatibility for all Xbox LIVE accounts and subscriptions, a new recording and sharing feature when players unlock achievements, and for developers, dynamic achievement editing. One thing the One will not feature is backwards compatibility for the Xbox 360 or the original Xbox.
What do you think of the Xbox One? Leave a comment, tell me what you think!
Image Credit: Microsoft
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NFL hopeful Teddy Bridgewater surprises his 'survivor' mom with ultimate Mother's Day gift
NEW YORK - NFL draft hopeful Teddy Bridgewater fulfilled a promise Monday he made to his mom when was only 8 years old.
Rose Murphy raised her son while battling and eventually beating breast cancer in Miami. Bridgewater’s story of rising from a young peewee football player to a potential NFL star, all while caring for his mom, caught filmmaker Spike Lee's attention. Lee produced a short documentary about the family, "A #Promise2Rose, ABC News reported.
“When I make it to the NFL, I’m going to buy you a pink Cadillac Escalade with pink rims,” Bridgewater, now 21, recalled telling his mom when he was in the third grade, ABC News reported.
Because Murphy is a breast cancer survivor, the Cadillac’s pink color has significant meaning to her.
Now, more than a decade later, Bridgewater is set not just to make it to the NFL but to make it big, as a possible No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NFL draft.
The celebrated quarterback made good on his promise after a birthday lunch in New York. When the pair walked out of the restaurant, a shiny Escalade, provided by Cadillac, was parked at the curb. Good Morning America's Robin Roberts was there to capture the surprise.
ABC US News | ABC Business News
“It was just amazing. I was in awe. I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Murphy said today on “Good Morning America.” “It was a long time coming and just to see it, I was in awe. I didn’t think it was going to happen this soon. I thought, later on, a couple years down the road.”
Bridgewater said he couldn't wait to give his mom the ultimate gift.
When asked if he was nervous about the upcoming NFL Draft, Bridgewater seemed calm and cool.
“I’m (not nervous) I'm ready to just get my career started and whatever team I land on, I’m ready to go.”
Bridgewater was a star quarterback at the University of Louisville, where he piled up nearly 10,000 yards of passing offense in three seasons.
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Crashproof fuel tanks developed by pronal
- October 18, 2006, 12:10 PM
Pronal, one of Europe’s major manufacturers of bladder tanks designed to store and transport liquids, has developed new elastomer materials for use in manufacturing its onboard fuel tanks for civil and military aircraft, including helicopters.
The company makes fully vulcanized tanks, guaranteeing perfect tightness. The new materials–developed by Pronal–are said to be highly resistant to hydrocarbons and additives and have an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. According to a company spokesman, they are lighter than any other solution on the market.
The company offers different versions: anti-crash tanks that are not damaged if the aircraft crashes, and self-sealing tanks that prevent leakage into the aircraft if they are hit by projectiles. The tanks can be used as main tanks or additional tanks to increase range. | <urn:uuid:f3c00dcd-a162-462e-911c-e241334d5794> | http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2006-10-18/crashproof-fuel-tanks-developed-pronal | en | 0.959347 | 0.02277 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
How we spent the past two years:
We got married.
I climbed some English walls.
Trav waded through some Scottish waters.
I got pregnant. (Peter)
We went to some movies and, overall, had a lot of fun.
We bought a house.
I got pregnant again. (L)
We remodeled the house, which we're actually still doing.
I gave birth.
I learned how to can.
Travis became a Grey Ghost.
We had our first Christmas with a 7 month old.
It was a good two years. I love you, Travis. Thank you for asking me to be your wife!
Happy Anniversary!
1. Congrats you two! What a great couple you are!
2. Happy Anniversary!!! I would have called, but it was later when I remembered, and didn't want to bother you. | <urn:uuid:ae2e78ad-1707-433d-98b0-08d99febf7f8> | http://www.aknottedlife.com/2008/12/how-we-spent-past-two-years.html | en | 0.984778 | 0.063534 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Few inside Libya or outside had heard of Tayeb El Safi, a shadowy but trusted aide to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for decades.
El Safi is one of two Libyan officials whose wiretapped mobile phone conversations were obtained by Al Jazeera. As the uprising began in February, Gaddafi had entrusted him with the task of putting down the protests in eastern Libya.
He spoke frequently with informants in Benghazi and elsewhere, who updated him on the growing opposition movement and advised him on strategy. El Safi also helped to plan the government's propaganda, everything from stage-managed "green protests" to fabricated funerals.
His efforts, of course, would be in vain. El Safi slipped away from Libya last year, resettling in Egypt, where he remains to this day, despite the National Transitional Council's efforts to have him extradited for trial.
'You were like a kitten'
The close relationship between Gaddafi and El Safi becomes apparent in several personal conversations. In a March 9 talk, El Safi tells Gaddafi that he is in Tripoli. "That's good. If you were in Benghazi, they would have slaughtered you, Zarqawi style," Gaddafi jokes, referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq killed in an American bombing. Both men chuckle at this bit of gallows humour.
Gaddafi also directs a little criticism at his aide:
Gaddafi: This is your moment, where is the revolutionary spirit I have been teaching for 40 years? You were like a kitten, and I educated you.
El Safi: You are right.
Gaddafi: I found you in Tajura, and you were wearing sports clothes. I came to you and brought you with me. I hope you are okay.
Yet despite their close relationship, El Safi's background was a bit of a mystery among Libyans. Many say they only learned about Gaddafi's henchman during the revolution. He was well known to a network of informants in the east - but not to the Libyan public at large.
In a conversation on February 16, one of those informants warned El Safi that his forces "were overwhelmed" by hundreds of angry protesters. He advised El Safi not to take aggressive action - not unless he could win.
Caller: I think the police should go there and surround them but not harm them.
El Safi: Yeah.
Caller: I believe that confrontation tonight would be wrong. Either we have strong and violent confrontation, or none at all. But weak confrontation will only make people sympathise with them.
But El Safi ignored that advice. He spoke the next day with Abdullah Senussi, the Libyan intelligence chief, and asked why the leadership hadn't moved to squash the protests. "Nothing has been done so far," he complained. "Why are we shy? These people are going to destroy the country."
