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• Invitational Sprint Tournament, two heats of five riders (both male and female) will sprint 430 meters to the UPC finish line, with the top two men and women advancing to a final sprint. 12:30 p.m. tiny.cc/lio8jx.
• USA Pro Challenge Stage 4, begins at First Street and Lake Avenue at 12:50 p.m., and finishes at Pikes Peak Avenue and Tejon Street between 3:30-4:15 p.m. Go online for information on the spectator festival and other activities. tiny.cc/muo8jx.
• Not So Pro Cycling Challenge, 11 teams of four — from Tony's, Springs Orleans, The Mansion, Jack Quinn's, the Indy, and others — perform a cycling obstacle course on pixie bikes. Held downtown immediately following the Stage 4 finish. 4:15 p.m. tiny.cc/e0m8jx.
• VIP Reception, following Stage 4, cocktails and light appetizers with Phil Liggett, "the voice of cycling," and Paul Sherwen, analyst for the Tour de France, Tour of California and the USA Pro Challenge. To be followed by the Stage 4 Gala at the Broadmoor. $250. 6 p.m. Penrose Heritage Museum, 11 Lake Ave. tiny.cc/amn8jx.
• Stage 4 Gala, a three-course dinner with NBC highlights and live commentary from Liggett and Sherwen, who will conduct a Q&A with top riders of the sport. There will also be a silent auction. $150. 6:30 p.m. Broadmoor Hall at the Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave. tiny.cc/amn8jx.
Sunday, Aug. 24: Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb, citizen and professional races up the Pikes Peak Highway. Online registration closes Aug. 20. $30-$100. coscycling.com.
It's not just America's Olympic City — We're calling it that, right? — that gets Pro Challenge excitement. Woodland Park will host events on Wednesday and Thursday (tiny.cc/av3mkx) before launching Stage 5 at 11:20 a.m. Friday from East Midland Avenue, between North Laurel and North Boundary streets. Cyclists will make a few local circles, then start out for Hoosier Pass (elevation 11,542 feet) before stopping in downtown Breckenridge. Riders will also be accessible to attendees beforehand for autographs, high-fives and maybe the occasional wet willy.
Stuff continues all day in Woody P, with a "kids zone" featuring face painters, clowns and whatever a Flying Carrot Bus is; BMX demonstrations; a village of food, vendors and exhibitors; live music at 5 p.m., and a nighttime ride at 10:30. Highway 24 will be closed for short portions of time, but otherwise up and down the strip is the place to party. The farmers market is even going to stay up later. Overall, the city hopes the event will boost its fortunes, says Stage 5 organizer Michael Perini.
"We've had our challenge with the Waldo Canyon Fire, with Highway 24, you know, with the floods and rains and all that," says Perini, "[and] we have taken full advantage of this to show people that our town is alive and well and that we have a lot of things to do. So, we're trying to capitalize on it and hopefully folks will stay in town."
Wisely navigate Colorado Springs' race day.
He still ate a lot in his prime, just not as much as it was widely reported. Fake news?
Surfing and volleyball couple see how the tech innovation actually works on the premises. What about the golf?
In spite of the environmental disasters that are caused by mining and burning coal, I cannot help but be at least a little fond of it, if only for selfish reasons. For the last 300 years, coal work has provided a livelihood for my relatives—I have the family name of Collier to attest to this fact. During an age when people adopted their trade as a last name my relatives were employed as Colliers, or coal miners. I come from a line of Colliers dating back to the 1700’s with relatives working in coal in western Europe before immigrating to America.
My family’s story is the story of coal and the American Dream, where workers believed hard work could translate to economic freedom. Nearly one million people a year were involved in mining coal at the peak in the 1920’s. These jobs provided a stable source of income that did not require an extensive skill set for native-born and recently arrived immigrants. However, coal mining was a dangerous profession fraught with lax worker regulations and precarious mine construction. The lives of coal miners became collateral for keeping up with the increasing demand for heating fuel and electricity that drove the greatest advances in the quality of life ever known.
Burning coal and the release of carbon dioxide is one of many ways coal disrupts the environment. Mountaintop removal is a method of coal extraction which negatively alters the surrounding ecosystem (Photo: Wikipedia).