'It makes the army look like the police'
Gaddafi's inner circle would later attribute their inaction to bad advice from their informants in the east. "At first, we were hearing that people were not calling for the removal of the regime. We were told they had demands," said Fathi Naji, Gaddafi's personal assistant, in an interview with Al Jazeera. "A delegation was sent to Benghazi to listen to the people. It's probably that trip that went wrong. They were supposed to solve the situation, but it turned to violence."
But the recordings reveal that, as early as February 17, other informants were warning El Safi that the situation was spiralling out of control. "They are even chanting against the leader," one informant shouted into the phone. "Shame, Mr. Tayeb, we cannot wait. I will attack them with the revolutionary guards."
A week later, in another conversation with Senussi, El Safi urged him to send the military east.
Senussi: Ask the protesters if Benghazi is important for them, because if necessary, we will use all our power to smash them. We will face anyone with force.
El Safi: Abdullah, tell the leader that we must control Benghazi. Don't let it slip. Tell him to use force. They will be scared and stay in their holes.
By then, of course, it was too late; Benghazi had already fallen to the rebels, and they were moving westward. El Safi's focus shifted to stopping their advance.
In a conversation on February 28, a caller urged him not to send aid to rebel-held towns in the east. "Let them starve and suffer," he said. El Safi agreed, suggesting that the government "say that we do have aid for them, but just cannot reach them."
It was shortly after this conversation that Gaddafi admonished his aide for a lack of "revolutionary spirit." El Safi would respond days later by crafting a public relations exercise in Zawiya, a city west of the capital which had become a battleground between the army and rebel fighters.
El Safi: We will dress army soldiers in police uniforms. So it makes the army look like the police. We will bring the journalists there, since [US President Barack] Obama is talking about Zawiya. We will show schools, the food supply, that life is normal. We will show them medicine in hospitals. We will show them normal police work, just like in California.
As the months dragged on, El Safi's conversations with informants and the Libyan leadership would take on a more frustrated tone. He eventually fled east, finding refuge in Egypt, one of many former Libyan officials who have so far esacped prosecution. The NTC has asked Egypt to return him, though some former members of the council suggest those efforts have been half-hearted.
"I honestly believe that... certain members of the existing National Transitional Council don't want these people to stand trial," Jalal al-Galal, a former spokesman for the NTC, told Al Jazeera. "Because they might implicate some members who are in the NTC."
Source: Al Jazeera | <urn:uuid:081d1e48-1c9b-46f2-911d-25b264e24874> | http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/libyaontheline/2012/05/201256123922942586.html | en | 0.98394 | 0.040781 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Rob Hardy on books
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The Whole Story from Dogpatch
Rob Hardy
You know when an idea is hogwash, but if you label it that, you are probably calling upon the etymological wisdom of the characters in the town of Dogpatch, Kentucky, the imaginary locale of Al Capp's long running comic strip "Li'l Abner." They also gave us "going bananas" and the "double-whammy," but Capp's contribution to American society was far more than some catchwords. For over forty years, "L'il Abner" was a staple of the funny papers, with branches into television, Broadway, the movies, merchandizing, and more. Capp was terrific as a draughtsman, was generous and sympathetic to those like him who were amputees, and had a bountiful supply of funny ideas wrapping up a sometimes pointed satire. He was also a vengeful liar, an adulterous husband, and a sexual predator. A complicated, frustrating man who died in 1979, he has not had a full biography until now: Al Capp: A Life to the Contrary (Bloomsbury) by Michael Schumacher, who has written plenty of biographies of celebrities, and Denis Kitchen, who has drawn cartoons and published other comic artists. In a way, this fine biography has come too late; those of us who enjoyed "L'il Abner" in its heyday know that that heyday is long past, and the effectiveness of a daily comic strip is essentially restricted to its own time. As a reminder of how influential and popular a simple comic strip could become, however, and as a warts-and-all portrait of a bustling and energetic artist, this is an enormously entertaining review.
Capp was born Alfred Gerald Caplin in 1909 to a family scraping to get by. When he was nine, there was a streetcar accident and he lost his left leg. He was in physical and psychological pain for the rest of his life, but it was also a source of motivation. He said, "With two legs I had been a nobody. With one leg I was somebody." It is hard to measure how much the accident actually affected him at the time or afterwards. Capp had no compulsion to tell the truth; he was a fabulist, and part of the problem the biographers have had was digging through the different versions of what he said and what actually happened. Nonetheless, his painful hobbling on an artificial limb gave him the most likeable trait to be found within these pages. Throughout his life, foundations would inform him about some young person who had lost a limb, and Capp would send the kid a letter with words like, "Of all the major misfortunes that can happen to the human body, the loss of a leg is perhaps the least. I don't expect you to know that now, but you will know it." When World War II came, Capp visited hundreds of veterans' hospitals, sketching for the amputees and telling his own story. He extended hope, but not false hope, and the vets would have loved it.
When he was fourteen, he and a pal sneaked away from New Haven and hitchhiked though Appalachia. It was his introduction to life in the sticks. He returned, but didn't finish high school. He had short term registrations in a series of art schools by claiming that a fictitious uncle would be paying his tuition soon, and when the deadline came, he'd write the school a letter saying the windfall from the uncle had not come in and he was sorry to have to withdraw. Then it was on to the next school. In 1933 Capp started working for Ham Fisher, the cartoonist who drew the popular "Joe Palooka" strip. Capp was responsible for introducing hillbilly characters into the comic. He struck out for himself with "L'il Abner" in 1934, bringing those characters into his own strip. Fisher accused Capp of stealing the characters from him, and though the charge was groundless, it lead to a feud between the two artists that only ended when Fisher killed himself two decades later. Capp gloated when he heard the news.
"L'il Abner" didn't take off immediately, but its strange and likeable characters made it eventually the most popular strip in the funnies, on Sunday always featured on the front page of the funny pages. Celebrities like Elvis and Frank Sinatra would find themselves in caricature. There were also parodies of other comic strips. Milton Caniff, with whom Capp had a lifelong friendship, drew Steve Canyon, but by Capp the comic became "Steve Cantor" drawn by "Milton Goniff," which is Yiddish for "thief." His most famous such parody was Fearless Fosdick, an obvious dig at the comic that competed with "L'il Abner" for top placement, "Dick Tracy." Chester Gould who drew "Dick Tracy" said he got a kick out of the attention, and Capp praised Gould's strip often enough to make it plain he was kidding something he actually admired. Fosdick, as L'il Abner's "ideel," would pursue such Gouldian villains as Anyface while bearing dozens of cylindrical bullet holes.
Fosdick also hawked Wildroot Cream Oil hair tonic, one of the many times that the characters from Dogpatch came off the comics page for the increase in popularity and income of the resourceful Capp. Abner boosted Cream of Wheat. Capp became a brand name that was connected with his own line of goods, like dolls of the lovable shmoo which first appeared in "L'il Abner" in 1948. The shmoo looked like a floppy bowling pin, and it existed for the sole purpose of making humans happy. Look at a shmoo with a hungry glance and it would die of love, ready to be served up as a delicious meal. But shmoos were dangerous - they took away all need for human striving. They were Capp's most successful fantasy, but the authors remind us that he also invented the bald iggle, a creature which would cause anyone looking into its eyes to speak nothing but truth. A threat to politics and business, iggles had to be exterminated, just like shmoos.
Capp had been a liberal Democrat until the 1960s, and pilloried Congress, McCarthy, and grasping capitalists. The revolutions of the 1960s were to change everything. Capp, for all his lampooning of American society, considered himself a patriot, and as such, supported the Vietnam War just as he had WWII. He caricatured hippies as unhygienic, and he hated folksingers. He had a sour parody of Joan Baez, Joanie Phoanie, who made buckets of cash singing "Let's Conga with the Viet Cong." He was more angry than funny. He became a pal of Richard Nixon, and he enjoyed going to college campuses to spout opinions he knew would make students angry. This was to lead to his downfall. Capp had been married for four decades, had a couple of long-running affairs and other side sexual enthusiasms. In 1971 he tried to force himself on a twenty-year-old student, and when the story eventually got out, other students revealed that Capp had attempted the same predation. It turns out that Goldie Hawn, Grace Kelly, and Edie Adams had been his casting-couch targets as well when "L'il Abner" was turned into a musical. Capp absurdly proclaimed that the "New Left" was trying to smear him with such stories, but he was charged with sodomy and indecent exposure. Nixon's special counsel, Charles Colson, tried to pressure the district attorney to drop the charges, but it didn't happen. Capp pled guilty to a lesser charge.
Capp retired his long-running strip in 1977, went into a depression fueled by drugs, and died in 1979. He had been a ground-breaker. His innovative satire and recurring characters were part of the American scene for decades. A case can be made that strips like "Doonesbury" were only possible because of what Capp had done before. At his best, Capp produced a genial humor that promoted that likeable virtue of Americans, the enjoyment of laughs at their own selves. That sort of jollity in Capp's art seems to have been lacking in his life, a paradox nicely drawn out in this objective and detailed biography.
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Imagine coming home on a dreary Tuesday evening after a hard work day to find the world's most celebrated corned beef sandwich (from NYC's Katz's Delicatessen, of course) or drool-worthy Buffalo Wings (from Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY) on your doorstep. Yes, your day has just been made.
That's exactly what New York-based startup Goldbely plans to do for its users. The startup's "food explorers" are actively huntint down the nation's most famous eats from local legends, artisan shops and the greatest gourmet purveyors in the U.S.
Once an intensely delicious item is found, Goldbely lists it on the website, so users can order the nation's best treats for home delivery wherever they live. Only the foods worth flying out across the country is listed on the online marketplace.
Some deals even come with free shipping. Foods available for delivery include a fresh lobster dinner from the famous Hancock Gourmet Lobster Company in Maine, South Carolina's famous southern 7-layer caramel cake from Caroline's bake shop and cafe blends from San Francisco's Philz Coffee.
[via PSFK] | <urn:uuid:d7ba6186-d870-4d20-a761-d4aa11c9e582> | http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/03/have-americas-best-eats-delivered-to-your-door | en | 0.918775 | 0.026627 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
common name: Rove Beetle<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
scientific name: Order Coleoptera, family Staphylinidae, several species
size: Adult--1/8" to 1"
identification: Fast-moving brownish or black beetles with very short front wings that leave much of the abdomen uncovered. Full-length hind wings are folded and concealed beneath the stubby front wings. When disturbed, they turn up the tip of their abdomen and assume a stinging pose. Larvae look like adults without wings.
biology and life cycle: Rove beetles are scavengers or predators on insects found in decaying organic materials. They are often seen around dung, carrion, and compost piles. Most species over-winter as adults, laying eggs in the soil in the spring. Larvae have three molts, and then pupate in the soil.
habitat: Decaying animal and vegetable matter in the soil. They can be found in corn tassels, root and cabbage crops, compost, and other organic matter.
feeding habits: Active at night. Predators of aphids, springtails, mites, nematodes, slugs, fly eggs, and maggots. They are scavengers and predators.
economic importance: Control of several troublesome insects.
natural control: None needed--beneficial.
organic control: None needed.
insight: We haven't seen many of these insects, but we know they're around.
Search Library Topics Search Newspaper Columns | <urn:uuid:1f6e70f7-e6b0-41dc-8ba2-7c7c3dbbd6a9> | http://www.dirtdoctor.com/garden/ROVE-BEETLE_vq2954.htm | en | 0.900163 | 0.507605 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Cynical Nihilism Defines Corporate Culture And The Media That Serves It [Anthony McCarthy]
That Lou Dobbs would become a news item this week wasn't something I knew last week when comparing his role in the anti-Latino erruption that has fouled politics and society to the incident of anti-Semitic speech by Rick Sanchez. Now we know that while he was railing against illegal immigration and those who employed illegal immigrants, especially those from Latin America, those very people were tending his landscaping and taking care of the prize-winning horses his family owns.