As the scientific process chugged along and coal burning was discovered to be a potent contributor to climate change, coal gained a dirty reputation and rightfully became a target for regulations. A new generation, my generation, has grown up with increasing alarm at the prospect of irreversible climate change and the coal industry a political issue. It wasn’t only coal that was vilified, but it was also the people who mined coal. Simultaneously revered and disenfranchised, coal workers moved from providing the fuel for the engines of the American economy to being unemployed en mass in economically depressed regions as green energy alternatives became more popular.
As a climate scientist, I study the consequences of increased oceanic acidity which is a by-product of fossil fuel combustion, but because of my coal connections I recognize the complexity of the human element of coal. My association with coal is not simple, but nuanced, filled with both rational and emotional connections for and against coal–and I don’t think that this is an uncommon position. In an increasingly partisan environment where dog whistling defines the political norm, we risk creating false dichotomies that pit coal workers against the environment.
Coal burning contributes to climate change and must be reduced, but it has historically provided a reliable livelihood for many people in impoverished areas. We should be more cognizant of the regional impact of reducing coal mining and empathetic to facilitate productive conversation. We need to lie down our verbal weapons and listen. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we have to agree with the decisions people make, but an awareness of why people feel the way they do fosters trust and allows these conversations to take place to develop solutions.
Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have rapidly risen since the industrial revolution. The NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory has tracked levels of carbon dioxide in the air starting in 1958.
Coal workers traditionally engaged in dangerous mining work where they were exposed to a number of toxic substances (Photo: Wikipedia).
Average number of coal workers in the United States from 1890 to 2015. The number of coal workers has declined over time resulting in displaced workers in economically depressed regions (Photo: Wikipedia).
If Taiwan does not become a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) it could become a much less important trading partner, a panel of experts said on Wednesday.
US economic interests find that it is “nice” to have Taiwan in the supply chain, but Taiwan could easily be squeezed out, said Derek Scissors, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
This will be even more pronounced if South Korea decides to join the partnership.
“Taiwan needs to be a lot more aggressive than the island thinks,” he said.
It has a strong work force, good entrepreneurs and plenty of capital — but only 23 million people and no resources, Scissors said.
In a statement announcing the panel, the foundation said that Taiwan’s economy would make it among the more developed in the 12 country TPP negotiations.
“It would seemingly stand to benefit from better integration into the global economy, especially in light of South Korea’s Free Trade Agreement with the US and other regional trade tie-ups,” the statement said.
However, the panel of experts agreed that it was unlikely that Taiwan would make the needed economic reforms to qualify for TPP membership any time soon.
Indeed, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said that it will be eight years before the nation is ready to join the TPP.
The TPP is most likely not the answer for Taiwan — it is not ready to join the talks, said Jeffrey Schott, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The foundation has been pushing for Taiwan’s inclusion in the TPP, said moderator Walter Lohman, who is also the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.
Lohman said that it was not clear that the administration of US President Barack Obama would support Taiwan’s entry without some kind of greenlight from Beijing.
“As much as I hate to say that, it is probably the case,” he said.
Eight years is too long for Taiwan to wait for TPP membership, US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said.
A shorter timeline is essential to ensure Taiwan “does not fall further into China’s economic sphere,” he said.
In these circumstances, it is “highly unlikely” that in its second term the Ma government would undertake the economic reforms needed to move closer to consideration for TPP membership, he said.
As a result, Taiwan could be on its way to being cut out of regional trade even more than it is now, he said.
The TPP could hold “lots of benefits,” but if Taiwan does not become a member then the partnership could be a “threat,” he said.
“It is possible that it will do significant harm to Taiwan’s competitiveness with existing TPP countries,” Scissors said.
Can Darwin help us find little green men?
Life as we know it on Earth is mostly ugly, sometimes monstrous, and to a statistically small but nevertheless disquieting magnitude, it's composed of wandering packs of ravaging blood-thirsty wolves. Curiously, this beastly menagerie comes from what is essentially the same biological recipe that also spawned Academy Award-winning actress and unquestionably classy dame Joan Crawford.