If I had the time and skills I'd do an analysis of the two stories in the media, but it's my impression that the coverage of the hypocrisy of the voice and face of the anti-Latino backlash has been vastly more sympathetic than that of Sanchez. Consider the role in public life of the two men and the incidents that have embarrassed them. Sanchez's one-time descent into anti-Semitism on a talk radio show most of us have never heard of before, hasn't fueled laws like the one in Arizona that requires police to racially profile Latinos and others. It won't become a wide-spread and ugly campaign of the kind that was fueled by the years and years of Lou Dobb's CNN powered campaign. I haven't heard of Rick Sanchez being asked to address any mass meeting on the basis of his diatribe, though Lou Dobbs was scheduled to address a Republican-teabagger election season event today. Anyone who thinks that it wasn't his part in Latino bashing that got Dobbs the invite is lying.
These incidents open up so many of the serious and dangerous issues facing the ongoing fight for justice that it could generate a large number of posts. I'll go into one, very briefly. I watched Lawrence O'Donnell's show in which he had on Dobbs and Isabel Macdonald, the reporter who broke the story in The Nation. It became clear that Macdonald is quite good in print but she's not a performer in the way that Dobbs is. That is almost certainly why Dobbs would only talk to her on air, where he can use his skills to fudge and obfuscate instead of address fact. That is one of the biggest problems with broadcast and cable, which are more about performance than facts. Macdonald isn't a polished, experienced, performer which will be exploited in the cover up job. I guess that her gender will figure in that attempt as well.
In looking at what's being said about this, the constantly repeated lines are that Dobbs doesn't seem to have broken the law, himself, that he didn't directly hire the people who, we are apparently supposed to believe, he didn't notice were doing menial chores at his estates and with his prize horses. But the charge wasn't that Dobbs broke the law and that assertion has become part of the smoke screen. Isabel Macdonald's article shows that there was a serious case of Dobbs having low paid, illegal workers doing his grounds keeping and taking care of the show horses his family owns during years in which he was whipping up a national frenzy against illegal immigrants and the people who employ them. I haven't heard him deny that was the case, as he kept pointing out that he'd obtained their services from contractors. It's clear in the article that Dobbs and his adult daughter could hardly have not noticed that the people doing their work were Latinos and working in industries which employ large numbers of illegal immigrants, requiring them to work horribly long hours at very low wages and without much in the way of protection or benefits. Dobbs, working as a journalist covering exactly those issues for years and years, can't claim to be ignorant of these issues. His ADULT* daughter certainly doesn't get to claim she was unaware of her father's show.
But, as this develops, the Republican-teabaggers will overlook Dobb's hypocrisy and the fact that many of the same politicians and media figures who use hatred of Latinos employ low-paid Latinos, many of whom are almost certainly not here under exactly legal conditions. The news media will also bend over backwards to cut Dobbs slack, notably supporting him in exactly the way it didn't support Sanchez or other low-level, especially, minority people working in journalism. Dobbs made millions of dollars a year from his promotion of bigotry and there is nothing that wins the media over more than someone who has millions of dollars. And the media aren't bothered one bit by how they did it.
One of the most important things I've learned by watching the teabaggers is that it isn't that they're ignorant, it isn't that they believe the lies they're sold, it's that they don't care if what they hear and what they spout are lies, they don't care about the truth, they don't care about morality. The teabaggers are a completely nihilistic phenomenon fueled by a cynically nihilistic media and the corporate interests that harnesses them. They have no moral core, they value nothing except wealth and the power that is useful to getting more of it. That is the real movement that Lou Dobbs is a poster boy for, but he's just one of many who could serve that purpose.
The small, mostly poorly paid effort to report fact is really not the same thing as the corporate media. The people who do that should be aware of the fact that they not only have little in common with the corporate-electronic media, but that their work will be attacked by that same media. The more factual it is, the less convenient it is for their owners and masters. Real reporters need to realize that to protect themselves and the integrity of their work. They should develop the performance skills necessary to do that as well.
Note: The Tea Party has been carefully cultivated by the media, all you have to do is compare how every small PR event the teabaggers mount is covered by the media as compared to huge rallies of progressives such as the one in DC last week.
* Before I read the story the impression I got from the media was that she was a teenager. I would like to also compare the media treatment of rich adults in their 20s with poor kids in their teens and younger when they get into trouble. | <urn:uuid:3c29b245-53a0-4ecb-8dde-d19d839662ec> | http://www.echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com/2010/10/cynical-nihilism-defines-corporate.html | en | 0.990916 | 0.102107 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Backstage Pass: Martina Sorbara
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Photo: Kristin Vicari
On stage, Dragonette frontwoman Martina Sorbara is like a frenetic tween who binged at the local candy store. Offstage, and at Union Square Park, where met her for an interview on a rainy day, the bubbly pint-sized singer is not so different. "I'm totally not bothered by this rain," she squealed under a tiny umbrella. "I'm so relieved it's not like how it was yesterday and the day before that and before that." The Toronto native is all smiles, which might have something to do with her band's performance the following day on Good Morning America to promote their anticipated album, Bodyparts, out September 25. Read on as Sorbara plays pop-star word association, explains her backstage pre-show antics (which involve lots of yawning and vodka), and admits why the words "body parts" make her squeal even more than the norm.
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ELLE: What's behind the title of your forthcoming LP, Bodyparts?
MS: I just like the word. I saw it on a blog, The World's Best Ever. It's such a grown-up guy's skater blog. I just go there because there's interesting art stuff on it. Anyway, I saw the words "body parts," and there was this piece of art under it. I didn't actually even click on the link to see what it was—the words just stuck in my mind. The text was something that was really pretty and happy, so I saw the word differently all of a sudden, as opposed to just limbs. I saw it as pieces of music. I find I always throw limbs here and there in my lyrics. I kind of put my physical self into the songs. The title Bodyparts just made sense.
ELLE: Do you work with a stylist?
MS: No, I kind of just roll up on stage. I realize that as soon as I find myself wearing something that I haven't worn ten times in the past, I'm like, "Who am I right now? I don't recognize myself!" I think the shows are better when I feel like myself. And everyone's going to have a better time if I'm not confused on stage about who I am.
ELLE: Do you warm up your voice before gigs?
MS: I don't. I have no idea how to do what you're supposed to do. I do a little bit of humming. I've heard other musicians at shows we've done together warming up and I'm like, "Oh, that's what she does! Let me try that!" It took me singing for like 15 years to know, "Oh, don't eat a lemon tart half an hour before going on stage. That will mess you up." But I'm not really aware of that kind of thing. I'm like, "Oh! Today my voice sounds like this, that's fun!" At a certain point, I should start to pay attention and make sure I'm not damaging my vocal chords, because I enjoy using them a lot.
ELLE: What about pre-show rituals?
MS: I get really tired. Anybody who's in the dressing room after the show always says, "Oh, my God, I was kind of worried that the show was going to be sleepy because you were half asleep, yawning, and not really present." I think my body makes itself tired so I don't have the energy to do anything else beforehand. I do jump around a lot on stage, so I guess my body's like, "You are tired now!" As soon as I get onstage the adrenaline takes over. It's a useful mechanism.
ELLE: What's on your tour rider?
MS: Vodka. I generally have one or two drinks. I hang out in the dressing room, and it's not always the most attractive place to be, so just being able to have a drink is nice. It's not like I get wasted, unless I'm punishing myself for a terrible show. I also have lots of cheese, even though you're not supposed to eat cheese if you're a singer. And Cliff bars, passion fruit, and Kombucha drinks. I will drink any of it and all of it. It's changed my life. After I drink a bottle of that stuff, I just feel so good, clean, and zippy.
ELLE: Word association time! What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the following names…
ELLE: Fiona Apple.
MS: Eccentric.
ELLE: Frank Ocean.
MS: Sexy.
ELLE: Azealia Banks.
MS: Badass.
ELLE: Lana Del Rey.
MS: Lip-y.
ELLE: Carly Rae Jepson.
MS: Carly Simon.
Photo: Kristin Vicari
What do you think? | <urn:uuid:0fb3e643-1f70-4034-82e9-6c7215eb0507> | http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a18175/dragonettes-martina-sorbara-interview/?src=global_footer | en | 0.976466 | 0.141043 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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How would you change the Kobo Vox?
Kobo is the underdog trying to scrape points while the e-reader heavy hitters of Amazon and B&N duke it out. The Vox was the Canadian outfits response to the Nook and Kindle Fire, but despite a similar price tag, our e-reader expert found that its last-generation hardware was no match for the big boys. That said, plenty of people must have bought them so tell us; how has it been? Do you regret shunning the other two for it, or does it have hidden charms that we didn't see first time around? Let us know in the comments below. | <urn:uuid:ee1f3967-fedb-4cb2-a243-7b5899279a2c> | http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/13/how-would-you-change-the-kobo-vox/ | en | 0.968526 | 0.24563 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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A Science of Harmony and Gentle Action(c)(c)
F. David Peat
A text only version of this essay is available to download.
During this conference, held at Temple University, Philadelphia May 4-6, 1989, we were asked to entertain the possibility that science should move into a new area, specifically into the study of consciousness and its relationship with matter. We were asked to consider a variety of questions: Does consciousness have an effect at the quantum level? Does it, for example, act to "collapse the wave function"? We were asked if the mind possesses extra-sensory powers, if it can gather information in ways that preclude normal interactions. We were asked if mind can influence matter by, for example, catalyzing material and energetic transformations. Some participants believe that science must inevitably move into the study of consciousness. Others agree that theoretical speculations about the ultimate nature of sub-atomic world make it necessary to take into account the effects of consciousness.
The writings of the founders of twentieth century physics attest to a serious interest in deeper questions that took them far beyond the confines of conventional physics. Wolfgang Pauli maintained a life long interest in the work of Carl Jung and introduced Heisenberg and others to Jungian ideas. Planck, Schrodinger, Eddington, and Jeans were concerned with questions of consciousness, unity, and the ultimate nature of reality. Going back to the time of Kepler it is clear that scientists were fully aware of the sacred nature of their task and did not regard the contemplation of the universe as a neutral activity.
"And I do also beseech my Reader.....he would praise and admire the Wisdome and Greatnesse of the Creator, which I discover to him by a more narrow explication of the World's Form, the Disquisition of Causes, and the Detection of the Errours of Sight." Kepler writes in his "Introduction to Mars".
An exclusively materialistic attitude which denies the importance of spirt would be entirely foreign to many of the great historical figures in science. The very motivation to understand and celebrate the universe, the underlying energy to question, the aesthetic force of the deepest mathematics and the most imaginative theories attest to this hidden, transcendental nature of science. A full understanding of the universe must surely include the astonishing fact of its celebration and contemplation by consciousness and of our own existence.
A Call for a New Science
A new surge in science is vitally needed today and one that will go into a variety of outstanding questions about the interrelationship between mind and matter, the possible role of information in structuring nature, and the general need for a deeper understanding of the universe. These questions are far reaching. Indeed I would suggest that they go far beyond what I would call the surface phenomena of the mind-matter relationship and point to a fundamental investigation of the whole nature of reality and our position within the universe. But at this point I must confess a prejudice. I am not particularly interested in what I would call the "surface phenomena" of consciousness research such as ESP, telekinesis, precognition and the like. If such effects do exist and can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community they may indeed be of considerable interest in themselves. But I would contend that they are no more than the exterior manifestations of something far deeper. Indeed the meditative traditions of east and west suggest that so-called paranormal powers are not of deep significance in themselves but are simply steps on a more important path. There is, however, the danger that a practitioner will become caught up in, or attempt to exploit, such "powers". Strict warnings against mystical dilettantism have always been issued.
I would therefore like to raise the question of the spirit and perspective in which this new science is undertaken. It is vitally important that we should begin in the right way. Is consciousness, for example, to become an object for science, and mind placed under the microscope? The science of the past two hundreds years placed objectivity in the highest position. The orthodox scientist claims to stand outside the subject of study and to eliminate any taint of human value from his or her study. Science, it is believed, should be objective and value free. There is little room for love and compassion when it comes to a study of the material world. But there is always the danger that such an attitude distorts our thought and perception, particularly when our own consciousness is taken as an object of study.
Objectivity has the effect of distancing, it implies a division between the observer and what is observed, a separation in time and space. It is this division which is of concern in the present enterprise. The science of the past two hundred years has brought with it a degree of fragmentation in the way the world is perceived. Our own century has experienced a profound loss in our sense of meaning at being in the world. Objectivity brings with it an infinite loneliness, a loneliness of separation from the rest of the universe.