As for life on other planets, it's probably all tentacles, teeth and oogly bits best left unimagined. Yet some folks like John Baross, an esteemed astrobiologist and oceanographer from the University of Washington, feel a need to turn over this theoretical stone to have themselves a peek. NASA's Astrobiology Institute at the Ames Research Center and the Lockheed Martin Corporation gave Baross a public forum to do so Monday night in Mountain View, California, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species."
Darwin, of course, is the fellow who proposed a revolutionary theory about how life evolved from common ancestors after he took a five-year boating tour in the tropics pestering the finches. Baross and others in his field think the same Earthly processes described by Darwin's 1859 best-seller is our best tool to hypothesize where life may exist on distant planetary bodies.
Astrobiology itself is a field of optimism, observes Baross. But with NASA's Kepler mission primed to snoop for Earth-like planets outside our solar system, it's a particularly encouraging time for the biz.
"I predict in the next five to ten years, we will make discoveries that will lead to theories and ideas at least as profound as Darwin's," said Baross.
The hunt for life on other planets begins with using Earth as a model — which can be bothersome because we don't have a complete grasp of the requirements right here. But everything we've studied thus far, does have certain characteristics and requirements: water, a light- or chemical-based energy source, and a carbon-based metabolism. While advances in biology and biochemistry may indicate even these requirements aren't set in stone, it's a good place to start.
Evidence points to the very first photosynthetic organisms using hydrogen as their primary energy source, said Baross. That's primarily because hydrothermal systems that would have been very prevalent in the early Earth produced huge amounts of hydrogen for life to take advantage of.
"Hydrothermal systems are generally the result of plate tectonics," said Baross. "I think tectonically active planets are what we want to look for in the universe.
"To keep tectonically active — as we know it — is going to require water, it produces the needed chemicals for life, and creates the geochemical and geophysical conditions necessary for the origin of life in my hypothesis," he continued. "Without the kinds of elements and minerals that are created by tectonically active planets I don't think it will have the menu to create life."
So are there any planets in our own galaxy that are tectonically active (present company excluded)? Baross points to photographs of Mars that indicate the surface has extensive faults. There's also evidence of the activity from magnetic stripes in the ancient crust. But if the planet once was tectonically active in it's early stages, it doesn't seem to be now.
"If we're looking for carbon-based life, a planet must first acquire it and be able to maintain it," said Baross. In order for a planetary body to create life, it's going to need the proper chemical menu to even have a shot.
But a planet could also skip a step and acquire life from somewhere else. What's needed then for known carbon-based lifeforms is liquid water, energy sources, and at least 30 particular elements for the required chemistry inside us.
Certainly not an impossible feat and that's just for lifeforms humanity has cataloged in our little planet. Life could be a lot more freaky than we can imagine.
"I'd like to point out there are many different ways for non-Earth-like life to not use light or chemical energy but use some other form like radiation energy, wave energy, or ultraviolet energy," said Baross.
As of October, there have been 403 planets found outside our solar system. Most are massive gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, but we've only begun the search.
"I think all of us really believe that rocky planets like Earth are going to be found at some point," said Baross.
"I really feel that Darwinian evolution is a defining feature of all life," said Baross. "And so the limits of Darwinian evolution will define the range of planets that can support life — at least Earth-like life."
But Baross also believes environmental conditions on Earth are likely to represent all the conditions that support carbon-based life.
Yay, you lose weight and get rad hardened in space! Nay, your genes go awry and your brain slows down when you return to Earth!
Wednesday Dec. 9th, the Westport Arts Center hosted a holiday shopping event at J.Crew in order to benefit the center.
All of J.Crew’s merchandise was 10 percent off, and 10 percent of the proceeds made are going directly to the Westport Arts Center.
The event featured art by Staples High School and Greens Farms Academy students. On the first floor Staples student artwork from Design & Technology, Digital Photography, Silk Screen, Watercolor, Drawing, and Honors Studio Art was displayed. On the second floor Greens Farms Academy students showed their sculptures.
Also at the event two a cappella groups, Beachside Express and Harbor Blues, from Greens Farms Academy performed numerous holiday songs.
Besides the shopping fundraiser there was a raffle during the event with $10 tickets including prizes such as a $250 J.Crew gift certificate, an evening clutch, a necklace, and a bracelet.