Objectivity stresses the significance of the individual and our control and dominance over nature. By contrast a new surge in science involving the study of consciousness and matter should acknowledge the existential fact of our being in the universe and should accommodate a sense of wholeness, celebration, joy and wonder at nature, it should act to heal our division from nature and from our own bodies.
A new science may draw for its insights on other disciplines such as art, literature, music, religion and native sciences. But clearly to be given the name of science it must combine a passion for truth and rigor, it must question unceasingly, its ultimate goal must be understanding in the widest sense.
Our present fragmented approach to the world cannot continue, the stakes have become too high. Neither can our uncritical acceptance of scientific objectivity and the virtue of unrestricted scientific and technological progress continue. Societies and technologies are running into problems that appear to lie beyond their abilities to resolve. If science is to consider the human dimension then it must do so in the right spirit. Indeed it is premature at this juncture to talk of new experiments or novel theoretical explanations without, at the same time, investigating the metaphysics that underlies the whole enterprise.
Interaction or Harmony
For this reason I would like to question an assumption that seems to underlie some of the work I have seen on consciousness and its interrelationship to matter. A number of papers and discussions are based on the suggestion that the interrelationships between mind and matter involve some sort of influence or interaction. Mind, for example, is said to move an object or cause a change in matter. A mental act is supposed to influence the output of a random number generator. Mind is said to be a transmitter or a receiver of information at a distance. Mind, it is hypothesized, emits influences and the will or self causes changes in the world. Some physicists even believe that consciousness can bring about the "collapse the wave function". In short, consciousness and matter, mind and body are conceived of as separate entities that are connected in some way by a new and subtle interaction, the one exerting causal influences on the other.
While it is not inconceivable that an undiscovered interaction may exist between mind and matter I would suggest that the deeper understanding of the whole question points in an entirely different direction. Indeed, the very concepts of interaction, influence, force, cause, signal and transmission have been imported wholesale and uncritically from a paradigm that is based on a more restricted view of the material world. It is clearly inappropriate to the present study.
The notion of a signal that propagates from one body to another, or of an interaction influencing an event is predicated upon the idea of seperability and locality. It assumes that individual systems are well defined and spatially isolated one from the other so that a signal can pass between them. Process and change are the direct result of such causal interactions. But this view is entirely incompatible with, for example, the insights of quantum theory that speak of an undivided wholeness between all parts of an experiment. Influences and interactions, on the other hand, imply division in which a force acts between two isolated and well defined objects. Change and process, according to this latter view, is essentially mechanical in nature.
By "mechanical" I mean any approach that is based upon the notion of a reality that can be defined locally and in which causes operate though the mediation of forces and fields such that the larger the amplitude of the field the greater is the effect of this force. Scientists may, of course, chose to postulate new and exotic forces yet, none the less, they would generally conform to this mechanistic description. An exception to this critique is the quantum potential introduced by David Bohm, (Bohm and Hiley 1987) this does not operate in a mechanical fashion since its effects do not fall off with distance or with the intensity of the potential. A system governed by Bohm's quantum potential is more organic than mechanical. It is essentially holistic in nature and can only be analyzed into relatively independent parts under limiting conditions.
The example of quantum theory, and of Bohm's quantum potential, suggests that alternative ways exist to discuss process and change that do not rely upon the ideas of separation and interaction. Bohm has also argued that a major area of incompatibility between relativity and quantum theory arises through the privileged position given to the concept of a signal in the former theory (Bohm 1971). This is entirely incompatible with the quantum theory. The idea of a signal assumes that systems are localizable in space and time and can be connected by means of some interaction that propagates between them. But this idea is entirely at odds with that of the quantum theory which stresses the essential wholeness of things. The indivisibility of the quantum of action means that it is impossible to analyze and separate a quantum system from the apparatus that observes it. Together they form and irreducible whole.
By contrast causality, of its very nature, implies division. It suggests a separation in time and space that can only be bridged by force. The causal paradigm elevates the importance of the individual in nature, its implications are control and dominance with the overvaluation of ego and will. Cause and influence become a one way traffic from the mover to the moved. They are predicated on a world that is fragmented and separated and on individuals who are isolated in their brains and bodies. Such a world view is totally at odds with the new spirit implied by a study of consciousness and matter.
The question, therefore, is one of discovering a new language and new metaphors in which to discuss the universe and our relationship to it. This is, in fact, not new to science. At the time of Newton scholars were still dealing in "sympathies" and "correspondences" and with the idea of balance or harmony in the whole of nature. The ancient maxim "as above so below" expresses the essential harmony that extends throughout the universe so that an individual body becomes a microcosm in which the greater whole is reflected. A variety of symbolic systems were devised to express this harmony.
Today such views would generally be dismissed as unscientific although C.G. Jung has pointed to the remarkable insights and metaphors between psychology and alchemy. Both the medieval alchemists and the sages of ancient China expressed, in symbolic terms, the processes of sublimation, transformation and refinement of matter that mirrored the internal transformation of the self. Jung, working in consultation with Wolfgang Pauli, also developed the idea of "synchronicity", his "acausal connecting principle" which attempts to deal with the origin of meaningful patterns in nature. (Jung 1973)
Jung's ideas were taken seriously not only by Pauli himself but by a number of the physicist's colleagues. It is unfortunate, therefore, that the current, popular, view of synchronicity focuses on bizarre co-incidences while ignoring its deeper significance. Synchronicity addresses directly the question of meaning in the universe, the flexible boundary between inner and outer, and the subjective and objective. It deals in those numinious patterns that appear simultaneously within the worlds of matter and mind without the need for positing direct causal relationships between them. It suggests the existence of physical and mental correlations that have no direct causal basis.(Peat 1987)
Such a concept would not have appeared alien to the thinkers of the middle ages who dealt in sympathies and correspondences, or indeed to the many other cultures and civilizations whose daily lives were and are predicated on a strong belief in the harmony of nature. Synchronicity suggests that an understanding of harmony be given a place within the scientific world view.
The sinologist Richard Wilhelm has told the story of a Chinese rain maker who was asked how he had cause the rain to fall in a certain village. The rain maker replied that he did not make rain. Rather, the drought-ridden village had been in a state of disharmony which had affected the rain maker when he arrived. The wise man therefore retired to the hut provided for him and brought himself to order. Since the rain maker was not separate from the society and environment around him, a general harmony was restored and the rain fell as it is its nature so to do. (see Peat 1987)
Recently I witnessed a similar event, a ceremony at a medicine wheel attended by native representatives from all over North America. At the start of the ceremony a Mayan indian was involved in parting the clouds so as to leave a patch of clear sky above. Sure enough as he rotated his stick in the air the clouds moved, not all in one direction, but to the east, west, north and south.
At the time I wondered, how could this individual possibly be moving the clouds? The idea seemed nonsense. Or did the connection work in the other direction so that the moving clouds were rotating the Mayan's stick? But then I seemed to me that clouds, stick and Mayan were caught up in a greater dance, one that involved all of us who were present. In this dance there was no actor and no thing acted upon, rather it was a harmonious flowing that passed unimpeded through cloud, wind, rock, mind and body. The ceremony at the medicine wheel had not been created by my native hosts alone but was a dance in which we had all been enjoined.
Can these ways of thinking about pattern, connection, process and change be incorporated into a scientific paradigm that would be more appropriate for a discussion of consciousness and matter? I believe that this is not only possible but desirable.
Non-local Connections
At this point I would like to refer to the significance of Bell's Theorem. (Bell 1987) John Bell's remarkable result indicates that non-local correlations exist within quantum systems that cannot be explained on a mechanistic, causal basis. The Bell experiment, that has been carried out by Alain Aspect in Paris as well as by other groups, involves a pair of photons, or electrons whose combined state is correlated and which are then allowed to separate to a macroscopic distance. Careful experiments show that a remarkable degree of correlation is maintained between the two particles even when no interaction, signal or force passes between them.
Of course there is nothing unusual in objects remaining correlated even when they are far apart. Two synchronized clocks will continue to read the same time when they are at opposite ends of the continent. But the Bell correlations are not of this nature, they exceed anything that can be explained on the basis of a "local reality" or a "classical theory" of physics involving mechanical fields, interactions or signals. Suppose, for example, that photons and electrons possessed individual properties and could be well defined each in their own regions. They would each carry "cards of identity" as it where. Changes of state would then be produced by interactions, forces, signals or other causes. But Bell's result clearly demonstrates that such "local systems" could never display the degree of correlation that is exhibited experimentally and appears to be unique to the sub-atomic world.
Bell's result shows that quantum systems are correlated in ways that lie outside any appeal to mechanical connection or to a locally defined reality. They have therefore been called non-local correlations which implies that entirely new categories are required for thinking about space and time in the quantum context. This is not to say that some new mechanical interaction operates outside the confines of space and time, but rather that the ideas of connection and correlation must be thought about in new ways. In this context Jung's notion of an acausal connection does not seem entirely inappropriate. Or to put it another way, an acausal connection may manifest itself in the form of non-local correlations that appear to lie outside the normal confines of space and time.
Bell's theorem has been used by a number of writers to explain supposed mental effects and interactions by proposing that such mental interactions are in some way "non-local" and can make instantaneous or faster-than-light connections. But this is to misinterpret the meaning of Bell's result which denies that any force or interaction whatsoever passes between the two particles. (Again an exception may be made in the case of Bohm's unusual and holistic quantum potential).
While Bell's theorem specifically deals with quantum events occurring at the sub-atomic level it does provide a powerful metaphor since the idea of non-locality goes beyond Bell's particular result and suggests that patterns and processes within nature can be looked at in new ways. Thinking in terms of non-local correlations and acausal connections implies a more connected and holistic way of viewing the universe and one in which explanations based on the ideas of influence and interaction become less inevitable. Indeed it is my belief that non-locality, with its inherent connectedness, may be a more natural way of thinking about the universe.
This idea may well harmonize with the native American view of things. Indians talk to trees, some of them talk to rocks. In the forest they experience "skanagoah" or the "great presence", an electrifying awareness of unity and balance. To suggest that some energy, influence or signal passes between tree and Indian would be to miss the essence of the experience. It is best expressed therefore as a sort of active, dynamical harmony. P. Colorado, a modern academic suggest that no direct passage of energy of force is involved. Her great grandfather expressed this harmony with animals and plants in the following way:
When there is no inherent separation between a person and a tree there is no need to propose a connection between them.
New Ways of Thinking
New ways of thinking along similar lines are coming from many areas. Medicine, for example, has in the past been firmly based on causative models in which a disease is caused by an invading organism and cured by the action of d drug. Today, however, increasing understanding of the immune system has led some doctors to become interested in the question of the meaning of a person's life and its role in the movement towards health. In such a view causative chains play a secondary role within a larger system that extends from the body-mind to the family and society at large as an organic whole.
Some linguists are also rejecting what they feel to be a mechanical view of their subject, including the "transport theory of language" in which words are used to transport a "cargo" of meaning between individuals. Rather than language being seen in terms of an interaction or signal between an active speaker and a passive listener the emphasis is placed upon how meaning unfolds out of the whole activity of discourse and upon the creativity involved in the building of "mental spaces" by both parties. (Ford and Peat 1988) Meaning in this sense does not lie exclusively in individual words but is non-local, belonging to the whole language, the conversation, its context, the memories and attitudes of the speakers and indeed to the whole society.
There are also indications of new metaphors from the physical sciences. The mathematician Roger Penrose, for example, has been exploring the structure of what could be called non-local spaces. The building blocks of these spaces, called twistors, are non-local in nature. Points and local regions are then built up as secondary objects generated by congruences of the more basic non-local twistors. In Penrose's approach space-time and the elementary particles are to be generated together out of a common non-local starting point. Only in the limit can localized bodies and the interactions between them recovered. (Penrose and Rindler 1986)
Non-linear systems, with their regions of stability and instability, limit cycles and chaos, bifurcation points and fractal behavior, are providing a rich new source of metaphors for what could be termed a non-mechanical view of nature. Non-linear systems are not generally separable yet, under certain conditions they can throw out quasi independent entities--like vortices in a river--that are nonetheless dependent upon an underlying dynamics. What appear at one level to be independent objects interacting together will, on deeper examination, turn out to be a manifestation of the one underlying non-linear dynamics. Non-linear systems can be so extraordinarily sensitive to the slightest influence so that a vanishingly small change in one part of the system can produce an overwhelming change in another. Such systems must be treated as a whole and do not always lend themselves to fragmentation and discussion in terms of interactions.