The German government says it doesn’t expect to see Turkish security agents accused of attacking protesters in Washington during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Hamburg.
Germany is hosting the leaders of the G-20 powers July 7-8. Police in Washington have issued arrest warrants for a dozen Turkish agents accused in last month’s incident.
Schaefer wouldn’t confirm or deny an unsourced report in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that his ministry made clear to Turkey the bodyguards weren’t welcome.
Two men were arrested two weeks ago in connection with the brawl that hurt 11 people in what Washington's police chief described as a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters. A police statement did not specify if the men were supporters of Erdogan, part of his security detail or protesters.
Two people, at least one of them a protester, had previously been charged.
As part of my preparation for the Citrix Synergy conference in San Francisco, I brushed up on different virtual desktop technologies. Part of this exercise involved watching the short online videos that Citrix, Microsoft and VMware use as part of their product pitch to the outside world. After seeing these clips in a group, I decided to initiate a new award, called the "Cammy."
As an award bonus, I conclude with a brief analysis of what these videos show and how they can be useful to IT managers.
Here's my judging criteria. The video had to clearly explain business benefit and the product's underlying technology. The clip needed to make effective use of static and animated graphics. The storyline needed to have an obvious beginning and ending. Finally, I needed to feel that I knew how the product worked at the end of the video.
The winner, hands down, was Citrix with "Understanding the Desktop Virtualization TCO." I should say that winning has no implication about the quality of the underlying product, XenDesktop. However, the video did a good job of explaining XenDesktop. The chalkboard motif, with an always moving piece of chalk whipping up illustrations was used to good effect, combining effective still and animated graphics with flair. In keeping with Citrix style, the video took a shot at unnamed competitors, showing competitor methods in a jumble. On the downside, the Citrix didn't have subtitles.
Second place goes to Microsoft and the ungainly titled "Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC." The video used highly produced (a lot of slow rotation, zooming, "whooshing" and "ding" sound effects) simulations of Windows XP mode at work in Windows 7 using Windows Virtual PC. Whew, that's a mouthful for anyone to explain. The Microsoft crew needed every one of their video gimmicks to demonstrate that IT managers shouldn't let older apps that only run on Windows XP stop them from migrating to Windows 7. Again, the downside was no subtitles. Also, the demo requires Silverlight.
Market leader VMware came in last with "See What's New in VMware View 4.5." I'll remind you, gentle reader, that the quality of the video has no relationship with about the quality of the product. This video was long on words moving around the screen and short on effective product demonstration. The words swing and tilt and slide to such an extent that the momentary appearance of VMware's rather mundane animated graphics are a relief similar to a railing grasped by a seasick passenger. This video, which has more words on the screen than the other two combined, does have subtitles.
WHAT THESE VIDEOS SHOW The first thing these videos showed is that there is more than one way to combine an operating system and various applications. Citrix showed how the operating systems and the application are combined on demand. VMware showed the operating system and apps in a bundle, although VMware also has a method for composing desktops dynamically. Microsoft made the case for migrating to Windows 7 as the best way to run applications designed for Windows XP. There are debates about the merits of all of these methods, but if you're looking for a 10-minute glimpse into some of the most promising ways to extend the benefits of virtualization to the desktop, you'd be hard pressed to beat the videos I watched today.
Customers of Ashton Woods in Naples Reserve and Fiddler’s Creek have the opportunity to share their vision and collaborate to create a home that is uniquely theirs by visiting The Studio by Ashton Woods.
The Naples design studio offers nearly 2,000 square feet of detailed illustrations, photos, and renderings displaying the countless design finishes and styles and thoughtfully fashioned bath and kitchen vignettes that are available in each Ashton Woods new home in the two communities. The builder’s expert design team works together with homebuyers making the homebuilding journey both efficient and fun.
The Studio features thousands of unique design possibilities for each Ashton Woods new home. Among the many design options are American made custom cabinets, remarkable shades of granite and marble, quartz from multiple manufacturers, and rich hardwoods. There also is an incredible selection of tile, including 18 x 36 imported porcelain and wood plank tile, plus designer lighting and plumbing fixtures.
The Studio was created with one question in mind: How does Ashton Woods deliver world-class service alongside world-class design? The answer was easy: By focusing on people. The creative, professionally trained team starts by getting to know each homebuyer and then applies the latest in home design.