Gentle Action(c)
The new approach I am proposing is based upon a belief in the harmony of nature that extends from the subtle to the manifest, from the material to the mental. It is to be discussed in terms of correlations that are non-local and connections that are acausal--although the more conventional explanations in terms of interactions and influences would also play a role. Harmony has been advocated as a fundamental activity in nature by everyone from Lao-tsu to native people all over the world. The Native American, for example, believes in a basic harmony amongst stones, plants, animals and that they are placed on earth to aid in maintaining this harmony.
Such a belief carries with it an awesome responsibility. It demands an extraordinary quality of mind and a perception that is based on love and respect for all things. The essence of such a life does not lie in the desire for constant action, in instigating change to correct some perceived mistake, in the search for solutions to problems but upon a gentle and constant movement towards harmony. (Peat 1988) Such a movement may be as much internal as external. It could be compared to the delicate tuning of an automobile which results in the release of great power, or in the very fine adjustment of a television set which allows the signal to pass through the circuit unimpeded.
A further metaphor is of a highly complex system in which its individual phases are subject to fine adjustments. By making a series of small adjustments globally across the system it becomes possible to lock these phases together so that the whole system becomes involved co-operatively in some new activity. Such a system may be quite resistant to any local, forceful intervention, however tiny changes that are made in a co-operative or non-local way can result in entirely new behavior. Take, for example, the edge of a pond in which a series of ripples are constantly forming and dying away. If the phases of these very small disturbances could be coordinated exactly all around the edge of the pond then they would interfere constructively and propagate towards the center of the pond where they would create a large splash. By operating in a sensitive yet gentle way it becomes possible to facilitate a system to produce large effects. The emphasis, however, would be on the understanding and maintenance of balance.
Similar effects may also operate within the human body and brain. For example, vanishingly small but non-locally co-ordinated effects operating within a neural network could produce interesting effects. One could envision that memories are stored, non-locally, in this way. That ripples of activity interfere constructively, spreading inward to some center of activity within the brain, spread out again and are then focussed into some new region.
The hypothesis advanced here is that such gentle, non-local processes are operating very generally within nature. Certain individuals may be able to bring themselves into harmony with such natural flows and participate in them. But clearly the emphasis would not be on intention or acts of will but upon openness, freedom from emotional and conceptual blocks and a sense of deep respect for the natural world.
The word "love" comes to mind. It has, I understand, been used by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho in the context of biology. I would suggest that a love of nature is exactly what is demanded in this new field of research. Love is a dissolution of boundaries, an acceptance, a harmonious merging and, at the same time, a deep sense of energy. Love does not seek to control or dominate but respects the integrety of the other. Love cannot be tapped on demand, it comes of its own accord and floods the organism with a feeling of wellbeing and sensitivity.
A new spirit is required for a new science; one that does not seek to dominate or control, that does not impose its views on nature but is tempered by respect, the desire for harmony, and compassion for all things. Such an activity must retain the scientific passion for truth and understanding while, at the same time seeking to celebrate nature and restore the harmony of the planet, society and each individual.
A science that proposes to investigate harmony and maintain balance must clearly be sensitive to its own methods, values and ethics--particularly when the scientist becomes his oe her own object of study. Discovering the basis and methodology of this new science will prove extraordinarily difficult and requires a profound shift in thinking. Current science is based upon the notion of reproducibility and statistical analysis, and upon analysis in terms of cause and effect. Little value is given to an individual event--the Big Bang excepted. How then is science to deal with the personal experience and the value of a numinious event? How will it be possible to combine rigor and subjectivity? These are profoundly difficult issues.
On the other hand art, poetry and literature are concerned with truth and the balance between objectivity and subjectivity. Aesthetics and internal value may play a vital role, yet great art still possesses rigor and honesty. Both art and literature are concerned with the possibility of a multiplicity of interpretations yet who could have been more rigorous in his investigation of subjective reality and the nature of memory and time than Marcel Proust? Will it therefore be possible to draw upon the discipline and values of the arts when moving into a study of the human position in the universe?
In conclusion, therefore, a new science is proposed in which harmony and balance play a leading role and in which ethics and compassion are placed side by side with truth and understanding. A variety of approaches have been suggested in this article such as realizing the limitation of the notions of interaction, signal and local reality in favour of "acausal connections" and non-local correlations. A balance between objectivity and subjectivity has been proposed and it has also been suggested that the ethics, compassion and methodology of the investigator are of vitally important. Human values can no longer be eliminated from an investigation of consciousness and our own role in nature.
J.S. Bell (1987). Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics. Cambridge University Press.
D. Bohm (1971), Quantum Theory as an Indication of a New Order in Physics, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Proceedings of the International School of Physics "Enrico Fermi" ed B. d'Espagnat. Academic Press, New York.
D. Bohm and B. Hiley (1987), The Ontological Significance of the Quantum Potential Model, Phys Reports. 144, 321.
P. Colorado (1988). Bridging Native and Western Science. Convergence XXI (2/3), 49.
Alan Ford and F. David Peat (1988) The Role of Language in Science. Foundations of Physics. 18(12), 1233.
C. G. Jung (1973), Synchronicity, trans R.F.C. Hull. Bollingen Series (Princteon University Press).
F. D. Peat (1987). Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind. Bantam Books, New York
F.D.Peat (1988). Peat on Chaos and a Creative Suspension of Action. Creativity Research Journal 1, 131.
R. Penrose and W. Rindler (1986). Spinors and Space-Time, Volume 2. Cambridge University Press. See also L.P. Hughston and R.S. Ward. Advances in Twistor Theory. Pitman, London, 1979. A more popular account of twistor theory is given in chapters 7-10 of F.D.Peat. Superstrings and the Search for a Theory of Everything. Contemporary Books, Chicago, New York, 1988.
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