Ashton Woods is offering homes in the Naples Reserve and Fiddler’s Creek communities for buyers who value innovative style and design. The Studio takes what can often be a tedious and stressful decision making process and turn it into a collaborative, exhilarating experience where clients create homes that are a true reflection of their passions. In fact, the Studio was recognized with a 2015 Sand Dollar Award in Best Showroom by the Collier Building Industry Association - Sales and Marketing Council.
Located on Collier Boulevard on the way to Marco Island, Fiddler’s Creek is an award-winning resort-style community that has been selected by the readers of the Naples Daily News as “Best Community” in the Southwest Florida Readers’ Choice Awards. Amenities include the 54,000-square-foot Club & Spa, fitness center, tropical lagoon-style swimming complex, tennis courts, and casual and fine dining restaurants. Homeowners also have the opportunity to enjoy championship golf by joining The Golf Club at Fiddler’s Creek or a beach and boating lifestyle by joining The Tarpon Club at Fiddler’s Creek.
Ashton Woods also is building homes in the Savannah Lakes, Mallard Point, Egret Landing and Sparrow Cay neighborhoods of Naples Reserve, a 688-acre community off the Tamiami Trail just two miles east of Collier Boulevard in Naples. Amenities include the Outrigger Center, offering community information and a dock with a boat basin and kayak launch service. The amenity complex also includes the Island Club social center, a resort-style pool with poolside cabanas, lakefront beach and pavilion with an open-air tiki hut bar, lite fare indoor and outdoor dining, beach volleyball courts and a fitness center.
The United Kingdom raised its terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe” Friday, at a time when Britons have traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside the Islamist militant group wreaking havoc there.
Cameron told Britons to “continue to go about our daily lives in our normal way.” He added that the changes will help the police put in place necessary security precautions.
“We must use all the resources we have at our disposal—aid, diplomacy, political influence and our military,” Cameron said, adding that the U.K. supports the U.S. airstrikes against ISIS. “Learning the lessons from the past doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for our military,” he said.
London’s Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said earlier this week that at least 500 Britons have fought in the Iraq and Syria conflict on behalf of ISIS, and that about half have already returned to the U.K., BBC reports.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that senior Administration officials have been in touch with their British counterparts about the change in the U.K. international terrorism threat level. “I don’t anticipate at this point that there’s a plan to change that level” in the U.S., added Earnest.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson confirmed in a public statement released Friday afternoon that the DHS and Federal Bureau of Investigation are “unaware of any specific, credible threat to the U.S. homeland from [ISIS].” Johnson also underscored recent efforts designed to improve U.S. national security.
Move right in and enjoy this Charming Bungalow with original hardwood flooring throughout. Antique French Doors to enclosed front porch, offers great space for family room, office, play room, etc., furnace 2013, two bedrooms with ample closet space, updated bathroom in 2013, full unfinished basement, home exterior painted 2018, covered back patio and detached garage, located on extra deep lot with fenced back yard. Don't miss this affordable craftsman era home with character. Inspections welcome but owner selling as is.
"Nightmare on Elm Street" director Wes Craven is in the city today, filming scenes for "25/8," his latest horror film.
The legendary director responsible for classic fight flicks such as "Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes," has pretty much taken over Pleasant Street with an army of trucks and crew members.
The movie is "about a serial killer who returns to his hometown to stalk seven children who share the same birthday as the date he was allegedly put to rest," according to the Connecticut Film Division's Web site.
The production is the second motion picture in Danbury this week. "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" filmed at Barca Restaurant Wednesday.
Are you still proud to be an American?
J. Pepper Bryars, who grew up in Mobile and lives in Huntsville, is a conservative columnist for AL.com. Contact him at www.jpepperbryars.com.
When we turn on the radio during this year's Fourth of July fireworks show, we'll all be reminded that Lee Greenwood is still "Proud to be an American."
That would have been a silly question a few generations ago, back when people still recognized how rare our opportunities really are and still knew the true cost of our freedoms. Many had lived without such things, so they were extremely proud to live in a nation where they were abundant.
As Bob Dylan sang, "... the times they are a-changin'."